Yesterday was Valentines Day I thought about how for me Valentines Day is about more than a romantic hallmark holiday… its about extending and receiving love selflessly from a place of internal happiness. So many people have loved and enjoyed this. Some have called this a prayer… some a mediation. I love it and I wanted to share it with you all. It is from Don Miguel Ruiz’s Book The Four Agreements and I think it is such a warm and inspiring bit of wisdom and love… I hope you will all take a little time to center yourself and enjoy this!

The Four Agreements, A Toltec wisdom book
Don Miguel Ruiz

A beautiful dream…..

We are going to share a beautiful dream together- a dream that you will love to have all of the time. In this dream you are in the middle of a warm sunny day. You hear the birds, the wind, and a little river. You walk toward the river. At the edge of the river is an old man in meditation and you see that out of his head comes a beautiful light of different colors. You try not to bother him, but he notices your presence and opens his eyes. He has the kind of eyes that are full of love and a big smile. You ask him how he is able to radiate all of that beautiful light. You ask him if he can teach you to do what he is doing. He replies that many, many years ago he asked the same question of his teacher.

The old man begins to tell you his story: “My teacher opened his chest and took out his heart, and he took a beautiful flame from his heart. Then he opened my chest, opened my heart, and he put that little flame inside it. He put my heart back in my chest, and as soon as my heart was inside me, I felt intense love, because the flame he put in my heart was his own love.”

“That flame grew in my heart and became a big, big, fire—a fire that doesn’t burn, but purifies everything that it touches. And that fire touched each one of the cells of my body, and the cells of my body loved me back. I became one with my body, but my love grew even more. The fire touched every emotion of my mind, and all of the emotions transformed into a strong and intense love. And I loved myself, completely and unconditionally.”

But the fire kept burning and I had the need to share my love. I decided to put a little piece of my love in every tree, and the trees loved me back, and I became one with the trees, but my love did not stop, it grew more. I put a piece of love in every flower, in the grass, in the earth and they loved me back, and we became one. And my love grew more and more to love every animal in the world. They responded to my love and they loved me back, and we became one. But my love kept growing and growing……

……..I turned my head to the sky, to the sun, to the stars, and put a little piece of my love in every star, in the moon, in the sun, and they loved me back. And I became one with the moon and the sun and the stars, and my love kept growing and growing. And I put a little piece of my love in every human, and I became one with the whole of humanity. Wherever I go, whomever I meet, I see myself in their eyes, because I am a part of everything, because I love.”

And then the old man opens his own chest, and takes out his heart with that beautiful flame inside, and he puts that flame in your heart. And now that love is growing inside of you. Now you are one with the wind, with the water, with the stars, with all of nature, with all animals and with all humans. You feel the heat and the light emanating from the flame in your heart. Out of your head shines a beautiful light of different colors. You are radiant with the glow of love and you pray:

Thank you Creator of the Universe, for the gift of life you have given me. Thank you for giving me everything that I have ever truly needed. Thank you for the opportunity to experience this beautiful body and this wonderful mind. Thank you for living inside me with all of your love, with your pure and boundless spirit, with your warm and radiant light.

Thank you for using my words, for using my eyes, for using my heart to share your love wherever I go. I love you just the way you are, and because I am your creation, I love myself just the way I am. Help me to keep the love and the peace in my heart and to make that love a new way of life, that I may live in love the rest of my life.

Aren’t we all in perpetual pursuit of happiness? I mean we get a little… well a lot… bogged down by life and running to and fro. But we live for those divine moments of happiness.

Have you ever read something that literally jumped off the page and latched onto your brainwaves like… as my grandmother used to say… white on rice? These powerful words did that to me… “We are too close to the American Dream to see the nightmare.” I cant remember where I read that or I would give them the much deserved credit for this bit of prose. My eyes fell quite silent to the rest of what I was reading when I came upon it. Because… it was profound to me. It seems many of us are in such a hell bent pursuit of “happiness” that we have totally missed the boat… we are instead living the nightmare of our pursuit.

We are consumed by being on the run and have little time left for enjoying the “now”… for reflecting on our lives and what they feel like to us. Each of us has a choice about how we perceive happiness and the steps we take to achieve that. I believe success is best achieved with a holistic approach that allows us to live life to our greatest potential and without the baggage of guilt and regrets.

Studies have shown that there are four factors that contribute most to our having meaning and satisfaction in our lives and achieving “happiness”:

• Having a meaningful honest relationship with at least one person in your life – a relationship built upon trust
• Having enough financial freedom to life life in a comfortable fashion without ongoing concerns about financial issues
• Well-being of our Body, Mind, and Soul
• Knowing oneself intimately and understanding what we require in the way of self care and nurturing

Simply put… when these things get out of balance… so does life. Being on the go all the time can create issues for us like: parenting that comes from a place of quick necessity instead of thoughtfulness, irritability, health challenges, poor choices, strained relationships, and the list goes on and on.

