How to Feel Gratitude

Do you feel constricted when you feel criticism? Do you feel lighter and open when you feel gratitude? 

 Yet isn't it difficult to consciously change criticism to gratitude?

To make this change, don't focus on the emotion. 

Instead notice the physical feeling of criticism (or other negative feeling). Notice the constriction. Now imagine it loosen up. Feel your chest and solar plexus expand. Sense it transform to physical openness. Imagine the deep breath you can now take. Keep breathing deeply.

Now think of something you feel grateful for. It can be small or big. Link that thought to the deep open breaths you feel.

Do this often and gratitude will be easier to access.

Have an abundant month!

Teach Your Children Intuition

Dr.Caron Goode interviews Leigh Harris for “A Practical Approach to Help Children Get in Touch with Their Intuition.”

When we know how to use our intuition, life flows more easily. Children often lose their natural intuitive ability as they get older, which can make growing up more difficult and confusing. By teaching children to rediscover their intuition, we are arming them with life skills to make better decisions and create a safer environment.
Connect with Dr. Goode's Live-Spirit for this 30-minute podcast with Leigh Harris.

Or copy and paste this into your browser: http://live-spirit.com/2011/10/approach-to-help-children-get-in-touch-with-their-intuition/

Listen Well to Build Relationships

Relationships are created with one person listening, and the other speaking. Create stronger relationships - focus on listening.

The first century AD philosopher Epictetus said, “We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak.” In the need to be heard, be acknowledged or be correct, people forget that listening is one of the easiest paths to honest, authentic communication with another human being.

Have you ever been upset with someone and, in anticipation to meet them, created a defensive argument in your mind ready to start the second you see them? Perhaps you simply wanted them to see your point of view.

What would happen if you enter the conversation with a conscious resolve to hear only their perspective for the first five minutes?

Metaphysical Mom Book Cover Choices

Mom and Child

As I edit the final chapters of Metaphysical Mom: 5 Minutes to Calm, I have received an extraordinary opportunity to create the perfect book cover.


Elan Sun Star, inspirational photographer, has provided beautiful images for me to choose, and I need help!

Cluttered House: A Sign of a Cluttered Mind?

Get Rid of Clutter and Change Your State of Mind by Leigh Harris

Clutter affects the environment and energy of your house. What appears as simple overabundance of physical objects triggers energetic and emotional responses.

Think about your own home environment. How do you feel in different areas of your home?

Often you walk in from the garage, and an automatic to-do list hits your mind. Jackets need to be hung up, dinner made, and laundry sorted. Just once you would like to grab a cold drink and head out to relax on the patio, but distractions beckon. With increasing irritation, you notice the hall filled with shoes thrown off haphazardly, or the bathroom floor covered with scattered towels. You would like to sit down and enjoy a moment of peace on the patio, if the mess would just go away.

Each moment has its share of joy and frustrations, but there are moments in a parent’s life when the aggravation of clutter is overwhelming.

Characteristics of an Indigo Child by Carol Lawrence

Carol, of Intentional Conscious Parenting, succinctly describes an Indigo Child. http://www.intentionalconsciousparenting.com/2011/01/characteristics-of-indigo-children.html

Carol also has an active blogfrog community. Perhaps you can connect to her there and discuss: Does your child have Indigo characteristics? Or you can leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Namaste, Leigh

Calming a Scared Seven-Year-Old

My seven-year-old boy used to get scared at night. He would climb into our bed at 3am, or ask me to come back to his bed until he fell asleep. Every night he asked that the light be left on.

We talked about his fears. One questionable children's movie (which I regret turning on) has given him a few nightmares. However, he has also mentioned hearing his name called, and hearing noises.

Since I believe in spirits, in our souls surviving death, I believed he could be hearing them. For a child, this is very scary. Any medium that I know reports being frightened as a child, even as they now embrace their unique ability to speak with spirits.

Last month I told him a trick.

Surround yourself with white light. Imagine a glowing ball of light surrounding you and connecting with the ground. Good feelings can go through this light. Bad feelings can't. Also ask God or a higher power to protect you all night.

This, along with keeping the light on low, seemed to work most nights.

