Category: Gratitude

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Sunsets, Butterflies and Snake Skins

As I drove home from Montreal last evening, it was hard not to be in awe. A crest of a new moon loomed on the horizon, so large that I felt if I simply reached for it I would be able to touch it. The sky to the west shifted from yellow to orange to pink and purple over the span of just a few minutes. As I drove over the Isle Eaux Tourtes, Lake of Two Mountains caught on fire with the reflected colours of the setting sun. I found myself thinking, “How could I forget how beautiful this all is?” It was breath taking and breath giving all in one moment.

It is easy to get caught up in the everyday activities of living. I am guilty of this, occupied with the daily tasks of running a business or simply caught up in life. When I am called back to what is right in front of me, when I allow myself to take in the beauty that surrounds me, I find myself diving into amazing gratitude for the abundance surrounding me. I remember how lucky I am to live where I live, in the country I live in, a country free of the turmoil that occupies the psyches of most of the countries in the world.

It seems like there’s no balance, at least in the way the world is presented to us by the powers at be. Faced with a choice of being in the beauty of this amazing evening or drawn into the busy-ness of life. In this moment I decided to choose beauty. It was simply a SIGN to fuel my soul with something more meaningful than the everyday.

It has been a season of SIGNS. Have you noticed the butterflies? Often mistaken for monarchs, the butterflies descending upon us this year are red admirals who arrived in huge numbers due to the early spring and ongoing summer conditions. From Windsor Ontario to the Nova Scotia border, clouds of them have settled into country meadows. In 12 years of country living I have never experienced such an abundance of winged beauty. Butterfly brings with it the message of metamorphosis, change. Given the predictions for this year 2012 and the ‘spiritual revolution’ underway, I have to wonder if this extraordinary explosion of butterflies is a significant SIGN.

And what about snake skins? We found a skin in one of our trees the other morning as we walked the labyrinth. Evidently the tree branches aided the snake in shedding the old layer and left the remnants of his old life behind. Snake crossing your path is about death and re-birth, the shedding of old skins and releasing what no longer serves you. I am wondering about my new skin and what I am about to step into.

Sunsets, butterflies and snake skins – all SIGNS? It would seem so. You could say it’s just what I noticed along the way, and this would be true. And isn’t that what SIGNS are anyway – messages, hidden meanings, or little pokes in the side asking if you are paying attention to your life. You can certainly choose to think that they are just random happenings and yet, when they catch your attention, you are left to ponder the meaning.

Reality – you can make something out of nothing and I choose too. I believe life is full of messages, some subtle, some screaming in your ear. Likewise I believe SIGNS are easy to ignore as it is so easy to pass that by But what if….

 

Set an Intention – Pay Attention – Be in No Tension

It may be time for all of us to be more alert. In our coaching we always teach that after setting an INTENTION, pay ATTENTION as there may be a SIGN in the wings letting you know that what you desire is happening. It’s time to be curious and to be present with what life is offering us. I hope to see you out there SIGN Spotting along with me!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Postive News

One of the things I admire about the Local Seeker,   and one of the reasons I write for the paper is that the focus is on Positive News. It has long been a dream of mine that one day there would be a newspaper, TV or radio station where all you can find is the things that are right with the world. You will notice that this is not the focus of most media as finding the negative and then digging until whatever the wound is bleeds, is the preferred approach to the news. Honestly – YUCH!

Is it truth? Hardly! It is perception and in case you have forgotten, perception is not reality – it is simply the reality of whoever is reporting on the situation. We all have a ‘different take’ on how events unfold. And yet, for some indescribable reason we believe what we read. It’s not to suggest that what is reported is wrong, it is simply wise for each of us to read and watch with a level of discernment and understanding that all is not exactly as it is portrayed to be.

Back to celebrating positive news, the same principle applies to your life. At the end of the day, you tend to remember the things that went wrong in a day rather than enumerating all the things that went right. If you actually begin form the moment you arose and recorded all the good things, then all the ‘bad’, you would probably discover that the good far outweighs the bad. As Rick Hansen in his book Buddha’s Brain wrote, negative thoughts tend to stick to us like Velcro whereas positive ones are like Teflon, they simply side on by.

