Yoga at Gas Works Park, Seattle.

Powerful Questions Pt. 3

It’s day 3 of Powerful Questions, has anything come up for you?

Regardless of whether or not big, hard answers have been revealed, don’t fret.. trust me, your mind is now primed and thinking of creative solutions for YOU.

I absolutely love today’s set of questions because it’s all around RISKS. So scary but oh so good for your soul! Here we go:

? Where in my life can I take more risks?
? What is one thing I have always wanted to do or try but never did?
? How can I let loose, just a little, so that I can fully be present for the moment instead of thinking of a future moment?

I’ve always found that the one thing you might be nervous about trying or doing ALWAYS comes back to remind you. Take some time to honor the nudge and discover what it can reveal for you.

In other news Seattle is going through a MAJOR dry streak and I am melting! Usually I can handle all sorts of heat and humidity but this heat has me thinking of all sorts of ice cold beverages and delicious desserts. So of course I made myself a chocolate horchata milkshake! A little too good to be dangerous 😉

In wellness,
Susan

Powerful Questions Pt. 2

Day 2 is here! In an effort to create space for powerful questions I wanted to continue exploring prompts around creation and how we can show up in the world in a more authentic way. Are you ready?

? In what ways do I diminish my light?
? Is it around certain people or activities?
? How can I show up in this world and be even more of my authentic self?
? Why is this important for me?
? What am I afraid of?

Notice whether anything new came up for you or whether there is a specific pattern that keeps coming up. Whether you believe in the stars, the moon, or your vitamix these are all powerful questions you can use to check in with yourself from time to time ???

And remember, no judgement… only awareness is needed to make positive change. Judgement only keep you stuck in the place you want to move away from.

In other news a dear friend of mine had gotten some tickets to Bruno Mars last minute and invited me to go along for the ride, and boy was I excited! Speaking of light, Bruno thank you for your magic, your voice, and for sharing a part of your light. Still can’t believe that was all live.. ???

Excited to share Day 3 in our series of Powerful Questions relating to your creative side and how you show up in this beautiful world.

In wellness,
S.

Powerful Questions Pt. 1

This week I wanted to do something a little special.

Have you ever found that asking powerful questions can help clarify thoughts and feelings? They certainly have for me, and with the New Moon in Leo (first of two!) I wanted to honor this new energy by asking a few powerful questions everyday this week.

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These questions will relate to how you honor your own creative forces, and how you show up in the world. I don’t know about you but my own creative energies have been on FIRE lately!

Most importantly, with deep reflection it may even reveal how you actually WANT to show up in the world. Make sure you spend at least 5 minutes asking your deeper self to show you your most authentic and honest answers. Center the mind and allow time for self reflection.

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Are you ready?

? Where have I been neglecting my creative outlets?
? When have I noticed my pulse racing a little thinking of doing something new?
? If I have, what are the qualities of these activities?
? Are they entrepreneurial? Activity based? Connection based? Health based? Art based?

(Pictures of the beautiful Wishing Tree nestled in the neighborhood of Capital Hill. You should check it out if you’re in the area ?)

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I did these myself and absolutely LOVED the process. For me, my love for photography has been coming back in ways I never expected! I’ve been making it a point to bring my professional camera along with me because I never know what I might find inspiring while meeting up with a friend. In addition, I have been deeply considering creating a women’s group in the North Seattle area. I’m still working through the main concept and what intentions I’d like for this special group, but thought I would share with you all some of my creative ideas that have come up in the last couple of days and weeks.

How about you? Any big truths or hints come up for you? You’d be surprised at what comes up if you really honor the time to reflect ✏❤?

In wellness,

Susan

Unresolved Emotions

Do you often find that unresolved emotions lead to regretful decisions?

Why is that? Well here are a few examples:

1) Anger at someone > “I’ll show him/her!” > Send hasty email
2) Anxiety, depression > Escapism > Open pint of ice cream
3) Regret, shame > Need to fix > Run 5 miles
4) Frustration, angst, sadness > Need to get it off your chest > Call friend in a heated moment, say the wrong things
5) Guilt > Need to fix > Over compensate or over commit to something you, deep down, don’t want to do

I don’t know about you but I have certainly found myself in a number of these situations before… and then I realized there was a key step in-between the emotion and the decision:

SELF AWARENESS / MINDFULNESS / SURRENDER / GOD / COMPASSION

Call it what you need to fit into your framework but for simplicity’s sake let’s call it Awareness.

When you have the awareness right **after** the emotion begins and right **before** the decision THAT is all you need to step back for just a moment.

And in that stepping back can you just sit with the emotion? Where is it in your body? Can you drop into it? What is it really trying to tell you?

Take a moment or two, heck take a week if you must! Take as long as you need until you feel good about your decision and know you aren’t trying to avoid the feeling. We seem to be good at that as we humans evolved.

Last but not least, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get it each and every time! For some it comes easy and for others it requires a bit more practice, mindfulness, and/or guidance. But but know this: there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. You are everything you need to be and everything is unfolding in your divine order.

In wellness.

