Last week was particularly busy for my family. It seems the theater bug has bitten my whole family.

Missoula Children’s Theater came to town this past week. If you haven’t heard of them, they run a wonderful program for children. Two actor-directors travel around in a red F150. It carries the whole set, scripts, costumes and props to put on a one-hour play, usually a version of a well-known fairy tale. Children from all of the local schools are invited to audition after school on Monday. Those who are chosen rehearse all week, and perform twice on Saturday. At the end of the evening, the actor-directors pack up their truck and move on to the next community.

All three of my boys auditioned, and all three got parts in The Pied Piper!

A few weeks ago, my husband received a call and was asked to audition for a reader’s theater production of Norm Foster’s The Foursome. Reader’s Theater is where the actors read from scripts. They use limited sets, props and costumes, relying primarily on expression to convey the meaning of the play. His performances were also this week.

So basically, because of other events scheduled for Sunday and Monday of last week, it has been a pretty crazy two weeks. My husband and I declared this Sunday a day of rest.

I slept in for the first time in…quite a while. I had a very strong desire to stay in my pajamas and not do anything all day, except maybe surf the net. And then the sun started shining through the front window, and it called me to move my body. So I compromised. I put on my yoga clothes and did yoga for the first time since sometime last fall. Or maybe even last summer.

I forget how much I enjoy the yoga DVD I have. (Jada Fire’s Expressive Yoga for the Soul if you are interested.) And I was truly amazed at how much stronger and more flexible I am since I have been working out on the Wave Vibration Fitness Machine at my chiropractor’s office. Some day I’m going to get one to use at home!

It felt so good to have a day with nothing really planned. It is so easy to get wrapped up in all the projects I am involved in. I sometimes forget that I need to schedule down time as well. Rest and relaxation are an important part of keeping balanced and maintaining positive mental health. When balance and mental health are not looked after, everything else becomes much more difficult.

The only thing I scheduled for the day was a phone call with a friend that I hadn’t talked to in ages. It was refreshing and energizing to catch up with her, and laugh with her. Again, it definitely helped with the balance and positive mental health.

I am very grateful that I, and my husband, took a day off, a day of nothing, a day of rest.

Blessings,

Mary

Yesterday was Christmas, a time when some of us think about our own brand of spirituality, some of us take joy in giving, and some of us are all about getting (I won’t even call it receiving).

I was a little bummed as I put out the Christmas stockings, and mine was only half filled. There were no presents for me under the tree (well, there was one, kind of – it was for me and the rest of my family). I didn’t let my slump last long though. There were quite a few presents for my boys, and I had been a little worried that they would have precious few gifts to open. And I did buy myself a present a few days before Christmas.

I enjoyed seeing them get excited about the items my husband and I had found for them. I started seeing the abundance all around me: the abundance of gifts for my children, the abundance of birds in the trees outside, the abundance of love in my home, and food in my cupboards, and activities to keep my mind engaged.

I spent the day cooking for my family, and was gifted with the thanks of full tummies throughout the house (which, in a house with three growing boys, is a rare blessing indeed!).

I even went for a walk in the sunshine with my sweetheart for the first time in many weeks.

By the end of the day, I was feeling full to overflowing with blessings in my life. And so I share some of my blessings.

Until January 15th, 2012, use the coupon code “holiday11″ to save 50% off your next order of guided meditations. And may you be blessed with abundance this year!

Blessings,

Mary

Law of attraction teachers will say that to receive what you want, you have to know what you want. Be very clear about it.

For several years now, through coaching, meditation and journalling, as well as other tools, I have working to get clear on what I want. For me, it boils down to these three things:

• Time freedom
• Raise my vibration
• Earn my living from my spiritual work

I’ve been actively working towards these three goals for over two years.

Recently, I’ve noticed just how jam-packed my schedule is. Added responsibilities at work, rehearsing for a play, extra-curricular activities for my boys, and my own regular activities have left me with very little free time. That first goal feels ever so elusive right now!

One of my core beliefs is that my outer world is a reflection of my inner world. So it occurred to me during my morning meditation last week that perhaps my lack of free time has something to do with how I am thinking and talking about time.

I thought about that for a little while, and sure enough, all of my language about time was negative. “I don’t have time for that”, “when have I had time”, “in all my copious spare time” (read that last one with a heavy dose of sarcasm).

The past few days, I’ve been thinking about how I can change my thinking about time. It’s not been quite as clear as I had hoped. The first thing I need to realize is that I have chosen all of the things and activities that I am currently involved in.

I choose to go to work (the biggest allocation of my time) in service to my family, so we can continue to have a place to live and food to eat.

I chose to audition for the play, and then to accept the part I was offered. And I really am having fun and enjoying the new relationships I am building.

I chose to enroll my boys in karate, to encourage physical activity and self discipline.

I choose to continue writing my blog, and organizing my spiritual circle, and coach my clients. It fills me with joy to witness others grow and expand.

