Samantha and Sunee

Last month I had my first workshop at SOAP Studio called Write Your Own Story Book.  I was hoping to have 6 people and ended up with 8.  The workshop covered the principles of The Law of Attraction and how the Creative Process works plus putting together a Creation Journal.  I spent weeks putting this workshop together and found myself focusing on what topics to cover and deciding on how much time to give to each subject and so on.  I got so caught up on the details it occured to me that I hadn’t even read my own Creation Journal in a while.   The next day I decided to read it from the very beginning (which was about the time I started this blog about 2 years ago).  I was amazed and surprised to find that a lot of the things I had written down had already been manifested.  It was quite an eye-opener!!

Riding in San Juan Capistrano

One of the newer entries was a desire to take some Horseback riding lessons.  While visiting my daughter last fall in San Juan Capistrano, I spent a lot of time with her at the barn while she took care of her “leased” horse Sunee.  We went for a ride together and I had a blast.  I used to ride a lot when I was younger and after spending time at the barn and around horses, I found that I wanted to get back in the saddle again.  My thought process was that if I took riding lessons then I would get familiar with taking care of a horse again and eventually might even lease a horse for myself.  It felt good writing it down in my Creation Journal.

Last week while driving home from my hair appointment, I saw a sign that said Riding Lessons and a phone number.  I didn’t have time to go back to write down the number so I made a mental note to check it out next time I was there.  When I got back to the office, I quickly checked my emails.  There was a message from my daughter and a link for a contest for an all-expense-paid trip to Ireland to ride horses in the country past castles and such.  I got chills up my spine.  Now we have been talking about doing this very trip for about 2 years.  In fact, it was written in my Creation Journal at the very beginning (I also was wanting to visit some Pubs and Yarn Shops too).  I read the fine print and it said the winners must be able to ride English.   Aha!  I’m not suppose to take Western riding lessons, I’m suppose to take English riding lessons.  Again, goosebumps up my spine.

Today I took the first step and visited a barn where I most likely will be taking my lessons.  The instructor actually got her instructor certification in England and she is all about positive thinking.  Now all I have to do is make the commitment and buy some riding pants and boots.  Should I take the plundge?  I think I already have.

More to come……

This week I sat down projecting some goals for next year in one column and what I accomplished this year in the other.  I was amazed how much I had written in the 2011 column.  I left the comfort of the day spa environment that I had been in for the past 15 years; created SOAP Studio;  moved my business twice; created a website and managed it on my own; had 2 events at SOAP Studio since September; and now working on my first workshop in January.   I did this all on my own except for moving the heavy furniture (thanks to my wonderful friends and family).  When I look at the list, it occurs to me how relatively easy it all was.    I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself knowing that I would certainly be evolving through this whole process.  All that was needed on my part was to simply get started and keep going.   I had a little resistance at first, but mostly it flowed along smoothly.

Today here at SOAP Studio, I’ve put away all the Christmas decorations and have throughly cleaned my space.  I’ve washed windows, dusted, vacuumed and rearranged furniture creating a new perspective in my beautiful space.   When I finish this blog, I will continue working on my first workshop “Write Your Own Story Book” I will be teaching next month.

This was an incredible year of growth for me and this new year promises more of the same.  I want to thank the individuals who made life uncomfortable for me so I could move in the direction I so desperately needed to go.  I could not be here without you and feel blessed for this awareness.

Am I looking forward to this new year?  You bet I am.  It’s going to be the best year ever!!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Fall leaves in Nevada City

This past month has been full of wonderful blog-worthy events but I have to admit to laziness as far as my writing is concerned.  As I sit here in my beautiful office at SOAP Studio  listening to music at the end of my day, I wanted to take the time to send a quick post in gratitude to all the wonderful people who have blessed my life and added to my personal growth this year.  I always get a little mushy with my thankfulness on Thanksgiving and this year is no exception.  I would like to encourage everyone who reads this post to remember that the amount of well-being in the world is so much greater than what is perceived as “bad things”.  So turn off your TV, go outside, look at the fall colors, breathe in the sweet air, give all those in your path a friendly smile, and be conscious and aware that all is most certainly well.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DEAR FRIENDS!!

