The Tao Te Ching, (pronounced Dao De Jing) may be the oldest spiritual document known to man. The title translates to “The Way” and it contains 81 short verses that lend insight into the natural laws of the universe that are always at work in our lives. It is positively remarkable that this intriguing text is so relevant so many thousands of years after it was imparted by a man named Lao Tzu.

When you read the Tao, it is hard to discount the prophetic exactness and relevance of Lao Tzu’s wisdom for us today. Each one of the verses has powerful implications and applications for us now in the 21st Century.  The Tao reminds us that humanity is essentially the same as it was in 2500 BC although our technology and knowledge makes us believe that it is vastly different.  Think about that for a moment.  Our nature, desire for wholeness, the rules of decency, kindness, creativity, love and curiosity are basically the same as they were for ancient humans.

We can use the way of the Tao in our modern lives as we seek to navigate what seems to be the most uncertain time in human history. Applying this ancient and wise text to our lives is one way to respond to the Stock Market and global concerns with trust, optimism and wisdom. Living the Tao or “the Way” in times such as these blends our spiritual quest with our economic and global quests.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is just one indicator of the health of our economy. While we cannot minimize the grave errors made by individuals and organizations that have contributed to the present state of things, their bad decisions and selfish actions, have created a mess that fear and anger will not solve.  Harnessing the power of natural law we can step toward healing our economy and our future.  While few things seem predictable in the 21st Century, the Tao is a place we can go for insight on how to navigate this uncertainty.

Relevant Wisdom from the Tao:

• Life is dynamic and composed of opposites.  Illustrated in concepts such as light and dark, great and small, powerful and weak; the world is an orderly and balanced place.  When there is disorder it is really the universal energy trying to “right itself. Selfishness, greed, materialism, power quests, and the disregard for our beautiful planet have gone too far.  Now, just like the Stock Market, the universe is encouraging and seeking a correction.
• Regardless of where your attention flows, by the very nature of you giving something your focus it is fueled. If your attention is on fear, you are feeding what you abhor.  If your attention falls upon opportunity, what you desire is nourished. Be vigilant in your investment of time and focus.
• Each of us holds an inward concept of happiness that is etched in our minds.  It could entail financial freedom, abundant health, a connection to nature, or a certain level of power and prestige.  The myriad ways we describe happiness are an illusion created by our ego in an attempt to feel in control of our lives.  Once we realize this, we can choose to find happiness in the way things are in the present moment.
• Science teaches us that energy is not created or destroyed, it simply changes forms.  This truth speaks to the illusion of having an abundance of money or a deficit of resources.  It is all here now, just as it was before this moment.  If it appears to be gone, it has just flowed to another place or taken on another form, but it still exists.
• In uncertain economic times we may find ourselves focusing inward on our personal challenges.  A lost job, battered stock portfolios, a plummeting 401K plan or a mortgage in jeopardy, all have a way of rocking our security boat. While it is prudent to assess the truth of your present situation, stewing on it, complaining about it and looking to blame someone will never bring you any measure of true relief. Relief will surprisingly be found in acts of selflessness. At this moment, it may seem hard or impossible to lend a hand to another or focus on what is right rather than wrong. However you will find that shifting your attention from your own burdens as you perform a kind act or gesture actually can provide you with comfort, control and connection when you most need them.
• Lao Tzu teaches us to stop pouring when our cup is full.  Do we honor this in life?  When we have long been satisfied with enough do we still seek more?
• There is a great tendency in life to decide how things are by how pleasing life seems to be to our senses. Tastes, sounds, and all of the potential sensory stimuli in the world can bombard us to the point of numbness. This is illustrated in the crying child at Disney World who is over stimulated by excessive feedback from the environment. The Tao teaches that we can tire of even the most delicious foods if we eat them too often.
• Things will come and go and your possessions will become an inheritance one day. You own nothing and your body is not even yours to keep. Why get caught up in the chase for acquisitions, power, pleasure, and possessions and neglect the care and feeding your inner world to such a degree?  Enjoy your outer-world but, let your inner-world define you.
• Words like “empty” and “void” seem to have a negative ring to them.  It seems that these terms may appear to be less than desirable when compared to their perceived opposite word “full”.  Today you are encouraged to bless the void for it is there that you can build, plant and fill. If you dig a hole in the earth with a spade, you have a void. Plant a seedling there and that same void becomes a new haven for life.

