Soon after my children and I moved to the west coast, we acquired two cats. The first cat we brought to our new home was at the rescue for a long time before she found us. Apparently, seeming high maintenance with her long hair and "princess like" attitude, nobody wanted to adopt her. The second cat we acquired several months later more by her insistence then ours. She was only eight months old and would not let my children go when we met her. I did not realize the lessons that these cats could offer me.
At first, it seemed that Mandy, the long haired cat, was too prissy for me. She was always cleaning herself and somewhat stand offish. The younger cat, Felina, was a wild woman. She was fun to play with and entertaining to watch. She could not stand being indoors for too long. She had a world to see and it was all her play land. The kids enjoyed Felina and she grew biger and bigger. Felina has become quite a handful over the years. She is an incredible hunter and is constantly bringing us gifts of lizards, birds, frogs, bugs and very big live snakes. She never comes when you call her, has a tendency to fight with the neighborhood cats to her own detriment. She is also fixated on food.
Mandy is somewhat stand offish as originally thought. She is constantly maintaining her hair and appearance. Mandy hates to go outside for too long, just long enough to do what is neessary, get some fresh air and return to the comforts of indoors. She has learned our daily rhythyms and rituals and knows when to be near the food dish. The on unexpected thing about Mandy is her tendency to care for others when they really need it. I call Mandy our nurse kitty because if ever a child runs a fever or hurts themselves, she is always right next to them and will not leave until they are better.
What I have learned in watching these cats is that Felina is of the lower mind. She is all for the immediate pleasure and fun but is not there when really needed. Her obsessions rule her life. Mandy has learned proper self care in order to have the proper energy to care for those around her. She has learned how to present herself and how to find the benefits of rhythym in her family. She enjoys watching the children and has her playful moments but never completely loses herself beyond retrieval as does her younger feline counterpart. More importantly, Mandy has learned that it is okay to ask to be loved and it is okay to take time to herself.
I adore these cats and enjoy watching the extremes of these lessons unfold every day, except for when Felina brings me snakes to play with. I am wondering if it isn't amusing to her to watch me scream and jump on chairs but isn't this how the selfish lower mind is truly entertained? Thank goodness Mandy is always ready to help calm me down and ground me by sitting in my lap and purring until my heart rate returns to normal.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Heart Ur NME
I have a dear friend who has "heart ur nme" on her license plate. This friend is a Christian woman, like minded with me in so many ways and I respect her very much. I think her license plate is gutsy and cool.
I have had a great opportunity to practice the concept of loving one's enemy as of late. I was told by a client that, according to the Mayan Calender, there is a time where the light is less, at present, and the darkness is allowed to re-surface. Boy is it! I have definitely heard from clients that there are dark shadows re-emerging in their lives and there are definitely dark shadows rearing their ugly heads in my life.
One of those shadows was quite powerful and used to dominate my life. I am so happy to realize that it "used to" but it does not anymore. At first I was angry that it re-surfaced and re-awakened such intense fear from within me but now I am actually grateful that it has come back so that I could finish the lesson it was teaching me. The lesson was simple to understand but very hard to get. I'll tell you the lesson first: If I am not open to receiving that energy of fear and insanity, then it actually can not come into my energy. When I figured this out, it was like as if every pore of my body that was once open to receiving this darkness simply filled up with golden light and there was no more room to receive the negative energy. It simply had no where to go and consequently, I felt safer then I ever had before and somehow, more in my body and my energy. I no longer allowed my fear to control me. Then I worked on blessing the source of the fear.
Yup, here's where the license plate comes into my consciousness. Love my enemy. Well, if you work on that concept alone, I prayed for this source of fear and insanity from my past. It is an actual person which made it easy to direct my prayer towards "something". In this specific case, I thought of how sad it is that this person was seemingly incapable of the same level of emotion and ability to engage in life in a positive way that heals not only the self but the many. I know that directing my love, not my anger, fear or resentment, is the only way to diminish his darkness. Darkness can not live in the light. (that might even be a quote from Harry Potter, lol) Feeling fear, anger, resentment and more only feed not only his power of darkness in my life but his own darkness in his life. I didn't cause his situation, I can't fix it or cure it, nor can I control it, but I can send love through prayer and meditation.
