Taking Time to Play

Do you remember being a kid and playing? When was the last time that you went outside ( or in) and played? Ran around, giggled, jumped up and down, wrestled, day dreamed with the clouds and just let your mind imagine for a moment? Lucky for me I have a 21/2 year old son and a husband who both remind me to take time everyday to play.

The interesting thing is sometimes it is actually hard..............yes I said hard. I feel like I have to make myself get into the activity because my brain is telling me that I should be answering emails, returning phone calls, writing, exercising, cleaning, a list of distractions that keep our conscious mind busy. When I break away from my silly mental to do list and just let myself BE in the moment and enjoy- it is so energizing and uplifting for me as well as my family. Our home feels joy filled and then when I do go back to my emails and endless silly "to-do's" I am more connected to my state of true Being and then the doing becomes that much easier...

One more simple way to connect to that which you are ready to Be NOW...Play even if it feels like you shouldn't. Yes you are an adult...an adult with a big kid inside that still needs to run and jump and laugh and sing. The next time you have a chance to play with a child- don't hesitate, let them lead, you follow and enjoy the process...The next time you are having a crazed day and are stressed out stop and PLAY...interrupt the stress with a random act of play; make a goofy face, a silly noise, sing Old Mc Donald, engage in whatever helps to creates laughter and joy within.

Today it is just that easy...GO Play...

P.S. We are going to Chucky Cheese tonight and I totally plan on playing in as many ways as possible... Share with me the ways in which you and your family play and lets all help each other to BE our best self NOW~

With Love and Gratitude,
Melissa

Live Like You Were Dying

As a health care practitioner every day I share in the exchange of information with patients, friends & family on the ways in which they can become aware of how to live in a greater state of health. Our world is set up to prevent disease but not to promote health. Think about it from our health insurance to the national nutritional guidelines we are given just enough to get by so we don't get sick. If we do get sick we are sold on a message that a pill will cure us or at least temporarily take away our pestering symptoms.

Did you ever wonder what symptoms are? Have you ever stopped to listen to your body when it is talking to you or do you just push through? Symptoms, aches & pains are our body's way of attempting to get our attention. Think about a baby before they can speak, how do they get your attention to let you know they need something? Cry..What about a dog? Barks... Our body isn't able to simply talk to us in the manner which we are accustomed to listening. The only real way that our bodies can get our attention that we will notice is through feelings . If the body takes the nice approach we don't pay much attention but when the body hurts we start to notice. Most of us however don't have time to "deal" with the message so we think it will go away, subside or we will take something to block the message. We keep going and going until the body takes matters into it's own hands and makes things get so extreme that we have no choice but to take notice.

What do you imagine the body could be telling you? What if your body was trying to tell you that a dis-ease was present? What if your body was trying to tell you something that could save your life ? What if your body was trying to tell you how you could Live Well, Feel Well & Be Well, would you listen? Every day, every moment, our bodies are talking but often times we are too busy to be bothered to listen or simply don't understand that our bodies can "talk" to us.

Will it take a defining moment in the doctors office as the song so eloquently says; "the moment came and stopped me on a dime" , to get you to stop and take notice of what you are feeling? Life truly is a journey each moment carries us into the next all unfolding into the now. Please know that I am not preaching I am simply hoping to impart such a real message that you can live in optimal health; we can all be more than just a step away from disease's doorstep. To the extent that we listen is to the extent that we can support ourselves in moving into a greater state of well BE-ing, NOW.

The next time you feel a symptom or just get a "gut feeling", listen to it. Thank your body for sharing life saving information. It shouldn't take a defining moment for us to live like we were dying. This is your moment, all we have is NOW...Now to listen, Now to feel, Now to acknowledge, Now to Choose, Now to Transform into a greater state of living beyond simple prevention and moving fully into optimal well Be-ing~

How are you Living?

With Love and Gratitude,
Melissa

My Report

So I started to write my latest post this past Sunday and after having family in town, a sick baby boy, work, life and 4 re-writes I just can't seem to get into my creative flow...

A brief recap...I started this blog as a means of personal accountability, inspiration as well as a testing ground so to speak for my work and writing style as I write my book. With that said I have yet to really tell all of you my readers about how far I have gotten on my book writing journey thus far...

Inspiration is such a funny thing. I started off with a clear vision of what I thought the book was going to be about. I created this blog as well as began a small group to again, put my work to the test. Well I have managed to re write my main approach and content 3 times now but thanks to my amazing group that have given me the opportunity to share with them and learn through their personal experiences I truly hit my core inspiration and message.

A week ago I came home late from group after having already worked a 9 hour day- it was 11:30pm and I could not turn off my brain. I managed to power write the core of my book in an hour that night. Again, inspiration is a funny thing; it was as if I was not writing, something or someone else was because I could barely keep up as the content flowed. I love when the unconscious takes over, for me this is validation that it is not my brain at work but rather my soul speaking and I am just a vehicle for the message to move through.

