Embracing Change

Wow, what a super full birthday week I've just celebrated!

Sorry I've been away awhile, I love to write more frequently than this and promise I will now that my birthday and Canada's July 1st birthday celebration marathon has passed. It was great seeing special friends, receiving calls, cards and flowers. I feel very loved... thanks to all of you that remembered and reached out.

It has been a few weeks since attending the "Coming Alive" seminar at The Haven Institute. Each and every day has me reflecting on what I learned about myself and, more so, making the effort to IMPLEMENT what I learned. This little quote spoke to me, have a read...

"Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken." Quotation by Frank Herbert

Embracing change easily and without fear is quite the task... but is a worthy task. It is when we grip in fear of change that we become stagnant, within ourselves and in life.

The truth is, everything is evolving, unfolding and becoming. This is the law of the Universe and we can either embrace it, or be dragged kicking and screaming through life. Change is inevitable, so why not eagerly embrace the mystery of it and hold intrigue as to HOW it is going to unfold... AND how I can participate and influence it's positive unfolding.

My seminar at The Haven gave me a fresh readiness to embrace moving ahead. Though not easy self-work (and actually really emotionally painful in moments), the rewards of learning new things about how I'd been approaching life have given me new perspective to move forward from. Every person in my class became a mirror for me to see an aspect of myself to grow from... and for each of them I am grateful. But, this is true of every person we ALL come in contact with, if curious enough to consider how... every person a small reflection of ourselves to learn from and grow.

The task, now that I am home and back in my usual routine, is to "stay awake," remember what I learned and how to apply the every day practices that will help me to grow further on my life path. Already I'm recognizing the temptations to simply fall back into the comfort zone of past behaviour, calling on me to be ever diligent. That tends to be the hardest part of change for most... the integration of new practices and ways of being based on our learnings.

Life is not the same as it was yesterday, and thankfully it will not be the same tomorrow.

Conditions in the outer world may change, but presence of mind and heart will help us to remain constant and sure.

How are you in relation to change?

Are you a curious change artist, or do you dig your heels in with resistance to change?

If you'd like help with making change in your life and haven't yet signed up for my free Work and Life Balance tips, go to
www.life-balance-success.com/freebalancetips.html and sign in. (You can unsubscribe any time, if you want to.) I'll talk to every few days and give you ideas on how to quicken some positive new ways of being within yourself and in your life.

Better still, get yourself a copy of our new "Becoming the BEST YOU Possible" eBook! This will definitely help you in your quest for change. $27... that's it. http://www.life-balance-success.com/

In appreciation,

Carolyn Clarke

http://www.innerfitness.ca/

Stop and Smell the Flowers

I know you've heard the phrase... "Stop and smell the flowers!"


(C) 2007 Photo by Carolyn Clarke, all rights reserved.



Since my participation in the Coming Alive program at The Haven Institute recently, I admit that things are changing for me. The important self-work I did in the group has helped me to realize some important things about myself, what motivates me and and what changes I desire to make to be an even better person.

Since my return home, one thing that I've noticed is how my senses seem to be ultra-sensitized! The early morning smells of earthiness almost bowl me over as a take my long walks. The colours around me seem to have become more saturated, with deeper greens and blues than what I seemed to notice pre-Coming Alive. It's almost like I put on a pair of polarizing filters over my eyes, bringing out the crisp clarity of colours and extra in-focus detail.

I am delighting in nature SO much and, as a result, I have been gifting myself with more time to express my photographic passion. Have a look at a few of "my new eyes" finds...

(C)2007 Photo by Carolyn Clarke, all rights reserved.

This lovely (tail-less) butterfly allowed me to come within two inches to capture five images of it, before it flew away. Too bad the light wasn't a little brighter, it would have made a better photo... oh well. I felt tickled with this experience.

(C) 2007 Photo by Carolyn Clarke, all rights reserved.

The beautiful beach outside of The Haven was not your typical sandy or pebbly beach... it was mostly shelves of mssive volcanic rocks thrust up with the earth's changes over time.

Occasionally I came across what looked like impressions of a big bucket having been set down (as in the above photograph) which were, in fact, where a volcanic bubble had burst leaving a rather Zen-like permanent mark in the landscape. I smiled each time I saw one of these Zen circles, for it was like I was being reminded to move slowly, be mindful and be observant... as in meditation. Nature is so wonderful for its reminders.

My greatest joy in this past week, though, has come through watching the new mother and father Robin that nested outside our diningroom window and are now busy feeding their three newborn hatchlings. What a sight to behold! I steal frequent gentle glances at their routine of flying out to search for wriggling worms and ripe salmon berries to bring back to the hungry brood... such proud and devoted, responsible parents!

Nature is all abounding us all day long... if we "stop long enough to smell the flowers!"

May you awaken to the bounty of life around you, too... a vital ingredient to life balance.


Warmly, Carolyn

Our eBook, "Becoming the BEST YOU Possible" is full of ways to get more in touch with Life Balance...
go to http://www.life-balance-success.com/official-ebook-launch.html

Coming Alive at The Haven

Warm hellos again.

It has been a long stretch since I last wrote as I've been away on a personal development program entitled, "Coming Alive" at The Haven Institute for the past ten days.

