What a perfect time to communicate from your heart, with love!

This weekend, the Full Moon is going to appear really big in the sky, it’s the Moon’s closest encounter with Earth for all of 2013.

June’s Full Moon lands in the middle of the seven days between the Solstice on the 20th and the day Mercury turns retrograde on the 27th. If there was ever a week to really open your heart, and communicate with love, this week is it. You can pretty much count on a loving and happy reception to your generous love energy. Venus and Mercury, conjunct in Cancer, fuse the energy of love with the energy of communication. How nice! With this, relationships can experience a lot of healing. You may even find that there’s more romance than usual. Which is also good news if you’re inviting a new relationship or love affair into your life.

This week is the perfect time to call in what you want to manifest this Summer. Are you ready to begin, or complete, a creative project? Is there a profound and meaningful new offer or program you want to bring out for your business?

Since Saturn rules Capricorn, this Full Moon will bring you the willpower you need to get things done in alignment with your highest good, and will also create a balance in which you can thrive between home and work, between emotional needs and physical obligations.

As the Moon has waxed towards full in the last two weeks, what have you taken on? What have you risked? What have you manifested? I’d love to hear from you! Please share with me in the comments.

I have so much gratitude!

• Today I am grateful for learning the art of Sacred Selling…getting clearer about who I’m here to serve and how, and that selling, as well as everything else in my business, can come from and be completely powered by love.
• Today I am grateful for feeling better than I did yesterday. Some days are just low energy!
• Today I am grateful for the acupuncture treatment I had last night that has helped to replenish my energy reserves.
• Today I am grateful that I get to go to my yoga class in an hour. I’ve missed two days at the gym(!); think that might have something to do with my energy?
• Today I am grateful for accepting the new healing work that’s been offered to me, being willing to give it a try.
• Today I am grateful to feel as well as I do!
• Today I am grateful that I keep getting better and better with the systems that make my business flow smoothly and with ease.
• Today I am grateful for the call I’m about to have with my Mastermind buddy.

The post Listen to and express all that love in your heart — this weekend’s Full Moon calls it forth appeared first on Magnolias West.

Your business has to include downtime.

Without some sacred days off you miss the opportunity to recharge and absorb creativity and inspiration

I know how hard you work on your business. On manifesting your passion, your heart’s mission and soul’s purpose.

I know how hard you work, because I do the same in my own business, tenderly nurturing my goals along by scheduling everything in my calendar: the day-to-day client work, my writing and blogging, short-term and long-range business and program development. And by showing up for everything in my calendar with dedication and humility and gratitude.

I know how hard you work, because I support passionate businesswomen like you in my coaching practice. I hold the space for you and help you create the structure as you…

• discern and declare your goals
• develop your action plans, make them schedule-able chunks, schedule them and show up for them
• create your marketing strategies so that you are engaging with and communicating with your ideal clients
• bring your heart-centered offers and programs to your tribe
• thrive and succeed as you do what you know you are meant to do in the world

I even have a motto for showing up for your gorgeous business in a highly accountable way:

I schedule my life, and I live my schedule, and when life happens, I am accountable

This is a powerful way to be. Having a calendar that reflects everything you are called to do, be, experience, touch, taste, have, feel, create, contribute and give in your life creates a structure for the magnificent manifestation of your mission and purpose. And when life happens, as it does (flat tire, power outage, family crisis), making sure everyone who needs to know is informed that things have changed and have been rescheduled is the secret key to having a workable life.

Just like I counsel my clients, I include some downtime in my calendar. Time for the things that give me pleasure (decluttering my home office, gardening, walking by the bay or the ocean, spending time in the redwoods. But here’s something I notice: It’s harder for me to leave big chunks of open unaccounted-for time in my schedule than it is to fill it up. And sometimes I just gotta have some unscheduled days.

This doesn’t seem to be something I can plan for in my schedule (kinda defeats the purpose, I think), but is something I can plan for in my heart. This weekend I did exactly that.

I had some work planned—I always do!

• A business astrological reading—rescheduled.
• An hour of my ongoing decluttering project—I skipped this week.
• My wonderful monthly WordPress Meetup group—skipped that too.
• Homework for a class I’m in—rescheduled.

