Be Your Own Best Valentine

Regardless of our relationship status, each of us deserves to feel loved unconditionally. 

Even when we have romance, it’s possible to feel less loved than we might like sometimes.  The other person in the relationship is human after all.  What if they forget Valentine’s Day, or your birthday?  It more likely means they were focused on something else, rather than they don’t love you, but it’s normal to feel less than completely loved in those situations.

It feels amazing and wonderful to experience love and validation from the world around us, of course it does. We’ll take all of that we can get! But it’s also crucial to cultivate unconditional self-love.

When we deprive ourselves of a deep self-love (which is frequently the case for humans) we actually block ourselves from fully receiving all the love that is flowing to us.  When we refuse to practice self-love, we unconsciously teach others that self-love is not worth practicing.  When we practice the opposite of self-love, beating ourselves up, telling ourselves we are not enough, feeling shame about our bodies, guilt about our food, or questioning our own worthiness, then we increase stress to both mind and body, decrease our energy, weaken our immune system, accelerate disease processes, and feel disconnected from Spirit.

Cultivating deep self-love allows others to love us more deeply, and unconsciously allows others to love themselves more deeply.  Cultivating deep self-love gives us more energy, allowing us to offer more energy to the people and projects we love.  Cultivating deep self-love provides a sense of balance and stability when the world around us is in chaos.  Cultivating deep self-love means our cup is always full to overflowing, so when we choose to serve others we do not deplete ourselves.  Cultivating deep self-love boosts our immunity, and is the healthiest thing we can do for body, mind, and spirit.

photo by Dani Navarro

So I invite each of you to become your own best Valentine!

NOT just on February 14, please. I invite you to be your own best Valentine every single day.  Make sure that connecting with You becomes a priority, until it becomes a habit.  Add time to your schedule each week to date yourself and use that time to connect with You, do something you enjoy, and charge your batteries.  Use the list below as inspiration to create your own ever-changing list of at least ten to twelve things you enjoy doing alone.  When the time you have selected arrives in your schedule, choose something off your list and enjoy!

Don’t put it off, or say you’ll do it later! How would you feel if your lover rescheduled a date?  It would likely make us feel undervalued, or taken for granted! I know that’s how I would feel.  Would we put off a date with someone we were truly in love with to do the laundry ,or scroll the internet, or work overtime?  Not unless it was a true emergency!  Right?

Don’t make yourself feel like an afterthought!  Make yourself number one!  Schedule a date to do something you love with You now, and show yourself how truly loved and appreciated you are!  The BEST way to feel loved and well-cared for is to immerse ourselves in unconditional love consistently, every single day.

Grow on!

These ideas are NOT just for single people!
Don’t forget to turn off your cell phone so you can be totally present with You.

Ideas for dating your beautiful self include, but are in no way limited to:

  • Watch sunrise/sunset at a local beach/park.
  • Lie on a beach, or in your backyard and feel the sun on your skin.
  • Take yourself to a feel-good movie.
  • Visit a museum.
  • Cook your favorite dish.  Put flowers and candles on the table.
  • Take a good book, your journal, or a favorite podcast to the park and spread a blanket in the grass.
  • Create a romantic atmosphere in the bathroom and enjoy a steaming bath with Epsom salts, coconut oil, and lavender.
  • Take yourself to a local cafe to be alone with your thoughts.  Bring your journal.
  • Get dressed up and take a dance class.
  • Write a love letter to yourself.
  • Take yourself to a fancy restaurant and read the love letter to yourself while you wait for your meal.
  • Take a long walk at sunrise or sunset.
  • In front of a mirror, look deeply into your own eyes, and make a list of everything you appreciate about yourself.
  • Take a picnic somewhere pretty and revel in your own company.
  • What’s your favorite thing to do?  Add it to the list!

Stop and Play in the Sandbox!

I know I have talked about my favorite podcast before, Spiritual Sandbox with Amit West and Jill Lebeau. So at the risk of repeating myself,

What a fucking BRILLIANT podcast!  

Jill and Amit bring so much joy and light to my world!   Their podcast is a gift, and I love playing with them in the Spiritual Sandbox!

Currently they have fourteen episodes to which I listen repeatedly to absorb the joyful vibration and the pure, unconditional love!  It never fails to open my heart and release any stress I was holding. Each and every one of them is my favorite episode, but the newest episode with special guest Karen Drucker might be my most favorite.  Karen is an extraordinary woman who writes and sings songs meant to heal, inspire and empower.

