Personal Abundance Choices

There are few things better than a good foot rub at the end of the day. It never gets old. The sigh that travels throughout my body is fresh and renewing every single time. Last night it reminded me of the value of knowing my chocolate moments.

These moments of complete contentment are stepping stones in the rushing river of life.

A phone call from a friend, when embraced with abandon and outside time, fills me with such a sense of being truly known, I am then ready to show up in responsibilities where only pieces of myself are evident.

A half hour with a good book and a pint of chocolate sorbet sets the stage for paying bills and untangling the misunderstanding with my internet server.

Eating lunch at a local café in the middle of the afternoon with my husband makes grocery shopping a snap.

And what I notice about these stepping stones of personal joy is how little they cost or use my time and energy. It’s little things that make my heart sing. The challenge is making them so important the busy-ness of life doesn’t distract. It’s remembering to tell myself that this kind of time is the most worthy thing happening as the waters of my river of life swirl around my feet and rush by.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Choices for Change

There seems to be a persistent belief that I need to be taken to fear, doubt, deficiencies, or shame to make changes in my life. And I reject that!

I get to stand right here, where I’ve arrived, with what I’ve worked for and attained… and feel ready for more and better. I get to look at all the good things in my life and recognize what I’ve accomplished and still be ready to explore new possibilities. I get to want a health, wealth, love, abundance, serenity, satisfaction, successes, friendships, and my potential humming like a well-oiled machine simply because it is there to have if I can find my way.

And when I look backward and around me, I see that transitions can feel like they arrived uninvited, but my capacity to meet the challenges come from tapping into strengths, remembering my natural talents, relying on my instincts. Calling on what is best about my Self brings better days. Directing my energy and time to what I want takes me out of where I’ve been or currently reside.

So, I get to be very selective about what I read, who I listen to, and what I accept. I get to keep turning toward the information that reminds me of my possibilities and encourages me to believe I deserve everything good. I get to choose only those paths that promise to support as I find my way to change.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Intuition Hits

There are times I get intuitive hits so disconnected from what I know, that I shrug them away. It might be sensing I should ask someone I barely know about something I’m manifesting. It’s often a sense I get about another person that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with me. And, as I sit here musing about this, I realize the hits I tend to disregard are those asking me to involve other people.

Aha.

I’m fine, I’m inclined, I enjoy and I believe in responding to my intuition so why have I been accepting this limitation? I know it’s not because I doubt the hits. I don’t. I think I let them slip through the cracks of communication because they are more intimate that mere thoughts or observations. They seem to connect me to others in ways neither of us actively invited and voicing them feels a bit intrusive.

But I want to walk around to the other side of this circumstance and see if there is another way I could manage my discomfort because I am convinced one of the main reasons it is important to respond to intuition is to let the universe know I am listening. It’s like saying, “Yes, I heard, thank you. Keep them coming.”

So rather than shying away from sharing these hits involving others, I think I will start trying to find respectful ways to communicate the messages coming my way. I want to stretch my possibilities by honoring all my intuitive hits.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Body Choices

I’m always looking for ways to be friends with my body. Considering the many complexities that come together to make every part work so beautifully with every other part, I am consistently amazed by her capacity. She shows up every single day with spirit and willingness to support my journey and I enjoy responding in kind.

Our friendship is encouraging, gentle, and respectful. She is willing to work hard at times, but insists on a daily dose of chocolate. I give her attention, but it has to fit into scattered moments throughout my day rather than being an event. On this, we are in complete agreement. We don’t like events.

So I was recently delighted to discover standing on one foot had more value than I had imagined. A hundred years ago, I started standing on first one foot and then the other while I brushed my teeth. Body and I agreed this was an excellent way to move through the years keeping our balancing muscles alert and able.

Then I learned I could strengthen my stomach muscles by standing still with my feet slightly apart and pushing my heels into the floor. Yes. It worked. I could feel the effect. And then I realized it was the same feeling I had when standing on one foot, maintaining my balance as long as I could.

Now I look for little moments during my days to stand on one foot… or the other. I can do this while my tea water is heating, the line at the grocery store is moving slowly, or I am talking on the phone. And, at the end of the day, body and I have worked together to sustain our balancing muscles and tone our abdomen in the gentle way we both appreciate.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Choices and My Dreams

More and more, I am finding it isn’t the doing that is daunting and difficult; it is the step before that. I trip, stall, or stop when it is time to give my self permission to respond with the power of my wants. And, sitting at Café Spirit, I’m seeing two reasons for this.

I get caught up because this step takes me into the murky places of my pond of choices. Here my desires swim at the top, but I can feel my fears wrapping around my feet like underwater vines. I feel the weight of balancing my inclination with what I believe others need and this pulls me under. Here, in the depth of past experience, taking a deep breath of resignation and swimming underwater seems like a best option.

As well, there is the comfort of swimming below the surface where no one can watch my strokes or see my progress or doubt my direction. Oh yes, there is something quite soothing about not showing up with my power to swim all over that pond, going this way and that, feeling the sun on my back and my heart racing with my progress.

But leaving my wants floating on the surface of my life and avoiding the exposure of showing up with my particular strokes and kicks are no longer serving me. I know this because I have had moments in my pond of choices when I surfaced with my desires and swam in glorious rhythm with my Self. Contentment and connection were there. Deep happiness tickled curiosity. And these are the true power of my wants.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Change and Personal Growth

Today, a guest at Café Spirit shared her choice to follow the path less familiar. Such daring. Such beauty. And I am reminded our growth and change is always in the perfect, best time.

