If you’ve checked in here over the last six months you may have noticed a lack of new posts. The truth is, I haven’t had a spare moment to post on my blog because I’ve been completely focused on helping an author client bring his next book to fruition. The working title is The Belief Window: Discovering How Your Beliefs Work For You Or Against You.

The book is already having an impact on me in ways both subtle and profound. In my deepest heart, I know this book will affect many people, especially those who are willing to look within and then easily invite change into their lives.

My own e-book released this past Spring, titled Release & Catch: Let Go of the Past, Catch Your Future, also deals with inviting change into your life through a series of simple written exercises. The goal-setting part of these exercises has worked incredibly well in my life. Today, I’m seeing results from goals I set six and nine months ago playing out big time in my life.

In fact, when I take the time to step back from the busy-ness of goal achieving and appreciate what I’m accomplishing it quite honestly blows my mind!!!

How is your manifestation plan coming along? For me it’s moving at lightning speed. Things I imagined and visualized for the past year are coming to fruition. It’s exhilarating and enlightening on so many levels.

It’s even happening on the physical level, as in “lightening the load” of my body itself. Weight is melting off me and I am feeling stronger than ever before.

My sense of Purpose has sharpened and focused. The Path is now clear for happiness and success in the forms most important to me at this time. As I become aware of old beliefs that no longer work for me, I replace them with new ones that support me on my Path.

Soon I will be offering seminars and workshops, plus other easy/play-full ways to
teach people about the Belief Window and help them access their own Inner
Knowing. Let’s see how it all plays out.

Take the journey with me and let me know — what New Path are you on in your growth?

Now that you have all your ducks in a row (you do, right?) it’s all systems go and full steam ahead! With the surge of spring in nature, the leap forward in time with Daylight Savings, and more light streaming onto the northern hemisphere, individuals and businesses alike up the optimism quotient, and everyone seems to have an improved outlook on the year ahead.

I wrote these first two paragraphs last week but had to stop before I could complete my blog post. At the time, I knew that March had some very highly charged activity predicted for this month, and had learned that some of that activity would come in the form of “earth changes” and so I was not completely surprised when Mother Nature showed us unequivocally who is really in charge on this planet as she did on March 12^th.

The images streaming out of Japan following last Saturday’s devastating earthquake and accompanying tsunami are disturbing, heartbreaking, terrifying, and sobering. Thousands of people missing presumed dead, towns and cities reduced to tangled messes that may take decades to rebuild, a growing threat of further destruction from damaged nuclear power plants contaminating the air, the waters, people and animals alike.

A tsunami of fear unleashed itself around the planet.

Questions arise about our own safety here in America and along all the countries lining the Pacific Rim. How prepared are we for a disaster of this magnitude? Many of my clients, friends and family have pulled together for the first time a disaster-preparedness kit with items they and their families will need should the unthinkable happen here. Survival is on our minds now.

In times like these after a major natural disaster, it’s very easy to go to a place of total fear, of expecting the very worst, of feeling intensely that “no matter what I do, it doesn’t matter anyway” or feeling as though you’re a victim with no control over your own life.

The Truth is more in the middle ground than you might think.

Yes, things happen to us. Yes, there are forces beyond our control or imagination that affect us deeply, there’s no denying that reality. And yet we also have choice in how we RE-act to what happens to us. And in that moment of choice, we exert the act of co-creation. In our RE-action, we create right along with that outside force, making choices about how we want to BE in that particular circumstance. We cooperate with that force and create anew. We climb back into the driver’s seat of our lives….even when we are afraid.

How to develop your confidence in co-creating the life you were meant to be living is the subject of my new eGuide called Release & Catch: Let Go of the Past, Catch Your Future. It’s an easy PDF download and comes straight from my heart to yours. I give you a practical guide with concrete exercises to help you create lasting change in your life, manifest your dreams, and make your goals a reality.