Not only am I adding Karen’s music to my Fabulous Fucking Toolbox, but during the podcast she mentions a tool she uses – the fun file – that I am also adding to my FF Toolbox!  

The episode left me jubilant!  Karen is full of joy and enthusiasm – much like Jill and Amit – and I felt positively giddy as I scrolled Karen’s website downloading her musical affirmations. I quickly had several of the catchy tunes lodged neatly in my brain. I found Money is Coming to Me, Gifts of the Goddess and I Give Myself Permission to be particularly catchy. I felt joyful dancing around my living room!

Karen writes music to inspire a positive vibration.  She creates beautiful positive affirmations set to inspiring rhythms and I absolutely adore all of it!  Karen talked about writing a song for a friend undergoing treatment for cancer, called Healed, Whole, and Healthy.  Her intention was for her friend to listen to the song as a vibrational healing tool while getting her physical treatments. “Like putting a double whammy on the disease,” she said. I love this idea!

We receive so much negative messaging throughout our day, Karen’s songs shift that messaging back toward love, back toward the Divine in each of us.  Her chants help us reframe the messages in our head that want us to believe we are not enough, the voice that tells us to play small, and fear the unknown.

As an energy coach, reframing is my favorite tool. Karen’s music takes that tool to astounding new heights!  If you’re looking for a really fun way to lift your vibe on a daily basis, I highly recommend all of her chant CD’s.  You can also purchase collections like healing or prosperity if you want to focus on a particular manifestation.

Grow on!

What are you doing every day to raise your vibration?
Try playing in the Spiritual Sandbox and see if that feels like fun to you!
Listen to Karen Drucker on YouTube or her website and see if you don’t feel deeply happy and inspired!

Count Your Fucking Blessings

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I recently saw a friend that I hadn’t seen since COVID began.  She told me about some homeowner challenges she faced, and about the anxiety that arose around the subject of her home.  It had her thinking maybe she should sell while the market is high, after all it might be worth more right now than it ever will be again.  She described feeling stuck in her energy, and being unmotivated.

Then she said something so simple, so wise, so profound:

“I chose to see the house as a blessing instead of a burden, and everything shifted.”

Her stuck energy unstuck.  She started creating art again.  She’s manifesting new opportunities for connections and finances.  She feels lighter and happier.  All because she chose to see the house – and ALL the challenges it presents – as blessings, and part of her learning adventure.  She listed all the things she loves about her home, and all the ways it inspires her creativity.  She even realized that she had fun learning about the home repairs as they happened.

One decision changed everything.  She chose to count her fucking blessings, and she is an inspiration for all of us who know her.

In the same week, I had a wonderful conversation with a client who described growing into a “lens of gratitude.”  She told me that often she finds herself shifting from the old story of “not enough” to a new appreciation for seeing things with gratitude.  I love that phrase!  Choosing to look through a “lens of gratitude” reminds us that shifting mindset can be as easy as putting on a new set of glasses.

What will shift for me when I look through my lens of gratitude instead of a lens of criticism, or fear?

Both these women reminded me of the tremendous value in simply counting my fucking blessings! 

My lungs inflate and bring oxygen to my blood without me ever thinking about it!  What a blessing.  The sun came up – HUGE blessing!  Mortgage to pay?  I feel so blessed to have a roof over my head.  Flowers, blue sky, rain, my pets! The list of things and people which I appreciate is infinite!

And because energy attracts like energy, the more we look for and focus on what we appreciate, the more people and situations the Universe brings us to appreciate!

Celebrate Thanksgiving by feeling truly thankful. If you feel inspired, take a few minutes and make a list. Mental lists are great, but writing it down boosts our gratitude energy!

It’s simple and free, and feels really REALLY great!

Grow on!

This is the BEST recipe for the holiday season and every day!

Ingredients: ANY possible combination of the following (or others):

  • frustration
  • irritation
  • resentments
  • stressful situations
  • annoying relatives

Directions:
Count your fucking blessings.
When you become aware that these ingredients have been mixed into your day, stop, breathe, and count your fucking blessings.  If you are open to it, make a gratitude list about the person/situation you are encountering. If you’re just not ready to make a gratitude list about whoever is pushing your buttons, make a gratitude list about all the OTHER stuff you have to appreciate like running hot water, your cat, and the miracle of your lungs.

Ask Yourself this Important Question

Several times a day, I hear my partner ask our dog, “What do you need?”  Each time telepathy relays the answer and a walk ensues, or lunch, or a rousing game of squeaky ball.  I’m only human, so I started to feel a little resentful toward the dog, and wondered who was looking attentively after my needs.  