Last weekend I went to a conference on the science of afterlife. I bought a children's book from one of the mediums who presented. I gave it to my son, and the same one to my daughter. I passed on some advice from the author, Debra Martin. She said, "tell your son to ask someone he knows - a great grandfather who has passed on, for example - to stand at his doorway and keep him safe all night. No one will be allowed past him without your son's permission."

When I told my son, he said, "could I ask lots of spirits to stand there and guard me?"

I said, "sure, but it is probably better just to ask one or two, then you don't lose track of who you've asked."

Before this chat he was pretty quiet about his fears. On this night, and the next morning, asked me many questions.

I feel pretty confident he will sleep better.

A side note: Yesterday I spoke with a friend-of-a-friend. She was concerned her seven-year-old boy was waking up every night, terrified. Before I knew her own beliefs, I decided to tell her what I'd just said to my own son. She revealed that when her son was two, he seemed to see her own father frequently, shortly after he passed away. She thinks this new advice is worth trying. Stay tuned.

Hesitate to Jump for Spontaneous Joy?

Joy.

Experience Joy

Bring joy into your life and all else will fall into place. I truly believe that.

Do you wish to:

• Connect more to your children? Play joyfully with them.
• Find the job of your dreams? Go with the occupation which brings you most joy.
• Create closer relationships? Drop the worries and complaints and focus on the joy in your life.
• Connect to universal consciousness/god/source/inspiration? This is easier to do when you consciously feel love, and joy is a powerful emotion based in love.

I know what the answers are, so why do I personally find it so difficult to take the leap into joy on a regular basis?

I believe I've found the answer to that one.

As a parent of young children (7 & 9) I have taken on the serious role of guiding, teaching and role modeling proper behavior, decision making, thoughtfulness and responsibility. I believe this prepares them for life as they grow older. Where does JOY fall into this? My children laugh all the time. They find the smallest events to giggle about. Sometimes they even start to laugh just for the sake of laughing, and when the other follows, their laughter erupts into pure JOY. I don't HAVE to role model spontaneous joy, as they were born knowing that one.

What else?

Spontaneous Joy is about letting go of worries, concerns, habits and control. I think it is the last one that gets to me. What will happen if I lose control? Will I be a bad example for my children? Will the responsive laughter remind me too much of childhood teasing? While I think I'm over that last one, maybe somewhere, deep in my subconscious, it has a role in my decision to maintain control.

These two "answers" seem logical, but spontaneous joy is not about logic. It is about love - for the moment, for those around me, for myself. It is the key to a more fulfilling life.

What is keeping you from experiencing more spontaneous joy? Is the underlying belief really necessary, or even truthful? Can you let go of it?

Now that I've found my answers, I believe I can.

How to Stop Our Ego from Powertripping, and Reduce the Parent/Child Battle of Wills

Turn Inwards to Reduce the Battle of Wills with Your Child

Green monster. Devil on your shoulder. Overpowering urge. Ego.

Call it what you want, the ego is on a powertrip, and we aren't even aware of it half the time.

Recall the last time your children struggled to agree to your request. "Pick up your socks." "It is time to go brush your teeth." "What's the magic word?" "Excuse me..."

Our childrens' world is full of requests and demands, and while part of them wants to please us, and is thankful for the routine and structure (at least they always know what is expected of them!), another part of them is pushing and growing towards independence, demanding your attention. This is their ego.

At the same time, our ego wants power and independence too, and our child's attention.

"I've asked you once already. Please go brush your teeth." "I've said 'no' and I mean it!" "What did I just tell you?"  And the little voice in our head says, "I can't back down now. I'll lose control." "Why isn't my child listening to me? I'm his mother!" "Does nobody care what I say anymore?" "Don't I have a voice?"

And before we know it, our ego is wrestling our child's ego for control. "That's it. I've asked you four times now. No TV for the rest of the week! And hopefully now you will listen better." And our children, their egos battered a bit, slump their shoulders as they feel their own loss of power and drag their feet up the stairs to do our bidding.

Our ego has a job.

It lights the fire under us, pushes us to try harder, to excel, to be confident and stand up for what we believe in. Unfortunately, it doesn't know when it has powered us through too much of a good thing. It keeps pushing, excelling, and demanding more independence beyond our need for it. And when it is done with our own will, it pushes past us to our children, our spouse, our employees or our own parents.

