Happy Anniversary, Baby! Today is our anniversary. We are happier, closer, more loving and better partners to one another than we ever thought possible.

Just a few years ago, it was nothing like this.

I was blessed to hit rock bottom and be confronted with myself down there. It was a dark night of the soul. So painful and yet so powerful.

From those depths I emerged. Stronger. Clearer. Different. I was finally aware that my life is in my hands and that no one else is to blame for my life, be it good or bad.

How empowering this knowledge is! It has brought me to today. Here, loving my life like never before. For now I know, as Larry Winget says, it is all my fault.

How glorious and freeing that knowledge is!

I am fascinated by energy. I realize more and more how intriguing and important it is because we are all made up of energy. Everything is.

Money is energy. It can be stored energy, like what is in your savings account. Or it can be in motion, like your incoming and outgoing cash flow. We can exchange our own energy, in form of thought, word, action – for what we call money.

Health is also related to energy. When our energy is blocked in some way, our health will suffer. Eastern medicine understands this and we are finally starting to catch on here in the US. Keeping the energy flowing properly ensures good health.

What is your energy focused on today? Are you tapped into the ultimate Source of all energy? Love is the energy that fuels us all. It is there now and you can open to receive it. When you do, you cannot help but keep it moving.

Today I take the time to reflect with gratitude on my life. I am so thankful for every person in my life thus far, and that especially includes all of you. I am also grateful for those who will be coming into my life – today, tomorrow, whenever.

I am truly blessed and thought I would take a moment to acknowledge that and lift up a tremendous voice of gratitude and praise.

How about you? What are you grateful for today?

I have been working on hearing my body better. Especially as women, we have a natural ability to be in tune with our bodies. Unfortunately, over the years most of us have lost touch with this ability.

I realized a few years back that I had been just expecting all sorts of accomplishments and service from my body without truly listening to what it is requesting from me.

Now, I really like to listen close.

Some things are just basics.

Sufficient and quality sleep. Extremely important.

Proper nutrition. Also important and changes over time. In different seasons of the year and seasons of our lives we require different foods. Taking stock of what our body craves and how it reacts to certain foods is the first step in figuring out what is best for this season.

Current stress release. Lots of ways this can be accomplished. Trying many different methods and then feeling into your body’s reaction is wise.

Old stored stress release. This is an interesting phenomenon that we don’t think about much in the Western world. Lots of that old stress that we didn’t release at the time is still stored in the body. I am working on this now, inviting it to release through meditation, visualization, qi gong, journaling and massage. In the past I have used tapping or EFT, breathing and other practices and likely will again do so when I feel they are right. I consider and approach each of these as prayer although I also still pray in the regular method.

Movement. Although I have almost always incorporated some form of exercise in my life, this one surprised me today. I have never been a runner. I have never considered running necessary or even good. Quite the contrary, in fact. And yet today I got the message to run. I do not know how this will go, for I haven’t done it yet. I will do it, however. I will also take note of the type, speed and distance that is best as I am doing it.

Loving my body and giving it what it asks for is a big part of the lovingME mindset and lifestyle. And the payoff is astounding.

Let’s face it, if momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. Perhaps you have heard this before. I know it to be true. This is in alignment with all we discuss at Love Starts with Me.

You living your best life, including taking exceptional care of yourself and having a fulfilling vocation doing work you love, makes for a happy home. Anything less? Not so much. Despite the brave face, ladies, it shows.

I am continually amazed at how much deeper and more profound my understanding of God’s love for me becomes.

As I allow it. As I go inside and listen to the still small voice. As I dare to look into those areas I once held as “off-limits,” I can allow healing.

There is no area, no “sin” that is too dark or too ugly. It is all a part of me or once was.

I do not have to hide anymore. I can release and forgive myself with the same kind of forgiveness I have already been given.

I can be me. And I learn and grow to love me more and more. Just as I am. Even as I continue to seek growth and expansion and allow more of what God has for me.

I love the approaching of the new season. We had a nice rain today and some cooler weather as well.

It reminds me that each season has its benefits. Each season has its place and purpose.

I used to hate even the thought of cold weather coming. While I am still not a fan of cold weather, I see that there is good in it.

There is a time for harvest.

There is a time for dormancy. There is an enriching in that time and much is happening beneath the surface, outside of our vision.

There is also a time for new beginnings.

There is a time for major visible growth.

When we embrace it rather than fight it, it comes more easily even perhaps more quickly. Sometimes all of these “seasons” can happen in a very collapsed timeframe.

And they always take exactly the right amount of time for us.

The more we get to know ourselves, the more we peel the onion, the better it gets. Yes, there are tears in the process. There is discomfort. There is growth and change. And there is freedom and empowerment like we have never known before.

When we take the time to go inside, the payoff may not be immediate, although sometimes it is. It is worth it every time.

Take some time today to get quiet, get still and hear your own voice speaking to you. Let your own desires be heard. This is your time.

I have spent this Labor Day weekend revamping my office. Again. I am not done tweaking it. I can say that it is looking better and better. I can feel the energy shifting into a much higher vibration.

A few weeks back I took out my large double filing cabinet. I had bought it probably 10+ years ago and it was awesome for all that time. It was big and heavy, as was my masculine executive desk. I made a very nice living at that big desk.

The file had a hutch on it. My desk had a credenza. I had lots of storage. For what?

Stuff.

Old books, papers and handouts that I held onto thinking I would reference them. One day. Crap that I didn’t have the courage to throw out because you never know. Well, yes, I do know. Now. If I require something then I will have it when necessary.

Several weeks ago, I got rid of the large desk. A few months before that I had taken off the credenza.

Last night I asked my wonderful supportive husband to help me move just the filing cabinet back in. I realized that aesthetics and organization are both important. I had been sacrificing one or the other, really. Now I am incorporating both.

Yes, AND. Beautiful, clean-lined AND organized and easy access. Empowered and feminine. Powerful and pretty. Nice.