I have also struggled with the practical side of this which is demonstrated above. I do not need to contact this source of darkness directly. I can stay in my own positive space and energy and simply pray and meditate in love and light. I do not need to make contact in order to send love. This person does not need to know on a conscious level what my response to their darkness will be, on an unconscious level or even a Spirit level, I am sure they know.
Here's the last part of the license plate contemplation: if you read the license plate literally, it is a heart symbol followed by ur nme. It is fine to acknowledge the heart symbol meaning love. Then let's look at the abreviation for "your" as u r. But what if we take that literally to mean "you are" as by the pronunciation of the letters "u" and "r". Am I my enemy? The nme when pronounced by the sound of the letters clearly says "enemy" so if I apply that to the "ur" I must contemplate the whole formula as such. Love you are enemy. In doing so, I move back to my original point of this post.
It is my receptiveness to this person's fear and darkness that allows it to be in my life and have any power over me at all. I am my own enemy. My Love, My Light and my weakness in staying in those spaces and opening and receiving this particular stream of darkness is truly my enemy. What if I simply was no longer receptive to that fear and insanity? What if I treated it like a foreign language that I used to speak fluently but haven't in decades and therefore, I acknowledge it, understand it is a language I don't speak anymore, seems familiar but I don't need to interpret it in my head and consequently let it go. I have nothing against anyone speaking that language, I can smile and be kind to them and know what language they speak, but I don't need to engage in conversation in that language or interpret it into my own life. They are not the enemy for speaking that language. This dark shadow energy within this other person is not my enemy. They are going through their own journey, struggling and such. Somewhere we agreed to struggle together and I invited their energy into my energy. If anything, I can offer love and compassion because I know what it is like to struggle with that darkness. Here's the great part, I chose to move on.
First I moved on physically and changed my physical circumstances so as not to be around that energy. Then I let it go mentally. Finally emotionally it started to just seep away. This experience brought it literally screaming back into my life and it rattled me to the core but I also noticed how I had changed and this energy in my life no longer felt comfortable, like clothes that wore out and no longer felt or looked good on me. This is no longer part of who I am physically, mentally or spiritually.
Taking the license plate just one more step. Love you are in me. Yes, that is in me and I can move on with my journey. Everyone is in me and in each of us love. What we chose to see, adore, be irritated by, fear, cherish and nurture within is in each of us. What do we chose to receive today?
I have had a great opportunity to practice the concept of loving one's enemy as of late. I was told by a client that, according to the Mayan Calender, there is a time where the light is less, at present, and the darkness is allowed to re-surface. Boy is it! I have definitely heard from clients that there are dark shadows re-emerging in their lives and there are definitely dark shadows rearing their ugly heads in my life.
One of those shadows was quite powerful and used to dominate my life. I am so happy to realize that it "used to" but it does not anymore. At first I was angry that it re-surfaced and re-awakened such intense fear from within me but now I am actually grateful that it has come back so that I could finish the lesson it was teaching me. The lesson was simple to understand but very hard to get. I'll tell you the lesson first: If I am not open to receiving that energy of fear and insanity, then it actually can not come into my energy. When I figured this out, it was like as if every pore of my body that was once open to receiving this darkness simply filled up with golden light and there was no more room to receive the negative energy. It simply had no where to go and consequently, I felt safer then I ever had before and somehow, more in my body and my energy. I no longer allowed my fear to control me. Then I worked on blessing the source of the fear.
Yup, here's where the license plate comes into my consciousness. Love my enemy. Well, if you work on that concept alone, I prayed for this source of fear and insanity from my past. It is an actual person which made it easy to direct my prayer towards "something". In this specific case, I thought of how sad it is that this person was seemingly incapable of the same level of emotion and ability to engage in life in a positive way that heals not only the self but the many. I know that directing my love, not my anger, fear or resentment, is the only way to diminish his darkness. Darkness can not live in the light. (that might even be a quote from Harry Potter, lol) Feeling fear, anger, resentment and more only feed not only his power of darkness in my life but his own darkness in his life. I didn't cause his situation, I can't fix it or cure it, nor can I control it, but I can send love through prayer and meditation.
