Blissing Out and Away

WOW!! It has been a very-long-time since I have posted in my blog. Bad girl blogger, some would say. Well, to be honest, dear readers, I have been living life, and fulfilling blog writing requirements based on the latest marketing suggestions has not been my priority, rather, living, and feeling into, life has been the name of this girls games lately. 

And, a lot has happened….at the time of my last post I was on day 15 or so of a hospital bedside vigil for my mother, that lasted a total of 28 days and culminated in her passing. Don’t be dismayed, it was an incredibly powerful, profound, transforming, and enlightening time for me. The gifts she gave to me in her final days, and final breaths, are still being integrated into my spirit/soul. I wouldn’t trade that time in for anything, and I am so grateful that I have the life I do that allowed me to be there, to show up, and to have the space to put the rest of my life on hold, while I did that. That time set my life on a whole new course, brought my sister and I closer, and provided the opportunity for a master evaluation of the path I am on. I have not found all the answers. I have discovered a new perspective, and a new outlook that allows me to put aside fear, anxiety, and doubt, and move forward anyhow. 

When you sit with the womyn who has birthed you into the world, and you know that the only thing you can do is provide unconditional love to her in that moment, no matter what your history has been, and then you hold her hand while she takes her last breaths, well… it changes you. It brings home, with a whole new clarity, the idea that we can’t take a damn thing with us when we go, except the love in our hearts, and the awareness of the love we have given away. My mother waited until all of her immediate family was gathered around her, and laughing together, before she left. This spoke volumes to me and has reconnected me to the basic essentials , and elements, of life. 

And I come away with this: life is to short. Way to short. And, it can all change in an instant. Mom was living independently and just fine, at 80 yrs old. A fall, resulting in head wound, started a course of events that led to her passing. Who would have known? Who would have guessed? We must be prepared at any minute for it all to end when we least expect it. What then will we say? Will we be happy with how we have lived our life? 

Mom’s passing, and many other circumstances leading up to that time, and afterwards, has caused this just-turned-50, menopausal, life coach, laughter yoga leader, bliss-ologist, daughter, sister, communitarian, ecologist, earth/gaia girl to completely access her life and go Whoa! What are we doing here? 

The end result?  The letting go of my office. A reduction by 50% of all my belongings. The rest of it in storage. My car packed like a big suitcase. And a journey to re-discover my essence, to re-connect with my core values, and to discover the next place I am meant to be. The hope is for that to be in intentional community. I’m tired of living alone. I want to live and work and play deeply, and intimately, with people who share my values. I want to grow food and live lightly on the Earth. I want to eat, and cook, meals with others. I want to create a history with those I live with, and find support, validation, love, connection, intimacy, affirmation, encouragement, and joy an intentional part of everyday life. Life is to short. Fill it up big. Make the most of it now. Go for your dreams. Live the life you most want to live. Manifest it. Live your bliss.

It’s what I tell my clients. I need to live it too. So watch me, here I go!!

Oh, BTW, it might mean I am not here to much. Or maybe the posts will change in their focus. Or maybe I will start a whole new blog about my adventures. or maybe I will just grow food and let everything else go. Or maybe…….

 

 

 

Love For No Reason

Have you ever noticed how life has such a great way of providing us with exactly what we need, while putting us exactly where we need to be?

Have you also noticed how conditioned we are to not trust that, and to resist what the universe is offering? We tend to push against the flow, because we have our own ideas of how things should look or be, rather than believing that what is showing up is just perfect.

I’m in the midst of getting that reminder loud and clear right now. For a month I had been desperately seeking new housing, because a sudden turn of events required me to leave the home I recently had moved into only a few months prior. Nothing was showing up, and I was down to the wire. All packed up and no where to go. Then, I got a call from my sister. Mom was in the hospital, not doing well, and I needed to come home quick. In 2 days time, I was able to throw everything into storage, drop my cat off with some friends, and board the plane from AZ to CT, where I am now for an undetermined amount of time, caring for my Mom. It all is so perfectly clear now. But boy did I ever despair, resist, and question things up to now!