My Sister Jenny, and I planned to hike from the cabin to Dead Man’s Lake which can only be accessed on foot.  It’s about 4 miles and has some awesome views along the way.  We didn’t see a soul but were watchful in hopes of seeing deer or a bear.  Unfortunately, we didn’t see anything but squirrels and birds.

I love being in the woods with my Sister.  She and I both have great appreciation and respect for nature.  We never tire of witnessing the balance and perfection of nature and find ourselves reflective of our own lives and living through the natural process of life and death, growing and expanding.  Nature has taught us what a beautiful thing it is to let go of the struggle and see what pops up through the crack of least resistance.

We have walked this path several times over the years but this time there were a few surprises to delight us.  As we walked through Happy Valley (Jenny’s name for this portion of the trail), a large tree branch had fallen from one of the big trees and impaled itself into the ground perfectly straight to create a huge arch.  Jenny had been there just 2 weeks before and it wasn’t there.   I’ve never seen anything like that before.  Talk about perfection.  We were amazed how such a large limb was not only intact, but standing perfectly straight.  I’m still scratching my head.

As we climbed up to the top of the ridge we found another surprise.  Someone had taken the time to place some rocks between two little trees to make a labyrinth or a vortex if you will.  We had just been talking about being in the Vortex and then here it is!  I’m sending out a cosmic thank you to the creators of the Vortex. 

Lunch at Dead Man's Lake

We reached Dead Man’s Lake and found a large rock to sit and eat our lunch on.  We forgot to pack the fruit so all we had to eat was cheese and salami.  There are trout in the lake but they are pretty small and apparently hungry.  We tossed in little cheese pieces and watched them dart out of the shadows to snatch up the crumbs.  The lake is so clear you could not only see the fish but I was totally mesmerized with the light playing on the bottom of the lake as well.  The sun was directly overhead and the ripples looked like shifting colorful tiles.  Even the cheese ripples took on a life of its own.  If we had been there just an hour earlier or later, the light would have been much different.

Cheese Ripples

It was a lovely setting but we needed to say goodbye to the lake and head back home.   It was a delightful day indeed.

The Crooked Mile

The next day everyone needed to get home early so we were all packed up to leave right after breakfast.  I wasn’t in a hurry to get down the hill so I drove up to Sand Pond and decided to walk the Crooked Mile (that’s what we have always called it).  It’s a little interpretive trail that meanders through and around the marshes created by beaver when they were in residence.  I continued my walk around Sand Pond to the spillway between lakes.  No one was around.  I then walked a short way to Sardine Lake and again was amazed how deserted it was.  This is the most beautiful time of year and I got to enjoy it all to myself.

Sardine Lake

Knitting View at Sand Pond

I decided to find a bench and knit for a while in the sun and enjoy just “being” there and appreciating the beauty and silence.  The majestic Sierra Buttes were perfectly framed from my vantage point and the breeze occasionally created little sparkling diamonds on the water.  I was in no hurry to leave this place.

I drove through Sierra City and headed down to Downieville.  I had this impulse to stop and walk around Downieville.  I didn’t really have a reason except it was a beautiful day and I wanted to take some pictures.  When I got out of the car, I was surrounded by a swarm of ladybugs.  They were everywhere and crawling all over me.  Once again I was alone with no other person was on the street except for some occasional bike riders.  It was just me and thousands of ladybugs.  I was utterly delighted.  Ladybugs migrate every spring and fall along the path of the river.  I’ve never experienced it before but I was so glad I listened to the impulse to stop and get out of my car.

Ladybugs

My intent for the weekend was to get some Sister-time and experience the Sierra’s during my most favorite time of the year.  Indeed, I got what I had intended.  I love that feeling of being aligned with my well-being.  I love having the time to myself to focus and appreciate the life I am living.  I love the fact that I can be alone but not feel lonely.  Appreciation and freedom are my favorite words these days.  I practice the feeling place of those two words daily and often.  It truly is a wonderful world we live in.  I’m learning all right –  I’m learning to tap into my own unique vortex of creation.  It’s not about anything else but reaching out and “feeling” good.    More to come…..

