.....winter's clarity

Yogis,

Thursday morning was 18 degrees with that piercing bright sunlight that you only get when it sits low in the sky. The type of weather which creates crystal clear air where you could swear that your eyesight has improved. This type of weather shouts the word ‘clarity’ to me. 

Visiting the creek, the water glistens. As you approach it appears like glass providing a clear view of what lies beneath. Nothing murky or clouded. No wondering or guessing. No leaf cover on the trees to cloud my vision of the eagle that takes flight above my head. 

My trusty dog and I hike the trail and it too is clear. As she sails through the trees I can still see her lifted tail off in the distance, before she stops on a dime and arrives back so quickly you would swear she was flying. Only a few lone people, also with their trusty dogs, cross our path. Time for listening. Time for seeing. Time for hearing my breath.

Days like these also offer up a much clearer schedule than the hustle and bustle that accompanies warmth.  The colder the days……the less there seems to be to do. Time to be.

I mentally add all of these to my list.

Several years ago at this time of year I set the intention to see what I was grateful for in the winter season. For too many years I mumbled all the things I disliked about the season. It’s easy to find fault. To think it, share it, dwell on it. It takes more awareness to find the hidden gems in those things that most challenge us. Winter had always been my challenge. So, I started a list. 

The magnificent work of art that trees become when they shed their leaves. How the sky suddenly becomes so much bigger. The way I can see the full moon rising out my window through the bare branches. Making a pot of soup and having it on the stove for several meals. Being able to head up to bed to read at 8:00 with no guilt.  A warm cup of tea in my hands. The sensation of dropping down into the hot tub.  How most of my classes are done by candlelight.  The indescribable coral color of the sunrise as I meditate each morning….it takes my breath away….and the way the light reflects off the trees on its way down each afternoon. 

The start of a New Year is a time to set intention. As you begin to uncover the change you want to create, I offer the possibility of not removing something or even creating something new, but perhaps finding the gifts that lie within what is already here. The practice of gratitude for what is has the power to change your relationship with the life around you. I know it has for me and my new friend, winter.

Happy New Year!

I just need better gloves,
SARAH

Last call for 'Moon Month Meditation!  Leap into 2018 with me and together we will find a deeper inner calm.  Details in tab above....

......preparing

Yogis,

There are a few events each year that cause me to get the house in order. Our annual Lobsterfest, hosting a summer party, Goddess events…….and especially Christmas. 

You know what I mean? When suddenly you begin to see your house the way others who aren’t always there will. The clutter on the counter that has slowly accumulated. That missing bulb in the overhead fixture that hasn’t really been missed since there are four others. How the towels have begun to look a little nubby and sad and the spreading cobwebs on the front porch.

It begins a couple of weeks before the arrival of our 12 family members who will be here for a few days. And this year I decided to throw a complete bathroom gut and renovation to the mix! Workmen, dust, plumbing parts and trash lining the upstairs hall until Thursday afternoon. My heaven-sent cleaning crew then sweeps in and I take a deep breath, foolishly feeling as if all is now ok.

But no. As always I begin to bite off probably more than I can, or should chew.  Friday I find myself touching up paint, hanging a mirror on a plaster wall (which is no easy feat and involved several bent nails) and crawling around on my hands and knees to wipe out corners and clean the risers on the staircases. And each time I tackle one thing, my eyes notice three more. 

By Saturday morning my hands are cracked and I have several small painful annoying cuts on my fingers. A reminder of my last minute zest.  Only hours remaining until the arrivals begin.

Finally the sense of ‘enough’ seeps in.  Of course there is more that can be done, and of course I vow to do them after the holidays…..which may or may not happen. Enough.  

It is now time for my favorite part. Once the house has been cleared and shined I love to set little bud vases throughout with fresh flowers and cuttings from whatever is growing around me at the time.  Bringing the outside in.  I place them on bedside stands, the back of toilets, on shelves and on tables so that as we all move about the house we are greeted by life at each turn. They smile at us, and I smile back.

By the time you receive this all thirteen of us will be drinking champagne and eating cheese and crackers around the fire. The floors will once again be sprinkled with pine needles and crumbs, and shoes will line the foyer…….. but the small clipping of my prickly pine tree will send me a wink from across the room. 

And I will know that I did enough.

Merry Christmas to all!

SARAH

One week to Moon Month Meditation!

January is a blank slate. No better time to learn a new life habit. I make it painless, easy to do and fun! And you don't even have to leave your house......  Details here: 

The Journey

.....I couldn't make this up

Yogis,

It all began with a small article in the Washington Post last week revolving around proper gift giving in this holiday season. The writer shared a list of what not to buy and some possible alternatives. One of the items on the list was a calendar. Her view was that most of the world has now moved on to electronic calendars.

Now I have always had a wall calendar, or even two, going in my home. And although I no longer write my appointments on there, I still put in big events and notations to myself.  Like the small red dot I have begun using as I make my way through menopause, indicating the beginning of a cycle since they now can be weeks or perhaps even months apart. Without this visual reminder I would have no sense of time in this unchartered territory. Or a note on the day I plant some new seeds and a mark when I discover a sprout.

Many calendars also display the new and full moons and by seeing those daily I stay tuned in to the energy above. Seeing the whole month of May on one sheet gives it perspective and I look forward to that day of turning the page to see the pictures and quotes for June. Through my calendar I watch time move.......

Jump ahead to Friday afternoon when I am writing the invitation for the ‘Moon Month Meditation’ that I will lead in January (come with me!).  I noted how January is unique in that you cannot turn the page to get there.  You must remove the whole calendar and begin again with the one still sitting in its wrapper waiting in anticipation to see what will be placed within its daily boxes.  As I wrote, the article and electronic calendars came back to mind.