This time away (from the intensity of writing our eBook and developing the website to promote the eBook) gave me the break I've SO needed... time to step out of living in my busy head and to focus on and nurture my heart, body and soul.

Coming Alive is not for the faint of heart. Each participant was called upon to search deep inside for the courage to be there among virtual strangers and do "the work"... me included.

With 28 other participants, this became our opportunity to share deeply in caring support of each other and to look at our individual inhibiting patterns of feelings and behaviours together. Believe me, we were not strangers for long... friendships quickly got deep. There were many different lives and many different life stories present... every heart-touching story you could ever imagine.

I learned much about myself, with my fellow journeyer friends reflecting important aspects of me that I wished to be free from. This program is about transformation... and transform I did.

The quiet mornings had me participating in a rigorous Hula dance class with the wonderfully brilliant and entertaining teacher, Gary Dillon. I felt truly joyous dancing every day.

And not once but TWICE I gifted myself with the most powerful massage I have ever had the opportunity to experience... LomiLomi Hawaiian massage! It is not only a very thorough deep muscular massage, but a sacred event as I was chanted and sung to by the practitioner, who was also the same Gary. Talk about bliss!

Mid-day, each day, the swimming pool beckoned me for resistance exercises followed by dreaming in the sunshine. Evenings, I joined others for lively conversation in the awesome hottub overlooking the beautiful night lights of Nanaimo across the inlet.

Every day offered me valuable time to walk in the beauty of the coastal environment, to move my body more than I'd done in many months and to feel new levels of muscle tone returning.

Every day offered me the opportunity to listen to the stillness within and to journal write the truth of my heart. I witnessed both sunrises and sunsets, too.

Great healthy food, lots of water, deep conversations and friendships that quickly emerged from mere strangers... this was my soul food. I even came home with several recipes of my favorite dishes... thanks to Travis!

I learned many very important things about myself, for which I feel grateful.

I learned that I NEED to be an integral part of a community of like-minded individuals living their potential, free from patterned behaviours.

I learned that I need quiet time every day to reflect on life and being on this human journey.

I learned that I am naturally an energetic and physically strong person.

I learned that I have a good heart to help others, even though I have the tendancy to "caretake" at times.

I learned that fear and anxiety are my own creations and that I can surrender them through breath.

I learned that I can still my mind and be at home in my body through movement sessions.

I learned that I am willing to fight hard for the expression of my life passions... that mediocrity is NOT an option.

I was reminded of how much I love the outdoors, taking photographs of nature and sharing them around.

You know, we ALL require time away from the craziness of our everyday lives to remember what is really important for our life quality...

... in our heart

... in our emotion

... in our soul

... in our body

... and in our being a part of the human experience in relation to one another.

We can be wonderful mirrors for each other to grow, if we allow ourselves to be open.

I will go to The Haven again... I hope sooner than later. If you are looking for an amazing place to step back, get unstuck and become more in touch with who you really are, I highly recommend that you consider going to this special haven for personal growth. http://www.haven.ca/

In addition to carrying on my daily personal growth practices, my task now that I am home is to introduce our "Becoming the BEST YOU Possible" eBook to the Internet public. I hope you'll check it out for yourself and share it around with others you see that can use some support with getting rebalanced in life.

http://www.life-balance-success.com/

I'll talk to you again in a day or two.

Namaste, Carolyn

http://www.innerfitness.ca/

Coming Alive!

One of the recommendations Richard and I make to busy folk like you is the importance of scheduling occasional time to draw back now and then to completely rejuvenate your body and soul. This means time away from pressures, commitments, maybe even people... to be pampered and invigorated again.

We ALL need times to totally unhook... physically, emotionally, mentally and work-wise. Create time to go inward, time to rest and renew, time to slow our bodies and minds down and to nurture our spirits again.

(C)2006 Photograph by Carolyn Clarke. All Rights Reserved.

Well, it's my turn now... the perfect time to take a good break.

For one whole week, I'll be "unplugged" from the world, away from the computer and the phones, etc. to give total attention to Carolyn's "Coming Alive!" I am going to a retreat center here in British Columbia to participate in a program with that very name... and it being the very reason I chose it.

Having completed the writing of our "Becoming the BEST YOU Possible" eBook and building my homemade website to promote the book, I realize it is time to step back, take a review of my accomplishments, assess new directions and recharge my batteries for my next burst of enthusiasm.

I admit I look forward to getting up off my flattened behind from far too much sitting, gaining a fresh focus and stretching my liveliness muscles again. There are parts of my being that need dusting off and reminding that I'm alive with all sorts of energy to offer next. What that will be, I am not sure, but one thing I do know is that I'll be celebrating having accomplished a really big dream... that of writing my first book.

How I look forward to quiet mornings walking on the beach, yoga and massage sessions, having journal writing time and experiencing the caring support of two facilitators to take me to the edges of knowing myself in new ways again.

Upon my return next week, I will introduce our new BEST YOU eBook in an "Official Launch" to the Internet public. In the meantime, I'll not be writing until my return on the 16th.

Have a really good week... until I have some "Coming Alive" stories and realizations to share with you!

Warm wishes for you while I'm away,

Carolyn

www.innerfitness.ca

Go over and check out our new website and eBook offer...

http://www.life-balance-success.com/