I have also struggled with the practical side of this which is demonstrated above. I do not need to contact this source of darkness directly. I can stay in my own positive space and energy and simply pray and meditate in love and light. I do not need to make contact in order to send love. This person does not need to know on a conscious level what my response to their darkness will be, on an unconscious level or even a Spirit level, I am sure they know.
Here's the last part of the license plate contemplation: if you read the license plate literally, it is a heart symbol followed by ur nme. It is fine to acknowledge the heart symbol meaning love. Then let's look at the abreviation for "your" as u r. But what if we take that literally to mean "you are" as by the pronunciation of the letters "u" and "r". Am I my enemy? The nme when pronounced by the sound of the letters clearly says "enemy" so if I apply that to the "ur" I must contemplate the whole formula as such. Love you are enemy. In doing so, I move back to my original point of this post.
It is my receptiveness to this person's fear and darkness that allows it to be in my life and have any power over me at all. I am my own enemy. My Love, My Light and my weakness in staying in those spaces and opening and receiving this particular stream of darkness is truly my enemy. What if I simply was no longer receptive to that fear and insanity? What if I treated it like a foreign language that I used to speak fluently but haven't in decades and therefore, I acknowledge it, understand it is a language I don't speak anymore, seems familiar but I don't need to interpret it in my head and consequently let it go. I have nothing against anyone speaking that language, I can smile and be kind to them and know what language they speak, but I don't need to engage in conversation in that language or interpret it into my own life. They are not the enemy for speaking that language. This dark shadow energy within this other person is not my enemy. They are going through their own journey, struggling and such. Somewhere we agreed to struggle together and I invited their energy into my energy. If anything, I can offer love and compassion because I know what it is like to struggle with that darkness. Here's the great part, I chose to move on.
First I moved on physically and changed my physical circumstances so as not to be around that energy. Then I let it go mentally. Finally emotionally it started to just seep away. This experience brought it literally screaming back into my life and it rattled me to the core but I also noticed how I had changed and this energy in my life no longer felt comfortable, like clothes that wore out and no longer felt or looked good on me. This is no longer part of who I am physically, mentally or spiritually.
Taking the license plate just one more step. Love you are in me. Yes, that is in me and I can move on with my journey. Everyone is in me and in each of us love. What we chose to see, adore, be irritated by, fear, cherish and nurture within is in each of us. What do we chose to receive today?
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Interview with Life/Career Coach, Kathy Ogburn
Beth: Tell me the difference between a Life Coaching and Career Counseling?
Kathy: A career coach specializes in career development and includes life components but the focus is on career. Career coaching also includes very practical how-to steps. It is methodical and structured. It includes career exploration for options, and job search skills, so, resume writing, networking, interviewing, negotiating; basically, matching natural talents to the right job. Life coaching is really bigger. It is like being a personal trainer in self actualization. Life Coaching helps people to integrate their spiritual, emotional and physical selves. It is about integrating all of those aspects into their being, for the purpose of living more fully-living more and loving more. Career coaching is more nuts & bolts, like practical steps; life coaching is heavily influenced by the teachings of the law of attraction and co-creating with the Universe.
Life coaching is big on self awareness. Learning about the capital “S”, the spiritual Self, increasing our awareness of how we are all part of the Infinite Source, we are all part of that big picture and we all have a tremendous amount of power. Life coaching is empowering and helps us to see more clearly what we want and what our choices are. It empowers us to take responsibility. Being coached helps us come to the realization that we don’t have to control things. We really don’t even want to control things. Once we let go of controlling, we are open and able to work with and be supported by the Universe. And can you see how blending life and career coaching could make big changes for people?
Beth: What made you decide to move into being a Life Coach?
Kathy: The great opportunity of working with clients not only in the career compartment of their lives but in all the other parts of their lives, whatever they are excited about, whatever they are agitated about. Life coaching is a great opportunity to work with people to heal and become super empowered, actually transformed.
Beth: What kind of clients do you work with and what sort of situations might they utilize your assistance?