With an electronic calendar there is no turning of the page. There is no beginning nor an end. Nothing to touch or feel.  And on January 1^st you no longer have the physical weight of last year’s calendar in your hands as you flip back through the months moved by how much life there was in there.  Then that small tug you feel at the heart when you must finally release it into the trash bin.  Letting it go as the blinding emptiness of the one you now hold up looks deep into your eyes.  What will you create here, it asks. 

All of the above pouring into me as I sat in front of my screen.  “But calendars are a January discussion” my mind piped in. “You can’t write that now. You will have to remember these thoughts in a couple of weeks for your blog”

Just then I heard the tell tale short single knock on the door with the sound of something dropping.  Followed immediately by warning barks from Phoebe.  A package must have arrived!

I open the door and know immediately. A flat rectangular package lies at my feet. My mouth drops open. I don’t even have to look at the return address to know this is from my aunt. The one who sends me a new calendar each Christmas. 

I burst out in loud laughter.  Ok, Universe, I shout!!  My heart swelling with joy for the small daily miracles that make life so breathtaking. 

So there you have it………it is indeed calendar week.  Good thing I am not a fiction writer as I could never have made this up. 

Hang out with the moon and me in January,

Sarah

Moon Month Meditation details in tab above!  

Conscious Creating....and finally, grace

Yogis,

Today is the final chapter in the Conscious Creating series.  At least for now. 

Each spring as I plant my garden I consciously create.  I begin by spending time out there.  Sitting silently on the rocks, noticing the space, remembering what I learned last year and beginning to listen inwardly to uncover what I want to plant. Perhaps this year it is more vegetables, or maybe it’s time to finally plant black cohosh and wild yam a little further down my path into the woods.  I begin to visualize what it will all look like in July in full bloom. I ‘see’ it.

I start to ‘do’ by pouring through the seed catalogs, waiting for some to ask to be ordered.  Leaning in but remaining flexible as the Universe may offer some new ideas.  I till the ground with care and plant the seeds.  Daily watering and visits where I send gratitude and trust that when the time is right I will begin to see sprouts as they push their way up through a crack in the earth.  I watch for signs of when to thin, prune or transplant….listening to the plants themselves who never fail to teach me. 

But there is still that one piece of creation that I can’t do.  That invisible spark or life force that at some moment in time takes the pure potential in that dormant seed and turns it into a living growing creature.  The same magic that brings all things to life and makes all things possible. It creates rainbows after a summer rain and heals us from our winter colds. And it lies within each breath I take. This is grace………and it is a gift.

This path of conscious creating asks us to be present, to live life with purpose and to do.  But at the end of the day it also requires us to surrender. Completely. 

My teacher always talks to grace as the waterfall.  The waterfall is always there. Always pouring down.  Always giving of itself.  The question is how often are you positioning yourself beneath and opening to receive it? 

Here I offer you one simple way to make this connection daily.  To stop for just a moment beneath the falls…..

Hitting the high note is of course optional…..but definitely recommended 😊

For me, the ‘positioning yourself beneath’ is found within my practice of yoga.  The consistent dedication to the movement of my body to open the energy channels, daily meditation to be in touch with my soul, and the watching of my breath.  The fountain breath sequence is part of every class I teach and each practice that I do.  Even when I don’t feel like it…….and never do I regret it.

What is it for you?  Do you find the time to offer the gifts of self-care and inner reflection to yourself?  Are you able to let go so completely that you can feel the arms of the Universe holding you up?  Allowing yourself to get soaked.

We are coming into the season of winter.  Here on the east coast we got our first taste of the icy cold that we knew would eventually arrive yet always comes as a surprise.  Winter is the season to go inside.  Physically, but also mentally and emotionally.  The calendar is less full providing open time for you to reacquaint yourself with those inner spaces that matter the most. Turn off the tv and walk away from the computer.  Make a cup of tea and cuddle up with your favorite blanket.  Close the eyes, open the crown of the head and allow the pouring in of grace. 

With this final special ingredient, you are unstoppable. Go and create!

Humbled by grace,
SARAH

Coming in January
Moon Month Meditation!
A month of daily emails, videos and inspiration to kick off 2018 with a meditation practice that guides you from one full moon to the next.  
Once in a blue moon.......
Details to follow

Conscious Creating......I vibrate

Yogis,

I notice…..I want…… I see…… I do…… I trust……I am grateful….. I speak up…….and I connect.

I AM.

But who is this ‘I’? 

I have been starting my classes with chanting over these last several months. Using sacred sounds and words to clear our energy, open the heart and send out vibration. It feels great! Then two weeks ago at a yoga fundraiser we were treated to a gong bath where you lie on your mat, completely relax and soak in the vibration of the gong. Another vibration reset. 

The next day I was reading the blog of the gong sound healer and she spoke to how the vibrations of the gong, crystal bowls and chanting are indeed healing. But that their deepest gifts lie buried below. They are our guides into the silence. Yes, yes, yes!  Suddenly something clicked.

Each time I chant, it is that second immediately following where I find the deepest peace. Where the silence is so loud that I can hear it. The sound is the path. The silence is where we are headed.  I realize that the same can be said for the physical asana practice. We move, open energy channels and send breath through all to be able to arrive in complete stillness. 

Take a cleansing breath now and then watch this 10 second video….

I vibrate......

We live in a noisy world. Bombarded daily with the beeping of our phones, appliances, computers and clocks. The tv, traffic and talking gas station pumps have become our background. Web sites startling us as they yell out, no longer even waiting for our consent and newspapers telling us how we should feel by sending their energy our way. All of these with their own vibrations that we then begin to mirror.

So who is this ‘I’?  It can be hard to tell sometimes.

I have been doing a lot of walking on trails through the woods with a friend and our dogs these last few weeks. We came upon this stream, got still and listened. In that sound I was reminded of the silence.  I could hear it even through the sound of the water. A vibration reset. A gentle tap on the shoulder whispering to vibrate as me. The me that is unchanging and observes this outer world. The me that longs to be heard.

