The best part of waking up

Stop and smell coffeeWishing you all a wonderful Wednesday!

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Lit From Within interview

Inspired Mama ProjectI’d like to share with you my interview, which appeared as part of Day 7 of the Lit From Within e-course.  You can sign up anytime to receive the emails here.Interview1Interview2Interview3Interview4Interview5Interview6

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Soulful home: spaciousness and giving (June prompt)

Mirror and quote_soulful homeI am far from a minimalist and I really do derive great comfort from my home and my belongings.  Creating a home, to me, is all about being surrounded by things that are meaningful and beautiful to the people who live there.

There comes a point, however, when things can outlast their usefulness or meaning. I’ve done sweeps through the house more and more often lately, sometimes in anger at all the clutter, and I end up donating or giving items to people who can use them more than we can.  Freecycle is great for finding  someone local who might love to have that half-full bottle of expensive shampoo your daughter is sure doesn’t smell good on you (ahem).  Animal shelters need blankets and towels.  There are many places that take old eyeglasses and distribute them to people in developing countries.

The goal for this month is to clear some part of your home and reclaim a feeling of spaciousness – the ability to let your eyes rest on empty space.  Calm.  Empty and serene.

It’s about clutter but it’s also about our time.  We can spend a lot of time on our little knickknacks.  Have you ever thought about how much time you spend moving items around, dusting them, thinking about them? I am way too busy to waste even a few seconds on the same little thing week after week.  Being disorganized or having a lot of physical clutter really does affect your ability to get things done.  Which of your things are you willing to spend time on and which are you not? Walk through a room with a box and fill it with all the stuff you don’t use or care about anymore.  No judgements allowed, but do imagine how great you will feel afterwards.

* * * * *

An opportunity to pare down came up this past month when a missionary family was being sent to Houston from South Sudan.  Long story short, they left in great haste with only the clothes on their back and were in need of everything that goes into making a new home.

My daughter would have an absolute melt down if she saw that I gave away some of her old toys, but the playroom was getting a bit ridiculous.  It’s shocking to me that we can live in such (relative) luxury when there are kids who would love to have even one doll.  We haven’t used/played with these items in ages so I felt great giving them to people who will get lots of enjoyment from them.

Donations for house

In addition to toys, I gave the family my extra pots and pans, shelves, shampoo, pillows, picture frames – all things not being used by us and taking up space.  Now my daughter’s playroom feels lovely to spend time in and she can better see what she has to play with.

Here are some photos of the rental house:

Rental house

I was imagining this family with three young kids coming to this house that a church has rented for them, being unfamiliar with the city, the people, and their surroundings.  How scary! They do challenging work, dedicating their lives to making the world better.  I wanted to help make their new surroundings home-like for them.

Kitchen photos

I also wanted to show my daughter how fortunate she is.  So I took her over to the house to help me hang some of my photography prints on the bare walls.  Big mistake. She usually doesn’t notice when something is missing if it disappears when she’s not around. This time, my daughter 1) noticed that they have the same doll houses that she has (ahem), among other things and 2) has asked me so many times where her doll houses are and I had evaded the question an equal number of times that I chose to secretly buy her a new one… exactly the same one she had and really didn’t play with before.  (It wasn’t right for me to decide to give it away without asking her, and I didn’t want to suffer the effects of her anger.) This story has a happy ending: now she plays with her doll house every single day, imagining scenarios for the little family inside and making play dough food for them.

photo

* * * * *

Remember, as long as we cling to old stuff we don’t have the space for new stuff, whether experiences or belongings or energy.  🙂

* * * * *

Please let us all know in the comments what you’re up to this month!  Have fun with it.  🙂

If you have ideas for other monthly prompts in the Soulful Home series, I’m all ears.

Previous Soulful Home prompts

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Quiet contentment: a photo-heart connection post

It’s time for another Photo-Heart Connection! Haven’t done it before? You can learn more about how to find your Photo-Heart Connection here.  Kat talks about “making a commitment to connect art with heart” and invites anyone and everyone to add photography or artwork to the monthly connections.

 

Agap being_bf206

Floating bees sipping from springtime blooms

The sound of water returning to itself

Yellow flowers peeking through stone

Heart-shaped leaves dancing with the breeze

Softly melodic bird chit-chat

An airplane’s deep engine overhead

Reflections of light bounding from glass windchimes

Uneven blades of stretching grass

Castles of clouds drifting overhead

Sweet feline nap time

I’m wrapped in an ever-changing peaceful energy of life unfolding around me.

 

Read other bloggers’ PHC May posts.

 

Posted in Mindfulness, Photo-Heart Connection | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Living soulfully (and a special offer for you)

Sunset kk_cherishI am living from a joyful, intuitive place these days.  Well, I am when I remember to! When I slow down and tune in to my soul, everything becomes more magnificent and I become engaged in life for completely different reasons.

The main thing I have learned in this process, and it is a process that is continually unfolding, is that my soul’s agenda has nothing to do with what I thought my life was about.  Living as an expression of our divine nature raises us up to live with intention and with compassion and love.  We can’t help but find an aspect of divinity in our every experience.

You can live from this place no matter what you fill your days with.  Being a bellhop or a lawyer has nothing to do with how you express your YOU-ness.  When you live from the agenda of the soul, other things fall into place (marriage, friendships, parenting, finances).  I am only beginning to discover the magic of that last sentence for myself.