What did I do instead? Well, I did write this article. And another one that was due tomorrow. And…I read a book. Took a nap, maybe two. Took my daughter out to dinner and a movie. Worked out at the gym—twice. Watched a marathon of cooking shows (my big vice!). And I’m about to join my neighbors for dinner.

Downtime. Sacred downtime. I’d love to hear how you keep yourself balanced, and how you give yourself time to restore and recharge. Please share a comment below.

I’m extremely grateful.

• I’m grateful that I’ve learned the art of being loving and gentle with myself.
• I’m grateful for a sunny summer Sunday nap.
• I’m grateful for a good book.
• I’m grateful for an upcoming date this week, so nice to have that energy of getting to know someone going on in my life.
• I’m grateful for my visit with my daughter. I found myself revealing more to her about my journey to becoming a mother. Increasing honesty and intimacy, so powerful.
• I’m grateful for the community gathering I stumbled upon at Whole Foods yesterday. I heard a duo sing a beautiful rendition of “Norwegian Wood”, a song I hadn’t heard in a long time and that’s so beautiful.

I found this so interesting: When they finished playing “Norwegian Wood”, I could hear “You Won’t See Me” in my head. Which is the next song on the album Rubber Soul. Amazing. I haven’t listened to that album or either of those songs in many years, and yet I still know the song order! I guess it’s true, the music you hear when you’re in your late teens/early twenties is the music that stays with you forever.

• I’m grateful for my community, for smiles and conversations with people I meet.
• I’m grateful for the long days and long hours of light as we ramp up to the Solstice.

Solstice blessings to all!

The post The importance of sacred downtime in your solopreneur business appeared first on Magnolias West.

Are you starting to feel the New Moon in Gemini energy?

The Sun and Moon line up on Saturday, June 8, 8:56 a.m. Pacific at 18º Gemini

Gemini is the mutable Air sign. The Air signs have a lot to do with our mental energy, how we communicate and how well we integrate with the world and our work. This New Moon comes as we are deep in the growing season here in the Bay Area, the days are long, summer is coming. I have begun a slate of new projects for Magnolias West: a new eBook and two new eCourses, one of which is slated to also become a telecourse. I’m seeing lots of activity and growth, not only in my business, but everywhere around me, in the work my clients and colleagues are doing.

I find myself working, for the first time in my business, with joint venture partners. I have a co-author for some of my work, and a partner in one of the eCourses. What a great time to initiate partnering, and joint venturing, because just as Gemini exemplifies, two heads are better than one!

There’s a yummy, watery Grand Trine going on now—check it out

There is some beautiful energy being bestowed on us now with Venus (in Cancer), Saturn (in Scorpio) and Neptune (in Pisces) connecting with each other. We’re being presented with an invitation to manifest our best and highest, and to rest in the knowing that the Divine is always with us—all we need to do is to open the door to the connection.

Listen to the mermaids whispering encouragement and love. We will have this loving gift all summer long, enjoy it. But keep moving, precious. Keep moving forward. The trine energy can lull us into non-action (remember the Siren’s song?). As long as you allow the fresh air to keep your waters flowing, and resist stagnation, you will be sure to swim towards your most magnificent manifestation of your passion and your purpose. Instead of sinking like a stone.

Just sayin’…

Who do you talk to, collaborate with, in your projects? Where do you get support for your ideas and goals, and help with your issues and challenges?

Do you have a coach? A mastermind? Are you using them? Bounce your ideas off of your trusted ones, no matter how outlandish your ideas may seem! Let people know the inspirations that come to you in the shower, that dance around in your head when you’re falling asleep, or when you wake up in the morning. Allow your ideas and inspirations to be reflected back to you as the gifts that they are. Get the help that’s so critical, so that you can transform your dreams from “Oh that’s too big; I could never do that!” to “Oh yes! That’s a good one! And I’ll start with…[insert first sacred action item here].”

The New Moon window is a great time to go inside, discern what’s next for you to begin, or what projects you will take actions on next, or even complete.