The upheavals we may be experiencing globally are actually presenting a great gift to us.  This gift is the illumination of the path back to right thinking and right action. It’s a call to return to what matters most. Living in connection with the Divine part of us is our natural state and this is what has suffered greatly with the advent of our busy and material-driven lives.  Lao Tzu spoke about the Tao being the mother of 10,000 things.  Perhaps he knew that the things of the earth are here to be enjoyed, but they are not what will give life its true richness.

If you believe someone would enjoy and benefit from this post, please share it. Just click on the + Share button and you will see lots of options for sharing it with friends including email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Thanks!

Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International, an inspirational multimedia company. She is the author of several inspirational titles, a life coach, a professional speaker and the host of a weekly radio program, The Soul Salon. For more inspiration and information about her speaking and classes, please visit www.SoulSalonInternational.com.

There is a time to follow and a time to lead– Discern the time for each in life; your happiness may be riding on it.  Now, on to Fabre and his caterpillars…

Jean Henri Fabre was a French entomologist. He conducted research in regard to the inherited behavior patterns of certain insects.  I recently heard about his findings in regard to the Processionary Caterpillar named for reasons made obvious by the photo below.

Fabre conducted a study where he put pine needles, the caterpillars food, in a pot and  placed the caterpillars in a circle around the pot. For seven days the caterpillars continued in an eternal circle around this pot; each following the caterpillar in front. Sadly they all died with the food they needed just three inches away inside the pot they mindlessly circled around. 

The problem was that the caterpillars followed the caterpillar in front of them.  Each as trusting and clueless as the next one–which of course led them on a path of “Activity” but not “Accomplishment.” Interestingly, the caterpillars leave a trail which gives feedback to any caterpillar who comes upon it.  They can tell an old trail from a new trail, how many caterpillars were in a procession, and they follow the trail that was “marked” by the greatest number of caterpillars.

Sometimes we do that too, don’t we?  The masses can’t be wrong, right? Notice if there are places in life where you follow the trail of many or follow in the footsteps of ______.  We can easily be hypnotized by group thought. In my practice, I have worked with people trying to create new paradigms for themselves. Some have had to face breaking away from the “trail” of abuse, addiction, or rigid religious dogma. Others have had lighter trails to step away from, like moving to a new part of the country away from family or pursing a line of work or education different from peers or previous generations.

Standing apart and forging your own trail is not always easy, but will lead you to your most authentic and happy place.

If you believe someone would enjoy and benefit from this post, please share it. Just click on the + Share button and you will see lots of options for sharing it with friends including email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Thanks!

Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International, an inspirational multimedia company. She is the author of several inspirational titles, a consultant/coach, a professional speaker and the host of a weekly radio program called The Soul Salon. For more inspiration and information about her speaking and classes, please visit www.SoulSalonInternational.com or follow her on Twitter: @TheSoulSalon

Nearly everyone has a story about a friend, sibling, or themselves wedging something in an ear or nostril as a kid. That story usually ends with the object having to be removed by a doctor.  Pennies, legos, stones, beads and other small objects seem to be magnetically pulled into small dark places and eventually reach a point of no return. That is until a professional is called upon to excavate.

Today my contractor handed me the displaced links left behind as I asked him to raise my chandelier a few inches. As we continued to speak, I played with the links slipping one on my finger to quickly realize it would not slide off as easily.  We had a good laugh at the panic that ensued and then we shared other similar stories that came to mind.  He shared how he got spanked as a child for putting a metal nut  on his 1-year-old brother's finger as a ring--which then swelled so badly that the nut had to be cut off.  This story led to the story of how his sister stuck a lentil up her nose and no one knew it was there.... until it started to grow.

Yes those nasal passages are dark, but they are moist too ...and apparently moisture trumps darkness on the "must-have" list for plant growth.  She actually germinated that little bugger and got it to grow roots IN HER NOSE!  That stealthy tenacious lentil--with NO ATTENTION-- no direct sunlight and no pretty pot, GREW.

Maybe we are growing stuff in our nose too. Something out of sight-- perhaps put in place during a brief irresponsible moment in the past and left to germinate?  Or maybe there is an old emotional hurt not healed, or a bad choice not forgiven?  Maybe there is a part of us we keep in a dark place--a place we don't look at often-- either because it is not easy to look there (like in a nose) or it is socially shocking to look there (like a nose).  I use this analogy playfully here, but the pain of loss, abuse, and shame are not fun and not a game. These are usually kept hidden and they will germinate-- often growing and crowding out what should hold that space in your life.  It takes Courage to look at those things.

