Reclaiming my personal power

I spent several hours in meditation doing a healing the other morning. I often get a “calling” to do a healing. When I sit down in meditation to answer the call, I don’t really know where it’s going to go or what’s going to happen.The meditation happens the way it wants to happen, and I am just a conduit for the love and healing energy.

I am simply a facilitator and my job is to witness and hold space for the healing.

The healing journey started off with sending love, light and peace to those who suffered in some way from the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Then it got really personal.

I believe that in healing the personal, we send ripples out into the world that bring love and healing to others who have suffered in similar ways. The energy from healing, prayer, sending love or Reiki reverberates out into the world, just like the frightening energy from hate crimes and violence do.

These deliberate acts of healing energy are so needed to bring balance back into our world.

The healing session took me on a journey back through the last 10 years and beyond in my own life. I discovered that there was a part of me that identified with being a victim of unseen forces. The attacks of September 11, 2001 served to amplify those feelings in myself and anyone else who was already resonating with victimization. Today’s healing journey was to release that association and reclaim my personal power and hopefully send ripples of empowerment out into the world.

I’m going to be really honest with you about my journey. It’s super personal, and it feels a lot vulnerable to share it. My heart wants to share, so here we go.

So many times in my life I have come close to reaching my goals and then something always screws things up.

Until I did the healing work this morning, I thought of it as an unseen force outside of my control that was always preventing me from succeeding. Sometimes, I would blame my ex-husband. As I journeyed back through memories of all of the times this happened, I discovered it went way back even before my ex-husband. It went back to the transition from junior high to high school.

It went back to a point in time where I decided that it was safer to not be too smart or too successful so that I wasn’t singled out and emotionally tortured. Even though I tried to hide my true self, it still would pop out here and there, and the pressure would start up again from different people to stop being so smart and successful. It was painful, and it caused me a lot of heartache.

I never understood why it wasn’t ok for me to be smart, talented or successful, but it was clear from the messages of teachers, fellow students, and later colleagues and bosses that I’d better knock it off or else. It happened in classes in high school. It came from professors and classmates in college. It came from sexist bosses in my high tech career.

By the way, this never came from my parents or my larger extended family. In fact, my parents raised me exactly the opposite. They encouraged me to be smart, strong and capable. My sisters and female cousins turned out that way.

But for me, I guess I was more sensitive to the pressures around me. It was painful to experience so much negativity and dislike of who I was, so I learned to hide it.

And I got so good at pretending to be someone less threatening and more agreeable to the people around me, that by the time I was married I was sabotaging my own success before someone else could convince me to do so.

Over my twenties, I downshifted myself from being a financially independent educated woman with a full-time career to taking less and less skilled positions with less and less pay and essentially becoming financially dependent on my ex-husband. I turned him and our marriage into an excuse not to succeed at my dreams.

I become the person I thought I was supposed to be in order to be loved, accepted and not tormented.

I got so good at giving my power away, that I lost sight of the fact that it was me doing it all along.

There were many times in my marriage where I felt I “had no choice” but to go along with things that didn’t support my dreams and goals. I see now that I had many more choices than I was willing to consider at the time.

I was afraid to be too smart, successful or capable because I was afraid I would no longer be loved.

It was right around when I turned 30 that I started journeying back to my truth. I decided that being true to myself was more important than being loved for pretending to be someone else. I realized I wanted children, and this was something I had been in denial about in order to keep peace in my marriage. I also realized I truly, deeply wanted a challenging, stimulating career where I had the freedom to work as fast and as creatively as I felt like, where I wasn’t holding myself back trying to please others.

In my 30th year, I launched my business, and I started putting my truth first.

As you can imagine, this did not bode well for a marriage built on agreements I made, spoken and unspoken, that didn’t honor my truth. I became a different person, but really I became myself. It was really hard letting go of the relationship that had defined my life in my 20’s. I didn’t think I had the option to break the commitment I made, so I tried to make it work despite how painful it was. I put it off as long as possible, until the pain in my body, a reflection of the pain in my spirit, disabled me (temporarily, thank goodness) and forced us both to find new ways to get our needs met.