It’s a way to make a difference for yourself, so you can make a difference for others. A way to take charge and get into the driver’s seat of your own life. A way to feel less like your life is whizzing by and you’re just a bystander watching it pass. More like you are actively engaged in creating the life you were meant to live. The life you so richly deserve. You have more power than you imagined—it’s time to claim it. Even in the presence of fear.

 Please join me in sending love, light and prayers to the people of Japan.

The breeze carries hints of blossoms, especially the incredibly heady scent of mock-orange trees and of vines laden with jasmine, also known as “wedding bouquet.” Flowers are bursting out everywhere it seems. Brilliant hot pink ice plant adorns many of our freeway interchanges. The sunny yellow mustard grass covers Irish-green hillsides while purple lupin and mountain lilac bushes show off their royal colors. Daffodils, irises, freesias, tulips and paper whites have been proudly waving their lovely colors for a few weeks now and are almost past their peak. We’re still getting a few rainstorms here and there, and the occasional “Alaskan Express” reminds us that, indeed, it still is winter. And yet, as the days grow longer and the sunlight grows stronger, we really notice the seasonal shift.

As Nature begins to shake off the long slumber of winter, so too do we humans begin to emerge from our own kind of hibernation. Perhaps you feel a surge of creativity pouring through you these days. Or maybe you’re feeling the urge for more physical activity so you step up your fitness. Many people report they are going into “organizing mode” and finally clearing out the clutter they’ve been drowning in, or revamping closets, garages, pantries and cupboards.

The business world is affected too. Companies like Staples and Office Depot report an increase in sales of office supplies related to organizational needs –things like storage containers, label makers and file folders – fly off the shelves in the first quarter.

The first quarter of the year is also the perfect time to plan product launches and develop marketing campaigns because creative thinking is at its highest point in the first three or four months of the year. The wise business owner knows that planning sessions held in February and March frequently yield the most successful campaigns.

This is also the time of year when many people feel the itch to move on. If your career or line of work is not exactly going the way you had thought it would, this is the most common time of year to put plans in motion to make a change. Whether you reinvent yourself in a whole new calling or simply change jobs, start a new business or begin investigating how to do so, now is the time you’re most likely to do just that.

In our modern world of high technology and instant communication, our DNA is still imprinted with the laws of Nature. Even though we may be indoors all day at the office and never have a chance to sniff the breeze, the change in light and air is still palpable. Our bodies, minds and spirits respond to the sense of awakening.

Just for today, notice where you feel the awakening occurring. Bring that awareness into your work day and watch your creativity soar!

These are all good signs that the Great Recession is, well, receding and that perhaps the worst of those troubling economic times are now behind us. What lessons have we learned?

As a business coach, my job is to help my clients not only manage their present circumstances but also keep them focused on their future and how they will create the life they envision living. In order to do that properly, however, they must incorporate lessons they’ve learned in the past. This requires a focused willingness to honestly assess what you’ve said and done to get where you are.

Over the years, I’ve discovered that most people need guidance with this process. Sometimes it’s not so easy to peer inside yourself and put light on all the thoughts, beliefs or actions that ultimately form the fabric of Who you are. It may feel like some of that old stuff is better kept underground, but it’s also possible that some of it might be worthy of closer examination. Remember that thousands of years ago Socrates famously said “the unexamined life is not worth living” which may sound extreme but his words still resonate all these years later.

The trick is to do it without getting stuck in self-loathing or relentless negativity.

I’m just now putting the finishing touches on an e-book I’ve written called Release and Catch, which is essentially a practical exercise to help let go of the past and attract, or catch, the future of your dreams. It works well in both a group setting and on an individual basis. As soon as it’s ready, you’ll be among the first to know.

It’s critically important that we as individuals and as a nation take the time to reflect upon and learn from our past so we can create the best possible future. Even though the Great Recession has forever altered the way we live and work today, there is much that can be learned from it. In fact even at this moment we are still learning from it.

