After several attempts over the last few years to maintain a cold shower practice through the winter months, I finally succeeded this year, and since we’re into the spring months it will be a little easier to keep the practice going through the rest of this year and into the next winter. Now to be clear, the entire shower I take is not cold. I do still enjoy a nice warm shower, but at the very least 30-60 seconds of the shower uses no hot water at all.
Thirty seconds of cold water may not seem like much to you especially those of you that live in LA like me, but I’ll challenge you to take a 30 second cold-water-only-shower in Pittsburgh between Christmas and New Years. That cold water is icy cold, yet it was somehow easier than the cold water in LA. I think it’s because it was so cold that it numbed my skin, and I couldn’t really feel how cold it was. Whatever the real reason is I was able to do it and keep up with the practice.
For those of you that might be wondering, “Why would you torture yourself like that?” there are many physical and mental health benefits that come from a cold shower routine.
Read moreYou’re finally doing it. You’re booking that dream vacation, the one you’ve been wanting to go on for years. You go online to book your tickets, and you start weighing your options. Do you go with a non-stop flight for convenience or save money by choosing one with a layover? Do you choose your itinerary based on departure or return time? So many choices.
You’re getting more excited as you continue thinking about this trip and before you make your final decisions, it happens…
Read moreWe all know that life has its ups and downs, peaks and valleys, or as I like to refer to them, peaks and pre-peaks, but when you’re in that deep, dark valley it can be challenging to recognize and celebrate the fact that you’ll be heading up to one of those beautiful peaks soon enough.
The time scale between the peak and pre-peak cycle is not as consistent as the phases of the moon or the seasons of the Earth, and when you’re heading into that valley it can be difficult to ascertain how dark it’s going to get and how long your stay will be.
One way that I deal with life in those dark places is…
Read moreLet’s just start this off by saying that my word for 2019 is ROUTINE as in I need to get some routines in place so that I can achieve what I wish to achieve over the next 12 months. Also, it will help me get my newsletters and blogs done in time for my personal goal of sending them on the first of every month. I failed to reach that goal for the start of this year which makes it even more obvious to me that my word should be routine.
Picking a word for the year is a practice I’ve been using for at least 4-5 years. At the end/beginning of each year I reflect on what I was able to do and what I would like to do over the next year. After a good brainstorming session I step back and look at the list. I also pay attention to my personal Numerology and Astrology for the coming year, and I summarize it all in one word. I guess this is similar to what we do in the Reiki Circles at the end when we close out with one word to sum up what we are grateful for in that moment.
This helps me simplify the process of making New Year Resolutions and gives me one concept to focus on by choosing one word. If you make resolutions, take a look to see if there is a word that can summarize it for you. It’s easier to remember one word than a longer phrase or concept. Try it out.
Another thing is that today is a New Moon which is a good time to set intentions for the coming month. If you haven’t made a resolution for the year, today would be a good day to think about it and formulate one. Go that extra step and simplify it to one word.
Share your word in the comment section below. That way you can look back at the end of the year and see how you did in keeping up with that intention.
Read moreOver the last couple of months I’ve noticed a lot of clients needing to do some energy cord cutting so I thought that I would share and explore this topic with you in hopes that you may benefit, especially heading into all the family and friends’ holiday events where you might walk away with a slew of cords attached to you leaving you completely drained. Before we get into the actual cord cutting exercise though, let’s first discuss the people that attach their cords to us, energy vampires.
Now I know that Halloween was over a month ago, but energy vampires are in season all year ‘round. If you’ve never heard of an energy vampire, it’s pretty much what it sounds like. It’s someone that feeds on other people’s emotional and psychological energy without explicit conscious permission.
An energy vampire could be that cousin of yours that is always controlling and criticizing you, that friend that always needs you to help her out because she’s always a victim of circumstance, or that coworker that talks so much you can’t ever get a word in edgewise and everything seems to be about him and his drama.
An energy vampire can take on many different forms and identities…
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