Welcome to the last Joy Tip Wednesday of 2015.  What an amazing year it has been for so many people I know including myself.  I left my full time government gig to follow my heart and put two feet into coaching and teaching.  I created new lifelong friendships and reignited old connections.  I dove into the world of dating again for the first time in decades.  I experienced excitement and heartbreak.  I faced some of the deepest, shadowiest, corners of my soul.  I uncovered light and joy in unexpected places.  And most of all I was reminded of the miracles possible in life when we show up for them. As I move into 2016 there is one thing fresh on my mind...commitment...

Happy holidays! It's that special time of year where many of us set intentions, feel inspired to chart a new course of our lives, recommit or newly commit ourselves to different areas of our lives, and turn within.  This week I completed a solstice ritual I've been doing over the last year of sitting in reflection during each solstice to decide what I feel ready to let go of, ready to invite in, and consider some actions that might start charting this new course. Now it's time for action!

Hey there!  It's an auspicious time of year in so many ways including the fact that the winter solstice is taking place just before midnight tonight, many holidays are celebrated, and the New Year is around the corner.  It also marks a year since I came back to DC after taking a three month break away on a solo cross country road trip and I've been turning within over the last couple of weeks to check-in with where my life is, and what course I want to chart as we move into 2016. 

Hey Wednesday!  These last couple of weeks have been very powerful and potent for me.  Lots of learning.  Commitment to releasing old patterns.  And trying something new.  One of those new things is inviting grace as I spoke about on the blog on Monday.  So this week's Joy Tip Wednesday is dedicated to finding ways to invite grace more into our lives.  Really it's all about three interconnected words...time, space, and pressure. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about grace.  How much easier it is for me to grant grace to others than myself.  And how when I don't grant myself grace...ease...I create so much suffering for myself. 

I'm a pick yourself up by your own bootstraps kinda gal.  I've been super independent since I showed up on Earth.  A famous phrase echoing the halls from me in our house when I was very young was "I do it."  And yes I did. I did many things.  But the perception that I did them on my own I believe is an illusion. 

"Spiritual practice is not what you are doing, but what you are thinking."  ~ Swami Satchidananda

I saw this quote earlier this week during my morning reflection.  And I loved it so much that it's been singing in my heart ever since.  What I love about it is the lesson I'm reminded of time and time again...that we always have an opportunity to turn anything we do into an act of devotion to what we care about most.

Welcome to Joy Tip Wednesday.  Where I've been collecting love letters from the Universe these days and I'm inviting you to do the same.  When my energetic battery feels low, I know it's time for some self care.  For some more time in silence.  Deep reflection.  And maybe even a trip up to New York to see my teacher Sri Dharma Mittra.  While classes with him, connection with amazing community, and time away refilled my battery so did something else.  Love letters.  Tons of them.  From the Universe.  They are always there when I'm receptive to them.  But the question, is I'm willing, open, and ready to see the love letters that the Universe is writing back to me each and every day cheering me on?  Telling me how much I'm always loved? How supported I am?  

Welcome to this week's addition of Joy Tip Wednesday where we let ourselves run free as the wild souls we are.  Here's what I believe.  I believe each of us are composed of irony.  An irony of both absolute uniqueness, never to be created again the same, and similarity with a Great Intelligence behind it all as the energy pulsating through every ounce of our very being.  Our uniqueness, the individual person that we are, is our greatest gift.  But also our hardest gift to stay true to and share with the world.