Everything we seek can be found in the silence and the stillness.  There are many paths that lead there but you must choose one and follow it.

‘I’ am a unique vibration in the symphony of life. ‘I’ am still.  ‘I’ am free. ‘I’ am sending me out to the world. Can you feel me?

I can create anything,

Sarah

Conscious Creating.....I connect

Yogis,

I wanted to download a couple of podcasts for my Thanksgiving weekend driving.  While searching I stumbled upon one that was an interview with Bernie Clark.  Huh, I thought. That’s funny. Two weeks ago, I signed up for his spring week-long Yin Yoga teacher training in Canada.  I figured this may be a good way to get a sense of him. 

First I wanted to make sure though that it was something I would want to listen to for over an hour so I drew the PC cursor to about the half way point of the interview and hit play. The first words I hear out of the interviewer’s mouth are “What made you leave the corporate life at Xerox to dive into the yoga world?” 

Now that sounded a wee bit familiar!!!!  For any of you new to my blog, I took an early retirement package from Xerox on October 1 after a successful 34 year career.  Well, thank you, Universe!  And I hit the download button.

I connect……….

We became still enough to notice. Uncovered our desire. Turned it into a vision that we see daily and began leaning in.  We have unwavering faith that we can and that it will indeed manifest.  And we have spoken it out loud in a short simple statement in the present.  ‘As if’ it is already here.  All of this done with big hearted gratitude for exactly what is and what is yet to come. Yes!

Next we tune into the Universe and watch for its signs.  This becomes the roadmap.  Our vision is of the end result……we leave the details and the hows up to the Universe. We connect.

The world around us has a rhythm, with each and every one of its creatures, clouds, stones and stars vibrating at a unique note.  Together we form the most beautiful symphony.  When we release our tension, worry and that intense desire to have control we begin to hear it. To feel it. To lie back and trust it. 

When you are dialed in to this station the Universe will speak to you in many forms.  That unexpected phone call, words your friend uses, a dream, the book someone lends you.  Some signs make it clear that you are on the right path.  Like stepping stones, one leading to another and to another, feeling so effortless it’s as if you are flying.

An injury, a rejection, a cancelled event. All also signs asking to be noticed. These are often prompts to switch directions or perhaps to pause a bit to learn something needed. If life is feeling like a struggle and you are wading through mud, it’s time to listen. Life is not meant to be hard. Connect.

Your role is to stay tuned in, listen and then trust enough to follow what you hear (which is often the hard part.) Try it!  Each day an exciting new adventure, not knowing what is next!  Not for the fainthearted….but YOU are not fainthearted.  YOU can do anything.

There are no coincidences…….

I am,
SARAH

Conscious Creating....speak up!

Yogis,

I took a short break while I soaked in the warmth of the sun and floated on my back in the water.  A pause to be and to notice. Rested now and ready to move on in the journey!

Where did we leave off?  Oh yeah, how could I forget.  Staring at an obstacle.  But that was then and this is now. I am no longer struggling against. Dropping the ‘woe is me’ and already beginning to sense the lessons and see beyond. An obstacle is only that when we choose to live as Conscious Creators.  Still seeing what I want and leaning in, with complete faith that this is simply a necessary turn in the path. Letting go of all resistance.

Now it is time to speak……..

Up to this point our vision has been internal.  Stopping, noticing, feeling, seeing, trusting and being grateful. We now begin to make it real. To speak it. To send it out.

AAAAHhhhhhhhh!!!  Once I say it, the world knows.  Words can never be taken back! What will they think? What if it doesn’t manifest? The energy of the throat is quite powerful and is often our own biggest obstacle.  It can be scary to state what you want.

The Universe, however, loves clarity so no mumbling here. We must state our intention (remember that trust we worked on?) clearly. An intention is a short simple phrase, in the positive and in the present of what we are manifesting. As if it is already here. Speak up!

Examples would be…..I have complete health……I am financially secure…….. My book is on the bestseller list……There will be two open seats at the bar when I arrive (used that one just last night)…… I am joyful….. I live in a house that I love…….  I have 8 new members signed up for the CSA.

That last one was from a couple of years ago.  I was helping grow CSA membership and I created a vision.  I then set the intention of 8 new members.  How many do you think I got?  8!  I immediately realized I should have said 10.  I am learning. 

Notice there are no ‘hopes’, ‘wishes’, ‘wants’ in the above intentions?  If your intention is ‘I wish my knee would heal’, then the Universe will muster up all its strength to help you ‘wish’!  Send out exactly what you want to receive back.  Words carry energy and like will attract like.  Speak up!

Once you have developed your intention, state it each time you are painting your vision on the space in front of you.  Say it internally, state it out loud to yourself when you look in the mirror, and finally begin to say it to others.  As fact.  I AM……

Speak up……. And don’t forget the gratitude!

I am grateful that my home is a healing center,
SARAH

Conscious Creating.....I can

Yogis,

Thank you fall colors! Thank you computer, pillow, yoga mat and music. Thank you breeze. Oh my gosh, and thank you dark chocolate! Thank you, thank you, thank you……  Grateful every day. 

Have you been planting your vision? One great way to do this is to take the heart opening position from last week – arms spread wide over head with the heart tilted up – and once you awaken gratitude, paint your vision on the blank infinite space in front you. See it. Powerful.

Then do. Let the map create itself while you head toward. Knowing where you are going.

When out of nowhere, you hit your first obstacle…………………

See, I knew I couldn’t do that. It was only a matter of time. What was I thinking. That isn’t possible, and I don’t deserve it. I am not smart enough, wealthy enough, cool enough, thin enough, healthy enough.  Life doesn’t work like that. It isn’t fair. And so on.