Well whose job is that?  (Hint: It’s not my partner’s, and when that’s what I think, I become resentful.)

After a little coaching, I remembered that it’s mine.  It’s my job to be sure my needs are being met.  So I started asking myself,

What do I need right now?

It’s incredible what a difference that little question makes!  Not only are more of my needs being met, but I feel genuinely cared for and supported! 

Crazy, right?

Eighty percent of the time the answer is water, so I hydrate.  Often I just need a few minutes to catch my breath, so I allow myself to sit and breathe.  Can you imagine?! When I need to catch my breath, I just sit and breathe for two minutes instead of feeling frustrated, and resentful that my needs are not being met, as I rush off to do whatever comes next.

It seems so simple, yet how often do we do it?  How often are we checking in with what we need in this moment?  The answer for most of us is not very often because our culture conditions us to think of that as being selfish, and regularly encourages us to put other’s needs before our own.

What we NEED shifts moment to moment and day to day, so it’s not going to be the same every time you ask/answer the question.  And what we need is not always the same as what we want.  We might want coffee to get us through the afternoon at work, but if we ask what we truly need and genuinely listen for the answer, we may find we need a twenty-minute nap, or a ten-minute walk outside, or a cup of herbal tea, or electrolytes.

What would it be like if we asked ourself this question once a day? Twice a day? All day long?  What changes when we ask the question before reaching for a processed snack food?  What will shift if we ask the question all week?

It’s possible we’ll feel more cared for and supported.  It’s possible we’ll feel happier and more relaxed.  We might even have more energy to give to the people and projects we’re passionate about.  Truly tuning in to our body’s needs will reveal deeper wisdom that might be the key to finally reaching our ideal weight.  We won’t know the vast extent of what’s possible until we try!

Grow on!

Ask yourself, “What do I need right now?”

If it’s something simple like rest, water, or a bathroom break, give that to yourself! If it’s something bigger like a new career, you can ask, “what steps do I need to take right now to move in that direction?”


Coaching can help!

I offer the first TWO coaching sessions free of charge so you can see if coaching is right for you, and also see if I’m the right coach for you!  If we’re not a good match, I have a long list of peers to whom I can refer you.  You’ll walk away with at least one action step to move you toward your goal, so you have nothing to lose!  Book your first session HERE.

Enjoy the Moment!

Hello Everyone!

I have been on vacation in Croatia where I enjoyed the weather, the people, the architecture, the food, and every single moment I breathed vacation air.

I didn’t write anything for you this week because I was busy enjoying the moment every chance I got! Now I am home and thinking about all the fun we manifested, and enjoying those moments again! So I invite you to enjoy some of my vacation photos at this link: Cyndi & Jeremy’s Travel Blog.

Enjoy the moments that make you smile!

Everything Happens for a Purpose

I believe this adamantly, but we do NOT always get to know that purpose. It’s an act of faith which I practice whenever humanly possible, so it’s really NICE to have that faith validated clearly. I have an excellent example from recent personal experience!

I’ve been challenged with some nasty diverticulitis symptoms for the entire month of August.  At times it was so bad I feared for my trip to  Croatia this month.  I cursed my weak gut.  I cursed the diverticulitis.
I did not have nice things to say about Kaiser.  I was not in a happy state.  The stories in my head tried to run away with me…

But I practice being in alignment often enough that I knew what to do to start feeling better. Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” I began asking, “How is this happening for me?

I started bringing myself back into alignment with Source repetitively, over and over again joining with my Source, and doing my best to appreciate all that is happening FOR me.

I allowed myself to slow down and heal.  I canceled massage clients altogether, and took coaching clients via phone rather than face to face.  I hydrated, napped, and focussed on feeling better so I can enjoy that vacation I have been planning for more than a thousand days.

I started to appreciate the situation.

I started to feel appreciative of extra time to rest.  I appreciated having time to read a good book.  I appreciated my naturopath for guiding me in the healing process.  I appreciated the fact that it happened in August and NOT in September.  The wonderful timing meant I had time to heal before traveling!  How awesome is that?  I appreciated the fact that it gave me an opportunity to practice my alignment to Source.

Then I got even bigger evidence that this was happening for my highest good.

If I had been feeling well, I would have gone to see my favorite massage therapist.  I rescheduled hoping I would feel better, but she had to cancel the next appointment because she came down with COVID.  The appointment I canceled due to the diverticulitis would have exposed me to her before she knew she was contagious.