I can tell you that living with less judgement and more intuition, compassion, and love has helped me know who I am on an entirely different level, a more conscious level.  I will tell you more soon, but for now, I want to tell you about an opportunity to be part of a brand new community opening soon.

Come Join the Soulful Life Sanctuary!

The reason I joined the Soulful Life Sanctuary is because 1) I love everything about Jodi and what she brings to the world, 2) I am already connecting and sharing with like-minded and loving people in her Soul Shakers community, and this is an amplified version of that, 3) there are so many goodies and resources in the sanctuary about living a soulful life, and 4) unlimited access to a dozen sacred spaces (led by experts in Spirituality, Wellness, Abundance, Soulful Parenting, Self-Love and Relationships, and other areas), as well as courses, community forums, membership pages, blogs, a shop of soulful products/services, and so much more.

It’s a space where you can be your true, authentic self, be supported, and simply BE! Created by my friend, Jodi Chapman (author of the inspirational blog, Soul Speak, and the popular Beliefnet column, Heart of the Soul), the Sanctuary is packed with soulful goodies.

Jodi says:

“I created the sanctuary for a few reasons: to give each of us a sacred community where our hearts could share openly and expand with others who are on a similar journey, to create a loving space where we could slow down from all of the DOing and simply BE, and to bring together soulful tools to help each of us along our journey.

“I have found in my own life that it’s sometimes easier to disconnect from our true voice – our soul, our purpose, the deeper meaning of life – than it is to stay connected. Life gets so busy, we’re all driven by our to-do lists, and DOing sometimes seems to be given more priority than BEing.

“It’s my intention that the Soulful Life Sanctuary will be a space for all of us to go when we’re ready to reconnect with our soul, connect with each other from an authentic space, and breathe a collective exhale.” 

I love the authenticity that Jodi brings to her work and the communities that she has already created, and I have no doubt that this new dream of hers will be well worth it. I hope you’ll join me there if you feel it’s right for you.  The Sanctuary doors open on July 1, but you can sign up right now and receive an earlybird discount of $100 (until June 30) + over $2000 in bonus gifts (to the first 50 members)!

Please click here to learn more and find out how you can begin your Soulful Life Sanctuary membership today!

Thanks for reading.  If you may be interested in joining this loving community, read on…

Come Join the Soulful Life Sanctuary!The Sanctuary doors open on July 1, but you can sign up right now and receive an earlybird discount of $100 (until June 30) + over $2000 in bonus gifts (to the first 50 members)!

Here’s a taste of what’s included:

  • Unlimited Sanctuary Access for 12 Months + Discounted Price for Life! – You’ll be able to pick and choose from a huge “buffet” of soulful offerings—from ecourses and live classes to blogs and forums…and so much more! Plus, you’ll be grandfathered in at the super-low earlybird price for as long as you stay a member, regardless of future price increases!
  • Sacred Spaces and Soul Guides – Over a dozen virtual “rooms” focused on soulful topics such as Spirituality, Wellness, Abundance, Soulful Parenting, Self Love and Relationships, and much more—led by 12 Soul Guides, experts in each area.
  • E-courses – You’ll have instant access to ALL of Jodi’s e-courses—including her popular “Coming Back to Life” course and many others (nine available immediately, with at least three more being added within the year)—on topics including soulful journaling, relationships, soulful business tips, gratitude, manifestation, daily spiritual practice, and much more!
  • Live and Archived Classes – You’ll get free access to online classes on a wide variety of topics—ranging from intuition and psychic readings to life coaching and nutrition. You can attend live or through an archive, which you can access at any time during your membership. You can even apply to teach your own class!
  • Private Facebook Community – As a member, you’ll have access to the sanctuary’s private Facebook community, which is a safe space for you to connect with the other members and also Jodi and the Soul Guides.
  • Your Own Personalized Page – You’ll be able to create a personal page where you can upload photos, share about yourself, see your latest activities, and read and respond to comments that other members have left for you.
  • Soulful Blogs – As a Sanctuary member, you can share your soulful wisdom through your blog, and you can also be inspired by reading others’ blogs! It’s a great way for us to connect and learn from each other.
  • Sanctuary Shop – You’ll have access to a wide variety of soulful gifts and services—all from Sanctuary members. You can also apply to have your products/services listed in the shop, where you’ll be able to reach thousands with your own soulful offerings!
  • Optional Monthly Skype Sessions and Facebook Parties – As a Sanctuary Member, you’ll also have the option to be part of the Soul Shakers’ community, which includes monthly Skype sessions (in groups of 9 or fewer), as well as a private forum where we can connect even deeper and support each other in reaching our dreams authentically and soulfully!

…and so much more, including almost $2000 in Bonus Gifts to the first 50 people to register!

More than anything else, though, the Soulful Life Sanctuary is a sacred space where you can slow down, listen to your soul’s whispers, and connect with that deepest part of yourself…and others! It’s a place where you can reconnect with that beautiful light that shines within you…and share it with the world. It’s a place where you can come home…to your true self.

 

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May OLW: “I am…”

OLW May.49 AMThis month Ali invited us to do two things: (1) get messy with some artsy little cards and (2) respond to the prompt, “I am.” I made the background with my gelli plate and some paper scraps, cut it into 9 cards, and added the words in Photoshop.  Works for me!

I am collage

How would you complete the sentence, “I am…?”

If you’re interested, you can read previous One Little Word posts here. Thanks, as always, for being here.

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