Energy shift

Have you ever noticed that you can be tooling along, enjoying your life with everything going great and you wake up one day and you feel totally different? You don’t know why. Nothing has changed, you just feel different. What felt great yesterday, feels annoying today. What brought you joy last week, makes you feel antsy or anxious.

It’s the strangest thing and I don’t know why it happens. I will sometimes sit and think about what could be causing it. Is there some unconscious thing happening? Am I getting sick? Am I having PMS? What the heck happened?

Energy is an amazing thing. It flows and it moves and it gets stuck at times as well. When things are fluid and free moving everything seems great but there are times that energy can get stuck. There can be a myriad of reasons and sometimes it’s helpful to work through it but other times it’s just OK to get the energy moving again and not worry about the why.

Here are a few ways to shift your energy.

Go for a walk- Get the energy moving through your body. Walk with the purpose of being in the moment. Feel how you are feeling as your body moves along the terrain. See the sights around you. How do they make you feel? Does your environment uplift you or does it make you anxious or drain you. Pay attention.

Create a light hearted piece of art- Get out some colors and doodle, smear the paint around and just have fun. Rip out beautiful images from catalogs and magazines and create your own beautiful image. Doodle on it with pens and write uplifting words to yourself. Have fun without any preconceived notions of how it will turn out.

Purge- Take some time alone and write out every thought that is going on in your head The good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Don’t censor yourself. Allow the emotions to flow. Stay in the moment with what is happening and if you notice a judging voice pop up, thank it for its concern and tell it you are perfectly safe and continue to let it all out. When you finish, you can burn the pages and watch them go up in smoke. You will feel lighter.

Practice gratitude- I know this is an old standby but it can’t be forgotten for the way it can shift a mood. Start simple if you can’t find much to be grateful for and see where your energy leads you. Try to feel the emotions that rise up. When you are feeling grateful for your family, spend a moment feeling how that feels in your body, let it grow and expand and fill you up. You will find that each swell in emotion will carry you higher into the next emotion of gratitude and it will grow like a wave that moves through the ocean toward the shore. Ride the wave.

Be present- Sometimes you need to have downtime. You can’t live your whole life in an elated state of mind. There has to be ups and downs. There has to be moments when you are out in the world and then there are times when you pull back within yourself to reflect. It is natural and it is healthy. Stay in the moment and experience it all.

No matter what, be gentle with yourself. Treat yourself as you would a small, sad child. Nurture yourself and be patient. This too will pass.

Friends are My Blessing

One of my greatest desires over the last few years has been to expand my friendships. I have quite a few friends in my area but they are the parents of my childrens' friends and they are wonderful AND they aren't necessarily on the same page with creativity and spirituality...OK, I'll be honest, they aren't even in the book!

I feel so blessed to have my dear friend Carrie that I met while attending the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I can't tell you how much she feels like my long lost sister. She lives in another state but we manage to email every day and talk at least twice a month.

I've also been fortunate enough to gain some great virtual friends that live in other areas of the country. We found each other in the sea of the Internet and I feel like they get me and I get them. It's a gift really.

My newest friend Jill is turning out to be so much more than just a friend. Again, I feel this deep connection with her. We are often on the same page with so many of our thoughts and life situations that it floors me.

We were brought together when we both took Laura Hollick's Soul Art Certification. I find it so funny that we had to go through a woman in Canada to find each other and we only live 45 minutes away! Gotta love synchronicity!

We have been cooking up something that is so special...so sacred, that I can't believe I'm actually a part of it. I feel so honored that we have been able to come together and use our talents to create something that can really change people's lives.

We have been working on a spiritual and quantum level combined with our creativity and playing with soul art to get really clear. We both feel that what we have created was really destined to be and was simply waiting for the right moment. It's actually been gifted to us!

I am so excited about it and have been working hard on bringing it to fruition, as has Jill. We are so close and I just wanted to share my excitement with all of you and let you know that it is coming! I would love it if you would send us your loving energy to help lift us up as we reach the finish line...or more accurately, the new starting line.

Step Into Your Future!

About 10 years ago I was confronted with a critical healing moment in my life. I found myself in my early 30s, a mother of five children, in the hospital wondering if I was going to make it out again. At the time I was completely cut off from my spirituality and creativity and was under a great deal of stress as any mom will understand.

It was in that moment that my life changed forever. Something in me opened up and awakened. Something that I had locked down tight since I was just a little girl was bubbling to the surface.  I knew it was time for healing and that there had to be more to life that I was missing. I had absolutely no idea what that meant or how that could even occur and to be honest, it is only in hindsight that I recognized that awakening. In the moment, it was all still a bit fuzzy.

Serendipitously, I came across an online recording of Brandon Bays talking about the amazing work she does with The Journey and I was immediately hooked. I KNEW this was exactly what I needed so I signed up, purchased my plane ticket to Florida and set off for a weekend of something new.

The whole weekend was amazing. It was tough at times; highly emotional. There were a lot of tears shed and a lot of purging done but there was also so much profound beauty. I was introduced to myself as the soul that lives in this body. I met up with the silence that I never knew was missing but wondered how I lived without. I cleared out emotions I had stuffed and held onto for decades and felt 1,000 pounds lighter. It was completely life changing and only the beginning of a decade of growth and healing.

