Creating Space

Cultivating Curiosity

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 17:57:00 +0000

When is the last time you allowed yourself just to wonder? Read the post HERE

Master Bedroom Feng Shui

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 20:29:00 +0000

You can read the post on my new website by clicking HERE.

Feng Shui Basics - Bagua Map

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 20:28:00 +0000

You can read the full post on my new site by clicking here

I'm Moving ...AGAIN

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 20:28:00 +0000

No, I'm not leaving the country AGAIN

No, I'm not buying a new house.

Nope...but I am moving this BLOG.

I'm doing what all the cool kids are doing and I built a new WordPress Website, which at this writing is somewhere in Internet Purgatory!

I'll be hosting my blog posts on my site at www.sherrytrentini.com,

I'm so Grateful to Blogger, I've loved being a part of this community.

I do hope you choose to follow me over to my site!

I'm still figuring out the logistics to get an RSS Feed going, or you can join my email list and get notified that way!

The Value of Venting or Sh** Journalling

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 16:06:00 +0000

The journal that you write your gratitude in is gorgeous.

The one that you carry in your bag, at your bedside or keep on your desk is plump with ideas, musings and inspiration, and has the most decadent feel to it, in all ways.

The writing instrument which you use to write the words of thanks, wax poetic about your intentions and mind map your inspirations is not merely a pen, but a vessel from which your own energy flows from and onto the pages of those sacred books.

Those journals, in all their beauty and masterpiece, are containers, preserving all the good thoughts and things documented about You and Your Life and Your Dreams.

So where do you document your angst, your tizzy, your discomfort.

On those days when you are listening to a monologue from your gremlins? The eye rolling, the disdain, the What The …?

There is a journal for that....drumroll please...

Introducing the "Sh** Journal"!!

The Sh** Journal is where you write with whatever marker, crayon, pen, pencil or finger dipped in peanut butter.

You write whatever sh** is running through your mind, that is fast tracking your moment, your morning, afternoon, evening, day, two days, week and beyond into the depths.

The pages will be a safe place in which to express your sh**, your fire, brimstone and disdain.

It is where you articulate thoughts like:

The "I suck, let me count the ways!" soliloquy,
The "What on earth made me think I could do this?" tirade,
The "Are you freaking kidding me?" moments,
The "Really...Seriously...This is happening?" and other drips of sarcasm,
The why I should practise, "Would you like fries with that?" monologue.

Where you can pose philosophic questions like:

"Who gives a Sh**?"
"Why do I give a Sh**?"
"Is this really my Sh**?"
"Why is this Sh** running through my mind?

There's more...write about when you think you are or feel like the Sh**ty:

boss,
leader,
parent,
partner,
spouse,
friend,
consumer,
driver etc.

WHY DO IT

We have 60,000 thoughts per day, and lets be honest they are not all affirmations. Its when one of those "I Suck" themed thoughts grabs our attention, then it invites a friend, and the friend invites a friend and suddenly its gone viral. One simple thought morphed into a stadium filled with these self-deprecating, confidence busting, and alignment kinking thoughts.

The longer we ignore them, the more come to the party. So get them out of your head, its like crowd control, calling security or 911 for assistance.

HOW TO DO IT

1. GRAB WHATEVER PAPER IS HANDY

You are welcome to go out and buy THE most unattractive to you journal to have at the ready. You can even doodle or collage a picture of what your gremlin looks like and add it to the back page. Therefore when you write pressing down as hard as you can its like a voodoo energy towards that monster. **Don't forget to add horns or other adornments that further embellish that image.

Also, there is nothing stopping you from grabbing scrap paper from the recycle bin and just going to town. Make it as easy as possible.

2. WRITE WITHOUT STOPPING

Or lifting the pen. Write with absolute abandon, the faster you write those thoughts and get them out the better.

DO NOT edit, correct, punctuate...VENT! Go with the flow. Its not a presentation, dissertation or speech.

Why not type it in a document on your laptop then delete it? Read this article on why handwriting makes you smarter.

3. EYE-ROLLING, SNEERING, SCOWLING ENCOURAGED

Get into the process, whether its rolling your eyes, sneering, snuffling, scowling or mimicking with your mouth what the face of those thoughts look like as you write them out.

Adding facial expressions while you are writing goes further get that energy out of you as you write is doubly cathartic.

4. SAY THANK YOU

Once you have purged and vented all the Sh**, write Thank You to close.

I know you are thinking, "What the....?"

You have just vented it out, every sh**ty detail.

How do you feel now? Relief? Exhausted? Refreshed?

What's happening inside that beautiful head of yours now?

Is it possible that steam roller is no longer making pass after pass flattening your energy, self-esteem, self-worth, and confidence?

Have you every had this experience when talking to a friend, whereas you were given the space to vent or been that friend? What did you say at the end? Probably thank you for letting me get that off my mind.

Thank you is closing the loop, its completing the process.

5. LET IT GO

Rip the papers out of said unattractive to you journal, tear them into itty bitty bits, feed them to the shredder, or if possible set a match to them (in a safe, well ventilated area taking all the precautions when setting something afire).

Feel free to do a tantrum tap dance on top of them before sending them off to their final resting place.

Keeping them serves no value.

Keeping them makes it possible for confidentiality to be compromised.

Keeping them is like keeping those thoughts.

Let them go with another dose of gratitude and a dash of Love.

Why Love? Well, you may have learned something in your Sh** journalling, you may have learned that the stadium of thoughts had a common denominator called Fear.

Fear that those things were factual. (Fear = False Evidence Appearing Real)

Adding love to the letting go process is more for YOU so that you can replenish what had been steam rolled earlier.

AND FINALLY

Big Inhale

and

Big Exhale

Trust me, when you have been hosting all that Sh** in your head you were breathing shallowly and now that its out we can get back to business. So freshen up and reset the body, mind and spirit by taking 3-5 big deep breaths.

Now you can get back to the business of being your awesome self, loving your fabulous thoughts and all sorts of other Good Sh**!

Building my Bagua for 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 19:46:00 +0000

All those in favour of the "holidays" being over, raise your hand!

I'm ready to get back into a more normal flow of things and have been for a few days.

The decompression of one's normalcy during the holiday season through to the New Year, starts out favourable, then it can bottom out.

That lack of consistency of a routine has hit a saturation point when it comes to sleeping, waking, eating, coming and going.

The starter's gun went off on January 1st, yet it feels like someone fouled at the line and we are in a holding pattern to really get going, until the 4th or 5th of the month. When collectively the world around us gets back on the field.

I'm holiday'd out.

I'm ready to get on with it.

I'm ready to put things back where they belong and move forward.

Inflowenza: The state of awareness that one's energy is adapting and changing to life's experiences. Symptoms can include: Going with it, going against it, floating on it or treading your head above it.

~Sherry Trentini

Feeling that sense of eagerness to get on with whatever moves your spirit is what fuels motivation.

While revamping my space I came across a few fun things in my archives. I'm not certain what my source of motivation was, but I quite like what I've jotted down.

Nature abhors a vacuum

Who you want to be?

What you want to do?

What you want to have?

Who you become determines what you do and what you have.

Who do you want to become? Be limitless...Remember emotion is the fuel of motivation.

Emotion is the reason you take all the action to create.

Fall in love with your vision.

How do you want to be remembered.

I AM........

This morning over coffee I really focused my energy on my Power or Theme word for 2016. I've noticed that there many people are calling this year 'Sweet 16'.

I loved turning 16. It was pivotal. The year I got my driving license and my first car. Which expanded my independence and had me driving towards adulthood, (rather quickly at times with music blaring).

When I thought about what that felt like back in the day, and thought about the whole energy around turning and being 16, the word that came to my mind was "liberating".

What would it feel like to have a liberating year in 2016?

What word would encapsulate that feeling of driving with music blaring?

3 sets of words came to mind:

fulfil, fulfillment, fulfilled
prosper, prosperity, prosperous
thrive

All great sets of words.

The one I kept coming back to is...

Thrive may rhyme with drive, and since I was channelling my 16th year energy there may be an emotional connection. However, truth be told, as I shared in my last email to subscribers, I shared that 2015 was a curvy year, the learning kind. I'm ready to use that as a foundation of my personal growth and enhancement and compost it.

Building on what I learned about myself and others.

Building on my ability to be fluid from 2014

Building on my ability to be fluent from 2015.

Sweet 2016 is my year to plant in that very fertile soil of the past and nurture a robust garden of delights.

Thrive is defined online by:

grow or develop vigorously
prosper and flourish

And when I think of those definitions and the energy that burbles up when I think about how the word applies and its many applications to my life as a whole. It looks like a starburst firework over my bagua!

I decided to reverse engineer things. I decided to look at my 2016 year of thriving as if it were December 31, 2016.

I decided to feel what it would feel like to have:

Thrived in feeling gratitude and feeling grateful;
Been connected to a Thriving Community;
Thrived in all my relationships (the one with myself included);
Made nurturing decisions about health that supported my overall being thriving;
Exponential growth in feeling Joy and being creative;
Thrived in being able to reflect and learn;
Having had a chronic case of "In-flow-enza";
Flourished in being open to help and being a helpful spirit.