I got through my Open House, which was a wonderful evening but I forgot to take pictures…..oops.  Through the whole process, there were wonderful people who were there generously offering to help.  There was a friend who came (almost immediately) when I needed to hang pictures in my office and she also offered me table cloths, tables, table decorations, napkins, etc. Then there was a client of mine who came to trim some dead branches from the tree in the courtyard (I didn’t even ask, he just did it); and friends who graciously came to help set up and take down.   I felt loved, supported and blessed through the whole process.

My main focus these days has been on allowing my well-being to flow.  I’m learning more and more to step back and not react so quickly to things in my path, but to see where they take me instead.  My mantra these days is “Seek solutions that are born from the problems”.  Knowing that we are creators and what has manifested is old news, I have been focusing on looking beyond “what is” and looking forward to “what will be”.  It takes a lot of practice unlearning old beliefs and replacing them with better beliefs, but it is getting easier with every opportunity that arises.

Yesterday my landlord called to say he needed to come by to take away the funiture that was staged in my waiting room.  Now this furniture was not in my contract but I have to say I really loved how the space looked and felt with it there.  I was getting a pedicure downstairs and was telling my friend that I didn’t expect that furniture to go away.  I started to go to a reactive place of thinking I would have to buy new furniture with a budget that had already been stretched with moving and the Open House.  I felt the negative hit which I now know is my emotions telling me that I am going in the wrong direction from my well-being.  So I started to talk myself out of that feeling.  The conversation sort of went like this:  “My landlords are wonderful people.  They wouldn’t take the furniture unless they had a good reason.  I really don’t need two chairs in my waiting room anyway since it’s just me and I only take one client at a time.  I bet I can come up with even a better solution than I had before.  Things always work out for the best, etc”.  I started to feel better immediately.

After my pedicure, I walked back to my office and my landlords were there.  They had replaced the furniture they took away with some other really nice pieces.  The big picture on the wall was replaced with a beautiful mirror that I simply adore.  The funny thing is I never really liked the other picture but I absolutely love the new mirror.  I only have one chair in the waiting room now but it’s leather and beautiful and I only needed one anyway.  They explained that they were surprised that the person who staged the office wanted her funiture back since it was given to them as payment for a job they had done for her.  As I thanked them for the furniture they both said “We wouldn’t leave you hanging without furniture”.  They truly are wonderful people and the surprising thing is  I really do like it better.  How about that?

It takes a lot of practice to realize that everything is good when one steps back from judging “reality”.  I practice everyday on Letting Go and Letting God or, in other words, getting out of the way and Let It Be.  I’m coming to understand what that means a little more each day.   More to come……

We want you to understand that abundance expands proportionately to match
desire, and that there is great untapped abundance not yet allowed by the very
humans who have created it. When your life experience causes a focused desire
within you, the means to fulfill that desire is created at the same time—but you
have to be on the Vibrational wavelength with your desire in order to see the
path to the fulfillment of it.

A belief in shortage or lack will prevent your discovery of
the path to your own creation, and any feeling of resistance indicates that you
are on the wrong Vibrational path. However, in your understanding of the
never-ending abundance of this Universe, you will feel personal delight
whenever you observe anyone’s alignment with it, for their achievement can in no
way diminish yours, but can only enhance it.

~Abraham (www.abraham-hicks.com)

On top of that I was planning my annual Labor Day trip to the Kirk’s cabin on top of Ebbetts Pass.  Already in the mode of “getting things done”,  I volunteered to be the Cruise Director and plan and shop for all the food Chrissy, Jenny and I were going to bring.  By the time Chrissy picked me up Saturday morning, I was obnoxiously chirping away with all the exciting activities I’ve been immersed in these past few weeks.  We drove to Placerville to rendezvous with sister Jenny, packed her ice chest and proceeded to the cabin.  We were finally on our way and as we got up into the pines, I started to feel more relaxed and found myself breathing deeper.  I needed this weekend.

The first day went incredibly fast.  We didn’t get there until after noon.  This cabin is as rustic as they come.  It’s an old mining cabin built on a rock.  There is a small kitchen that Ken added when he bought the place but no indoor toilet.   The outhouse is a lovely walk through the aspens with the door open to a beautiful little meadow.  A broom across the rock lined path signals to anyone walking up that the room is occupied.  God I love this place.

