Your chickens really are listening when you speak and walk your path in your life. I am always talking about neurotransmitters and how our brains are a veritable chemical factory. This 10-year-old not only knows what serotonin is, but he is accurate when he uses it in a sentence.
Mindful Monday: What can you be lighter and more gentle with yourself about? What can you take a little less seriously?
My handsome husband‘s mom gave my 3 boy chickens $20 each for back to school. Adorable.
These kinds of synchronicities happen all day every day my friends when you are open and you relax and allow.
A year ago I was feeling stuck. This Supermom loves momentum and is addicted to it, so inertia feels reallllll bad. I cannot tolerate it. So I get on my yoga mat, a lot. So I walk and/or do cardio, a lot. To move the energy and keep a physical flow going. Retrospectively, I can see that I was also feeling lost.
Similar to how a GPS guides you from where you are to where you want to go, the Universe does the same. But are you listening?🤔🤔 Are you allowing the guidance in and acting on the inspiration? 🧘♀️🙏🏻🌈
I love shirataki noodles and every time I prepare them, I think about how much more powerful we are when we come together with love, and support each other without judgment, no matter what our beliefs. Let me explain.
If you've never had shirataki noodles, they are skinny white tasteless noodles made from yams that I like to mix with another type of noodle that is heartier (which is pretty much any other noodle, he he) or with cauliflower or broccoli rice and stir fry with sauce or just sea salt - and they're super yummy, and healthy. They require no prep except rinsing and draining them and then drying them -- squeezing out all the water. As I squeeze out the water, I've noticed that if a few stray noodles fall on the counter, away from the other noodles from the package, they are pretty lame. Don't amount to much. But together, the whole package is yummy and hearty and has a great consistency.
Don't get me wrong, what we do matters and we each have a very important and unique voice, heart, mission, and dharma. But together, together we are so powerful. So magical. Unstoppable!
"It's not about perfect. It's about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that's where transformation happens. That's how change occurs."
I posted this quote yesterday on my personal facebook page and this morning little Dakota, age 6, learned the lesson real time while making his lunch for school today.
I'm all about teaching my kids to do things independently, and while it's challenging short term for all parties involved (wink wink), in the long run the dividends are well worth it. Happy, strong, healthy, independent, confident, empowered kiddos and happy, proud parents. So Dakota and Montana (both age 6) are making their own lunches these days with Supermom's supervision. This morning, it was all rainbows and sparkles till Dakota went to cut his sandwich in half. That turned out to be, eh, a disappointing experience for this little nugget, and he burst into tears.
I swooped in and showed him how we could make a BLTT with the now mangled sandwich to be eaten pronto by adding tomato, lettuce and the bacon I was synchronistically frying up for breakfast (Bacon - Lettuce - Turkey - Tomato), and we all pretended we were at a faaaaaancy country club eating our club sandwiches by the pool. Hey, I got Dakota to laugh (and he wolfed down that BLTT "club sandwich" and asked for another, he he).
Tears now dried and tummy full, I could tell Dakota that it's not about perfect. It's about doing your best with breath and doing that consistently every day. It's about showing up with an open heart and open mind and learning all along the path of this school called Life.
He smiled and agreed, and then declared that from now on, he would only make PB and J, because that is easier to cut. It wouldn't be as messy as the turkey sandwich. So even though he liked the turkey better, he would just not make that anymore because of this one Monday morning sandwich debacle.
I said, "Sure, okay honey."
(Gotcha! You know me better than that . . . .)
I (actually) said, "Uh, oh no you don't, Mister. You're gonna get right back on that horse and try again! And Mommy will be right here with you. Let's make another turkey sandwich right now."
He agreed, and we did and was it perfectly cut? Nope. Was it a bit better cut than the previous sandwich? You bet. Did Dakota wanna make a third sandwich and make it look better? Yes, but as the Universe would have it, we were plum outta bread (happens frequently and quickly when you have five hungry little chickens clucking about). So Dakota had to sit with his "not so perfectly cut turkey sandwich" and find the positive aspects of it - and the experience.
Which he did, famously, I must say. He shifted his attitude and became proud of that sandwich.