I think love is like this too. Someone shows up and we reject them because they don’t look like the model we prefer, or they don’t have the right job. Or maybe we believe we “aren’t ready”. We find a way to push away the perfection, allow the past to color the current moment, and despair that things aren’t the way we want.

Wouldn’t it be nice if this was all different? Well, I think there might be a way to break some of those old patterns, and to stop having the past color the current moment. Go here to learn about the new book “Love For No Reason” by Marci Shimoff, a featured teacher in the hit movie “The Secret”, and an upcoming guest on Bliss101Radio.

Marci’s fabulous book, “Happy For No Reason” has been a profoundly important book for me the last couple years, and is a foundation for my current work and coaching. So, I am real excited to partner with Marci in launching her new book, and to have her on Bliss101Radio this coming Friday.

And together, let’s find new ways to Love For No Reason in this upcoming year. Because really, what else is there?

Blissings,

Coach Margie

Check out this great video on the perfection of being exactly where you need to be.

Blissful Gratitude

Wow! In this moment my heart is bursting with gratitude as I sit reflecting on all the wonderful things in my life. Mostly I am grateful for the work that I have chosen for myself. (Scroll down to see my detailed list!) Because of that, each day is a continuous opportunity to be “Living Bliss”, to practice “Getting My Bliss-ology On”, and to engage in “Bliss101″. I mean, if I’m going to advocate it, I have to be it, right? And what a gift it is!

Hey, don’t get me wrong. I have my days, and mood swings, and moments of not remembering. I’m not perfect. But as a Messenger of Bliss, I get to be constantly reminded of what choices are available to me, by my work. Some times, in those moments of darkness I hear the same words I shared with a client, and I burst out laughing. I’ve chosen many careers over my lifetime, and this one, by far, is the most fun, and the one that challenges me the most to live with integrity, purpose, passion, and authenticity. And that is an amazing gift to be uber thankful for, I think!

(Recently I interviewed a self-proclaimed “Joyologist”, Melodee Stumpf, on Bliss101Radio. We decided that when we become an honor student of Bliss-ology, we become Certified Joyologists! And, she shared about how she handles those dark days-take a listen, it’s a really fabulous interview.)

Along with the gift of my work comes many other things that I am immensely grateful for, which I’ve listed below. What are you grateful for? Are you paying attention to all the amazing things in your life? Are you sharing that gratitude?

• Top of the list no doubt: YOU!!! Thank you for being the amazing personthat you are, for being in my life, for encouraging me to be the best I can be, just by being here. Yes, you are awesome!
• The ability to live life on my own terms, to create and design the life of bliss I desire.
• My dear friends who stick by me thru think and thin.
• My Kitty-Luv, who currently is in my lap, with her head resting on my right wrist as I type this! Silly cat, doesn’t seem like a comfy way to rest, but I have to admit, that’s a look of bliss on her face. Ha! (see video on right)
• Warm sunshine, soft wind, delicious moon-glow, starry nights, howling coyotes, sunflowers, pomegranate’s, expansive views, mountains…oh heck, all of Mama Nature!
• Music that soothes my soul, moves my body, lifts my day, and inspires my heart. (My current fav’s: Prem Joshua and Herb Albert Tijuana Brass)
• My Ecstatic Dance community-you dance me into Bliss!
• Food on my plate, a warm house, a working car, things that make my life comfortable.
• Eyes that see, hands that touch, ears that hear, a heart that feels, lungs that breath, a body that is healthy, a spirit that loves.
• The opportunity to live yet another awesome day on this most amazing planet, with other incredible beings walking and laughing the bliss path.

How about making a gratitude list, and sharing it with your loved ones??

For me Thanksgiving is all about gratitude, and offering our thanks to the wonderful world around us. May you have an awesome Thanksgiving, surrounded by the very things that you are most thankful for.

