Saturday, December 24, 2005

Will You Choose Peace?

If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors, there must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart.

- Lao-Tse, 5th Century BCE

The holidays can be stressful times with all the traffic, shopping, cooking, planning, traveling.... And when we're busy and under pressure, it's easy to get caught up in the "dance" of reacting. In this dance, tempers may flair, angry words may fly; or feelings or words may be withheld in silence. Neither extreme leads to happy holidays!

If you find yourself reacting, take a deep breath and give yourself an extra moment to choose a different way to respond. There is always another choice. And in the choosing there is power.

Will you choose peace?

If you'd like to read more on "choosing peace," here's a link to the Peace issue of my ezine, Create a Happy 'Tude. Enjoy!

May your holidays be filled with Peace.... in your heart.

Here's to continuing the Journey..... and choosing peace in every moment.

-Becky

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Happy Winter Solstice

Tonight will be the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. In the coming days, there will start to be more daylight as the nights grow shorter.

Celebrating this time of growing light in the midst of the winter's darkness, symbolized hope for our ancestors. The Christian Church melded this holiday with it's own celebration of the birth of the Christ Child, also a symbol of light coming into the darkness of the world. (more detailed history here)

However you celebrate the season, take a few moments to stop and reconnect with your highest potential and celebrate the birth of the Light within yourself.

Let go of old resentments and ill feelings toward people who have treated you badly in some way. Let go of whatever is keeping you focused on the past.

Imagine.... what would it feel like to step into 2006 with a clean slate - without any baggage?

As the new year approaches, set an intention to move forward with your dreams, your goals, your life... and make 2006 the best year ever!

To get started, try this Five-Minute Winter Solstice Meditation from Stuart Wilde
(excerpt from his December 15th "A" List Newsletter. To sign up, go to www.stuartwilde.com)

At midnight go outside or stand on a balcony and face north. Take an ice cube
with you in your left hand. And place your right hand on your heart and take
three deep breaths and relax. Then in your mind’s eye, bring up anyone that
you hold rancor or resentment toward - people that have ripped you off or
treated you badly. Bring the first one in your mind’s eye and breath them in
eleven times and as you breath out send them love and wish them well in life,
release them from your energy. Then bring up the next one and so forth until you
are done. Then finally when you are finished, take eleven very special
breaths for yourself; forgive yourself for any shortcomings and vow to become a
better person in this next year. The ice cube is there to remind you of the
freezing cold ambience of hell. And as it melts in your hand it also reminds you
how energy draining are anger, resentment and conflict.

See you at midnight!

Here's to continuing the Journey.... releasing the past and stepping into your full potential.

-Becky

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

What Temperment Are You?

Just took this test from Blogthings.... some characteristics didn't really fit, but the ones that did were real zingers!! Very revealing.....


You Have a Phlegmatic Temperament



Mild mannered and laid back, you take life at a slow pace.

You are very consistent - both in emotions and actions.

You tend to absorb set backs easily. You are cool and collected.

It is difficult to offend you. You can remain composed and unemotional.

You are a great friend and lover. You don't demand much of others.

While you are quiet, you have a subtle wit that your friends know well.

At your worst, you are lazy and unwilling to work at anything.

You often get stuck in a rut, without aspirations or dreams.

You can get too dependent on others, setting yourself up for abandonment.

Here's to continuing the Journey.... and learning more about yourself everyday!
-Becky

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

The Secret

Coming in February.... Watch the trailer and spread the word!

What Is The Secret


Here's to continuing the Journey.... and the search for Truth!

-Becky

Thursday, December 01, 2005

I'm a Calm and Centered Woman

It's time for the big finish - the rush for the end of the semester.... and the next three weeks are going to put my already overly busy schedule into hyper-overdrive - my private studio students, UAH students, finals, juries, grades due, extra rehearsals, Christmas programs and musicals, special music to prepare..... on top of composition projects, starting up a new business (www.weddingmusicmadeforyou.com) and trying to expand my coaching practice.....

Yesterday morning, thinking about all this and wondering how in the heck I was going to make it through all this without losing my mind (or without falling flat on my face and doing a totally lousing job on everything!) I decided some emergency measures were needed, so I started thinking....

What are my intentions for these next few weeks? What do I really want? How do I want to feel?
  • I want to feel a sense of inner peace and calmness - no matter what busy, rushed, chaotic or stressful scenario might be happening around me. I want to be at peace inside myself.
  • I want a clear, focused mind as I work on each project and event. I want to be able to make good decisions quickly and be able to work efficiently and effectively. There's no time for dilly-dally or overwhelm. I need razor-sharp focus and a clear mind.
  • I want a sense of being grounded and centered, with feet firmly planted on earth, totally involved in each moment. I also want to be open to intuitive guidance and have a sense of connection to spirit, the universe, God, the source of all that is. Sort of "in the world, but not of it" as it says in the Bible.

Cool. However... I knew that in the middle of a stressful moment, I would never in a million years remember all this..... so I started putting it in a more summarized statement - an affirmation that I could easily remember.

And as soon as I started doing that, the "Musical Becky" took over. Here's what I ended up with..... sung to the tune "Another Brick in the Wall" - or at least, the way I remembered it! (it starts at the part where the kids are singing "we don't need no education..." The third phrase is where the "creative remembering" kicked in, so it doesn't match Pink Floyd's version exactly!)

I'm a calm and centered woman; Quick decisions, razorsharp focus; Firmly in the moment while I'm walking with Spirit; Hey, watch me - I can do it all.

Then, of course, I got really carried away singing and dancing and..... well, having a good ol' time.... until I realized I'd used up all my extra time and had to finish getting ready quickly and run out the door.... late again!

But... by golly, do you know what?

That night, after a long busy day, I came home feeling excited and happy. Nothing that great or really exciting happened. It was just a regular day. But for some reason, I felt "on top of the world"!

Same thing happened tonight. Walked in the door feeling happy, excited and "on top of the world"!

Hm.... I wonder.... was it the singing or the dancing that made the difference......??

Here's to continuing the Journey.... singing, dancing.... setting intentions.... and having a jolly ol' time!

-Becky

P.S. I downloaded Pink Floyd's version (part 2) and I'll probably change the 3rd phrase to match his melody (which is way better than my shady memory version!) That would make it something like:

I'm a calm and centered woman; Quick decisions, razorsharp focus; Firmly grounded in the moment; while I'm walking with Spirit; Hey, watch me - I can do it all.