Then I was free, angry, hurting and frightened.

I had to do a lot of work to forgive myself for being untrue for so long and for compromising in so many ways that weren’t right for me so I would be loved and accepted.

And I did all the work.

I stepped into my own shoes, and I healed. I got used to sharing the truth about who I am with family, friends and everyone else. I learned how to ask for and receive help. I became whole. I kept growing my business. But that little fear that “something out there” preventing me from being successful could still trip me up kept worrying me in quiet moments.

Until yesterday when I realized that what had been making the choices to hold me back all along was me.

So I gave that part of myself a big hug and thanks for trying to protect me for so long. I told her it was time to go now, as I am no longer afraid to be my smart, capable, creative self and be successful.

And a wave of peace, hope and knowing that I am already successful washed over me.

Remembering to surrender

I am having a hard time since my hip started hurting on Tuesday evening. I am frustrated and disappointed that this aggravated hip is taking time out of my days and botching my plans for the week. I am starting to wonder if there is some message in the hip pain about stretching too fast and the snapping back that happens when something feels threatened.

We weren’t working strenuously in yoga class, mostly we were stretching. I recall reaching into a place in my left hip with one of the stretches, feeling a muscle wake up that I hadn’t noticed before, a depth to the stretch I hadn’t felt in this hip in years. I felt fine at the time, but about an hour after the class my core and hip muscles locked up around the area and two days later they are still tight and sore. That muscle in my hip must have called in the troops because it felt vulnerable and in danger of being hurt by the new sensations of the stretching.

This seems relevant to human nature.

If we venture out of our comfort zones too quickly without feeling safe and supported, we almost involuntarily snap back into a safe space to hide for awhile. I’ve sure experienced this with my heart in romance, in my career and especially with my business. I have definitely been working on stretching my edges in many aspects of my life this summer, and the stretch hasn’t always held.

It’s two steps forward, one step back.

Mark Silver talks a lot about making it safe for yourself and your clients to do the sacred healing work you are here to do with your business. His solution is to lean into the Divine in Remembrance for all the nourishment, support, nurturing, faith, love, energy and support you need to feel safe.

Today with this ouchie hip that prevents me from bending down to feed the cat and reach for pots on the bottom cabinet shelf, I feel unsteady, unstable, not safe in my body and in the kitchen. I feel frustrated that I have to ask for help with things I “should” be able to do myself. I am frustrated that this pain is distracting me from working on the big project I excitedly planned for today. I am frustrated that many of my plans for the week have been thwarted by this pain in my left hip.

Insert big, dramatic sigh here.

And as I finally give up and stop trying to push through the pain to get just one small task accomplished so I feel good about myself, as I grump around my apartment refusing to laugh with my sweetie as he attempts to cheer me up, as I retreat to the bedroom with tea, journal and pen, I finally remember to surrender.

Sometimes the only thing you can do is surrender to the circumstances. We spend so much time believing we are in control, and yet we really are not most of the time. There’s nothing in my power to prevent the hurricane that’s coming on Sunday and disrupting my full day of meetings and clients. I can complain about it, but at the end of the day all I can do is surrender to mother nature and come up with a plan b, whatever that is, that works within the limitations outside my control.

Just like with my aggravated hip. I surrender, finally. I give myself permission to feel ok even though the pain distracted me from my planned project all day. I let go and accept that this is how it is today. And as I do so, all that frustration, stress and anxiety pushing down on my chest melts away.

I can breathe deeply again. I can laugh, pet the cat, and finally relax. I surrender.

Do Less. Be More.

I received this message on Friday night. This was after weeks of doing a lot more than usual with my sister's wedding, moving, starting my book, etc... and starting to feel a little fried around the edges.

