I wish you peace, love and enough

For the mind…

As we get ready to say goodbye to Fall and hello to Winter, I want to wish you peace, love and enough. This month I am dedicating my newsletter to Melissa Etheridge and her cd “A New Though for Christmas”. Not only does she put a great spin on some of the classics, but she wrote a few new songs that speak of peace on Earth and how we as one can make that a reality. Yes, it will take work, but I believe that we have entered a new era of change and if we work together and do our parts, we can have peace. Peace in our hearts, peace of mind, and ultimately peace on Earth.

So what I thought I would do is quote a few lines of hers from some of my favorite songs and add my thoughts to them.

Here we stand in unity, making one choice to be free, every truth blends into one as we believe it can be done…

Here we stand as soldiers now, turning our swords into ploughs, there is not a nobler climb, achieving peace in our own time

I know peace begins with me, with all I feel and all I see. And I know it’s no easy task, removing our own fearful mask…

WOW! I just find those lyrics so amazing and I could write a book off of those but I’ll work on keeping it to just a newsletter for now.

I’ll start with the first line. Here we stand in unity, making one choice to be free. When I read that sentence I am reminded of the recent changes we’ve seen this year. We’ve seen the first black man voted to be President of the United States. We’ve experienced outrageous gas prices over $4.00 a gallon quickly fall to under $2.00 in a matter of day. We’ve seen the makings of another “depression”. Our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers are far away in another country fighting in a war. Not so bright and full of sunshine is it? So now I put a question out to all of us. What can WE, as ONE do today, right now, right this moment to bring a little more peace in our hearts, our minds and our spirits? How can we bring peace into our homes, our workplaces, our communities? What would you be willing to do today to start creating peace?

Here we stand as soldiers now, turning our swords into ploughs. As I typed that sentence above, my eyes welled with tears. I see us all putting down our weapons and picking up ploughs to pave the way for the children of the world. When I speak of weapons, I not only thought of weapons of mass destruction as bombs, guns, knives, etc. I thought that our words and actions can also be considered weapons of mass destruction and it’s time to lay those down as well. In order to bring about peace we need to not only stop fighting with each other but with ourselves as well. If we are to plough the way of peace for our children, we will have to come together to make sure that we create the brightest future for them. I believe that this starts with filling our own hearts, minds and bodies first.

And for the final piece of the song I’ve shared, I know peace begins with all I feel and all I see. And I know it’s no easy task, removing our own fearful mask. Boy could I relate to this one. This is what much of my coaching is based upon. Making peace with all of our feelings and thoughts and finally removing our masks of fear, allowing our real selves to be seen and even be vulnerable. How can we be at peace even when our hearts are being broken or on the days where we feel like we are at our wit’s end? Perhaps it begins with acceptance of ourselves as we are in that very moment, feeling and owning our feelings knowing that we are enough and that no matter what we carry peace in our body, mind and spirit. For when we are truly at peace, the things that trip us up in life, no matter how big or small, become stepping stones to our path of discovery, learning and adventure all showing us the way to our extraordinary selves.

I would like to end this section of my newsletter with a few more quotes from some of Melissa’s songs that touched my soul….

Light a Light….”Tis the season of change. The seasons are the contrast, the key to life and how it’s done. It’s time to let go of all our past, and let go of what’s to come.

Write down your excuse, and turn them into dust, plant the seeds of change and water it with trust..

It’s time we stop believing, that we are not enough. I know they said it on the tv, so turn it off, break the chains, step outside and feel the love…..


It’s Christmas Time….What if we all start spreading the news, there’s nothing to fear anymore, we are connected, one family of light, hallelujah..

It’s up to you now. Would you be willing to email me what one thing you can do this holiday season to put down your swords and pick up your ploughs in order to bring about peace in your body, mind and spirit? I would like to collect them and post them on my new website which will be launched in January, 2009!


For the body…

In terms of peace for the body this month, I would like to suggest that you don’t deny yourself of merriment this season by being on a “diet” or worrying that one, even two or three pieces of candy or cake or cookies or “fill in the blank” will mean that you are “bad” or that you are “cheating”. Deprivation gets us nowhere fast.

Something I did over Thanksgiving that helped me to stay healthy was to focus on family and friends during our celebration. I also tasted a little bit of everything, slowly tasting and savoring every morsel being thankful for the food instead of making it my enemy.

Another way to bring peace to your body is accepting and loving it every day. Instead of concentrating on the parts of your body you don’t like, try something new. Send those parts of you some love daily and thank them for being a part of you. As it was once said, “what you can’t be with won’t let you be”. By being able to accept and love your body exactly as it is right now will change your attitude and who knows maybe your waist line.

Remember to move your body as well. If it’s hard to be outdoors due to the weather, spend time during commercials doing a few simple yoga stretches or march in place. One of my favorite “workouts” lately is putting on lively music and dancing around while I’m doing chores or just hanging out. You can also try some relaxing yoga to balance out the craziness of your day. Check out this link for some great poses. Put on some mellow music and stretch. Even if you just have five minutes, your body will thank you for giving it the love it deserves.

For The Spirit

During times like we’ve been experiencing I thought some childhood youth and innocence was in order. This is the letter from Virginia O’Hanlon to the editor of the New York Sun, first printed in 1897.

Dear Editor:

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says “If you see it in the Sun, it’s so”. Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Dear Virginia:

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s are little. In this great universe of ours, man in a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We would have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest men, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love and romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus!? Thank god he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 year from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.