Family

Challenge #31
Connection to one another is one of the most important feelings we as humans have. Having a family connection is profound for many but not always perfection. We may come from a large family and feel very disconnected. We may come from a small family and long for a larger one, desiring a larger connection. I challenge you to find a family connection today and if you cannot, then seek out someone that can share that feeling of kinship for you, and tell them that you appreciate them and feel this way about them. Give them gratitude and let them know that you are there for them as well. Take today and make it a day of family connection.

Clear the Clutter

Challenge #30
How many times have you tripped over the same box in the middle of the room, how long have you said you were going to clean out the garage, while continuing to let items pile up? How long have you been in your mind trying to organize thoughts of doing things but drift off into into the ozone instead? Systematization isn't for everyone, yet we all have our own way of organizing our things, our thoughts, our lives, so that we seemingly know where everything is. I challenge you to clear out what you don't and can't use anymore, that isn't useful to you in your lives. Our lives don't have to be picture perfect or run like a super charged computer but organization can be useful to us all. And, the act of clearing the clutter can leave us more time and room for other and newer things in our lives. Notice the positive feelings that come from dong so...

Cartography

Challenge #29
Do you know where you are going? Do you want to know where you are going? You can control your destiny and where you want to be. With the dawn of the new moon, I challenge you to become the map-maker of your life. Chart a plan to where you want to go, in any aspect of your life. Whether it be in career, love relationships, your life path, health, prosperity. Chart your map and then figure out what will bring you closer to that destination the quickest way for all concerned. Notice how much more in charge of your life you will begin to feel...

Wish

Challenge #28
How many countless dehydrated dandelions went by through the ages, being hand picked and blown on in an effort to make a wish come true? Or coins thrown into a wishing well? How long have you been blowing out birthday cake candles? How many times have you looked up at the nite time sky and gazed at a single star in seemingly endless darkness to bestow your wish upon, or waited to see a falling star to make that wish? When we make a wish, we tend to very often make a physical declarative action to complete the thought of what we want, whether by tradition or belief. Have your wishes come true? I challenge you to make a wish today to yourself especially as we prepare for the new moon. Create this wish for something to happen this year, feel yourself in the wish if it concerns you. Make is big, beautiful and bold if you need to. Make it sacred, consecrate it with the blowing out of a candle, or a fluffy dried out flower, catching a falling star, or finding a wishing well. Keep it to yourself. Write down when your wish comes true...and....smile....

Music

Challenge #27
We all have a tune inside of us, children and adults, even babies. Whether its a song that brings memories of being inside the womb, our younger years or significant times in our adult years, music resonates within us. Our 7 main chakras, or energy centers that run throughout our bodies systems each are aligned with a specific musical note to bring balance and harmony within that specific area. The benefits of music are profound within all of us. Studies show that music as therapy can affect brainwave activity as well as breathing and heart rates in more positive ways in children and adults. And, music is alot of fun, whether creating it, listening to it or dancing to it! I challenge you to find the music in your life today that brings you joy and indulge in it. Notice how much better you begin to feel....

Laughter

Challenge #26
Everyone can choose to laugh, or break out in spontaneous laughter. All humans and even some animals can laugh. It's free, it's effective and it is therapeutic. Studies have shown so far that laughing's benefits can include deep relaxation, an increase in pain tolerance and immunity as well as be the remedy for many other ailments. Feel good hormones are thought to be released from the trigger of laughter muscles throughout our bodies sending a signal to the brain. I challenge you to laugh at least once throughout your day. That headache may go away naturally without having to take pain relievers, you may begin to feel more relaxed sooner, you may find yourself telling jokes more. Allow yourself the fun to laugh at yourself or find the humour in something once a day and notice the changes you will begin to feel....

Goddess

Challenge #25
There are literally thousands of goddesses in mythology throughout the world that represent female deities, or immortal beings, thought of as holy, divine or sacred. They are associated with motherhood, earth, prosperity, abundance, fertility, relationships, virtue, love and a myriad of other areas.
I challenge you to see yourself as a goddess and give your goddess a name, create your own goddess entity from within to emerge to the outer you! Respect the goddess within and notice how others will begin to respect you too...