It takes focus to bring the positive into your life and consciousness to make it stick. The world is not inherently a bad place and I am completely convinced that on any given day in the world, the bad things that happen are like a small black dot on a white sheet of paper. All the white space is filled with the many acts of kindness, good deeds and amazing acts of humanity that go, for the most part, unnoticed and under reported.

As human beings we need to be inspired and fed a diet of positive news. Otherwise we become pessimists, our glasses held empty. You get to choose what you fill your days with, who you spend your time with, what you read and what you view on TV or the internet. Consider a media diet! Set an intention that you will attract only stories that inspire you and begin to turn away from anything that makes you feel less than joyful. How would that influence your days, impact your happiness and perhaps even influence your relationships? When you feel better your energy field shifts and others around you have a different experience of who you are.

Speaking of positive news, we invite you, our readers to join us either Tuesday, August 28th or Wednesday, August 29th for a day of positivity and well-being. On these days we will be filming the roadSIGNS TV Show at the Church on Sydney. This is the third season of the program filmed by TV Cogeco and we will be featuring a number of guests speaking on topics including the Body-Mind-Spirit connection as well as themes from Positive Psychology – understanding what helps people flourish. The Seeker Chicks are part of the program! We have 25 spots available for audience members so if you are interested and want to join in for a day that will feed your soul, let us know. You do need to reserve a spot so e-mail us at info@roadSIGNS.ca or phone at 613-874-9934.

Life is a series of choices you get to make every day. Take a little inventory and ask yourself, what is in your life today that feeds your soul and spirit in a positive way? What relationships do you have that build you up? What choices do you make regarding the media in your life?

I encourage you to reach for those things that make you feel good about yourself, about life and about the world you live in. Remember that what you focus on expands. Imagine that if we all, you and I, focused on what is right in the world, what might happen.

Yee-Haw! I can see it now!

Abundantly Yours,

Betty

Posted on by — Leave a comment

In Spirit

This has been a ‘spirit guided’ journey, one which began in 2000 just prior to our move to South Glengarry. In June of that year Jim and I attended a retreat called “Take Your Soul to Work”, a gift we gave to one another in celebration of our 27th anniversary. During one of several meditations we experienced, Jim received a message that he was to build a labyrinth. This was very exciting except that, he did not know what a labyrinth was and had little understanding of its purpose or its history.

The journey continued. Jim researched the topic. He learned that a labyrinth is a ‘unicursal’ maze, meaning there is only one way in and one way out. Labyrinths date back to the beginnings of humankind and can be found in almost all cultures around the world. The ancient Greeks wrote about them in their myths. Some of the great cathedrals of the world have them imprinted in the floor, for example the Chartres Cathedral in France. Aboriginal peoples such as the Hopi used them for ceremony.

Today, labyrinths are experiencing resurgence around the world, as a symbol of peace, for walking meditation, to build community and more. The ancient has found its way back to the present.

Prayer Flags in the Fairy Garden

Returning to Jim’s vision, once he learned more about what he was being asked to create, the next step was to identify a labyrinth pattern. There are many traditional patterns and the first winter at TighShee (the name of our home and property) we built the complicated Chartres pattern in the snow. It was clear that this was not perfect and far too intricate for us.

The following summer, as the exploration continued, a labyrinth pattern came to me in a meditation (this meditation stuff is powerful!). I drew it out and offered it to Jim. It was clearly atypical, totally unlike any labyrinth pattern Jim had seen in his research. The following winter, we tried again, this time building the new pattern in the snow. Intuitively we knew this was perfect. On June 8th 2002 building began and over the next week the labyrinth was built.

What emerged after that has been an intuitive experience in which the surrounding gardens took form. As novices, we had a lot to learn about plants and creating gardens. Most of the design was left to Jim and as he tapped into the earth energies, a series of gardens emerged around the labyrinth and the many trees that are found on the property. The effect is rather magical as there are no corners, only curves. Plant choice was left to me and there have been a few plant mistakes along the way – all part of understanding light and shade, soil composition and simply said, energy.

