Stress is a natural and normal “by-product” of every family’s life. In fact, family stress can bring out the best of us: as we stretch to meet the challenges we face, we become better parents, our children blossom and our families grow. But too much stress can spiral our families in the other direction. Take this Thriving test to see how your family fares. Set 1 1. There is a lot of bickering in our house. Someone is always angry at someone else. 2. There’s never enough time to sit down together, either to talk or to eat. There’s always too much to do.   3. My spouse and I argue a lot about how to raise the children. 4. It’s like pulling teeth to get the kids to help around the house. 5. Our family has experienced a lot of significant change recently (divorce, death, blending family, job loss, illness, other trauma). 6. Money is very tight. My partner and I have constant conflicts about how to spend it. 7. My child has been having behavioral problems at school. … Continue reading →

Often the things we say to ourselves we wouldn’t even think of saying to another person. We blame, shame, call names of the meanest sort, nag, belittle and bully ourselves through self-talk. What if, instead, we were gentler with ourselves, asked ourselves questions and listened to the responses. What if we treated ourselves as we treat a best friend, someone we love dearly? Here’s a Top Ten list of loving things to say to yourself: 1. What do you feel? Asking ourselves what we feel can help put names to, and identify emotions. Listening for the response and being honest with ourselves is like taking our emotional temperature. 2. What do you need? A need is different from a want. Whereas a want states a desire, a need is usually a statement about nurturing. Pay attention to your needs, they’re about caring for yourself. 3. Good job Congratulate yourself on a job well done whether it’s mowing the lawn, writing a poem or cleaning the bathroom. Give yourself a verbal pat on the back. 4. I apologize Saying “I’m sorry” … Continue reading →

The saying, “Words are cheap, action speaks,” is never more true than when applied to “I love you.” Whether spoken to a romantic partner, your children or other family members, if the actions aren’t there to back up the loving words, it all means nothing. Below are 10 of the best ways to say “I love you” in your actions. But there are thousands more. Take a look at these, then grab your journal or a notepad and see how creative you can get in coming up with your own ideas. Most importantly, follow through on actually doing them. 1. Greet your loved ones with a big smile, a hug and a kiss. 2. Really listen to what your loved ones are saying; give them your undivided and undistracted attention. 3. Support each other through tough times. 4. Do simple (even random) acts of kindness, such as massaging shoulders or feet, cooking a favorite meal, running a bath. 5. Spend one-on-one time with your loved ones, with no particular agenda. 6. Commit to letting go of judgment of their faults. … Continue reading →

Ancient Romans named the month of January for Janus, their god of gates, doors and beginnings. Always pictured with two faces—one looking toward the future, the other back at the past—Janus is a fitting symbol for the turning of a new year. As we step through the doorway from one year to the next, it’s natural to do as Janus does: look back and ahead. But this year, instead of just reflecting on the past year or making New Year’s resolutions, consider using this first part of the year to take stock of your life. Who are you? What do you believe? What do you really need? When we discover who we really are, we stop living on auto-pilot and start to live with intention, focus and purpose. Our choices become clearer. We begin to make active choices in our life, instead of making excuses or passively living with the status quo. Here are a few questions to get you started. Have a journal or some way to record your thoughts. (Writing by hand keeps you in touch with your … Continue reading →

Do you ever wake up feeling exhausted, or do you feel sluggish in the afternoon? Do you look at young children and wonder where their boundless energy comes from? At 43, I knew that something needed to shift. I worked out; I ate healthy food, compared to the standard American diet. But I still felt tired. I returned to juicing and raw foods. In days, I was brimming with energy again, feeling like a 20 year younger, new and improved version of me. Detox diets cleanse the body to restore balance. Periodic fasting is a spiritual principle, abstaining from food and drink to give the digestive system a rest. A detox diet can include drinking only purified water with squeezed lemon, green juices, and/or consuming mostly raw vegetables, fruits, and nuts. We live in an increasingly toxic world with daily exposure to chemicals, additives, harmful sugars, and pharmaceutical drugs. Our bodies can no longer function with a child’s vibrancy. We get bogged down from the toxins in our physical systems. Similarly, our energy systems get bogged down from the mental … Continue reading →

Last month we had a great Group Phone Session on Weight Loss. Sticking to a weight loss plan or ANY GOAL is much easier when your energy has been cleaned up and rebalanced. However, an energy clearing does not mean from here on out everything will be effortless. That’s not the way it works, and besides…that would make life so boring! YOU still get to follow through and take accountability, that way you get the great feeling of accomplishment when you get to the other side of that goal –yay you! Clearing the energy makes it much easier because you no longer have the extra tethers holding you back, and once fresh, positive affirmations are planted, you get to nurture those new seeds as they grow and become your exciting, new way of being. It often helps to set up systems to help with your new goals, because unfortunately, it’s all too easy to weasel out of a commitment after a few weeks (or even days) if there is no “answerability” (hey, it’s a real word, my thesaurus says so). … Continue reading →

Got Clarity? Replenish with your own mini-retreat! One of my husband’s very favorite things to do is lie on a beach with no schedule to have to conform to (isn’t that everyone’s?). This isn’t always feasible, since we have busy schedules and live in the desert of southern Utah. So last week I took him to Jamaica for his birthday, and for six days, that’s what we did- enjoyed the beautiful Caribbean water and weather with no phones, computers, or agendas to stick to. Ahh…it was heaven! It got me thinking…why don’t I add little mini-retreats like this into my life on a more regular basis?  Well, I mean without the amazingly clean smell of the ocean air, the sand between my toes, and meal prep all taken care of for me. But I can still derive some of the benefit of big get-aways like this by finding ways in my everyday life to retreat and renew. Here is my list I came up with of things I can do to replenish my soul when my cup is nearing empty-or … Continue reading →

The sound may be faint as the stirring of butterfly wings or as loud as a brass band on Fourth of July. Or you may not hear a sound at all, but feel an urging, an inner pull, a sense of excitement and longing that resonates from within. This is the call to create, and it is universal, bidding each of us to bring something new into being. “Creativity is the Self searching for itself,” said George Gamez, Ph.D., author of How to Catch Lightning in a Bottle. We create in order to express our unique visions and perceptions. We create to communicate and to form a bond with our fellow human beings. Creative expression helps us feel connected to the world and builds bridges of understanding. It nourishes us and helps us grow, provides insights and deeper understandings. Creativity is fun, exciting and playful. It relieves stress and releases tension. It provides a way of communication when normal channels may be blocked or are insufficient—when we must speak in colors and textures and shimmering visions and music. Creativity is … Continue reading →

In my line of work as an Energy Practitioner, I find that nearly everyone wants to know how they can feel better and how they can have a higher vibration, and also how they can maintain that higher vibration. Many people want a formula to tell them how to keep their vibration strong and positive. They believe there must be some ancient secret or new age discovery that will teach them how to make that happen in their life. Well, I’ll tell you an age-old, tried and proven, definitely-works remedy for a waning personal vibration. Are you ready…. Drum roll please… ~ Be kinder than you need to be. ~ Yep, that’s it! Kindness and service to others literally raises your energetic vibration! Is that answer too easy for you? Or perhaps that requires too much of you? We all know that what you send out is what you get back. So, of course it makes sense that if you seek for happiness, helping someone else experience happiness will automatically bring it your way as well. When we help our … Continue reading →