One of my clients speaks of enduring her own “personal tsunami” when she was let go from her job as a food server in a high-end restaurant where she’d worked more than two decades. She slogged through anger and grief, did some deep soul-searching and decided to enter a two-year course of study to become a massage/bodywork therapist. Within a few months she will be fully licensed and will have reinvented herself in a way she could never have imagined before the Recession hit.

What I know for sure is that we can’t go back to the way it was before. We can only participate in creating the new normal from here on.

So then, what lessons have you learned from the Great Recession?

Or maybe you’re beating yourself up about where you stumbled or tripped, regretting the things that despite your best planning, just went wrong. All you can see when you look back is what didn’t go right.

When you look ahead to 2011, perhaps you’re feeling excitement, a surge of eager anticipation, a whiff of promise and hope, or perhaps a laser-clear focus on planning with precision what steps you will take, what roadmap you’ll design to accomplish the growth you desire.

Or maybe the opposite is happening. You feel fear about the approaching new year and overwhelmed at the prospect of dealing with what may come your way. Perhaps you feel stuck on a treadmill of boredom, disinterest or despair and the coming new year just means more of the same to get through and endure.

Which brings to mind one of my favorite quotes from Norman Vincent Peale, and with apologies to that wise man, I post it here using the feminine pronouns rather than his original male pronouns:

One of the greatest moments in anybody’s developing experience is when she no longer tries to hide from herself but determines to get acquainted with her Self as she really is.

The Path of self-development may be arduous and challenging at the same time as it is thrilling and rewarding. For many women it is especially difficult because we are so trained and acculturated to put others first, and tend to ourselves and our own needs later. Sometimes we never do get around to it.

What has helped me hugely in my own personal development, which has then translated into business and professional success,  is sisterhood.

There is tremendous power in women forging bonds with other women to help navigate the inevitable bumps in the road and help lighten the burdens of life. In earlier posts I have written about the incredibly inspiring time I had last fall at the Women’s Conference http://intuitivelifestrategies.com/blog/women-entrepreneurs/magnetic-inspiration-women-inspiring-women/ as I palpably experienced the power of sisterhood, even though technically we were all strangers to one another. We were nevertheless women united in the same physical space and head space, united in no longer hiding from ourselves but determined to get acquainted with Who we really are.

I grew up in a family of mostly girls and my one precious brother. With my five sisters to learn from and teach one another, I know in my deepest heart that I was privileged to develop a profound sense of sisterhood from my earliest days.

Whether leading the pack or following the crowd, from Day One I learned the value of both relying upon and being relied upon by other women. There is safety and security in finding sisterhood, as well as challenge and inspiration. When women work together, profound things happen!

As 2011 unfolds in all its mystery, I encourage you to seek out the support of sisterhood in all its forms. Explore the possibility of becoming involved with networking groups, professional organizations, clubs and communities. Commit to the important work of forming the bond of sisterhood with the Self. By doing the necessary self-excavation to become better acquainted with yourself, you’ll be rewarded with deeper love and acceptance of your Self as you truly are.

May your New Year ahead be filled with peace and prosperity!

So many of us are programmed to set our goals for the New Year and much of that work is typically done in the last few days of December once the hectic craziness of the holiday is behind us. However, goal-setting is a forward-looking exercise, which is informed and enriched by first looking back. I find that early December is the perfect time to review the year that’s passed so you can better:

• Identify, recognize and congratulate yourself on what you’ve achieved
• Assess what you’d like to continue or what to leave behind
• Review what fed your passion and what drained it
• Review how effectively and efficiently you used your time

Because of the kind of business I have, for me it’s easiest to look back over my appointment calendar where I keep meticulous records of how my time is spent every day. In a week at a glance, I can review the year fairly quickly to see how goals were met, and to review with whom, how and where my time was spent.

From that I can spot what nourished me and what drained my energy so I can make an informed decision about what I wish to keep on doing in 2011 and what I am choosing to leave behind.