Kathy: People who are stuck but not willing to stay stuck…People who are confused and want clarity …People who want focus for a project…People who need staying power…People who want answers. They may be in transition type situations, creating a change, adjusting to a change, could be big or small life changes. Clients have come to me for help for a multitude of reasons, for example: deciding whether or not to have a baby, relaxing into retirement after years of being productive/re-creating personal identities to match the slower years, deciding to buy a new or used car, managing the transition of a child leaving for college, brainstorming ideas and ways to manifest, setting goals and identifying action steps, deciding to go back to work after the youngest child entered kindergarten, feeling like everything is going really well except for..., entrepreneurial clients wanting help with how to balance personal life and business life, and the list goes on. Its about working to enhance the quality of life.
Beth: What has been the best part about doing your work?
Kathy: I actually get to witness clients become a lot happier. I guess it’s watching the growth. It’s just a total thrill seeing people recognize what they are all about and how powerful they are. Making changes for the better, little and big changes. This work is so full of little changes that end up meaning so much. People take more responsibility for their lives and they become so much more aware of making conscious choices. They know that they’re responsible for themselves, their lives, how they live it and what happens to them. Watching their attitudes change and expand.
Beth: How do you feel that your work is assisting people with healing?
Kathy: Healing their attitudes, especially healing their relationship with themselves and with others. Also, healing their relationship with God.
Beth: What drew you to work out of the space in Colfax, Bridges To Healing?
Kathy: I love Beth! Her generous spirit and her resourcefulness. I see her Center as having so much potential with what is being done there. Beth is very capable of bringing people together, those that heal and those that need healing, the learners and the teachers. To me, it truly is a center where there’s just a lot of building of self respect and self love and compassion for others through all the modalities that are there. I am very interested in yoga, psychic healing, body work, reiki and healing touch. People I have referred are blown away.
Beth: Where are you from originally?
Kathy: I’m a California native, born in the Bay area, grew up in Lodi. I moved to Sacramento for college and lived in that area until moving to Grass Valley.
Beth: What brought you to this area?
Kathy: I’ve been coming to Grass Valley since I was a child to visit family friends. As an adult, my husband and I would for the ambience and nature that is Nevada County. The big draw is the combination of living the country lifestyle and having cultural activities galore. It was always a dream of my husband’s and mine, since we first got together to build a house up in the foothills, out in the country, so it really is an actual life dream that we have fulfilled. We are living our dream!
Beth: Where did you train for life coaching work?
Kathy: The Coaches Training Institute which has been around for 15 years. They are the Cadillac of coaching schools. I believe that their teaching is influenced by both the practical and the spiritual.
Kathy: A career coach specializes in career development and includes life components but the focus is on career. Career coaching also includes very practical how-to steps. It is methodical and structured. It includes career exploration for options, and job search skills, so, resume writing, networking, interviewing, negotiating; basically, matching natural talents to the right job. Life coaching is really bigger. It is like being a personal trainer in self actualization. Life Coaching helps people to integrate their spiritual, emotional and physical selves. It is about integrating all of those aspects into their being, for the purpose of living more fully-living more and loving more. Career coaching is more nuts & bolts, like practical steps; life coaching is heavily influenced by the teachings of the law of attraction and co-creating with the Universe.
Life coaching is big on self awareness. Learning about the capital “S”, the spiritual Self, increasing our awareness of how we are all part of the Infinite Source, we are all part of that big picture and we all have a tremendous amount of power. Life coaching is empowering and helps us to see more clearly what we want and what our choices are. It empowers us to take responsibility. Being coached helps us come to the realization that we don’t have to control things. We really don’t even want to control things. Once we let go of controlling, we are open and able to work with and be supported by the Universe. And can you see how blending life and career coaching could make big changes for people?
Beth: What made you decide to move into being a Life Coach?
Kathy: The great opportunity of working with clients not only in the career compartment of their lives but in all the other parts of their lives, whatever they are excited about, whatever they are agitated about. Life coaching is a great opportunity to work with people to heal and become super empowered, actually transformed.
Beth: What kind of clients do you work with and what sort of situations might they utilize your assistance?