Take some time on Friday, or Saturday, or Sunday in your sacred space, whether it’s your altar, or a redwood grove, or by the seashore, or some other place where you feel grounded and connected to the Divine. Here are some helpful questions…Pick the one that rises to the top, that feels most important, and take some time meditating on it. I find that in New Moon workings, dealing as we are with internal energies, it’s more useful to concentrate on one idea rather than many.

• What’s next to do to freshen your website and your business communication?
• What questions need answered for your next big project?
• How can you improve your communication with your clients and your tribe?
• Who can you enroll in Team You, to mentor you, and support you in your unfoldment?
• What have you learned recently? Is that lesson complete? If so, what do you want to learn next?
• What are your most sacred intentions for this summer season?

I have so much gratitude!

• I’m grateful for my beautiful daughter, who’s working so hard and who is taking ownership of her life in more and more solid ways.
• I’m grateful for my work and my beautiful clients.
• I’m grateful for the beautiful acknowledgements that are coming my way these days. It feels so good to be able to receive them in humble appreciation.
• I’m grateful for health and strength and flexibility.
• I’m grateful for my retreat in Boonville earlier this week, for the first-growth redwoods, and the ocean.

• I’m grateful for my co-author for my upcoming eBook and eCourse, how did I ever live without one?
• I’m grateful for my training with Mark Silver and every single thing I’ve learned taking his classes.
• I’m grateful for my loving family, and that my niece and nephew are back in town for a bit.
• I’m grateful for my tribe of priestesses and the work we will do tomorrow to mark the New Moon at the beach.
• I’m grateful for community, and the beautiful circles of people with whom I get to interact. I’m so lucky!

The post New Moon in Gemini, a watery grand trine…do you swim or sink? appeared first on Magnolias West.

I am delighted and grateful to welcome Kathy Sprinkle of Bliss Habits to my blog. Kathy really knows how to bring the bliss, every day.

First I’d like to say thank you to Sue for the kind invitation. I am just delighted to be here to talk about bliss.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Kathy Sprinkle, and nearly four years ago now, I created a personal project to inject more bliss into everyday Life. My experiment, which is conducted over on the Bliss Habits blog, is based loosely on (my hero!) Ben Franklin’s life long practice to concentrate on each of thirteen virtues he felt would make him a better person. In my version, I’ve come up with virtues, I call them habits, which when practiced, will help to cultivate bliss.

I realize that this can sound trite. You may be struggling to pay the bills, dealing with difficult and complicated situations at work or home that lead you to believe bliss is the least of your concerns, but this would be a mistake. Since beginning my experiment, I’ve learned that when our bliss tanks are full, our capacity for compassion and action are greatly increased. To my delight, I have also found that pursuing and sharing bliss has helped me be a better parent, wife, friend and citizen of the world.

I believe every time we experience a moment of bliss we connect to something much larger than ourselves. Bliss is magical and has the ability to transport us beyond our day to day concerns. Certainly it is possible to exist without it but thriving requires it.

Bliss can also be elusive. There is no specific formula that will guarantee you will find some but (and this is a big one) if you do create an environment in which bliss is welcome and encouraged, you WILL find yourself enjoying more of it.  This is how I do it:

How to cultivate everyday bliss

#1 — Get specific and then relax

When I first set out to find more bliss I took some time to distinguish what exactly BLISS looked like, for me. In doing so, I initially came up with 13 aspects, later to be called habits, of the types of bliss experiences I hoped to create. Things like romance, joy and whimsy topped my list.

Getting specific about these areas allowed me to get clear about the types of encounters that were most likely to give me bliss or at the very least bring me some added delight. Knowing what makes you happy is a powerful first step to happiness. It is no different with bliss.

There is no sure fire technique (that I’ve discovered anyway!) that can guarantee you will feel blissful BUT (and this is a biggie) if you open yourself up and then relax about it, you will find yourself more often in situations where bliss arises.

Just this morning, I found a little slice of bliss. I had taken a few extra minutes to indulge one of my passions, to replace a normally hurried breakfast with a slow cooked and deliberate one, and had created a space for myself to really enjoy the food I was eating. Suddenly, as I was slowly savoring the delight of a perfectly ripe blackberry I had a moment; one small lovely taste of bliss!

I love blackberries and have regularly eaten them without blissful side effects, but today, because of my bliss inducing preparation, a single juicy blackberry was able to bring me to bliss.