It’s no coincidence that the Roman god Janus, whose image shows him in dual profile with one face looking back and the other looking forward, is the “father” of the first month of our calendar. January is a balance point of looking behind at the same time as we look ahead. Now is the perfect time of year first to review where we have been so we can then chart where we are going.

Some of my clients are in businesses that tend to slow down at this time of year, while others get revved up to what can be a crazy-making level. In order to use the “down” time wisely, here are three steps you can take right now:

• Organize—sort through the piles, clean out the files, streamline the systems.
• Research new opportunities—what audiences or markets have emerged as potential customers or which ones have you perhaps overlooked while you’ve been focused on running the business?
• Get visible—when work slows down, don’t hide in fear. Get yourself out there! Professional organizations, networking groups, social situations, and other gatherings, especially those where your potential customers might be hanging out, are a great opportunity for you to raise awareness of what you offer.

For many people, the whole idea of making resolutions for the New Year is mostly just overwhelming, especially when they usually forget about them by February. But when put in the context of looking back at the year that’s drawing to a close, objectively and without judgment or being hard on yourself, the road map you create for what’s ahead unfolds much more easily.

I listened while Grammy Award-winning singer Mary J. Blige spoke in a hushed and nervous voice, speaking publicly for the first time about how she has struggled to overcome the after-effects of abuse as a young teenager and how music saved her.

First Lady of California Maria Shriver then introduced five deserving women who are this year’s recipients of the Minerva Awards. Maria explained that when she was looking for a namesake and symbol for these awards, she chose the Roman goddess Minerva not only because she happens to be on the California state seal, but also because she embodies both heroic and feminine qualities.

Here’s the part I love: with her helmet on, Minerva is the warrior for justice. With her helmet off, she is the goddess of peace, wisdom and poetry. A true multi-tasker, just like all of us women!

Maria went on to say that Minerva is both gentle and strong, interested in using the power of words, persuasion and her voice, but also willing to engage in fierce battle in defense of her ideals and goals.

Not at all unlike the five women who were this year’s honorees.

First there was Carolyn Blashek, a self-described “nice Jewish housewife” from Los Angeles who was so moved by the enormity of 9/11 that she promptly tried to enlist in the military at the age of 46. She was turned away for being too old so instead she decided she would start sending care packages to soldiers serving overseas. To date, more than 550,000 care packages of toiletries, music, DVDs and love have been sent as part of her Operation Gratitude. She has enlisted the help of her family, friends and hundreds of volunteers to create and mail care packages to deployed soldiers, a group that beginning next year will include her own son.

Then there was Oral Lee Brown, an Oakland woman who, in 1987 happened to meet a little girl whose home life made it impossible for her to attend elementary school. So disturbed by this was she that Oral Lee decided she would “adopt” an entire first grade class at Brookfield Elementary. This was a school where 3 out of 4 kids drop out before graduating 12^th grade. THREE out of FOUR!!! Oral Lee made a simple deal with the kids: any child who graduated from high school with at least a C average would get a free ride through college at Oral Lee’s expense. She had no idea how she would raise the money, but she was determined. The result? 18 of the 22 children in that first adopted class graduated from high school and later from college. To date, her Oral Lee Brown Foundation has tracked and sent almost 200 of Oakland’s most at-risk youth through school and on to college. One young man said, “I can say for sure that without Mama Brown [as they all refer to her] helping me when she did, I would definitely be on drugs or dead by now.”

Next up was Sister Terry Dodge, a nun from the Order of St Louis who for 20 years has been working with one of the most overlooked, unpopular, forgotten populations—women being released from prison. Many of these women have committed terrible, unspeakable crimes, have histories of severe substance abuse and been institutionalized for decades. In many ways these are the most damaged souls, and yet when they are released from prison, most are so often ill-prepared for life on the outside that many end up right back behind bars. Sister Terry runs Crossroads in Claremont, California where she teaches former inmates how to engage in life again. She teaches them how to apply for jobs, open a bank account, how to live communally and cook and socialize. Sister Terry believes these women deserve our mercy to get back on their feet and make sure they don’t end up back on the streets, because she knows that’s when everyone loses. Sister Terry doesn’t like losing.

