The Conscious Consultant Hour

What a delight to speak with Sam Liebowitz on his live internet radio show The Conscious Consultant. Check out more intriguing interviews like this on TALKRADIONYC

Unleashing Your Triumphant Self

Unleash your triumphant self by watching this recording our immersive live event with Joy Superpower expert Heidi Smith, hosted by A Year of Joy co-founder Debby Schlesinger-Hellman. Delve into a guided visualization exercise to access your inner wisdom and foster personal growth. Seize this unique chance to tap into your potential and begin your journey to a more triumphant you!

For more complimentary resources like this, join the complimentary online community A Year of Joy by clicking here

“Gratitude & Glory”

Hello beautiful beings! I wanted to share with you a beautiful practice to help you shift your mood. You can use this at the start of your day to help create the mood for your day, to set your intention, to put yourself in a great frame of mind, feeling good.

It’s called Gratitude and Glory, and my coach Aurora, taught me this. I’ll share it now with a little bit of Heidi’s flavor in there.

The idea for Gratitude is to think of three things that you’re grateful for and why you’re grateful for them. It can be something simple. It can be something extraordinary and it’s good to kind of mix it up. 

I invite you when you’re thinking of something that you’re grateful for, to remember when it happened and feel into that time as if it’s happening right now.

This morning I was thinking I’m grateful for my dog Harley. She likes to sit beside me on my comfy chair where I have my morning routine. I was remembering a time she snuggled her nose underneath my thigh. I had my legs crossed and I was writing my journal. And so she snuggled her nose in there.

I felt into that moment as if it was happening right now. You can feel into whatever you’re thinking that you’re grateful for. Notice images, thoughts, emotions and body sensations of that experience. 

I am feeling into Harley nuzzling under my thigh. The images – I look down and I can see her black and white face like half covered under my thigh. She’s a white dog with black ears and a black patch on her. My thought at the time was, “Oh my god, she’s so adorable.”

The emotion was just love, feeling connected with this gorgeous creature who brings me so much happiness.

The body sensation was, feeling her nose, pressing against my thigh as she dug in underneath and then feeling her really soft hair.

Why am I grateful for this? Because I feel such love from this beautiful little creature. That’s the gratitude side. A good morning practice is to think of three things that you’re grateful for and why you’re grateful for them.

Next, the glory side is thinking about three of your accomplishments. I love this because, oftentimes we don’t give ourselves enough credit for what we do. We rush from one task to another and we don’t fully embody the things that we accomplish, we don’t really ground in them and enjoy them.

The glory is thinking of an accomplishment, closing your eyes and feeling into that accomplishment. Where you were, what was going on, what you saw, the thoughts going through your mind, the emotion, the body sensations.

Then asking yourself “What’s special about me? What traits or gifts do I have that enabled me to accomplish this task?”

For me, I was thinking of a simple one this morning. It was finishing my yoga practice when I didn’t want to do it. Going back to that moment at the end of yoga when I’m sitting there cross-legged. Feeling into that moment. I can see myself there in my blue wrap. The thought was, “Yay, I did it.”

The emotion was satisfaction, pleased with myself that I followed through. The body sensation at the end of my yoga practice was feeling spacious, openness in my body. I was a little more tight at the beginning, while at the end I was  feeling spacious.

Next is thinking about what’s special about me, what traits or gifts do I have that helped me accomplish this goal? And when I’m thinking about my yoga practice, commitment comes to mind. I’ve made this commitment to myself to care for myself, to look after myself, to increase my capacity so that I can enjoy life more. When I’m looking after my body, I feel more alive, I feel vital. At the end of this yoga practice, I was feeling really spacious It is my commitment that is helping me enjoy more vitality in my life.

