Earlybird for Book Study Ending Tonight + The Unknown Reason I Started Running

Greetings and good day to you!

First off, if you’re considering joining the Energy Codes Book Study that starts next week, today is the last day to get the Earlybird discount. 

You know how the early bird catches the worm? I suspect you’re not too interested in worms (unless you really are a bird), but in this case, the worm is $50 in savings (which, in my mind, is infinitely more appealing than actual worms. They are so not my favourite creature - No offence worms). 

The Energy Codes is hands down the most impactful and transformative book I’ve ever read. It’s had so many positive effects in my life (see one of the unexpected ones below) that I had to get certified to share it with others. From having more energy to putting in way less effort for far better results, from improved relationships to more abundance than I’ve ever imagined, it’s changed my life in every way. 

More info on the Energy Codes Book Study (scroll down towards the bottom to register and see the FAQ for the discount code)

If you’ve taken the course before and would like to repeat it for added depth, send a reply email to this message to get the special $97 price. 

And now I would love to share with you the Unknown Reason I Started Running. 

Back when I first started reading and implementing the practices from The Energy Codes in 2020, I found that suddenly I had so much extra energy that it occurred to me that I would like to start running. 

In my brain, it happened something like this.

Part 1 of my Brain: I think I would like to go for a run.

Part 2 of my Brain: Who said that?

Part 1 of my Brain: I did. I don’t know what’s going on but I think I would like to go for a run.

Part 2 of my Brain: Are you crazy? We hate running.

Part 1 of my Brain: I realize that but nonetheless, I feel like going for a run.

Part 2 of my Brain: I’m living with a lunatic…

Part 1 of my Brain:Fair enough. Let’s run!

And so go for a run I did. It turned into a twice-weekly habit. Even more shockingly, I found that I actually enjoyed it. It was unprecedented.

This curious behaviour carried on for years. 

Then one day I took my daughter, Zoe, paddleboarding on a lake in the mountains near Banff. We had been before as a family and the water was pristine. It was so clear that we could see the bottom and it was utterly peaceful. I loved the experience so much that I ventured outside my comfort zone by driving to the mountains myself (I prefer a chauffeur - my husband) and then figuring out how to inflate the paddleboard (victories abounded!).

We decided that Zoe should go first because it was getting a little breezy. Off she went and I sat in the sun on the beach reading a book. At one point it occurred to me that Zoe had been gone for quite a long time. The lake was just big enough that I couldn’t see the other side so there was no visual contact. I thought I was probably being an anxious mom so I went back to my book.

More time passed and it was definitely longer than I would have imagined it would take Zoe to get across the lake and back. Worry set in in earnest.

Then my phone rang. It wasn’t a number I recognized so, of course, I ignored it. (You can totally shake your head at me at this point.)

A few seconds later it rang again. This time I answered it and it turned out that it was Zoe. She had borrowed a stranger’s phone to reach me (thank goodness for her resourcefulness).

As it turned out, it had gotten so windy that she blew off the paddleboard and got trapped underneath. After some terrifying moments, she freed herself and tried to get back on but the wind prevented her from doing so. 

Scared but still thinking rationally, Zoe made her way to the edge of the lake, managed to haul out the paddleboard and sat there shivering until a couple with a phone walked by. Smart girl!

When she called me, I had to think quickly. She was cold and stranded. We decided that I would make my way through the forest to where she was and we would carry the paddleboard back together. The wind was so strong it would be impossible to paddle back across the lake to our car.

This is where all my running paid off. 

As I raced along the forest trail with a backpack full of towels and clothes, it felt like I had been training for that very moment. 

Without all the running for pleasure, there’s no way I could have made it on that stressful 30 minute trail run.

Once I finally reached Zoe, she was soaked, shivering and shaken. I was so glad that I was able to get to her as quickly as possible. It would have been much slower if I had had to walk. 

Our journey wasn’t done yet though. We had to get the paddleboard back to the other side of the lake and it was not lightweight. Being the remarkable females that we are, we carried that sucker all the way back hoisted above our heads. Again, I was so grateful for the cardio training I’d been doing for years by that point. 

You just never know, right?

Thankfully I had followed my intuition and chosen running as a way to enhance all my extra energy. Why I wanted to run was unknown at the time and then the answer revealed itself. Both parts of my brain felt satisfied, even though it took a few years to discover why.

Perhaps you have a mystery waiting to be revealed in your life. I hope that it’s not as dramatic as my experience but if it is, I trust you will be well-equipped when the time comes.

May you have a week filled with following your intuition and having more energy than you ever dreamed possible.

With cardiovascular love and remarkable courage,

Christina

>Creator of Courageous Self-Care

>Guess what?!? My poinsettia is still thriving!!!

>Happy to report that my not-mosquito-bites from Mexico have mostly stopped itching and have faded from a vivid red to a more pleasant shade of pale pink. 

I was chatting with a longtime friend recently and she shared that she had been watching a documentary about U2 on DisneyPlus. I’m epically grateful that she told me about it because I adore U2 but I’m generally not on the up and up with new releases (plus who would have thought that Disney + U2 would be a thing?)

I just finished watching Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with David Letterman this weekend and I just had to share it with you. 

I cried through much of the show because it was just so moving. 

I’ve always been curious how they’ve been able to maintain their friendships (not to mention their band) for decades. 5 to be precise. This documentary answered that question in such a beautiful way. My heart just about split open with the deep love they have for each other. 

Another thing I loved about the show was that they revisited many of their songs and changed lyrics to bring them into alignment with their current view of the world. Who does that? 

I just love the message that creativity is an ongoing process. In one case, they said, “Finally, after 20 years, we finished this song! We couldn’t have written it in this way until now.” And yet they’ve been singing it for 20 years, even though it wasn’t perfect. That is art. 

David Letterman was a lovely addition to the documentary and I also learned so much about Ireland. I give Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with David Letterman 18 thumbs up. (It was so good that I’m just borrowing a whole bunch of other thumbs.)

You can watch it on Disney Plus. 

Keeping along the theme of U2, many of my most favourite songs come from their roster. I am VERY passionate about a multitude of U2 songs. I love their poetic lyrics, I love the layering of their instrumentation, I love their messaging, I love their voices, I love their diversity, I love how they take creative risks.

One of my favourite things to do in high school was to put on a U2 CD (because this was in the days of the shiny compact disc, my friend), don my gigantic headphones (you truly can’t imagine how big they were - maybe if you stacked two abundantly-sized cinnamon buns on top of each other and then put them over your ears, you’d get close to the image), sit by the stereo and sing along with the liner notes (and when I say sing, I mean at the top of my lungs). It must have been an absolute treat for my family (who kindly never said a thing).

They just put out a new album that contains reworkings of many of their spectacular songs. Since you probably don’t want a list of 40 (40!) songs here, I’ve narrowed it down to just one (miraculously). (I listened to at least a dozen while making this choice.)

The harmonies between Bono and the Edge in this one are so sweet. Enjoy.

City of Blinding Lights (iTunes)

City of Blinding Lights (Spotify)