We have reached the point in this process where it is easy to go back to the old comfortable way. To doubt. This happened to me yesterday. I was knocked over by a curve ball on one of the visions I have been working toward over these past three years. Wham! 

I watched as my emotions ramped up. Anger, frustration, sorrow all standing in line to take their turn. My mind deciding it was high time to take back the reins replayed the situation over and over and over ad nauseum. My forward movement appeared to have come to a stop. Or more like being pushed three steps back.

Remember that part about unwavering faith?  All day yesterday it was being tested. Until last night.  Thank God for my “Friday Night time for me”.  As I lit the candles, ran the bath water and moved to the music I allowed it all to flow through. A good sob released not only the day but all the sorrow that had built up over this past week from being human in today’s world. 

I quietly thanked the mind for all of its input but let it know that ‘I’ was now back at the helm. Soaking in the hot tub I let go and once again planted my vision. I can. I will. Today I began to lean in once again. 

An obstacle is only that.  And yes there will be some. They are in the end our teachers as they cause us to pause and listen. They may point us to make a turn in our path, ask us to stop struggling so hard or hold us long enough to learn something we will need as we continue along. Again, our role is to see what we want and trust our partner, the Universe, to create the course. With gratitude. Even during the obstacles.

Thank you warm cup of tea, chipmunks and an afternoon with my grandson!

I can….and I will,
SARAH

Conscious Creating......thank you, thank you, thank you!

Yogis,
I continue to do.  Some small step every day, without attachment to results.  My job is to look toward where I am heading and do, with complete and utter faith that it will manifest.  In fact I am so sure of its arrival that all of my doing is ‘as if’ it is already here. 

This is a subtle point but one that is important. We aren’t sitting down and writing out a rigid plan to get from point A to point B. That would be the hard way and the path that many of us have been taught. This is more like a meandering path through a garden where I know I will reach the other end so why hurry. I stop to smell the lavender, follow a butterfly to the echinacea and choose to rest on a tree stump. In fact at one point I head back to touch the lamb’s ears one more time. The straight line may have taken me to the same point but oh, to have missed the pure pleasure of those moments. Let the Universe do the heavy lifting. It wants to help.

Simply lean in……..

And be grateful. Thank you Universe!! 

Gratitude. Grateful first and foremost for all that you already have. And then grateful for what it is that you are now manifesting. Since you know it is coming…..be grateful in advance!

Gratitude is an energy of the heart and one that we must practice using to get that gratitude engine revved up and keep it humming.  First we have to make sure we give the heart a lot of space and the easiest way to do that is to reach up and spread your arms as wide as they will go, pointing your heart upward – like the picture. Breathe into that whole area around the heart.  Aaahhhhhhh…….

Imagine you are turning on a giant spotlight in the heart and shining it out on everything around you.  As you walk through your day imagine that light burning strong and direct it toward everyone you pass. Everyone. 

And finally give gratitude for those dozens of little daily moments that bring you joy (out loud whenever possible). Thank you owl. Thank you ripe crisp apple. Thank you moon and stars and clouds. Thank you bubble bath. Thank you warm fuzzy slippers. Thank you rain, sunset and the dark of night.  Thank you favorite jeans. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

The more gratitude you send out, the more things to be grateful for come your way. Gratitude is life’s largest magnet for all that you want. Be grateful…..in advance.

Thank you all for reading my notes,
SARAH

Conscious Creating.....me to we

Yogis,

What have you been ‘doing?’  This week I had someone help me set up my PC to support my new ventures, planted roots of some medicinal herbs I want to work with, got a quote on renovating a bathroom so I can host  weekend retreats (who wants to come?) and created a flyer for a workshop I plan to hold.  All small steps toward…..

The energy of leaning in, doing, forward movement are all the energy of fire. The Sun. Heat. Change. Transformation. It is this heat that sparks the creation.

What matters here is consistency. Discipline. Over and over and over and over.  Referred to as tapas, it is our outward wink to the Universe that we are going. Again, these aren’t difficult actions, but as human ‘doers’ we have a deeply ingrained belief that we must go full blast and we burn ourselves out. It’s too hard. Instead approach this as doing, pausing, noticing and then doing again. 

This would be like the weeding and watering of a garden. We notice that we love peas and that we want to grow them ourselves. We visualize serving a beautiful salad with fresh peas to our friends. We plant the seeds but then must care for them. If we plant and leave town our vision is unlikely to manifest. If we only water every ten days because we don’t feel like going outside on hot days our peas don’t have much of a chance. Without the light of our focus nothing will grow. Not peas and not our soul’s dreams. 

For me one of my daily tapas is my meditation.  Every day at 6:30 am.  Every day.  Are there days I don’t feel like it?  Yes (like this morning after our annual Lobsterfest that had me up until midnight.)  Does my mind tell me it is ok to skip every now and then? Of course (and it can be so convincing.)  Do I do it anyway? ABSOLUTELY. 

I do…….but at the same time……

I trust. Recognizing that there is a force great than us. Whatever that may be for you…..nature, a god, the universe, the divine, the great mystery. The magic. You aren’t alone on this path. Moving from me to we……

A force that can paint the sky with rainbows and produce fields of flowers so beautiful that they bring us to tears.  Shooting stars, seahorses and the colors on a butterfly wing. The pounding of the waves, the taste of a perfectly ripe strawberry and the smell of grass after the rain. The sacredness of this life that we alone cannot take credit for no matter how hard we try. From me to we…..

We keep the doing but surround it with an unwavering faith that we are hand in hand with a partner and that our vision will indeed manifest.  In due time. No doubts and no worries.  Simply putting one foot in front of the other and loosening the white knuckled grip we have on life’ s reins.

Not always easy.