Purify

Challenge #24
Purification is to clear of contamination, foreign elements or impurities. We seek it in many areas that affect us, our water, our metals, our food, our thoughts. Cleansing with water and herbs have become a popular way of clearing our internal systems, going on fasts, bowel and intestinal cleanses. Cleansing and clearing with smoke and fire, or "smudging" with herbs have been revived as a way to purify the air and rid of lingering negative spiritual energies hanging around. Retreats of various sorts have become a popular way of getting away from society and gathering with like minds to cleanse and rejuvenate our thinking, diet and focus. I challenge you to purify at least one element of your life, and then work on another one, one by one, until you feel you are clearing yourself. Notice how lighter and more focused you will start to become....

Silence

Challenge #23
Funny how when we think of silence, we think the image of the forefinger in front of our mouths as to hush or quiet ourselves as we were shown by older people when we were little, a little scolding going along with that possibly. We all need to be able to have a few moments of silence within our daily lives to help calm us down and give us a few moments to clear our our thoughts. I challenge you to honor yourself and grant yourself a few moments of silence, pure undisturbed silence. Pay attention to where your mind goes, do you begin to start thinking again? Close your eyes, take a deep breath. How long can you take it? Do you begin to get restless immediately or do you enjoy it? Notice your awareness of your breath, the sounds around you, the way your body feels. What images come to you when you close your eyes? Silence is good for us....

Lioness

Happy Birthday Leos around the world!!
Challenge #22
Astrologically speaking, Leos are friendly, warm-hearted and extroverted, with a talent for leadership, a tendency toward self-indulgence and a high level of generosity. Those born under the sign of Leo posses a powerful, regal nature. Leo is a masculine sign, but the Lion also possesses and reflects the fiery charge between masculine and feminine that is built through opposing energy–like yin and yang–to create or give birth to something new and protect it. Understanding the necessity of the balance and integration of these energies is key in recognizing the traits of the sign. I challenge you to discover the lioness or lion in you and roar with mighty passion once you have created what you love!! Never let that passion die down....

Breathe

CURRENT MOON

moon phase info

Challenge #21

"Sometimes...all I need is the Air that I breathe..." lyrics from the Hollies

Breathing feeds our brains, as we need the oxygen. The brain is the body's single largest consumer of oxygen. Although the brain represents only about 2% of the body's weight, it utilizes about 20% of the body's oxygen. This is precisely why the brain starts to lose its effectiveness very quickly the moment our oxygen intake goes down – we start to feel sleepy, lazy and un-alert. This is also the main reason we feel sleepy after big meals, as our digestive system uses up a larger amount of oxygen to digest the food that we have eaten. A way to increase the oxygen flow to your brain temporarily but quickly to improve brain performance and become smarter and more alert is to take in deep breaths. This helps to relax you and increases the oxygen intake. People tend to breathe very lightly and it’s good to practice breathing deeply through your nose and exhaling through the mouth. I also advise people to hold the breath for a few seconds then release slowly on the exhale. It’s good to do this before any activity that brings on anxiety such as an exam, or before you start on any activity that requires good use of your brain. I challenge you to begin breathing deeply and paying attention to your breath. You will not only begin to feel more energized, more alert and motivated, but also calmer and more peaceful. Notice how you begin to react after you start breathing deeply....

Alchemy

Challenge #20

The immense global popularity of Harry Potter has seemingly brought out the alchemist in all of us, or at least the enjoyment in the thought that wizardry can be real. The ability to concoct and mix potions, carry wands and stones, use spells, transmute objects and transform time and bodies, that is. All not leading to gold or silver perhaps but rather a sense of honor and self. A birthright among the mortal, so to speak. I challenge you to have some fun, explore and find the alchemist in you. Become the transformer of your soul, your self, your legend. Dive into spell books to find magic elixirs, design and make your wand, get a beautiful crystal, create or find your special symbols that help to define you. Stitch the pouch bag to carry your tools, write out the words that resonate with transformation for you, combine all to create the magic recipe for you. See yourself as immortal. Shed the fear of what others may think of you or that the belief of transformational magic isn't real. Discover the wizard that you are and share in the joy of creating your own magical symbols....

Courage

Challenge #19

"I'm not funny. What I am is brave." ~Lucille Ball

On this day in 1984 Geraldine Ferraro won the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination. One year later in 1985 Christa McAuliffe was chosen as the 1st school teacher to fly with a group of astronauts in the space shuttle Challenger. Two bold landmarks of history for strong women in our country. When you have a dream goal that manifests into reality, courage can only help to sustain you through it. I challenge you to be courageous in whatever you decide to achieve and trust that dreams can come true. Be brave about your choices. Don't back down amidst all the little voices that may be going on in your head to not forge ahead, do not let your fears or others fears for you hold you back. Also, a day to honor these women who exemplified courage in their lives. Embody courage in your life and notice how secure about yourself you will begin to feel....