Irises

On the event of the 10th anniversary, 40 people joined us to walk. There have been many magical moments here at TighShee (House of Peace) and clearly this was one of them. With friends we have known for 20 years or more and friends who we met for the first time that day, we felt blessed. The blank canvas we were gifted when we purchased the property 12 years ago has come alive, not only with the gardens and the labyrinth, but with the community that is emerging as a result.

Dreams do come true. When dreams are founded on intention, the desire to be of service and create a space where visitors realize that they are allowed to simply be who they are, the result is community. In the last ten years, we have hosted twenty or more labyrinth walks. Each one is unique. Sometimes there are five people and sometimes forty. We always know that whoever attends are the perfect people to be there and we never question what happens.

This last event however, was undoubtedly the most special of the events, with drummers and singers and plenty of celebration. It was one of those moments when folks come together and connect ‘in spirit’,  and this, in my experience, is the most powerful connection of all.

Abundantly Yours,

Betty

Posted on by — Leave a comment

When Spirit Speaks

I am sitting in my friend Betty Jones’ house, propped up in bed. As I glance out the window to my right the Great Smokey mountains fall away in layers, shades of grey with the early morning fog lingering in the valleys, the fog that gives this sacred place its name. We have been here for two days visiting friends. Each time I return here I feel a deeper connection. There is a sacredness here, an ancient history, a sense that spirit and spirits reside here, a place to clear your head and be open to receive. Yesterday, as we trekked into the mountains following Betty’s lead, we traced through mountain meadows lined with flowers, took in water falls, smelled the forest floor, and imagined how the landscape will change which each new season and each new bloom.

Along the path, when you allow it, spirit speaks to you. The events of the world are not evident here. All sound reflects nature and nature only; it speaks of peace and beauty and perhaps most importantly, it speaks of what is truly important – the earth. I am reminded how important it is to be in places such of this, away from the frenetic pace each of us gets caught up in and the illusion of what seems to be important. Very little of it is and I believe that if I could convince each person to simply stop, breathe, and really communicate with Mother Earth, we would remember why we came here in the first place.

At then end of our day, back home, the rains came followed by the late afternoon light and that magical event – a rainbow. This for me is the ultimate SIGN for hope, and peace, and love, and yes the gold that lies at the end. Let us mine this gold and remember, today and everyday, the important of what is right before us. Let us remember what we are here to do and who we are called to be. Let us listen to the media and what the pundants tell us with great scepticism for this is not the truth of the world.

From my philosophical space of spirit this morning, I send you this invitation and ask you to be more conscious of what surrounds you and to create space to communicate with spirit, as you know it, every day. Let this be your guide. We have entered an important era in the evolution of humanity, birthing a new way for each of us to BE in the world.

Until next time,

Betty

Posted on by — Leave a comment

What House Will YOU Live In?

“If you don’t look after your body, what house are you going to live in?” I am coiled up in a pretzel like yoga pose as our instructor cites this quote from some unknown author. At that moment it wasn’t clear to me if I was actually being kind and taking care of my body – my hamstrings were screaming too loud! Despite this, and five yoga classes later, I am appreciating the slight advance in my flexibility and a greater sense of well-being.

Back to the quote – it keeps rolling around in my head and I have found myself musing more and more about ‘my house’. Mostly I have been realizing how, over the last 60 years, I have really not appreciated my body, and have certainly not treated it like my house. If my body could only talk, what stories it would tell! I have abused it with unhealthy choices. I have criticized it for not being perfect – too fat, too round, too flat chested, too….

Rarely have I stopped to appreciate the appendages that fall from my pelvis nor have I thanked these sturdy legs of mine for standing with me through thick and thin, for walking me through difficulties and triumphs, and for supporting me wherever I go. Rarely have I acknowledged my arms and hands for giving and receiving hugs, for assisting me as I reach for what I want and pushing away what I don’t, or for simply allowing me to wash my face, brush my teeth and comb my hair.