Leaning in,
Sarah

Conscious Creating......do something

Yogis,

If you can see it in your mind, you can hold it in your hand………

A wise person once whispered this to me but it took several years before I understood.

What do you see?

We have now taken what it is that we want and placed it in a vision that we see each and every day. If you want more joy….see yourself bursting with happiness.  If you want financial security…..see yourself surrounded by abundance. Your house to sell…..visualize an excited family arriving at the closing.  See where you are going but leave the map to the Universe.

Now it is time to do. Time to step toward. I refer to this as the energy of leaning in. You’ve packed your bags and the car is loaded. It’s time to go!

Feel that energy of leaning in. Begin to take baby steps. It almost feels as if there is a magnet on your vision that is drawing you towards it. Make that phone call. Take the class. Invite the woman down the street who does what you want to do over for tea. Buy the camera. Read a book on building a web site.  Walk the space where you want to start a garden. Put those first words on paper.  Do something. 

No major leaps are required, but welcomed if they feel right.  All that is asked of you here is to DO SOMETHING. Anything. Walk through a new door every day. 

We are now showing the Universe that we are serious. We have seen what we want and we are on our way. 

What this isn’t – Grit. Struggle. Pushing ahead. Muscling through. Hard labor. All work no play. You can live that way if you choose, but know that there is a much gentler option which is even more effective… and a whole lot more fun.

What this is –Placing one foot in front of the other. Confident. Centered. Focused. Relaxed effort. Feeling your way. Stepping out of the comfort zone. Doing something.

The fuel for this part of the journey is passion.  If it is a true want, your passion for manifesting it causes the journey to feel effortless.  Obstacles become teachers, and the uncomfortable begins to become a friend. It is at this point that our wants are clearly separated from our mere wishes. For a want, we are willing to change.

It is in this space that we grow. And as soon as you begin to take the steps, the Universe will rush in to assist. 

So start the ignition! We have places to go!

Don’t forget to dance,
SARAH

Conscious Creating…….where you look is where you go

Yogis,

Where you look is where you go…… I use this phrase in class often.  It holds subtle truths within its layers. 

First the physical. Take for example going into a crow pose in yoga. In Bakasana you plant your hands and bend the elbows, placing the knees on the back of the upper arms and lifting the feet off the ground so you are balancing your body on your hands.  The instinct is often to look down and back at your knees and feet to see where they are and in doing so – boom.  An ungraceful fall onto the crown of the head. Where you look is where you go…..

If instead the gaze is forward, the motion and energy will follow along, creating that perfect balance between the weight of the head and hips. Light and lifted. Flying.

When standing if you raise your arms up over the head but look down there is a heaviness. Swing your gaze skyward and watch the heart follow. Reaching. Things are looking up.

Then there is the mind. In a moment of stillness if the eyes are darting about, the mind will follow suit. To settle the mind, settle the eyes. Find a steady gazing point and feel the breath and the inner calm gladly join along. Seeing what is right here……

Or when the outer world becomes a bit too much to handle, allow the eyes to close and take a glimpse of the inner world. A gaze here will show you what is indeed true. 

And there are also the energetic Laws of the Universe.  In our first 4 weeks of ‘Conscious Creating’ we slowed down and noticed how things are and then dove deep to uncover what it is that we want.  This week we begin to form a vision. Seeing what we want. Since where we look is where we go……

Take whatever it is that you are creating and form an image around it. This vision should be of what it will look like once it has manifested. See how you will look, your surroundings, what you are wearing and how you are moving. The colors and textures.  All of the details.  See it vividly.

Be sure you are seeing it already created! We aren’t visualizing the steps or process of getting there.  Leave that to the Universe! See yourself already having it, being it, doing it, feeling it. 

If you want to travel – visualize yourself lying on that deserted beach. If you want to heal an illness, see yourself walking through a meadow with complete health. A painter, create a vision of your first art show. More joy, see you, surrounded by all of those you love. You need a parking space, see the image of a car pulling out from right in front of the store as you are arriving. 

Keep this vision close. See it often. Daily. Whenever it occurs to you. Paint it on the blank canvas in front of you in Technicolor and then let it go. Look and let it go. See and let it go.

And there are those pesky other visions that creep in uninvited…….those ones that play back for you your fears, worries and all the possible bad outcomes. Take life’s big eraser and wipe them off the board each time they appear.  Because where you look is where you go…….and that is definitely not where you are headed.

Choose where to go! See. And begin to lean in…….

Seeing what I want,
SARAH

Conscious Creating......I am juicy

Yogis,

Friday as I made the drive to the beach I found myself watching my 34 year career with Xerox in the rear view mirror.  Sixty miles an hour, each mile traveled putting just that much more distance between me and what I have always done.  Watching all of my ‘lasts’ release out through the back of  the body.  My last pricing model…..last conference call……last team meeting…..and last bid submission. Last day. Like the signposts that I pass. All behind me now.

I start to notice the wide open fields ahead of me, becoming tinged yellow and orange as the seasons begin their shift.  Fields spreading in front of me as far as the eye can see.  Limitless.  All that lies ahead. My future. My canvas. 

I then feel me sitting in the car sandwiched  between the two views. The shape of my body.  My breath. Present. Aware. Here. The creator of my life……..

This is week 4 of Conscious Creating – a guide to manifesting your life.  In these past three weeks we have become still and quiet enough to notice.  Our habits, relationships, schedules, health. Seeing things as they are and then feeling what is and is not serving us. Uncovering what it is that I want. 

This is a step that we often rush through.  I ‘want’ and I go buy.  I ‘want’ and I book the trip.  I ‘want’ and I eat. Though these are all fine, and this process will work for all of them, the want I speak of here is more primal. Deeper. Truer. The want of connection, meaning, fulfillment, purpose, self-love, deep joy. 

So how do we reach inside to touch these?  We must get the creative juices turned on. 

