I read on a child's tee shirt:  Santa, Let Me Explain.  At first, I laughed, then I realized that I say the same thing:  Spirit, Let Me Explain.  My inner critic judges me unmercifully because it fears Spirit's judgment.

This past month, my inner critic felt out of control because I consciously chose what activities provided me the most joy, rather than scurrying on automatic.  

Inspired Action Step:  My adult believes that Spirit requires no explanation from us.  Are you willingly to be open to the possibility that Spirit loves us unconditionally and invites us to align with our divinity in order to experience joy?

Although, I do not know many of you, I will be holding you in my heart this holiday.  As you celebrate, may you experience unconditional love and inner peace. 

(Thank you for your feedback on the values chart.  I am happy that it assists you in: creating your day and attaining clarity in making decisions.)

It is twelve days before Christmas and I have not put up a tree or decorated the house.  I have been sorting out all month how I want to:  participate this holiday season and celebrate our first-year wedding anniversary on December 25th.

By using the values chart, I realized that the "Xmas stuff" I have done for years does not resonate with me this year, because I am preparing for my own "rebirth."  My focus is on aligning with my Source and giving birth to my ability to love from the depths of my soul.  

My commitment to take action based on my values empowers me to be congruent with what I think, say and do.  I am inspired to move forward by incorporating what provides my life meaning.

As I align with my values, I experience less internal conflict when I say no to others.  Because of my clarity, I attract to my life what is most important to me.   Each morning, I complete my values chart to guide my decision-making process. 

Inspired Action Step:  Are you willingly to utilize the values chart for a week and email me with your insights?  How could using this chart provide you with a peaceful, meaningful holiday season?  Click here for a Values Chart (PDF).

As I connect with Spirit, I begin my day with a vision.  This is an inward journey where I write down what I want to create throughout the day.  I specifically write down and imagine what results and contacts would give me the most joy.

 Throughout the day, my focus is on my vision.  In doing so, I am sending out a clear intention of what I want to manifest.  If I begin to feel discomfort, it is a signal that I have taken an outward journey that is incongruent with my values.  

Inspired Action Step:  How would others benefit from our daily commitment to an inward journey?  Who and what would we attract with our clear intentions?

When IAM Connected to my spiritual source, I lose myself in the moment, feel incredible joy and see clearly all the good that surrounds me.  My point of attraction is the Angel of Joy---an inward journey toward what I value.

 In contrast, we all can  relate to the interesting drama of  the Demon of  Suffering, which is an outward journey towards what others value.  In each journey our desire is connection.  

Inspired Action Step:  If joy is the natural state of your True Nature, how can you consciously move inward when you find yourself taking an outward journey this holiday season?

When I AM Connected to my spiritual source, I can easily offer others and myself unconditional love.  Hence, when I am challenged in loving others and myself, it is a clue that I have disconnected from Spirit.

When I am critical, blaming, or fearful, I notice that I move away from my True Nature.  By recognizing my emotional discomfort, I can then choose to reconnect with my True Self, which is loving, accepting and allowing.

Inspired Action Step:  Preparing for the holidays can be stressful.  Would you be willingly to listen to your emotional discomfort and reconnect to Spirit, rather than making decisions based on obligation or fear?

I am noticing that the more willing I am to be compassionate and loving toward myself ~ especially when I make mistakes ~ the easier it is for me to offer unconditional love and authentic compassion to others.

In the past, no matter how hard I tried, I could not genuinely give to others what I was challenged in giving myself.  I resigned exhausted and resentful from my service-oriented positions, because I kept trying to give to others what I desperately wanted.

 Inspired Action Step:  How could unconditionally loving ourselves affect our health, career, and our well-being?  What practical application could you implement to jump-start your self-love journey?

I had the perception that it was easier for me to be truly compassionate with another's pain rather than my own.  I used to question if I was worthy of being loved.

Then, I had an epiphany.  I believe that Spirit is love and that Spirit created me.  Therefore, I am love!  By embodying this new belief, I aligned with Spirit and began attracting all the good that I had always longed for in my life.

Inspired Action Step:  What if we offered to ourselves the love and compassion that Spirit and our close friends provide us?  How could this radical act affect the quality of love and compassion we offer to others? 

I've noticed that when I stop and listen to my fear, it has wonderful information to share with me that moves me toward my well-being.  I often wonder why I wait so long to embrace my fear, when I receive so many gifts from it.

A special gift that I receive each time I feel and listen to my fear is that I am moved toward loving myself more deeply.  I feel compassion with the part of me that is fearful.

Inspired Action Step:  Become aware of how you relate to a friend or a child who shares that they are afraid?  How does your heart respond? 

I move toward hope, when I make it my top priority to acknowledge and feel my feelings of fear or anger.  These emotions indicate that I am experiencing internal conflict.

An internal conflict between my soul, directing me toward well-being, and my ego, fearing the lost of love from others.  When I fail to address this conflict, it is challenging for me to love myself and be in present time.

Inspired Action Step:   Are you willingly to feel your fear and anger in order to embrace your soul's desire of wellbeing?  

Aaik's bumper sticker reads:  You don't have to believe everything you think.  At first glance I was puzzled by this message.  Now, each time I read it, I align with my Inner Authority and I place all my attention on thoughts that truly support me.

