Do you want your life to be about something larger than yourself—to make a meaningful difference in the world, but you have no idea how to go about it or in what way you can contribute? Does it feel unrealistic and out of reach? Do you fear leaving your comfort zone and stepping into the unknown where you may not recognize yourself?

You may experience having to break through your self imposed limits, and people around you may feel threatened and not recognize the new, self-expressive you. So what happens instead, is the years keep passing as you suppress this unfulfilled longing.

You tried serving on boards, volunteering at your child’s school and in your community, but it wasn’t enough—it left you with a deep longing to really give back in a significant, life changing way—one which draws on deeper, creative parts of you crying out to be expressed; to allow your full self to emerge, to see what’s possible. Is there still time to unearth these parts and become whole?

Yes! This is actually the perfect time to let go of the old family story of who you were supposed to be, to find the passion and spark that brings you to who you truly are, to discover and clarify your gifts and how to share them in a meaningful way.

How do you get started?

First, you can subscribe to my bi-monthly newsletter, Bits of Inspiration, which will support you on your journey. You get a free download of my Jewel in the Heart Meditation, which will help you relax and start listening to the wisdom your heart has to give you. Are you wondering if coaching can help you?

Serving Katonah, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess Counties, NY as well as phone and Skype coaching.

• You long to finally do what you feel called to do and you are ready to explore next steps toward self-expression and contribution.

• You are tired of feeling stuck and uninspired; you want to use your abilities and talents to leave an impactful legacy.

• Traditional talk therapy has only taken you so far—you want to take action towards creating a more meaningful, purposeful, generous life.

• You want to bring your creative dreams to life, but don’t know where to begin.

• You have been looking after your family and now it is time to feel the joy of giving on a larger scale.

But will coaching work for you? It will if:

• You want to make a difference with your gifts and talents
• You are willing to invest time, money and effort in this process
• You want the support to make changes and are willing to receive it
• You are willing to try new things, be a beginner and be open to discovery

Get tips and ideas in my bi-monthly newsletter, Bits of Inspiration.
Or you can read on to find out how it all works…

Serving Katonah, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess Counties, NY as well as phone and Skype coaching.

DISCOVER YOUR LIFE PURPOSE–Find the true reason you are on this planet at this time and how you are meant to contribute.

GET CLARITY—Discover what’s meaningful to you, holds value for you, speaks to your heart. Clear away blocks that have stopped you in the past.

MAKE A PLAN—Develop clear, concise steps towards wholeness and fulfillment. Brainstorm possibilities and opportunities that you may never have allowed yourself to consider. Write your own story.

GET SUPPORT—Gain courage and wisdom through inquiry. Discover how to use your gifts and talents creatively. Create deeper connections with yourself, the ones you love, and with spirit. Reconnect to the missing heart in your life.

If this makes sense to you, then sign up for my free bi-monthly e-newsletter Bits of Inspiration. You can also contact me for a free introductory coaching experience and get your questions answered. If you are still on the fence, you may be caught in one of the most dangerous myths of mid-life.  What myth would that be?

Serving Katonah, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess Counties, NY as well as phone and Skype coaching.

What is it?

The Mid-life Myth is that this phase of life is nothing to take seriously—you’ll get through it and back to your old self soon . . . hopefully not after wreaking too much havoc with yourself and the ones you love.

Do you find yourself spending more and more time—at least a couple of times a week—imagining yourself doing something radical, that might cause a shock wave in your professional or personal life? Do you want to quit your job, move to the islands, have your face lifted, get a new spouse?

You don’t have to do anything that drastic. Change can happen smoothly and incrementally and make a huge impact. It is truly possible to navigate this middle passage with grace and wisdom.

Rather than this being a time of feeling vulnerable and scared facing mortality down the road, this is actually an amazing opportunity to dive deep and explore the coral reef below with all its wonder and beauty. You will emerge with a feeling of gratitude for being alive and an excitement to begin a new and more expansive phase of your life.

The place to get started:

Sign up here for my e-newsletter Bits of Inspiration and get a free MP3 download of the Jewel in the Heart Meditation.

Then you can contact me for a free consultation where you can get your questions answered and find out if it’s a fit for me to coach you toward living the life you want.

Serving Katonah, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess Counties, NY as well as phone and Skype coaching.

 It certainly does to me. That’s where I am right now. Long ago I learned how to say no to the things that don’t speak to my heart but now, when there are so many things coming my way that I want to say yes to, I find myself in a state of exhaustion from doing so much.

Things that normally fill me up and give me energy are gradually becoming onerous chores; my sense of humor is diminishing and my attitude has an edge to it—a sure sign that it is time to take a break—a big break.  So this past weekend, I made no plans and, every day I can, I am building in rest time.

First I need to take time to rest and then I need to bring back the things that have gradually slipped out of my day; the things that keep me grounded, centered and balanced—meditation, journal writing, lyric writing, petting my cat, sleeping deeply.