This battle is draining. It does not raise our vibration, help us to feel lighter, bring a smile (in fact, ego thrives in fear), or help us to dance through our lives. And isn't that what we really, truly, deeply want in our life?

It is up to us to listen to our ego, give it its due ("thank you for being there, ego") and gently let it go, so that our spirit, our soul, can be the creative loving force in the world that it was intended to be.

How do we separate the two?

How do we even know the two voices inside us, without developing a psychosis of split personalities?

Eckart Tolle's book, A New Earth, and his earlier one, The Power of Now, does a great job of explaining this split. However, the easiest way to start is to listen to our internal voice (that little voice in our head, sometimes called the devil on our shoulder). The one that is narrating our words and actions. The one that is judging.

"He can't do it." "She needs my help." "They don't listen."

This internal voice speaks of others, or speaks of how you believe others feel about you. "She doesn't trust me." "I've never been any good at this." "He won't listen to me if I lose control."

Gently send them on their way.

Listen to those words... acknowledge the power they have in your life, and gently send them on their way. Life is too short for judgement, including judging our own ego. Ego must be put in its place, though not through an arm wrestle, but by giving it its due and choosing to do different (or say different).

"Ashley, I know you haven't really heard me when I asked you to go upstairs to brush your teeth. That TV can be really distracting. I'm turning it off now, and I will go upstairs with you to brush your teeth. What song do we hum to brush our teeth? Happy Birthday to you? I'll hum it with you while I brush my teeth."

Let that ego voice chatter away, but do not let it take control. Respond instead to your child's soul. "I love you, and I know a good night's sleep will help to create a happier day for you tomorrow. Let's go to bed." Be with them. Give them your full attention, and they (and their ego) will respond in kind.

After all, their ego is simply looking for a bit of your attention. Give them the attention they crave and their soul will flourish.

The Basics of Intuitive Parenting, part 1

Intuitive parenting is our natural gift when life is unruffled. Follow our gut. Breathe. Listen to the little voice in our head. Act on our child's requests, especially when it resonates deeply.

But how do we remember to breathe or ignore our own frustrations when soccer practices, recitals and mac 'n' cheese dinners jam every waking thought?

"I'd love to find a better way to get my children to listen without yelling. I feel so busy, I don't have time to tell them twice," says Andrea, a mother of two, five and nine years old.

"My children love their after school activities - soccer, ballet, guitar, baseball - but it is too much! I feel like a bus driver, not a mother," says Sara, mother to three children.

When time is overobligated, not only do we react without thinking, we make mistakes. We don't listen to our intuition. Instead we act out of frustration, annoyance or exhaustion.

"Where is your violin?!" I said to my son after we arrived at school. Meanwhile, my thoughts were racing. "Why didn't he remember his violin? I guess I should have reminded him but I was just too busy to remember."

Does this sound familiar?

However, we can learn to be frustrated or exhausted, still be able to hear our intuition and respond with the right words or actions.

Solution

Intuition is essentially a choice. Choose the correct path or make the right decisions.

To listen to intuition - and remember to do it - start by practicallly taping your mouth shut. Post notes on the fridge, TV and computer screens, as well as the corner of the family room entrance. "Close," or "listen," are two innocuous words that may work for you.

Then use body language and your ears. Listen to your children and listen to yourself.

If you are at your wits end, you know your body feels pulled in three directions: child, self, to-do list. If you give a few minutes to your child, you may even feel rejuvenated yourself, and then you can attend to your to-do list.

In the meantime, be conscious of what your thoughts are saying.

"I'm tired!"
"I don't have time for this."

Be conscious of them, but don't act on them. When you zip your mouth closed and simply listen to yourself, you become empowered to make more conscious decisions, and more open to listen to your intuition.

"Ok. I'm tired. I may not have the energy I normally have, but it is simple tiredness."

Once you acknowledge what your thoughts are saying, you can move on.

"I am tired. I can also listen to my child by sitting down. Maybe I can even drink tea or cold water while I do that."

What do your children want? Your full attention. Stop what you are doing and sit with them while they tell you about their scraped knee on the playground, or their new art project. Give them a hug or put your hand on their shoulder. You hardly have to say a thing to give them the attention they crave.