Wow did it really resonate! Do Less. Be More. What great guidance for summertime!

I really checked in with myself, and I discovered that even my meditation time had become something on my to-do list instead of a time of just being present. I've been in a race against my to-do list, even though I should know better.

The to-do list is just like the kitchen sink. You get it clean, and then you have to eat and use dishes again. It never really reaches a perfect state of clean unless you never use it. Same with my email inbox. It's always refilling, so the emptiness is only temporary unless you are not communicating with anyone.

Where am I going with this?

Do less be more is a gentle clue-by-four from the Universe to shift into a different relationship with the to-do list.

It's always going to be there. How can I BE with the to-do list in a way that doesn't elicit an adrenaline rush? Can I make peace with it, shift things around so there is less to-do each day? What are my priorities?

Being calm, centered and pain free are my priorities, and in the most recent Reiki Master class we talked about how to start the day with Being instead of Doing. I think I need to take my own advice.

Here's what I told my students.

The single most important thing a person can do is to take some quiet "me" time every morning.

This means not starting the day with checking your email, watching the news or yelling at your kids to hurry up.

It means setting aside a few minutes just for you to relax before you start your morning routine or finding a way to incorporate it into your current routine such as listening to soothing music on your commute to work.

Whether you play with your pet, just sit with your favorite beverage savoring the flavors, meditate, do yoga, go for a walk, look out over your garden, play music you enjoy, or reflect in a journal, making the time every morning to just be is a very simple way to maintain sanity and keep stress at bay.

First of all, these special moments just for yourself allow you to be fully present in your day so you can truly own and appreciate it.

By making "me" time first thing, you claim your day, rather than it being claimed by the rat race or your obligations to everyone else day after day.

In addition, this quiet time sets the tone for your day.

If you start out peaceful and focused, chances are the rest of your day will follow suit. Whereas, if you start the day in a rush, frantic and running late, chances are the rest of the day is going to be fairly stressful too.

There is another benefit of spending time BEING every morning before you start doing all the things that need to be done in your day.

The quiet time gives you the opportunity to let creative ideas gestate, solutions to be discovered, and inspiration to happen because your mind is open and receptive instead of preoccupied like when you are busy the rest of the day.

This weekend, I spent a lot of time just being with myself, my cat and my sweetie. I felt myself slow down, stretch out and relax. Pain alleviated. It was great. I need to do this more often!

This morning, I made time to be before I started the Monday routine. I was surprisingly productive and focused, I think because of all the time practicing being present over the weekend. It's harder to be distracted by Facebook, Twitter, text messages, phone calls, the news etc... when you are being fully present with the task at hand.

Do less. Be more. Let's relax together this week!

Are you blocking the things you need?

With Valentine's Day on our minds in recent weeks, I've heard a theme over and over again from clients and friends. So many of the people who have crossed my path recently are deeply in need. They need more love, more abundance, more money, more opportunities in their lives.

They are experiencing a deep sense of lack, sadness and frustration about not being able to get these needs met.

Yet when we start to explore the deeper levels of why these needs are not being met, we discover that it is extremely difficult for these individuals to receive what they need. Their hearts are locked up tight to keep them safe, but an unfortunate side effect of this self-protection is that it also keeps out the things they need.

Most of us have hearts closed to some degree as a self-protection and survival reflex to keep us from getting hurt on many different levels. If your heart is locked up safe, and for good reason too, know that it is going to take some gentleness, compassion and practice to unlock the door and let love in again. Yes, love. Remember last week we talked about how even money is an expression of love?

If your heart has been locked and closed for a long time, it's pretty darn scary to unlock the deadbolts and open the door. My suggestion has been to challenge yourself to practice opening your heart a crack and receiving at least one thing each day. Start off small, like allowing someone to hold a door open for you or letting yourself receive a smile from a store clerk and feel it in your heart.

