Embrace Your Gifts and Soar!

Embracing Gifts and Soaring!

I am filled with gratitude for women who Embrace their Gifts and Soar! Here are just a few who come to mind.

Want to see more beautiful soy mandala candles like the one pictured above? Visit the Luminous Soul website to see their full selection. While you are there, meet wildly talented Stacy Wills of A Magic Mom and Her Mandalas. I've purchased some of these mandala candles and I can tell you first hand, they are high quality candles that bring a good dose of positive energy into any room. They make great gifts too!

Looking for inspiration to create your own mandalas? Visit Cheryl Finley at Art in Every Day and ask her about joining the Mandala Oasis on line group. It's one of the best free resources around for gaining tips, inspiration and support on creating mandalas.

Christina Frei makes being a dork about the coolest thing ever! Visit her dork friendly website at Dork Central. Find out what kind of dork you are (I'm a coconut dork!) and learn about other great, fun, entertaining things about dorkiness. Geared toward kids and a great play land for adults too!

If you are looking for support, wisdom, guidance, understanding or resources about perimenopause, pull up a chair and visit with Jennifer Boire at MsMenopause. Her blog is packed with wonderful insights, resources and wisdom regarding this transitional time in a woman's life. I often read Jenn's latest post and feel more at peace about some of the changes I am experiencing in my body during this phase in my life. Highly recommended!

Judy Berry is a whole lot more than Just Jootie. Judy has a gift for weaving stories, wisdom and inspiration all into one lovely package. She can take something that seems like an ordinary, every day occurrence and fill it with sparkle and meaning. Her endless creativity always finds a way to warm my heart.

If you've missed out on ZenaMoon candles, now's the time to explore the ever growing selection of candles that encourage and empower by offering a wide variety of quotes and inspirational phrases that support you on a path that is in alignment with your soul. Carla Blazek's blog, Zena Musings is a winner too and she is the originator of the the popular Sacred Sunday blogging community. Yea Carla!

Karin over at CreativeChaos is not only a master of making the most beautiful crafts ever, she is also a gifted writer who naturally threads humor into her creative writing. She's pretty darn good with a camera too. This lady has it going on!

There are so many more women I could add to this list. If you'd like to share how you are Embracing Your Gifts and Soaring, drop a note in the comment field. I'd love to hear from you.

Blessings!

Beverly

No Show, Rocky Flow, No Woe

The final performance of "Tuesdays with Morrie" was presented at New Stage Theatre yesterday and I really wanted to see it. Greg was not available to go with me and I didn't know of anyone who would be free at the last minute, so I decided to enjoy the performance alone and call it an artist's date.

I learned about the concept of an artist's date years ago after reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. The idea is to have a date with yourself once a week in order to feed your connection to your creativity.

I have noticed that since I've been working on a few creative projects, I have felt the need for a creative connection to something outside of my own stuff. Perhaps the concept of an artist's date not only feeds creativity but brings inspiration and a break to those who are already in a creative mode.

After driving into a very full parking lot, I got a little intimidated. I am a little rusty at going to these kinds of events alone. Now that I've been married for almost seven years, I usually have a companion. Nonetheless, I got out of my car and walked into the theatre. Apparently many others had the same idea because several other hopeful people were waiting to get tickets. I decided to wait it out and assume that I would get to see the show. When they told those of us who didn't make it into the coveted seating area that the show was sold out, I was so disappointed that I almost cried. I walked back to my car feeling as if I'd lost my best friend.

Coach Beverly came out to give me a little pep talk. "Everything is how it is meant to be. Everything happens for a reason. What did you learn from this? How do you turn lemons into lemonade?" Before I knew it, my car was heading toward a women's clothing store and I found some great, fun tops that suit me perfectly. I topped off the afternoon by going shoe shopping and even though I didn't find any that I liked, it sure was fun trying on shoes and being selective about all of my purchases.

Big lesson here? Go with the flow. When the music changes, find a new way to dance. Everything does happen for a reason and everything is how it is meant to be. I really believe that.

I'm still feeling inspired to schedule weekly artist's dates with myself. Now that we have entered the the glorious season of spring, the juices are really flowing. I want to do everything I can to support the ever expanding right side of my brain. If you have any fun, suggestions for a solitary artist's date, I'd love to hear about them. Just leave a comment and share if and how you nurture your creativity.

Happy belated Sacred Sunday!

Beverly

PS: Photo of Rainbow Falls in Hilo, Hawaii taken by Greg Smith in April 2007.

Live Now

Randy Pausch delivered his "Last Public Lecture", entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", at Carnegie Mellon University on September 18, 2007 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He appeared on Oprah in October 2007 to give a ten minute repeat performance of his now very famous, inspirational speech.

This is a true heartwarmer that underlines the value of truly LIVING in the present moment. Even if you've already seen this video, it is worth your time to watch it again. I promise! 

God Winks

Today is my Sacred Sunday. Yes, I know the calendar says that it is Monday but I'm resting today and have given myself permission to do nothing. While doing nothing, I logged onto my GoogleReader account and discovered that Lisa at Groggy Froggy posted a video of Josh Groban singing "You Are Loved."