This may sound totally irrelevant to you and your day today but I'm guessing it isn't. I'm guessing there was at least one time when someone slammed you as a little kiddo for not doing something well or "perfectly" and although that person had your best interest in mind, the experience may have paralyzed you -- until now. Now is the time you can begin again, knowing that just showing up consistently and doing your best is what it's about. Not perfection. No one expects that of you, and if they do, best to not engage in that dialogue but instead just send light to the person, because that is what they expect of their own actions.
We see transformations frequently as we teach our Prana Power Yoga Teacher Training, and last weekend was no different. I have the pleasure of watching teachers in training remember, feel, and let go of events like this in their childhood, which have perhaps affected their relationship to their world and others - ever since.
Now that's magical.
Ya, I believe in magic. And new beginnings. And just showing up again and again, doing your best, and letting the Universe take care of the rest.
I was talking with my BFF about first impressions and how I've learned lately more about them. It's amazing to me how much we deduce, decide and declare upon first meeting someone. We make up all these stories in our heads about them -- and deem them true -- without knowing them really at all. They have a story we know nothing about.
I love love love Barrington, Rhode Island and pretty much everyone I've met so far. There have been a few, however, that didn't give a great first impression, but I kept my mind and heart open and with some time, and getting to know them, I now think they're the bomb. And I've only lived here for four months! Imagine after years of time together.
I love this school called life and the lessons we learn daily about ourselves, others and our purpose here. So fun to learn, grow and find a better way. For me the lessons of late have been, "Hey, ya never know," and nonjudment. Eventhough I set my intention to never judge and thought I did not judge, I noticed today that I was creating stories after first meeting someone. Which ain't fair. Or in integrity. So I stopped. Began again. Here's to new beginnings!
Lesson learned.
Have you ever noticed that tomorrow never comes? It's always now. You can only be happy NOW and there will never be a time when it is not now.
I was talking to friend about her romance. She and her boyfriend talked and talked and talked last year about what they would do over the summer (of 2016, the one that just passed). They hemmed and hawed and obsessed and bickered. Would they stay together? Would they break up while they were living apart? WHAT WOULD THEY DO?!
Then in the now, it all took care of itself.
They are still together now and guess what, they're talking about next summer . . . and next year . . . and what if and what then and . . . WTF? Calgon take me away.
This is just one example, a metaphor for the human tendencey to attempt to control via the fruitless effort of PLANNING. I'm gonna do this and then I'm gonna do that and they're gonna do this and they're gonna do that and I'm gonna say this and I'm gonna say that and then they'll say this and then that and . . . .
Let me save you some time and energy and perhaps bring you some sanity and peace. It ain't gonna go down like that. It's gonna go down the way it's gonna go down in the way it's supposed to. The end.
YES! It's great to visualize and "plan" in a way that you are creating with your mind what you want, also called "manifesting." It will still look different (better than you planned btw), but you are creating with your mind -- good job!
I'm not referring to that . . . I'm referring to the obsessive attempt to control and plan. STOP IT! (That's me doing "tough love" he he.)
I'm rootin' for ya.
We were at my favorite local market last week getting a few things – I try to go daily and get a few things like my Mom used to do in the 70s, instead of the dreaded gigantic grocery store trip which overwhelms many a Supermom on the planet – and this dude approached Philippe in the parking lot and asked him to buy him a sandwich.
When we walked into Tom's, a customer asked Philippe, "Did he hit you up too?" Philippe said yes and she said, "Well he's making a phone call now – from his iPhone 7."
We looked outside and sure enough, he was. Then he walked over to his car – a fancy car – got in and drove away.
I had many feelings about this experience. I'm sure you do, too.
What do you do when someone approaches you and asks you for money or food?
Sigh.
My response is different every time, depending on the person, the situation, the energy and my intuition. There is no right answer to this question. One thing I always do (which I do with and for everyone I meet) is send light, love, blessings and good energy from my heart.
A good place to start.
Little Dakota is pictured above at age 2, hoarding crackers. He was Baby A and his twin brother Montana was Baby B. The midwife told us at 36 weeks that Baby B was eating all the food (not all the food, of course, but more of it), so it would be a good idea if the babies came earlier than later so we could get Baby A nursing and getting his fair share.