You can also practice the below visualization that we did at the Creative Retreat a few weeks back. It's called the Ocean of Abundance and it's by Louise Hay.

Here's what she has to say:

"Your prosperity consciousness is not dependent on money, your flow of money is dependent upon your prosperity consciousness. As you can conceive of more, more will come into your life.

I love the visualization of standing at the sea shore looking out at the vast ocean and knowing that this ocean is the abundance that is available to me.

Look down at your hands and see what sort of container you are holding. Is it a teaspoon, a thimble with a hole in it, a paper cup, a glass, a tumbler, a pitcher, a bucket, a wash tub, or perhaps you have a pipeline connected to this ocean of abundance.

Look around you and notice that no matter how many people are there and no matter what kind of container they have, there is plenty for everyone. You cannot rob another, and they cannot rob you. And in no way can you drain the ocean dry.

Your container is your consciousness, and it can always be exchanged for a larger container. Do this exercise often, to get the feeling of expansion and unlimited supply. I sit at least once a day with my arms stretched out to the side and say, "I am open and receptive to all the good and abundance in the Universe." It gives me a feeling of expansion.

The Universe can only distribute to me what I have in my consciousness, and I can ALWAYS create more in my consciousness. I am an unlimited being accepting from an unlimited source in an unlimited way."

Lessons from labor

I am writing this week's article from the hospital with a friend who has been laboring with her first child for over 48 hours. It's been an emotional journey the last couple of days for all of us. It's been powerful watching my friend balance her willpower, stamina and desire to meet her son with the surrender required by the birthing process.

One of the most poignant lessons has been the reminder that even when you do everything in your power to encourage something to happen, there are times that you just have to wait and let things take their natural course.

That's a potent lesson in this day and age, not only for expectant mothers, but for all of us.

How often do we pick our goals and decide exactly how we are going to achieve them? It can be so comforting to predict how we're going to act, what we're going to do, who we're going to do it with and what will happen. We often get so caught up in doing things the way we predetermined to do them that we miss the wonderful opportunities to do things differently, perhaps even more delightfully, that present themselves as we journey through life.

Watching my friend labor has been a reminder that most of the time we truly do not have power over the mysterious ways of the universe. It's also been a nice reminder about what we ALWAYS have power over: how we respond to circumstances beyond our control. We can get caught up in what we wanted to happen and be unhappy when things don't go the way we hope or expect, or, like my friend, we can stay fully present in the moment and make choices that honor the natural process.

My friends have really been an inspiration in how they've handled this laboring journey - they have become skilled at making choices in the best interest of mom and baby based on the factors available at each different point in time that the path forks.

In fact, my coach calls this type of decision making process "dancing with spirit" - it's when you keep your end goal in mind yet make decisions based on what's the best option, what's healthiest, what your heart feels is right based on what you know right NOW while letting go of all expectations of how things should go.

We can all benefit from my friends example. While you may have a vision in your mind of what you desire in your life, whether it's a new baby or a new business or even the outcome of a project - instead of getting hung up on HOW you expect to achieve your end goal, in my friends' case meeting their new son, you can release all expectations of HOW your goal will be achieved and focus instead on being in the moment and giving yourself the freedom to be open to choices and opportunities that you hadn't originally imagined were possible.

Do you believe it?

One of my intentions at the New Year was to overcome the limitations of my particular chronic pain and get back to the gym and doing yoga. I've accomplished my goal, and I am looking forward to yoga classes and workouts for the rest of the year!

For a while though, it was really a struggle to believe it could happen for me - that I could get over the mental blocks and fears that come with chronic pain and get myself into the gym. My limiting thoughts were something like this: "It's just going to hurt more if I exercise." "I'll be too exhausted to do anything else." "What if I injure myself?"

Isn't it frustrating how how we sometimes get in our own way while we are trying to achieve our goals? You can set intentions and goals, be as positive as a cheerleader about them, doing affirmations and visualizations, but if deep down you don't believe that they can become reality for you - they won't, will they?