Keep your mouth closed except for the occasional "hmmm, that sounds fun," or "tell me more."

When your mouth is closed your child gets your attention, and you may remember to "just breathe." Maybe you will forget this time, with your thoughts suddenly becoming louder and clearer, but perhaps you will remember. In the space between your thoughts, there may be one deep breath that you remember.

And that is how it starts.

Is it Intuition or Distraction?

How can you tell if information or thoughts are intuitive or merely distractions?

Check out this brief slideshow (from one of my earlier posts) and you will know the difference and be able to follow your intuition in no time!

Let me know if you have any questions too.

Whew! If Only All Fear Could be Fixed This Quickly

A couple days ago I posted a blog about my neighbor.

The conversation I had with my neighbor started off ok, then turned negative, then full of fear. I primally reacted and bolted down the street.

Yesterday I saw her at our childrens' school, while sitting in my car. My first reaction was anxiety, but I took a deep breath and gave her a smile and a hello.

She came right up to the car and apologized about the prior conversation. "I'm sorry Leigh. I think I scared you."

"Yes you did. I tend to react to fear and negativity and that was too much." I responded.

She said she knows she overreacted, that she knows she's too protective, she watches too many shows like "America's Most Wanted," and she's sorry she caused me any distress.

As she left I breathed a sigh of relief. I don't like confrontations, but I know how important it is to be open, to solve issues, to get past incidents.

We're past it. It is now up to me to let it go completely, so that it doesn't color our next conversation.

After all, we're really all one. Energy swirls around us and interacts, affecting each of us, for good or for bad. It is up to every one of us to build the positive, let go of the negative.

Clearing Clutter, by Claire Amber

Spring is time to open our houses to the outdoors, bring in freshness, clear cobwebs and get rid of winter accumulation. Clair Amber writes a great article on clearing clutter.

Read her article here.

Claire Amber, aka “the feng shui fairy”, is a feng shui consultant, writer and green business advocate. She can be found on twitter and facebook. Visit her web-site at www.thefengshuifairy.com.

Intuitive Parenting

Intuitive parenting isn't difficult if we have the right tools.

But what is the difference between "regular" parenting and intuitive parenting?

With regular parenting, we read books and ask our friends for advice. We try to stay away from too much sugar and junk food, or go a step further and avoid additives, food coloring, and high fructose corn syrup, and purchase organic when possible. We spend time with our children, provide consistent rules, and limit tv watching and video game playing.

Intuitive parenting has nothing to do with the rules, or rather, using those regular parenting rules, an intuitive parent then listens, watches and senses what must be done or said in the present moment, in order to provide the greatest love and least amount of grief for the family.

So, just what does an intuitive parent do? She (or he) listens to what she says and how she says it. She observes the effects her words have on her children. She asks questions in her mind, such as "why is my son not listening to me?" And actually waits, with a breath, for the silent answer: "he can't focus on more than one thing at a time, and that video game is his focus."

The key to that question? Wait. Breathe.

When a parent is too caught up in enforcing rules, or pushing children out the door to school, she is not focused on the present moment. She is instead focused on the future. "I must enforce this rule because if I don't my child won't listen in the future, or he'll grow up to be a lazy/disrespectful person." "I must get them to school on time or that report card at the end of the year will have one more late day on it, and what will the teacher think of me?"

When a parent is in the rule mode, their thoughts of the future are based on fear, not love.

If a parent WAITs a moment before responding with frustration or anger, and responds with love, the outcome is different. She will have time to go over to her son and sit beside him, touch his shoulder to get his attention, and say, "it looks like you are having fun, but it is time to go, Sam. Let me help you save this for later."

Of course, when a parent is already caught up in the cycle of hurry-up-frustration, it is difficult to back out of it. It can be done.

I'll tell you about it soon. Until then. Breath.

Namaste.

Sometimes We Have to Trust the Process – Even if it’s Driving Us Crazy!

I'm on a relaxing plane ride to San Diego.

It is Friday. I was scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. After two days of stalled travel, I'm frustrated. This experience has also tested my conscious reliance on my intuition.

After years of practice, I figure my intuition should be 100% reliable. I should also be in San Diego by now, experiencing an amazing workshop in the San Diego Writer's Conference. The assumption of reliability is my first downfall, especially when I ignore the signals.