From the moment he was born, Dakota felt he needed to hoard his food -- that he wouldn't get enough. This lasted for about two and a half years, when he realized all was well and there is abundance in the world, also reflected in his food supply.
I have so many funny photos of little Dakota hoarding it was challenging to choose just one. He and I chose this together as we had a good laugh about how at age 1 he would scream if one of us tried to take one of the cookies in front of him - when he had a whole box all to himself. He loves these stories and we all laugh, because he is over it.
Many people aren't. Many people feel restricted and it's not a good feeling. Maybe it's restricted in love, attention, respect, energy, food, excitement, opportunity, hope, adventure, joy, laughter, freedom . . . the list goes on.
One thing I know is that restriction sucks, feels terrible and don't work.
Where in your life do you feel restricted, and a need to hoard -- like little Dakota did? How can we fix it?
I'm rootin' for ya.
I'm big on respect. It's my button. Ehhhh, it's "one" of my buttons he he. I walked onto this earth feeling respect is important and I am super mindful to be respectful of others, grateful for what I have, and man, it gets me if I feel disrespected - in any way.
I'm also a bit sassy. I know this. I am a big fan of sass! I love it in others. Love it in myself. To a degree. All things in moderation.
Speaking your truth is on the menu for me aussi. I had a rough start in this lifetime and held it all in for oh, about two decades, and I learned that that don't work. I got sick, got tired, got angry, and learned. Learned a lot - including I gotta speak my truth.
If you know me, you know I am an open book. I'm just a small town midwestern girl who dreams big, jumps without thinking, loves loves loves people, and says how I feel, immediately, and then lets it go. I also show it all on my face before I say a word. Most of the time, good qualities. All things in moderation.
Someone just texted me something that is sassy, but straddles the line of disrespect. It got me to thinking, what's the difference?
As always, the answer is: energy. Two people can say THE EXACT SAME THING, but with different energy, and the result is totally different. Actually, there's one other answer here too: intention.
The Universe doesn't hear what you SAY, it hears what you MEAN. People don't HEAR what you SAY, they FEEL your ENERGY.
Next week people will forget what you said (or maybe five minutes later). They will never forget how you made them feel.
What Are You Addicted To?
Writing is one of my drugs. Some addictions are good! I'm also addicted to good energy, good friends, love, light, laughter, yoga, cardio, peach green tea mixed with yerba mate tea made real sweet, cauliflower rice, Elton John and most of all, time with my 5 Chickens and husband.
What are you addicted to? Sometimes they're good addictions and sometimes they ain't. Sometimes we are addicted to something and we are unaware of this fact. Like saying I'm sorry for everything, not because we are actually sorry but because we are insecure, and it's become a habit.
Sometimes we're addicted to trash talking. It can be so additive. So seductive. But notice how you feel after:
Not.
So.
Good.
Sometimes we're addicted to being a victim. Damn, that feels bad. For others yes who are around your energy, but mostly for you.
Notice today if you have an addiction that isn't behooving you. Just gently notice, without judging yourself. Then make a decision. Make a choice to reboot - restart - make a new choice- choose a new thought and action. Choose a new good addiction.
You've got the power. Use it.
I don't look at my kids' grades. I don't even open the emails.
When my kids come home from school I ask them what they loved most about their day.
I define success as the amount of love, light and joy in your life. So this is what I'm interested in.
The photo above was a proud mommy moment for yours truly last week. Phoenix, age 9, declared to the family that he was taking all of us to Dunkin Donuts -- his treat. He was so excited. He asked us several times what we were gonna get.
When we arrived, he told us that there was no price limit -- we could get whatever we wanted. He was treating with money he'd earned.
His joy, light, love and pride was palpable. So was mine.
I was talking to one of my BFF's the other day at one of our delightful BFF brunches and she said the most hilarious - and true! - thing. We were talking about how important it is to share your feelings - to talk it out immediately -- and then, LET IT GO. To not dwell, but to be open about how you feel. To speak your truth.
Then she said, and I quote, "I don't want to be sick, and I don't want to be ugly." She then explained (quite accurately, according to my observations over the last 51 years), that people who hold stuff in get sick and look like this (and she made a crinkled up, scrunchy face).
So true!
