If you tuned in last time, you’ll know that the topic of discussion was dealing with the unknown. If you didn’t read last week’s message, then I guess it’s still unknown to you (hee hee). Click here to read it now. Then you won't have FOMO.

Did you happen to ponder how you deal with the unknown? Another way of asking that question is to consider how much time you spend worrying. Ruminating and stressing out are the most popular ways of dealing with the unknown, if you haven’t yet trained your mind.

I love the saying that worrying is like rocking very exuberantly* in a rocking chair with the expectation of getting somewhere. It’s a whole lot of effort with no results. (*the exuberant part is my own wording… most sayings don’t use that fancy word, but I like the mental picture it creates… exuberant rocking.)

Ok, I just checked the original quote, and it looks like my own saying is way off, even without the juicy adverb....

How do you feel about the unknown?

As we discussed last week (or rather, I discussed and you read), times are weird. 

Have you noticed that you feel a little lost? Or perhaps you’ve observed that you’re feeling a distinct decrease in your sense of control. 

With all the energetic shifts lately, as a human collective, we’re being called to rise to some new challenges.

One of the main invitations for us right now is to get more comfortable with the unknown.

Many people live in a state of low-grade worry and fear, when it comes to the future. We’re often taught that bad things could happen in the upcoming weeks/months/years, and so the most logical response is to be distrustful and vigilant. The world is out to get us, so it’s a good idea to plan for the worst and control as much as we can.

Wow. When it’s down in writing like that, it seems pretty intense, doesn’t it?

If that’s your current way of being, do you really want to...

I do this amazing practice called Sitting for Guidance that I learned from my mentors, Marci Shimoff & Debra Poneman. Most days, I get out my journal with the intention of communicating with my higher self to see what comes through.

Many days, it’s kind of a list of things to do. Other days, the practice reveals ideas that I never could have made up. And then other times, it’s full of encouragement and deep wisdom. 

Here’s the message I’ve been getting lately: write, write, write, Write, WRITE!

It seems like Spirit is trying to tell me something…

And so here we are; me writing, you reading - a match made in heaven. I realize I’ve been out of touch with you. And sometimes things like that are ok. Until they’re not. Which brings us to this point.

Here’s what I would like to share with you.

Although the Great Pause (pandemic) has been stressful for many people, I’ve truly never been happier. Perhaps if I share a few...

One day, when I was in high school, I made an important discovery. I was on my bed, crying dramatically about something (perhaps I just got dumped, or cut from a sports team, or my souffle had fallen). There was sobbing, flailing, tears streaming, when all of a sudden, I noticed that there was something positively delicious about being sad.

Have you ever noticed that allowing yourself to fully experience sadness feels really, really good?

If not, maybe you’ve been too scared to feel sad and you haven’t received the pleasure that’s hidden in sadness. 

Here’s the thing about uncomfortable emotions like sadness. We spend a lot of energy avoiding them or suppressing them and so we’re never really able to receive the full benefits.

All emotions are valuable and have a purpose. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t exist.

Sadness is worth embracing for the following reasons:

1. A function of sadness is connection (as was brilliantly illustrated in...

Once, on a trip to Hawaii, my daughter Zoe, who was about 4 years old at the time, was jumping on the hotel bed. I told her to stop. She did, but she looked me in the eye and declared, “Mommy, you filled my heart with rage!”

I’ve been contemplating rage, as it seems to be a prevalent emotion these days. What are we supposed to do with rage as it surfaces in such giant waves? And why is it so tumultuous right now? And what’s the best action to take in the storm?

Let’s dive in.

1. What to do with all the rage?

There are ultimately 2 choices. Fight rage with rage by being against what’s happening OR be for what you actually want. 

When you choose to fight against something, you create energetic tension, which then creates more energy towards what you don’t want. 

When you choose to be for something, you create an opening for a new possibility. By embracing the uncomfortable, you can transmute it into love.

Mother Theresa said that...