So today, let's all check our noses for lentils.

If you believe someone would enjoy and benefit from this post, please share it. Just click on the + Share button and you will see lots of options for sharing it with friends including email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Thanks!

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International, the author of several inspirational titles, a life coach and speaker. She is an instructor at The Mindfulness Centerin Bethesda, Md and the host of a weekly radio program, The Soul Salon.  She is a featured expert at Success Television and a contributing writer for Affluent Magazine.

(c) 2010 Rena M. Reese

All Rights Reserved

From CEO’s to entrepreneurs and entertainers to parents all over the globe, we are constantly in search of ways to boost productivity. 

To put it simply, we want to get more done each day.  For some this goal is rooted in the desire for greater abundance while for others, productivity is the gate-keeper to recreation. It is a means to an end and we are hungry for both the freedom and prosperity that productivity provides.  The problem with the  “work harder and longer” approach is that it often yields the unattractive side-effects of exhaustion, stress and a lop-sided life. Adopting a spiritual approach to productivity may actually facilitate greater productivity and energize us more quickly than downing a can of Red Bull.

The terms “spiritual” and  “productivity” seem to contradict each other. One emphasizes our non-physical nature while the other is rooted in mastering the work of the physical world. Allowing these terms to work together in our lives creates the much-needed synergy we desire to move through life with energy and purpose. This is the force that magically has us generating inspired ideas  and then gives us the very energy we need to implement  those gems. When “being” works with “doing”, we allow a dynamic coupling which results in a do-be-do-be-do that is better than anything Frank Sinatra ever crooned. This is the essence of our human experience.

If you are clear on your values and vision, your work is plugged into a limitless energy source. Meaningful priorities will illuminate your path and keep you from mindlessly traveling up a side street that dead-ends in inefficiency. Honoring your values and intentionally stepping toward a clear vision are two forces that fuel our ability and desire to “do”. This premise is simply our "square one" or beginning point, and encourages us to go further.

Entertain these suggestions to tweak your productivity:

Delegate

If during a storm a tree fell on your garage , crushing both your roof and car, you would likely get on the phone to round-up support for your desired outcome and arrange necessary clean-up and repair. You would be quite clear on your vision and you would enlist the help of your insurance company, a tree-cutting service, a roofer, and a towing company. It would be ludicrous to attempt to do each of these on your own.  And so it goes with your life and work. When you delegate effectively you allow people with talents and gifts different from yours to handle things you don’t have time to do, you dislike doing, or you are less than efficient at doing.

Move your Body

We are quite good at engaging our brains in a lively mental workout, but may overlook the much-needed workout for the heart. On a spiritual level, adequate exercise is critical if you want both the mind and the heart engaged in all of your pursuits.

Substitute Dynamism for Balance

Life-balance is overrated and just a notch above death.  Call up a memory when you used a balancing scale back in school.  When the scales were balanced, there was complete stillness. Life does not play out like that for most of us. We are constantly allowing an ebb in one area of life, so it can flow to another when needed. Embrace the idea that there are times your family will need you most, a project will be calling out for extra time or your physical body will send you signals  that it is time for a vacation, and you will have to adjust.  That is real life dynamism.

Tap your contacts and connections as resources

There are people on your contact's list right now that have done what you want to do.  Even if their business is different, their goals are varied and personal life the polar opposite of yours; use these contacts. Use who you know  to glean guidance, learn shortcuts and point you to resources that would otherwise take you years to discover. Query your contacts to learn everything from how to form a charitable foundation to how to create an ebook.  There is an untapped reservoir of information (and shortcuts) available to you for the asking.

Sleep

Countless research studies confirm that 6-8 hours of sleep is necessary for your body and mind to be it’s absolute best. In order to be your best, to do your best and to produce your best, adequate rest is key.

Capture Inspiration

Mini-tape recorders and pocket journals are terrific tools to record divine nudges that will advance your work, goals, and highest good.  Keep a specific journal that you have designated for ideas, intuitive hunches and insights.  Often these flashes of clarity will come to us while settling for bed, waiting at a red light, or walking the dog. Oftentimes these divine nuggets fade away quicker than they arrive, but not if they are quickly captured and recorded so they may be acted on in the future.

Journal

Make it a practice each evening to write the priority tasks for the following day.  Meticulous planning helps edge out the distractions that take us further from our desired daily goals. Be mindful that even with the best plans there is always a place for flexibility and intuition when implementing our daily priority tasks.  You may decide to reschedule the dinner meeting after work and get a much-needed massage instead.