For example: you set a goal to go to the gym 3 times a week after work, or an intention to attract new clients to fill out the empty spots in your schedule or dream of taking your practice to the next level, and within a couple of weeks you stop working towards it because deep down you don't really believe you can achieve it anyways.

How many times has this happened to you? It sure has happened to me more times than I'd like to admit to myself. This is a pretty frustrating phenomenon.

How do you prevent it from happening?

I believe the key to working through these deep seated beliefs is to face them head on. Spend some time trying to understand them. Do you believe you can't succeed with your intention because deep down you know it's not realistic? (such as wanting to lose 50 lbs in just a few weeks). Or maybe you believe you can't achieve your goals because you don't believe you deserve to achieve them or you're afraid of what it means to your life and relationships if you are successful?

Whatever the reason, with knowledge of the limiting beliefs holding you back, you become empowered to work with yourself instead of against yourself.

It might mean giving yourself a realistic timeline to achieve your long-term goals, and setting bite-sized milestones to celebrate along the way. It might mean confronting some fears about yourself and deciding you deserve success and moving forward anyways. Or, it might mean taking a closer look at your life and relationships and rallying the people around you to become your cheerleading team.

You might also realize, as a result of your time reflecting, that the goal you didn't believe in wasn't something YOU really wanted to do for yourself anyways. It might have been motivated by cultural or peer pressure or be something someone else encouraged you to do.

With this new knowledge of yourself, you can set goals that feel right deep down and know that you can and will succeed.

Of course, it can be really hard to identify limiting beliefs - I mean if you knew what they were you'd have changed them by now, right?

That's where having an unbiased supporter comes in. Someone who can see and hear you from an objective, impartial perspective to help you get to the root of what's holding you back from the success, abundance, health, and happiness that you desire.

If you are a wellness professional having trouble maintaining a healthy balance between life and work and bringing in the clients you want - stay tuned for a new program I'm designing with exactly you in mind. It will help you move past the blocks holding you back so you can shift into abundance and balance.

Do you know how powerful you really are?

Here's a reposting of an article I wrote in the Fall of 2007. It is so relevant to how you choose to participate in world events right now:

Yesterday's post quoting Caroline Myss explored how emotions are stored in the body, and today I'm going to talk about the power you have to change your body and your life using your mind.

Thoughts and emotions are information represented by chemical signals in the body and brain. What inspires, directs and shapes them? We don't know that scientifically, but there is a theory that consciousness (or spirit depending on your worldview) exists on an energetic level beyond the firing of neurons in the brain or signals traveling down nerves. From this perspective, the driving force behind all the activity in your body comes from the energetic (mind or spirit) level. Do you realize just how powerful you are in shaping your life, your health and your body?

Through your attention and intention, you have the power to organize events and circumstances in your life. What you pay attention to manifests in your body and around you. By choosing positive thoughts and emotions, and by focusing your attention on peace, vitality, wellness, calm, balance, health or other desireable states of being, you can cultivate them in your life. You can grow them like flowers in a garden.

Or conversely, if you focus on what you do not want, unfortunately, you may accidentally manifest exactly that because the subconscious mind is too primal to understand the concept of "not". Rather, it experiences the world through images, associations and symbols. What you pay attention to is what it seeks out to create and find. It is not enough to decide you no longer want to be this way or that way - to change your life you must decide how you want to be and focus on that instead. Therefore, the key to making mental and emotional changes is by using carefully constructed positive visualizations and images.

For example, if your desire is to no longer be anxious, you must focus on how you would like to be peaceful and calm with a visual of yourself looking content and collected. In addition to the visual, the intention becomes more powerful when you use verbal affirmations to replace the negative associations in your mind. In this case, repeating the affirmation "I am at peace and calm in all situations" along with your visualization has a deep impact. Images engage the subconscious, and words engage the conscious mind - so it's a powerful combination when used routinely.