So the last couple days I wondered what my intuition will tell me so that I can understand why I've had flight delays, missed workshops and frustration. One thing I know (and sometimes choose to ignore) is I don't always know why events happen. We aren't always meant to know the outcome.

My first mistake: The weekend before the flight I heard the weather report, yet I chose to ignore it. Snow was expected for midnight Tuesday night. Experienced east coasters I know rescheduled flights for Tuesday evening in order to miss the impending chaos. I decided our family had too much to do on Tuesday night, so didn't reschedule, and I didn't bother to check with my husband to see if it would work for him.

Wrong move.

I received a flight notification by phone on Tuesday night: my Wednesday flight was cancelled. I received a second phone notification that my flight was rescheduled for Thursday morning, 6:18am. It appeared I would make it to the conference on time.

I enjoyed the extra day home. Snow kept falling and we all went sledding and threw snowballs for our dog. Even my husband had fun with us, as his office was also closed that day.

However, appearances are deceiving. Wednesday night, as our kids got ready for bed, I received another phone message. Flight cancelled again! Oh no!!

Even worse, this time I didn't get a notification that I'd been rescheduled. With a feeling of doom, I called the airline. Eventually I spoke to someone who said that there were no flights available until Saturday evening. I couldn't believe it.

My husband told me that there was a flight out there for me. I just had to find it. So I hung up and checked the discount online services, where I found flights for sale! The one that worked involved 2 plane changes, but it would get me to San Diego by Friday night. I almost bought a ticket on the spot, then saw the 'no refunds' policy.

I called the airline back and told a different agent that there were flights available. Her first response was the same as the original agent's: there weren't any flights she could find. This time I was prepared. I repeated the flight numbers I saw on my computer screen from the discount service. She checked them out, saw a seat on that flight, and booked me on it. Yay! I would be late for the first conference day but at least I was going to get there.

So today I boarded this flight. It took off about 20 minutes late, but I was happy to get in there air and glad to finally be getting to the conference after two flight cancellations.

Then… about 45 minutes in the air the pilot announced that, due to heat sensor problems, we were turning around and going back to Newark, New Jersey. Argh!! I could instantly feel the stress rush around my body, increasing my breathing and setting my nerves on fire. I couldn't believe it.

We headed back to our origin and landed. I consciously breathed slowly, feeling my feet on the ground (smirking at how high in the sky I was while getting myself "grounded."). I opened myself up to positive energy, and consciously let negative energy go, all the while breathing slowly and deeply. I was still stressed. I could still feel my body react, and I still consciously breathed it all out.

Once on the ground, I almost made my second mistake.

But this time, instead of taking the wrong path, I let my intuitive voice lead me the right way. As we taxied in, I heard my inner voice and paid attention: I couldn't do anything about the past and had to let it go, I was allowed to be upset, and, even though I had to let go, I still could take action to improve my future. That was the key: let it go and take action.

So as soon as I got off the airline, I bee-lined it for the gate agent to figure out what I could do next. I ignored the others patiently waiting for their gate-checked bags and buzzed past them up the ramp. I should have been one of them but I had a plane to reschedule.

And that is how I ended up here.

That agent sent me to customer service, who told me to run and grab someone to get my carry-on bag off the plane (she literally yelled at me to run!). As I sped away, she rebooked me on the last seat for the next flight - a first class seat direct to San Diego.

So I am currently enjoying my smooth flight. And it will get me to the conference four hours before the three-plane-change flight that just returned to Newark.

Nice.

So what about my intuition? I ignored it on the weekend and landed in the middle of chaos and delays. Once Tuesday passed, I couldn't do anything to change that decision. However, I listened at the end of Friday's turned-around flight. I let go of any attachment to outcome and was given a direct flight in a nice seat to my conference.

What does my intuition say now? Thank you. I am grateful.

Today I miss a few hours of my conference, and I have to put in a claim for my luggage when I land in San Diego, but I get to the conference 4 hours earlier than I was expecting this morning.

I'm looking forward to arriving at the conference, learning a lot and meeting some great people.

One final note: When I packed Thursday night, I moved one change of clothes from my main bag to my carry on. Those clothes I'll need tomorrow. It is nice how things turn out when I listen to my intuition.