Kathy: People who are stuck but not willing to stay stuck…People who are confused and want clarity …People who want focus for a project…People who need staying power…People who want answers. They may be in transition type situations, creating a change, adjusting to a change, could be big or small life changes. Clients have come to me for help for a multitude of reasons, for example: deciding whether or not to have a baby, relaxing into retirement after years of being productive/re-creating personal identities to match the slower years, deciding to buy a new or used car, managing the transition of a child leaving for college, brainstorming ideas and ways to manifest, setting goals and identifying action steps, deciding to go back to work after the youngest child entered kindergarten, feeling like everything is going really well except for..., entrepreneurial clients wanting help with how to balance personal life and business life, and the list goes on. Its about working to enhance the quality of life.
Beth: What has been the best part about doing your work?
Kathy: I actually get to witness clients become a lot happier. I guess it’s watching the growth. It’s just a total thrill seeing people recognize what they are all about and how powerful they are. Making changes for the better, little and big changes. This work is so full of little changes that end up meaning so much. People take more responsibility for their lives and they become so much more aware of making conscious choices. They know that they’re responsible for themselves, their lives, how they live it and what happens to them. Watching their attitudes change and expand.
Beth: How do you feel that your work is assisting people with healing?
Kathy: Healing their attitudes, especially healing their relationship with themselves and with others. Also, healing their relationship with God.
Beth: What drew you to work out of the space in Colfax, Bridges To Healing?
Kathy: I love Beth! Her generous spirit and her resourcefulness. I see her Center as having so much potential with what is being done there. Beth is very capable of bringing people together, those that heal and those that need healing, the learners and the teachers. To me, it truly is a center where there’s just a lot of building of self respect and self love and compassion for others through all the modalities that are there. I am very interested in yoga, psychic healing, body work, reiki and healing touch. People I have referred are blown away.
Beth: Where are you from originally?
Kathy: I’m a California native, born in the Bay area, grew up in Lodi. I moved to Sacramento for college and lived in that area until moving to Grass Valley.
Beth: What brought you to this area?
Kathy: I’ve been coming to Grass Valley since I was a child to visit family friends. As an adult, my husband and I would for the ambience and nature that is Nevada County. The big draw is the combination of living the country lifestyle and having cultural activities galore. It was always a dream of my husband’s and mine, since we first got together to build a house up in the foothills, out in the country, so it really is an actual life dream that we have fulfilled. We are living our dream!
Beth: Where did you train for life coaching work?
Kathy: The Coaches Training Institute which has been around for 15 years. They are the Cadillac of coaching schools. I believe that their teaching is influenced by both the practical and the spiritual.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Saturday, June 9, 2007
My human journey through yoga
Being a massage therapist and a yoga teacher causes a lot of conversation with people that I meet. The massage therapist that people see gets to hear every body's aches and pains. The yoga teacher gets to hear everybody's limitations and resistance. The general public has this "type" in mind when it comes to yoga and yoga teachers. The comment I hear most from others is that they are not flexible enough to do yoga. I genuinely laugh when I hear this comment.
First of all, I am not a twisty, pretzel, nuts and bark eating yoga teacher. I am a human being who struggles with my weight, my serenity and my sanity on a daily basis. When I started yoga, I was not flexible either. I was gifted by having incredibly open teachers who taught that yoga is about the journey through your humanity. We can read the Sutras, the different texts and learn the ideal but all of those are meant as tools for us to use through our human journey. And any skilled craftsman will tell you that when you are learning a new skill, we do not start by using every tool in the first week, we learn what is appropraite for us at the time. Sometimes we put down one tool in order to learn another and then eventually come back to the resting tool with a whole new understanding.
I have been practicing yoga for six years now on a regular basis of 4-5 times a week minimum. I will admit that the study of yoga probably saved my sanity through the humbling years of my divorce. I will also admit that I have not tried every tool of the trade nor have I chosen to use each of the tools I have tried.
