Essence Blog

When I most need to return to my mindful, spiritual, or reflective practices is exactly when I forget they exist. Like self-development amnesia or spiritual practice resistance. Did I just invent a new syndrome to stress over? Welcome to my brain. 🤣 I’m kidding.

Seriously though, if you've fallen out of a practice or habit that you know nourishes you—especially in difficult times—give yourself some grace. It happens for many reasons.

Maybe life responsibilities have piled up, leaving you...

As a “Thursday Thoughts” reader, I imagine you understand the power of our language and mindset and know that we can rewire our brains. So today, let's practice a quick tool you can use when feeling annoyed, grumpy, or self-critical. 

Think of something in your life that you want to shift or change, especially if you feel somewhat resistant.

 For example-  

I’m scrolling on my phonetoo much. I don’t want my phone to be the first thing I wake up to in the morning.  

I’m feeling the impending...

Over a decade ago, when facilitating my groups with women, we talked a lot about the "Yeah, But" part of ourselves, which added a discrediting disclaimer to any personal acknowledgments or shout-outs. 

For example: 
You: I walked 3 miles yesterday
Yeah, But:  I sat on the couch today. 

You: I held a boundary when talking with my sister.
Yeah, But:  Then, I snapped at my partner this week.  

You: I got new signups for my class!
Yeah, But: it’s only 3.  

For every attempt to acknowledge yourself, ...

This week, I’m doing annual planning ( big picture)  even though I don’t know all of what I’m doing next year and nitty gritty planning of my Reflection Ritual. I know the energy and laser coaching of Friday's Work on It Workshop will get me fired up and focused to finish.  Are you coming? There is still time to join us here.  

Planning creates structure, and when done well, it also allows us to be flexible because we all know that plans have to be adjusted because we never really know what lif...

Did you know that, on average, each day, you generate 50,000 words in your private thoughts? 

That's equivalent to a short book or roughly 100 pages.

It's fascinating to think that your brain is constantly writing a book of thoughts (which could become beliefs)  regardless of whether you're aware of it. This is why I work intentionally with my thoughts. Once I realized how much we "speak to ourselves," it prompted an important question. What genre is your thought book? 

Historical Fiction?
A R...