I have not consciously thanked my heart for pumping life giving blood through my arteries and veins every moment of every day. Nor have I expressed gratitude to my lungs for ‘prana’, the breath of life. Then there is my brain which serves as computer central for everything I do, feel and think – how neglectful have I been of her as she helps me navigate the complexity of everyday living?

Isn’t it time to step up and to become consciously aware of the gift our bodies are? Although your body, like mine, may not be absolutely ‘perfect’ (at least in our eyes), it is still pretty darn amazing.

The day I turned 60, I stood in front of a full length mirror and spoke to the reflection, “This is what 60 looks like”. After years of war with my physical form I had finally made peace. My only regret is that it took me 6 decades to get there. How much time I had wasted trying to be more perfect in one way or another? What a waste of time and energy this was.

I like the peaceful place I have now landed in. I am filled with gratitude for my skin, bones, flesh and fat and every molecule that completes my physical form.

Thanks to my yoga instructor, I was pulled back and offered yet again another reminder to love, honor and cherish me and in doing so, to take care of my body. Yoga is new to me and I think it will be staying around for a while as it is teaching me a new relationship with my house.

What about you – will you join me and identify one thing you can do for you that honors the house you live in. It doesn’t have to be yoga; it can be as simple as stopping from time to time, taking a deep breath and on the exhale expressing appreciation to your body. It is really not a stretch. It starts with closing your eyes and saying to your body “Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for your endurance, for your support and for housing my spirit”.

By the way, if you do not appreciate you and if you do not look after YOU, who will?

Until next time…

Betty

Posted on by — Leave a comment

From Comfort to Courage

During the taping of the roadSIGNS TV Show for Cogeco Cornwall yesterday, a wonderful question arrived. Here it is:

What would it take for you to step out of your Comfort Zone and into your Courage Zone?

I love it when one of my clients, or in this case a member of our studio audience, asks one of those great questions. This is what keeps me on my toes and keeps me learning as well.

Yesterday we were filming a series of shows called Living in GRACE, GRACE being an acronym for Gratitude, Respect, Acknowledgment, Courage and Enthusiasm. As you can imagine this specific question came up during the conversation on Courage.

Courage shows up in so many ways everyday. Example:

  • the courage to choose something different or new , something outside your comfort zone
  • the courage to be curiosity and play in the land of what if…
  • the courage to set boundaries for yourself and say NO to others when you need to say YES to you
  • the courage to confront fears you have or those limiting beliefs that hold you in your comfort zone
  • the courage to stay the course once you have stepped onto it.

The great opportunity before each of us is to step out in courage and see what the world look like on the other side of our comfort zone. I had no idea what it would be like to have a TV Show. My curiosity went to the what if… and the rest is history. Do I get nervous. Darn right! It feels a little scary to be putting yourself out there, whether that is writing a new book, speaking to an audience or hosting a TV Show. Courage is required every time you make a new choice and that’s where excitement, enthusiasm and enjoyment live as well.

Are you ready to leave comfort behind for courage?

Let me know.

We will be launching the ME FIRST Playbook later this month, a fun and funky companion book to ME FIRST – If I Should Wake before I Die. You can pre-order at http://www.roadsigns.ca/products.html   or join us on Sunday, October 16th at the Cornwall Public Library, 1 PM for the official book launch.

Until next time…

Betty

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Amity Farm

About an hour outside New York City, in the Hudson Highlands, you will find a community called Warwick. Like most of the communities in that part of New York State, the homes are sprawling century old properties which speak of old wealth. The surrounding area is hilly and pastoral. Horse ranches and mixed farming abounds.

A few minutes out of Warwick, you will find Amity Farm, a training facility for budding equestrians (www.amityequestrianenterprizes.com) . It is Amity Farm that attracted us to Warwick, specifically two young ladies, Corey and Christine, who own and operate the business.

Amity Farm is more than an equestrian business however. It is a place for self-discovery through our relationship with horses. Jim, myself and our artist colleague, Tracy, were invited to participate in a day long program facilitated by Corey and Christine which offered participants a unique opportunity to discover more about themselves through horse companions.