As you may or may not know, I'm really fascinated by our relationship with Time (it gets a capital T here because it's kind of a big deal). Befriending Time is even one of the 12 Foundational Skill Sets of Courageous Self-Care.

How we interact with Time affects every second of our day, not to mention our life. It's an idea worth thinking about. It's also worth taking action to improve that relationship.

I've had some thoughts and observations recently that I wanted to share with you. 

When my daughter, Zoe, was little, I had visions of us baking together because that's something I loved doing with my mom. Zoe, however, had zero interest in whipping up magical creations in the kitchen with me. I was disappointed for a while but then accepted it and carried on having my own baked goods fun.

Fast forward about 12 years, and to my surprise, Zoe LOVES being in the kitchen. In fact, she spent all of yesterday evening making healthy donuts, cookies and scones for her...

Last week, I shared some of my secrets with you (about book writing and one woman shows and such) and then I inserted a tremendous cliffhanger, saying that I still had secrets!

I know you've been waiting allllllll week to find out the other parts of my life, that until now, I've kept locked away, like Rebel Wilson in her stylish but creepy dungeon in The Hustle. (Not sure what I'm talking about? It's a new movie released on Mother's Day co-starring Anne Hathaway which made me laugh out loud multiple times. Kind of like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels mixed with girl power.)

Now. The Secrets.

Usually I work on something quietly and privately and then when it's finished and successful and ready to go, I tell people about it. It's a very safe way to do things because if I don't actually finish or something goes awry, you'll never know and I still look gooood. 

Today is a day to do things differently. And courageously. I'm going to share with you something that is a big...

Did I tell you that I'm writing a book?

Well, actually 5 books.

I thought I was going to write one, and it's been percolating for a few years now, but as it turns out, it's going to be 5.

Here's what happened:

January 2019

I was super gung-ho with my plans for the new year. I had visions and flow charts and pages of notes on how I was going to move forward with my online program, and coaching and so on.

I started working the plan.

Mid-January 2019

My intuition (and my astute energy healer) informed me that my plan was not going to go as planned. You know the saying, "You make plans and God laughs"? Gales of cosmic laughter coming my way.

I joined in the laughter and released the plan. Very soon afterwards, a new idea came my way. A big idea. A very scary idea. 

At first I kept it a secret because it seemed so audacious, but I've become friends with the idea and am feeling effusive about putting it out into the world. Want to know what it is? I'm assuming you're giving...

Gratitude changes everything. Here are some ways I've used gratitude to make my life better in the last few hours:

1. I was looking at an income statement and feeling like it wasn't very high. Then I switched my mindset to say, "I'm so grateful for that income. A year ago I would have done anything to have that regular income (well, not anything, which is why I didn't have regular income... I wouldn't go so far as to get a "regular job" or train circus animals or peddle vacuums on a street corner). So anyways, I switched to a thankful place, and immediately felt so good about that income.

2. My husband did the dishes this morning. Amazing, right? But my inner critic who is often a fanatical perfection-oriented German when it comes to things being spic and span kept spotting bits of food and grease on the "clean" dishes. It took some inner work, but I switched into the mindset of feeling grateful that my husband does dishes, got up early to do them and made breakfast...

When we moved to our new place (almost a year ago, so I guess it's not that new), one of the things I was most excited about was living right across the street from a huge sportsplex. There's simply no excuse not to use it and I've been loving it.

I anticipated that I would increase my fitness, which has happened, but I didn't realize it would help me in unpredictable ways. Here's a hidden benefit of spending time at the gym.

You can do really weird stuff and feel like you totally fit in.

Want to know some of the weird stuff I've witnessed?

• an athlete running on a track while pulling a giant heavy contraption fastened to her body with some sort of harness
• a guy making his way around the track by throwing punches in various combinations
• a dude running on a treadmill breathing very loudly, moaning intermittently and also yelling encouraging phrases to himself (and anyone else nearby)
• a contest to see who could balance the longest on a foam...