Tag: Love

Friday Focus – 8/18/17 {Grief}

“Grief is tremendous, but LOVE is bigger. You are grieving because you Loved truly. The beauty in that is greater than the bitterness of death. Allowing this into your Consciousness will not keep you from your suffering, but it will help you survive the next day.”

~Cheryl Strayed

This quote struck a chord especially with so much grief being experienced not only in our country but oftentimes we forget other countries as well.

What I keep coming back to is how can we control our own sphere of consciousness so that we can make an even bigger difference in the world? How can we strive to act, speak, and BE from Love, our inner source, so that we can be the change we want to see in the world?

We’re human. It’s much too easy to get caught up in our heads instead of our hearts. That’s the practice. That’s where the years of work come into play. There’s where spiritual work is.

May we find Love underneath our grief, suffering, and/or frustrations.

May we always turn to Love because Love is the most strongest and biggest force of them all.

Namaste.

Friday Focus – 8/4/17 {The Community Of SISTERHOOD}

Anyone else melting in this Seattle heat? I couldn’t believe we reached 97 yesterday but I’m not complaining. That’s when you call your sister up and eat acai bowls to cool off!

Speaking of sister, today I wanted to focus on something very special to me. I wanted to honor all powerful women, especially the powerful women in my life. Who would we be without community?

No really think about it…

Above many things I love and prioritize connection and community. To be able to be in deep communion, to learn from others’ wisdom, and equally important… to give back and share your own wisdom in the same respect.

Even more I am grateful for the Sisterhood, the feeling of **coming home**, whenever and wherever we gather in the world.

It has been amazing to watch the growth and wisdom explode over these past few years of the many sisters in my life, and I am honored to hold witness to this experience as well as share my own journey to an incredible line up of women.

And for this special bond I am forever grateful.

I encourage you today to write a letter of gratitude for the women (or your own special community) in YOUR life. Cherish those bonds. Tell them how much they have helped you in your growth and how you plan to be there for them. Strengthen these ties as they will strengthen you back with the amount of energy you tend to it.

So here’s to even more belly laughs, rolling tears, sunsets and sunrises, and all the gluten free desserts with all the special people in my life. Today I celebrate YOU.

In wellness,

Susan

 

Beautiful space at Ritual Yoga Seattle

Finding Your Voice When Presented With Too Many Options

Are you ever presented with too many options? Where every choice seems like the right choice? Or maybe two choices seem like they can go in either direction and you’re actually OK with one or the other?

What’s a person to do?

The easiest way to make a decision comes down to one question: Are you doing x out of Fear or LOVE? What tugs at the depth of your heart just a little more?

It’s much too easy in these times to get caught up in a story, the past, the future, technology, other people, and the 100 million other things on your to do list. When I’ve put off making a choice because I’m in analysis mode (left brain), and not in feeling mode (right brain), this simple question always brings me back to center when it’s crunch time, Fear or Love?

For me, choosing LOVE makes it very clear in finding my truest voice. I drop into what’s real and what *was* the facade naturally fades away… pretty quickly too! Other questions that help bring clarity when it comes down to making an important decision?

⚘ Who am I overly considering in my choices?
⚘ What feels lighter and brighter?
⚘ What is serving Love?
⚘ How can I serve the most amount of people?

All that said, what truly matters is making the one, small step. It’s the only way you’ll get more data to make the next small step.

I’m curious, how do you find your voice amidst the storm and voices in your head?

In Love,
Susan

Trusting Where You Are

Can you trust you are exactly where you need to be?

When you look back weeks, months, even (especially) years, can you see why things might have happened the way it has?

Can you trust you’ve been led to this place for more growth, wisdom, expanded heart, and love?

And through any present day resistance can you see where this might be leading you?

Can you sense a deeper part of you that might understand where this is going?

Can you have faith in knowing you are one step closer to where you want to be?

Can you feel, or blindly trust, or even desire you are being held ever so gently?

Have you felt love, however small or big in whatever fashion or from, from someone, something, or within YOU throughout your life journey?

If you answered yes to any of the above, can you trust you are exactly where you need to be?

With love.

When You Find Your People

Yesterday I knew I was in for a treat.

Do you have one of those friends that you likely knew in a past life? One of those friends where as you exchange words, thoughts, and feelings you both just get it? One of those friends you know you can run to and pour your heart out knowing there is no judgement?

Well, that dear friend happened to be in town for a business trip and I got to squeeze in dinner before she flew back to San Francisco.

And during this time (and even now) my heart was filled. So full from our heart felt conversations. Almost makes you realize this is what life should really be about. Growth, connection, and love.

It’s how you feel after coming back from vacation. Relaxed and knowing the world is good. YOU are good.

The beautiful part is that we didn’t do anything particularly special. We met for burgers, went for a walk along the water, chatted about life, and hugged it out before she hopped into a Lyft.

It’s in these seemingly mundane moments where all the magic happens.

When you can be comfortable being in and being seen in moments like this, that’s when you know there’s something special. To be real, raw, and wide open is the real beauty of finding your people. ?

So how do you find these people? Your people?!

