Big Duh Moment

Well, you gotta love coaches.

I just hung up with mine who gave me immediate homework of lying down. "Go lie down," she said.

Knowing full well I wouldn't be good at it, she told me to let my boyfriend get cable in my house (he's gonna love that), and also get TIVO.

(I'll lie down after I write this post. I'm pretty sure.)

My coach recommended watching "Intervention" on Lifetime. And decorating shows at night, where the biggest problems people encounter is that the tile doesn't fit quite right.

All right, I never had a coach insist that I watch tv. (And somewhat purposeless tv at that.) In fact, several friends and colleagues are a little righteous in saying they not only don't watch tv, but they don't even OWN one.

And now I have not only permission, but INSTRUCTION, to watch it guilt free. (I think I love her.)

She also told me to stop reading for growth, and start reading for pure fun and pleasure. Whatever entertains my brain. Not something to "work" at, master, or create more to-do lists with.

All this because I somehow didn't make the connection for myself in the ezine I just sent out (Eliminate the Middle Man).

I had told Martha about Lindsey the massage therapist who told me I was fueled by adrenalin and insulin and that my gallbladder was shot. I thought the adrenalin and insulin observation might be right. And then reading Martha's description of adrenal burnout on page 221 in "4 Day Win" was confirmation that my gas tank is approaching empty.

She asked what I do that contributes to burnout. I gave a typical daily example of how I roll out of bed, go straight to the office, turn on the computer, let dogs out while it boots up, then open emails to see what's happened during the night. After I get out of the shower (before I'm even dressed), I pop back in to check email and see what happened during the 15 minutes I was away. I sometimes don't even eat breakfast until 1. The UPS guy knows all my pajamas, because sometimes I skip the shower part.

"Yep, you're addicted," she said.

She asked what I was hoping to find in those emails I obsessively check. "What's the best thing that could happen there?" It took me a few minutes to articulate, but it was something along the lines of some really good news that would allow me to relax a little and take a break.

So Martha told me to eliminate the middle man. (And no, she doesn't read my ezine. Is this the Universe talking loud and clear or what?)

She told me take a break now. "Go lie down."

Eliminate the middle man? You mean the middle-man good news that allows me to bask in success for a moment so I can relax? You mean just relax now?

The thought brought tears to my eyes. Relax now? Watch tv? Read for fun?

I think I've died and gone to heaven.

And because my COACH is telling me this, I will do it. My ex-boyfriend, current boyfriend, girlfriend, neighbor, even dogs - no one else could get me to relax on that couch. But I'll listen to my coach.

You gotta love coaches, and the "big duh" moments they inspire.

All right, I'm off to lie down for a bit. :)

Manifesting Space

Last week between client sessions I had a quick minute to post an article online (it was on Thought Vs. Action, if you'd like a look-see) before I ran to a couple different stores for people food, dog food, cat food and paper. As I was driving along trying to decide what I had time for, what was most important and thinking of the article that didn't get properly edited, I felt tension creeping in.

Awareness of the tension was my red flag to release it and remember all is well. No need to be tense. But it kept creeping back in. Three times I remember consciously releasing tension, before I finally checked in as to where it was coming from. A general feeling of being rushed was behind it.

By then I'd kind of lost patience with myself. After all, I had work to do.

So we get to the first store (the dogs came with), pick up the dog and cat food along with a couple treats, no time to chat with the owner, barely time to pet the store chihuauhua on the way out.

We're on the road again and I'm deciding what I have time for next. Paper or people food, I don't have time for both. It probably has to be paper cause that'll be quicker. And I better not get distracted by any fun colored stuff - because I know I have a tendency to be drawn to colored paper, pens, folders .. it's like a magnet. No time for fun, though. We have to be efficient!

Which is the thought I was holding when my cute little car got slammed in the rear end by a woman who didn't know the rest of us were stopped.

Now, I haven't been in an accident since I was 18 (when I was also rear-ended by a girl watching cute boys on the corner). That's over 20 years of a virtually perfect driving record. This is something that simply doesn't happen to me.