Although I am not an expert on horses, this is what I learned that day. Fundamentally horses are no-nonsense kinds of beings. In other words, they get you. They know if you are calm or frazzled, honest or deceitful, grounded or scattered and they respond to you accordingly. They connect with you from the inside out. They will not be bullied or pushed around by you. The only way to really communicate with them is to be truly centered and sure of yourself.

Throughout the day at Amity Farm, we experienced a number of activities with our horse companions which truly did hold up the mirror. Those of us who participated were forced to see ourselves with new eyes, to understand that true leadership comes from deep within and connecting with others rather than be forceful and pushy. We learned about personal boundaries and how easily we allow these to blur when they are challenged.

As for my personal experience, following the workshop I had my first lesson in horsemanship with Corey coaching me through mounting and riding a horse. For some of you that may not be significant but as this was a new experience for me I had some initial trepidation. ROM, the largest of all the horses we played with that day, was my mount – he was very patient with me. Once in the saddle (and this was the greatest challenge for me) Corey gently coached me to get centered, both with my breath and my posture.

Corey, who calls this program “Ride Your Life”, stresses the importance of sitting in your own power. You can only communicate fully with the horse when you know who you are and sit confidently in that place. This is personal power, the ability to see yourself through the eyes of truth, knowing your strengths, gifts and talents and acknowledging them with gratitude. Through their intuition, horses know this about you. I guess that’s what they mean by horse sense.

I share this experience with you, as I am learning that there are many ways in which to discover the truth of who we are and how we play in the world. It had never occurred to me that I could learn anything from a horse, but then, until recently, I did not hang out with horses. This may have to change.

 

Until Next Time…

 

Betty

Posted on by — Leave a comment

CATCHING MY BREATH

I AM ON VACATION!  It’s true, even the author of the book ME FIRST – If I Should Wake Before I Die has trouble slowing down. It’s not that I lack being time every day as I have learned the importance of the 1% rule, dedicating at least 15 minutes to myself everyday. It’s just that when you own your own business and you love what you do, you sometimes forget to stop and breathe and take an actual day off.

I found myself lollygagging  in bed this morning. I had scheduled myself for a 7:30 a.m. walk, but when the alarm went off, I simply curled up with Tasha, one of the four felines in our home, and continued to doze. Oh that felt so good! I finally made my way to the front porch where I found the sun shining warmly, and after applying a liberal coat of sun screen (my derm. would shoot me if she found me in the sun naked!) I started reading a book I have been working on for a few weeks and which has triggered my impatience – what will happen?

The gardens are also calling to me – I like to putter around, weeding, digging, dead heading. The thing with gardens is that they change everyday and if you don’t take the time to appreciate them you will miss something. And isn’t that like life.

Jim and I have this daily mantra, roadSIGNS is open for business. We are attracting opportunities, potentialities and possibilities to expand our work in the world. New perfect clients are entering the doors of our business and we are showered with amazing abundance everyday. And yes, that mantra continues even during our ‘staycation’ as I have learned that part of attracting new business is creating space, emptiness. You can’t attract new possibilities and so on, if the space is too full. And so my work at this moment is to release all that no longer serves me in a very conscious way, the old ways of doing things and some of me being habits as well. That takes breath, reflection, relaxation, and simply stopping.

I hope you are taking some vacation time this summer as well and that you have the wisdom not to pack it full of activities for you, your husband and possibly your kids. There is nothing wrong with that, I simple want to suggest that you schedule ME FIRST time for yourself and create the space for your own spiritual expansion. You might be surprised at what comes in. I’ll keep you posted regarding my own discoveries.

Until next time…

Betty

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Anniversaries and Weddings

Today is the tenth anniversary of our move to Tigh Shee, a move which took us from downtown condo living in Montreal to a country home in rural Ontario.

I still remember arriving here, two cats and some personal possessions in tow, to an empty house. Jim stayed behind to supervise the packing. The house, while beautiful, was sad; the walls in almost every room painted a pale grey. The outside was a mirror image, a landscape devoid of any gardens except for a few well placed shrubs. a deck made from grey PVC material and surrounded by a hedge.

