joan anderson

Unfinished, Transition or Renovation – No Matter – It’s a Gift of Acceptance.

Unfinished, Transition or Renovation - No Matter - It's a Gift of Acceptance.

Author Joan Anderson, of The Second Journey, calls it “unfinished.” I’ve also heard it referred to as, and use the term often myself, as being in “transition.” On Saturday I heard a woman call it “renovation.”

Renovation was one I’d not heard before and it make me chuckle.  There are many stages of life as we all know and have experienced at some point. Some stages we go through time and time again.

And perhaps it’s because I’m a woman consciously working on my own little awakenings that these terms really speak to me. But call it what you want, we are all unfinished, in transition at one time or another, or busy renovating to welcome in new aspects of ourselves, and new manifestations that are trying to break through.

Listening to this woman who referred to herself as being in renovation, during the Spiritual Fun Fair I took part in on Saturday, was so refreshing. She was excited about being in this stage! Usually I encounter the opposite and that women fear not knowing what is next for them or try to push away or stuff down what they are feeling.

Then today my friend, Monica, who writes a newsletter for her beautiful website at Life is a Pretty Word wrote last month how she was side-lined with a health issue, which wasn’t easy for her.

But this month, now that she is better she is in total flow of manifesting some wonderful things for herself. While in that “not being able to do much stage” which was an inner battle at times, she now sees why it played out like it did.

These times of being in transition, no matter the amount of time, if we can see it as a gift, even though we can’t always understand why at the time, is the universes way of supporting us. It is preparing us for the next step, the next phase, the next path.

Thinking about the woman in renovation I met, and Monica now in a wonderful welcoming flow of exciting new revelations, turns out to be a gift to me during this time of my own transition as I am still awaiting the return of my manuscript from my editor.

I’m told by my editor it will be about another week. My new book, about my time taking a sabbatical and how difficult it felt at the time, I’m understanding more and more, is a pertinent message that I must share.

Monica and the dear woman in renovation are my messengers from the universe of the timing of how this is all unfolding. I have no control over it. My only job is to keep the faith and be open for the signs that are there and to know that each step and each phase is necessary to the process.

It’s in this acceptance of these stages that then, and only then, can the gift be revealed.

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Soul Tending Tools in my Toolbox

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It seems that many of us want that one thing that will be it. That one thing that will be the answer to our souls calling or help us when we sometimes feel stressed, lost, or alone.

I can say this, as it is how I’ve felt before (and sometimes still do!). But then I realized over the years I’ve actually put together a pretty nice toolbox to help me through some of life’s tougher moments — or simply just to inspire me. Of course, I visualize my toolbox as periwinkle and chartreuse green—my favorite colors together.

So I wanted to share some of my “tools” with you today as maybe you will like them, too. We have so much more available to us these days than we ever have before.

My Soul Tending Toolbox:

IMG_2130**Walks in nature with my dogs.

**Reading books that encourage and inspire, such as Joan Anderson’s many books about being an unfinished woman. Her newest, a collection of essays, “Stretch Marks” which I enjoyed very much. FYI- being an “unfinished” woman is a good thing.61YfflDyolL._AA160_

**Daily Yoga practice.

**Doreen Virtue’s Angel cards, Dawn Brunke’s The Animal Wisdom Tarot cards and Cheryl Richardson’s acGrace and Self-Care cards.

**Meditating. I like Calm, Oprah and Deepak Chopra (they offer free 21 day meditations quite often) and Brain Wave Altered State app.

**I’ve also turned to life coaches when I feel stuck, such as Diane at Lead Your Life, and Pam at Meaningful Life Counseling and Coaching.

**Reiki is another tool that I became trained in a few years ago. I especially love practicing this with Gidget right now. When I do, I feel this deepening with her, which lights up my soul.

**Recently I’ve been reading more about EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or also called Tapping. I’ve tried it a few times and definitely felt a shift when I do this simple and quick method.

**Something new I did this year during the month of January was to createll a mandala with my desires and conditions for the year using the book by Janet Conner, The Lotus and the Lily. Seeing my mandala every day hanging on the wall in my writing cottage is a reminder that I can live the life I want.

**Hay House Radio, radio for your soul (some of my favorite hosts, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Christiane Northrup and Cheryl Richardson).

facilitator_logo-slogan_H2v1_1**Last, but not least, something I’m really excited about is having discovered SoulCollage®. A unique way of strengthening your intuition and listening to your soul using images. I became a facilitator because I’m so intrigued by it and wish to share this powerful and fun soul tending process with others. I’ll be teaching my first workshop in April!

Do I do all of these every day? No, but I have them in my “toolbox” and choose what feels right for me on any given day, moment or time.

Do you have a particular resource or “tool” that you especially like? Please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear!

Intrigued about SoulCollage®? Learn more about the introduction workshop I am teaching and register here.

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Letting Go of this One Word Could Just Possibly Improve Your Life.

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Expectations are disappointments under construction. – Joan Anderson

Image a world where we didn’t have expectations? I truly believe it would be a world with way fewer struggles. More acceptance of each other and happier souls walking this planet.

Ever notice when you go into a situation with expectations? How often are you disappointed? What if we just opened ourselves to possibilities instead of trying to control everything around us?

I can’t stop thinking about this quote ever since I read it in Joan’s newsletter yesterday. It really resonates with me. How many times I’ve caused myself angst because of how I expected something to turn out.  There are so many. But as a woman who is a work in progress, I am getting better at not disappointing myself.  Because I know I am to blame when this happens.

But being a woman in progress means I get to start fresh again the next time. I have a new opportunity to not set myself up for disappointment.

One example that came flying to the forefront of my mind was when Frankie became paralyzed. There was no other option in my mind of expectations but for her to walk again. I couldn’t fathom her having to live the rest of her life in a wheelchair. You know how much sadness and grief that caused me? But looking back on it today, I wouldn’t change a thing. I grew exponentially from that experience.

My expectations in this situation led me to becoming a better human being. I learned so much about myself in the process and changed in ways I never thought possible. So even though expectations can cause us great angst, I also think they can be wonderful opportunities to learn and to see that letting go of control will improve our well being.

Jackson and Frankie 1I would have never met Jackson, who also has special needs, if not for Frankie.  She positively effected the life of Jackson helping him feel better about himself.

What I appreciated that Joan shared also is that expectations are really our ego trying to get the best of us. We make expectations all about ourselves. We try to control circumstances so that we don’t have to face a fear we may have or so that we can remain happy in all situations.

That is what I did with Frankie, not wanting her initially to be in a wheelchair. It was because of how I felt I would be judged. How I worried that others may think I was cruel for putting my dog in a wheelchair. My own insecurity about myself and my self image played huge into this equation.

Thankfully, as many of you know who have followed my blog since Frankie, I came to my senses. This was about a sweet, gentle creature who needed my help and deserved to live a happy, quality life. Throwing my expectations out the window opened up a path for me that I never planned or saw coming. What a ride it was and I’m so grateful.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIf I had stayed in the place of expectations, not accepting Frankie needed a wheelchair, I would have never met all the wonderful kids I did. Thousands of kids are now part of my heart forever.