And here it was happening to me. Deep breath. New priorities. Everyone okay? Yeah. Two sheriffs and a tow truck driver saw it happen and were on the scene immediately. The woman who hit us was very nice. Luckily enough I didn't hit the car in front of me, and no one hit her. Both cars were driveable (after cute tow truck guy pulled my bumper off the rear tire).

We took care of business and I headed home late for my next client session. Before my next one started, I had 15 minutes to reflect.

What had I been feeling that put me in alignment with a wreck? Albeit a very minor wreck that actually wasn't that bad an experience, it still isn't the sort of thing I thought I was lined up with.

I remember feeling tension on the drive and trying to release it several times. I realized the tension came from trying to do too much in too little time, and the thought came up that I "need more space in my life."

More space, indeed. That's exactly what the other driver got cited for not allowing between our cars. I need more space. More breathing room. I'm cramming too much in. I need to relax in lots of ways - errands, client work, in myself.

So that was my "thank you, Universe" moment where I could see the gift of my fender bender. A message that I couldn't ignore to take this space thing seriously. I've been talking to my coach about it for a while now, and only made superficial improvements. Time to show I mean business.

You better believe next time I walk through the dog food store I'm going to hear all about the owner's fun weekend, pet the store dog AND store cat before I go. I'm indulging my "feel good" at the office supply store next time, shopping for whatever I'm drawn to. I'll remember there's always plenty of time for everything important, and I'll also appreciate all the drivers who keep their safe distance.

I'm also newly committed to keeping a smaller client roster and booking more "me" time in every day - not just every week.

I share that here because I know as I say so, I'm much more likely to live up to it. Thank you for hearing me.

If anyone has any messages from the Universe you care to share with the rest of us so we don't have to get slammed in our own rear end, I welcome hearing them!

Relaxing in the Rapids

Two weeks ago, floating down Cataract Canyon with my sweetie and three rafts-full of his rocket scientist (really) co-workers, I picked up some great Law of Attraction life wisdom from our river guides. Trip leader, Lorenzo, gave us safety instructions the day we were due to run class 3, 4 and 5 rapids. I've already written about several life lessons I learned from Lorenzo's safety training, but this tip here is my favorite:

We're told at length how to stay safe on river rapids. (Basically, stay in the boat!) But worst case scenario, if you're ejected, and you go under, and you get confused and scared and out of oxygen and panicked, Lorenzo gave this instruction: "Relax."

Relax?

Yeah, right. I'd like to see that.

"Yes," he says, "relax." Because when you do, the river will spit you out. It'll shoot you right back to the top where you will be able to breathe again and can reconnect with your boat.

He told us if we're in the rapids under water, we should NOT expend energy trying to swim. Do NOT waste time trying to go anywhere or do anything. First of all, we probably wouldn't go the right direction anyway, and second, we wouldn't make any progress. We'd also be too exhausted to give ourselves real help. (Self-rescue is the best rescue - I'll blog about that later!) Not to mention we'd be missing out on the ride of our lives while we struggle against the stream!

Rather, Lorenzo said, "Relax and let the stream spit you out." Which it will happily do, if you just stop fighting it. It'll take you where you need to go.

Sound familiar?

The stream will take us where we need to go. Everything we want is downstream. Stop the struggle, stop resisting. Just go with the flow, and enjoy the ride.

Yeah, Relax.

All right, I'm starting to like the sounds of this advice!

So much so that as we round the corner on our first set of rapids, and I can hear the approaching roar of water, I get excited at the thought of going for a ride in the stream. I'm ready to put all my safety training to work!

But then we get there, and I completely change my mind about that. I did everything in my power to stay in the boat! Not that I don't trust the stream, but the boat ride was exciting enough. Full of "woo hoos" and a couple first degree screams. (And not just from the ladies.)

Just what we came here for, right? The ride of our lives!

So, now that we're back on dry land living our daily lives, it seems worth asking the question: what are we struggling against? What are we resisting? What could we relax into, and enjoy more of? Where could we let the stream work on our behalf, while we just relax and enjoy the ride?

I know I keep saying this, and Universe keeps proving me wrong, but I honestly don't see how it could get any better than THIS! Thanks for being part of my ride, everyone. (And for letting me be part of yours.) It wouldn't be the same without you!