I started the video and then closed the window so I could hear the song without seeing the image. Normally, I would not have taken time to  listen to the video but the dip I've fallen into has left me feeling drained and discouraged. I figured checking out the video would be an okay thing to do. Since I'd been on my computer for awhile, I had a lot of open windows so I began clicking the X's on the upper right hand corner to clean up my desktop. As I heard Josh sing lyrics that included "don't give up" I came upon this open window.

Whoa! Couldn't help but feel that the universe was giving me a very clear message in that moment. I didn't know this pop-up ad from Travelocity was on my screen until I started closing the extra windows.

I gotta tell you, I needed that! Thank you, Universe, for sending me a God Wink! Another thank you goes out to Lisa for introducing me to an inspirational song I had never heard before.

To learn more about God Winks, visit http://www.whengodwinks.com/ or read about synchronicity.

(Bev and Buddy...doing nothing...which actually led Bev to exactly what she needed! February 25, 2008)

Yet another reminder that it really is okay to do nothing!!

Blessings!

Beverly

Oldie but Goodie

I'm not one of Kevin's biggest fans so I did not watch "Field of Dreams" until a few weeks ago. I could not believe how much I loved this movie! I'm going to assume you've seen this movie since it was a big hit in 1989. Remember the scene with the following dialogue? It really struck a chord with me.

John Kinsella: Is this heaven?

Ray Kinsella: It's — it's Iowa.

John: I could have sworn it was heaven.

Ray: Is there a heaven?

John: Oh, yeah. It's the place where dreams come true.

Ray: Maybe this is heaven.

When was the last time one of your dreams came true? Did you notice how it felt? Did it feel heavenly?

When I think about some of my fulfilled dreams, I am so filled with awe and gratitude that I feel like I achieve a heavenly state of mind. It is the most incredible feeling!

Do you have a dream that feels too big to achieve? (I confess that I do!) Try watching this movie for inspiration. Even if you don't have a super big dream, this movie might inspire you to create one!

What's your favorite inspirational movie?

Blessings!

Beverly

Sometimes A Song by Dan Fogelberg

The soft sound of falling rain inspires me to light more candles as I listen to soothing music while addressing Valentine's Day cards. As I seal close to thirty cards to precious people in my life, I hum along to the newest release by Dan Fogelberg called "Sometimes A Song." This is a Valentine song that Dan wrote for his wife, Jean Fogelberg. She arranged to have her gift from Dan distributed as an MP3. I downloaded my copy from Amazon.com. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of this touching love song will go toward research to find a cure for prostate cancer.

I love that Dan Fogelberg continues to impact this world after his untimely death on December 16, 2007. It is a true testament to the hugeness of his gifts and heart. Please support Dan and Jean's efforts to find a cure for prostate cancer. For only 99 cents you can purchase this song and support the cause.

Blessings!

Beverly Keaton Smith

Let's Talk About Money

Please credit to Beverly Keaton Smith if you use these money photos or reprint this article.  

 "It's so hot, you could fry an egg on the sidewalk!"

One hot summer day, my young hands reached into the refrigerator and sneaked a few eggs into my pocket. With great expectations, I cracked the shells open over a sidewalk and waited for them to start cooking. Through the sting of disappointment, I learned that expressions are not always meant to be taken literally.

My neighbor saw me playing with the eggs and mentioned it to my father. Our neighbor thought my experiment was funny. My father did not! Dad casually asked me, "how much do you think those eggs that you took from the refrigerator cost?" I replied that I didn't know. Together, we calculated how much money I had wasted by ruining perfectly good eggs. The small amount was deducted from my allowance and I learned that next time I should be more secretive with my experiments. Okay, the bigger lesson I took away was that money is hard to come by and should never be wasted. I guess this is just one of the episodes from my childhood that shaped me into a "saver." 

Many times, I coach clients around the issue of money. Usually, there is a core limiting belief that gets in a person's way of accumulating money. Often, the core belief is something along the lines of

Love of money is the root of all evil.

I'll get my rewards in heaven, not now.

Money is scarce and hard to come by.

These perspectives are core limiting beliefs which are very effective at keeping money away from your bank account. Here are examples of positive perspectives around money.

Money is freedom and I deserve freedom.

I love money and money loves me.

I am a money magnet. I have the Midas touch!

Since we choose our perspective around money, wny not choose a belief that is positive and affirming? You can reinforce your money magnetism by creating a structure that reminds you of your positive perspective on money. I recently moved into a new office and the window shade that was hanging on the window broke and fell to the floor. Instead of buying a new shade, I hung my money boa across the top of my window to serve as my reminder that money is abundant and constantly flowing to me. I love looking at it and being reminded that money is always within my reach. Also, my money boa sparkles with joyful memories and energy because it was a gift from friend and colleague, Laura Howard West who owns the Center for Joyful Business.   

With a crazy stock market and fears of a recession floating around, it is even more tempting to fall into a negative perspective around money. Why not reflect on your core beliefs about money and see how they are working for you? If you find you are operating out of a limiting belief, try updating your belief and see what happens. There's not much to lose and everything to gain!