When I paused and looked at all the life areas from the perspective of

Having Lived 2016 in a Thriving Energy,

as if I had already achieved it at December 31st.

WOW!

Un-clicks Seatbelt and gets out of the car to a

Huge Celebration!

I plunked down from Exhilaration!

I AM THRIVE!

I AM FEELING THRIVE ENERGY!

I AM THRIVING!

What word gets your engine going for 2016?

Or do you need a word that supports you slowing down, pulling over, being a passenger?

On December 31, 2016 what word do you want to use to describe your year?

Subscribe to my Email List and receive my Intentional Gratitude E-book

Decluttering 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 22:03:00 +0000

The dawn of a New Year is nearly upon us.

The calendar is shiny and clean and waiting for us to fill it.
Like opening to the first page of a new notebook or journal or climbing into to a new car and inhaling that new car smell.

The possibilities are endless of what we can create for our new year.

Isn't it exciting and liberating that annually we collectively start anew!

Globally the world is literally letting go of the old year and welcoming the new.

We get to choose what we carry over from our last year.

We get to choose what we let go of from our last year.

We get to choose how we feel about our experience with 2015 and how it affects our go forward into 2016.

We get to choose.

A Year in Review

How would you sum up your experience in 2015?

Going back through the months and reviewing your year, from the perspective of this moment.

What does the past year feel like overall?

The good times and the challenging times, the high tides and the low tides; the chaos and the quiet. Reflect on how you have evolved and what 2015 taught you, especially the lessons and skills you acquired about yourself. Without the substance and experiences of this past year, you would not be the person you are in this moment.

Keep

The good stuff that added value to you and your life experience in 2015 are definitely the keepers. The memories, moments and stories that when you recall bring a warmth and happiness that

you were there,
you were a part of something,
you did,
you went,
you tried,
you experienced,
you connected,
you succeeded,
you taught,
you inspired,
you learnt,
you laughed,
you cried,
you thanked,
you helped,
you nurtured,
you loved,
you rocked it,
you believed,
you challenged,
you breathed,
you . . . . . .

Amongst that list there may be occasions that only by looking back from this moment can you see and feel the value. The times that only when the experience or situation had passed were you able to then or now look back and say, "Yes, that was mine."

Taking ownership for the good stuff, no matter that it was not readily apparent at the time, strengthens our foundation. Keeping the energy of the good stuff and appreciating what we garnered from it helps us create and attract more in the future.

Toss

Letting go of the times in the last year that do not serve you. The times that may deflate your energy and or take away from the good stuff.

Its not always easy to let go of past experiences that were not especially stellar. It is not always easy to recognize that holding on to those times may be taking away from your energy rather than adding value to it.

What does holding onto them do for you?

Is it possible that you are "shoulding on yourself?"

In your reflection, note if you find yourself saying...

I should have done,
I should have went,
I should have said,
I should have tried,
I should have gone,
I should have started,
I should have taken,
I should have helped,
I should have ....

For whatever reason you chose not to do something, reflecting with "I should have" statements make you feel guilty.

Let them go.

If you hear yourself saying "I shouldn't have...", for whatever reason in the course of the year you chose to do something, however in retrospect you wish you had not.

Its done.

You did.

Let it go.

And if you are challenged by doing so...what would it feel like to forgive?

Make Peace

Lingering amongst the "shoulds" of 2015 may taint the go forward resolutions or intentions you are creating for 2015. We can become mired in the why's, the worries and what if I hads.

What if you were to look at those lists with the eyes of observation rather than judgement?

Is it possible that you made the best decision you could have with the information you had at the time?

Is it possible to make peace with the things you feel you ought to have done but didn't?

Is it possible you can convert those should have's of 2015 to I choose to's in 2015?

Armed with what we know now, we may have made different choices then. We can not go back to those moments, however we can choose whether bringing them into the new year serves us going forward.

Is it possible that you can find a take away?

To find the life lesson amongst it all?

Is it possible that letting go of the shoulds can be fertilizer for what we want to create in 2015?

Letting go by making peace is not a means of pretending it did not happen. It is about changing the way we look at circumstances that may be resonating negatively within us.

Forgiveness is not making what did or did not happen okay, vanquishing us of responsibility or accountability. Forgiveness allows us to release the tensile strength of our emotional attachment to a circumstance. ~Sherry Trentini

Choosing to lessen the load of carrying negative energy from 2015 into the new year, helps to create space in our thoughts and feelings. Choosing to no longer vibrate or resonate with the perceived negatives at the same level is frees up energy so we can direct it towards what we do want to carry.

By first making peace with chosen content of 2015 can make it easier to choose whether to carry it forward into the new year or let it go. Whatever you choose to do, adding the essence of gratitude to what 2015 taught you goes a long way to cultivating gratitude in the coming year and years to come.

You get to choose.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Download a copy of my e-book Intentional Gratitude!

http://www.sherrytrentini.com/newsletter.html

Saying Goodbye to The Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 23:38:00 +0000

I didn’t go shopping for it in the typical way. You know, load up your Mom, sisters and besties and head to each and every bridal shop in town and try on dress after dress. Wait for the ooh’s and ahh’s from the assembled panel or watching their faces that tell you thumbs down, as I exited the dressing room and paraded in front of them over and over again.

Nope I didn’t do that.

I had the dress in mind, inspired by a picture in a magazine. The only place to get the dress was halfway across the country, and when you are planning a wedding some expenses are non negotiable but others are.

Having found a dress designer in my small city, I promptly set off, magazine picture in hand, to get the dress custom made.

The experience of getting a dress designed and made just for me, was less than stellar, and the connection with the designer just wasn’t happening, so I chose to let that go.

I got up on a Saturday morning, went to my first choice of a bridal shop in town. The first dress I saw and tried on was it! Its been a few years (over 19), but if memory serves me correctly I never bothered to try on any other dresses.

How crazy is that?

First one off the rack.
Tried it on.
Fit perfectly.
Ka-ching and done.

Nobody but myself had seen the dress.

I loved the fact that it would be a surprise for everyone at the wedding.
I loved the fact that when I came down the stairs everyone would be seeing it for the first time.
I loved the fact that I felt so amazing, so elegant, so bridal.

I loved the dress!
I loved that the dress was a reflection of what I felt on the inside.

I had a lot invested in the dress. Financially, of course, as far as a wedding dress goes. But even more so, my emotional investment far exceeded what I had paid.

Wedding dresses are significant.

The one thing a woman buys to wear once.

The one article of clothing that is photographed more times by more people than any other piece of clothing you will ever own.

The one article of clothing that gets you more compliments and makes you feel more beautiful, than anything else in your closet: past, present or future.

Like women before me and women after me, I wanted it to feel and be my version of perfect. And it did.

It is Iconic.

It is magical.

A week before my first anniversary, I picked it up from the special dry cleaners, who cleaned it and boxed it up, complete with a little window for me to peek at it from time to time without having to break the seal. I paid to preserve its magical qualities, along with my shoes, head band and clutch.

I didn’t peek at it over the years. I didn’t need to. I could conjure up the weight of the dress, I could hear the swoosh of my skirt, I could see it daily in the wedding picture we kept displayed during our marriage.

I kept it safely stowed and preserving in a closet.

Preserving the magic. Preserving the memories. Preserving the investment. Preserving…

I know that times have changed and there are some brides who promptly sell their used dresses, donate them, or do whatever to them. It is all about what we believe to be true for ourselves to do.

I kept my dress, perfectly preserved in the special box with a window.
I kept the gold wrapped box with all of the cards I received from bridal showers and from the wedding.
I kept the guest list spreadsheet.
I kept a copy of the handmade invitations.
I kept the RSVP's
I kept my husband’s tuxedo and his shoes.
I kept a lot of things that even surprised me that I had.
I kept anything that I believed had magical qualities.

Over the years I did end up letting go of many things, as I downsized my storage bins.

It never ever dawned on me to let go of my dress. It never dawned on me to sell it, donate it or do anything else but keep it in the special box with a window. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My husband died suddenly in July 2009, twelve and a half years after getting married.

Our girls were then aged ten and eight.

Around the time that would have been our thirteenth wedding anniversary, I brought the dress out.

With my girls.

I broke the seal.

I hauled it out.

And the girls tried it on.

I let them play in the magical dress.

One of them said something about wearing my dress on their wedding day. I responded, “No honey, you choose a dress that has YOUR energy, that reflects who you are. This was my dress.”

I repacked the dress after that playtime. Taped it up and returned it to the closet.

It never dawned on me to let go of the dress.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In May of this year I was downsizing my stored treasures. The bin that held the archives of the wedding was on my list.

I looked through each and every card, then let them go.

I read over the guest list and RSVP's and let them go.

I thinned out the bin, and I let those things go with love and gratitude.

The dress.

Stayed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the last 3 years I had thought about it.

