I am so very very grateful for having experienced fully the unconditional love of the Divine Mother while spending time this June deep in the Amazon.

During ceremony She enveloped me with a never-ending, overflowing stream of LOVE. In those moments I was able to forgive myself and all the people and circumstances that ever hurt me. Today She continues to weave her wisdom through my heart, mind and soul. In this ongoing relationship with Her I am making wiser and healthier choices, letting go of outdated and harmful ways of thinking and being and letting myself give and receive in the dance of intimacy.

I am so so grateful for this moment in time!

Namaste’

Frank

Today I am grateful

For being able to rest and don’t have any place to be at any special time

My family taking a day of rest and hanging out together

A cool room and fun things to watch on TV, I love the scary shows this time of year!  :)

Yesterday’s announcement that Iraq troops will be home by Christmas~

I am grateful for my life and all the people in it!

1.  The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron – I consider this to be one of the most amazing books ever written.  It’s about accessing your creative energies, which is manifested in everything we do — not just art aRt ART!

2.  Broken Open by Elizabeth Lesser – Written with deep wisdom in a friendly way about getting through difficult times, and how change can shape us.

3.  Anything by SARK – fun, whimsical, yet powerful approaches to living.

4.  Eva Luna by Isabel Allende – (fiction) – magical realism, the story swept me away into an unfamiliar, yet mesmerizing world.

5.  Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott – one of the best books on writing ever.

6.  Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss – encouragement and enthusiasm for any age.  Here’s John Lithgow reading it – click on the book title.

7.  WRAP Plus by Mary Ellen Copeland – This is the expanded version of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan, which is a wonderful way to coordinate daily living for balance and well-being — see WRAPandrecoverybooks.com for more information.

8.  Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha – what could be more awesome than a whole book of awesome things?

9.  Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman – a delightfully written exploration of our incredible senses, a book to savor.

10.  Simple Abundance by Sara Ban Breathnach – home of the gratitude journal and other daily inspirations.  A classic.

Thank you to Garrett, who taught me how to make links, so you can click on each book’s title and find out more!  Hooray!

1. Skype time with an awesome friend

2. Phone time with my grandma, who so graciously allowed me to explore some theories with her

3. The love that comes into our lives, in so many ways- friends, family, pets. We are so blessed to have so many sources of love

4. Re-framing so many things that I used to say were negative into a positive light

5. The incredible freedom and joy this brings

6. Eating a joyful meal with loved ones

7. Watching emotions from a higher place (it’s hilarious, actually, what we do in the name of feeling an emotion. People get all red-faced, or their voices raise, or they double over with their mouths wide open, laughing. If you were an alien who didn’t understand emotions, what would you think of these funny emotions humans go through?)

8. Taking big steps towards change

9. Helping a loved one be less stressed

10. As James always said, Now.

1. Incredible love

2. Right now

3. Brimming with love

4. Gratitude, extreme gratitude, for everything. This body, that glass, this air, these walls, that light, this temperature!

5. The incredible, in-depth, world-shaking conversations that have come from my CSW grief post

6. Women who are willing to dive into deep subjects without batting an eye!

7. Incredible, loving honesty, even at the risk of being condemned by popular opinion

8. A dear friend who showed this to me more than once recently!

9. The way we learn by positive examples. “Show me what to do” vs “Tell me what not to do”

10. “We change the world not by what we say or do but as a consequence of what we have become.  Thus, every spiritual aspirant serves the world.”  -David R. Hawkins

1.  CBS Sunday Morning News

2.  Dancing with the Stars

3.  Project Runway

4.  Tavis Smiley

5.  American Idol

6.  Modern Family

7.  Work of Art:  The Next Great Artist

8.  The X Factor

9.  Our America with Lisa Ling

10.  Curb Your Enthusiasm

11.  Inside the Actor’s Studio

Hooray for DVR that allows me to watch my favorites when I am in the mood.  And I remember when Belle said, “Have you noticed that hardly anyone mentions TV on these lists?”  This one’s for you, Belle — I’m coming out of the closet!  lol

My family, we may not always get along, but we always love each other!

A good book!

Warmth of friendship.

Knowing I am blessed, even when things are tough.

Waking up this morning with a smile and a feeling of great gratitude!!!

Homemade Tacos

Black Beans

Spicy Salsa

Giving my dad a Little Debbie Cake, which made him smile

Halloween Candy before Halloween!  :)

Deep gratitude for having enough to feed my family and anyone else who might come into our home!

1.  Green tea with honey

2.  Rose tea

3.  Root beer

4.  Apple cider

5.  Blackberry sage tea

6.  Ice water

7.  Pomegranate and cranberry juice

8.  Orange juice

9.  Apple juice

10.  and the occasional celebratory glass of champagne!

1. Being on the same wavelength with a creative friend, even though we hadn’t physically touched base in several weeks!

2. The blessing of not remembering

3. The now. And the now. And the now. And this moment. And this one. And this one is especially good. Oh, and this one!

4. Recognizing the illusion of emotions

5. Garrett’s incredible resourcefulness and ability to find all sorts of material

6. Research and reading and questions that make things clearer

7. Rejoicing in others’ good news!

8. Autumn orange

9. Chilly evening walks

10. The crunchy leaves