Now ten years later, I look back at that young mom and I have nothing but gratitude for her. I appreciate who she was and who she was trying to be. My heart opens up to her and thanks her for her strength and her ability to push through and get past the tough times so that I can stand here today.

The thing is, you never know what is in store for you. Just when things are at their worst and you feel like you will never feel better, realize that you may be at the beginning of an incredible journey that will take you places you could have never dreamed of.

It's at those times that trusting can be the hardest thing you could ever do but it's the most powerful. Trusting that you will find your way and that all you need to do is stay open and take the first step and wait to see where it leads. Isn't life beautiful?!

Is Time Passing You By?

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Reprinted from 2009

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Sitting in my office this afternoon I looked out my window at the tree in my front yard. My pumpkin colored wall framed the brilliant orange and red leaves. In the moment that I looked up, my breath was taken away. There was such beauty there with the deep orange and crimson colored leaves. Right here in the middle of the suburbs with the mini vans whizzing by.

The funny thing is that I am sure that tree has been that color for days now and in my rush to get everything done and to be everywhere I need to be, I never “saw” it. It got me thinking about all of the beauty that I’ve been missing as the days speed by in the life of the ever hectic mom.

How many days have gone by where I’ve missed the sparkle of the sun shining through my window for that brief moment in the middle of the day? When was the last time I really listened to the buzzing of the bees as they go about their busy work in my garden? I can’t remember the last time I took time out of my life to just go for a walk in the woods and breathe in the fresh air and admire the beauty of nature.

Then it really hit me. What else had I been missing? The greatest beauty of any mom’s day…the beauty of a child’s smile or their light hearted giggle? Have I truly taken time to savor all of those moments that occur spontaneously throughout the day? Do I give my children single pointed focus when they are speaking to me? Do I genuinely look at them; see them for who they are? How often do I savor my sweet boys, engulf myself in their scent and just be with them in the moment?

I have a 17 year old son who is graduating high school in January. As it seems every wise and “mature” parent will tell you, the time flies by. I can’t believe that he is a young man and no longer wants to cuddle and snuggle with me. I know I have had many beautiful moments with him and all of my boys and I want more. I don’t want to miss them.

As a mom of five boys I am acutely aware of how busy life can be and how much there is to get done in one day. I am deciding today to schedule in cuddle time, snuggle time and lovin’ time with my boys just as I do dentist appointments and grocery shopping. I am committing to practice giving my children my undivided attention. No more reading my email while they are talking to me or doing something else while they are trying to tell me a story.

I invite you to join me in this experiment to see how differently your days play out. I am willing to bet that not only will it bring you joy and happiness but it will affect your children in a powerful way. They will not only feel the love that you have for them but they will be learning how to be in the moment themselves.

As I sat here typing, my youngest son Aidan just came up to me and climbed into my lap. I immediately stopped what I was doing, wrapped my arms around him and began the automatic mommy rock. In that moment, I was overcome with the love that is always available for me but that I don’t always take the time to feel. It brought a tear to my eye. In about 60 seconds it was over. He jumped off and ran off to finish his homework. I looked up at that autumn tree and sent it a wave of gratitude for allowing me to see its beauty and the beauty that is all around me.

Before I started The Creative Healing Studio I actually had another blog that was more nutrition based. I shared recipes, food facts, and health tips on top of my insights and stories about my life and family.

Recently I went back and looked over some of those posts and I decided there were a few good ones I would like to share with my new friends over here.  I will most likely add some original artwork since I wasn't creating back then and only used boring photos I found on the web.

I plan to sprinkle them in here and there and I just wanted to give you a heads up. I hope you enjoy them!

Do you remember when I created my mosaic soul art? I really loved that project. I loved making the healing mosaic mandalas too. There is just something about creating art with healing and positive affirmations that lights me up!

 I originally made 9 of them and I have 5 left. I've put two of them up in my Etsy shop if you are interested. Check out the affirmations and see if they resonate with you.

Resting the Body, Mind, & Spirit

I sometimes wish I was the kind of person who gets reflective and deep when I get sick. You know, writing poetry, creating masterpieces, or even just journaling. But no, I'm the kind of girl who veges out on the couch and watches TV. I feel like I could get so much accomplished if I only could focus on my art or my writing while I lounge around on the sofa.

But then I think that I sometimes need a break too. I'm always thinking, learning, reading, creating, writing, talking, helping, or doing. I guess when my body needs a break the mind needs one too.

On top of that, I spend a part of everyday being reflective and diving deep into my own healing and growth so what the heck, another reason to rest the mind and soul.

So you might have guessed that I've been a bit under the weather the past few weeks. Let me tell you, it was a doozy! Three plus weeks sitting on the couch has caught me up on all the shows in my DVR from the whole season and then some.

I'm so glad to feel the creative urge alive inside me again. I've just been playing around a bit and I've been working out some new techniques that I'm super psyched about. I guess I'm just getting back in the groove again.

I'm looking forward to connecting with all you wonderful people here in the bloggy world again. I've missed all of you! I'm curious, what do you do when you're sick. Maybe you can give me some  pointers.