By the time we got the tent erected, mattresses blown-up, stuff situated, and taking pictures of Jenny’s latest knitting project for her Ravelry page, it was almost time for happy hour.  It takes a day to unwind from the pace of the city and appreciate all that this setting has to offer.  Sitting on the deck with the view, cherished friends, and a glass of wine is definitely one of the greatest pleasures of the world (in my humble opinion).

The next day was hiking day.   It was only Ken, Diana and me this year.  Jenny broke her foot and Chrissy had a bum knee so they stayed at the cabin and knitted on the deck.  We planned on the hike we took last year along the ridge with no established trail.  Last year Diana lost her hiking pole and we were hoping to find it on the rock we had lunch on.  When you are walking through the wilderness, at some point, all the rocks start looking alike.  We didn’t find the pole.  We did find something that was worth mentioning though.  Lots of bear sign.  How do I say this delicately?….we found the biggest pile of bear crap that I have ever seen!  It was impressive indeed.  I can definitely say that there is ample food source on that mountain to sustain our bear friends this year.  Diana was passionately collecting lichen and juniper berries to use in her dye pot.  I had visions of Native Indians and how it must have been during a gathering expedition.   We probably only walked about 5 miles but we were ready to get back to the cabin and have an ice-cold beer on the deck and take our shoes off.

Happy hour was particularly happy this evening.  We love to wave at the people driving up and down the hill as we sit there on that deck with a glass of wine in our hands.  It became a game to see how big of a wave we got from the passengers or even a honk.  Ken and Jenny started to rate the waves from 1-10.  It is amazing how much entertainment 5 adults can get when their inner-child emerges.  We had the most awesome sunset while eating our dinner on the deck.  There are moments in our lives when all is right with the world and this was certainly one of them.

Monday was fiber day.  I am going to be teaching a class at SOAP Studio called “Write Your Own Story Book”.  I have been writing in my Creation Journal for about 2 years now and almost everything I have wanted has manifested.  I wanted to make a wet-felted book cover for my journal.  Diana and I brought our fiber bins and felting tools and we took up the whole deck laying out our fiber and choosing color combinations.  It is a time-consuming activity fusing all the fiber together and getting it felted in the correct size for a journal.  Somehow it works in the end.  I got mine almost completed and it is magical to my eyes.  I chose colors from the hike we went on since it was fresh in my mind.  Now every time I look at my journal, I will remember the joy of being outdoors in beauty and splendor.

On the drive home I was aware once again how much I love my life.  One doesn’t need a lot of money or a lot of things to achieve happiness.  Awareness of the life that flows through us is the key.  I will keep on practicing that awareness, breathing in and appreciating everything that feels good to me.  This morning I read my daily quote:

People say, “The joy is in the journey,” but they rarely understand what they
are saying. You are in this focused time/space reality with goals and objectives
that call you because as you identify a desire it literally summons life through
you. Life summoning through you is what it’s all about —it’s not the completion
of anything.

— Abraham

Excerpted from the workshop in Chicago, IL on Sunday, November
1st, 1998 # 188

Our Love,
Jerry and Esther

I will remember this quote as I start this day.  I have a list of things to complete but I’m ready to find the joy in the process.  I know everything will come together in perfect order.  The sun is just coming up and the birds are singing.  Yes indeed, all is well…..more to come.

Last week my office-mate John, told me he and his partner are moving to the East Coast and is looking for someone to sublet his office space.  I took this news with remarkable acceptance.  I must have known things were afoot because I hadn’t seen much of him in the past few months.  So when he told me of the news, the first person I thought of was my dear friend Christine who I originally wanted to share this space with.  I got her on the phone and detected immediately she wasn’t as completely on board with the idea as I was.  I felt the hit. The thing is, I let it go almost as fast as I felt the discomfort.  This is huge growth for me and I was rather delighted with myself for knowing not to push it any further.  I let it go.  Then a wonderful idea occurred to me.  Why don’t I take the extra office for myself?  Now that idea sent thrill bumps bubbling through me.  I love this space.  I love that it is so quiet.  I love that I can create an environment that suits me.  I love the idea that I can do the things I’ve always wanted to do.  I have my sign on the front door for crying out loud.  I have lovely office furniture in storage that would look perfect in that office.  I can bring down my matching file cabinet that is in my closet at home and my printer too.  I can have classes and workshops here which I have been thinking about for quite sometime.  I can decorate this space anyway I want.  I can have a fountain in the foyer.  I can have everything I have been dreaming of……freedom to create my business anyway I desire.  Everything I have done to this point has been created for this very moment.  I even picked a name for my business that left room for growth (SOAP Studio – Sum of all Parts).  I have essentially walked into the life I had been dreaming about.  Wow, this stuff really works and in amazing and delightful ways I could never of orchestrated by myself.   I am living the life I am wanting to teach.  The perfection of timing is everything.