The energy to create your life is the same energy used to create a baby. It’s the energy found in a tiny acorn from which an entire oak tree emerges. Found down in the pelvis and hips, it is our center of feeling. Our emotions and sensuality.  It is what causes words to tumble out when we write, colors to fill the canvas as we paint and the songs to pour out of our hearts that bring others to tears.  And it is easy to become disconnected from this part of ourselves as we grow into mature logical responsible adults. 

So it’s time to kick off the shoes!  Turn up the music until you can feel it………soak in the tub……..be naked…..….lie in the grass under the moon……..stand outside in the pouring rain…….dance………lean into the wind……..get dirty (very dirty)……give yourself a massage………let out a gigantic no holds barred scream.  Do those things that make you feel alive. Step out of the lines to be wild. Juicy and free! 

Creating is not a rigid linear process.  It requires letting go of the reins to dance with the rhythm of the Universe.  Tapping your foot to the beat of your heart. Dropping from the thinking mind into the feeling mind is the difference between drawing with a pencil to being handed a  full palette of vibrant paints   The more you feel the more you tap into the incredible creative force that lies within each and every one of us. 

So once again…..what do I want? What will I paint on my life canvas? Stand back while I take my time to feel.

Feeling juicy,
SARAH

Conscious Creating......what do I want

Yogis,

First things first!  This is my last week with Xerox (feels odd to put that in writing) so please begin to use this email for all correspondence.  sarah@serenitycircleyoga.com 

Here we are.  Look down at your feet.  Wherever they go….there you are.  Stopped, still and noticing life exactly as it is.  The more we do this the more clarity we unearth on what is serving us and what doesn’t feel quite right.  We can only then begin to uncover what it is that we want. 

So what is it that I want? 

We are experts at using our minds for this step.  We do it every day. Watching the new trends, what our friends have and where they are going.  The TV and internet bombard us daily with advice on what they believe we should want. Our parents told us and we read about what makes for the perfect life in the magazines at the checkout. But at this step of conscious creating we let all of that go and quiet the mind to tune into the body. Tapping into our inner world. Feeling what we want, letting our longings, like bubbles in the water, rise up from below. 

Let me give you an example.  A few years ago I ‘noticed’ that each fall I would become sad about the coming of winter.  I talked about it, complained about it and wrote about it, but told myself that I was a ‘summer’ and that the months of November through February were not for me. Even the beauty of September and October were missed on me as I viewed them as precursors to the dark and the cold.  This had been going on for more years than I can remember.  Perhaps my whole life.  But one day I watched it and realized that I was unconsciously choosing to resist almost half of my year. There was suddenly a new clarity there which I hadn’t seen before and I knew that I wanted to be joyful in and embrace all seasons. Letting them be what they were.

It was no different when I noticed how Sunday nights were the beginning of a dark tunnel each week from which I didn’t emerge until Wednesday evening.  Wishing half of my weeks away. That was not serving me in any way whatsoever. I knew then and there that I wanted to open my eyes every morning with the pure excitement of seeing what that particular day could bring. 

So what is it that you want? Pick something you noticed over these last couple of weeks that either no longer fits, feels that something is missing or could stand some tweaking.  Ask yourself what you do want.  If it is something you want to release, turn it around to find what you want to create in its place. 

Don’t allow the mind to throw up its roadblocks. You know the ones I mean…..that can’t happen, you can’t afford that, it’s easier to continue with the way it is, this will be too hard, how will you possibly make that happen…..and on and on and on. It will try.  I guarantee that. But thank it for its advice, take a deep breath and drop your awareness down.  Feel…not think.

The energy we use here is found in the freshness of spring. When we are tilling the garden and preparing the pots, deciding what we want to grow there. We can choose anything. It is the energy of young children who have no limits on their dreams (I was planning to be a pig farmer) and believe they can create anything.

This is the energy of water. Our desires. Don’t be bashful. Our deepest longings are our soul’s way of growing and taking us toward our highest potential.  So dive in and want away!

Feeling,
SARAH

Conscious Creating.....noticing

Yogis,

Have you been watching this week?  Did you remember to create space for becoming still and quiet?  You observing you…….

I did. Here is little bit of what I saw…………..

The work I have been doing to relax my jaw is working, but now my left outer hip has some tightness which I have been ignoring with the hopes it might go away.  The background hum of the late summer bugs  through my open bedroom window as I sleep brings me much joy.  I resist the shortening of the days. I don’t like to ask for help.  

Talking about or being in situations involving money makes me uncomfortable. I  feel myself tense up and become tongue tied. Perhaps it’s because – STOP.  I think it might help if I  - STOP.  No judgment. No jumping to solutions. Relax Sarah and just watch. Notice. For now let it be exactly as it is.

I found myself explaining things. I had told my students what we were going to work with this week but I was away for the weekend and didn’t have time to prepare the class. I explained and they looked at me laughing, telling me that if I hadn’t said anything they wouldn’t have noticed and they come for whatever I am teaching that day. I explain versus simply stepping into my power of knowing and moving forward.   

The side of the garage which creates one side of my garden has a large space between the windows that is calling for something to be placed there. I’m too bossy. I talk out loud to plants. I am seeing these next two weeks of transition as an image in my mind bursting at the seams with energy and activity…..and the other side of it dropping off into a vast empty unknown.  I am now experiencing excitement, fear, worry, joy, gratitude, confidence, sadness and complete faith all rolled into one large ball. I haven’t been wild lately.

What did you notice?

I walked Phoebe at 5 am Friday morning and it was only us and a lone raccoon. Stars, a crescent moon and quiet. The world still. That time of day holds the energy of what we are all doing right now. Here we swim in the sea of pure potential.  Unlimited possibilities lie ahead. The energy that rises the sun and awakens the birds is the same energy we use to create our own lives. But we must tap in to harness it. 