I can only speak from my own experience but I’ve noticed three things in particular when it comes to finding the people that light you up and vice versa:

  • Do what you love and interests YOU
    • This has always worked without fail. I have met the most incredible people when attending workshops, at yoga, moon circles, meetups, and while I don’t crossfit as much as I used to, some of the my closest and dearest friends have come from this amazing community. Because I loved every moment of where and what I was spending my time in it was only natural this would increase my chances of meeting like minded/interested people. With that being said, SHINE. Do not hide your true colors and be yourself. After all, the goal is to find your people, right? 🙂
  • Be patient
    • When I look back at some of my closest friends one thing I notice is that it took time. Sure there are some friends whom you meet and it’s an instant attraction and soul connection, but even then in order to make it a lasting friendship it requires repetition and depth. People need a familiar face and time to know both you and they are safe and that they can open up to you as well.
  • Have faith
    • The last thing you want is to feel stressed or down about this. This lowers your energy and detracts from what you truly want to feel which is light, open, and love. Have faith that things are unfolding the way it is meant to unfold and surrender this desire to God. Knowing you are doing your best and having faith is one of the best alchemies out there.

As I write this I can’t help but feel so much gratitude for the people in my life and for the love in my heart I feel for them…

With that said, here’s to the people in our lives that allow us to be who we truly are.

In gratitude,

Susan

Friday Focus – 6/9/17 {What Is}

There has certainly been a theme that sticks out for me this week and it is this – being ok with what is and knowing it is unfolding in perfect divine order.

The mind is a slippery one. An innocent thought about one thing leads you down 10 deep rabbit holes until you find yourself in a complex maze of what ifs and one way too many options. And then what? You’re paralyzed. Does anyone feel me on this?!

While it seems healthy and proactive to be solving, thinking, planning… whatever you want to name it, if any of this leaves you with any of the following feelings:

  • angst
  • anxiety
  • tension
  • worry
  • fear
  • generally unsettled

…then we need to hold the phones. ?

The moment any of these feelings start to creep in it’s time to inquire – what am I striving for?

I find that the moment I ask myself this question it all becomes clearer. And while sometimes it may take more time than usual, it always gets clearer.

With clarity comes peace. A knowing that in THIS moment (and the next, and the next, and yes, even the next one :)) I am always held and perfectly where I need to be. Tension would indicate otherwise. Yes?

I find that this is a much more freeing experience than needing to control every outcome…

Namaste.

Mirror Image

Saturday morning reflections… may we recognize the power we have, beginning with the mind.

In wellness,

S.

Walking Into Fear With All The Feels

I got into San Francisco yesterday evening. It’s funny, as I was waiting for my Uber at SFO I smelled SF. Yes, I didn’t realize until this moment that SF/Bay Area had a distinct smell. Doesn’t sound too weird to me though because that’s how I feel every time I land at ICN too 🙂

Upon getting to the hotel and settling in, while it was late I wasn’t ready to go to sleep just yet. As I was sitting in bed pondering whether I should read or try to sleep suddenly I got hit with this incredibly hard feeling that I needed to cry. Out of nowhere this feeling left me feeling bewildered. Where is this coming from?

A quick mental calculation later I realized it would be the time of the month soon, but still… was there anything else going on?

I waited. I listened. I sat. I laid. Nothing happened. I’ve always been a hard crier, meaning the tears just wouldn’t flow without a good reason, so I let it be and turned down for bed.

The evening was long. And I mean loooooooong. The heater in the room made a loud clanky noise every time it turned on/off, plus, it wasn’t my bed. At around 4am I finally fell into a deep sleep and suddenly found myself lucid dreaming. Towards the end of this dream like state I realized the tears that were flowing from my face were actually streaming down my face IRL! I decided to wake up the moment my hands came up to wipe my tears away.

Was I surprised? Not really. A little? Yes.

I wasn’t surprised that the tears had finally come out, but what I was surprised about was the fact that it came out from a dream and that I felt deep emotions in this dream. I am by no means a dream interpreter but I had heard once that you can find meaning behind your dreams by getting a feel for what emotions came up.

So what did I feel in this dream? Oppression, hurt, sadness, nonacceptance, anger.

Without going into the why, because there could be a million reasons why (i.e., somatics, energy, the phase of the moon, a woman’s cycle, etc.), what I do know is that I began to sit with the emotions.

In my waking state I took time to be in silence, to just breathe, and to be in awareness.

My key takeaway is this:

  • It happened
  • Listen to what you feel
  • Feel it
  • Will I personalize it?
  • Or will I walk into the feeling, be with it, and practice self love?

You see there’s a million ways of going about it but it all comes down to bringing light to dark. What will you do and where will you take it? Can you let it go after you’ve had enough time to process?

So here’s to all the feels and the moments following the feels to be with them in self love, acceptance, and surrender.

Much love.

What Are You Creating?

As humans we are constantly creating. Whether it’s our job, our relationships, our feelings, our next “fill in the blank”, our social media, our goals, you see… there is always something in motion.

The most critical part of creation is this ➡

Are you creating from a place of lack or a place of abundance? Fear or Love? Resistance or Flow? What is the main foundational emotion running YOUR engine?

When you really think about it, what emotion would you rather have running through you while you are off creating in this world?

Namaste.