Nutrition

Food is spiritual.  In a spiritual sense, food is alive and made of atoms just as you are—and when it’s ingested, those atoms join the atoms that make up y-o-u.  Be vigilant with what you allow to merge with your physical body.

Believe in the power of small things

Many years ago an American Airlines flight attendant noticed that most first-class customers did not eat the olive on the salad offered to them on flights.  When she told the higher-ups, they decided to omit the olives from the salads. Over the course of just one year they saved over a half a million dollars from that small adjustment.  Small things add up.  If you allocate a little time each day to further a desired outcome, know that the cumulative effect could have massive results over time.

Habits

We are creatures that find comfort in our habits.  This is good thing if we are talking about going for an early morning jog each day, but sometimes our habits become detrimental and even pointless.  How many people hold a Monday afternoon meeting, not because there was something important to discuss, but simply because it was Monday?  When deciding which habits to nix and which to continue, consider asking this one simple question: “Does this habit make me stronger and support my values and goals?”  When you ask this question, you’ll find your true north is clearly marked.

Productivity comes from the cumulative choices we make each day and not just the obvious decision to sit at your desk, build relationships, engage in meetings and check off the to-do list. Who you are being is weaved into all it is that you are doing every day.  Be mindful that, as Mahatma Gandhi said, “There is more to life than just increasing its speed.”

If you believe someone would enjoy and benefit from this post, please share it. Just click on the + Share button and you will see lots of options for sharing it with friends including email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Thanks!

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International, the author of several inspirational titles, a life coach and speaker. She is an instructor at The Mindfulness Centerin Bethesda, Md and the host of a weekly radio program, The Soul Salon.  She is a featured expert at Success Television and a contributing writer for Affluent Magazine.

(c) 2010 Rena M. Reese

All Rights Reserved

The Mindfulness Center's founder, Dr. Debbie Norris, awakened me to some empowering strategies for healing from a cancer diagnosis. We discussed just how powerful nutritional choices are in the quest to return to health after a cancer diagnosis.

In both my discussion with Debbie and in my research, I found that there are things we can be eating now; whether you are healing or already healthy. It seems that there are a lot of anti-cancer foods and spices.  Some reduce inflammation in the body and stave off tumor growth; others called "apoptsis",act as cancer-cell bullies forcing cancer cells into their last rites.  Other foods detox the body, neutralize free radicals, and then flush the system of these toxins.

The fact of the matter is food is a tool shamen of indigenous societies used for health and healing. Amazingly they did this without the litany of side-effects you’ll hear rattled off during a drug commercial on TV.

Yes, certain foods cannot only help us heal, but help us from getting the dreaded diagnosis. So, we know about olive oil and the magical omega 3′s in fish, but what are some foods that are being credited with terrific healing and cell health?  Well, I have discovered that the list is long–very long–without a lot of big surprises.  But, there were a few.

Broccoli and cauliflower were named all over the place along with their relatives Chinese cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

Chives and garlic… not just great at keeping vampires away– but have been shown to promote the demise of cancer cells in the prostate, breast, lungs and the colon. 

Ginger and ginger root... and of course green tea… citrus fruits, as well as pomegranate– all well respected by the medical community and represented well in research too. 

Chocolate containing more than 70% cocoa is another power house. (Don’t go crazy … the suggested daily serving is pretty small)

But the most surprising find that I learned about from Dr. Norris is the potent value of Turmeric. I read a lot after learning from her about the findings on this magical spice. It acts like nature’s healing pharmacy when it comes to choking cancer cells and promoting their death.  This spice found in curry is being touted as a natural anti-inflammatory  unmatched by any other. So, if you could add one thing to your diet–it seems this is the one. 

I have also read that not only does it seriously impact tumor growth, but it also seems to make chemotherapy more effective. There is a great deal of power assigned to this little spice found in curry powder. For greater effectiveness, I have read it is suggested to buy straight turmeric which gives you more potent benefits and not just the 20-30% which is found in curry powder.

Turmeric comes form the root of the Curcuma longa plant,  a plant I never heard of before researching this. It is rich in manganese and iron and you’ll be glad to know that while it will take on cancerous cells quite valiantly, it also can help you with some lesser ills.  Yup, in both India and ancient China this little magic worker also helped with jaundice, toothaches, colic, menstrual issues and to put it mildly, if you were feeling a little “gassy”. In fact, people in India eat this spice everyday and research has found their elderly have the lowest level of Alzheimer's disease in the world. 