I am also reinstituting the “afternoon off” into my week to “replenish the well”. Giving from an empty well makes me brittle and dry. When I have an afternoon scheduled each week to do things that are renewing, nourishing and regenerating for myself, I find new, creative ideas flowing in and the inspiration to bring them to life. I am then generating my life from the inside out, instead of from the outside in, because I think I “have to” or I “should”.

Doing can subtly sneak up on us and overcome the being part of our lives. The doing is so active, engaging and fun—we feel oh, so productive. But when doing isn’t balanced with an equal dose of being, we become spent, over-wrought, and it can take its toll on us by bringing on colds, accidents, illnesses—our bodies siren call to take a break, roll it back and inhabit being more.

In being we reconnect with that still, small voice of inner wisdom that informs our doing. That voice helps us make better, more conscious choices, aligned with our hearts. It helps us process the emotions and integrate the learning from all of our doing.  It gives space for the creative spark to arise and color our lives. In being we are able to witness the beauty that surrounds us, either in nature, our loved ones or the perfection of the moment, as it is right now.

The state of being is where true joy arises, centered in the moment, letting the past and future go for a while; it’s where life actually happens—in the fullness of the present moment.

Where is your balance between being and doing? How do you best nurture and renew yourself in order to get to being—just being, here and now. What changes do you need to make to strike a healthy balance?

The flow of the current was not to be ignored either—the saying is “current is king”.  It affected the depth of the shallow water we were trying to navigate around Captiva Island, and whether we would dock bow first or stern.  At times, it was more of a force than the wind.

The direction and flow of the wind and currents affect our lives every day.  When we resist, using our energies to force our lives into a direction we think it should go, we feel frustrated and disillusioned.  It is exhausting struggling to make things go the way we want them to; resisting the natural flow of our lives.

Having a goal and vision of what we want our life to be, helps us move in the direction of this vision, like sighting the distant point we are tacking towards.  Although we have a goal in mind we must always remember that there are multiple forces at work; many layers of circumstances that may prescribe a different outcome. And they may certainly dictate the course we steer.

The “Law of Attraction” or the desire for a particular outcome is only part of the story—karma, Divine will, physical events, unplanned circumstances all come into play and affect the direction of our lives. It is how we respond to these events that fosters growth and wisdom for us, not the actual events themselves.

Creating our vision and then releasing it saying, “This or something better” releases us from the guilt of not manifesting exactly what we have envisioned. It takes courage to let go of the notion that we must control our lives and do everything by ourselves.

Moving with this flow, like a sailor using the wind, opens us to the mystery and wonder the universe holds for us. It encourages us to trust that the universe is taking us exactly where we need to be for our next step toward growth. It opens us to possibilities that exist beyond the grasp of our control and maybe even beyond the power of our imagination—bringing us a bigger vision than we could have imagined.

“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.”

Eckhart Tolle

Stepping into the flow of the universe can help us feel a connection to a force that is greater than ourselves and is always there to support us. Riding the flow of the universe can be effortless, exhilarating, and not like anything that we ever expected it to be. Our souls are freed when we go with the flow of the universe. All we have to do is make the choice to ride its currents.

My husband created a slideshow of our sailing trip. You can view it here.

On the third day, we went aboard a 43-foot boat that took me right to the edge of my comfort zone. We spent the week on the boat with a competent, supportive instructor giving us lessons in sailing, parts of the boat, right of way rules, navigation, man overboard drills, mooring, docking and anchoring, knot tying and more.

By Thursday, my head was so full, I went to bed at 7:00pm, just to give it a rest. On Friday, we took the boat out by ourselves for 24 hours. It was truly a great experience and we are now certified to charter a boat, and to captain our own boat, part of phase two of our life dream. As far as living aboard, the simplicity of that lifestyle is very attractive and would require many adjustments, so the jury is still out on that part.

We were surprised by the wildlife of dolphins loping all our boat, Egrets, Osprey, Herons and Pelicans soaring by. The sunsets over the gulf were magnificent. It reminded me of the beauty all around us just waiting to be observed and appreciated.

We have planned this phase one of our dream for several years now and life kept getting in the way. That is what happens to us—things seem to conspire against fulfilling our deeper desires. But with perseverance, we can have those things that bring us joy and satisfaction as part of our life experience.

What is the dream of your life? Are you able to break it down into phases, the beginning of which you can start to bring into your life? We are about to start a new year. Remember January 2011? I do, like it was yesterday.

Don’t put off your heart’s desire. Make a plan for the New Year to spend more of your time having the experiences that bring you great satisfaction and joy, and come up with a plan that will take your life in the direction of your dreams. Life is to be lived to it’s fullest in this brief time we have here. Now is the year to make it happen.

Wishing you a year filled with your heart’s desire. Happy New Year!