But I resisted. That dress and that bin full of magic and memories was the antithesis of grief.

It held space for me. It held Love. It held magic. I was holding on.

An experience in June inspired me to come home and dive back into that bin, and I was set on unceremoniously letting all of it go.

The experience led me to realize that I had invested in the fact that keeping the dress and all the accoutrements staved off the fact that it triggered unresolved grief.

Keeping the dress, for all its magical qualities, didn't take away the grief of loss and death; it didn't resolve the grief of unrealized dreams; it didn't mend the grief of my daughters. Grief had consumed the magic.

Getting rid of the dress in that moment, would have satisfied me immensely. It would have assuaged my anger at the realization that holding onto those things was holding me back, rather than taking me back.

But I waited.

I practised what I preach about letting things go with gratitude and love.

I waited until the anger had passed.

I waited until I could find peace in the letting go.

I waited until I was able to feel peace in letting it go.

I waited until I was able to feel gratitude.

I waited until I was able to feel love.

Then I took the dress out peacefully 24 hours later; Layed it on the floor and remembered.

I recalled what the dress felt like, the swoosh of the skirt.

I looked at the detail of the pearls and beads.

I held the dress.

I expressed gratitude for the dress, my husband, my marriage, my wedding and any and all things and people associated with it.

Packed it up and let it go.

With Love.
For me.

Letting it go did not take away the magic from that day.

Letting it go did not magically heal the grief.

Letting it go created space for me to allow for more magic in.

Refreshing Your Home's Energy with Colour and Intention

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 21:02:00 +0000

The painters have been gone for ten days and I've only hung one picture.

There is that vibe about a freshly painted wall, with no knicks or mars that I'm simply appreciating. That and the fact that I want to hammer the nail only once, so I'm allowing myself the time.

I'm so grateful for the Interior Designer's eye and guidance when it came to choosing the colour for our main floor. The following pictures below do not do the real life feeling justice.

If I were to look at the bagua just for this room it may appear as though I've not considered Feng Shui at all. However, as I mentioned in the Refreshing Your Home's Energy with Colour, there is definitely room for interpretation, and in my opinion room for Intention.

The bold Spanish style Red (Fire) , the deep, dark Grey (Water), the contrast neutral Smoky Taupe (Metal) make this space feel warm and inviting.

I'm not afraid of bold colours, and during our initial consultation with the designer I had in my mind's eye a blue where the red now resides. I wanted to draw from the blue in a picture I had and felt it would be most perfect. Up until a week before the painters arrived, every time I looked at that wall I saw the blue, I was on the verge of calling and changing colours.

Wood Elements:
Hardwood Floor (literal wood)
Hardwood Floor (striped, linear pattern)
Maple Cabinets
Maple Door
Maple built in shelves
Lots of Plants
Faux logs in Fireplace

Fire Elements:
South Facing Windows
Lighting fixtures
Fireplace
Gas Stove
Artwork depicting the sun

Earth Elements:
Brown fabric Couch
Square Slate back splash
Square slate tiles fireplace surround
Square shaped wall unit
Square design on area rug
Room screen with gold

Metal Elements:
Stainless Steel appliances
White sheers
Circular plant stands

Water Elements:
Sink
Dishwasher
Large Windows
Diffuser
Black book case

The addition of our colours helps to balance out the elements in the space.

The Red wall (fire) helps to control the wood dominance; while the addition of the Grey (water) helps to nourish Wood energy overall. To keep everything in balance.

Back to intention. Red is also the colour of communication, as this is our kitchen and dining room, and I love to entertain I see the red as a support of warm and lively conversations with whomever gathers here. The Grey light banks above add that water vibeage to keep the communication from getting to "fiery" :)

Refreshing Your Home's Energy with Colour

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Tue, 02 Jun 2015 20:00:00 +0000

How timely that I received a question about paint colour, while the painters are busy doing exactly that while I type this!

Colour plays an important part in our lives. It affects how we shop, eat and feel. We can have an emotional connection to colours, take a look at your closet, there is most likely a theme.

We surround ourselves with the colours that we are most positively attracted to, and even those that we are neutral about. Those neutral colours may be ones we have had to make peace with, if we are limited to changing them, think of your office.

When we are decorating our homes or other spaces that we spend a lot of time in, colour can add to, support, deplete and even take away from our energy. We can seek guidance from an interior decorator and other sources to empower, reflect and support who we are through colour.

The Feng Shui Bagua Map and the elements can also be a resource if we are wanting to add to the energy of our space.

Each life area has a colour associated with it, and by laying the Bagua map onto your floor plan, to paint your home in this way may appear and make you feel as if you lived in a Rubik's cube. Most likely not the ideal palate choice for most.

Colours Associated with Life Areas

Wealth and Prosperity: Blues, Purples and Reds

Fame and Reputation: Reds

Love and Relationships: Reds, Pinks and White

Health and Family: Blues and Greens

Center: Yellows, Oranges and Browns

Children and Creativity: White and Pastels

Knowledge and Self Cultivation: Black, Blues and Green

Career: Black, Burgundy, Chocolate and Navy

Helpful People and Travel: White, Black and Greys

The life areas surrounding the Center, blend into each other and share similar hues. Your interpretation and association to the colour and of the shade and intensity is what also adds to the energy.

For example: I always associate Wealth and Prosperity or Gratitude with Purple. Why? I LOVE Purple! Purple to me is regal, rich looking, elegant and its been my fave colour since well birth.

Know this: If the area of your home has a Feng Shui association with colours that you have an aversion to, then painting it in that range will detract from the energy you were intending to infuse the space with, because at the end of the day YOU who live in the space are NOT attracted to it.

Colours Associated with Elements

Wood - Blues and Greens (columnar/stripes/objects made of wood)

Fire - Red (candles/triangles/cones/lighting/sunlight)

Earth - Yellows, oranges and Browns (squares/rectangles/art featuring terrain)

Metal - White and Pastels (circles/ovals/arches/rocks/metal objects)

Water - Black, Burgundy, Chocolate and Navy (asymmetrical shapes/ponds/glass/mirror)

To learn more about the elements I invite you to read HERE

You can also add those by incorporating shapes which helps with the controlling or nourishing cycle of the elements overall.

In my opinion, if you absolutely love a particular colour, it feels good to be surrounded by it that in itself uplifts and supports your energy and that of your space.

We can get too caught up by "thinking" about it and processing all the information out there. Remember to follow your intuition, what speaks to you?

Also, remember its just paint...it is a relatively easy fix, change and modification to any space.

Get this and other information in your inbox by Signing up for my newsletter HERE

Attracting Fulfillment

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Sat, 09 May 2015 00:07:00 +0000

There has been a theme with my coaching clients in the last couple weeks that has had my mind focusing on what fulfillment is?

Not just defining the actual word and how it relates to life, but channelling the tactile sense of what being fulfilled feels like.

The common descriptors I heard was:

the feeling of satisfaction
pride
connection to
giving and receiving
contentment

What would it feel like to be able to describe your life using those words? That list not only sounds good but feels good!

Fulfillment to me is akin to my All In Energy; different words but same essence. However it also led me to ask these questions:

What would it feel like to be fulfilled in all areas? or more fulfilled in my connection to:

Gratitude or Wealth and Prosperity
Community or Fame and Reputation
Love or Love and Relationships (with self & others)
Nurture or Health (Body, Mind and Spirit)
Joy or Children and Creativity
Reflection or Knowledge & Self Cultivation
Career or Flow
Spirit or Helpful People and Travel

If I had to quantify my personal level of fulfillment in the corresponding life areas of my bagua; where would it hash out?

What I learnt through this personal excavation and observation of my present, was that my focus on my fulfillment and/or All In Energy was growing and was being met in some areas but needed attention in others.

What a gift this exercise was.

Love

I learned that when I checked in on my level of fulfillment around Love and specifically my relationship to Self, it was easy to rate it as "meh". When I'm not consciously taking care of me then all my relationships are affected.

I'm an advocate for Self Love...and I can not pinpoint nor is it important to figure out when exactly I stopped my own practise. Recognizing that I needed to amp up the Love Energy and resume my own practise for myself was paramount.

Nurture

Same goes for Nurture: Body, Mind, and Emotional. I had become disconnected and have been feeding my body rather than nourishing it, I have not been moving my body as I so love to do, and throughout this not choosing to nurture myself, has me seeking repair.

I miss doing bodywork, I miss teaching it, I miss being a student of the body. However much I miss that doesn't compensate for stopping.

As synchronicity would have it, a friend and past client of mine, shared with me an email about an upcoming workshop. It didn't take any contemplation for me to respond, "Yes I'm IN!". I chose not to research what we were doing, I chose to come in cold, I just knew it would be good. And oh boy it was!

Not only did I get to reconnect with a former teacher of mine, but others I had trained with in the past! Plus had a lovely weekend with the friend who came to the workshop as well.

WIN WIN WIN

I was absolutely MELTed by the work, but also got back into what my body was telling me, and how best I can serve it. I invite you to MELT too!