The last two honorees were former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor who broke a glass ceiling of incredible magnitude to become the first woman on America’s Supreme Court, making history and changing how women are viewed in the US. And then, last of all was Oprah. Yes, that Oprah.

While I have only rarely seen her show over the years, I am utterly in awe of all that Oprah has accomplished. Hearing her speak at this conference was so inspirational and affected me on so many levels. I cried, I laughed, I whooped, I booed. Heck, I even amen-ed a time or two. I was so caught up in the sheer magnitude of her widespread, far-reaching philanthropy. The amazing thing is that one would be hard pressed to find someone on this entire planet who does not know the name Oprah. She has single-handedly influenced the way women think, talk, eat, study, shop, exercise, and lead. She has used all her power for good.

Oprah’s voice was heard loud and clear, along with the other four remarkable recipients of this year’s Minerva Awards. These women have proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that one woman can indeed change the world, whether she has on her helmet of warrior or her crown of goddess.

Warrior or goddess, in what small, or big, way will you change your world today??

Smart business owners/entrepreneurs, or soul-preneurs as I like to think of them, know that this is the ideal time to set goals for the month ahead because New Moon times exert a powerful influence, for about three days.

And perhaps none is more powerful than the Scorpio New Moon occurring tonight November 5^th at 9:52 pm (PDT). While Scorpio affects us primarily from October 22^nd until November 21^st, its effect is most intense during the New Moon period.

Scorpio has been perhaps the most misunderstood, even feared, over the centuries. That’s because Scorpio teaches us all about transformation primarily in the major power areas of sex, money, and death. We are more tuned in now to our passions and everything feels very intense under this influence. It’s a water sign which rules the emotions and everyone is feeling everything with noticeably more intensity (there’s that word again!).

Today, driving on the freeway, I had to swerve to avoid cars coming into my lane on at least three different occasions, so intent were those drivers upon getting where they needed to go.

In the past 24 hours, I’ve had no less than five people spontaneously begin talking to me about finding, or losing, their passion—for work, for life, for love, for whatever. Now is when you’re likely to tune into and really feel passion, or the lack of it. Watch too as things that may have been hidden come to light. Secrets are revealed.

You’re supported in digging down deep as you look within and put light on those dark areas of your psyche and spirit, transforming what may be keeping you emotionally trapped. It’s not only possible but probable with this Scorpio influence that you will finally be able to identify what has been holding you back and confront your fears without becoming enmeshed in the drama.

As you take time to set your goals (be sure to write them down), keep in mind the transformative nature of this period. I’m reminded of that Rolling Stones song “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need.”

But first, a little background.

For the past seven years, this Conference has been headed by Maria Shriver, First Lady of California. Prior to that, this gathering of California women (and a few brave men) has been known as “The Governor and First Lady’s Conference” and as a past attendee (twice, once under Pete Wilson and once under Gray Davis), I came away each time thinking that it was an interesting, thought-provoking, sometimes inspiring few days spent in the company of thousands of women.

But this year’s Conference was exceptional. No one has brought more Hollywood-style star power than Maria. On this, her last conference before her husband steps down as governor of the Golden State, Maria pulled out all the stops. Her friends in high places didn’t let her down.

I listened to and learned from Jane Fonda about staying in touch with your body as much as possible, listening closely to it, especially as you age and what you can do to stay fit and healthy into your 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond.

I heard cooking queen Paula Deen talk about how hard it was to overcome agoraphobia and when she finally did, it was the joy of cooking for others that got her out the door. She talked about starting her business with $250 in her pocket and a crock pot of faith in her ability to cook and teach others how.