If I did not allow myself to rest and heal, I would have seen one of my coaching clients in person instead of shifting to a phone appointment.  The following week she texted to let me know that she had tested positive for COVID. Shifting to the phone appointment prevented me from being exposed to her before she knew she was contagious.

The Universe fucking adores me.

THANK YOU Universe for the gift of diverticulitis.
THANK YOU for giving me this chance to heal!
THANK YOU for preventing me from possibly getting COVID twice.
THANK YOU for the evidence once again that everything is always working out for me despite what my limited mind can see.

The worst is behind me and I am just feeling better and better from here on out!

I have a whole new appreciation for my gut, and the utmost intention of listening to her, and allowing her to guide me.

I have experiential evidence that PROVES the Universe adores me, and wants me to be fucking happy!

Grow on!

What challenge is happening for you right now?
How many ways can you find to appreciate some aspect of it?

Happy on the Way

How many of us have decided that we will be happy “when…”?

…when I lose weight.
.…when I find true love.
.…when I have a nice house.
.…when I get that great job.
.…when I have lots of money.
.…when I can travel the world.

Many who struggle with weight-reduction believe that if they can just reach their ideal body weight, they will suddenly achieve happiness.  Our culture conditions us to believe that thin, fit people are happier than those who are heavier, and therefore, if we become thinner, we will also be happy.

I cry bullshit!

If we don’t enjoy ourselves along the way, we won’t know how to enjoy ourselves when we arrive. If we don’t practice loving ourselves when we are heavy, we won’t know how to love ourselves when we are thin.

Let’s pretend the goal is simply to ENJOY a vacation.

Happy Hannah enjoys planning the trip, making the reservations, researching the itinerary.  She chooses pricier accommodations with stunning water views, because she values the way it makes her feel.  She enjoys setting aside money each week to grow her dream.  She enjoys thinking about the fun interactions that will happen with friendly people, and the beautiful sights she will see.  She enjoys going to the bank to buy euros, and makes friends enjoying virtual tours in the countries to which she will travel.  She frequently pauses to visualize herself enjoying the adventure.

Kalista Krabapple wants to travel too, but feels stressed out trying to find the cheapest airline ticket.  She worries about whether she will be able to drink the water, or if it will be safe to leave the resort.  She buys a travel bag meant to prevent theft.  She worries about money and decides to get the cheapest rooms even if it’s not quite what she wants, and feels a little resentful that she can’t afford better rooms.  She doesn’t like the way she looks in her swimsuit and decides not to swim while away.  Maybe by her next vacay she’ll finally lose the weight.  What if no one speaks English?

No one is going to blame Kalista for this train of thought!  This is normal human behavior.  Anyone might have any of these thoughts about travel.  

But who is going to enjoy her vacation more?  Is Kalista going to feel relaxed and happy while she’s away?  Or will her worried energy attract more things for her to worry and fuss about while she’s on vacation? 

Hannah has practiced happiness along the way, looking for things to enjoy and appreciate.  What kind of vacation experience is her energy going to attract?  Feeling happy attracts more to feel happy about.

Let’s say someone is looking for their soulmate. 

They know once they have their lover in their arms they will be happy ever after, but often worry their lover may never come.  “Why haven’t
I met them yet?  What if I never meet them? What if I am alone forever?”

Instead of allowing room for happiness today, they may project anxious, insecure energy, and settle for the first person who asks them on a date.  Since energy attracts like energy, it’s likely the ‘soulmate’ they settle for will also be anxious and insecure.  What will shift in this scenario if they take time to choose thoughts that allow them to feel happy and confident before their lover arrives?  What kind of energy will they attract then?

Shifting from negative feeling thoughts to positive feeling thoughts is worth the effort, and it takes time.

If my goal is to feel happy with my body (free and confident in my skin), beginning to feel appreciation for my body NOW will get me there more quickly. 

We start feeling free and confident when we start feeling free and confident!

We can choose to start feeling happy now, or after we lose 60 pounds.  The process will still take time.  Let’s say it’s X weeks since it’s different for everyone.  

We can feel happy X weeks from now, or X weeks from the moment we become 60 pounds lighter. Feel the difference?

If this resonates for you, you may be saying, “That makes good sense, but how on earth do I start feeling happy, free, and confident BEFORE
I reach that goal that I am certain will be my greatest joy?”

Fabulous question!  Glad you asked.