So let me pull this all together here. You can live your life at the mercy of your emotions, letting past traumas, current concerns, and anxiety about the future suck the energy and joy from your life. Or you can use the power of your mind to create a positive, fulfilling life by focusing your attention and intention on how you would like to feel physically, emotionally and mentally.

10 Tips for a Stress Free Holiday Season

1. Eat a Balanced Breakfast every day during the busy holiday season to manage your appetite and keep your energy up.
2. Sleep Enough each night so you'll be sure to make good decisions about what you're eating and how you're spending your time and money.
3. Put Your Well-being First by making self-care a priority. Make time daily to relax and rejuvenate so you look and feel your best.
4. Say No to commitments, events (and foods) that don't nourish you or enrich your life.
5. Go With The Flow when things don't turn out how you expect. Don't let hassles become roadblocks.
6. Cherish The Moment. Remember when you were a child and delighted in small and unexpected magical moments?
7. Smile Freely at everyone you encounter. Never underestimate the power you have to change a situation with warmth and friendliness.
8. Take A Break. There are only so many hours in the day, so put non-essentials on hold while you ramp up for the festivities.
9. Ask For Help when you need it, and return the favor when you can. That's what friends and family are for.
10. Indulge A Little. The holidays only come once a year, so give yourself permission to be joyful and have fun instead of bogged down with details and commitments.
    

My daily checklist

I don't know about you, but when I'm not feeling well I just want to curl up on the couch and watch TV or sleep until the symptoms are gone. This is a decent way to handle an acute illness like a cold or the flu because the body does need to rest in order to for the immune system to do it's job. However, when you are dealing with a chronic health condition like I am - spending every day on the couch is not going to help me feel better. In fact, it often makes me feel worse because of all the things that fall by the wayside.

Learning how to cope and take care of yourself, your home, your family and maybe even your work responsibilities when you have a chronic condition is really tough. It's easy to get caught up in a mode of "I'll put it off until tomorrow or until I feel better" and months may go by before it happens. So I have devised a couple of tricks to help me be productive in harmony with my condition, rather than working against myself! One of my favorite ways is my daily checklist.

I have a little whiteboard up on the wall in my bedroom where I see it several times a day. At the top I wrote "Love Yourself Today", and along the left in bright colors I made a checklist of daily goals. Some days it's really a stretch to check off everything on the list, but I like the challenge and reminder to take care of myself and my obligations. My goals encompass self-care, daily household tasks, and projects.

My daily checklist looks something like this:

• Make the bed and open the blinds
• See or talk to someone who cares about me
  
• Cuddle with the cats
• Go for a 15 minute walk
  
• Do one - two chores around the house
  
• Yoga and PT exercises
• Take meds on time
• Eat healthy meals and snacks
• Spend time on X project
• Read and respond to email and voice mail
  
• Take stretch breaks
• Get some sunshine and leave the house
• Meditate
• Go to bed by 11pm
  

This list might seem silly if you're not dealing with a chronic health condition and have energy to get through a full day. Although, I recall that when I had a busy schedule it was especially hard to fit in "me" time before the day was over. So I think a daily self-care checklist can be a fun way to prioritize and take care of yourself no matter how you are feeling!

What do you lead with?

Have you ever paid attention to how you walk? Do you walk like you're in a hurry to get to your destination, or do you enjoy the journey? We all know that walking is good exercise, but did you know it can be a fun way to relax and reduce stress?

Next time you are walking, pay attention to your body language. What message are you giving yourself and those around you? Are you leading with your head or chest, maybe leaning forward for speed? What do you see as you walk? Do you notice your surroundings, or are you concentrating on your destination? This type of walking might be a make a good cardio workout, but it's not likely to help you relax.