Sometimes I practice hatha yoga, sometimes I practice kundalini yoga and sometimes I practice simple meditation and breath work. To look at me would clue you in that I am not a thin, raw food nuts and granola kind of gal. Nonetheless, I continue my practice within the realm of acceptance and gratitude for where I am today and what I am ready to utilize today from the knowledge that I have. No matter where I am at, the practice of yoga-connecting the mind, body and spirit in whatever way I am able to connect is what this journey is all about. Experience your humanity. Experience your inability to be flexible as you try an asana or set of postures. Notice what your body is resisting and what it is receiving. Find gratitude and acceptance for what little mobility or incredible flexibility you might have. Enjoy feeling your body, even the uncomfortable parts and bless this vessel which you have chosen to walk through your life. I have found yoga to be an incredible bridge to accepting my humanity and blessing my journey.
First of all, I am not a twisty, pretzel, nuts and bark eating yoga teacher. I am a human being who struggles with my weight, my serenity and my sanity on a daily basis. When I started yoga, I was not flexible either. I was gifted by having incredibly open teachers who taught that yoga is about the journey through your humanity. We can read the Sutras, the different texts and learn the ideal but all of those are meant as tools for us to use through our human journey. And any skilled craftsman will tell you that when you are learning a new skill, we do not start by using every tool in the first week, we learn what is appropraite for us at the time. Sometimes we put down one tool in order to learn another and then eventually come back to the resting tool with a whole new understanding.
I have been practicing yoga for six years now on a regular basis of 4-5 times a week minimum. I will admit that the study of yoga probably saved my sanity through the humbling years of my divorce. I will also admit that I have not tried every tool of the trade nor have I chosen to use each of the tools I have tried.
Sometimes I practice hatha yoga, sometimes I practice kundalini yoga and sometimes I practice simple meditation and breath work. To look at me would clue you in that I am not a thin, raw food nuts and granola kind of gal. Nonetheless, I continue my practice within the realm of acceptance and gratitude for where I am today and what I am ready to utilize today from the knowledge that I have. No matter where I am at, the practice of yoga-connecting the mind, body and spirit in whatever way I am able to connect is what this journey is all about. Experience your humanity. Experience your inability to be flexible as you try an asana or set of postures. Notice what your body is resisting and what it is receiving. Find gratitude and acceptance for what little mobility or incredible flexibility you might have. Enjoy feeling your body, even the uncomfortable parts and bless this vessel which you have chosen to walk through your life. I have found yoga to be an incredible bridge to accepting my humanity and blessing my journey.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Introduction
My name is Beth and this is my first time ever "blogging". I own a wellness center in Colfax, California. We offer yoga, massage, pilates, tai chi, chiropractic and life coaching. I teach classic hatha yoga and do the majority of massages within the space but we have other teachers and therapists who contribute their services. I originally began my practice alone but it has always been my vision to work with others and bring healers together. I do not believe that there is anyone one path to healing for anybody. We are all individuals and I think what works for one may not work for the other and so we must bring together different methods or modalities of healing in order to truly serve a community.
I am very excited to have Mariscela Alvarez offering a free Tai Chi presentation in a couple of weeks on June 19th from 6:30-7:30pm. She seems incredibly bright and very knowledgeable about her work. All of our teachers are well trained and qualified and I am proud to work with them. On June 23rd, we will welcome Dr. Katharina Welborn for every Friday afternoon to offer chirpractic care. Hopefully the same week, we will have Pamela Summers begin her Ashtanga Yoga classes, too. The other classes are already in full swing and building clients. Damon's mat pilates and Lea's Meditative Anonda style yoga class are slowly attracting more and more students.
I am looking forward to enhancing our web site with this blog experience so feel free to connect. If I can not address something, I am sure that one of my knowledgeable practitioners or teachrs will be willing and able.
I am very excited to have Mariscela Alvarez offering a free Tai Chi presentation in a couple of weeks on June 19th from 6:30-7:30pm. She seems incredibly bright and very knowledgeable about her work. All of our teachers are well trained and qualified and I am proud to work with them. On June 23rd, we will welcome Dr. Katharina Welborn for every Friday afternoon to offer chirpractic care. Hopefully the same week, we will have Pamela Summers begin her Ashtanga Yoga classes, too. The other classes are already in full swing and building clients. Damon's mat pilates and Lea's Meditative Anonda style yoga class are slowly attracting more and more students.
I am looking forward to enhancing our web site with this blog experience so feel free to connect. If I can not address something, I am sure that one of my knowledgeable practitioners or teachrs will be willing and able.
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