I read the following in Prevention: "After a while, you begin to wonder if there's anything turmeric can't do. Sure enough, it even has potential as a cancer fighter. Several studies on laboratory animals show that curcumin has anti-cancer activity, probably because it is a powerful antioxidant"

You can easiily add it to rice, beans, couscous,soups, meat.  In small doses, it's very mild tasting.

*I want to remind you that I am not a doctor–just a woman on a quest to be healthy and help anyone who is Headed-for-Healing.  What I have shared here, you can research on your own and use to have a conversation with your doctor –it is not a prescription. Truly we have a great deal of ability to impact our health with the choices we make each day.*

All the very best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

Visit Headed for Healing to send some love to someone on the road to healing

Holistic Health is well-defined by its root “Holos”. Holos or  όλος  if you are Greek, means whole.   To have complete health or total wellness, it is necessary to have a global look at your whole-essence.  Sure you are a physical body, but your experience is not entirely physical.  We perceive our experience as mostly physical because we receive input through out senses and our minds, but this becomes just a partial awareness if we do not include our emotions and spiritual selves as feedback sources.  You can’t have a HOLE in HOLISTIC.

So, if you you are looking for a greater level of health and wellness, to return to health and wellness or to stay healthy and well– a holistic awareness of your 4 essences is key.

Discover your Health and Wellness Quotient

Rate each of these 4 parts of  your Health

Use a scale of 1-10 (1=not at all and 10= positively couldn’t get any better)

1. Physical Health- My body feels energized and equipped to carry me through my day. I wake up alert and excited for the day ahead whether it is Monday or Sunday.  I move my body daily with some form of exercise and I treat my body like a temple. I am vigilant in picking the best ingredients in my food/drink and enjoy enough sleep and self care time. I consume minimal artificial colors, sweeteners and colorings in my food.

2. Mental Health- I feel safe in my primary environments (home and work).  I have a personal space that is only mine and the freedom to make decisions that impact my life. I am generally optimistic and see a reason to be grateful for even the tough circumstances in life. I am a constant learner, open to new experiences that expand my life and mind through books, classes, new friendships and creative pursuits. I live in the present moment most of the time not letting the reality of my yesterdays or the possibilities of the future rob me of right now. I can be prudent as I plan for the future and heal from the past without robbing any attention from “right now.”

3. Emotional Health- I allow myself to experience all of my varied emotions in appropriate ways. Of course there are some emotions I prefer to experience, but I understand that all emotions are “normal.” When I experience sadness or guilt for example, I don’t stay there too long. I can process “what is” as outside of me and not being me while learning and making adjustments to future decisions I will make.  I am able to love, trust, hope and relate to others and not be ruled by fear, past wounds and hurt.

4. Spiritual Health- I am engaged in work I love that fulfills my purpose. I allow time to honor the creative part of me in some way. I feel connected to others, to nature and my divine source. I feel as though I am making a contribution that is meaningful to the world-at-large– whether it impacts one or one million people. I feel awake and connected to all that is seen and unseen.

Score your Health and Wellness Quotient:

32-40 Pretty Darn Wonderful. You likely pay attention to all four areas of your essence.  When one area needs attention, you act quickly to focus on that area; from a vacation to setting boundaries in a relationship.  For continued wellness and health in this category, look at the section/s you scored as having room for the greatest improvement and name some specific actions you can take. Is there a new dream to start making a reality?  Is there a creative pursuit that is aching to be born?

28-31 The majority of people fall into this range.  It is here that most think, well, this is life–life is not perfect and I cannot expect any better given my responsibilities, my age, my health history, my financial situation…. You get the idea.  We settle here because we think this is normal or we try to think positively about what is good about our life while not giving attention to areas of dissatisfaction.  While this positive attitude is wonderful, an honest assessment of our whole life is required in order to change something that will create a huge pay off in all four parts of us. When you boost the vibrancy of your spirit for example, your mental state, emotional state and physical condition are boosted too.  To continue your quest for greater wellness and health, look at the section/s you scored as having room for the greatest improvement and write down three things you’d be doing or experiencing if that part of your life was a at a 10.  You have just created a new to-do list.