#2 — Set your intention for bliss

I know! This sounds ridiculously simple but I assure you, this is the key to the whole shebang!

For the past four years I’ve set a personal intention to explore different distinctions of bliss. Each week I create an intention to bring more of these particular habits to my life.

My bliss habit list, which you can see at the top of my blog includes things like joy, thrift, serenity and romance. Each week I pick a specific bliss virtue and concentrate on it. When I first begin the week I choose an intention or “Bliss Initiative.” This week is “Passion Week” for me and I’ve found that our passions are always calling to us and so this week my initiative is to answer that call!

How often do we shove the things that are important to us aside? Too often in these busy times but this week I’m not making that mistake. Having a “Passion week” gives me permission to indulge these passions but what about bliss? While not guaranteed, my lovely blackberry moment became more easily accessible because of my attention on passion.

Did you catch that? Bliss became more easily accessible because of my attention.

Over the years I’ve come to realize this is the key to having more bliss. Bliss remains a bit magical and it really hasn’t, in my experience, been possible to create it specifically, BUT I have found that by giving my weekly attention to my habits I’ve created the openings for bliss to arise. Over and over, I’ve been able to encourage and experience more bliss.

Attention is the key to everything!

#3 –—Play games with yourself and others

I believe that coming up with games to play is the lynch pin of the whole thing. A game is a very human distinction. Animals don’t play games, plants don’t play games. Only humans can play games. Games excite us, they can bring out the best in us but also important, for this project, they give us a way to measure things. Ben Franklin played his game with a simple yes or no scoring system. Each night he looked over his virtue list and gave himself a “mark” if he didn’t live up to his virtues. His lifelong game was to live a blemish free (no marks) life.

The way I play for everyday bliss is by coming up with the weekly Bliss Initiatives which are concrete things anyone can do to increase their experience of the particular virtue. Some examples of initiatives:

• For the Habit of Joy — Smile at three strangers today
• For Habit of Romance — Kiss for 30 seconds upon hello and goodbye
• For Habit of Gratitude — send an unexpected Thank You note for good service

I share the initiatives I come up with on my blog to hold myself accountable and invite others to play along.

The games do not have to be elaborate. Sometimes I come up with several initiatives so I can pick and choose. The key is doing something and games provide a nice framework. It is also more fun if other people play along. For this reason I try to come up with initiatives other people might like to try too.

Games are not about winning. If you played a game to see how many smiles you could get in a day who loses?

[Note: If you aren't up for making up your own games, you are always welcome to peruse Bliss Habits for ideas or play along directly over on our Facebook Page. This week we are concentrating on Passion (as you may have guessed!) next week is all about Whimsy and Serenity follows that!]

By playing these games I regularly put myself in situations where bliss shows up. Sometimes I am wildly successful and other times my ideas and initiatives are complete flops but I firmly believe my life has come to be reliably blissful because of them.

So that’s it! To cultivate bliss everyday:

• Get specific and then relax
• Set your intention for bliss
• Play games with yourself and others

Kathy Sprinkle is a full time wife and mom, late to the game of parenting. She battles guilt, ponders cosmic questions, encourages environmental consciousness, fosters community, and generally fumbles around in her pursuit for fun, fulfillment and everyday bliss. You can say hello and follow her antics on her Bliss Habits blog, Facebook page and on Twitter.

The post How to cultivate everyday bliss, a guest post from Kathy Sprinkle appeared first on Magnolias West.

Full Moon in Sagittarius, Lunar Eclipse

Friday 5/24 at 9:25pm PDT

They say that this is one of the most powerful Full Moons of 2013. This eclipse has a SuperMoon, when the Moon is as close as it ever gets to the Earth, in a straight alignment with the Sun and Earth. The SuperMoon makes this Lunar Eclipse extra potent and important. Ooh, time to fasten seatbelts!

Some of the names different cultures use for this month’s Full Moon include:

• Milk Moon
• Dragon Moon
• Bright Moon
• Hare Moon
• Grass Moon
• Planting Moon
• Panther Moon
• Flower Moon

Most of the names allude to the lushness and growth of this early Summer season, don’t they? (Yes, the way I see it, we’re already in Summer’s energy. Seeds have sprouted, I’m seeing flowers on the tomato plants and blackberry vines, days are getting longer and longer. Aaahhh, that sultriness, I love it.)