Approval & Acceptance

Approval and acceptance. It’s such a hard thing to get away from isn’t it?

When you are going about your daily life or making key decisions (that ultimately will change the direction of your life) ask yourself this question: if you need these two from anyone other than yourself to make you “ok” or “happy” are you ready for the roller coaster? And by roller coaster I mean the worst one you can possibly imagine!

Just remember this one thing: to need approval or acceptance from anyone implies there is lack, but how can that be when you’re already perfect?

Once you have accepted this and are willing to change, fundamentally, how you look at approval and acceptance, has begun to change; pat yourself on the back. That is half the battle. However, understanding how human nature and psychology works this new belief now needs to be set in the brain. You must set new patterns to break old ones.

Just as you practiced the old beliefs around approval and acceptance you must practice the new, positive, truer belief around approval and acceptance.

Just remember that change is possible and you are already perfect.

Namaste.

Friday Focus – 7/14/17 {Stay In Your Lane}

Good morning beautiful people! It’s absolutely stunning here in Seattle on this magical Friday morning. I hope no matter what season it is in your area you are diving into the weekend with an expanded heart and inspiration.

This week’s theme came to me suddenly but resonated deeply. I may have written about this before but I always welcome the reminder, and it is this:

The time spent worrying or thinking about what others feel/think/act/say to you is their business. Stay in your lane and keep your eyes on your business. 

Take a moment to truly ask yourself, “is this really true?”. No matter what worries you, ask yourself this question. How much of what is going on in your head are your own projections, worries, and fears?

Remember no judgement, only awareness.

As we dive into the weekend take a moment to pause and ask yourself this question whenever you come up against a resistance. Oftentimes you will find the thought you were just thinking is either based in the past or is a future projection. And what a relief that is!

You are free in THIS moment.

May you find a bit more peace, love, and laughter as you head into the weekend.

Namaste.

 

Photo by Tanner Larsen

Knowing Your Truth

What does it mean to go IN? To be still? To know your truth? To muddle the outside (and sometimes inside) voices so that you can finally hear and feel your own personal power? To finally feel the expansive freedom that comes with knowing THIS truth?
???
Just remember, all that ever matters is the coming back to this.. the constant remembrance and living out from this beautiful place that lies within all of us.

Photo by the wonderful Jakob Owens

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

~Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

Gives you the shivers doesn’t it?

So I ask again, who are you not to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? What are the limiting beliefs (and therefore illusory truths) that are holding you back?

Take a moment and take inventory of each decision during the course of a day. Imagine these decisions as branches of a tree; where are these branches stemming from? What is the basis (beliefs) of these decisions and how deep do those roots go?

Remember, change can happen but it takes work. Knowing how to catch the beliefs is half the battle and everyone, yes everyone, is capable of creating this change.

In the meantime I implore you to ask yourself two questions today:

  • How are you playing big today?
  • What is one small step you can take toward your true self?

In wellness,

Susan

Language & Beliefs

Your language is a window into your beliefs, and your beliefs are a window into your vibrational state. Take a moment today to identify FIRST where you want to be and how you want to feel, and now reverse engineer the process.

It’s so simple yet incredibly true and powerful when you do the work. Take a quiet moment to think about how you want to feel and then use the beliefs and language you need to support this.

In other news, I’ve been writing a lot about quiet time and creativity, and my creativity is exploding! Let me share this beautiful creation with you:

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Creating this mala took hours. From the time it takes to intentionally sit with each stone and feel what it is you are drawn to, designing the mala, and then of course hand knotting each bead and pouring your intention into it. It’s quite meditative and such a beautiful process.

Did you know that Rose Quartz is one of the most popular stones for it’s loving qualities? This stone encourages love, nurturing, and warmth, and vibrates at the heart chakra and is a vibration of a high, deep love. It is often helpful for emotional healing as well as faith and hope.

And the Opal Quartz is a stone that inspires hope, creativity, and imagination. Due to it’s larger proportion of the water element, Opal is known to provide deep support during times of transition or hardship. This stone is also said to be a stone of love, helping a still heart to receive and give love, warmth, and peace. Opal has a sense of fragility, lightness, and yet a fierceness as the way the light dances to the spectrum of colors within each Opal stone. This stone also enhances cosmic and psychic consciousness, while cleansing the aura.

I thought the combination of Rose and Opal was perfect.

I’ll be spending some time creating more of these beauties and starting a ceramics class as well, but don’t worry, when I have a burning desire to share knowledge for positive change and growth you can be sure the Blog will be the first place I post.

In loving kindness,

Susan

Friday Focus – 7/7/17 {There’s Nothing Wrong With You}

There’s nothing wrong with you

Are your hormones are a bit wonky? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Do you feel like crawling under the covers because of a string of bad days? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Struggling with a health issue? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Dealing with relationship issues that keep coming back? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Fighting an intense fear of failure? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Experiencing grief that doesn’t seem manageable? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Wondering why it feels like it’s taking a million years to achieve X when for others it seems so easy? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

There’s nothing wrong with you

No matter what is happening in your life just remember this, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you.

Namaste.