I said that yes, we are born into this lifetime all happy and sparkly and bright, but over the years, if we shut down and do not say how we feel, we begin to store it -- in our bodies and minds, and man, that takes a toll. I have seen it happen over and over again, friends getting sick because they aren't real and are faking how they feel. Then the Universe is like, "OK, here's a bad ass disease, so now - NOW - you gotta come clean and speak your truth and heal that stuff, oh you steppin' out man." And THAT'S when people come clean and clear out their energy and their pent up stuff. You hear it, again and again.
So do yourself a favor and speak your truth NOW - then move on. Choose one person and let it rip and try to spend 17 seconds or less doing so (i.e. don't dwell).
It will keep you healthy -- and beautiful, too!
I got your attention wit' that title huh -- he he. Love doing that.
I was just voxing a BFF who now lives in Santa Barbara -- she and I are in cahoots, moms on missions, to bring good health to as many people as possible all across the planet. She used to be a big deal at Nike -- like rockstar -- and I love and admire her very much.
Anyhoo, I was just voxing her (that's an app, get it, it rocks) that I was (ahhhhh - finally!) partially through my yoga practice at that moment, and it came to me on my mat to tell her something, so there I was, voxing for a sec. I joked about my previous vox to her (PYP -- "pre-yoga-practice"). That vox, truth be told, was -- eh, super OTT - I'll admit it because as I told a woman at a yard sale Saturday who commented that I am "so down to earth" -- "I am quite possibly the most honest/down to earth person you will ever meet." This is good - most of the time.
So I realized that me voxing PYP is like people texting while drunk. NAGI ("Not A Good Idea").
So do your yoga practice before you vox (and your "yoga" can be walking or baking or reading or taking a bath - whatever calms and grounds you and focuses you on your intention) and don't drink and text. Some simple but good words to live by. And btw, I am grateful I have so much Universal - given energy that I need to ground and channel it into my intention through my yoga practice before voxing . . . or texting, or doing anything, for that matter. A good "issue" to have, don't you think?
I can show you how to have more energy, STAT, if you would like that - if that sounds fun and appealing . . . .
I don't believe in regret or mistakes -- only learning. We're on a path in the school called life. You live, you learn, you move on, you try again, you live, you learn, you move on . . . and you spread and take in as much love, light, joy and good energy as possible on the journey.
I teach my kids this every day. Yes, with words, but more with my life. My walk. Children do what you do, not what you say.
I came onto the planet to spread light, love, joy and inspiration. This is my dharma. I have done this in various ways so far, with varying levels of "success." I put success in quotation marks because I personally believe that success is measured by the amount joy, love and light in your life -- however that plays out for you. But that's a different blog, which I'll probably write for Friday (tomorrow's blog is "Texting While Drunk").
I have a wicked strong Spirit, and my Spirit likes to be free and speak openly and spread lots and lots of light and love and joy - in any way possible. My Spirit is in the driver seat most of the time, with my mind riding shot gun - or sometimes in the way back seat of our Prana Power Yoga flower power mini van. In the case I am going to talk about now, it was in the waaaaaay back. He he.
I love to write and write really quickly and effortlessly. It's fun for me. I love to share what I write. I love when people feel happy, inspired, relieved, and/or hopeful from reading what I write.
Flashback to a few weeks ago. A Supermom in the Barrington Middle School Facebook group said something that really struck me. It was about how she told her child to find at least one child at the middle school dance ("sports night") who was alone and invite her/him to join her and her friends. Sigh. So beautiful. I told her I was gonna write a blog about it - and her. I did and I posted it on the Barrington Middle School Facebook page.
Then the next time I wrote a blog, my Spirit was like, "Hey, those Supermoms in the Barrington Middle school Facebook group need to hear about THIS! " So I posted my blog again on the page. Annnnnd, the next time I wrote a blog that I felt the Supermoms would benefit from reading, I posted it again on the page . . . .
I'm a Virgo and super methodical and so, eh, in retrospect, it just became a habit - originating from the desire to spread the light. I also started posting my blogs on my global health and wellness company's team page -- and my friends' company's team pages. I don't do anything in a small way, so you get the idea .