I don’t often remember this when I’m taking a tentative or determined step in a different direction. In that moment, I’m more connected to feeling the discomfort of continuing what I’m doing and the distress of daring myself to consider another path.

This kind of insight comes from looking back and seeing how side paths and turns have led to me the right people and circumstances in ways I could never have imagined, planned, or conjured. It confirms my internal compass is at work even when I’m not aware.

So any time there is a choice made to leave the usual road traveled, I am smiles and sighs. It is a sure sign intuition and will have joined hands in giving direction to the future.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Dreams Change Relationships

I’ve never ridden in a hot air balloon, but I wonder if it feels much like taking off on a spirit adventure. It seems like both lift me away from the usual and, though I can guide their direction, one never knows when a current will grab the moment and take them on an unexpected journey.

This happened when I was thinking about the way I hide. With a cup of decaf, I let that feeling wash through me and I was caught by a current of musing leaving me wondering if my skin had become the armor between me and those circumstances – or dreams – I could not face. My fears might come from feeling overwhelmed, but just as often they were connected to the sheer force of the stunning joy I might find if I dared show up.

Sitting with this cowering feeling, the layers of my skin and this largest organ of my body confirmed their role in protecting me. And, in recent weeks, I have been changing my relationship with my skin. First it became more porous, allowing ‘me’ to pour out into my every day world more freely. Then it transformed again. My skin became a glowing reflection of ‘me’ and I am inviting it to pulse with my very-Jeanne vibrations, knowing they will echo far beyond my sense of time and place.

Now I am left wondering if my skin wrinkled under the weight when I called on it to be my armor? Did it pop with pimples or sag in its effort to protect me from my fears? Did it itch into a rash from too much stress? I can’t know for sure, but I am definitely anticipating the changes that might be evident now that my skin is vibrating, glowing, and breathing easily in our new relationship.

Notes Along the Way… Jeanne

Abundance Now

I have come to a familiar fork in my life journey, but this time I arrive a little wiser… with the emphasis on little. I can’t claim powers of Wonder Woman or Superman, but at least I have recognized the landmarks. This is the place where the path to my future slopes off to the left or heads up the mountainside to the right.

The left fork has been traveled most often. I can feel myself lean that way. The pathway is more clear, drawing me like a soothing, cool creek after walking so many challenging miles as I move from what ‘has been’ to ‘what I want’. Yes, stepping to the left appeals and all I have to do is dig into my tired and tattered basket of old beliefs to be convinced this is the best choice.

On the other hand, should I find that extra bit of courage to set the basket at my feet, I could reach into my pocketful of dreams where, I am quite sure, I would be encouraged to remember the beauty and value of ‘what I want’. The upper slope will take me there. Though I will have to brave the unknown and stay steady, that is the direction for dreams coming true.

The left turn is appealing as the cool creek entices me with comforting consolation. But I’ve been at this particular spot before and I chose that route when I was faced with dream challenges. This time, I’m going to take that first step to the right, knowing I can always turn back. And if that isn’t enough encouragement, then I am urged by this feeling. If not now, when?

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Energy, Time, Choices

I have discovered I’m not so averse to winter with its gentle snow days and shivering muffler mornings. It’s waiting for spring that starts about now and settles under my skin like a rash I want to scratch. There is something singularly disturbing about waiting for time to pass… for any reason.

On any morning, when I wake up, I feel like the day has endless possibilities. At the same time, I believe there are two things I’ll be spending during the day that can’t be replenished.

Energy is one. I have only so much energy to take me to the other side of any particular day. I can give it away where it fills my heart or throw it away by reacting in old ways no longer taking me to the future I want. I can also invest my pocket full of energy in daring deeds of creativity connected to my purpose and passion. Or I can let my energy sit in the bottom of my pocket, waiting for a better day.

Time is the second thing I get to spend each day. And this is becoming more precious as one year and another decade slip by. I’m getting much more inclined to ask myself if “this” is how I want to spend my treasured time. Not long ago, I sat across from a lady in a waiting room. She looked up at me and declared, “I only do things that please me and that has made all the difference.” I don’t know her name, but I’m certain she came to me as a messenger.

And I come to Café Spirit convinced I don’t want to spend any more time waiting for spring. I won’t give that time away. So, sitting here, encouraged by others seeking tea and insights, I’m choosing to spend these next weeks doing the indoor kinds of things I set aside during spring, summer, and fall. I’m going to see if I can’t arrive at the warm days with projects completed and my spirit growing.

Notes along the way… Jeanne

Dreams, Choices, Optimism

There is music for smiles, memories, and moments of bliss. Some songs make me move, tap my feet, and encourage me to believe I can sing. Entire CD’s keep me company when I’m driving or painting or on my Nordic Track. But there are those special songs, just a precious few, that have changed my life.

The first time it happened for me, the song was an intuitive gift in a crushing, crashing need to have something to hang onto. When I turned it on and hit the repeat button, it was like grabbing a raft in raging white waters. In the howl of minor chords ripping along the deep, pounding drums, I rode the turbulence of my feelings and came to a calm cove on the other side of the song.

Recently, I heard a song in a movie and knew it had the power to move my dreams. I could tell because I grabbed the arms of the theater chairs so I wouldn’t stand up and dance across the seats… as though I can dance and balance and leap over those sitting in front of me. Yet, the music made me believe I could. It rushed under my skin making me feel anything and everything was possible.

I have that song on a CD now and I turn it on often. It’s a sure dose of optimism. It stops the chatter and connects me instantaneously to the dreams beating in my heart.

Notes along the way… Jeanne