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Live near Boston? You're Invited to 2 "Spring Forward" Events
Thursday, April 13,2006
11:00-1:00
and 6:00-9:00pm--
OPENING TO NEW
POSSIBILITIES: LET'S PLAY WITH YOUR
IMAGE!
Location: Zia Discount Designer Boutique, 91
Trapelo Road, Belmont, MA
Cost: No
Charge. FREE Drawing for $50 Zia gift certificate!
Monday, May 8, 2006
10:00-1:30pm
MOVING ON WITH YOUR LIFE:
3 FUN WAYS
to FIND YOUR FOOTING!
Location: CasaNia
Studio, 46 Porter Square Rd, Cambridge, MA
Cost: $50/pp OR register with a friend for
$40/pp by April 26th
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"Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth,
'You owe Me.' Look what happens with a love like that,
It lights the Whole Sky."
~Hafiz
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Testimonials
"I've discovered my deepest values and am now
crafting my life around them." ~Mother, FL
"I feel alive again. My husband and I
are taking vacations together. Unplugged." ~Former
CEO, Non-Profit, MA
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About Morgaine
I am a Certified Life Coach and Professional Retreat
Leader (and Mary Poppins!) with over 20 years
experience in guiding others through enlivening,
challenging and results-oriented personal
development. Are you ready to redesign your life
so that the 2nd half of life is beyond your wildest
expectations?
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NEW!
"MARY POPPINS VACATION CHILDCARE:
You Go Away and We All Get To Play!"
Longing to Get Away on vacation and have some
time alone or with your honey?
Wondering
how to provide special care for
your children while you're gone?
HIRE ME to move into your home for a
weekend or a week in my magical role as "Morgaine
Mary Poppins."
Contact me to explore more
morgaine@treehousecoach.com or (508) 548-
6659
"As a matter of fact, since you hired Mary
Poppins, the most extraordinary things seem to have
come over the household." ~Mr. Banks, Mary
Poppins movie (1964)
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Quick! In this moment, write down 10 things for which you're grateful. Now notice how you feel...
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"What if you gave someone a gift, and they
neglected to thank you for it--would you be likely to
give them another?
Life is the same way. In
order to attract more of the blessings that life has to
offer, you must truly appreciate what you already
have." ~Ralph Marston
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Why Bother with Gratitude?
In my "dark night of the soul" period during the past
2 years, gratitude has not been at the top of my To
Do list. It feels hard to admit that, especially in a
forum like this.
"What will they think of you, WISE COACH?" my self-
sabotaging inner voice shouts. I don't know.
However, I do know that's a risk I'm willing to take
today for the sake of sharing myself in a REAL way.
And I imagine, especially for those of you at midlife,
you can identify with my story in some way or
another.
The challenges of the past 2 years have brought me
to my knees. I had always prided myself on being
able to "handle a lot" and yet this time, it felt like too
much for too long. Slowly and without notice, I was
losing my sense of "can do."
Caught in the grip of fear, most of my energy ended
up being focused on losses and disappointments:
deaths, friendships, financial problems, health,
business projects. I felt that somehow, this was all
my fault because I hadn't done enough, wasn't good
enough, smart enough, etc.
Painful to live this and especially to begin to look
back at it with some perspective. At that
time, "Thank God, this day is over" was what I was
grateful for--on my better days.
"Lighten Up": How I Came to be Grateful for (and Love)
My Body
This experience of not having enough or being
enough was not new to me. As I look back, I can
remember, for example, never thinking my body was
good enough just as it was, right then. If only I was
15 pounds thinner or my thighs were smaller or
_______. Fill in the blank with the body part of your
fancy. (I'd be more graphic but I don't want to
get "spammed out" and this email never reach you!)
I also noticed that I typically thought my body (or
whatever subject I was doing the "if only" drama on)
was better or even OK at some time in the past. So
my mind would say stuff like "Gosh, you sure looked
great when you were working at the bank after
college."
What I came to realize, though, was that even when
I was working at the bank after college, that voice
still wasn't satisfied. Then it would say "If only you
could look like you did when you were riding your bike
as a teenager, then you'd be happy. THEN you'd feel
beautiful."
Thankfully, about 10 years ago, a woman named Joy
popped into my life. She gave me an audio
tape, "Lighten Up" by Carol Hansen, that changed my
life. And my body. Her premise is that we cannot
change our body unless we first accept it and love
it "as is."
With Carol's guidance, I began doing a daily ritual
that even in my darkest days, I have continued to
do. It's a simple, yet profound, process. Every time I
bathe or put lotion on my body, I give thanks
verbally to that part of my body.
Here are a couple
of my prayers: "I love my neck, my long beautiful
giraffe neck, my voice, my truth, what's said and not
said. I love my thighs, my strong firm, standing up for
myself and moving out thighs." It doesn't matter
what you say --or that you believe it yet. Just keep
it postive and in present tense.
About 6 months later, I identified major food
sensitivities (wheat and dairy) and willingly
made radical dietary changes I had never been able
to do before. Within another 6 months, I lost 10
pounds without even thinking about it. A year later, I
recognized my food addictions and sought help
through Overeaters
Anonymous. And lost another 30 pounds while
eating healthier--and feeling more beautiful
and "really me"--than ever. I lightened up in more
ways than one!
It's been 10 years now and saying love prayers out
loud to my body feels like second nature. I'm
grateful to my body for all it does for me and how I
feel in it and look in it, especially as I age. Gratitude
has brought me a body that I love and that takes
good care of me.
"If I don't take care of my body, where will I
live?"
Gratitude:
Changing Y(our) World
Brother David of Gratefulness.org is a gratitude junkie. He lives and breathes this
stuff, helping to answer the "Why Bother" question
for me. Brother David speaks about how easy it is for
us to take things for granted and to even feel
entitled to the gifts we receive in life.
In order to increase our joy and happiness, he
suggests we lower our expectations---"the smaller
the vessel, the sooner the gratitude will overflow--if
we keep making the vessel larger, wanting MORE
MORE MORE, we feel we don't have enough and we
see our life as inadequate."
Wow! If I can look at the losses and disappointments
of the last 2 years as LIFE HAPPENS, especially
during the midlife cycle, then I can give up struggling
and blaming myself, instead looking at it as learning
experiences. AND getting "right-sized." AND EVEN BE
GRATEFUL FOR THAT!
Actually, I AM beginning to honestly feel grateful for
the messy and murky. Having endured that period, I
now feel the benefits of the smaller vessel and how
quickly gratitude spills out of me.
Amazing.
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