It's that time of year again that people make all sorts of New Years Resolutions that they are likely to break within the first few weeks of the New Year, leaving us feeling defeated from the start of the year.  Don't you think it's time to create a new tradition?  A tradition that is more likely to inspire rather than punish?  A commitment to yourself that is more likely to create lasting change rather than fall off within the first two weeks?  

 There are several reasons why resolutions fail.  The one I would like to briefly mention is the fact that you're just not ready to change.  We might believe, superficially, that we want to change, and are ready for the change.  With this superficial commitment, we tend to only focus on changing behaviors, which is only a small part of the equation.  The other larger part  is to challenge our core beliefs so we don't end up sabotaging our efforts.  For instance, if we focus on wanting to lose weight, eat healthier, and exercise more, and this...

I remember reading social media posts from NYE 2019 expressing excitement for what 2020 might hold and just knowing, undoubtedly, it would be better than 2019.  Well, we were all in for an awakening.  This year has been a rollercoaster of a ride.  And not like those sweet baby coaster rides that offer a few small bumps as you go around in a nice small circle.  This year is best described through the Steel Dragon 2000, which is the worlds longest roller coaster.  There is a slow climax in the beginning as it spreads the curiosity and concern through the riders while it climbs to the top, followed by a pause before dropping down 318 feet.  It is filled with with twists and turns, loops, pauses, more drops, dark tunnels, and more bumps in the track.  I can easily state that 2020 has been the most profound year in my 40+ years of being on this Earth.  From the start with the pandemic that led to the world literally standing still with shut downs, the addition of the word social distancing,...

As I was wrapping up a session with my therapist, she gave me an assignment, as she often does. The assignment was to write a Christmas letter-you know, the ones you get from your family that highlight their year.  The letter I was to write is more specific though.  Instead of this letter consisting of the highlights of the year, I was to write a Christmas Letter about my Spiritual Path of 2020.  It was to include what was important to me about the changes of the year, my spiritual challenges of the year, what spiritual difficulties I have faced, what were some things I stopped, and what are some things I started.  So, after putting this assignment off for a week, I decided that today would be the day!  I popped in my bluetooth headphones to use music to drown out the kids shows being watched in the next room, and I went to work.  Within seconds, I found myself crying...like sobbing.  I hadn't even started writing and the tears were flowing!!! Well...that was unexpected!  I immediately...

Last week's blog article was all about how to notice when you are NOT in alignment with your Life Purpose.  I don't want to just leave you hanging out with this new found awareness and not knowing what to do with it, so I figured it would be appropriate to have a follow up of ways to align with your Life Purpose, don't you?!  

For about a decade, I lived my life in that state of confusion, which is one of the indicators I was not fully aligned with my Life Purpose.  I had everything I had wanted and more, but was still feeling restless.  I felt like something was wrong with me because I "should" be grateful and content.  Today, I am happy to report that I was able to clear the fog and confusion to fully grasp what was happening.  First, let me offer you a definition of what I consider Life Purpose: the intersection between your passions and your Spiritual gifts, and sharing those gifts with the world.  

Along my journey, there were some key steps that I took that allowed me to increa...

As we all travel along this journey that we call life, we are all on our personal journey to find and live out our Life Purpose.  During adolescence, we fight to understand ourself, separate from our family.  As we grow into young adulthood, we often get lost in what others and society expect of us.  And as we grow into adulthood, we begin our journey back to ourself.  Throughout this entire journey, we are continuously searching for our Authentic Self and Life Purpose.  These concepts can be overwhelming at times.  There are so many questions and possible answers.  So many concepts and need for clarification.  And along this journey, we often endure emotional suffering, which in turn, can lead to hurting others-unintentionally of course-as they had only been innocent by-standards, just as we have played this role in others struggles to find their way back to themself.  

In my personal life, I have taken this journey, and am happy to still be on it, with more understanding, kindness, ...

This year, I chose to quit my Corporate job to begin my own business for several reasons. One of the reasons was to spend more time with my husband and kids, as well as to be able to travel to visit family live 815 miles away.  This year, we had planned on spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with family in Buffalo, NY for the first time in over 10 years.  

Fast forward to heading into the 8th month of this pandemic.  By this time, many of us have had to cancel plans  for Spring Breaks, Summer vacations, and family gatherings.  Now we are heading into the winter Holidays and we are having to make the same sacrifices.  We are heading into the New Year with even more uncertainty about how long this pandemic will be impacting our lives.  So with all of this uncertainty, what can we do to make the best out of the hand that has been dealt to us throughout this Holiday Season.  This actually reminds me of part of the Serenity Prayer which states "Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I ...

Let's just bring it to light and call it what it is.  Many of us are struggling with the holiday blues extra hard this year due to not being able to be with your family.  I have seen posts of positivity followed by a stream of comments filled with anger and frustration due to these circumstances.  It hurts my heart to see such sadness and hurt spreading across the country and the world.  So yes.  I am going to focus on how to increase your levels of joy despite  what is happening all around you.  

First, let's take a look at what stops us from experiencing joy.  We can break these down into joy stealers and joy challenges.  In this article, we are going to focus on Joy Stealers and how to overcome them to feel more joy throughout your life.   

Joy stealers are attitudes and thought patterns that prevent us from experiencing joy.  Some common joy stealers include:

• Worry.  We have a tendency to catastrophize most situations. We project negative outcomes on situations.  Have you ever
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Who doesn't like a good ol' celebration?!  What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of celebrating?  We culturally celebrate for many reasons...promotions, births, holidays, birthdays.  Shoot...some have birthday months!  We celebrate because it feels good.  There is actually a physiological reason we are feeling amazing when we get festive.  Our brain releases a beautiful cocktail of chemicals.

Did you know that 49.6% of our waking hours are spent thinking about something other than what we're doing, and this mind-wandering typically makes them unhappy (Harvard Gazette, 2010).  

So where does our mind go?  You can usually tell by what's coming up in your emotions.  

When our mind moves into the future, we can begin to feel anxious.  Over-analyzing, thinking of every possible outcome of every possible move we can make, and don't forget about every single move every other person can make.  Sounds exhausting, right?  You would know because you hang out there just like the rest of the 40 million adults in the world.  

When our mind contemplates events that happened in the past, we begin to feel sadness or depression.  We begin to question our decisions, behaviors, and conversations.      We may dwell on the patterns and relationships that have been less than healthy in our life.  Our thoughts often trick us into believing that our life will 'always be this way'.  And here's th...

Can any one else feel that?  The intensity of emotions from the collective?  Have you noticed any of the following:

• extreme lethargy
• a heaviness you just can't explain
• a feeling of loneliness
• loss of hope for the future
• intense anger
• easily frustrated/short fuse
• holding onto resentments

Of course you can!  We are in the middle of elections during a pandemic!  Who wouldn't be a little bit, or a LOT a bit, on edge?  We are certainly in a season of political warfare and turmoil.  It seems all of the news is geared towards negativity and judgment.  Although it is very important to be up to date and knowledgable about the current state of affairs, it is equally, if not MORE important to create a safe space for ourselves-physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. My energy is very sacred to me, especially since I am highly sensitive-aka an empath.  I feel the energy all around me at all times.  My heart grows heavy when I see acts of hatred and violence.   I cry with joy...