20-27 Chances are if you are in this range, you have been giving of yourself in a profoundly unselfish way–to your own detriment. I encourage you to look in the mirror and say, “You can only give as good as you’ve got.”  No amount of your being exhausted or settling for less than you require and deserve… or putting yourself last on a regular basis will ever inspire the people around you to vie for their own happiness and health.  It is quite the opposite.  Give yourself permission right now to pick one of your lowest scores from this survey and decide you are working on that part of your health and wellness now. Now, write down three things you’d be doing or experiencing if that part of your life was at a "10."  Underneath each of those three things, write three bullet points that specify what you can do to make that happen.  For example: If one of your areas in deep need is physical wellness and you list “enjoying a good night sleep” as one of the level 10 indicators– your bullet points may read like this.

Enjoying a Good Night Sleep

• No caffeine after 3pm
• new mattress/pillow
• relaxing meditation CD just before going to sleep

Chances are really good that you know exactly where you can give yourself a boost. You intuitively know that you have been silencing some part of yourself because it feels hard to change.   But change can be easy and even fun. And, the  way you’ll feel after the change is in place is a holistic high.

A score below 19;

Scoring below a 19 on this Holistic High Survey is not meant to demoralize anyone, but inspire instead.  Perhaps you need someone to tell you, “It is your TURN for health and wellness.  It is YOUR turn to place your attention on what you need and want. And, like most of us, you deserve so much more than you believe you are worthy of.” 

Chances are really good that you are living out patterns of action that have been in place for perhaps decades.  The first step is awareness.  By completing this initial survey you are probably more aware than you were before.  I am guessing that you already know what your priority task is– you know what that single thing is that would have a huge effect on your mental, emotional, physical or spiritual health.  Right?  Can you write it down?  Can you say it out loud?  Can you decide to make some plans to step toward that one thing right now?  I am talking about allowing yourself the space to hear what you spirit craves, your mind craves, and what your body desires.  And most importantly, ask for help. Find a professional aligned with your vision– or even to help you create a vision– and find a supportive community in which to grow.

Remember this important point, you become most like the people whom you surround yourself with. There's a quote, "Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are".  So, if you are the sum total of your 5 closest companions, pick those 5 people wisely.

All the Very Best,

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

(c)2010 Rena M. Reese

All Rights Reserved

Remarkable as it is, doctors can estimate how tall a child will be and when she will be done growing-- simply by reading an X-ray of  her growth plates.  My daughter recently got the news (while investigating a foot pain) that her height was likely in its last 6 months of growth before her growth plates will close up. Now, at nearly  5’4″ with an insatiable love of sports,this was not great news for her. Although she is presently taller than her mom and grandmother, she wants to be taller.

And so the race begins… She wonders, what do I have to do in the next few months to maximize the growing time I have left before my bones close up and seal me up for a lifetime?  That is until I begin the shrinking process that has made grandma go from 5’3″ in her prime to 4’11″ at age 80? So now nutrition, rest, hydration and exercise seem to be super-charged. After all, the calendar pages are flipping….

Unlike our physical growth plates, our spiritual growth plates never close. We are able to explore and expand our spiritual growth until we exhale for the last time–but rarely do we approach that growth with the same zeal that a 13 year old has when trying to race against her biology for an extra inch or two in height. Imagine if we held in our consciousness the same zealous desire to understand our personal truth, universal truths and just how rich our lives could be as though we were in a race for enlightenment during this lifetime?

Because our spiritual growth plates never close up, we can sometimes be complacent.  People may say, I am a logical-thinker -type and not at all spiritual– or I am a facts-person, not an intuitive-type. This simply baffles me. This sort of musing is like saying, ” I am more of a person with a beating heart than a person who breathes.”  To ignore one of your real dimensions is to be less than whole.  To ignore one facet of your true nature is to rob the cornucopia.  No corn in a cornucopia?  That just would not do.

You are a thinking being…

You are an emotional/feeling being.

You are a physical being.

And yes… you are a spiritual being.

Defining what “spirit” is for you –matters only to you–but I can tell you it has little or nothing to do with organized religion.  Just as you are aware of great sadness and joy, defeat or triumph– your body has spiritual messages it provides with physical feedback. With the exception of some biological/chemical imbalances, issues ranging from depression to restless sleep, all are rooted in spiritual causes.The pit in your stomach, the goose-bumps, the warm heart, the lightness in your step… these are all ways to take your spiritual pulse so-to-speak… they are spiritual indicators of your health and well-being.