Reflection

Reflection also scored a "meh", as I observed how I have some unmet intentions, unrealized goals, and unresolved issues that need forgiveness, peace, love and my attention.

Loose ends have a way of lingering, and I have begun the process of asking how best to tie those up. Having a resurgence of energy in the other two areas fuels me to bring closure and peace to that which has been left feeling undone.

No matter what, fulfillment comes from within.

Recognizing and accepting that, through that simple inquiry, that I can feel more fulfilled, especially in those three life areas and therefore I can attract more fulfillment into my life overall, and moreover want to. And I've also been more conscious about acknowledging the times and experiences in my day which make me feel fulfilled. That feels good!

I invite you to inquire:

And be open to the answers you receive.

With Gratitude,

Sherry

P.S. Subscribe to my Email list by clicking HERE, I'd be honoured if you would join me!

Manifesting my All In Energy

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 21:31:00 +0000

Don't you just love an epiphany?

That moment when you have a realization of a what it is you really really want. Then in the next breath you are deflated because you are uncertain how to fill in the gap between. Ugh :(

Recently, while deciding between which one out of two houses to purchase I had such an experience.

Here was the deal:

House #1: met 4 out of 5 of the criteria of my ideal house; plus needed immediate renovations.

House #2: ticked all of the 5 boxes; plus was move in ready.

On paper it was a no-brainer, that House #2 was the one to pursue with an offer; yet the trump card was that House #1 evoked an emotional response within me and that "story" was impacting how I saw the on paper "facts".

Who doesn't love a good story, especially the ones when you get so emotionally invested in. And I was invested.

The story that House #1 was evoking in me was the feelings and the past experience of living in Europe.

The style of the house conjured up our time living in Germany, and that was an exceptional experience. The common denominator was that we, collectively, were happy to be there in all ways. All of us loved our time there, the culture, the food, the people, the landscape, the energy. We were going, doing, seeing, connecting, communing...We were living All In!

When I looked at House #1, and even though it didn't tick all of the boxes, and even though there would be the added expense of replacing flooring and painting, I wanted the house because it reminded me of that All In energy we had abroad.

The Sweet Story Crash

If you have ever thought...

If I buy that house, those shoes, that car...then I will be happy.

or

I will be happy when...I change jobs, cities or relationships.

Then to find that in the short term those things did bring a semblance of happiness but in the long run you were shopping to find other "things" or "changes" to re-energize that feeling.

It is akin to drinking a sugary drink to boost your energy only to crash after the initial rush has worn off.

My sweet story (albeit fiction) I had in mind was that buying that house would re-energize that living style and lifestyle we had enjoyed.

The truth, the facts, the non-fiction version of the story is that if I want to feel that All In energy I don't have to look very far for it, because it comes from within, and not from buying House #1 or any else.

I know this to be true.

Based on a True Story

Gratefully, although not without resistance, the offer was made on House #2, and we have been living here for a month. Admittedly, I didn't completely release the story about House #1 until a couple days of being here.

However the moment I realized it was a story and that the essence was that it wasn't the house I wanted as much as I wanted the feelings that it evoked in from memory.

I redirected my energy towards really feeling what I felt like in living in Europe, not in a living in the past kind of way, but the energy I lived with.

I began to focus on what it felt like,
What I felt like,
What it sounded like,
Smelled like,
Tasted like...
engaging every sensory, emotional, and feeling I could in order to really amp up that All In Feeling.

And that energy FEELS GOOD!

Reverse Engineering the How

Getting to that All In Feeling, was easy, having had the experience to draw from.

There was the potential to slip into the "poor me", "I don't have that anymore", "I miss that energy", but going down that path defeats the purpose. Going down that street is the opposite of feeling good. Therefore I set my intention.

My intention was clear

"reflect on and feel the past All in Energy experience",

and use that as a template to move forward.

I want to manifest that All In Energy in my life, in our new home, in our still new to us city, and in our return to our home country.

I want to manifest it...Right now in the present and going forward.

But How?

The great part of focusing on the end result is that you are opening yourself up to a host of possibilities. I didn't generate a long to do list of how I would feel that All In Vibeage, I just continued to channel the energy, I kept the feel good pipeline wide open.

Many things have shifted and changed in the last month. The biggest is that I'm feeling that energy being replenished, faster because I'm still deliberately creating it, everyday.

The choices I am making are founded in whether or not a decision supports my intention to feel All In. Consciously I'm actively tuned in to whether or not this, that or the other thing is in alignment with my intention.

Inspiration to create opportunities to feed that energy is in abundance. I didn't need a GPS to stitch my epiphany about happiness together, I felt it within and it is manifesting in my world everyday!

P.S. I may even be writing a book, I'm so inspired :)

Free Books on Amazon TODAY!

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 16:44:00 +0000

Big Thanks to Cassie Parks, Lifeologist who let me know that these books are FREE today on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca (the only two amazon stores I checked)

Money Mindset for a Champagne Life

I've read it and LOVED IT!

Vibe Your Way to Fit, Healthy & Hot

The Mother Within

Clutterfree Revolution

Downloaded of course

Every time I Diet I Gain Five Pounds

Three Guys Walk Into a Bar

Its Not Rocket Science

Scale

Happy Downloading!!

Decluttering the Archives

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 14:58:00 +0000

It has been nearly a year since I’ve had all of my worldly possessions in one place, and out of cardboard boxes. That is not exceptional following a relocation from the other side of the world.

Having recently purchased and moved into our new home, it has been a thrill to unpack all that has been contained for many months. And it has been just as thrilling to unpack and purge some of the contents. Of course I thinned things out when we were preparing for the move, however, the one area that I did not go through in detail was old stored documents.

Ahhh…..the past.

The tax returns, the receipts, the paper that we are recommended to archive for the magic number of seven years.

Many may dread going through the reams of stored and saved documents that I speak of, and while I am currently afflicted with self-diagnosed, “Nesting ADHD”, I could think of a million other areas of the house I would have preferred investing my time and energy to, however I consciously chose to make this a priority.

The significance of choosing to invest my time in this project served me three-fold.

It helped to create storage space - The Past

Anytime we can purge things from the archives helps to lighten the energy in a physical space, overall. When we are dealing with documents that “define who we were back then”, like tax returns and business documents, we are letting go of who we were in the past.

Having the parameters of anything older then seven years could be shredded supported a quick review of paging through rather than meandering down the garden path of the past. I was excited to learn that I had roughly 2 years of documents that could be purged and my file cabinet and storage boxes were delightfully lighter!

2. It helped support my alignment practise - The Present

Within the review of those two years of business documents I did veer slightly. During my quick perusal I could easily conjure up all the classes, workshops and clients I worked with, and the empowering energy I garnered from being of service.

This helps my “present” alignment practise by using those feelings as a template going forward as I build my coaching business today.

3. It helped me Pre-Pave my intention - The Future

Even though my offerings are different today, then they were 8-9 years ago, the common denominator remains the same:

My intention is to do work that is fulfilling in all ways.

Be it offering Law of Attraction Coaching, Feng Shui or Grief Recovery, my intention is to be of highest service and I know from my past work what that feels and looks like. Taking the energy from my alignment practise and propelling it into the future in order to pre-pave the way to manifesting more of that empowering energy that I do love to give and receive.

In reflection, I can see where I have been, where I am today and can take what I want, shred the rest as I go forward, with gratitude!

The final step of any purge is to get whatever you are letting go, out of your space and dispose of it in the most perfect way. I’m scheduled to get these documents securely shredded and I am so ready and excited to fill my cabinet with current and new business documents!

Peaceful Property Transactions

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 19:46:00 +0000

Buying and selling real estate can be a stressful time, while simultaneously being a very energetic and positive time.

The not so good energy around property transactions can be turned on by the reasons why you are selling or buying. Perhaps its driven by a lifestyle or career change which has warranted the move, or grief and loss. The feelings and thoughts may be charged around "having to sell".

The good energy can be related as a fresh start, new home, exciting change either upsizing or downsizing. The feelings and thoughts may be charged with the "want to" vibes which feels a lot better.

Selling or buying a home because you "have to" versus "want to" feels different. The have to's may have you dragging your feet, literally or energetically, it feels forced, that the decision was made not by voluntary choice. The resistance to the change, the move, the purchase is felt throughout and can linger after the ink has dried.

Doing things because we "want to" already pre-paves the road to easy transactions. When we want to do something, well anything, our list of resistance is practically non-existent. It makes for a more pleasant process and anything that pops up is viewed as fixable or negotiable, not a deal breaker.

"Have to" equals Resistance

When you move because you have to, it can be hard to let go of the home you left, especially when it hasn't been sold. You are constantly reminded that you have left a house you loved when you are making two payments, double utility bills, and of course drive by and see the "For Sale" sign still there.

It makes it difficult to really settle into the place you are presently when the attachment to the other house as your home, makes the house you are in, just a house and not your home.