It can be found in every leaf, flower and breeze.Each creature, drop of water and the light of a candle.  In each and every breath. It’s right here when you slow down to see.

Letting go………………………..

Notice,
SARAH

Conscious Creating.....here I am

Yogis,

This week we begin the journey of conscious creating. Making mindful change. It may end up being something life altering for you or perhaps only a slight veer in the path. The process works the same for selling everything you own and moving cross country as is does for healing a nagging knee pain.  So buckle up and let’s get going!!

I’m riding in the car on my way back from a weekend trip (don’t worry I’m not driving) and the first step in mapping out the course home was to know where I was starting from. A map does you absolutely no good unless you know where you are. A point of reference. The beginning………..

 

Where are you?

The first energy we engage when ‘creating our lives’ is the same one that exists in that big red arrow you see on the mall directory that says ‘you are here!’  If I don’t know I am on the first floor, how will I ever find the Starbucks on level 2?  This is earth energy. The gravity that keeps our feet rooted to the ground. 

Words that come to mind about this first step – heavy,  quiet, alone, still, relaxed, being, slow moving, centered, noticing.  And this absolutely necessary basic first step of seeing what is right here, so often is missing in our hectic daily lives. You know, that feeling of ‘heading toward’ twenty four hours a day. But how do we even know we are on the right road?

At this ‘starting point’ we take time to observe our life. Observe ourselves. Imagine this next week as a movie that you are watching as you move through. Your relationships, schedule, job and diet. The state of your health, aches/pains, your sleep and habits. Your thoughts. How often you check your phone, facebook and email.  The times you feel joy and those moments when you react out of anger or frustration.  What you look forward to and what you face with dread.

We are seeing what is without any need to change or struggle against. The mind will often want to jump in with solutions. But we are simply noticing.  No judgment. This is important. No good…no bad.  No right…..no wrong.  Everything just ‘is’. You as the observer of your life. You are here.

Your life the way it is at this moment was created by you in all of the moments that led up to now.  So don’t resist it. Sit back and watch. That’s all. And if you find you don’t have time to do this any of this, or tell yourself you will do this next month when things slow down…..notice that. 

For now we are locating ourselves on the map. Don’t rush this step. There is no need to hurry so  S…l….o….w down.  Way down. Let’s all release an exhale to that.

I will check in next Sunday,
SARAH

....anew

Yogis,
So here I am once again. Ready to step off of the comfortable into a vast open space………

From the known to the unknown. The manifest to the unmanifest.

That is what life is all about. Walking through one door only to come upon the next. Each time facing a blank canvas on which you can create anything that you want.  Anything. Creating life one moment at a time. And you are doing it whether you are doing it consciously or unconsciously.  So why not do it consciously.

For these past several years I have held the vision of being offered at package at 54 that would bridge me to retirement. I saw and moved toward it with patience and trust.  And it happened!!  Only to then be yanked back unexpectedly. It wasn’t time. There was something I still hadn’t learned. Obstacles. Teachers.

Tears, a neck injury and frustration that I spent the year listening to and being with. Until the package arrived once more.  So here I am.

As you arrive at your vision you quickly realize that it isn’t a finish line. Like an athlete who breaks a record, they accept the accolades and bask in the moment, but then see It is as new beginning. You must start the process all over again. So here I am.

We are what we think. We are what we believe. We are what we say. These are all natural laws of the Universe and there is a process by which we can harness this power to manifest your life.

I will take the month of October to bask and soak it all in and then I will begin……at the beginning.  Creating my new vision. Beginning anew.

Would you like to join me?  Is there something in your life you wish to change?  Something new you want to do, feel, be? A part of life that doesn’t fit any longer?  A long held belief that you are prepared to loosen your grip on?

Over these next several weeks as I begin to lay my own foundation I will write about each of the steps once again. As much to remind me as to share then with you. Give them a try and come along for the ride!

Note:  I'm late tonight.  My dad and I just returned from our annual Labor Day 'dad and daughter' drink at Dogfish.  A tradition I love :)

A new me every day,
SARAH

....a big leap!!

Yogis,

Here I am fresh out of college. A mere 21 years old. Eager with grand visions for my life ahead……..

 

I began my Xerox career only two months after graduation (I still remember that suit). New business rep was my title which meant knocking on doors. Lots of doors. My territory was a transitional neighborhood in downtown DC, with my very first sale to a small clinic which would later become a big name in support services during the Aids epidemic. Business skills and lifelong friends formed in those early years.

My intent was to stay for two years, taking advantage of the renowned training program and getting some sales experience under my belt so I could move on to what my real plan was - a stockbroker. But one thing led to another, as so often happens in life…….

My first son born only a year later. Promotion to account rep where at least the customers knew I was coming. Specialist. My run as demo queen (demonstrating technology) where no one could beat me and I eventually won the worldwide competition. Sales manager. Two more sons. And finally contracts manager which at last used the financial skills I had honed in my education.   

It is now 34 years later. Many changes at Xerox and many changes in the life of Sarah Cahill. Yoga entered 10 years ago making its mark on me and has been the ‘other secret half’ of life. A passion.  And I created a vision around it…… saw it…..watched it….nurtured it….spoke it. Seeing what I wanted.

Last month the wheels began turning as I was offered an early retirement package. It sat in my email for a while. I then hit print and it watched me from my desk.  I meditated. I hiked. I dreamed……and then I signed.  I have walked to the edge, looked out and jumped.

My vision has manifested!!! September 30 will be my last day as an active employee.

Xerox has been a true gift to both me and my family for so many years. I will always be grateful.  But it is time for a turn in my life’s path. Time for growth. Time to step out of my box.

What’s ahead? A clear canvas. Many ideas…many visions…..   We create our lives and I intend to continue to do just that. Stay tuned J

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh........