Big, Bold, and Brilliant

Have you ever been told that you are too much of something? You’re too sensitive, or you’re too “big”, or too affectionate, or too open, or too trusting, or… too, too, too…

Who defines what too much is? If my “bigness” (by this I mean one’s energetic field, or level of confidence and self assurance, not physical size) makes someone uncomfortable, is that my issue or theirs? If the other person is uncomfortable with it all, am I required, or expected, to tone down to accommodate their comfort? Then, what becomes of mine?

What do you think?

I am reminded of the Marianne Williamson quote (that is so often wrongly credited to Nelson Mandela) that says:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

I believe there is nothing enlightened about shrinking into smallness to allow others to feel more comfortable. But, what do you do when your greatness (and I don’t mean ego-I’m-so-awesome- and-am-up-here-above-everyone-else kind of great, but rather our innate, divine, life affirming greatness..) leaves you in a league by yourself, because others can’t handle it? How then do you continue shining?

I don’t want to be forced to make a choice between being real, authentic, heart-wide-open, and superficial, surface, and playing small. The truth is I won’t make the choice, because there is only one way to go for me. But, it might cause me to get a little dull if placed in that dynamic.

It’s hard to stand in the brilliance of our own light let alone someone else’s. Of course it is uncomfortable. Yet real and authentic, big and juicy, honest and transparent are far more interesting to me, despite the inherent challenges and level of new skills that one must learn to get comfortable in it all.

Sometimes it’s easier to stand in someone else’s light-to admire, oogle over, be envious of-than it is to consider how we could shine the same way. “We ask ourselves,Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?”

When we tell someone they are too this or that, in my opinion we are perpetuating an emotional act of violence on them, for we are asking them to turn their light down, so we won’t have to confront how we are not shining our own lights. We want them to come down to our comfort zone, rather than demanding of ourselves to rise to higher standards. We are asking that person to become small, to shrink, to kill themselves on some level, to not be who they really are. All because it makes us uncomfortable.

Instead, we might consider, what is here for me? Why is this person’s brilliance making me uncomfortable? What might I say to this person to share my experience, in a way that takes self responsibility, and allows us both to learn and become closer?

Because when we consciously, or subconsciously, ask, or suggest, for someone to get small, we are building up a barrier to intimacy, separating from others, and shrinking away from the light within ourselves. And that building of barriers to intimacy and connection with others is a sure block on the road to Living Bliss.

So, let yourself shine. And please, let others do the same. Liberate yourself from the fear. If it gets too bright, put on your sunglasses, or leave the room. Just don’t ask anyone else to turn down their light, or tell them they are too bright. Cause honey, that’s about you, not them!

Be big, play big, shine bright. Your playing small (and asking others to do the same) does not serve the world.

How big are you willing to be? Go ahead, roar like a lion!

Catch this weeks Bliss101Radio show with Merv Neal, laughter advocate, and some one who doesn’t ask permission to live his bliss.

I’d love to hear your feedback and thoughts on this posts topic.

Activities For the Fall

Fall is the time we begin to turn inward, to wrap ourselves in warm blankets, and hunker down to see the Winter through. But before that happens there is a refreshing period of time between the hot days of Summer, and the cold dark of Winter. The air is brisk and clean. The sun is warm and softening. There is a gentle anticipation in the air as we feel the seasons change.

This, my friends, is a perfect time to de-clutter! To look around and see what sort of “stuff” you acquired over the playful Summer time, or all that stuff that you haven’t been paying attention to for-ever.

I invite you to participate in the 30 Day Clutter Challenge, to assist you in removing the blocks, challenges, and physical stuff that gets in the way of your great life.

My specialty with de-cluttering is helping you to identify the deeper elements of what cause you to clutter in the first place. Without identifying this, you can clean up and organize, but eventually you will be right back where you started from. Frustrated, and surrounded by all that stuff.

What else would you do with your life, space, and time…..if clutter wasn’t holding you back? Join the Clutter Challenge and find out!!

The challenge will include weekly tele-conference calls, group support, 1:1 personalized coaching, tips and tricks for assisting the de-cluttering process, and a fresh new start for you!

Special early bird prices available till Oct 15th.

Thank you in advance for sharing this with any clients or friends who might be interested, or could benefit from, the Challenge.

OK, now where is that blanket?

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