Just as I experienced switching over to my Macbook, making the move from PC would have been far easier to accept had my PC perished. The same can be said about creating a home, if you are still feeling loyal to the other property, no number of practical reasons as to why you are no longer living there make it feel any better when the home you loved is still available.

This can be the kink in creating space for the most perfect purchaser to come forward. Making peace with the reasons why you are having to let the property go and welcoming the purchaser can be deal changer.

"Want to" equals Flow

Having had the experience myself, living in another country while still having our family home, it makes for a unique challenge. My daughters were open while equally resistant to making such a substantial change, however from the moment we arrived overseas it felt like our "home away from home".

My making the decision to sell was easy. We had moved away and were moving forward, and the idea of returning to our family home did not feel good. Yet there was resistance in the knowledge that we "wanted to" continue moving forward but felt we "should" feel loyal towards keeping the family home. A bit of a juxtaposition.

Letting Go with Love

I've written about letting go of clothing with love, and houses are hardly comparable in intrinsic value, yet the emotional value is still major currency.

The good energy of any deal you are making is when both parties come away from the transaction feeling good. That process can start when everyone on your side is onboard before you invite anyone else to the table.

When the sale of my home, while we were living in Europe, was not happening as quickly as I had wanted, I began to look for where the kinks were. That juxtaposition above kept coming up over and over.

The history of, the intention for and purpose of that home was infused with Big Energy. We built it, intended for the girls to grow up there, intended to grow old there, it was our home in any and all senses of the word.

Even when we lived there for the year after the funeral, the energy was shifting away from it being our home, to it feeling more of it being a house. Yes, the truth of the matter was that our not being there physically sped up the shift of it feeling more like a house, rather than our home.

I set about releasing the lingering energy and attachment so that both, the house and us, could move forward with good energy.

Gratitude

I asked my daughters to write a couple letters...first one was to the house. Yup, you read that correctly. I believed that we needed to express our thanks to the house for having been our home.

I suggested that we thank it for keeping us safe, kept us warm in winter and cool in summer. That it was the home that held so many memories, hosted so many friends and family gatherings. Loads of laughter, love and tears. That the nine acres we lived on was so beautiful and how blessed we were to have benefited from regular visits from wildlife that we could observe. That hills allowed for tobogganing and exploring. That it was the most perfect house for them and I to have called home.

The second letter was to the most perfect buyers. Telling them how wonderful the house was, how much fun they would have starting a family or bringing a family there. How the yard longed for active energy of a family and how much room they had to roam on. How we were so excited for them to live there and begin to refresh and rejuvenate its essence. And how happy they would be there.

I invited them to think about what it would look and feel like for another family to live there. How even though it may feel strange, how nice it would be for them to have such an amazing spot to call and make home.

This process allowed all of us to let go of any residual guilt we had been feeling by wanting to let go of the house, yet feeling that perhaps we should not. The activity of letter writing allowed us to focus on all the positive memories we had there and how perfect of a place it was for someone to create theirs.

Creating these letters gave ourselves permission to continue moving forward after glancing fondly into the past, feeling gratitude and love and letting the house go. Without regret.

Regret would have kept us bonded to the house, when we were not regretting being where we were, it was not a vibration we wanted to carry forward.

After the letters I completed a blank offer to purchase. Filling in the details as concisely as if I were the real estate agent. Ticking the boxes of what the house included, and most importantly filling in the price. This helped me get the image into my head as to what it would look and feel like to receive the most perfect offer from the most perfect buyer. It took me from wishing for a buyer but to feeling as if I had one.

We gathered all of our letters and burned them in our bbq. Letting them go into the ethers.

That changed the emotional attachment to the house, that changed how we felt when we thought of the house and the sale of same.

Our activities cleared the path and welcomed the timely sale of our house, shortly thereafter.

Breaking Up With my PC

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 17:37:00 +0000

Break ups are hard.
Break ups are not fun.
Break ups may be a necessity in letting go.

This may seem melodramatic but I need to find the courage to be the one to break up, with my laptop.

You see I was generously gifted a new MacBook Pro for my birthday in December and I have hardly given any attention to it.

I've taken advantage of the support offered from Apple to learn how to migrate to the new platform, taken three different classes to learn how to navigate and still I'm typing this post on my well loved PC.

One of the geniuses at the Apple store made a comment that has stuck with me over the last month. They said "The biggest challenge for those switching from PC to Mac is fear, being afraid of making mistakes."

I gulped back my desire to scoff at that remark and say, "What me afraid to make mistakes? To take a risk trying something unfamiliar? Not me....ugh"

But here I am on my Acer, comfortably typing, backspacing, scrolling with such unconscious familiarity while my shiny new MacBook lays in wait.

My PC laptop is old in technology years and has served me and my girls well. Honestly, I've been saying for months that I need to shop for a new one. It has a habit of pausing aka freezing amid multiple keystrokes and I hold my breath hoping it recovers and all that I had been working on is still in tact.

My laptop is the size of a refrigerator compared to my MacBook. It's keyboard is bigger, which makes typing on the MacBook frustrating because I have to look at where I put my hands. (First world problem)

My MacBook is like a bigger version of my Iphone. No loss of contacts. No concern about all my music. No repopulating my calendar. Poof I simply signed into my Itunes account and magically everything was there. No stress. (I may have murmured showoff under my breath when that happened within 5 minutes of turning it on)

Then there is the Mac software that tries to pretend its MSOffice. You mean to tell me that I don't need tabs of document formatting options that I very rarely use? Don't even get me started on comparing spreadsheet software, Excel versus Numbers. You are telling me I can not use complicated formulas that I used to use all the time? (harumphing Amateur even while knowing I can buy MSOffice for Mac)

I realize that this may seem all very over the top. I get that. Converting from PC to Mac is like switching religions, there is an ingrained trust and tradition that has been built up over the years. Being so intimately familiar with what to expect when I turn on my PC then waiting, waiting, waiting for it to fire up is just the delayed reaction procedure so I can have a couple sips of coffee. Versus opening up my Mac and like a dog who heard you said "walk" its ready to sign in.

Truthfully, I wish my laptop had simply froze and didn't recover; then the conversion would be easier, I'd feel less disloyal, I'd feel justified, I'd feel free to switch teams and never look back. Yet I'm grateful that my laptop did not die, I'm grateful that I didn't have that stress of calling 911 or perform CPR so that I could get all of my files off of it.

Despite the evidence I've just shown you and confirmed for myself by writing out the differences. I find that my resistance calls for something with more finality. Hence, the break up.

I've admitted that I am attached to my PC.

I will admit that I'm attracted to the sexy new Mac, and when I do use it I feel like I'm cheating on my Acer. UGH

I have to let go of my relationship with the old and embrace being romanced by the new laptop.

Admittedly this is a bit foreign to me. I've a longstanding reputation of being able to let go of physical things with peace, love and gratitude. Why this situation feels different, while inherently I know there is no difference between this piece of electronics than the upteen bags of clothes, furniture, other things I've let go in the past.

So what is stopping me from moving forward?

Well I have to also admit that the Apple Genius was right. I'm fearful of making mistakes on the new Mac, I'm a little resentful that I have to relearn what I already know by rote, I'm a wee bit sad that I no longer have to navigate circular referenced formulae in Excel. I've changed, my computer needs have changed, and this change has me resisting.

And this was a great lesson for me.

On Monday I had a One to One session booked to help to get to know my Mac even better. The Apple Genius slash therapist, listened as I spoke about my resistance, he kept using phrases like "Let's do it this way to lessen your stress".

In 60 minutes I had brought over a good chunk of my files and admittedly was more confident in committing to my Mac. His understanding helped, his sales pitch on why I will learn to love the Mac was valuable, his support and guidance has me typing the balance of this post on my new shiny laptop, in pages versus Word, whilst my PC lays dormant beside me.

I've not discarded my PC, there are plenty more files that I need to transfer over, however that session with the Genius helped me move away from the default. Move away from the fear. And moved me toward gratitude.

I'm grateful for the service my Acer provided. I'm super grateful that it is still alive, well and functional. My gratitude has superimposed that feeling of disloyalty. Thanks to taking the step to learn more about my mac and actually bring my files over, that was the clean break I needed to let go.

I've accepted that this change is not only necessary but I've created the space within and welcomed it.

Just like any break up, its hard to admit that the relationship isn't working anymore. There is still that sense of mourning the loss of all the good times. There is that feeling of fondness for how the relationship added value to my life. However I do know that its time to let go and it feels better to do so in order to devote my attention to my new relationship.

Mac sitting atop the PC :)

With Gratitude,
Sherry

P.S. I am new to sending newsletters if you are interested in receiving, I'd be honoured if you would join me by signing up here.

Self Love Bagua

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 15:00:00 +0000

In spirit of Valentine's Day I created an inquiry based Bagua for Self Love, asking how Self Love would affect the relationship to all of life areas on the bagua.

The Love and Relationships gua in Feng Shui encompasses all of the relationships in your life.

You would find this area in your home by dividing your main floor into 9 equal areas, stand facing your front door and it would be at the back of your house the area to the right.