Truth be told, it took a while to post my blog every Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Sunday on all those FB pages and so yesterday when a Supermom in the Barrington Middle School Facebook group asked me in a nice way to limit what I post on the FB middle school page, to uh, middle school related stuff, I was like, "Oh M Gee, that totally makes sense. What was I thinking?"
As explained above (mind riding in the way back of the Prana Power Yoga flower power mini van), I wasn't (thinking). I was operating from 100% Spirit. Which is good - most of the time. Not in this case, it turns out.
Also, in retrospect, yesterday morning I felt a little off energetically when I was posting my blog. And my intution is always spot on -- as is yours, by the way.
So did I feel bad? Did I feel regretful? Did I feel embarrassed? Nope. I smiled at my strong Spirit and its relentless and tireless desire to spread the light, said I was sorry to the Barrington Middle School community (as well as the other pages on which I was posting non-relevant info because I believe that "I'm sorry" are two of the most powerful words in our language) and vowed to follow the rules from now on. Overall, I'm not a big rule follower in that I usually jump without thinking (serial entrepreneur and free Spirit) but rules are important for many reasons and are there for a reason. I have five kids and a puppy and seven businesses -- so I get this big time and although it may not seem like it, I respect rules.
I loved when my son Dakota, age 6, read this blog aloud to his siblings this morning (he does that for all my blogs), and I saw my kiddos smile, because they know that it's ok - and a good idea in fact - to put yourself out there with the intention of making the world a better place, try, fall on yo' face, say you're sorry, and try again.
Again and again.
My friend was telling me the other day that she was telling a friend she's doing our Prana Power Yoga teacher training, and the friend said, "You know Taylor Wells, right? What is she like?"
So my friend said I am super nice (she is my friend, after all), and her friend was dubious. "Eh, I dunno," she said, "Something about 'their whole story' seems so Stepford Wife . . . . "
We had a good laugh at THAT one. I've been called many things in this liftetime - he he - but Stepford Wife? Laughing at it, still now.
But then, it occurred to me, this was the second time that this friend had told me that a friend had asked her if I was a Stepford Wife . . . a different friend. Yoga Hippie okay, but Stepford Wife?
Then I realized why.
Law. Of. Attraction.
Lemme explain. The Universe takes what you think about and talk about and delivers it. It doesn't say, "Ooooooh, no, you don't what THAT. I'm gonna send you something else instead." If you say size 8 shoe, that is delivered. The Universe don't say, "Hey, you really should get eight and a half."
So, many years ago in a little town outside of Chicago, a film was made that would become a classic. It was called "The Stepford Wives," and it was filmed in the town next to Lake Bluff, (population 5000), where I grew up. My dad was a struggling playwright and he knew people in "the business," one of whom was Peter Masterson, who starred as the villain of "The Stepford Wives." So there was talk of this film in my home for sure. I even had a playdate or two with Mary Stuart (Masterson).
Fast forward to the late 1990's, and as my first marriage was coming to a close, I was heard many a time saying to my ex-husband (with whom I am now friends), "Hey! I'm not a Stepford Wife and I never will be!"
Ya, I said that, a lot.
So now, in 2016, "Stepford Wife" comes into my life on these occasions - for a reason.
Your thoughts and words are powerful. YOU are powerful. Use that power to create the people, places and things in your life that bring you joy and light.
Full disclosure: I hate showering. I find it very boring -- all that kinda stuff . . . eh, I guess it's called hygiene he he. Brushing your teeth, showering, shaving . . . ugh, so boring. I'd rather be doing so many other things. UNTIL, I get IN the shower. Just like my chickens, they're all, "I don't wanna shower, Mommy. Can we wait till tomorrow?" And then once they're in there, I can't get 'em out.
So once I get in the shower, it feels great and I love it. And I feel great afterward. It's just the actual pulling myself away from doing something - anything - else that's the challenging part.
This is a metaphor for life. There are so many things that are good for us and clean and clear our energy, that we blow off doing because we are doing other things and seemingly don't wanna do them. But once we commit, once we have the discipline to follow through, it feels great, During and after. It's the "before" that is challenging.
So today when you hit resistance before doing "that thing" that you don't love to do, push through the resistance and remember how good you gonna feel on the other side. And the more you do it, the sooner you set a habit, and then it's easy peasy forever more.