Your spiritual growth plates are wide open and ready to expand.  What will you do today to honor that truth?  Maybe you could uncover your own definition of spirit, explore your bio-feedback to the relationships in your life and your work–explore a spiritual book, take a meditation class… there are so many ways to explore the non-physical part of you.  It is spiritually responsible to own this part of you. Your spirit is there whether you tap into its power or not.  And actually if it is locked in a basement with no light and sustenance I can tell you it will lose its vibrance just as a physical body will if cut off from those things.  And honestly it is like driving with no dash instruments… Visual clues are very misleading in life.

If you are connected to that part of you, that is truly wonderful, now teach another to connect.  Truly the most empowering gift we can give our children is permission to honor their spirits and advocate for the health of all four of their natures (listed above).

If you have not peeked at Soul Salon International’s 2010 Top Books for Awakening listed on the home page at SoulSalonInternational.com–this is a great place to continue your growth, start your connection, or reconnect.

All the very best,

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International and  one of its divisions, Headedforhealing.com. She the author of several inspirational titles and a professional speaker. As the host of a weekly radio program on BTR called, The Soul Salon in addition to being a featured expert at Success Television and a contributing writer for Affluent Magazine she is dedicated to helping people with their physical and spiritual revivals. Her twitter name is @TheSoulSalon and on Facebook--look for Soul Salon International.

(c) 2010 Rena M. Reese

All Rights Reserved

The mid-life crisis is a term we are all familiar with. Either we have claimed to have gone through a crisis or perhaps a loved one has traveled the same road. We carry on through our days and one day we realize that there is something we need present in our daily lives. We accept the deadening of our spirit, day after day, and then wonder why one day we have a huge shift propelling us toward aliveness.

The mid-life crisis is actually quite the opposite than its name suggests. The mid-life crisis is actually a mid-life call TO BLISS! It is a soulful awakening beckoning us to joy and begging us to no longer settle! The actions of the person in so called “crisis” tell us that it is life, excitement, enjoyment and fun they are craving. I propose to you that if life is lived in this manner all along, day after day, through your twenties, thirties, and forties, the mid-life crisis will never knock on your door!

I know a man who by any external measure would be going through a midlife crisis. He left his wife, moved from the family home, began to date a woman who was vivacious, fit and in a job she loved. To top it off, he left his work as an attorney to start his own business, a business he dreamed of creating since his college days. Can you guess what his ex-wife was saying about him? Can you imagine the talk among the neighbors? Surely this appears to be a life in crisis, an upheaval of what was, in its entirety.

In fact though, this was a call to bliss! This man who I will call Joe, was in a marriage he never wanted. By his own words, his parents had picked his bride and he was pressured to tie the knot with her at a too-young age. She had the attractive “Jewish” lineage which made the parents so happy. This was compromise one for Joe. As they continued in their life together they had nothing other than their Jewishness in common. She hated her job and came home crabby in the evenings. He didn’t care for his work either, so the two of them were quite a pair after work.

Why was Joe in a job he disliked? Joe had a professor in college that had squashed his dream of starting his own business. He created an entire business plan as a class assignment and his professor tore it to shreds. Joe gave his power to someone who didn’t share his vision or passion. He allowed his goals to be smothered with the opinions of another. What made the professor’s opinion more valid than Joe’s? Oh, let’s not get started on the great power given to authority figures in our lives!

So Joe carried on with law school after college so that he could make a great living for himself and his wife. After all, that is what his parents promoted since his Dad also was a lawyer. He selected his profession not according to his natural gifts, or innate passions or wanting to contribute to society, but to make a great living.

So here we have the triple threat set up. Squashing of the dream, selecting a life partner even though it felt wrong long before the wedding vows, and picking a life’s work not aligned with what we really want.

So we carry on… We hope that we will forget the dream, learn to love the spouse or partner, and enjoy the stability and cash flow of the career enough to forget what we REALLY want. But, you can’t. See, your spirit will nag you and nag you, reminding you of what is still inside you, dormant, but alive. Until one day, you reflect on the days that have passed; you begin to think of how many you have left. It may occur to you what your legacy is what you want it to be. You may come to realize how fast the first half of your life went and that it wasn’t even very much fun. It is then that you begin to dream of what could have been and you have the epiphany that it is not too late!

Your spirit’s quest is for aliveness and creativity. If you are engaging in low, dense-energy activities that drain your life-force, you are on the road to ill health and crisis. But, if you consciously infuse your days with what you love, activities that thrill you, a sense of contribution and alignment with your soul, you’ll never be in crisis.

