winter nurturing

Here in Minnesota we are in the depths of Winter. Everyone else in the US has also been experiencing a little harsher winter. It can be a challenge to stay positive and healthy for sure. I don't know about you but all I want to eat is warm, heavy comfort foods. My skin is tired and dry. My hair is a wreck of dry flatness.

And my spirit ...

Well, my spirit is mostly doing really good, except for those days when the sun doesn't shine, it's below 20 degrees (or worse), and there is yet another forecast for snow. This all does affect one's ability to move forward and to feel inspired.

Today, I had to dig deep and find the tools I needed to feel warm saturate deep in my bones, moisture in my body, and light in my soul.

*Big pot of boiling water with a customized essential oil blend from my friend Jodi. Yummy smells in house = happy Jennifer.

*LOUD music to get my body moving ... today's choice was the Sound of Sunshine from my soulinspiration Michael Franti.

*Turned my heat up a little bit and took off my fuzzy socks.

*Hot bath with my own Chakra Serenity bath salts that were SO moisturizing to my skin! Lovely!

*Superscrubbed my face with my fave deep exfoliant and sugar scrub. 

*Moisturized the heck outta my skin with LOVE. Literally. Jeanne has lotions for each chakra (and some of the stones inside them she got from ME!). They're not on her site, but you can contact her about them.

And then ...

*I sat on the couch and sat in pure SILENCE. For 45 minutes. No music. No guided meditation. No thoughts (mostly). Just silence. It was heavenly. It was a bit challenging at first, I wanted to go into a visualization of some sort or turn on one of the many many meditations or channelings I have available. Once I got past the monkeymind I was good.

It was amazing how much clearer energetically I felt when I took the time to come back to myself instead of the "doing" I was doing.  There are sometimes expectations of doing a lot, when really, if we can just BE and allow and let life FLOW as it's supposed to, life really does flow and expand and create whatever is perfect for us in each moment. My rituals and mini-spa day (which didn't take long!) helped me breathe deeper, be centered again, and find a new space to work from (as I continue some time-consuming projects).

There are other things I have had to do this winter to get out of a rut and I would highly recommend them to any locals (or find your equivalent in your area).

• Como Zoo & Conservatory.  Humid and flowery green BLISS.
• Walk the Mall of America.  (Just walk, don't shop. Okay but maybe stop for sushi.)
• Afternoon matinee of a stupid movie.
• Minneapolis Institute of Art.
• Walk around Lake Harriet (even in the cold & snow).
• Read books in the travel section of the bookstore.
• Eat hot & spicy pad thai and mai tai's.

So enjoy, crank the tunes and the heat!

What suggestions do you have to lift your spirit in mid-winter?  Feel free to comment to share!

Passion returns!

It has been a great few days of inspiration in unexpected places.  Slowly but surely I have been feeling my passion and joy return (after many months of being deep in the reality of illness and caregiving), and my heart is just about bursting at times because I love the world so much.

For a few months now there has been a gnawing at my soul to do something new, even though I am not sure what that means or what form it will take.  Yesterday I had a huge "OOOOOOHH!!" moment and created something new.  Something non-metaphysical (well, in most regards, since you can't really take that out of me) and deeply creative.  It's allowing me to express myself in a manner that has been forgotten for so many years.  I was almost giddy at how FUN this was to create.  Granted, it may not bring me money or be a new "job" by any means, but that doesn't even matter.  It allows me to BE who I really am, to express myself creatively and juicily (is that a word?!), and captures so many beautiful moments.

And then afterwards, I ate a cupcake.

Emmanuel's message today about August and our passions returning really spoke to me, and I am so grateful!  Sure, this type of message we usually hear repeatedly, but each time a new message shows up, it either resonates or it doesn't.  There have been so many over the past months that I could  have cared less about (with NO disrespect to any of the authors).  Anyhow, there is always more releasing to do, but remember that releasing brings new beginnings also.  :)

Know that you are loved and supported, and that the JOY will return!