John has been a wonderful office-mate.  I felt once again, the miracle of how we met that day when we both viewed the space and decided to move our businesses in together.  At that time, I was happy just having a beautiful room to do my business in.  I wasn’t ready to think beyond that new idea.  The past few months have given me time to experience this space in a much fuller way.  John  was rarely here and when he was he was a quiet as a church mouse.   I realized I liked having control of external noises in my place.  I feel I give a better service not having to worry about what’s going on outside my door.  My clients seem more relaxed as well.   I know my decision to have it all to myself is on track because I feel tuned in, tapped in, turned on.  Someone I hadn’t seen in awhile remarked that I looked radiant and asked if I was in love?  Well now that I think about it, I guess I am!  I’m falling in love with myself again and believing that I can actually have, do or be anything I desire.  Now that is a relationship that I can count on forever.

I am having an open house on the 15th of September.  I plan on having classes and workshops in this wonderful peaceful place.   I can finally put all my creative ideas into my business freely.  Yes, life is certainly easier and more satisfying when I allow the expansion of life rather than trying make it happen.   I love that feeling of being tuned in, tapped in, and turned on.  It’s a great place to be.   More to come…..

Woodland Fairy House

Jenny, Chrissy and I came up on Friday morning while Suzy was expected to arrive by happy hour.  We decided to just decompress the day away with knitting and maybe a little walk to the meadow to check out the wildflowers.  While walking down the road I was telling them about fairy houses I had researched on the internet.  Fairy Houses?  Well, it sounded like fun to make a little house out of stuff you find in the woods to  welcome the forest faires.  We passed a little fern forest (that, by-the-way, wasn’t anywhere else in our view) and decided it would be a great place to build our little fairy house.  Jenny found a tree knot that became the front door while Chrissy gathered moss for the roof.   We were all transported back to a time when this seemed like the most logical thing in the world to build a house to welcome the forest fairies.   It was a beautiful thing to see 3 middle-aged women foraging around the forest getting excited about design elements to add to our little fairy house.  At that moment we were children again and I have to tell you, it felt wonderful.

Suzy arrived just in time for margarita’s and hula-hooping on the deck.  Everyone took a turn with the hula hoop but I think Jenny liked it the most.  I got another one to join me in this fun activity (score!).

Sandy, Chrissy, Suzy and Jenny

The next day we decided to take a hike to the lookout on top of the Sierra  Buttes.  There was still snow on the trails so we weren’t sure how far we were willing to hike across snowy slopes with our tennies on.  The wildflowers were late coming out this year too.  We got to see a few but most were just starting to emerge from the ground.  If we came back in about 3 weeks, the mountains will be covered with blooms and humming birds.  My sister and I have hiked this trail several times over the past 30 or so years, and neither one of us ever gets tired of the beautiful blooms and views.  This year in particular, the view was void of the smog we usually see in the valley below.  As we were taking a break at the top of the mountain looking down at Tamarack Lakes and Packer Lake, we all played the Appreciation Game.  Everyone came up with wonderful things to appreciate about our wonderful weekend.  The warmth of friendship flowed and we all were breathing a little more deeply with our attention and focus on being in the moment of pure joy.  We didn’t make it to the top of the lookout but no one seemed to mind.

Sierra Buttes at Sardine Lake

Before heading back to the cabin, we took in some refreshment at Sardine Lake Resort and admired the view of the Buttes.   Nothing tastes better than a cold beer after a long hike (as far as I’m concerned).

