I have made several SoulCollage cards, which are a wonderful way to dive into your inner, intuitive world. Once you’ve made the cards, you can randomly pull a card and read it in context of what’s going on in your life. In the card I selected the other day, a long line of mothers anchors a baby to the past. Mother birds nurture their young just as these mothers nurtured each of their own young, far back into history. The chain is unbroken, giving that baby a share in all of human history, in fact, all of the history of this earth, and indeed the universe.

Yes, I did finally make it to Madrid for an incredible experience of the coaching retreat. No, I was not able to go for an entire day doing nothing. I did try. Sort of. I practiced Tai Chi, I went for a walk, and I worked on my book before finally heading out to the airport. Once I got there, I knitted and watched people while waiting for the plane. For me that was a very relaxing and laid-back day.

I’m on my way to Madrid, to a retreat for Success Unlimited Network coaches. I’ve been very excited about attending my first retreat, looking forward to mingling with so many like-minded people, learning new ideas and gaining new insights. I’m even presenting one of the workshops: Positive Team Coaching. I’m pretty confident going into the workshop, as I’ll be sharing ideas that I feel very strongly about, and have lived deeply this last year.

A friend asked me today: what is consciousness? She needed a definition for a class. Be careful what you ask a coach. Here was my reply:

Consciousness: Transcending the ego to live fully in the present moment.
What does this mean? Here’s my humble opinion:

Affirmations are a wonderful way to manifest into your life what you really want. They are based upon Neuro-Linguistic Programming, which basically says that our thoughts wear grooves into our brains. The more we think a particular thought, the deeper the groove. Thus, old beliefs from childhood that we revisit again and again (“I don’t deserve good things”, “I’ll never get what I really want”, etc.) are very ingrained, and that’s why they’re so hard to overcome. Affirmations help you to create new thought-paths (grooves) through repetition.

I’m constantly amazed at the power of affirmations. I’ve been using them for a little over one year, and have gotten into the habit of saying them every morning as I drive in to work. What a great and positive way to start the day! Even if they didn’t manifest incredible things into my life, they get my mind into an optimistic state that lasts me through the day. People always ask me why I’m so perky in the morning…

Have you ever stopped to feel the life within you?

“What am I, chopped liver?” used to be my favorite saying. I’m short and slight, and easily overlooked, usually blending into the background. I used to get so frustrated at being ignored when waiting for service, or to be seated at a restaurant, even waiting for a green light (it never turned green until another car joined me at the signal). For a while I thought I was invisible; no one seemed to notice me. I sort of liked the invisibility idea.

I recently took a contract at a large corporation where I’ve worked on and off for years. When I ‘retired’ recently to get training as a coach, I sometimes found myself almost missing working at that company, even though when I was there I was very burnt out and couldn’t wait to leave. What was I missing? I missed The Badge. This little piece of plastic allowed me to enter any building belonging to the company. I could go where I pleased, when I pleased. I was surrounded by people who knew me and respected me. I belonged, I was included. Without The Badge, who was I?