I watched Giada DeLaurentis talk about how she had to overcome huge expectations from loved ones that she would naturally want to follow in the family’s film/movie business and instead she felt absolutely compelled to follow her passion for cooking. She dared to be different even when it meant disappointing those she loved most.

I had a chance to observe the deep family bond between Maria Shriver and her four children when she introduced them to the group. I felt admiration that she and her movie star husband had been able to successfully raise their children out of the limelight and how “normal” the kids seemed. What a shock to see how much one of the daughters looked like Caroline Kennedy except when she smiled her face morphed into her dad’s. Another son looked like a young Teddy Kennedy. What a gene pool!

When I found out that Jessica Simpson would be sitting down with Maria and Ali Wentworth who emceed the evening (later I found out Ali’s married to George Stephanopoulos; who knew?), I must admit my first thought was “what can we possibly learn from Jessica Simpson?” Yet my closed mind snapped open. I was impressed with her intelligent, down-to-earth personality as she talked about living under a microscope of public scrutiny, about the recent TV series where she documented how beauty is interpreted around the world and how it felt to make contact with tribal women in Africa whose idea of beauty includes stretching the lower lip, or the young women in remote villages of Thailand who use increasing numbers of metal rings to lengthen their neck and appear more desirable. She spoke passionately about the joy she finds in being an entrepreneur in the fashion business and encouraged others to follow their dreams.

My heart filled with admiration for women who age gracefully, overcome obstacles, follow their passion, dare to be different, and break through limiting stereotypes. These are the kinds of women I am honored and privileged to coach.

My next post will cover Day Two, because that was where the inspiration factor went off the charts, culminating in the Minerva Awards honoring five incredibly worthy women.

Sometimes it’s the simplest statements that bring the greatest illumination. One of my favorite (and most prolific) writers in the field of self-improvement is Wayne Dyer, who is a master at taking simple words or phrases and turning them around so that we view the concept in a brand new way.

Some of my favorites of his include “always striving, never arriving” and “we’re not human beings having a spiritual experience, we’re spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Many years ago when I embarked upon a metaphysical/spiritual path, a tiny little book came to my attention just when I needed it most. The Abundance Book by John Randolph Price, with its distinctive green cover (the color of money, not coincidentally) detailed a 40-day Prosperity Plan that was not only easy to follow, but utterly transformative. It required dedication to the Plan in that you had to perform the “steps” every day for forty days, which mostly involved meditation and focusing the mind.

On a much deeper level, this unassuming little book was a gigantic magnet, attracting prosperity and abundance by harnessing the power of Intention.

For nearly six weeks, I would sit every morning just before sunrise and devote 20-30 minutes to meditating upon each step of the Plan, with the goal of manifesting my intention of creating prosperity and abundance in my life.

At first it was a challenge to wake up early and carve out the time to do the program, but before long I was in the groove and found myself looking forward to each morning’s new step. I thought about it all day long, as each step bored into my consciousness, indelibly stamping its message deep in my psyche.

It was from this little book that I learned the true meaning of a word that has tremendous power for each and every one of us: MONEY. We love it, we hate it, we need it, we avoid it, we desire it, we condemn it. Religions deplore its power, yet require it to survive. Some of us spend our whole lives trying to find it while others of us can’t be bothered because there’s plenty of it.

Here’s the true meaning of the word “money.” It’s an acronym for My Own Natural Energy Yield.

Just as the farmer annually harvests the yield from his crops, so is there a natural yield from the fruits of your labor. In other words, the results gained from having devoted your energy to an outcome or yield.

When you look at it this way, you could ask yourself: What is the yield that I receive when I direct my energy to any given person, place, or thing? It may not be cash, perhaps it’s more in the realm of psychic benefits.

So when you think of money now, will your attitude towards it have shifted? Thinking of money in terms of the yield from your own natural energy output sends a powerful message to the Universe that directly activates your natural ability to magnetize all the abundance you desire.

If you change the way you look at money, M-O-N-E-Y changes. YOU change.