Try leading with your belly instead. I know it sounds silly, but if you just give it a try you'll be glad you did. As you stand, relax your belly fully - just let it all hang out and lean back a little as if you just finished a big meal and you're making room for digestion. Now as you begin to walk, lead your movements with your belly, hips and thighs, continuing to relax and lean back slightly. You'll find you'll naturally want to take some nice slow breaths and your body begins to relax. Leaning back like this, instead of hunched forward, you may notice more of your surroundings and enjoy them too.

I find that it's pretty hard to stay cranky and stressed when leading with my belly - in fact I feel like I'm strolling and on top of the world. Next time you're feeling stressed, I encourage you to lead with your belly and see where it takes you!

Start your day by "being" instead of "doing"

Recently, I was asked what I think the single most important thing someone can do to maintain sanity, keep stress at a minimum and increase productivity when launching a business. While those starting a business have a unique set of stressors, we all have complicated lives in our own way, so my answer applies to everyone.

In my opinion, the single most important thing a person can do is to take some quiet "me" time every morning. This means not starting the day with checking your email, watching the news or yelling at your kids to hurry up. It means setting aside a few minutes just for you to relax before you start your morning routine or finding a way to incorporate it into your current routine such as listening to soothing music on your commute to work. Whether you play with your pet, just sit with your favorite beverage savoring the flavors, meditate, do yoga, go for a walk, look out over your garden, play music you enjoy, or reflect in a journal, making the time every morning to just be is a very simple way to maintain sanity and keep stress at bay.

First of all, these special moments just for yourself allow you to be fully present in your day so you can truly own and appreciate it. By making "me" time first thing, you claim your day, rather than it being claimed by the rat race or your obligations to everyone else day after day. In addition, this quiet time sets the tone for your day. If you start out peaceful and focused, chances are the rest of your day will follow suit. Whereas, if you start the day in a rush, frantic and running late, chances are the rest of the day is going to be fairly stressful too.

There is another benefit of spending time being every morning before you start doing all the things that need to be done in your day. The quiet time gives you the opportunity to let creative ideas gestate, solutions to be discovered, and inspiration to happen because your mind is open and receptive instead of preoccupied like when you are busy the rest of the day.

To be or not to be...

Do your New Year's Resolutions increase the size of your "to do" list? Consider an alternative approach to starting the year off right - set the tone for 2008 with an affirmative "to be" intention or two instead. For example, take a look at some of the intentions I've held over the years.

This year, I intend...

• to be mindful of what I consume
• to be moderate and balanced in my choices
• to be diligent about self-care
• to be able to go with the flow of challenges and opportunities as life brings them
• to be calm and compassionate
  
• to be grateful every day
• to be open to change and growth
• to be brave and step outside my comfort zone and self-imposed limitations
• to be someone who breathes fully and slowly
  

I put my intentions somewhere that I can see them, such as on the wall in my office, and re-intend them every day. You could also put them on a bookmark that you use regularly, up on a mirror, on your closet door, on a piece of paper you carry in your bag, etc... Through your daily attention to your intentions, you organize events and circumstances in your life around them. Your intentions become priorities and manifest in your body and your life. By affirming how you'd like "to be" this year, you can become.

Take a look at previous posts about thoughts and emotions as intentions, how highly successful people use intentions and affirmations, or using them to create healthy habits.

Homeostasis

The root of well-being is balance.

Heck, science has word just for this. It's homeostasis: n. The ability or tendency of an organism or cell to maintain internal equilibrium by adjusting its physiological processes. Our bodies know how to maintain internal balance to keep us alive, for the most part, no matter what choices we make. Even symptoms of stress, disease or illness are just techniques our bodies use to bring us back into harmony. It's only when our bodies have been out of balance for so long, often through our own lifestyle choices, or through the sheer years of old age, do we reach such a point of such damage and degeneration that there is no returning.

While we can't avoid the inevitable, we can postpone it for as long as possible. Learning to make choices and take actions on our bodies that are in harmony with the internal balance that our bodies (and spirits) need is the path to well-being. It's a life-long journey.