Sagittarius helps us weave our stories, myths and meanings

What stories are you telling yourself about this now moment? What do see as possible for you, for your community, for the planet? What do you say to inspire yourself and others to keep moving in the direction of your highest good?

With the Sun, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter now all in Gemini, the energy this week should start feel more fluid, changeable and undefined with fiery Sagittarius opposite airy, open-minded, fast-moving Gemini during this week’s Full Moon. This invites us forces us to let go of the resistant death grip on stagnation we may have developed during the last cycle (all that Taurus-Scorpio energy can get pretty stuck and sludgy, believe me, as a Scorpio, I know!). Once you pop free, hopefully you’ll land on your feet—or at least bounce back to standing—and lighten up, be more flexible, less attached, nimble and open to change.

You’re gonna need that openness and nimbleness, because that stagnant energy is getting stirred up now and in that freed-up state, you may all of a sudden see more than one way to move forward. You gotta pick your path, find your way, listen for your own story and heed it, be guided by your inner GPS. Because, beautiful, no external person or force can make this decision for you.

There’s relief in this, isn’t there?

The inner planets are finally finished with their paralyzing dance with Saturn. Whatever was blocking you from moving forward with your intentions and plans is being released. The increasing awareness and openness you feel frees you to move forward. Despite any confusion about what might be best, choose a path and move in the direction of your highest good.

As long as the path you choose keeps you moving forward in the direction of your passion, and your growth, and your mission and purpose, you cannot make a bad decision. What’s next for you in your business, lovely? Now’s a really really good time to start!

Every Full Moon invites you to celebrate the progress you’ve made on manifesting the intentions you set on the previous New Moon. As this SuperMoon has waxed towards full, what have you taken on? What have you risked? And what sacred and audacious action is next? Please share what you’ve manifested with me in the comments.

Sharing my gratitude with you

• I’m grateful for my sister’s visit. I cooked a delicious lunch for us. I grilled a pork chop with fig chutney and added some carrots, zucchini and snap peas to the grill. Rounded it out with avocado and my sauerkraut. Yum!
• I’m grateful that I’ve learned how to find ease at yoga class. Today I woke up nearly screaming from the pain of intense muscle cramps. It was so bad that my back has been tweaked all day. I was able to use the time on the mat to move slowly and lovingly.
• I’m grateful for patience. My back is still tweaked, no healing yet. And I know it will pass.
• I’m grateful for the garden. I’m grateful for growing some of the food that I eat. This is huge. I’m from Brooklyn. Where produce comes from the supermarket. Or, in my case when I was growing up, from a frozen-food box.
• I’m grateful for how this gratitude practice helps me of value, of service, in my work and in my life.

What are you grateful for today? I’d love to know! Share a comment with me.

The post Full Moon Lunar Eclipse—time to get moving, ready or not! appeared first on Magnolias West.

I’m on day four of 30 days of a cleanse

One that will help me learn how to be more mindful, and open to receive

To receive healing. To receive peacefulness. To receive wellbeing.

My journey, since I’ve been sick, has been a very active one. I am such a good doer! I have done so much, I have tried so hard to make healing happen. Cures, remedies, doctors, other doctors, woowoo practices and practitioners. Doing and seeking and trying with so much determination. So much chasing. Receiving—not so much.

When the calendar turned to May, and it became 18 months since this condition began, I found myself letting go. I found myself hearing an inner call to stop, to retreat from all the doing. To put the remedies, and the supplements, aside for a while, to slow down a bit, and to open myself up to hear, to feel, to receive.

What I’m finding is that by removing some of this doing, the connection to my own inner voice, my intuition, is becoming more open and more clear. And now that I’m open to receive, I’m downloading some pretty powerful messages.

Putting on my big-girl panties and facing what’s true

In my addiction, for 22 years, I chased my get-high 24/7. I was committed to doing everything I could to numb myself, to not feel, to be anything but present to the moment.

