​   Is taking a break hard for you? For me it is. With summer in full swing and added driving, activities, family goings on . . .  know it is a needed break time. Heck, my meditation this month was for burnout. And yet, I find myself stressed when thinking about checking out and going away. 
   Funny how the human brain is wired. When we are in a routine, good, bad or ugly, it is what is known. And vacation is unknown so, there again, the primitive brain seizes up and grabs us by the juggler: ahhhhhhhhhh, you can’t stop now, danger, danger, danger.
   Well, that is when we have to stop and realign to our higher brain, the higher consciousness that separates us from animals. We can control this even if sometimes it feels like we can’t. It is a practice. And building the muscle of awareness so that you can act and not react. Meditation for me and support (like having a coach) are ways for me to keep my practice on track which then keeps my brain on track. Otherwise it can be a runaway train of stress, anxiety and worry.
   Also being in nature really helps. I took a glorious walk through theses amazing trees. Thank god for trees and shade (planting more trees is one answer to helping Mother Earth right now!!). Trees are so magical.
   So, even if taking a break is hard for you, do it. Recharge, self care and when the reptilian brain tries to stop you, do the monthly mediation. Let’s train our brains and build the muscle of clarity, focus, ease and grace!
   Happy summer. Have some fun and some extra relaxation!!!!
 

​   What does that mean?
Knowing with CLARITY what is important to you (I am willing to be a successful entrepreneur, a loving mother, physically fit and healthy, a contributor to my community) and setting goals to bring those things to life. 
FOCUS: we use the 6 forms of energy to make these goals a reality.
EASE: learning to do SIMPLY what is next, moment by moment, small sweet steps.  
GRACE: having gratitude even when it may be challenging or rough, learning and growing are sometimes painful. Nevertheless we can be grateful, even for the simplest thing, our morning tea or seeing a butterfly. Sometimes getting to the next level in our evolution requires some metamorphosis (the butterfly, the frog) and we can even be grateful for that, trusting that going through it will bring us to something new. It is important to have support here!
   Often when we think up ideas, visions and possibilities, we get excited, there is a weightlessness about the creation in visionary reality. It is light, energized, exciting. When we then bring it down into physical reality and start taking the steps and actions that will create it, we are met with gravity. That is when we get challenges, push back, monkey mind and on and on.
   All of this is normal when we are doing something new. Supporting you to “be successful”, doing what you said you were going to do, one action at a time, pushing through the internal blocks and the monkey mind of worry, doubt, and fear to achieve the things that mean so much to you is what I love about coaching.
   Reach out if you need support. We can chat and see if coaching is right for you. In the meantime, keep up with the meditation for burnout! That eight-count breath is magic to the brain!!! Awe, enjoy!

   I love it too, in terms of coaching because we are always talking about the monkey mind (our worry, doubt and fear) and how that affects taking action. When we are consumed with monkey mind, in this scenario, we would not say anything, hence no conflict yet the war inside begins.
   What greater way to challenge yourself and your ability to quiet your monkey mind than to know you need to say something that will create conflict but if unsaid will start a war inside yourself. WOW. 
   In coaching we also talk about coherence -- acting in alignment with our path, flow, life’s intentions (we get clear on this in coaching). Or incoherence -- making decisions that are not aligned with our life’s intentions. This statement sums up so much about living authentically; being on your “hero’s journey”; coherently making decisions that align with your purpose and observing the gap that occurs when you don’t.
​   This gap is where coaching can be supportive. When you see what you need to do, are willing to do it, and yet aren’t doing it. Reach out if you need support or have questions. Practice the meditation, the quieting of the monkey mind so that you can “hear” and “see” the small sweet actions you need to take toward your purpose.

​  Summertime and the living is easy . . . hmmmm, don’t you sometimes feel like you’re doing summer wrong? For most of us summer is far from easy and with upended schedules, all kinds of social activities, and that overwhelming urge to ENJOY summer, this season can be as hectic and stressful as the holidays!
   And that’s where our meditation practice comes in! As we’ve talked about, meditation is calming for your nervous system and you need it the most when you're just doing a lot. And I love that you can do it anywhere! Even in the parking lot as you wait for your kids or at the park before you head out for an afternoon with family. Give yourself this gift this summer. Just five minutes a day will benefit you and once you’ve built that “meditation muscle”, it will become routine (and you’ll actually miss it if you don’t do it!).
If you’d like to join us in the Summer Burnout Meditation, just sign up for our newsletter. (Click here to sign up). I’ll send you the video right away. I encourage you to practice this meditation for at least 40 days straight and give yourself a minute or so of stillness after you finish it.  Pay attention to how you feel afterwards. This is also a great before bedtime meditation to share with your kids!

   ​   Have you ever compared your now self to your past self or your younger self? I laugh because it's kind of just a setup. The funny thing is that it's a set up for disaster because we cannot ever compete with our old selves, the self that was the younger self. If you've ever looked at yourself in a picture and thought, "Oh, if I only looked like that or was in that position now." But yet you remember what you were thinking then when that picture was taken and it wasn't like possibilities and I look fabulous and right, isn't that interesting?
   So what is it that we want the next 50 to be like? It's up to us.
   If we can think it, we can start to project it into ourselves to believe it and to take action toward it. It's so much of life and around life is telling us kind of at this age that: "Well, you've lived a good time. You know, now just kind of pack it in and wait to hit the road. I guess." I don't know, but I'm not ready to hit the road yet. Meaning the Rainbow Bridge to the other side.
I want to do more.
I want to contribute more.
I want to see more.
I want to live more.
   And I want us to all work together to have it be the way you want it to be for yourself.
  And it's different for all of us, right? We all have different visions and dreams, but I want to encourage us to step into it and make it take the lid off and explore what it is that you, if you could do anything and yet 50 more years, what would you do?
Come on. Let's think about it. The next 50.

These are the little guys making so much noise in my video!