Back at the cabin we were happy to sit and knit again.  I love listening to the conversations that emerge during these times.  We all have a history with each other.  Chrissy and Suzy were both in Jenny’s and my wedding party 30 or so years ago.  We all know a lot of the same people.  There was some reminising about the fun we had when we were young and some working on personal issues but through it all was friendship and love.   These are the times I cherish the most.  There is no place to be but here in the present; no one to tell us we were wasting time sitting and knitting; no one to have to take care of; no jobs to have to do; no clocks to watch.  When we were hungry somehow the food emerged.  When we were ready for happy hour, the drinks appeared.  Some people pay a lot of money to go on vacation only to have stories of all the things that went wrong.   As I sat on that porch listening to my friends talk about life, I realized how lucky I am.   The things I really love are what I already have.  I am living the life I have always wanted to live.  Why did I ever complain about what I didn’t have?  I think I am one step closer to understanding the Laws of the Universe.  All is well.  More to come……

The next morning I felt the effects of all that fun and OMG my hips were feeling every bit of my gyrating  from my hoopin’ happiness.  Long story short, I ordered my hula hoop this morning and plan on using it to work out after my meditation every morning.  My philosophy is, if it feels good, do it!  I’m putting together a Mumbo Gumbo playlist that will be my hula hoopin’ beat.   In the interest of well-being, it is impossible to feel bad when you are hoopin’ to the beat of great music.  My hoop should arrive in a week and I can hardly wait to get started on yet another great habit…..more to come.

The achievement of anything that you desire must be considered success, whether it is a trophy or money or relationships or things. But if you will let your standard of success be your achievement of joy—everything else will fall easily into place. For in the finding of joy, you are finding vibrational alignment with the resources of the Universe.

— Abraham

I have been getting back into the routine of walking again and I love listening to this powerful teaching while I take in the beauty of my surroundings and get some exercise.  With each new batch of recordings,  I connect to another level of understanding.  It’s like I am being led down the rabbit hole….”How far do you want to go?”.   With each new understanding comes a new question and with the new question comes new answers and therefore greater understanding and awareness.

What I am hearing clearly this time is the need to quiet my mind in order to align with the new creation that is waiting for me in the ethers.  By the time something is manifested into reality it is effectively “old news”.  Where there is a problem, a solution is born, isn’t that great to know?  I’m wanting to bring my awareness into the frequency of the solution rather than focusing on the problem, which I know from experience doesn’t work too well.   I like the metaphor of driving a car – we never look in our lap while driving; we look forward to where we are going (duh).  The other piece of the equation is that the new creation will always come through the crack of least resistance.   What can I do to release some of that unconscious resistance?  I keep hearing the message to practice meditation on a daily basis; to practice the art of letting go of the conscious mind for brief periods of time.  I have been resistant to this but now it seems like the next logical step.  Ok, I’ll do it!!

I got Getting into the Vortex Guided Meditation CD by Esther and Jerry Hicks (The Teachings of Abraham) from my niece Jessica for Christmas and have used it on several occasions.  It’s a wonderful CD with four different 15 minute meditations: (1) General Well-Being, (2) Financial Well-Being, (3) Physical Well-Being, and (4) Relationships Well-Being.  Even though I understand the benefits of Meditation, I have rarely taken the time to do it on a regular basis.  I tried meditating at home but I wasn’t really comfortable doing it there.  Since moving to my new office space,  I have found my massage room to be exceptionally quiet and relaxing, so for the past few days I have been coming to work early in order to meditate before I start my work day.

Meditation takes a great deal of practice and patience (apparently).   As I started to listen to the tape,  I could feel my resistance to letting go of my thoughts and evening out my breathing.  This Meditation CD has special musical tones that help the meditator find the rhythm of proper breathing.  They suggest a breathing tempo of 6 breaths per minute.   I found myself not hearing the words the first few times around because I wanted to concentrate on the breathing aspect of the meditation.   Breathe In (1-2-3), Breathe Out (1-2-3-4-5).  So far, all this breathing has been great for the complexion and I do feel better as I settle down and find my own unique rhythm.

I haven’t tapped into infinite intelligence just yet but I will let you know of my progress in the days to come.  In the meantime, I’m learning the breathe…Breathe in (1-2-3), Breathe out (1-2-3-4-5)…..more to come.