There is no crisis in choosing a life of happiness. How can it be wrong to choose fun, contribution and to stop settling for less than you deserve? You can have a life you love, a job that uses your gifts and relationships that energize you. Just pick THAT life, THAT job, and THOSE relationships and do it today!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

Follow me on Twitter and Facebook

(c) Rena M. Reese 

All Rights Reserved

Today I am sharing with you an excerpt from my recently released Gratitude Journals pictured here in this post.  I hope that you will consider implementing this transformative practice into your life… R.R.

When you live in a state of appreciation, you’ll actually create a field of grace in your life. If you are constantly on the lookout for good fortune, opportunities, blessings and “luck”, you’ll find that more of these things seem to find you. It has been my experience both personally and professionally that when we seize opportunities to appreciate the people, events and experiences that fill our days, our lives become richer.  And why shouldn’t that be the case?  After all, when something appreciates it becomes more valuable, right?

On each page of this Gratitude Journal you are encouraged to capture both the small and large things that are experienced during your day. It is nice to aim for five a day, but allow your life to ebb and flow as you allow more on some days and perhaps just one on another. This practice is like strengthening a muscle. You will find, just as the author of the introduction did, that in time it becomes easier to recognize and journal about the special things that brought gratitude into your heart.  This will be true even when the packages they come wrapped in are well-disguised and perhaps not so pretty.

The great news is that frequently the packages are really beautiful. When we allow ourselves the time and space to acknowledge and admire the gifts presented to us in life, we will find that they are everywhere and positively stunning. The small kindness of a stranger, a special moment with a child, enjoying a book recommended by a friend and the exuberant greeting of a pet after a long day—each feed our spirit.  Enjoying our senses mindfully, and reveling in a connection birthed from serendipity are other ways that gratitude expands the field of grace in our lives. Stretch this practice as you allow gratitude to wash over you for the stealthy blessings too. Think of those who would trade places with you to have a child to drive to soccer practice and an electric bill to pay and clothes to launder.

You may find that one day you will add this journal to the list of blessings you’ll etch upon these pages. The Gratitude Journal will become one of the things you express gratitude for, as it will have become a daily accounting of the blessings in your life.  Soren Kierkegard once said, “Most men pursue pleasure with such a breathless haste that they hurry past it.”

But, not you.

Order one for yourself and one for someone you love HERE.

All the best,

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

If you are like most people you get in your car, start it and either adjust it from the "park" position and put it in "reverse" or "drive". Right?  You are either moving forward or in reverse. In much the same way in life, we are either moving forward, towards  our goals, or being distracted by things which are coming between us and our goals. And sometimes, just as in driving, you may have to go in reverse in order to move forward.

It is worth noodling this through and holding ourselves accountable. After all, we are in the driver's seat.  We are faced with decisions daily as we "drive" through  our lives. Try asking yourself when struggling to make a decision, "Will this feed the energy of what I want to accomplish & create... or detract from it?"  This one question will help you say YES or NO with no guilt-- and with no apology.

This weekend, as I waited in line to get my car washed I was on my cell phone with friend and Success Television & SSI Expert, Dianne Orwig.  I paid, rolled up my windows and eased my car into the tracks of the conveyor that would guide my car (with me inside) through the suds and dancing strips of fabric that would soon remove winter from my car. Distracted by our engaging conversation I placed my car in PARK once I got the hand-signal from the attendant.  Within seconds I noticed a huge rhythmic jolting of the vehicle and the look of alarm on the face of the attendant as he called out to me to put my car in NEUTRAL, not park!

Oops.

I was amused..
Dianne was amused.
The attendant, no so much.

I will allow the spiritual lesson of the car wash to be a guide today.  Rather than driving forward or in reverse-- or sitting in park-- I will allow more time in neutral.  Not because I don't want to move forward, but rather  because I want to move forward with EASE.

You see, once I put my car in neutral, the conveyor carried me.  I didn't have to DO anything at all to get through the car wash.  In much the same way, we are guided in life and sometimes we think we have to push forward-forward-forward...when sometimes you only need to let a force BIGGER THAN YOU, drive.

If you feel like you are paddling upstream you can change this exhausting act.  And that does not mean paddling downstream either. It means, similar to putting your car in neutral, DROP THE OARS and let the river effortlessly carry you like a conveyor through a car wash. 

Rena M. Reese, M.S. is the author of several inspirational titles, founder of Soul Salon International, radio host and instructor at The Mindfulness Center in Bethesda, Md. In her latest book, The Soul Salon, readers enjoy what would equate to a year of personal life coaching. For more information about her books or speaking, please visit www.SoulSalonInternational.com.

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