photo credit: Wagman_30

I love when my words find their way back to me.  This I wrote for a group of fabulous women last year. One of them thought I might enjoy my own wisdom.

Although we have been made to believe that if we let go we will end up with nothing, life reveals just the opposite: that letting go is the real path to freedom. Sogyal Rinpoche

This quote can refer to the clutter in our homes.
Or anything that doesn’t support us. But it’s more than that.
As we look around, Nature is in a constant state of releasing…
rain from clouds, leaves from trees, baby from mother.
As we release with love, we honour the natural unfolding of life. 
As you breathe in this day, celebrate releasing with love.
Release your grip on the past.
(It’s done.)
Release loved ones to travel their own path.
(They’ll be okay.)
Release yourself from chains of lack or societal molds.
(They aren’t real.)
Most important, my Goddess family, release the Divine in you…
give your Self the freedom to dance, the voice to sing,
the heart to love and the eyes to see newly.

photo credit: .sw_in_shift

It is the last day of the first month of a new year. 

I vowed to do this year differently. And I am. I vowed to know and feel my God up close and personal again. And I am. Out of survival at first, but now out of deep desire.

I’ve entered my busy season for consulting work. I’ve set other things aside for now. I love the simplicity of focus. For once, I don’t feel the push-pull syndrome I battled last year. My days flow easier and my nights more peaceful.  

Are we trying to be and do too much? We’ve been taught we can be, do and have anything we want. This is true. What I’ve experienced is that we can also drown in our longings for it all. So much to do, not enough time, less and less enjoyment out of each thing added to the plate, even though they are all things and people and activities we love individually.

The collective has to flow with ease too. That’s where I’ve stumbled. We can have it all… just maybe not at the same time. At least for me, not all right now.

I have fleeting moments of fear that what I let go of will never return. Perhaps that’s true, in which case its time has come and gone. We do not control Nature’s divine timing. Nor do we want to. 

My New Year’s resolution wasn’t a goal… but a direction.

Be more and more Paula.
Come more and more home.

I’m thrilled I’m finding my way.

A client of mine used those exact words in a conversation yesterday to describe his views on the markets.

I said to him, “You realize the qualifier (cautiously) speaks louder than your optimism?”

And he said, “In this market, you have to be.”

To which I replied, “Maybe… or maybe those people/companies who ditch the caution and just go for optimism will see opportunities the cautious folks can’t.”

Hmmm… I left him thinking.

photo credit: _neona_

photo credit: WTL photos

I’m so excited to begin 2009. Can you feel it? Newness is upon us. And somehow it feels new. From my fabulous new calendar:

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential. - Ellen Goodman

And from my Barbara Bizou newsletter:

The first time you enter your home after midnight on the New Year, throw coins into your house or apartment. Step in with your right foot and bless each coin with the resources that you want to bring in for the year….don’t forget health and joy! Keep the money for 24 hours and then give it away to charity.

It is said that if you wear new red underwear on January 1st you will bring in love for the year. Some cultures eat 12 grapes and other lentils to set intention for prosperity and health.

My first spiritual teacher Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov told me that the first 12 days of the year represent the whole year. January 1st stands for the month of January, January 2nd stands for February and so on.  By practicing loving kindness, openness, and generosity while giving thoughtful attention to the significance of each day, you will consecrate the coming year.

So today January 1st, I hold in mind and heart, the month of January — all that I can imagine for this month… the best possible outcomes my mind can paint… and then I ask Spirit to WOW me more. For it is the magic I can’t see (but can feel with excitement), I most adore! I can’t wait for Hanna to wake up so we can bless each room and throw coins! She’s gonna love that!

May you begin this year newly, letting 2008 rest. May you connect in your heart to all that you adore. May you step forward into every room of your life and see potential, see love, see joy, see prosperity, see you.

Happy New Year!
With Love,
Paula

You are safe in this moment.
Right now, your path is perfect.
Tomorrow? A thousand breaths away.
The heart cannot pump tomorrow’s blood today.

Stay with the flow of this moment.
Be present. This scenery is yours.
Tomorrow you’ll paint a new picture.
A thousand breaths away.

photo credit: maziar hooshmand

photo credit: AHMED…

If this was your last breath, what words would you share?
If this was your first breath, what words would you form?

photo credit: EJP Photo

For all the times I have not listened,
I forgive.
For every truth shunned aside,
I forgive.
For pushing beyond my body’s advice,
I forgive.
For each second I didn’t embrace love,
I forgive.
For those wretched words I whispered unto myself or others,
I forgive.
For any breath not celebrated and honoured,
I forgive.

I forgive, I forgive, I forgive.
With gentle, tender love, I forgive.

Your truth is safe to speak… set it free.
Whatever words are lodged in your throat, release them.
Bring your heart into every vibration.
Just please don’t sing in silence.
Your voice — your truth — I’ll gladly hear.

photo credit: peasap

On this day of U.S. Thanksgiving, look up close at everything in your life.  What do you see? Not just through your eyes, but through your heart. Do you see perfection at play? Today I do.

How much are we missing because we’re too far away from the NOW or looking through a lense that’s out of focus? What would you see if you zoomed that lense in? I mean REALLY CLOSE. You might be surprised!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. friends!

Beyond chattering minds,
the dawn of a new day.
Today focus on what feels
right in your body.

Go on, reach out and
bring that delicious sun
into your belly.

photo credit: Michele Catania