And isn’t this true? Wonderful friends call out of the clear blue and make your day.
If you are reading this you are someone special to me!
Y3 – Day 190 – Someone Special
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Monthly Archives: July 2015
Y3 – Day 189 – The Four Agreements
By don Miguel Ruiz
If you haven’t read this small little treasure from 1997 yet, it is time. It will greatly improve your life and your outlook. I have given many copies away and have one up here in the mountains as well as down the hill.
An excerpt, randomly chosen: All the sadness and drama you have lived in your life was rooted in making assumptions and taking things personally. Take a moment to consider the truth of this statement. The whole world of control between humans is about making assumptions and taking things personally. Our whole dream of hell is based on that.
Based on Toltec (ancient Aztec sages) wisdom, this book is still relevant, or even more so, today.
Y3 – Day 188 – Mountain Time
Once again, after a long hiatus, I am happily typing up in my treehouse.
You know you are a writer when even sorrow brings you to the page. When you can make sense of your emotions and untangle the wires scrambled up in your head with words in a straight line.
You know you are a writer when libraries, bookstores and stationery shops turn you into a complete nerd. When you can’t make it past a written sign, flyer, magazine or computer screen without reading it. When you watch people and mentally imagine their story. When you wish you had written it. When you DO write it down.
You know you are a writer when scenery and landscapes escape your verbal grasp and you try to make sense of it by detaching and describing it in detail. When you sense every movement, touch, smell, sound and taste to the nth degree. When you try to find just the right word to depict the profound effect everything has on you.
You know you are a writer when solitude is an opportunity to write. When hours go by, you look up from your work and realize the time, hungry and groggy because you missed lunch. When you commit to honoring your appointment to self because it feeds you best.
It is good and right to be here where fingers tap, ideas soar and I am covered in serenity.
Y3 – Day 187 – Master Minds
Just came home from my first Master Mind session with six other women. My friend D, the facilitator, held it in her home. It was an opportunity to share our pin pointed goals and brainstorm solutions or offer different perspectives/angles of viewing challenges so our focus remains laser sharp.
Plus, we got accountability buddies and a demo on what that looks like.
Serendipity has me paired up with an old friend I had not seen in over eight years who just happens to be in the group via her neighbor/walking buddy who joined the circle six months ago. We had lost touch and now not only is she back in my life but we are going to help each other grow!
Sometimes you cross paths with people again because of unfinished business or because you both needed time to experience life separately but still have more to learn from each other.
It will be fun to re-connect and advise and talk up a storm with each other again.
Who knows? I would have never predicted this in a million years, The universe must feel this is the right person for each of us to take the next step in our lives with and I am going to ride that train and see where the journey takes us.
Y3 – Day 186 – Back on Track
Today at yoga we worked on our lower backs, specifically the lower lumbar and sacral spine.
We used clary sage and ginger essential oil drops first and massaged it on our lower backs which when applied topically to our skin, the biggest organ of our body, relaxes, warms and tenderizes the muscles, tissues and area on a cellular level.
We held and felt the energy of a Vanadinite specimen which helps us focus, ground and work through any major projects or hard work like back “breaking” or opening.
As we listened to an Egyptian female chanteuse for some of the playlist, sitars and singing bowls for the rest, we undulated, flexed and extended our spines.
And finally, after a Savasna echoed in silence only by a brass Tibetan bowl, a crystal quartz bowl and chimes, we received guidance from a spiritual deck of cards for fun and conversation.
Next week, we will go back to serving tea during cards bringing us nurturing refreshment as well as a sense of closure to our practice.
Namaste,
Cecilia
Y3 – Day 185 – Chekov
Meet the newest addition to Berkeley. It didn’t take long after unpacking to hit the San Francisco shelter and come home with an adorable and lucky kitten. Welcome to the family!
Y3 – Day 184 – Hello Dalai!
Dalai Lama Day – Happy 80th Birthday!!
It was another dream come true to see and hear this compassionate, tolerant and joy filled human being live and in person! What a bonus to celebrate his birthday!
Namaste.