I encourage you to take time today to look at where you are in your life and ask yourself if your life might be richer if you made some simple lifestyle changes. Don’t spend your last 25 years trying to make up for the past 50. I have some tips that might help you!

A few simple steps that might just give you the nudge you need to live life with a great deal more abundance.

1. Get some clarity about what matters to you… your values
2. Set goals and objectives for yourself
3. Don’t procrastinate or sabotage yourself… don’t make excuses
4. Learn how and when to say NO
5. Surround yourself with people who fuel you up and support you
6. Love what you do… Make sure your career is something that is fulfilling and fun for you

Its just a start… But I challenge you to stop living the American Dream… and start living YOURS!!

Blessings…

Chyrl

Here we are in the throws of closing out 2011. For some of us, other than the traffic of holiday shoppers, we have hardly noticed the hustle and bustle. For others… closing out the year is a huge deal. Regardless, its safe to say we should all take some steps to secure a fresh start by laying certain things to rest and fueling up for the new year and opportunities to come.

Here are some things to think about as we prepare to ring in the coming year.

1. Take an inventory of 2011. What kind of progress did you make with last years resolutions? Do a little research into what your year looked like and where you feel you may have dropped the ball so you can begin creating a plan for 2012! Get some powerful positive mojo going and stamp out any negativity that might have been festering.
2. This is a great time for updating. This could personally mean something as simple as a few new wardrobe pieces, a new ring tone and updating your Facebook profile to reflect important events and the successes you had in 2011.
3. Professionally its time to update your resume and bio’s, and make sure your social media profiles reflect your accomplishments. Make certain your website is up to date and that its on target with your customers. List any special offers or offer something helpful. Also don’t forget to update the copyright signature.
4. Get organized. Back up files on your computer, create folders for this year and the upcoming years files. I use Dropbox and have found this to be an awesome tool. Try it. Clean up your email files as well, this is a great opportunity to eliminate junk from your life by unsubscribing from those things that are adding clutter to your life.
5. There is nothing like a new hairstyle and look to energize you into 2012!! Pamper yourself with something that updates your image. Gentlemen create an opportunity to treat yourself to a manicure and a new professional head shot for your updated Bio.
6. Business owners… start thinking of your customers and how you can best reach them in 2012. Who’s your audience, has it changed? Consider offering something helpful to those you target through your social media outlets. Consider using Hootsuite to manage your social networks. **Now follow through with a plan. How and when will you reach out to your friends… family… clients? Make use of all the awesome new avenues we have… webinars, video posts, social media sites, email of course and don’t forget regular postal mail and the telephone… there is nothing like reaching out personally to a contact or friend. In our culture we tend to get disconnected by the cyber world we live in… but it’s the face-to-face contact and experiences we share that keep us thriving. Make time for the special people and clients in your life. Treat yourself and someone you enjoy to lunch or coffee and catch up.
7. And last but not least… take a moment to clear out the mental and emotional clutter in your life. This can be quite a task for some of us but I encourage you to take it on. Its really no different than cleaning out your car… eliminate what is not necessary or doesn’t serve you, organize and prioritize the rest. Don’t you love that feeling after you clean house and you can sit back and reap the benefits… fuels you up and makes you feel fantastic!
8. Off to a great start!!! Enjoy – 2012!

Do you have tips of your own? Helpful tidbits that have served you well over the years? Please share them!

Have a fabulous holiday season and all the best to you in 2012!!

Blessings…
Chyrl

One of the most precious and well serving things I believe a person can possess is an attitude of gratitude. Today on Thanksgiving and every Thanksgiving I complete an exercise in gratitude. I sit down and make a list of things I am grateful for. I never fail to come up with 50 – 100 things easily. For some this may seem a daunting task… but I challenge you to make a list of your own. Shoot for 100. You will be surprised how easily it comes once you get started and how good you will feel when its done.

I usually share some of the things on my list with the people I care about and treasure in my life… this year I want to share part of that list with you. I am thankful for my most awesome family, friends who rock, my health, my dads heart, fight, and attitude in the face of cancer, prosperity, generosity, flowers to bring a smile to my face, the ability to laugh when I might once have cried, seeing the possibilities, reaching for more, courage, determination, boundaries, Starbucks coffee, (my) little girls grin that stops my heart, honoring myself in the choices I make, making myself a priority and pampering my female awesomeness, the sound of my running shoes on the asphalt, Bikram yoga, friends who call me at 3 am, that I am smiling all the way to my liver… and among others the gift of helping others live a more fulfilled and joyous life.

Fabulous isn’t it… Get your gratitude on!

Blessings… Chyrl