I really have more freedom than I thought I did, once I stop and re-frame how I see my time being used. Time freedom is more about who I am choosing to be, than what I am doing with my time.  Choosing to be in love and gratitude, no matter what I am doing, is my mission for this week!

Blessings,

Mary

PS. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada!

It’s Sunday night, and I’m in the middle of making cupcakes for my youngest son’s birthday party tomorrow.  His birthday is later this week. Tomorrow night, I will be going to the Christmas party for my work.

Earlier today, we went to a Solstice Celebration and potluck.  Last week, I went to a surprise birthday party for a close friend of mine, and my middle son’s Christmas concert.  And earlier this month was my husband’s birthday.

It seems like this time of year is exceptionally busy, and not just for me.  Everyone I know has multiple events, invitations and gatherings.  I also happen to be a last minute Christmas shopper, mostly because of the other events earlier in the month!

While Santa day looms up ahead of me, this year I am extremely grateful that I have my meditation practice and now my Life Coach to help me keep my balance and stay centered.

The feeling of overwhelm has threatened to, well, overwhelm me several times in the past few weeks.  And I have been so much more able to catch myself as I start to drift into the anxiety because I start each morning with meditation and intentions.

And in my coaching session just this morning, my coach pointed out that I am accomplishing a lot, and I have more time to work on my projects coming up very shortly.  Thank you, Hazel!

Oh, and hot chocolate helps too!

What are you doing to keep your cool during the “silly season”?

Blessings,

Mary

This weekend I received the Goddess treatment, and I have to say, I could learn to like it! In fact, I enjoyed myself very much, and it’s something I definitely recommend to every woman.

I spent the last three days at the Divine Feminine Diamond Retreat, with Lourdes Elardo-Gant. I met Lourdes through my husband, and we have played Cash Flow with her and her husband several times.  She told me about the retreat she was planning, and invited me to come and present.  I was thrilled!

Then, a friend of mine signed up for the retreat as well, so we were able to attend together.  We both had a wonderful weekend, and I am so grateful.

The retreat began Friday morning, when my girlfriend picked me up.  When we arrived at the hotel, we were escorted to a beautiful room down by the ocean, where the gas fireplace was merrily heating the room.  We were served tea, and the first thing we did was choose a Goddess card for the weekend.  My card was Hathor, and the message was “Receptivity”.  I had to laugh because just before drawing the card, the intention I set for myself was to practice receiving!

Right away, we headed up to the spa for a glorious relaxation massage.  It was blissful, and a very good opportunity for me to practice receiving!  After the massage, we enjoyed a gourmet lunch at the restaurant upstairs.  Now that is a relaxing and luxurious way to begin a retreat! I definitely felt like a Goddess!

Friday afternoon, after a guided meditation on Ho’oponopono, we got to work.  We played some more Friday night, exchanging Goddess gifts and watching a movie from Spiritual Cinema. Saturday was more working with partners, doing some self exploration.  We had another long gourmet lunch to break up the day, and Saturday afternoon I was on!  I am pleased to say my presentation and guided meditation about Ideal Relationships went beautifully, and I was happy with the feedback.

Sunday morning, we did some more work, before being treated to a limo ride to lunch at another gourmet restaurant.  After lunch, we toured the Comox Valley in the limo, before returning to the hotel for another afternoon of meditation (Seeds of Enlightenment) work and play.

All in all, I had a wonderful time, learned about myself not only as a coach and presenter, but also as a participant.  Thank you so much Lourdes!  I’m going to be treating myself like a Goddess much more often!

Blessings,

Mary

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Importance of Ritual. Bringing a sense of ritual can be very helpful in your meditation practice.

Remember that I mentioned that ritual helps tell your mind that you are moving into a new space. Meditation is definitely entering a new space, so any cues you can give your mind will help you move into that altered space will make your meditation practice that much easier.

There are many things you can do to add ritual to your meditation practice. Here are a few examples:

• Unplug your phone
• Light candles or incense to set the mood
• Put on your favorite meditation music or white noise generator
• Put on a guided meditation recording (shameless plug!)
• Have a specific location in your home or office that you go to to meditate
• Sit or lay down in your favorite meditation position
• Count forwards or backwards
• Repeat a mantra

As with any action you take, the intention is what makes it a ritual or routine. Be mindful as you make your preparations to meditate.  What is the main thing you would like to achieve or take out of this meditation session? A few things you may want to take away from your meditation include:

• A greater sense of peace, joy, love, etc.
• A quiet mind
• A solution to a problem or question
• Healing
• Setting your intentions for the day
• A greater connection to your Higher Self or Source
• Gratitude

This list is only a few of the things that I use meditation for. Be creative, and have fun with it! What rituals do you to to prepare yourself to meditate?

Blessings,

Mary

The sale on Power Walks Within ends on November 22nd!  The price will be going up after that, so buy it now before this great deal ends!

As I write this, it is 1:30 am for the second time tonight (thank you Daylight Savings), and I am in the Vancouver airport waiting to be able to check in for my flight. I’m off for a week long training session with Coach for Life.