Y3 – Day 183 – Happy Fourth of July 2015
may your day be full of color!
Y3 – Day 182 – Being the Change
In the last few weeks, I have taken and enjoyed my mentor’s class she has been developing and has launched, called ‘Being the Change.’ She took Gandhi’s quote to help others learn how to create positive habits that directly enhance and promote whatever their values are. She is helping many people find their purpose and then expanding upon their visions.
To further my studies and work with her, I will be part of a ‘Master Mind’ group of women who will support and encourage each other monthly for the next six months. I look forward to what has already become a life changer or awakening for me. Her well thought out questionnaire and strategies are personal, reflective and deeply informative. I never realized certain limiting beliefs I had or pinpointed to such a degree what holds me back from acting on my innermost desires.
I am most grateful. And, I will keep you ‘posted’ if you like.
Y3 – Day 181 – Re-Imaging
Re doing your bathroom can bring up a wealth of flaws and questions.
I thought I was more decisive and determined. We went through a major remodel and additions of walls, space and removal of everything when we first moved into this second home of ours when the chickadees were 2, 4 and 7. I made precise and certain decisions based on Martha Stewart colors and durable surfaces. Everything came down to sturdiness and easy to clean as well as pleasing to the turn of the century eye, heck, the millennium was approaching fast!!!
But times have changed and our kids packed their bags and flew out of the nest. My designer/friend/general contractor and I saw every vanity available to purchase in OC yesterday. She is a huge help and great company but unfortunately, I am MORE confused about what I like now than when I went out on an excursion to narrow things down.
We scoured for hours looking for mirrors, faucets, hardware and toilets. We promised to check out the lighting store next time. And this is after spending days emailing each other wallpaper, vanity and sink sites. Now, I am changing my mind about the floor (which needs to go in first), the style and color palette. Do we reinvent the bathroom into a contemporary Zen/Spa look using only Organic materials? Or do we stick to the traditional, classic yet modern drama we envisioned with crystals and bling? Do we go black and white and a pop of color? Or do we step into a sea of earth tones? Do we keep two sinks or center one in the middle? And what do we do with the empty space? If we change it, will the rest of the house look out of place or dated? And who are we now?
That is the big question. How do we go from here? When we were young and moved into our first home, my husband and I put in sweat equity and risked design choices based on everything we hadn’t grown up with or had to live with because of price. We selected primary colors, contemporary lighting, outdoor Pier One furniture and custom designed carpet, wall coverings and couches.
And then the kids came and safety and practicality became an issue. Soon our couches, decor and hard surfaces had to be re-thought.
So, we lost the hand painted walls in teal and lavender on beige by MOI “wine room” with circular bamboo chairs, a hanging macrame coffee table and glazed brick floor and instead installed carpet, black and white and red Westie puppy wallpaper and brought in a bright fire engine red iron crib and a rocker/glider for the now “baby’s room.”
Our pink rose wallpapered guest room became our daughter’s room. My office became a primary color space for our son and the bathroom door that led to the pool area was forever locked up with caulk. Our floor to ceiling windows and mirrors became design centers for handprints. Our atrium full of ferns and birds became a place to run your big wheel over freshly planted flowers and Malibu lights. Instead of a ping pong table we added dining room furniture. Our water dispenser became a beam of delight to our son once he realized he could scurry over and let the water out with a push of a lever. Our pantry and all bottom drawers had to be re stocked with plastic ware or unbreakable cat food cans they could stack and play with underfoot while I cooked and cleaned up meals. Ah, but I digress…
Who are we now? Maybe we have reverted back to the ultra contemporary risqué duo again. Or what if we like the traditional with just a bit more adult posh, vibrant tones and sophistication?
My friend K. strongly suggested we add a shower to our powder room because “in a few years you will have hospitable beds in the living room and not be able to get up the stairs.”
I think we will cherish this time and process and not worry about that just yet.
A new dawn awaits us and there is more to design and remodeling than you think there is once you start envisioning the ‘new’ us living in it.
This first hurdle of figuring out what direction to take is much more crucial and will influence all other design choices in this, our fourth act.