I'd love to hear about your core belief around money. If you'd like to share, leave a comment. We can all inspire each other to generate even more empowering beliefs around money.

Blessings!

Beverly

Keeping A Vision Alive With Jewelry

Perhaps it is unusual to see a ring that dances and affirms a vision. Maybe that's why people often ask me about the ring that I wear on my thumb.

My ring is the keeper of words that have special meaning to me: Embrace Your Gifts, Soar, Circles, Women, Love, Movement, Joy.

I love wearing a ring that was made just for me. I told my friend, Lil McKinnon Hicks the words I wanted on this ring and quietly sat in her studio and watched her skillfully turn pieces of metal into jewelry.

The loops on the ring are loose so I never know which word might catch my eye. The ring's movement accelerates a feeling of aliveness and reminds me to focus on living in alignment with my life purpose. Most importantly, this ring connects me to feelings of gratitude for having wonderfully gifted, inspiring, creative, supportive women in my life.

If you have special words you would like to wear on a ring, send a note to Lil at mail@lilmckhjewelry.com.

Expansion

It is cold and sunny on this sacred Sunday so I built a fire and hung out in my sacred space. Inspiration to take inventory of 2007 set me in motion and I spent some time reflecting on the past year and my slow steps into 2008.

Taking Inventory

Last year I got the idea to write 100 things I did in 2006 from Carla Blazek. Making that list showed me that 2006 was much fuller and richer than I realized so I vowed to make a list every year. As I made my list today, I enjoyed being reminded that 2007 was packed full of good stuff. While it may sound daunting to list 100 things you did in a single year, I encourage you to play with this idea and see how it works for you. This is a great way to get an overall view of the past year and acknowledge your triumphs while taking note of what you would like to change in your life for the next year.

What do you want for yourself for 2008?

That's the big question. Usually, I embrace this question with great gusto during the first few days of January and create a theme for the year. This year, I didn't feel like thinking about it.

I had already decided that I wanted this year to be about LOVE. That seemed good enough to me. I looked at my other themes from years gone by and realized that I didn't want to feel limited by a theme anymore. So, today I made a giant list of things I want for myself in 2008.

I am out of the box with the idea of creating a theme and it feels great to know that I can have it all! The first steps are reaching clarity on what you want and then setting the intention that you will have it. (Thankfully, I had inspiration to expand on the theme idea from good friend Lil McKinnon-Hicks as I witnessed the blessing of her new studio with positive words written on a poster board.) 

My themes from the previous years have manifested so I am ultra excited about stepping into this BIGGER place with creating a New Year's theme. (Read more about Setting a Theme for the New Year.)

Letting Go

Since I had all of this positive mojo going, I decided to take advantage of the fire in the fireplace and do my own private "letting go" ritual. I said good-bye to depression, low energy and procrastination. These things have been getting in my way lately and I'm tired of them. I'm ready to shift into higher spirits, more energy and inspired action that calls me forth into the direction of my dreams and deepest desires. I wrote  the unwanted words on a piece of paper and set an intention to release the negative energies as I threw the paper into the fireplace and watched the paper turn into ashes.

I notice that this sacred Sunday feels like the very beginning of my new year. Isn't it great that we can make all of this up as we go along and we really don't have to follow anyone's rules or a date on the calendar?

Happy New Year to Me!

and you too!

With Love,
Beverly

To: You - From: You

Can you believe that another year is winding down and a fresh new year is waiting in the wings? Yes! You have twelve wonderful months of a new year quickly heading in your direction.

How would you like to give yourself a unique, personal, free gift every month in 2007? Here is an idea that came to me the other day and I want to share it with you.

Ideally, begin this activity on December 20th. Get twelve envelopes and twelve sheets of paper. Each day, for twelve days, write an inspiring, supportive, friendly letter to yourself. You might choose a different theme for each letter such as: Believe, Trust, Dream Big, Gratitude, Laugh, Play, Breathe, Staying Present, Asking for Help and Miracles. These are just a few to get you started. Of course, you can always write about all the great things about you! Another approach is to ask the following question: Dear God, what do you want me to know? Listen for the answer and write it down.

If writing a letter to yourself does not appeal to you, collect some of your favorite inspirational quotes, poems or other writings. Another idea is draw or paint an inspirational picture for yourself. There are many ways to tweak this exercise to make it work for you. Just remember, whatever you choose to put in the envelopes must be uplifting and bring you joy.

Each day put your collected material or written words for that day into an envelope and seal it. At the end of twelve days you will have twelve sealed envelopes. Shuffle your envelopes. After they are all mixed up, write the name of a month on each envelope. After you finish this, you will have twelve envelopes and each month will be represented.

Store your envelopes in a place where you will not forget about them. Personalize an approach to opening the envelopes in a way that best suits you. If you like structure, open the appropriate envelope on the 15th of each month. If structure is not for you, open your envelope each month when the time feels right. Make the opening of your envelope a special time. Breathe, light a candle and allow yourself plenty of space to revel in this gift you created for yourself.

If you decide to give yourself these year long gifts, I'd love to hear about your experience of filling your envelopes and opening them in the days ahead. All feedback is welcomed!

Blessings!

Beverly