You can also lay the bagua onto each room to find where Love and Relationships would be anchored as it also has its own 9 areas. Divide the space into 9 equal blocks, stand facing the door or entry of the room.

--------------Entrance or Front Door--------------

Relationships are not limited interpersonal, it includes all relationships starting with you and your relationship with your:

spouse
children
family
friends
colleagues
career
car
education
life experiences
the world
health
body
money
spirit
yourself
etc.

You may have heard me ask/say this before, but it bears repeating.

If you were to list 5 people who LOVE YOU unconditionally who would they be?
If you were to list 5 people who YOU LOVE unconditionally who would they be?
Did you include yourself on either or both of those lists?

Self Love is not about narcissism, nor is it about ego. Self Love is about loving yourself as others love you and you love others, unconditionally.

We tend to negate the need to express love to ourselves, as there can be a discomfort in doing so. It may feel selfish, stupid and ridiculous. There may be the belief that feeling and expressing love is something you feel and do for and about others not yourself.

So pick one of the 5 people you listed above that YOU LOVE unconditionally. Feel what it feels like to love them. Think of the reasons that love comes out of you to them without conditions. Think about how the love you have for them provides them with comfort, warmth and support in all ways. Feel what that feels like.

Pick one of the 5 people you listed above that LOVE YOU unconditionally. Feel what it feels like to have someone love you that way. Think about how the love they feel for you comforts, warms and supports you in a multitude of ways. Feel what it feels like to receive love.

Think about what it feels like to be doing something you love, work or play. Isn't it effortless? Work may not feel like work when you love what you are doing, play may feel like play to the tenth power when you love what you are doing.

Think about being somewhere that you love. Vacation destination, your home, your favorite restaurant, wherever. Feels good to be there.

The core of us is Love and we can learn how to invite those feelings into us and about us and our life by using our feelings from above as templates.

Starting at our core.

Reflection (Knowledge and Self Cultivation):

I would ask if it would be possible to be able to look at the culmination of your life experiences and lessons with more compassion? Would the good times feel even better and the bad times less bad? When we use love as our filter perhaps we would be able to see our life with more objectivity.

Nurture (Health and Family):

If we approached nurturing our body, mind and spirit with the essence of love would it be easier to make choices that supported ourselves? What would it feel like to make healthy choices from a love perspective rather than self-recrimination? Is it possible we could be more successful in achieving a healthy status?

Gratitude (Wealth and Prosperity):

Being and feeling grateful, while infused with love may allow us to see a broader picture of what makes us abundant. Love may gift us seeing our lives as being wealthy and prosperous in a broader way. Is it possible that gratitude and love are actually conjoined? Is it possible that sending love to all the things we are grateful for in our lives could create even more prosperity?

Community (Fame and Reputation):

Loving the worlds in which gather may better support who we are and who we are becoming. If we were to communicate with ourselves in a loving way would it be possible we would send and receive communication with others differently?

Love (Love and Relationships):

What would it feel like if you were committed to loving yourself as you do other important relationships? How would that affect your marital relationship, that with your children, family and friends? How would that impact the balances you feel in relationship?

Joy (Children and Creativity):

When you are doing something you love to do, in a place that you love, with people that you love isn't that like a good vibeage trifecta? Happiness and joy are commodities that having more of would be life changing. Finding things that bring you joy and doing them is showing love to yourself! Make a go to happy list, and do the things that you love to do!

Spirit (Helpful people and Travel):

If we needed help from others and loved ourselves enough to ask for it or accept it, how would your life feel different? When offering help to others in the spirit of love would it be easier for them to accept and to ask? Choosing to see that giving and receiving help is an extension of giving and receiving love. How would that perspective change your go forward?

Flow (Career):

If the flow of our life was buoyed by love how would you be moving forward? If we chose to find a way to love ourselves and our life, in all ways would it be possible that we could be gentler when we are feeling stuck? Would the possibilities be easier to see if we sailed the waters feeling love? How could the momentum of your life be improved by adding love?

In each of the above life areas, adding love to the perspective or essence improves the texture of how we may look at our life overall. Whether we are looking at where we are coming from, where we are at this moment, and where we are intending to go to in the future.

Practising Self Love is exactly that, a practise. By doing so we recharge our selves from within, so that we can radiate love from the inside out.

My favorite reminder is.

This reminds me to be more gentle, to be more mindful, to be more connected to myself and when I do so, everyone in my life, everything in my life benefits.

Happy Valentine's Day.

P.S.

I'm new to sending newsletters and would be honored if you chose to join my list. You can click HERE to sign up.

Building my Bagua for 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 18:05:00 +0000

I've just returned from a four day retreat.

Well actually, I never left my house, but my family did, and I opted to stay home and focus on recharging my batteries. It was brilliant.

There was a hint of guilt in my choosing Me-time rather than family time; each time it arose I reminded myself why doing this was important to me, and a benefit for me and my family.

You can not serve from an empty cup and by the end of 2014 I was empty. So choosing Self-Care and Self-Love by retreating was the best decision I could overall.

The first thing on my retreat list was to reflect on the past year, and specifically how the "Power word", I chose for myself served me.

I chose Fluidity & Fluid as my anchor for 2014, and I likened it to seaweed. This proved to be most appropriate and very important for all that the year held. By the end of December (as seaweed), I was water logged and ready to climb out of the ocean and onto dry land.

Using the inspiration and direction from Nicole Cody at Cauldrons and Cupcakes I settled in to find a new word and new energy to anchor the new year. Last January I found that choosing a power word that encompassed my Bagua was a positive compliment.

I was quite attracted to the word she had chosen, "Build", however still decided to continue to journal and jot to see if that was the most perfect for me.

Words that came up were: Voice, Plant, Passion, Bloom, Thrive, Communicate, Speak, Take Root, Share, Vocalization, Articulate, Express and finally I settled on Fluent.

At first thought it was perfect, then I was second guessing my choice because of it being so similar to Fluid and Fluidity.

So I sat with it, let it bounce around my mind as I went onto other things, then decided to see how it fit with my Bagua that I had created during November/December.

Starting at Reflection and working up and around the Bagua:

Reflection = Leadership = communication

Nurture = Go to the Breath = easy breathing

Gratitude = Courage = No doubting self + ease

Community = Share = Being Fluent

Love = All In = Flows easily

Joy = Bram = Connecting to source of joy

Spirit = Dad = Helping others with my words and actions

Flow = Setting Sail = Going with the flow!

Credit: Dictionary.com

When I read the definition of the word, it really helped to make the connection even stronger to the word, and it began to feel like mine.

My imagery this year is being above the water, contrary to being below, and I am a big fan of easy and graceful.

I'm grateful for 2014, I've decluttered it, chosen what I want to bring forward to 2015 and let go of what no longer serves me.

I have a sticky note on my computer with the question,

"How does it get any better than this?"

And am trusting the answer to come from within, and am excited for what I will create!

Decluttering Clothes Closets

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 20:30:00 +0000

Its that time of the year when I enter my wardrobe and acknowledge the fact that a portion of the contents no longer serve me.

I've had a couple of years reprieve from having to do this task whilst living in Australia, where my closet looked identical year round. Being back in North America means a more substantial effort to transition, and as a “purger”, I had only a couple of items left in the archives worthy of the briskness of autumn and chill of winter.

I choose to look at this as an advantage. Not simply because I'm open to retail therapy, but from the perspective that the clothes I choose to add or let go of from my closet is a practical and literal way of moving my energy.

Clothing absorbs and reflects our energy. They illustrate who we are and who we want the world to see.

Our garments can support our energy,

both how we are feeling and how we want to feel.

Decompress

We can climb out of bed and have a pyjama day; or climb into our comfy gear after a long day, and the doing either adds another layer to support our desire to relax.

Amplify

We can boost our intention to have fun when going out by how we dress, to a party, out with friends, or going for dinner. We can even exercise with a little more effort, if our gear adds to our vitality.

Project

We can use our wardrobe to depict who we are or who we are becoming. Think about how you would dress for a job interview, date or important meeting at the bank or office.

What about the items that you are no longer connecting with? The pieces that your hand hovers over top of but never grab?

Those may hold a past story and resonated with you then, however, are not currently in sync with your present and more importantly your future.

Create space in your closet by letting go of the garments that:

1. No longer fit,

2. No longer attract you,

3. No longer evoke the energy you wish to project.

4. No longer make the impression or statement you wish to make.

Those pieces left hanging, can take away from collective good feeling of your closet, so whether that means discarding, passing them on or storing them until the season comes back around, physically removing them from your space can be uplifting.

Add items into your space that you LOVE! Whether you are buying new things, or are returning your stored seasonal clothes, the positive connection to what you see in your closet, and subsequently wearing serves your spirit overall.

While making the change I invite you to do so with gratitude. Being grateful for the clothes that have served you and giving thanks for the new energy for those taking their place.

Infusing your wardrobe with love and gratitude will support you in looking and feeling better, going forward in this and every season.