And then, 22 years ago, I got clean and sober, and spent much of the first ten years in a dumbfounded WTF state. It took me a long time to find a way to be in life that wasn’t agonized. And I’m seeing so clearly that just there are a whole lot of behaviors that I have not yet found the way to change, and release.

I get to change.

I choose to release.

I think I really really need to, that at this point, my life and ability to be of service, depend upon it.

I’ve been that one, the one who inhales her food, while watching tv, while playing a game on my iPad, while talking on the phone, while ironing.

And this cleanse I’m doing now, while it involves cleaning up my already clean diet, is really about adding an ingredient to my meals: Mindfulness.

I’m limiting my distractions to one at any meal. I can read a book. I can read or play on my iPad, or I can watch tv. One. (I still blanch when I think and write this!) And one meal a day, I go outside with my food, away from my books and tech toys, and eat in the garden. Watching the birds, the sky, the flowers and trees.

How do you bring mindfulness, peacefulness to your life? How do you receive healing? When have you stopped chasing a solution and instead opened to receive? I’d love to hear what you have to say. Please leave a comment, beautiful!

I’m grateful.

• I’m grateful that I have finally reached this place in my life, a place where I’ve finally learned what peacefulness, and receiving, and goodness, feel like, and I not only like those states, but want to cultivate them, in myself, for my own healing, and for what it makes me capable of giving to others in my work
• I’m grateful that it’s a gorgeous Saturday morning
• I’m grateful that I found a TaskRabbit to clean my car inside and out, for $20
• I’m grateful that I have the money to pay the $4,500 hospital bill that finally arrived, the one from my six hours in the ER last November, and that I can pay it this weekend
• I’m grateful that while it pinches and makes my heart hurt to write that check, I will write it with gratitude and humility
• I’m grateful, in fact, that it was only a six-hour hospital visit, and that I wasn’t sicker (wow, took me a long time to come around to that one!)
• I’m grateful for the plan to see my daughter tonight, for a belated Mother’s Day visit
• I’m grateful for my retreats recently. The day at Tomales Bay and Limantour Beach, Harbin Hot Springs last weekend, and another one coming up in Boonville, where I get to stay in my landlady’s house—what a gift!
• I’m grateful for acupuncture yesterday, and for the support I get there
• I’m grateful, too, for my WordPress Meetup group. They helped me change my user name from SueAdmin to Sue yesterday. And then recover my gravatar which temporarily disappeared! I love WordPress, and I love designing and making WordPress sites for my clients
• I’m grateful for my gratitude practice and what it has taught and continues to teach me

The post Receiving, different from making it happen appeared first on Magnolias West.

Sharing my gratitude with you

• I am grateful for gorgeous weather
• I am grateful for the abundant food of May: cherries, asparagus, snap peas
• I am grateful for the sisters of choice, and that we are on a shared spiritual path
• I am grateful for Mother’s Day love to and from my daughter
• I am grateful for early morning yoga class on Sunday morning
• I am grateful that I enjoy 6:30 am wakeups on Sundays — that’s a huge change
• I am grateful for willingness to try something new for the next month, a different way to be with food, and see what that does for my health
• I am grateful that I get to retreat to Harbin Hot Springs tomorrow for an overnight retreat, complete with hot stones massage and a watsu — yum!
• I am grateful for good books. Right now I’m reading Colin Cotterill’s Siri Paiboun series — excellent!
• I am grateful for the soul retrieval work I am doing with the help of a shaman

So much gratitude!

An invitation to subscribe, or unsubscribe

I’m so glad we’re in conversation here on the blog. And I’d like to make sure you know about my weekly newsletter. You’ll find the content similar to what’s on the blog, and I think you might like it. Please subscribe and see if it resonates for you.

In the newsletter, just as in the blog, I share teachings about being a heart-centered woman in business, with authentic and transparent—and hopefully useful and easily implementable!—business tips. I talk about the Full Moon, and the New Moon, and the Wheel of the Year, and how we can lean into the energy of what’s going on in the seasons and the phases of the Moon to focus our energy and our actions, in our businesses and in our lives.

You can always unsubscribe if it’s not a good fit. Please do! I won’t take it personally. And I promise, I will never give or sell your contact info to anyone.

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