Compassion is another gift that I have that helped me to be successful with my yoga practice. It may sound strange to you, however, for myself, In my journey, I’ve been doing yoga on and off for many years, and when I started yoga, it was very painful for me, and I was very judgmental, of myself. Through the years, I have cultivated self-compassion. And so now, when I’m doing my yoga and I notice that I’m tight or something hurts or things aren’t going the way that I want, my heart is softer for myself. I have compassion now so that it doesn’t matter where I am on the spectrum of my yoga, it’s a practice.

Every day it’s different and I can love myself for where I am today. That compassion allows me to come and do yoga on a regular basis because when I was feeling judgmental about myself, you guessed it, I wasn’t doing yoga. Compassion is an important trait that I need in order to be successful in my yoga practice.

I invite you to try out Gratitude and Glory, a simple practice of feeling them in your body, and noticing what’s special about what you’re grateful for, and what’s special about you that empowered you to succeed.

These are simple practices that really get us in touch with who we are, and remembering what’s special about us, and what we enjoy in this life. Because what we focus on expands. When we’re putting our attention on what we’re grateful for, and what we’re good at, those are the things that we notice more and more of.

Wishing you a beautiful day.

“Finding Peace and Purpose in Your Painful Past”

My presentation from P3 Summit Passion Purpose Profit Nov 2021

What if the worst thing that happened to you in your life is holding your purpose hostage? You want a passionate and purpose filled life only you feel numb, maybe even shutdown. You have no idea what your gifts are or how to find your purpose. In this talk you’ll see how everything you need to live the life of your dreams is within you. I share my story of how I overcame the intense experiences of my childhood to connect with passion and purpose. You’ll learn how changing the way you look at your life can lead you to find your gifts and your purpose.

What you’ll learn from my talk:

💫 Why negative experiences from the past are blocking you from knowing your purpose

💫 How to unlock your passion by facing your painful past

💫 How to create a resilient mindset from your past intense experiences

Playing in the Snow as a Spiritual Practice

One of my goals this year was to take up skiing again. On my first trip with my husband, I was fascinated to notice how I was processing my experience from a coaching point of view. It occurred to me how fun it could be to articulate skiing as a reflection of how I handle myself in life. 

Skiing is a challenge for me. I skied when I was a kid which I’m sure is the only reason I’m able to pick it up again after 15 years of not skiing. My body has muscle memory which is the foundation I lean on now. I am remembering and that feels so much easier than learning something new. At 52 years old I noticed fear coming up when I went out on the hill. Mostly it was a story I heard from others, “You’re too old to be doing this.” “Be careful and don’t hurt yourself.” “Don’t fall.” and that sort of thing. The first few times I skied I was afraid a lot. 

The fear started to build as soon as I began to pick up speed. I was a body hurtling through space. Velocity slaps you in the face to launch the adrenaline pumping through your veins. There are moments of “Wow this is cool”, mixed with “Oh my God I’m going to die.” It is a push and pull between the two. A tug of war between being in the moment and struggling to control the moment. I learned quickly that the more thinking I did, the more panic I created. The fear of falling became my face in the snow. With my last big wipeout it felt like an elaborate somersault that followed the WTF! when I hit the unexpected powder and dove face first into an ocean of white. All my husband saw was a big cloud where I once stood with vague flurries of movement inside. 

I am not a big fan of falling. It takes up time. Oh my God the effort it takes to get back up from flat on my ass. An all consuming endeavor to become upright; struggling with sprawling limbs on the ground while the clock ticks away erasing my ski time. Once upright, the fear of falling again is more powerful. Have you ever noticed that? Each time I go down feeds the belief that I will fall again. 

It becomes a mental loop that’s easy to get stuck in since it is a pattern I know very well. The fear is fresh after a fall reminding me of the powerful aversion and the tension it creates in my body. It becomes a spiral of thinking and feeling. I don’t want to fall. The more I think about falling the more I fall. On one trip it was such a strong pattern that each time I was falling, it was in the exact same spot on the hill! 