Decluttering Food Storage

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 19:40:00 +0000

In my past life I not only had a large refrigerator in the kitchen, and a second smaller one, along with a 10 cubic foot deep freeze. This was practical and realistic for that time in our lives.

When we moved overseas we quickly adjusted to the fact that the refrigerator we now had would have easily fit inside the one we had in Canada, with room left over. A bit of a quandary at first, however, as the Europeans are known for we too shopped for consumables nearly daily.

In Australia, we acquired a fridge that was similar to our North American style, and learned quickly that by living a mere 500 metres from the grocery store it was a little much. Our shopping habits were a blend of both North American and European style.

With our return to Canada, we have had more opportunity for hosting people, therefore at times we would have benefited from having additional storage. And for that I am grateful. However, I have learned in the last six months that more is not necessarily practical or realistic for this time in our lives.

Eager to hit the large warehouse grocers, I found our eyes were bigger than our consumption habits. A number of fresh "bulk" items had to be discarded. I found that having a freezer full of an assortment of meats and veg is not nearly as inspiring as it is convenient, and we've been drawn in by the advertising of buy 4 and save promotions to be an easy sale.

Especially during the holiday season. I bought quantities of things that normally I would not have. Suddenly having 14 boxes of crackers, 6 bags of potato chips, and various and other sundry "treats", became a necessity!

Ugh :(

I understand and practise the concept of shopping the outside aisles of any grocery store, where the fresh items can be found. I nip into the middle ones as needed and consciously skip aisles, because I know browsing can lead to buying.

A couple weeks ago I declared that we would be eating our way through our frozen goods and now after the binge buying for the holiday season I'm including our dry goods as well!

The Fridge Door

This is home to the condiments, jams, jellies, dressings and spreads. Amongst our collection are bottles and jars used once, thought it would be good, and containers that make me ask where did this come from and why.

Doing an inventory of such food items can be:

Inspiring

Motivating you to recipe search ways to incorporate one or both of the unique grainy mustards on hand, into a dish.

Reminding you of a dish you created that you had forgotten about therefore changing the status to used twice.

Liberating

I discarded a horseradish that on the label claimed "hot", however was anything but hot. Each time I reached for it, I frowned, so I emptied the contents and recycled the jar. Having it reside in my fridge did nothing but take away space for things that make me smile.

Presentation

Have you ever stood there looking for something and all of the contents just blurred together. By wiping jams and jellies of the bits that have accumulated, cleaning the shelves then changing the order in which they appear helps to stimulate and refocus what we see when we are looking for something.

The Inner Sanctum

Just as the fridge door, presentation plays a big part on the shelves and drawers. Out of sight is out of mind.

There are the daily consumables on the shelves: juice, milk, cream, butter, eggs, cheese etc. Because their rotation is frequent there is little fear they will expire before their time.

However its the tubs of yogurts, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese that once opened the countdown clock begins and if they get bumped to the back of the fridge there is even less hope.

This is where I invest time in organization and presentation. Just like the grocers, I lean towards having them label out and eye level so when someone is peering inside they are easily spotted and may very well inspire someone to use in their creation.

Produce can be a challenge, when more than one in the household shops, and recently we had more carrots than we could conceivably consume.

Spinach, carrots, apples, celery either get blended or juiced. I have been using a silicone muffin tray to freeze the juiced goodness for smoothies. This has been a clever way to extend the usefulness of produces, especially when greens start to wither.

Again this goes back to buying the quantity of fresh that exceeds our consumption. Being mindful that consuming good food can be rhythmic and because you ate the large bag of spinach two weeks in a row, it bears keeping in mind that consumption fluctuates.

The Freezer

How long do bananas last in the freezer waiting to be made into muffins or a loaf? Banana loaf is a popular item in my household, however, when the frozen bananas start to make me feel guilty for not having made them into a baked goodie I let them go.

There is more than one way to use up an overripe banana than tossing it into the freezer to live for eternity. I have chosen to buy less rather than more, rather than having the excess be banished to the freezer.

This past summer when at a warehouse store I decided I would buy a selection of frozen treats. Turns out only 25% of the pack was popular and in the freezer remains the other 75%, 4 months later.

I do not consciously like to discard food, however, the reality is that no one is going to eat them. With it being winter the odds are even smaller, and the odds get even worse thinking it will be another 4 months until frozen treats will be attractive.

Therefore, I let them go.

The Cupboard

Until further notice in my household I will not be replenishing: crackers, cereal, potato chips and other snacks. I've already made peace with the fact that I've overbought and that despite my best efforts some of what I bought will go stale.

Now that the holiday season is coming to a close, the buy four specials or the bogo offers will drop in popularity until the next "celebrate by serving potato chips" occasion comes around.

As a rule I do not succumb to such offers, however it bears repeating...

Saying "No" once at the grocery store means not having to repeatedly say No when you are at home.

~Sherry Trentini, Creating Space

They suggest not to grocery shop when you are hungry, I would also add not to grocery shop when you are not present.

Being tired or distracted may lead to you accumulating things in your trolley that do not serve you or your household in a nurturing way.

I know I have allowed the dazzle of the "good deal", to influence my purchasing, and I know I have paid the price twofold. Hence having to consciously declutter my food storage.

Making choices that are contrary to our lifestyle, does not mean that we have completely let go of our Nurturing values.

We have the power of choice: choosing to continue in that fashion or not, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Decluttering Virtual Boxes

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 22:01:00 +0000

At the end of the year I take inventory to:

Donate things that I know I will never use.

Discard things that are no longer useable or donatable.

Clean, Organize and Refresh the energy of the things I do want in my space.

Most of my personal belongings are stored in a 16' x 16' container. Despite the best intentions the most perfect home has not been acquired in our new location. Therefore we continue to live in a furnished rental property with perhaps 40% of our belongings.

This makes me a little antsy. This makes me a wee bit impatient as I know there are things in that container that meet the criteria above.

I decided this morning that in order to satisfy my need to purge, clean, organize and refresh my space I'd have to be creative.

Since I can not get into my boxes I would literally have to think outside of them! I went to my Inbox!

Email-Deleting the Archives

I started my day with a coffee and settled in to read my personal email.

Thanks to my smartphone I easily delete and discard emails on the fly, but what I noticed when I opened my account on my computer is that I had a total of 4181 read emails in my inbox.

That number stood out at me like a beacon. I've read or clicked on over four thousand emails and deemed them important enough to keep? Surely I must be joking...

So I started to investigate what I had been hoarding...

I navigated my way to the 4181st email and by only looking at the subject line I knew that I could let it go.

I worked backwards for a time, deleting 50 emails per page, simply by reading the subject line.

In no time I was down to 3404. Then 3,101, then 2794, 2660.

By the time I had finished my first cup of coffee I had deleted 1521 emails.

It could have been easy to get caught up in the reading and reminiscing of emails from some senders.

It could have been easy to create a folder named "Keepers", to sort and organize correspondence into.

The truth of the matter is that the content was no longer valid, no longer applicable, and no longer valuable.

It was simply taking up virtual space so I clicked "Delete".

Email-Shoulds

I do have a number of folders, and when I glanced through them I noticed that four of them contained, "I'll read when I have time" or "I should keep these and read them"

Some of those emails were over 4 years old, and again without clicking on them and getting caught up in consuming the content I decided that simply deleting them was me choosing to stop "shoulding" on myself.

Email-Click Unsubscribe

Having recently began my own email list for my website, I understand the value of list building. I can not aptly describe the thrill of receiving an email telling me that someone signed up to my list, trust me it is very exciting.

What I noticed in my inbox is that there were multiple stored emails I received from companies and people that I rarely if ever clicked on. Most of them were the giant corporations that incessantly send emails and frankly I never read them.

So I clicked the Unsubscribe, thanked them silently and deleted all of the ones I had never been opened.

What I have learned in the last few weeks of building that list is the importance of sharing content that people click on to read and engage. Having people who are not attracted to your content, offers or what you have to say, or like me delete without even clicking, is a disservice.

I can not aptly describe the moment of acceptance when I received emails informing me that someone had unsubscribed from my list.

[Note:I said acceptance]

I trust that when I sign up for email newsletters, offers or otherwise I do so when I attracted to the content; therefore when I have unsubscribed from a list I am doing so because that content is no longer of value to me, I am overwhelmed by the influx, or I am turned off by constant offers and no content. I get to choose who appears in my inbox.

When I received unsubscribes I accepted the fact that, like myself, they valued the content of what they had received however they were honest with themselves and me that it was not most perfect for them. Asking the question and trusting in the answer.

Email-Receipts of the past

I'm quite pleased that some companies are giving you the option to have your receipt or invoice emailed rather than a paper copy. I enjoy the print at home option for tickets as well.

The paper copy can fade in time, or smooshed from your pocket or bottom of your bag. A paper copy can be misplaced, misfiled or mislaid.

An email copy is very efficient and easily searchable or filed electronically.

In my 4181 emails, I was able to let go of well over 500 emailed receipts over the past few years.

Concert tickets I enjoyed.

