New Mandala for You

Ready to download here.

There will be no mandala next week as I'll be at the beach. Ahhhhhhhh. Can't wait!

Day 15,938: New Mandala and Reiki Tails

First things first. There is a new (free) mandala for you to download and color. Get it while it's hot!

I took a couple of hours of vacation time this morning to spend with my feline friends at the League for Animal Welfare. I gave Reiki treatments to Jake, Sasha, Elvis and Jenna. You can see their photos and read about their personal situations here. I swear that I get so much more from these visits than I could possibly give. Does the Reiki really help them? I think so. I can tell by how much they relax during their treatment. But I can't know for certain and that has to be okay. It's enough for me to be there for them and to hold the space for whatever it is that they need. And, hopefully, in some way that I cannot explain, it will bring out the best them so that they will be adopted. All I know for certain is that the time there goes very fast and feels really good.

Day 15,932: A New Mandala, Unicorns and Time

There is a fresh, new mandala for you to download and color.

I have gleefully registered for Marisa's In the Fishbowl e-course. It starts June 18th. Please join me! I know that I have a lot to learn about the business side of creativity. The ropes change so quickly and it seems as soon as I learn one thing, it is fast replaced by something new. Oh and I could use an Etsy Fairy Godmother in a big way.

I could also use some encouragement and/or a swift kick in the butt to get back to the business of showing up and putting out. It is the most peculiar thing. Seems like if it's something that I love to do, create, whatever, then it should be really easy, right? I shouldn't have to coax, prod, even trick myself into doing it. Yes, in a perfect world, I would love to exercise, I'd only eat what nourishes me, and I'd be effortless creative all the live-long day. Yes, automatically choosing what serves me would be effortless. [CUE THE RAINBOWS AND DANCING UNICORNS] And yet here I find myself living in this crazy, imperfect world, analyzing why it isn't effortless and knowing that the analysis itself is yet another means of procrastination. *sigh* May as well throw in another Oreo or two, right? Wrong!

Thanks to the author of The Four Hour Work Week, I found e.ggtimer.com. You can't imagine how helpful this little tool is to me. I am most productive when I give myself a finite period of time to do specific tasks. There's no cheating allowed. No checking e-mail. No texting. No tweets. Nothing but focused attention on the task(s) at hand. Know what happens when I do this? I totally kick butt. Try it! You'll see. Start small. Twenty minutes and a task that isn't too intimidating but something that you'll really be proud to (finally?) scratch off of your list. Then move up to 45 minutes and something bigger or maybe even an hour. Let me know how it goes!

Love Thursday: One Day to Fly Away

This photo goes well with Karen's touching post. It's the smile/sniff kind. Photo credit goes to my husband who rocked the zoom lens on this duck family.

Happy Love Thursday!

Miracle Monday?

A new mandala on Monday! Hooray! Ready to download here.

Happy coloring!

New Mandala - Free Download

Ready to download here. As always, happy coloring!

Sacred Selfishness

Since returning from California two weeks ago today, I have been missing in action. Okay, maybe just missing, because there has been little to no action. Reiki teacher training knocked my socks off. The whole idea that Reiki is not something that I do to others but something that I am ... well, I have needed time to contemplate what that means for me as a practitioner and, sooner or later, a teacher. The Reiki journey is a spiritual path for me ... deeply personal and yet encompassing us all. The training never ends when the class concludes. In many ways, it is just the beginning.

As tempting as it may be to meditate and contemplate all live-long day, I have people to love, pets to pet, a job to do, and the list goes on. Oh, yeah, there's my beloved workshop and this blog. The only thing that I've been crafting lately is a way to segment my days so that I can get my groove back ... or at least put myself in the vicinity of it. It requires some sacred selfishness. It means putting me first at the start of each day, so that I am fueled up to do, share and be what is most important to me.

Right now, maybe more than ever, it is imperative that I start my day with meditation. I am no expert, but those 20 minutes devoted to my breath, before doing anything else, improves the unfolding of my day more than just about anything else. I am vastly more patient and peaceful when I invest this time. Great for me, yes, but I believe the benefits ripple out to everyone with whom I come into contact, all day long.

If I can take 30 minutes to journal after spending those first 20 minutes meditating, well, I have exponentially increased the benefits of both. I can't explain it, but putting pen to paper and letting the words flow is therapeutic to me. I am not writing anything that would matter to anyone but me. But there's such deep value to it, meeting myself on the page ... saying and hearing what might otherwise fester into something bigger if left ignored.

If I can take a 45 minute walk with my neighbor after I finish journaling, then I am pretty well guaranteed a fantastic day. I stopped walking with her late last fall because I did not think I could tolerate trudging through another icy winter in the dark. This turned out to be one of the most miserable decisions and winters for me, ever. I learned something important. It wasn't just the walking that was supporting my well-being. A big part of the nourishment came from the sharing, the laughing, and, yes, even the bitching. She took me back as her walking buddy about a month ago and I am grateful and now healthier for it.

If I can take one hour to give myself a full Reiki treatment immediately after the walk, pure bliss! At first, it seemed too indulgent. One hour of healing just for me? On top of everything else? But it has made such an incredible difference, especially since the trip. It doesn't feel optional anymore. The cats are quite happy about it, too.

Finally, if I can spend 20 minutes making my green juice and smoothies for the day ahead while I am still in my Reiki afterglow, I can expect to have the best day ever! I have been eating high raw (but not vegan) for a couple of years. I have learned that the key is setting myself up for success in the morning. If I have mason jars of fresh juice and smoothies in the fridge, I know where to go when I get hungry. But if I wait until I'm hungry to make the juice and smoothies, I'm apt to succumb to something S.A.D. because it seems faster/easier.

Yes, my Big Five brings me five minutes shy of three ripe and juicy hours of sacred selfishness every single, blessed morning. This is why I get up at 5:00 a.m. It’s so worth it! I am so worth it!

So are you. If you were to give yourself permission to indulge in some sacred selfishness, how would your day begin? Do you have a Big Five? Maybe a Big Three? If not, what is the one thing that you are willing to do first thing every morning to fill your tank for the day ahead?