Listen

Challenge #18

We all probably remember the childhood game of "telephone" made with 2 paper cups, preferably waxed to hold the sound better or tin cans, and string knotted on the ends to create a "telephone line". One spoke while the other listened. If it were done at a party or as a game, one would start a story and see if the story remained the same by the time it got to the last person. More often than not it would end up a very different story altogether, resulting in laughter or frustration. The meaning or translation became transposed into another's interpretation and kept on going. I challenge you to listen. If you do nothing else today, just listen. And then repeat what someone told you back to them to see if you completely understood what they said to you. If you do not understand, have them repeat it to you and then tell you in different ways until you do, and recognize the very point of realization of understanding for yourself. Very often we think that we really do understand the other person, but more times than not, we actually do not. Communication issues are among the top reasons why we do not get along as humans, especially in relationships and it all begins by listening. Learn effective listening and notice how much easier your relationships can be....

Ace of Hearts

Challenge #17

In card games Aces are represented by being a single mark or spot on the card and either have the highest or lowest score. They can win or lose. Holding all Aces usually is a winning set. In life being considered an Ace of anything is typically considered being in a winning position or expert at something. Hearts represent love and emotions. The central most inner part of something furthest from the outside. The most important part, or core of something. In life we tend to protect our emotions, our heart by not wanting to get hurt. We can only learn from our mistakes, that is how we grow. I challenge you to become a winner of the heart, win at something that you love or win someone you love. Allow your shyness to melt away, let any indecisions become firm, release the pain or fear of getting hurt, recognize that you deserve all that you love. If you don't try, then you can't succeed. Become the Ace of your emotions. Watch how you will begin to attract the same....

Style

Challenge #16

Are you stylish? Do you think you have style? Where and how does it show up in your life? In what you wear, your work, your hobbies? Do you stand out in a distinctive way among others? Do people compliment you for being stylish? Or, do you limit your thinking in that being stylish is for artists only? Do you wish that you could be stylish without someone telling you what to wear or say that would be clever? I Challenge you to develope your own sense of style. Have FUN with it! Be bold, be different, strive today to stand apart from the norm. Wear something that states who you really are, write in a new way that expresses uniqueness, compose with an open heart, craft with a new eye that shows the authentic you!! Begin to explore creative ways of expressing yourself in your thoughts first, your thoughts will manifest outwardly into the way you do things, the way you write, appear, speak and what you craft. Remember,thoughts become things. Discover your stylish self and notice how you feel.....

Fortitude

CURRENT MOON

moon phase info

Challenge #15

"CarMaGeddon" LA's version of the highway to hell this weekend. A coin toss on whether or not the impending freeway construction will have an epic impact on locals and travellers during this weekend has just as good a measure of predictability as anything. Even if you are not in the LA area, take stock of the major obstacles in your life and having the strength to overcome them. I challenge you to use fortitude to overcome any obstacle in your life. Draw upon your inner courage,firm will and spirit to get through it. Step by step...

Revolution

Challenge #14

Happy Bastille Day to those in France celebrating the French Revolution!! July is a glorious month in certain countries of what has come to be a time of celebration, freedom, independence and revolution. It is also a journey marker for having made it through half the year. A time to perhaps make a choice to look at the first half and see if you are really satisfied with your life or are ready to begin making changes. I challenge you to do your own personal turn about from long standing oppressive structures, or power that you may be struggling to free yourself from. Be it beliefs, people, jobs. See yourself as an independent nation ready to transform in an epic way. Make history as time is now counting down towards the end of the year....

Transparency

Challenge #13

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi.

The clearer we are to ourselves, the clearer we are to others and the world in all that we do.

I challenge you to clearly set your intentions to others and the universe through transparency of your actions, speech and emotions. Once you realize that you have nothing to hide, use examples to start teaching to your children and others. Begin to live in transparency and notice how skeletons in the closet eventually turn to dust anyway as our focus and intention dissolves the importance of what once was....

The white dove of....

CURRENT MOON

moon phase info

Challenge #12 Tues July 12, 2011

A white dove is usually considered a symbol of peace and love or as a messenger. I consider it a symbol of grace and beauty, as well as freedom. Other interpretations are that it represents life, hope, fulfillment, femininity. A flock of them are a sign of unity, strength, and are sometimes released at marriages and religious ceremonies. I challenge you to find the white dove today in your life and how it relates to you, create your own interpretation...