Updates on events I had attended.

Purchases I made.

Delivery notifications.

There is an expiration date on holding onto purchase receipts, both literally and electronically. Especially when some online vendors keep that content in your account and keeping one in your inbox is simply duplication of the same.

Just like cleaning out your wallet, purse or file folder, discarding receipts of past purchases creates space in your inbox as well.

Email-Drafts

I had a couple dozen emails that I had started, never finished or may have gotten distracted, called away from or had simply changed my mind about composing.

I had a couple of emails that I had obviously decided it was in my best interest and that of the greater good, to write but not send.

The cathartic response to putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to get things off of your chest is either reacting or responding to something.

Just as you were taught in school when writing an essay or report, it is best to get the content on paper, walk away or let it sit, then go back, review and edit.

Reacting is often your first draft.

Responding is letting your first draft sit, reviewing and editing the content with perspective.

Holding onto drafts hold thought energy, its like that niggling feeling like you forgot to do something.

Deleting emails that you had started and never finished, drafts that are well outdated are holding space and holding thoughts that may serve you better to let go of.

Going from 4181 to 2000

I do not fancy myself a hoarder, quite the contrary, so today when I managed to declutter nearly 2200 emails I was very pleased to how en-lightening it was to have created that much space in my inbox.

Things to note:

I did not get caught up in reviewing the content, rather I used the criteria of date (starting with year), subject line, and sender, as my guide to whether it held any value.

I was honest with myself about whether I would create the time to review the emails I had organized in folders. Letting go of the "should reads" literally made my shoulders relax.

Unsubscribing from lists from giant companies was easier. I consciously signed up for their list through purchases or necessity; I consciously unsubscribed from their list due to the quantity or lack of relevance.

Choosing to let go of emails from an entrepreneur or website was harder but equally valuable. When I searched the sender I noted how many emails I had engaged with, and how many I had "intended" or "shoulded on myself" to get back to. I did choose to delete past emails I hadn't read and will see if I'm inspired to carry on with them as new emails arrive.

Deleting Receipts felt like cleaning out my wallet or purse. It was easy and feels lighter just thinking about it.

Letting go of email drafts was also easy to do, knowing that they are no longer in virtual purgatory feels better overall.

Emails- Sent

As pleased as I was to have declutter my inbox by 50%; I was equally overwhelmed when I noted that my Sent folder held 4671 emails.

Using the date as my main criteria I downsized the sent emails to 3350 in a few clicks.

The knowing that I have let go of 3502 emails or 40% of the content I was holding in my email account is a great way to Create Space in my world!

Toddler Flashback, Fast Forward to Sweet 16

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 14:45:00 +0000

For the last month I've been hanging out with a toddler, whilst her Mom recovers from surgery. I have been and am fascinated how even though it has been over a dozen years since my youngest was that age, how the things I did then still have merit today.

We have had tea parties, have been reading books, counting fingers and toes, mixing ingredients and singing silly songs at every opportunity. I'm in awe of this little 19 month old. I'm in awe of how much she has changed in this month. I'm in awe by how much she has learned and even more so, how much she has taught me.

This has been an ongoing reflection of when my own girls were of that age. Watching them interact with her, laughing, giggling and soaking up her toddler cuteness. This has prompted many conversations about when they were wee kids and what they used to do, say and be like.

My favorite question from them was "Did you do that stuff when we were little?" My answer was, "Of course I did!" This has been an opportunity for all 3 of us to glance back.

Fast forward to my eldest's 16th birthday yesterday.

Which for all intents and purposes it feels like forever since she was 19 months old. Even though she can not recall that time in her life as succinctly, as she is observing a toddler now, there have been many times that I have caught myself watching clips of her then in my mind's eye. Feeling like it was just yesterday.

Not unlike toddlers, sixteen years olds absorb more of what you give to them than you may know at first glance. Back then I worried about whether I was doing it "right", whether I should have done it this way or that way. And the inquiry I've lately, "What would I do different?"

As I Flashback to her toddlerdom to today I'm fascinated by her. I'm in awe of all that she has learned, how much she has grown. I'm in awe of all the things she has taught me.

I know I can get caught up in the moment, at times I don't know which way is up, and if I am doing the right things. And as each change, opportunity, challenge, bump, scrape and experience happens no matter how old my children are I'm doing the best I can in the moment.

Being present.

We all are.

Spending time with a toddler, alongside my teenagers, has offered me the gift of perspective. Looking back to who I was then and who they were; to who I am now and who my girls are; to who we are all becoming; has been the most exceptional gift.

I am Grateful!

2015 Bagua Vision Board

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 02:58:00 +0000

Building Your Feng Shui Vision Board

What is a Bagua?

The Bagua is the map or grid used in Feng Shui that connects your life areas to your physical spaces.

In the last few years I have used this Grid as a basis of aligning my thoughts, feelings and actions to support my Center or Core or Goal. I have renamed the areas on the Bagua to what I feel is the essence of each.

Where we are at in the our Center affects the flow and energy into the surrounding squares. Some areas may need more attention than others to get aligned with our core.

I would love to share my technique with you and am putting together a series of emails and perhaps some video to guide you in creating and supporting your Vision for 2015.

Join me by signing up for my email list by clicking here

Intentional Gratitude: The Bounce Back

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 17:16:00 +0000

What do you do if you set your

pre-gratitude intention and things go

...not as you intended?

Paving the way by feeling grateful in advance for something is not immunity against it turning out differently than intended. There can be a host of extenuating circumstances at work that can influence and affect the outcome.

If you were feeling the gratitude vibeage and were focused on everything going right and instead everything went wrong. I would ask you this:

How did you bounce back when that happened?

Using our thoughts, intentions and feelings for creating goodness in our lives is a powerful force. When they do not manifest as we had focused on, it can feel anti-climactic and downright crummy!

This is where choice comes in...

You get to choose how you respond to the outcome!

How cool is that? You get to choose how you respond to a successful intentional gratitude effort as well as to one which was not so successful.

If you have the experience that what you intended with the focus of feeling and being grateful didn't manifest: Did you handle it with more flexibility? Did you bounce back easier? Rather than get mired in the disappointment?

Let's look at the opposite scenario:
Have you an experience when you felt that niggling feeling about something, someone, an event or experience that was going to go sideways, and sure enough it did.

Then in domino tipping fashion that one thing may be followed by another then another. Further proving your point that you knew that nothing good was going to come from this and your intuition was correct. You had anticipated and braced yourself in advance to be disappointed, upset or angry. And you were one, two or all three and then some.

In the event that the niggling feeling did not come to pass, then you may have shrugged it off casually with a semblance of relief, while still possibly waiting for something wrong to happen.

I've certainly have been there done that!

So how did you bounce back when that happened?

Were you prepared for clean up afterwards when things got messy or depending on the circumstances you may have even felt that you were going deeper and deeper into the abyss. Preparing ourselves for a potential disaster doesn't mean that we are preparing to respond, rather we may be still in a reaction state.

If your intentional gratitude vibe doesn't manifest I invite you to choose to look at it as:

A way to practice your try try again attitude.
A chance to celebrate your ability to bounce back easier
A way to increase your gratitude muscle by looking at the bright side of what you did create...a chance to learn!

Think of Gratitude like a muscle, flex it, use it and it strengthens!

Enjoy the process and celebrate the effort!

Intentional Gratitude: Scripting

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry Trentini) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 17:58:00 +0000

I wanted to share some scripting ideas to use when thinking, journalling, speaking and above all feeling your Intentional Gratitude.

Setting a pre-gratitude intention is like crafting an affirmation. Affirmations are declarative statements of something that is true and is a positive statement.

When choosing your statement it is important to employ 3 things:

1. Take ownership of the statement.

Begin your intentional gratitude with "I am... or I feel", this makes the affirmation about YOU. You are the one who is wanting to create the goodness, so you are who the statement is about.

2. Stay current or present.

Granted this is about being thankful for something in your future, however, you will be best served by using a current timeline such as "I am Grateful NOW for... or I feel so Grateful NOW that...".

Using words like "will and when" as in "I will be Grateful when....such and such happens"; is wishy washy. If you are saying you will be grateful, then you are not grateful now; If you are saying when it happens you are not attracting it back in a timely manner.

That verbage puts your thought energy out into the world like playing catch with yourself. You throw the ball high and long but it lands in the grass so that when you want it to come back you will have to go look for wherever it landed. Anchoring your intention in the present projects your vibeage out there like a boomerang, as we want it to come back to us.

3. Feeling the Gratitude.

Language can anchor our thoughts, but feeling it empowers our thoughts and ourselves.

If you are saying this or any affirmation by rote and not believing it, more importantly feeling it, then its simply words. Dialing in on with the anticipation that your intentional gratitude will come to fruition.

This bears repeating... When you intend to be grateful for something and anticipate how grateful you will be for it and feel it; your energy is conspiring in your favor for you to achieve it!

I'd love to hear your experiences, feel free to share in the comments!

I Am Grateful NOW, for the comments posted on this blog post :)