A Healing Mantra

Words are one of the most potent forms of practical magic we possess.

With simple word choice, we can either buoy our brain and body or quite literally flood ourselves with anxiety-inducing hormones. It turns out that self-talk really does matter and that the words we choose affect how we experience our reality.

Using intentional affirmations and mantras has been a go-to practice for me for over 20 years. Long before I knew the neuroscience of word choice, I took refuge in positive sayings simply because it made me feel better. When I consciously center myself in high-frequency phrases, I notice that I’m better able to manage anxiety, stress, depression and the general overwhelm of being human.

Spilling the Tea Post-Spain...

It's been a while since we talked. 

I'm sitting in my office gazing out the window where my petite ceramic Spanish dove is perched on the windowsill. I've been home a week from my 12-day sojourn to Spain, and it's wild how much percolated and transformed in that short time away. 

My sister Lacy and I led a writing and meditation retreat called Muse, and as usual my girl Spain did not disappoint. I gloriously "PLOOP-ed" in her sparkling mar (iykyk), joyously explored her majestic castle walls, and consumed as much of her tortilla española as I could cram into my boca. 

And that was just in the first three days!

If Your Life Was a Book...

I'm working with a new writing client helping her finish her memoir.  

Memoir is deeply meaningful to me, as it was the first genre that captured my own writer's heart. I was a senior in high school when I feverishly scrawled a story about my uncle's death and shared it with my family declaring myself a "writer." And in the 25 years since, I've penned blog post after blog post in that same earnest spirit of truth-telling and sharing.

So I was reading my client's draft this week, and I found myself embroiled in the details of her story, nodding along, gasping at times. She was building to this particularly big moment in her life when suddenly the story shifted forward a few years without warning. 

Charting the Map to Your Heart

I ripped open the box like a kid tearing through their presents on Christmas morning. As I peeled back the cardboard, I gasped in delight. Running my hand across the cover I felt tears puddle in my eyes.

The book opened with a crack, and that fresh-from-the-printer smell whooshed across my face. I flipped through the table of contents and lingered on the first few paragraphs of the introduction. I knew the words by heart, but seeing it bound hit differently. 

By the time I found the acknowledgements, tears were sliding down my cheeks. With my hand pressed against my heart, I read the words out loud: 

If You're Feeling Lonely, Sad, or Discouraged

I've been deeeeep in my feelings lately.

Maybe it's the hot summer days listening to Taylor Swift croon on repeat or Eliza's refrains from Hamilton playing endlessly on my heart, but your girl has been properly angsty over here.

Like, rivaling-my-tween-daughter angsty. 

I sat in the car with my husband yesterday vulnerably confiding in him about the waves of anxiety and the random streams of tears plaguing me recently. He grabbed my hand and said gently,

"Have you asked your guides for help?"

A Message from the Other Side: How to Allow the Unexpected

I did a reading this week with a beloved client of six years. She and I have done over 20 readings together, and at this point meeting with her feels more like play than work.

We’ll call this woman Rebecca.

Rebecca wasn’t a “woo-woo” person when I first met her, and working with someone like me was 100% out of her wheelhouse. But she was in a tough spot in life and desperately needed some guidance.

One of the things I love about working with Rebecca is her willingness to trust the process and surrender to the unknown.

A Very Special “Birth Day” Countdown

It's a very special time of year.

On this day 11 years ago, I had officially passed my due date and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of sweet baby Chloe. 

I don't think anyone quite knows the torture of waiting like a pregnant woman past her due date in July in Texas. 

Brian and I did everything we could to stay busy - swimming, snow cones, Big Brother marathons, an Iron & Wine concert.

We even took an ill-advised road trip to Fredericksburg wine country to see if we could dare that baby to make a dramatic debut a couple hours from home. 

Nope. 

When Chloe finally made her entrance (as a Leo and not the expected Cancer, I might add) it was the most pivotal moment of my life. It might sound cliche, but everything changed for me once Chloe landed in my arms.

A Message from the Other Side: Body Image

Recently I met with a client in her early 70s. We’ll call her Jane.

Jane’s energy was warm and inviting. She was a mother-hen-type who naturally cared for others. Jane’s passion was food. She owned a catering business, had been a culinary arts teacher and found great joy in feeding people.

Right off the bat, Jane proclaimed, “I’ve always had a weight issue, which is a problem because my passion is food.”

As her words landed, there was this hard stop in my body. It felt like hitting a brick wall.

A Reminder from the Other Side: Talking to Your Guides

Hello friends! It's been a loooong time since I've written you here, and I'm so glad to feel you on the other side of the screen.

I've been feeling quiet lately. I deactivated my social media at the beginning of the year and have taken a much-needed exhale. I took several months off work and tended to my heart and spirit.

In the quiet, there have been sweet things bubbling.

"Wondrous You" Wins Silver Medal in Moonbeam Children's Book Award

I'm so excited to share the news that my debut book released last year has just won its first award.

Wondrous You earned the Silver Medal for children's poetry in the 2021 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards!

The purpose of the Moonbeam Awards is to highlight books that encourage children to be generous, compassionate, and to stand up for the rights of themselves and others. Over 1500 books from both traditional and indie publishers were submitted.