In next week’s blog post, I’ll talk about a process called Laddering Thoughts that helps people shift negative-feeling thoughts, gently toward thoughts that are more uplifting, so we can begin to feel lighter, freer, happier, and more confident.

Grow on!

What goal are you waiting to reach before you claim your happiness?
What would shift if you allowed yourself to feel happier NOW?
What are some of the thoughts you think regularly?
Do those thoughts bring you down, or lift you up?
What do you personally have to gain by shifting some of your thoughts?
What do you have to lose?  

Helping people shift thoughts is what I do! 

It’s one of my superpowers.

Coaching helps us shift our thoughts so we can get out of our own way and accomplish whatever we dream. 

If you want to find out if I’m the right coach to help you transform your life from where you are to where you’d like to be, schedule a free chat with me at this link!  I’d love to connect with you, and you’ll walk away with at least one action step to move you toward whatever goal you want to achieve.  What do you have to lose? 

Say “Good-Bye” to Worry

We cannot change anything until we are aware of it.  In my previous blog post, I talked about cultivating more awareness around what our emotions feel like in our bodies.

The reason we focused on that was so we could learn to become aware of our emotions.  At the magical moment we do become aware that we are experiencing an emotion – that is the place where our power of choice lies.  

As soon as you are aware that you are experiencing any emotion, ask yourself what thoughts you were thinking, because your thoughts are what cause your emotions.

The Process 

In the moment we become aware of feeling worried, we can identify the thoughts that cause our anxiety.  Once we accept that these thoughts are causing the anxiety, we have the power to choose different thoughts that make us feel differently.  We can continue choosing thoughts that cause us to worry – and who could blame us for choosing worry?  It’s certainly a valid option.  Worry is a familiar, well-worn pathway in our minds.  We’ve chosen the vibration of worry so frequently – in an auto-pilot like way – that some of us forget that we can choose another path.  

If we make the decision to set aside worry whenever possible, to release the weighted burden of worrying thoughts, we can use that moment of awareness to accept responsibility for the thoughts that cause our emotions.  NOT accepting responsibility for our emotions keeps us at the mercy of those emotions, because if we are not responsible for them, we are victim to our emotions, and therefore powerless to transform them.  We feel powerless when we feel we have no choice.

The Magical Moment of Power

  • We become aware (in the moment) that we are experiencing worry.  
  • We accept that the thoughts we are thinking are causing that worry.  
  • THIS is the moment where we can wield the power of choice.

NOW is when we get to choose. We can continue thinking thoughts that worry, or we can decide that we want to create new pathways in our mind.  We deliberately choose thoughts that allow us to feel DIFFERENTLY than the thoughts that cause a vibration of worry!

Awareness leads us back to our power.  Acceptance is the key to wielding our power. Choice is where our power lies.  It’s a process, and it takes practice. 

The more we practice awareness and acceptance, the more we feel empowered to choose, and then we trust the process more, and begin to relax into faith. We begin to understand that we have the power to control our own energy.  We don’t have to take that emotional roller coaster ride which drains us.  Instead we can respond intentionally with all of our energy present.

When we choose our own emotions/energy, by being aware of our thoughts, we can’t help but feel more confident, powerful, and in control!  

Does that mean we’ll never worry again?  Of course not.  But when worry does pop up, we’ll know it’s a choice which we can let go, rather than a burden we must carry indefinitely.  

Grow on!

What are you currently telling yourself about a situation you find worrisome?
Take out a clean sheet of paper and write a new story about the situation that feels LESS worrisome, writing ONLY things that you truly believe. Read that story until your vibration shifts, and then re-write the story again so that it feels even BETTER when you tell it. Repeat as often as needed.

I help people cultivate more awareness every day.  If this is something you’d like help with, click here to schedule a chat and see if coaching is the next right step for you.

Worry is a Choice

Lisa Kaplin writes an amazing blog about leadership, happiness, parenting, relationships, and so much more.  I always learn something new, or see a new perspective.  If you haven’t read her blog before, I highly encourage you to follow this link and give her post, Worry isn’t Love a read.  Lisa’s posts are always brief & uplifting. I thought this passage was particularly brilliant:

“Love, at least to me, is unconditional listening, being fully present, and holding space for the other person. It’s focusing on them, not what I feel when I’m around them. Love is both giving and receiving of unconditional caring and space. None of that sounds like worry to me.”

So if worry does not show love, what does worry do?  What are we getting from worry?  