This time of year is full of should’s and have to’s from family traditions and cultural dictums about how we are supposed to celebrate the holidays. You find yourself pushing to get all of it done the way it is “supposed to be done”. How about considering doing the holidays the way YOU want them to be this year? What would that look like? Maybe it means doing most of these things, but this time asking for help—delegating tasks to the rest of the family to share the load. Maybe if means cutting back on the list of gifts to save money and not get more stuff that people already have enough of.

Years ago my family agreed that the adults didn’t need more stuff; so now we donate money to each other’s favorite charity. We get to feel good about the giving and benefit other people at the same time. We love that our money is going to good use, in this case to people who can’t afford their own holiday meal and gifts. It is so rewarding to know that we can make a difference in the lives of others in this easy way. That is the best gift for all of us under the tree.

My friend, Debbie’s large family each picks a name out of a hat and gets one gift for that particular person instead of twenty for every person in the family.

My friend, Kathy’s family has a White Elephant Gift Exchange where each person buys a funny gift and then, going around the circle, each one picks a gift either already opened or an unopened one. They have a ball. Then they eat their holiday dinner, which is a chili competition where each has brought their favorite chili concoction.

You don’t have to be locked in to the dictates of culture. Break free and create your own holiday. This could be the most meaningful holiday ever!

The holidays not only bring fun and festivity, but memories of years past and of lost loved ones. The challenge is to have this year include all of the remembering. Make room in the busyness for some quiet time to reflect, grieve, and honor the memory of lost loved ones and years past. And then make room to explore what would really make the holidays pleasurable for you.

So what is it for you? What can you let go of so that your days are less crazy? What do you want to bring in to really feel the spirit of the season? It’s worth taking the time to ask. You will be surprised how agreeable family and friends will be in making new, simpler traditions that speak to everyone’s hearts.

I am so thrilled about this–it was fun and easy. I hope that you the viewer find it enjoyable, and that you get to take away some insight, inspiration and/or motivation from what you see and experience.

I learned so much from this first experience–camera angles to change, tightening up the script at the opening and closing–I ad-libbed this one–too many other details to tend to ahead of time…

As I was driving away from the studio after the first taping, I was flooded with new ideas of what I wanted to do and how to improve the show. It just reminded me how important taking the first step of action is–those ideas were not available to me until I took this first step.

What it is you want to create? If it’s a TV show, I can tell you where to go to do it…whatever it is, take the first step, and from there all kinds of new, good ideas will be revealed to you to make your creation even better.

Let me know what you think of the show. If you would like to be a guest on the show, email me and tell me what you would like to be coached on in your life.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and your friends. Enjoy each other, remembering what a precious gift we are to each other. I so appreciate you as readers of my writings. It supports me in finding and sharing my voice. Thank you.

When we are tuned into who we are and how we contribute to the community, our friends and families and therefore the world, we find meaning and purpose in our lives. This meaning and purpose can support us through the rough phases where we lose sight of who we are and how important our life is to not only ourselves, but also all those around us.

We are on this earth for a reason. I know this is my belief and yours may differ. Some think we are just blob of protoplasm and happened to evolve into the forms we currently take. Others think this is a kind of purgatory and if endured, gets us to paradise of many imaginings.

I certainly don’t know for sure, as none of us can, but I do know that this existence holds magic and mystery that is not to be missed. I know that meaning can be found in the gaze of a lover, the caress of a child, the creation of a work of art, the communion with nature, the joy of successful community projects and enterprise and on and on and on. We are surrounded by potentially meaningful experiences.

When we are shut down to our surroundings, feeling wounded by our past, numbing to stop the pain, we are closed off from this meaning—life looks bleak and hopeless, with no apparent sense to it all. We have fallen into a hole and can’t seem to muster the strength or desire to pull ourselves out. We isolate ourselves so others won’t see us this way, which just makes the condition worse.

This has happened to us all at one point or other. It’s a very painful place to be. Depression is epidemic in our culture. People run to doctors for help to pull themselves out of the hole. We have lost all sense of meaning and purpose, and have lost our connection to source energy.

If you are feeling frustration, uneasiness, fear or depression, then you are to varying degrees disconnected from source energy. Letting in who you really are is allowing your connection to source energy. And when you do, you feel love, appreciation, vitality, enthusiasm, passion, well-being.

To find this connection again first requires action—small steps in the direction of something life affirming. It is remarkable how such small, consistent steps can quickly change one’s state from darkness and isolation to connection and light.

By caring less about the opinion of others and asking for help, we find compassion and a helping hand that begins to turn the tide. We find others stories mirror our own and how by lending a hand to them, we are uplifted. Energy begets energy. New ideas and desires awaken. Stuckness moves to flow again. We ask the question: What do I want and need to live the life I long for? We begin to have the energy to create that for ourselves.

I believe we are put on this earth with a longing in our hearts for a reason—to live blissfully while contributing the best we have to give to make this a better world, one small step at a time.