When I become aware of thoughts that do not support my vision, I gently feel the feelings beneath the thought.  Then, I re-focus on my vision and think thoughts that support me in moving closer to joy.

Inspired Action Step:  Fold a sheet of paper in half vertically:  on the left side write down your repetitive thoughts that cause you  frustration and fear?  On the right side, across from each thought, write down a phrase that supports you.

I find this statement challenging:  nothing is more important than my well-being.  Yet, flight attendants instruct parents to place oxygen masks on themselves first before their young children.

When I give myself time to nurture my spirit, I feel joyful.  Then, I can give my attention and appreciation to others from a place of inner peace.

Inspired Action Step:  In what ways can we first nourish ourselves before giving to others?  When our joy seems out of reach, what steps can we take to align with our Inner Authority to reclaim our well-being? 

I feel as if the part of me that knows how to love by allowing has resurrected.  When I was a child, it was my perception that I had to push that part aside in order to feel safe in my environment.

I am noticing that I am more able to focus on solutions rather than on problems when I am in a state of allowing.  Also, I feel empowered as I connect with my Inner Authority for answers rather than deferring to an outside source.

Inspired Action Step:  In the midst of a challenge how can we move toward a state of well-being?  Could we breathe, inquire what we want in the present moment, and take one step toward that desire?

I grew up in a family and religious system, which believed that love was synonymous with control.  It has been an adventure for me to change this core belief.

My journey has been one of pausing and checking in with myself to see if I am expressing love from:  a place of allowing differences or wanting to control another's behavior.

Inspired Action Step:  Could it be that love is about allowing, and that beneath control is fear?  How much allowing and loving can we offer ourselves as we are reminded of 9/11?

I find it fascinating that MY truth continues to change as I change and that MY truth is different from others.  Sometimes, it is challenging for me to allow others to have a truth different than mine. 

Recently, I read an idea in a novel that resonated deeply within me.   Our desire to control and our desire to surrender cause us internal conflict.

Inspired Action Step:  What do we gain by trying to control another's behavior?  Can we experience freedom, if we surrender to our own truth and allow others to have their truth even when it is different from our own?  Write down your discoveries.

How can I share in words our wedding reception experience?  The setting, meal, music and especially the expression of love from our family and friends was AWESOME! 

During the past six months, Spirit has guided Aaik and me in moving out of our familiar in preparation for our celebration.  Because of our willingness to receive the gifts of others, we believe that our soul-full reception is the first of many gifts we will reap in the coming months. 

Inspired Action Step:  How is Spirit guiding you in knowing your truth?  What is you next step in aligning more consistently with True Nature in order to create what you want?

Our wedding reception is in only three days!  I decided to plan our celebration by listening to my soul rather than only with my head.  In doing so, I stepped out of my comfort zone and quickly encountered my terrorized false-self demanding that I maintain the status quo.

These past six months have been an incredible journey of allowing my soul to guide me in every aspect of the reception.  However, I noticed that my ego has been challenged along the way because it loves the familiar.

Inspired Action Step:  If we maintain our focus on our vision, does that give us the strength to move beyond the familiar?  How can the fears of the false-self assist us in reconnecting with our Inner Authority?

I give myself permission to see and heal my shadow, by not taking it personally when I am triggered by another.  Therefore, I am given the opportunity to connect with my True Nature.

How was it to take responsibility for the discrepancies between your desires and the external world?  At times it was challenging for me!  Yet, I felt empowered and authentic when I took the time to process my internal conflict.

For instance, I was angry was my husband's behavior.  My first response was to blame him for triggering my own buried anger.  However, when I paused, breathed, and felt my anger, I became aware of an unmet desire. 

Inspired Action Step:  Can taking responsibility for our feelings, thoughts and actions empower, heal and align us with our Inner Authority?  This week, are you willing to take responsibility for your feelings, thoughts and actions when you are triggered?

Hola friend,

What does a mindful CEO of a corporation do when there is a challenge within her company?  She feels her feelings and asks what this contrast is inviting her to do differently.  She discusses with her advisors and finds a solution.

Because she is human, she may forget to be mindful.  She may feel that the challenge is so big that she focuses  solely on the contrast, and it begins to affect her entire life.  She becomes overwhelmed and blames her subordinates.  How can she get back on tract in connecting with her Inner Authority?    

Action Step:  The next time you get "off tract" and forget that the Universe wants to support you:  breathe mindfully, be compassionate, feel your feelings, ask for support, and brainstorm options, in order to reconnect --in the moment-- with yourself and Spirit.

Hola friend,

Isn't empowering to notice your emotions before you act?  Many times we act from autopilot and then judge ourselves harshly for the decisions we make.  The first step in being the CEO of our life is to act consciously.

The second step is to recognize that are emotions indicate the presence of a deep longing. The last step is to decide how we can validate the yearning that is being shown?   After which, an action could be to write, to talk, to rest, to meditate, to walk, or to dance.    

Action Step:  Explore the different actions you can take when you recognize a deep yearning.  Write in your journal how you can begin to incorporate these steps as you eagerly accept the position of CEO!