American Robin

After having been in the San Francisco Bay Area since the end of March, I arrived home on Sunday morning and after a few hours of sleep, I headed to the MVP Athletic Club in Rockford for a run. It was after I left the club, I saw my first robin of the year. I always love when that happens because when that first robin shows up in the Spring, it serves as a reminder to expect new growth to occur in a number of areas in your life.

The key is that you must make room in your life for new growth and opportunities to manifest and the fresh onset of Spring is the perfect time to let go of anything in your life that is no longer serving you and to plant the seeds for calling in that which you desire.

My suggestion for clearing the way for what you do want to manifest is to begin small and use a Feng Shui bagua map, available for download on my web site www.inspirationalfengshui.com, to assist you in choosing the area of your home/office that corresponds to an aspect of your life that feels stagnant or “stuck.” The bagua is an energy grid, which indicates how the different areas of your home/office relate to the corresponding aspects of your life. Since every aspect of your life is energetically anchored in your living/working environment, you will discover the area(s) of your life that are the most “blocked” are also the most cluttered areas in your environment. Energetically, clutter pulls you down and as a result, if you have a lot of clutter, you may find that you frequently feel frustrated, overwhelmed or exhausted. The process of liberating yourself from these feelings begins with the simple act of clearing just one drawer. You will find each small area you clear provides you with more energy to keep going.

As you go about the process of clearing the clutter that robs you of your energy, you may find it helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I love this?
• Do I need this because I genuinely use it?
• Does this support who I am now?
• Does this serve as an environmental affirmation for me?
• Does this evoke positive or negative thoughts, memories or emotions?

Continue clearing at your own pace and keep focused on what you want to create in your life. Remember, your home is a mirror of your inner self – why not have it lovingly radiate back to you the career and life of your dreams?

I would love to support you on creating the career and life of your dreams.  Work with me here.

Cherry Blossom - The Ephemeral Nature of Life

Today, I had the pleasure of spending my day learning from Barbara Fagan, Co-Founder of Source Point Training. Barbara’s mastery in using metaphors to illustrate a point is one of the things that makes her so impactful as a coach, facilitator, teacher and trainer.

In Japan, the delicate and beautiful cherry blossom is an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life. Cherry blossoms are richly symbolic of the fragile and transient nature of life due to their short blooming season. The falling blossoms metaphorically represent the fallen samurai warriors who died bravely in battle.

Whenever I see cherry blossoms, I am reminded of the importance of living fully in my life’s purpose and bringing more of what matters to me and what I love in to my day-to-day existence, for I recognize that life passes quickly and I want to make my life the magical experience it was intended to be.

The secret to living an extraordinary and magical life is to do more of what matters to you and what you love every day. When you stand fully in your life’s purpose, you call in the life you were meant to live and your life becomes richer and more meaningful.  I’m here to support you on discovering the life you were meant to live. Work with me here.

Japanese Lantern in Japanese Tea Garden

My recent visit to the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park served as a poignant reminder of a culture inherently aware of the power of appreciation and gratitude.

Even in our darkest moments, I believe we always have something in our life to be grateful for. Learn to appreciate everything and make a conscious decision to look for things to be grateful for. When you align yourself to the vibration of gratitude, you open up to the energy of the miraculous and you begin to attract abundance and prosperity into your life.

In addition, by being genuinely grateful for that which you are seeking, you demonstrate your belief and faith that you already have it and this in turn brings it to you, by law of cause and effect. Your gratitude attracts that which you are grateful for.

A simple way to begin noticing and appreciating all of the abundance in your life right now is through keeping a Gratitude Journal. Every day, find five things in your life to be grateful for and record these in your journal. The more abundance and goodness around you that you begin to notice and appreciate, the more abundance and goodness you will attract into your life to notice and appreciate.

Buddha - Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park

I’ve always been drawn to Buddha statues. Buddha is a Sanskrit word that means “awakened one” – someone who has realized enlightenment. We’re living in a time when Mother Earth is transitioning into a higher vibrational frequency and the veil between dimensions is becoming thinner. More and more of us are waking up to the truth of who we really are and why we are here. As the earth shifts into a higher frequency, we are being called upon to look at our lives and make changes as well.

Is there something you need to say “no more” to? Is there a person or job you need to let go of? What have you been tolerating that you’re being called upon to change? Begin by releasing your attachment to the status quo. Make the decision to stop giving away your power, believing you are a victim or feeling like you must accept some situation in your life because you have no other choice. Summon the strength and courage to make the changes you know deep inside you are being called to make, for you are entering into a time in history when the intentions you set forth, whether positive or negative, will manifest more rapidly.  Now more than ever, you will be supported by the Universe in awakening and expressing your unique inner essence.

Are you ready to move forward in awakening to the truth of who you really are and begin living the part you came to play during this very special and exciting time in history?  I’d love to help you align your life gracefully in the direction of your dreams – work with me here.

Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park - San Francisco, CA

I had the exquisite pleasure of spending my afternoon at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park – San Francisco. There is nothing that nurtures and speaks to my soul more than spending time on a sunny, warm day in a garden oasis in nature. It’s when I’m in nature that I’m most connected to my inner essence and I really see and appreciate how truly abundant the Universe is.

Since abundance is the natural state of the Universe, we will always receive what we believe in abundantly. The Universe is always mirroring back to us what we are thinking and feeling in “abundance” – do you like what you see in the mirror?

Remember, you create your reality with your thoughts and feelings, so focus your attention on and feel the essence of what you desire as if it were already happening – this is the most powerful tool you have to begin changing your life right now.

Deer - Gentle Luring to New Adventure

Just as our homes are always speaking to us symbolically through their contents, nature has much to teach us as well.  Last night, on my way home from my hair appointment, I stopped my car to allow four deer to cross the road.  Deer happens to be my animal totem or power animal, so whenever I encounter deer, I always pay close attention as I know their appearance is especially significant for me.

In his book, Animal-Speak, Ted Andrews states, “A deer’s senses are very acute.  Its vision is designed for clarity at a distance. It is especially effective at detecting contrasts and edges in dim light. Its hearing is equally acute.  Anyone who has deer as a totem will find increasing ability to detect subtle movements and appearances.  They will begin to hear what may not be said directly.”  I certainly find this to be true in my life.

When deer shows up in your life, it asks you to be gentle with yourself and others.  It informs you there is going to be a gentle, enticing lure of new adventures, which will lead to many important insights and more than ever, you need to trust your gut.

Since numbers are not coincidental and speak a language of their own, I’m always paying attention to them.  In this instance, I saw four deer.  The number “4″ symbolizes a square and planet earth.  Four is the “builder” of the world and as such, it asks you to act and manifest your intuitive insights into physical reality.

So the message I was being given, through the symbols I encountered in nature, was that I am coming into a time where I will be presented with new adventures or opportunities and rather than look to the outside world for information, I need to check in with that part of me that “knows” – my gut instinct and ACT based on my inner knowing.

Everything is energy, everything is connected and everything has consciousness, so messages are always all around you – in your birth numbers and in your inner and outer environment.

I’d love to help you discover the work you came here to do and align your life gracefully in the direction of your true work by decoding the messages in your birth numbers and in your environment.  Work with me here.

Career Altar

“Where Intention Goes, Energy Flows” has become my mantra ever since I first heard it from Denise Linn, founder of Interior Alignment®, a system that utilizes Feng Shui, space clearing and a very special kind of personal coaching, using your home as a vehicle for personal growth.  Whatever you focus on expands, so having a strong intention focused on a desire, such as discovering the work you came here to do, can manifest that desire into reality.

Since everything we surround ourselves with reflects back to us our thoughts, values, spiritual beliefs, passions and more, it is imperative that we become keenly aware of what our home environment is saying to us 24/7.  I want my home to reflect back my heart’s desires, which include:  love, abundance, beauty, grace, wisdom and the existence of a higher power.  I also want my home to remind me of my purpose here on earth and my dreams.

As a Certified Practitioner of Interior Alignment®, I have learned to use art, artful arrangements and altars to “anchor” my intentions throughout my home.  Pictured above, is my career altar which is located on my dining room sideboard.  In case you’re wondering, everyone who comes to my home sees it, as my dining room is located to the right of my front entrance foyer.  People just presume it’s an artful arrangement.  I’m the only person who needs to know it’s a career altar and that’s how I use it, as I currently don’t host formal dining engagements.  My dining room comprises the majority of the “Career” gua of my home and my career, the work I came here to do, is very important to me, so I love anchoring my career intentions in my home.  I find that when I surround myself with my intentions, they tend to materialize faster.

Since an intention is a thought-form of expectation, it’s important to realize that what you EXPECT in life is far more powerful than what you desire.  Expectations carry with them the power of belief and experience, while desires may be driven by what you hope will happen.  Hands down, your beliefs and expectations will always win over your hopes and desires.  So you must be crystal-clear about what your specific intentions are and then determine if they match your genuine expectations, for you will only be successful in manifesting your intentions if you support them with your beliefs, emotions, actions and deeper expectations.

When you live your life with intention on a daily basis, you naturally become optimistic about the outcome of your intentions.  Just be mindful about sabotaging your results through becoming “attached” to the outcomes you desire.  The more desperate you become about your desires, the more you will push them away.  It’s when you’re able to arrive in that space where you don’t need your specific desires to be happy that your desires will come to you.

Meditation Altar

After seven months, the reconstruction of the lower level of my home, from the severe water and subsequent mold damage that took place last summer, is now complete and I’ve spent the past couple of weeks cleaning up and making my home my sanctuary again.  The last several months have been a very emotional and difficult ride and my torn up home clearly mirrored that.  Through it all, I never lost sight of my need to have a sacred space somewhere in my “mess” and it was in this sacred space, I would summon the courage and strength to move forward on my life’s journey and continue the work I came here to do.