Abundance

During my yoga practice today I was meditating on life's abundance. My yoga teacher, Valinda, asked us to ask a question and then pick up one of her "spirit" cards. My question was, "How can I manifest more clients?" I thought of this question because I often think I need to go find another job to supplement the work I do have in my private practice. What keeps me from doing so is that the phone will all of a sudden start ringing and new clients will seek out my services!
The last couple of weeks has been a bit slower. I trust it's b/c I have been more available as a mom to foster a good start for my boys' school year.

Back to the card...
The one I picked up essentially said that I needed "patience" and that life was unfolding just as it should be.

I then went for a massage with a woman who it feels like I've known forever. (Hilary Roebuck, for those that are in the South Bay). When I shared with Hil my card story she told me there were 2 meanings for the word "patience": the one that means to wait and the other (different spelling) that means "patients."
So, I guess I can trust those clients will come when they are ready.

In the meantime, I can keep taking care of myself. I can keep growing and get to that state of grace to attract clients that want that same sense of self that I experience.

And you know what happened next?
I came home to find a card with no return address. Inside it were five $100 bills.
The universe is really listening! The giver obviously wants to remain anonymous.
I feel so humbled and so connected right now!

Abundance....
Yes, it is so.

~Lisa

Watching My Children Grow

I am amazed. Truly amazed at the abilities and talents of my boys. Like most parents, I love finding the time to watch them find their way in life.

For the moment, my oldest son (10) is relishing his time in the ocean. He spent his day as a participant in the Junior Lifeguard program. He ended up back at the beach this evening with a friend and his dad surfing. My son is doing things that I've never done in my life. There's this sense of seperation that has happened, and I am amazed at how the time has passed so quickly.

My youngest son found his calling this evening at his Summer Baseball game. He was the youngest on either side, yet exuded such confidence in his abilities and knowing of the game itself.

I am hopeful for many more moments like these. When the spirit of the moment captures my boys and they so easily move through life's activities.

It is bliss.

Happy summer!
Lisa

I Wrote on a Scrap Piece of Paper

Here's what I found and wrote on a scrap piece of paper:

The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance.
The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as
unspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life.
You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose. -Arnold Bennet

When my friend Nancy and I conduct "Leaf Turning" workshops (a group where we learn to turn over new leafs in our lives through a series of mindful exercises) I always like to read the quote above.

The problem is, I'm always searching for my scrap piece of paper! My new leaf turned over today is that I "wrote" it on my blog. It's here for me forever and will never again be lost.

Time well spent.

The sun is here today and I am smiling,

Lisa

Painless Birth - Reality For lots of Russian Women .

Painless Birth - Reality For lots of Russian Women .


Are the Russians on to something?
Is that why I work on breathing so much in my life and with others?
"Remember to Breathe" is, after all, a good reminder!

Happy 4th of July!
Lisa

Summer is Definitely Here

Today is one of those days unlike most where I live. Instead of the "June gloom" in the morning, the sun is out in full-force. There are times that the sun doesn't show itself until 2 P.M. (and I feel as though we are living in Seattle with all the grey). But today is different.

There's something about the sun shining down upon me. It brings warmth to my heart and soul. It shines down the promise and hope of what's yet to come.

Today, as I'm watching my son's baseball game, teaching a prenatal yoga class and seeing a client, I vow to use the sun as a metaphor for radiating all that's good.
I vow to pause and feel the sun's glow before I speak. I vow to pause.... and be still... like the sun.

Happy sunshine day,

Lisa

Hard Candy at a Farmer's Market?

Isn't the image I'm sharing supposed to be what a Farmer's Market looks like when you go to shop? For years, the Hermosa Beach Farmer's Market has sold hard candy. You know, the kind that you find at Cosco or your local grocery store.

I want my kids to grow up having an image in their mind's eye of the picture above. An image where they think of local, fresh produce and hand-made items. Not an image of candy laden with high-fructose corn syrup, dyes, and artificial ingredients.

I wrote a letter to the local Chamber of Commerce and the issue received support from other concerned parents. Today I received word that there will no longer be the sale of hard candy. It's the little victories that really do make a difference.

If I had a horse, I think I'd get on it and ride off into the distance. :)

Your Farmer's Market Image Lover,

Lisa

Could I Be Silent for 1.5 Years, like Jack Kornfield?

It's been 2 days since my mindfulness training with Jack Kornfield and Dan Siegel. I find myself slowing down and being mindful of every thought, spoken word and action. Just being in those 2 men's presence has definitely reinforced the notion that I am on the right path for this lifetime.

Could I ever go live in silence for 1.5 years, as Jack Kornfield once did when he lived in the forest as a Buddhist munk? I'm not sure. I know I'm open to the idea, however. Dan Siegel (amazing neuro-biologiest) reminded us that focused intention really does create new synapses in the brain. So what I may have never thought possible, actually is.

I didn't go to the forest today, but I do live 3/4 miles from the beach. I took a mindful run and went down by the water's edge. It's cloudy here in Hermosa Beach today. I thanked the clouds for creating that moment of perfection. Everything and everyone is as they should be.

Leaving the beach, I found myself more able to answer work emails, schedule my family's day. I just blessed each activity, trusting that it's my mind that needs to stay calm and feel like I'm in the forest or at the beach, even when I'm not.
Since my brain really doesn't know the difference between what is real/not real, I might as well keep imagining myself in a forest monestary.

Thanks Jack, thanks Dan, as I know have pieces of you in me. We are all one.

Mindfully,

Lisa