How the hell to get out of it? The answer was less thinking and more flow. I started paying attention to myself and noticing what I was doing that worked. Stop thinking negative thoughts and go with the flow. Sure, great! And how to do that? 

The first step is always breathing consciously and feeling my body. Imagining myself connected to the centre of the Earth. I did a grounding meditation a while back that gave me a vivid visual of a line of energy from the core of my being going all the way to the centre of the Earth. It is an intimate tether I reach for whenever I am struggling. It brings me to the present moment and holds me to the Earth. I feel centered, calm and safe. I use this image of an energy beam from my being to the heart of the Earth all the time when I’m skiing. (Join my FB group for access to the meditation) It is comforting, it gives my mind something to focus on so my body can do it’s thing. 

The story I tell myself is “It keeps me upright.” I focus on the thought “My body knows what to do” and it keeps me skiing rather than falling. That’s what I believe and so that’s true for me. It is all about breathing and going into my body. My body knows what to do. All I have to do is let my body do what it knows. When I surrender to my body I am able to enjoy the view, feel the snow and have fun. That’s what I came skiing to experience. It’s a practice like everything in my life. The more I do it the better I become. 

Since this was our last trip I spent most of the time focusing on my success solutions rather than my fear. Using all these beautiful tools from my day-to-day life: breathing, prayer, meditation and my guiding principle “What I focus on expands” helped me relax and enjoy skiing. My husband asked me what I meant by meditation and prayer? Being in recovery I use them as practical tools. On the hill my meditation is breathing into my body and imagining an unbreakable connection between myself and the Earth. Simply put prayer is asking for help. I ask my guides and angels for help all the time. With skiing prayer looks like me thinking “Please help me stay up.” along with “Thank you for helping me ski and enjoy this gorgeous day.” By paying attention to my thoughts I have the power to consciously choose the words I say to myself. Choosing the mantra “My body knows what to do” rather than hitting the panic button of “Oh my God I’m gonna wipe out!” focuses my thoughts on what’s working and paves the way to going with the flow. I spent more time playing in the snow and less time afraid of falling. 

I loved the idea of skiing as a spiritual practice. They say how you do one thing is how you do everything. For me successful skiing means relaxing with whatever happens. When I start to panic on the chairlift, I start breathing consciously, soothing myself with “I’m okay, I’m safe. I know what to do.” When I start to pick up speed going down the hill I shift my thoughts from “Oh my God I’m going to fall.” to “My body knows what to do.” I relax with my breath and go into my hips letting go of thinking and surrendering to my body. I come into the present moment and behold the incredible sapphire marble of the mountains against an empty sky. When I fall I remind myself how much easier it is to get up now than it was when I first started at the beginning of the year. This simple shift transforms falling from failure into another way to focus on my success. A day on the hill is an extraordinary gift of beauty and joy. Playing in the snow becomes part of my spiritual practice. 

Gratitude and Abundance

If you want more abundance in your life. Begin with looking at what you already have and being grateful for it. Expand your definition of abundance to include more than money. Include love, kindness, and beauty. What you focus on expands. When you take time to notice abundance everyday and everywhere you’ll notice more and more.

What are your 2020 Successes?

https://youtu.be/8HYp3qFONUo

A practice I enjoy in December is looking back at my successes, achievements, and what I loved about the last year. I get comfortable with my journal and put my attention on what has gone well. It can happen in one afternoon or over a series of mornings (I love to journal in the mornings) A new part of my practice is adding which of my character traits made the goal happen. It’s a joy to relive them and a great confidence booster. One of my most relished accomplishments this year is beating my husband at ping pong. All of you who know me, know this is HUGE. Rob is 6’5 with the wingspan of an eagle. I wanted to improve my vision and hand eye coordination so we play almost everyday generally 3 games. This is the first year in 3 years of having our table that I have ever beat him and as of Dec 15th I have won 12 games this month!!!! It boosts my spirits thinking about what’s working in my life and it’s the perfect segway to contemplate my goals for 2021.