Be careful what you ask the Universe for,
SARAH

Going deeper.......

Yogis,

A couple of weeks ago  I wrote about looking beneath.  Seeing. Going deeper…..

I decided to do just that in my garden this week. To see the plants that I look at each and every day from a new perspective. I would head out to sit. Watch. Notice. Breathe. Take pictures.  And what I saw is in the on line slideshow I have posted below - Going Deeper. 

Shapes and colors I didn’t know existed. Insects so small that the first time they caught my attention was when I was deep inside a flower with my zoom lens. Beauty found not only in the new and young, but captured even in the dying. Beauty often lies beneath.

This is my first attempt at this so if somehow it doesn't start the movie properly when you arrive at the site, click on the little movie camera that pops up if you point your cursor toward the top left picture.  Sit back and see what lies beneath, within, around.   

“I must be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.”
            ~Anais Nin

Link - Going deeper....   

Om,
SARAH

.....obstacles

Yogis,

This wasn’t the first time this happened. There is a good chance you may have experienced this yourself.  You open up the pantry closet and see it sitting quietly in the corner. You try not to notice but there is that undeniable shape of a pantry moth. 

 The dreaded Indian Meal Worm.  Darn it!!!!!

I get it out and shut the closet, convincing myself there is probably only that one that came in with something I bought.  Who the heck do I think I am kidding? This is not my first time to the rodeo.  I have been down this path a few times before over the years and know it is never quite that simple, but my mind is not ready to accept it quite yet. The next morning I see three more. Ugh. Too busy to give it much thought, until that night when I see four more. Ok, time to pull out potential culprits. 

I move things around and rifle through. The open bags of rice, crackers and flour hit the trash can.  Ok, done.  Not…….

The next morning I open the closet to get my nuts and there they are looking right at me. Three more.  The nerve!  I finally start to come to grips with what I knew deep down from that very first sighting had to happen. There is no shortcut.  EVERYTHING must be taken out and inspected.  Anything at all questionable must go. Shelves wiped thoroughly and aired out. Not a small project. 

When is it a good time to have this happen? Never. With a sigh, I drop what I am doing, draw in a large inhale and take the leap.  Oh my….the things I found.  Old bags of coconut hiding beneath the tea.  Dates from god knows when.  A half-eaten bag of pistachios that caused me to leap back when I looked inside.  Boxes with expiration dates of 2014.  All pitched. Everything left is now out on the counter and I spray down the shelves and scrub.  Off come the chocolate stains, the crumbs and some red substance that I have no idea where it came from. Once dry I carefully place what is left onto the shelves and step back. 

What I see smiles back at me!  It gleams! This pantry has desperately needed this care for probably two years now but when was that going to find its way into my day?  Next week, I would think.  As soon as I have one of those free rainy afternoons. Soon.

The moth was an obstacle thrown in my path.  Something I hoped I could ignore but it wasn’t going to allow that. In the end it was actually a gift…….as most obstacles are. 

It’s not until the toilet breaks and needs replacing that you realize how run down the bathroom looks and you finally begin to move on the update you keep talking about. Or that irritating lower back pain ramps up enough one day to finally cause you to sign up for  that yoga class you have been considering for a year now.  The argument with a friend or spouse that exposes parts of the relationship you realize haven’t been nurtured recently. Or road work closes the route you always take and you discover a great new store you didn’t know about on another street.

An obstacle. Something placed in your path which requires a shift in direction. 

Now you can keep ramming your head against it, struggle to move it out of the way or turn around and go backward……all of which I tried first with the moth.  Or you can pause and listen for its message.  Find the gift it holds inside. Discover the new path.

See obstacles as opportunities.  See obstacles as inspiration. 

-          From ‘All the Light You Cannot See’

Thank you moth,
SARAH

......I see you

Yogis,

I see you………

I didn’t always. 

When we first met all I saw was the car you drove up in and what you were wearing. The color of your hair. How tall you were and the way you introduced yourself. What you were carrying and the manner in which you stood. I heard your voice and felt how you shook my hand. The words you chose first. And from this I formed my judgment. You were ‘that’ kind of person. Placing  you neatly in one of my numerous categories of people. 

The next time we crossed paths I began to notice the way you held my gaze for a second longer than is ‘customary’ (….whoever decided what that is). How you have that habit of putting your hand to your mouth when you laugh and your clear desire to be liked as you compliment all of those around you. The way your eyes look down when you become uncomfortable and the step back you take when I come too close.

More time together and I now sense a softness under that somewhat rough exterior. Hearing your slightly unsure tone buried beneath the confident talk. The way you check your phone when the conversation takes certain turns. I see you glance at yourself in the mirror as we walk by and catch your almost inaudible sigh when the world gets quiet. 

Now after these months, I do see you. I know it can feel uncomfortable as the masks you so meticulously place on each morning when you step out from the shower are stripped away leaving your soul naked. As if I can see the curve of your hip or even that birthmark you carefully hide beneath your clothing. Wondering if I am watching your sorrow when I return your gaze or managed to catch a glimpse of the deep uncertainty you have for your future. I do see you. 

This dragonfly was visiting my garden the other day. At first I was trying to take her picture because of her beautiful blue coloring. Her clothes. But she wouldn’t stay still for long and my camera could not focus on someone so tiny.  She kept returning. Each time looking me right in the eye as if to say…..’do you see me?’  I got low and watched her mouth chew. So small and delicate. She would look away and then look back. Until my camera suddenly focused. Then I saw her. 

And off she flew. 

We judge. We categorize. But the deeper we look the more we see. The more we see the closer we become for we are all the same. You no different than I……all hiding beneath this outer shell we refer to as age, sex, race, education, political affiliation and economic status. Stand closer. Look beneath. See me.

Go deeper,
SARAH