Namaste, Leigh

Intuition or Distraction?

As our lives get busier, and we are bombarded with more information through email, phone calls, texting and tv, it helps to try to limit the information that is not necessary to our life's path, and follow the information that will take us where we need to go.

To limit this information, however, we cannot always turn off the phone or email. So we need to become better at choosing what to notice and what to ignore. This includes non-electronic sights and sounds as well.

When we become better choosing what to pay attention to, we become more intuitive. If we don't improve this conscious "choosing" then we may follow the distractions that lead us nowhere, including junk email. Conscious choosing helps us to distinguish intuition from distraction.

So how do we know if it is intuition or merely a distraction?

To find out, we follow our attention and ask ourselves, "does this lead me along the right path in life?" We will not always get an answer, but we need to keep asking, and practice following our attention, wherever it goes, until we can FEEL the difference. Every day we follow our attention anyways, so pick up that newspaper, open that email or call that friend that just came to our mind and follow where the attention goes. Does something come up that is meaningful? If so, this is likely intuitive direction. If not, it could be a distraction.

If we have to think about it before acting on information, then we aren't merely "following." Following is an act of "action," or of "receiving" information, not thinking. It is how our intuition directs us. It is a process of watching objectively where our attention goes, without thinking why.

So what do we do with the distractions, and why are they present? They occur because of our thoughts. Most of us aren't aware of the constant stream of thoughts below the surface of our lives, so we aren't aware how we deal with those thoughts internally. If we were, we'd notice a thought like, "this is such a big project, how do I get started?" We'd then notice how our thoughts diverge on realizing this potential stress. In many cases, our stream of thoughts "finds" a distraction.

Unfortunately, the way we notice those distractions is similar to the way we notice our intuitions, if we don't know the difference.

One difference they have is how they feel. If we continue to follow distractions, we start to feel flustered, scattered, slow, or heavy. Follow intuition and we feel life flow more effortlessly, activities line up in synch with each other, and the day feel more productive.

So, how do we know if it is a distraction or intuition before we act on it? The best way to figure this out is to notice how each one feels (in your gut, for example) as we follow it. We also notice how we start to follow it.

Example:
I find that the actions I take without much thought are my more intuitive actions. If I hesitate, then it is the wrong direction (such as a distraction) or there is something fearful stopping me. If I hesitate to call someone back to book a workshop, then it is highly likely that there is something new I am doing in that workshop and I don't know for sure if it will be successful. When I identify this fear, I pick up the phone and call them back to confirm the workshop. I know this fear is unfounded and I can work past it.

If it is a distraction, I find that my mind wanders even as I pay attention to that distraction. It is as if my whole mind really shouldn't be there anyways.

Notice the Results
When we take action, we notice the results. Simply by taking action, there may be a new opportunity, a referral to someone in our line of work, or a washing machine on sale to replace the one that just broke.

The key to consistently follow your intuition is practice. Follow it in the supermarket (where do they keep agave syrup in this store?), follow it at the start of your work day (what's most important?), or follow it when you are tired, and your child needs you (that's an easy one, even though you're tired).

Soon, you will identify the distractions before you act on them, and follow your intuition to great results.

Shells, Like Life

Shells have always fascinated me. I know I'm not the only one. Shells have a mystical beauty to them, with perfect lines, neverending swirls, and pastel colors.

In my holiday trip to Florida in December we visited Fort Myers Beach. I was amazed at the number of perfect shells littering the high tide line, like a sparkling point of no return. I was a child again, excitedly picking up overflowing handfuls of perfect shells, looking for a bag or container in our belongings so that I could go back to get more.

My son joined me for a while, and my daughter, but the icing sugar sand intrigued them more. The sand was perfect sand castle texture and they were determined to dig deep enough and build high enough around them to become part of the beachscape.

But the beauty that the ocean left behind on it's daily retreat, drawn by the moon, was entrancing. Perfectly curved creamy lemon and orange shells, some with dark purple or iridescent insides, lined our walk.

I continued to wander up and down the tide line with our dog. He sniffed as we walked along, and perked his ears forward at every dry piece of seaweed that moved in the breeze. "Shadow, they aren't alive." I'd whisper.

