Birthing Pains

I don't need to tell you about the massive challenges and changes going on around the world. The headlines are full of natural disasters, wars, economic roller coasters, a growing gap between the rich and the poor--you name it. And while it can seem like things are as bad as they can get, I think they are going to get much worse before they get better. I don’t say this to stir up fear. There is nothing to be afraid of. As the labor pains of childbirth can be painful and continue to intensify, so too are we in a time of intensification that can feel scary and be painful. Yet the beauty of new life—a true miracle—is waiting to emerge. It is a natural process...one we don't have to be afraid of.

This is true for each of us, and for our whole planet. With the end of the Mayan calendar, we are moving into a new Age of great possibility--one of greater wisdom, collaboration and respect for each other and the Earth. However, the old ways are still crumbling, and it is up to us to co-create a new reality on our planet. We are being called to release our clinging to external forms of guidance and support and strengthen our connection to the wisdom, intuition and spiritual guidance that comes from within.

To the extent that we choose to release our fearful and egoic tendencies to stay comfortable and maintain the status quo, it will be a painful process. Resisting the contractions of childbirth only only intensify the pain and difficulty of the process. Instead, learning to BE and flow with the changes, staying connected to our hearts, and making choices in alignment with our authentic self and guidance from Spirit will allow us to move more quickly and easily through this time of transition.

Here's to a more awake, conscious, authentic, respectful and loving society where we ALL are valued and supported to contribute our unique gifts, and live in harmony with ourselves, each other, and the planet...for the sake of the generations to come. I am excited to be creating such a reality with you, in service to the Oneness that is in and through us all.

upside-down professionalism

Here we are, only a week after the barrage of holiday and New Year festivities, which for most involves a plethora of cookies, chocolate, alcohol, and miscellaneous sugar-laden treats. While I managed to get through the season without receiving a candy cane attached to a card (as a matter of fact, I don’t think I even saw a candy cane this year), I still need to admit: I over-did it. After several weeks of sliding into loose boundaries with my sugar, wheat and dairy intake, my body has been talking to me in ways I don’t enjoy. The digestive woes, stiff joints in the morning, scratchy throat, mildly stuffy sinuses, extra dry skin and facial breakouts are what I’ve come to recognize as warning signs that my eating has gotten out of balance.

There—I said it. I got out of balance and was eating way more food than my body wants or needs, and making poor choices. (If you know me and were holding me up as a nutrition saint, now you know I’m not perfect!) While my close friends and family see me enjoying sugar-laden desserts and over-eating at times, it’s not easy to admit to an audience that includes clients and potential clients. Yet, I find a wonderful freedom in speaking the truth. I know I’m not perfect and I don’t want to hide behind a mask that I am.

It’s interesting to me that even though I teach an approach of moderation and not labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” I still have resistance to admitting that I’ve overdone it with foods I know don’t make me feel well. Perhaps this is strong evidence of how modern culture has moralized food. And perhaps, too, I’ve created a story that if I encourage my clients to be listening to their bodies and minimizing the processed foods that don’t make them feel well, I should be perfect at doing that myself. (Hmmm, there's that should word again, a trusty red flag.) On one hand it seems reasonable—I certainly want to be someone who walks her talk. Yet on the other hand, who is perfect? As a great teacher once said, "Let them cast the first stone."

Where did this expectation come from that someone providing a professional service must be squeaky clean …as though they’ve “arrived” at some state of perfection? I certainly have heaped that expectation on myself time and time again, striving for that perfect state of eating and balance that seems to elude us all. And while I prefer to be tended by professionals who walk their talk, I have also fallen prey to the common practice of putting that expectation on professionals who serve me…and when they occasionally step outside the typical rules around self-disclosure to share their own stories and shortcomings, I breathe a sigh of relief, and feel the tension in my gut and shoulders melt away, as I am reminded of their humanness and imperfections.

Might a more upside-down approach of being real and honest about our experiences as professionals serve our clients in a deeper way? While there’s a fine line here between sharing our experiences appropriately and inappropriately, I think the typical “sage on a stage” approach that focuses on “fixing” the client or the symptom does more harm than good. Personally, I resist and close down when someone fires advice and “shoulds” at me, as though if I just did _____, everything would be fine and dandy. I usually don’t want to go back to see that person, and I hear similar reports from my clients. On the contrary, when they partner with me without judgment, and share their human side, I am less likely to be overly hard on myself, and can move beyond my perceived shortcomings to accomplish what I’m aiming for, to the best of my ability.

Such is the type of support I aim to provide to my clients: heart-centered, real, and authentic, with the central aim of serving and empowering them in their unique process toward greater authenticity and freedom, health and happiness. I am certainly a beginner at this. I’m counting the past several weeks of sugar addiction as a valuable lesson (rather than a moral failure) that provided me with a wake-up call to my own eating issues, gave me a greater understanding for my clients’ struggles, and revealed a motivating contrast to how I’ll feel after a few sugar-free days. Now ... on to the detox!