It’s been quite the journey getting just this far. I had to work earlier today, and I only had a brief time with my boys before it was time to head out. And that’s when the best laid plans completely fell apart.

I won’t go into details. The quick version is that the car wouldn’t start, I couldn’t even jump it. I had to make an extra trip to the grocery store when I planned on leaving to make sure the boys would have lunch on Monday for school. It was pouring rain, and I was afraid I might miss the ferry. And on the way I found out that the ferry I was planning to take was cancelled.

I will admit, when I finally said my super brief goodbye to my boys, and started driving down the highway in the “wrong” vehicle, I cried.

Not for long. I started appreciating that we had just done the repairs on the van so I was safe driving in the rain. Later I appreciated the sign that gave me the information about the ferry before I drove to the wrong terminal. I was grateful I had planned for the earlier ferry, so I still had time to catch the last boat on the other route.

On the bus ride through West Vancouver, there was a loud man complaining about many things. Instead of becoming irritated, I chose to appreciate the fact that there was a bus at all, and the driver who not only stayed up so late to drive it, but was also very safe and considerate about staying on his schedule.

I appreciated the quaint downtown corridor, and the really cool lights in the trees that looked like dripping water. And I am grateful for the free wireless access here at the airport that allows me to write this blog post now and send it out to you.

So instead of being grumpy that I am not sleeping in a cozy bed, I am perfectly happy and feeling good.

All is well in my world. How about yours?

Blessings,
Mary

Happy Summer Solstice!

On Sunday, my spiritual circle held a potluck at the beach to celebrate the Summer Solstice.  Before we dug in, we did a short ceremony to heal the waters.  With the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico growing daily, many groups and individuals all over the world are turning their focus to healing the waters.  I’ve gotten many emails over the past few weeks from different organizations planning events to heal the water, as well as ideas for planning your own event.

This is what we did:

I filled a bucket with water from the ocean.  I reminded everyone that just as we are all One, from the same Source, water is all One, and it all connects.  So what we do to our bucket of water resonates out to water everywhere.

I had a rock that had the word “Peace” inscribed on it, and I dropped that into the bottom of the bucket.  Dr. Masaru Emoto has proven through his photography of water crystals that words and intentions have a definite effect on water.

Water Crystal exposed to the words Love and Thanks

Then I poured in water that was collected from a similar ceremony nine years ago, water that was collected during a full moon eclipse in 1996 and 2007.  (I’m a Pisces, and the energy of water fascinates me!)  We then had everyone put their hands on the bucket (or at least direct their hands towards it), and sent healing thoughts and energy to the water.  I asked those who have had Reiki attunements to send Reiki to the water.

We repeated a tradition I have with my family.  Each day, as we leave our neighborhood, we face the ocean before turning on to the main road.  We all say, “Hello, beautiful water! Thank you! I love you!”  Our group said this together three times.  And we sang a song honoring the ocean.

The ocean is the beginning of the Earth.
The ocean is the beginning of the Earth.
All life comes from the sea.
All life comes from the sea.

When we dipped our hands in the water after singing, it was very soft.  It was salty, but there was no sting from the salt.  I pulled out a small jar of the water to carry forward for the next time I do this, and then we went to the water’s edge, singing again, and poured the newly charged water into the ocean.  I asked everyone to visualize the healing rippling out farther and farther, to touch all the waters of the world.

You don’t have to do anything as organized as this.  Blessing and thanking your tap water before you drink it is a small thing you can do every day.  Visualize the water, particularly the Gulf of Mexico, clean and pure.  And you can support the efforts of companies like Natural Solutions North America, Inc, as they work to clean up the Gulf Oil Spill.

Blessings,

Mary

This email has been sitting in my inbox, unread, for two weeks.  It’s from a writer I respect very much, Barbara De Angelis.  It was totally perfect timing for me today.

HOW TO MAKE 2010 THE MOST MEANINGFUL YEAR OF YOUR LIFE

PERFORM THE SEVEN ESSENTIAL ACTIONS© ONCE EVERY DAY

1. Thank someone you would normally not thank.
2. Express your love in a way that is unexpected, or to someone who is not expecting it.
3. Honor yourself for something you did today that reflects the best of who you are.
4. Forgive yourself for something you did today that reflects less than the best of who you are.
5. Feel compassion for someone you would normally judge.
6. Notice or experience something as miraculous that you would normally take for granted.
7. For one full minute, stop whatever you are and be deeply grateful for the gift of this day of your life. During this minute, contemplate the fact that yesterday, approximately 154,300 people on Earth passed from this world, and that even while you are practicing this very sixty seconds of gratitude, 100 souls will leave their physical forms. Send them your prayers as they journey onward. Then, with great joy and humility, proclaim these words out loud:

“TODAY, I AM ALIVE!!”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Copyright 2010  Barbara De Angelis  All rights reserved

www.barbaradeangelis.com