Then I wondered, why were there so many shells? Did something happen to the tiny creatures that once inhabited these beautiful homes? The obvious answer, yes, was replaced with wondering if something unnatural happened in their living habitat. As the rented power boats created a constant hum this side of the horizon, I wondered if humans had been careless enough to affect the ecosystem of the shells on this shore.

I tried to shake those negative thoughts. I was determined to find a way to display my collection to honor nature's beauty. I was also careful to ensure I was allowed to bring them home.

Shells are a symbol for all things living. They start their life as a tiny being, then radiate out in perfect uniformity, growing and expanding. As they grow, the beginning point becomes stronger. When we as humans grow, internally we become stronger.

The nautilus shell, the one that spirals round and round, has been examined in mathematics, engineering and metaphysics. The mathematical Fibonacci sequence (adding each number together to get the next number) is also seen in the spiral of the shell.

As I examine these perfect shells, their graceful forms, their calm colors, I decide that I can honor their beauty through my life. I can reach for more grace and calm, and with childlike attention, notice the moments of living perfection before me. As the spiral of my life continues to grow, and I become stronger internally, I hope to reflect the beauty of the shell.

And so that those shells are always there for others to see, I must choose my steps carefully, aware of my effect on nature and those around me, so that we do not reach a point of no return.

Child-raising solutions

Most of us have moments as parents where we realize that, "maybe, just maybe I know what I'm doing here...at least for this moment..."

This blog's purpose is to get you to quickly think about solutions that regularly or magically appear when with your children (or niece, nephew, neighbor, pet).

Without spending too much time mulling over the frustrations (that was done in the previous blog), what moments, actions, statements or questions have resolved that childhood problem? How have you avoided that crisis? When have you patted yourself on the back for recognizing that you were part of the solution?

Help us all by offering your solutions below this blog, however brief or complex.

Come back in a few days to see others' solutions. None of them will be attached to a problem or challenge.

The fun part to this? Mix and match solutions to alternate problems. See if something new comes up for you. Heck, get your kids (or your talking parrot) to choose a new solution to an old problem. When the list is there, you could even do eeny, meeny, miney, moe and see what you get.

Have fun with it! (Perhaps that is one of the solutions...)

Play with these posts, try them out, and see what works for you!

Child-raising frustrations

Most of us are parents, or become a parent figure to a niece or nephew, neighbor or friend, dog or cat.

This blog's purpose is to get you to quickly think about frustrations that occur when raising children.

What moments really get to you? What pushes your buttons? When do you yell (and then look at yourself, wondering where the power of that frustration came from)?

Are they single moments, or are you fine until three things happen at once?

Make comments below this blog - short, point form, or ranting and raving...

In the next blog you will have an opportunity to comment on your solutions, what you've done to divert disaster and hurt feelings, or how your repaired those hurts and tears.

When you separate your frustrations from your solutions, and see others' solutions, separate from an isolated incident, you can then apply ANY solution to ANY frustration. Perhaps one parent's solution (I just take three deep breaths), becomes your child's solution (honey, just try three deep breaths, then we'll figure it out).

Play with these posts, try them out, and see what works for you!

to see the web of solutions you never thought of before.

Appreciating Moments

New Jersey: Our new home.

We found our house after much consideration, research and help. Though it wasn't perfectly new, it was perfect. Our house is on a quiet street, with a big yard, facing a small forest next to a big pool and park.

Perfect for our children. Peaceful for us all.

After unpacking, I found our vision board, made months ago to help us find the right house. Everything matched, including the less tangible, such as "feeling settled," "good sleeps," and "like-minded neighbors." We found our son the concrete (our cul-de-sac), for him to ride his bike each morning. We found the neighborhood children for ours to play with. Though we didn't find the horse stables, the family that moved out of our house moved to a place with a stable, and have invited us to drop by.

Not on our vision board? The deer that walk through our front yard. The rabbits nibbling the grass. The fireflies out each night (we've never seen them before!). The amazing energy of the thunderstorms, and the warm rainy air, plus the wonderful sunshine.

I appreciate the moments of the early morning, and the song in the trees late at night. I especially appreciate the recognition that we are in the place we are meant to be, at this moment, and the little signs that remind me.

What is on your vision board, and what moments remind you that you are on your path?