New day

Soul Whispers Rather Than Resolutions

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No Resolutions This year there will be no long list of resolutions which imply that I am somehow “not there” yet, that I will probably forget by February. I let go of the demands of my taskmaster who pushes and worries about what is next and I soften into those softer heart and soul whispers.  I remember those.  The things  that I am most proud of including my move to Los Angeles to pursue acting, writing From Scared to Sacred, studying the Andean healing and shamanic traditions were urgings from that voice that were so strong that I said “Yes” and followed through.  My brain thought they were rather crazy, but I overrode that logical brain and did them anyway and I’m so grateful I did. The logical brain isn’t always my friend My mind thinks it can figure out how to do this thing called life as though life […]

Carol tending fire at Palm Springs retreat

Tending Fires

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Humans have been tending fires for thousands of years as a form of survival. The fire kept us warm, kept predators at bay, gave us  ability to cook. Today most of us are not concerned with keeping fire in the hearth to keep the house warm, we rely on invisible energy sources like electricity and natural gas to keep our homes warm and to cook. But we still like a fireplace or sitting around a campfire.  It is like it hardwired into our DNA to make us feel connected, a place to gather and tell stories. I love to hold fire ceremonies. Tending fire connects me to mysticism and ancestors of the land. I love to watch how each fire accepts the offerings and alchemizes them. Some are consumed immediately some take a while to burn. A couple of weeks ago at our first Live Your Opulence Retreat, we had […]

Woman in turquoise dress dancing in front of heart paiting

I danced with love (poem and painting by Carol Woodliff)

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I danced with love, and it whispered to me,  “Love isn’t an outcome it is a process.” I danced with love. It said I will both hurt you and make you strong.  Love doesn’t make everything okay, but I will give you the courage to keep trying.  Give you the wisdom to know when you tried hard enough.  It is okay to need a timeout but not okay to check out completely. I danced with love, and it said sometimes hiding gives your heart time to recover.  Other times it is just a cop out. I danced with love, and she said, “Will you please look at the ways cut yourself with your words and expectations over and over again?” I danced with love and she said, “perfection isn’t required, compassion is.” I danced with love, and she took me to gentleness.  She walked me among the trees, showed me […]

Honor your Knowing. If it doesn't sit right with your gut, it is not right for you.

Honor Your Knowing

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Twice this week, I was contacted by friends who have received wonky intuitive readings. The information that they received was more like a curse than helpful guidance.  An intuitive should not be telling you are surrounded by dark energy and give you nothing to do to mitigate that, should not predict your death, etc.   Both friends were savvy enough to know that what they got from a psychic didn’t sit right with them.  I am glad I was available when they needed to talk it out to release the feelings that got stirred up from the reading. This is my public service announcement: There are great intuitives who truly help people but if you run into someone like this please stop and reject it immediately and cleanse your energy field.  If you can’t shake it off, please reach out to someone for help. Your gut is linked to your animal […]

Meditator breathing

Meditation on Breathing

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I was awake at 4:30am this morning.  Wide awake.   Those who know my night owl tendencies,  know how odd that is.  Only 4.5 hours sleep and I was ready for the day.   I decided to get up meditate and write.   As I was noticing my breathing,  I heard these instructions. “Breathe in notice how supported you are, Breathe out give thanks.”   Right now, when so many are struggling to breathe–whether from COVID or lung issues or anxiety.   It was powerful to connect and give thanks for my breath.   When I went to the page to write about that experience this is want came out. Breathe in Notice this Breath Is it shallow? Are you rationing life? Are you limiting your support? Breathe in and allow yourself to receive the fullness Pause. Are holding on to what is done? Are you living in fear of where your “next” comes from? Your […]

Rainbow and quote

Bridging Heaven and Earth

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Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed with everything that is going on in the world.   I know I do.   I was journaling today and this is what I wrote. Be the Bridge between Heaven and Earth.  Have compassion for your fears and the courage to rise above them. Plant the seeds of kindness, love, and miracles that this weary world is craving. We often forget that we are the ones responsible for creating heaven on earth.  We can create heaven or hell in our thinking and our actions.  We choose to make our world a little better by being here and being that bridge.  What seeds of heaven do you want to plant today?

"Creativity doesn't wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones." Bruce Garrabrandt

Making room for creativity

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My muse is rather put out with me. I show up at the page after days of procrastinating and I speak to my muse, “Impress me.”  Her reply is  “Not sure, babe.  You have been ignoring me for days. Now you want me to produce on demand. And you want a fully formed idea right off the bat.  You haven’t put in the work.  You have to prove to me you are willing to show up and write even when you don’t feel like it.   I need you to commit.” Facing the blank page and inviting her to show up takes a lot more courage than writing a new online class. Writing the class is easy. It is just organization. I know the material. But the creative storytelling projects feel like I am trying to grab formless desires and put them on the page. “I was going to write a […]

6 Questions for When Energy is Churning

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Are you feeling the energy churn? If you are energy sensitive, you may feel anxious or exhausted when you look at the news.  And sometimes the energy is mixed with changes we want to make in our own lives so we feel like we can’t separate what is ours (family, job issues, health or money issues) from what we are picking up from the world (political unease, environmental concerns, etc.).  I call this feeling the energy churn.  That internal tornado of feelings that stirs up all sorts of thoughts.  “We need to change.  I don’t know what to do!  The world feels unsafe! I don’t want to do this!” It can be so easy to let the energy churn and end up wanting to pull the covers over your head and check out for a while.  I’ve been having more and more days where I have wanted to pull the […]

2020. New Year. New Decade. Thank You. Thank you.

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When I think back to the beginning of 2010, I had no idea how much my life would shift and change in the next 10 years.  Sometimes it is helpful to look back with gratitude for how far we’ve come, what we have survived and say thank to the Divine Universe/God for helping us to make it to another year. At the beginning of 2010, I was working on From Scared to Sacred in a Writer’s Group.  I was a hypnotherapist seeing clients. I was working part-time nights and weekends at the law firm I had worked at since 1989.   In 2010, I submitted my book in something called “the Next Top Spiritual Author Competition.”   Even at the time, I thought that a competition among spiritual authors seemed like an oxymoron.   And it turned out to be a divine plan to connect me with like-minded people around the world.  These […]

Rose quartz heart on stones

Adding Love to 2019

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As we begin the new year, I am challenging myself with two questions designed to remind me to focus on adding love to 2019. After all love is that special sauce, the secret ingredient that makes everything better.  It certainly feels like we all could use some more of it. 1.     How can I demonstrate LOVE to myself? You may say things to yourself that you never would say to other people.  Or you put other people’s needs first and your heart is crying out for some care and concern for you.  Maybe you fell off the healthy eating wagon and you want to get back on without beating yourself up.  Or perhaps you always go for the attainable rather than your big dreams.   What would your loving self say or do for you? Last year I started a practice of saying the Ho’oponopono prayer as a mantra for a […]