The voice of worry often arises when something unwanted happens.  We don’t want it to happen again, so a “watcher” arises inside us to watch for any evidence that danger may be approaching.  With our “watcher” on duty, we may feel more secure because we feel that we’ll see the danger coming and be able to avoid it.

Originally we were getting protection or security from the watcher, but now we’re just getting anxiety from constant worry. 

Our worry voice is not trying to make us crazy at 3am, it’s just trying to do it’s job of protecting us, albeit more aggressively than necessary.  All of this can be exhausting!

But what if I told you that worry is a choice?

I know.  Some of you just shut your computer off convinced I am crazy.  Some of you are laughing out loud.  But some of you are going, “Wait. What? I can choose NOT to worry?!”

If our “worry voice” arose to protect us, and made us feel more secure, it makes complete sense that we would choose worry again and again.  We found comfort there – a long time ago.  Now we just choose worry because it’s the familiar, well-worn path that our mind wanders without thinking about where we’re going.

Constant worry is heavy, so if we’d like to set it down in favor of lighter emotions, we need to catch ourselves in the act.  We need to cultivate AWARENESS.  We want to become aware of WHEN we have anxious thoughts, because that is the only moment we could choose something else.  The best way to be aware when worry has arisen, is to first become aware of how YOU feel physically when you have worrisome thoughts.

This can be different for each of us!  Just because anxiety feels like a twist in my solar plexus, doesn’t mean that you and your body experience it that way.  For this reason, I encourage my clients to write down how THEIR BODY feels when they are worried.

Examples might include a twist in the solar plexus, hot cheeks, shaking limbs, sweaty palms, a combination of any of these and others.  Whatever it is for you, catalog the physical vibrations when you “feel” worried.  

Once we define what ‘worried’ feels like to us as individuals, it becomes easy to recognize when those physical vibrations/symptoms begin.  That moment we recognize that physical symptoms of worry are present triggers our awareness that “THIS” is our moment to choose.

Once we are aware, we can choose.
We get to choose worry, or choose something new.

In next week’s blog post, we’ll talk about taking back our power to choose in that magical moment of awareness.

Grow on!

Name the emotion you feel. (Happy, sad, worried, anxious, excited, etc…)
Write down the vibrations you feel in your body when you experience the emotion.
If you can, write down the thought(s) you were thinking directly before you became aware of the vibrations of that emotion.

It’s totally fine to write down the physical vibrations you feel first, and then name the emotion. It’s easier that way for some people.

When I am present, I miss nothing!

My previous blog post, Releasing Travel Anxiety ended like this: 

When I am present in the moment, I miss nothing!
I surrender the entire plan to the all-knowing Universe now.  My only plan is to enjoy the unfolding, to be present, and savor each moment.  Each and every moment is a gift to be opened in amazement!  Even in the airports.  Even on the airplane.  Waiting in line for the ferry.  All of it is a rich, delicious experience of which I intend to savor every beautiful, satisfying, vibe-raising moment.  I fucking LOVE travel!”

We cannot BE present in the moment on vacation, if we have not practiced being present before vacation.

So how do we “be” present?

My favorite exercise to bring myself into the present moment is super simple!

Name three or more things that you sense – right now – with each of your five physical senses.

Name three things I see right now.
Name three things I hear right now.
Name three things I smell right now.
Name three things I can taste right now.
Name three things I can touch right now.

Example from the moment I am writing this: I see books, my computer, my dog. I hear the clock tick, the wind chimes tinkle, the tippy tapping on my keyboard. I smell coffee, ham cooking, and the dog’s blanket. I taste coffee, hints of toothpaste, the memory of ham. 
I feel the floor beneath my feet, the couch supporting my back, Boscoe’s soft fur. 

Boom!  Here and now.  At least for this moment.

How does ‘being present’ release anxiety?

Anxiety is feeling worried about the future.  We cannot be in the present and the future at the same time, so when we bring ourselves into the present moment any time we feel anxious, the anxiety releases automatically.

Being present also releases us from guilt because guilt is a feeling of regret about the past.  We only feel guilt when reliving a past moment in our minds.  Again, by playing with the exercise above, we can come back to the present, and the guilt cannot exist in present moment.

Cool, huh?!

When we can be present with ourselves, we open to our intuition, to Universal guidance. How could we ever miss anything that is meant for us?  We can’t!
We will be guided to the right place and people, at the exact right time.

Grow on!

What’s happening in your present moment?
What happens if you try the exercise when you feel anxious about something?