It was a blank canvas, and while five years old, an invitation to re-create the environment. Jim and I had a dream, to open space here, to make this place a welcome one for travellers, a place to heal and find peace and with this we began to transform this property.

Over the ten years we have resided here we have built the gardens and labyrinth. We did so because Jim felt called after having a vision that he was to do so. We named our home Tigh Shee, Celtic for House of Peace. Just before 911 we received a message from a friend and the Universe that there was great danger coming somewhere in the world and we were asked to open our home and property to the sentient beings (fairies and the like) so we walked the boundaries of our property and with great intent and created a loving safe place  for all beings, human, animal and otherwise, whom might choose to visit or dwell here.

While I recognize this smacks of Woo Woo, come and visit our fairy garden and you will experience their energy.  We have hosted many events here, public labyrinth walks and numerous retreats and our work continues.

Today we have a wedding here. What an amazing gift for this tenth anniversary, to have two wonderful folks share their special day with us and in the Celtic tradition. It is yet again a SIGN for us that what we are creating has meaning and is calling to others to be here. It is our intention to continue creating and building this energy, inviting you and others, travellers, to come and rest.

Until next time…

Betty

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Anticipation

As I ready myself for another week on the road, planning what to take with me as the summer temperatures we have been experiencing dip back to the mid to low teens, I am experiencing the anticipation – a mixture of excitement and anxiety. I think ahead to each group I will meet, imagine their faces and their response to the Insights presentation, their laughter when they read their Insights profile and recognize themselves and the spirit which fills the room. I am grateful to be called to this work, and to observe others as they see themselves. It is an apt beginning for the ME FIRST journey, an opportunity to acknowledge themselves.

Each day I set an intention for sending a tidal wave of ME FIRST energy around the world and back to me. I have been doing this for several months now and it is always interesting to observe just how this intention manifests. This is one of many ways.

At the end of June we head to Prince Edward Island to offer two ME FIRST Retreats, which appear to be fully booked, host an evening of ME FIRST as well as attract new clients. I have always loved the island and have previously worked there – warm, fun, a little more low-key than my neck of the woods. As we plan these events I have this question in the back of my head – how can we create that tidal wave I spoke of?

I know and accept that the answer rests with the Universe and I am watching and listening for the answer. A few roadSIGNS have appeared including some recent ‘big AHA!’ moments we have coached with clients and workshop participants as well as a story on CBS radio – The “Jessica Effect’. Years ago there was a young girl trapped in a well for several hours/days. The event drew interest from around the world as TV watchers held their breath and cheered on the rescue team. At that same time the genocide in Rwanda was occurring which basically went unnoticed. Thousands died as the world focused on saving one child from a well. Why is that?

The psychologist interviewed explained that most of us can focus only on one small act at a time, that the magnitude of something like Rwanda is simply to big for us to take in. This made me think about our dream for ME FIRST and the meaning of influencing one person, or a small group, at a time. Is it this that leverages ME FIRST into the world?

Margaret Meade said, “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world, indeed this is the only thing that ever has”. Likewise Mother Theresa understood that she could only influence the poverty and homelessness in Calcutta by beginning with one child.

And so it is, I continue to ponder the road ahead for us and how to best serve. What I know for sure is that ME FIRST, this work, makes a difference and we are only beginning – baby steps first. It means setting an intention that every act we as roadSIGNS engage at truly makes a difference for someone else and that it is always sourced from love.

Back to the trip ahead, I will cross Canada in the next five days visiting five cities and meeting five unique groups of health care professionals. They above all groups, need ME FIRST, at least in my view. Having worked myself in the Canadian Health Care System for 25 years, I know the demands and how these have changes through the years. I also see the lack of respect that those of us outside the system have for our health care professionals, complaining about our health care system. I agree, there are aspects which could be improved, yes and, has anyone looked south of the border where millions have no access to health care. How fortunate we as Canadians are.

Time to pack…

Until next time,

Betty