Inhale, exhale

A few years ago, a friend gifted me with Goddess Guidance oracle cards created by Doreen Virtue, PhD. Since then, it has been a fun way to help with setting intentions for the day, getting ideas about the "why" of things happening around me, and just plain ol' bringing out the hidden goddess inside. Today I chose Maeve, the Goddess of Cycles and Rhythms. How perfect! My last blog entry indicated I was midcycle and here she is!

One thing that can get me frustrated is the complex fact that our female brain changes up to 25% each 28 days (on average). I love when the estrogen and progesterone surges at the beginning normally lasting for a good 2 weeks. My mind feels clear, peaceful, serene...My connections with others is equally joyous. I love my husband again ! Yeah, my hippocampus, hypothalmus, and amygdala are squeaky clean ready to think critically and have accurate and appropriate emotional responses! Yeah me!

What Goddess Maeve tells me today is to "honor the cycles of your body, energy levels, and emotions". She goes on to say that the universe is naturally cyclical. Just like breathing, we inhale then exhale (I wonder which part of the cycle is inhale???). Celebrate and embrace these as the essence of life.

In a few months I turn 40. The average lifespan of women nowadays in the States is about 8oish. So midlife, giver or take a few decades (I plan to be a centenarian). 40 is a big biblical number of course too. As I reflected on that, I have decided to plan out carefully the last 40 days of my life as a 39 y.o. As I count back, the day to start falls on December 3rd which happens to be the night of our creatively give Shoe and Accessory Hunt night (www.dnrshoes.blogspot.com). I am going to spend sometime addressing the need I wish to address. Most off, I want this to be fun and prepare me for the next 40 years of giving creatively. I know I will seek the Goddess of Maeve a lot through my 40s! Honoring my cycle rather than bitching about it would be a huge accomplishment. I am pretty sure those around me would appreciate that as well. Ok, let me be a little kinder to myself-I am not that bad but could be better.

To help me prepare for my 40 days to 40, I have been researching a bit about what it takes to motivate. David B. Rosengren's book on Motivational interviewing has been helpful for me with my patients. I clearly recognize that change in behavior has very little to do with what I say as a healthcare provider as motivation tends to come from within. That being said, I know there are a few questions that can help guide the process: 1. What need would you like to work on? 2. Why? 3. What makes you care about this/your inspiration? 4. When would you like to start? 5. How often will you reassess? 6. Who will support you? 7. Where are you right now (baseline)? 8. How will you be held accountable? Now when coaching someone on making a change ,these are not necessarily the questions you want to be asking them but they are good reflective questions for themselves.

These last few days, thanks to my cycle, I have been coming up with some clear messages of how I wish to proceed with my creative giving legacy. I have some ideas about how this next decade of life could include that. I look forward to continue sharing this with others!

Thanks Maeve!

Vacation?

I've had the last several days off from work. I mean, work being the job that I get paid for. Lately for me, I have chosen to be overly busy when I take vacation. These few days have included finish paint work, massive cleaning of the house, paying bills, doctors appointments, and still managing to go to work to finish up some things like networking that are easier to do when I am not officially working. It is with this process of reflection that I suddenly realized why I feel the way I do.

Though Jon Kabut Zinn has taught me the true benefit of being mindful, I still (often) get caught in being too busy to do just that. That is when I revisit my recent moments in life to reconnect with the present. And, as is typical the case, I then set a new intention, often refocusing my purposeful life in a direction of evolvement. Forgive me, as I am currently "midcycle" in the midst of that flurry of hormonal changes that often takes me down this path of exploration.

And now as I ponder over these same days, I see how amongst the "busyness" I could still give as well as receive...because it sometimes is true that the more I receive, the more I wish to give. Time with my kids listening to Jordan talk about hunting, hearing Andrew laugh anything that sounds remotely like the sound of gas. Quiet time with my husband. A bowling afternoon with friends that benefited Juvenile Diabetes Association, and other moments with friends around a campfire and another playing Blokus and Quandry.

I have one day left of this "vacation". As the sun starts shining through my window I can see a world of creativity painted with color. It is with great intention today that I will be present with God and all of the glory that surrounds Him. I must cut this short as the voices of my family can be heard upstairs calling to me exactly where I would like to be today...with them.