With a full message now laid out in my notebook and inspiration leading the way I went to bed and felt sure that I would be ready to wake up the next day and tap right back in as I sat down to begin typing the manuscript. This did not happen... time, life, maybe even fear on some level ( since I have re written 3 times already) has kept me from doing this over the past week. I know a week is not a long time but why am I allowing life to take me out of my flow and back into being at the mercy of life's schedule? It is so easy to fall back into the doing mode so to speak vs. coming from our source of being.


What do I do? The same thing that I am writing about to encourage others to do.;connect to that which we desire the most. In connecting then we can move from that space so that our doing and living are truly juicy and delicious in every way.

Here is where I am starting in my desire to get into gear and get out of fear.I hope that as you read along with me that you will find the reminders you might need as well if you are experiencing any roadblocks in your life that have you back into Doing vs. Being on your journey into transformational living.

• Reconnect with my big picture...If this process could be anyway I wanted it to be, no blocks,no excuses what would that be? Answer is in my first blog...
  
• I am clear on my What and Why it is important but HOW important is this really? If it matters enough we will put our energy into motion. To the extent that it matters is directly proportionate to how much energy we will put into the creating. Lets just say this really matters and I am re energized!
• What is stopping me??? FEAR so if I weren't fearful how would I be? FEARLESS... ABSOLUTELY CLEAR, CONFIDENT AND CONNECTED to the importance of this book.
• We attract into our life what we are , not what we want ( two blog posts back). If I am fearful than what am I bringing to me right now? Well I can tell you this- writers block- procrastination and then my bad habits that go along with procrastination like snacking ( who is this helping? Trader Joe's but certainly not me!).
• Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result so what am I willing to do now? Get off my butt and get typing!!!

That is all for now because I obviously have some work to do. I am closing today's blog with a firm intention geared at realizing that I got off track/disconnected from what is so important to me to BE. If I am not on purpose, if I am not being that which I am here to be then what am I doing? That is just it...I am doing vs Being....

I connect to my BE state- my place of purpose, passion, clarity, strength & joy. It is from this place of being that I move with effortless ease into the space doing as I enjoy my journey of typing my manuscript. With each page I type I move closer to full actualization of completing the first in a series of books on Transformational Living . It is my hope that this series will touch the lives of many and help to awaken, connect and transform all that read into a deeper state of BEing that which they desire and so much more~

Love and Gratitude to you all~
Melissa

Gratitude

Each morning at about 5:30 a.m. my 2 1.2 year old son rolls over and whispers in my ear, "mommy I'm awake and I'm happy, lets go downstairs". Each morning that I hear him speak these words to me are valuable lessons in self awareness and personal choice. Thanks to my son not a morning goes by now without me checking in and noticing if I am happy. If I am not I ask myself why and if I am not happy I immediately become aware of how I would rather be...happy. I roll out of bed and go begin my day with my little guru who reminds me how we are always at choice, so I choose to play cars, superheros and chase.

What about the days or moments in our day when we want to be happy but we just can't seem to rise above whatever state of muck we are in? I got stuck this week for about 24 hours, seriously stuck in the muck. After some grumping around, a self coaching session and a good talk with my husband I was finally able to move through my stuff. What was waiting for me on the other side was the reminder of the power of being in a state of Gratitude.

I got so caught up on 1 little thing that it sent me reeling. As my frustration grew so too did my focus on everything that was not "right" in my world. I noticed dishes, piles of papers, the garage that is still not re organized after Christmas, my office that is still not fully put back together, clean clothes that were not put away...you name it, it caught my eye and my frustration. I stewed for 24 hours, I knew what was going on but choose to stay stuck in my muck, I didn't like how I was feeling or acting but I wasn't able to shift my state either. The longer I stayed there the more aware I became that I was keeping myself in my yuck mood by focusing on everything that wasn't right... I had a choice...

As a coach I immediately asked myself questions that I would ask a client- my brain knew the answer just like my clients do butttt I was still stuck, just like my clients so now what? My son Topher popped into my head...I'm awake and I'm happy... Gratitude...what is right in my life, what do I have to be thankful for? As soon as I began to give thanks and feel the gratitude I immediately shifted. I began to feel lighter, I was happier, I was loving my husband vs. trying to deflect my frustration onto him, I felt healthy and strong, my light had come back on so to speak.

It is so easy for our busy lives to engulf us and before we know it we look up and we seem to be stuck in the muck. If you have a day or a moment that you are frustrated, stressed out, worried, disappointed, anxious, fearful, angry at someone or something stop...take a breath and shift your thoughts away from the things that you can't control or maybe can't do anything about in that moment and focus on what is good, on what is right, on what you do have, what resources, support, love, family, friendships, health, etc.

Tonight I saw that I was getting a call from work on my day off and my first thought was ughh work but them I immediately followed that by saying I am grateful to be able to hear the phone ring. I answered the phone with a smile on my face, helped a team member and went onto enjoy my evening in a state of joyful gratitude.

Our teachers take many forms, be open and aware of the learning's as they present. For me, my little guru is 2 1/2 and he is teaching me more than I ever could have imagined~

Love and Gratitude to you all~