A Safe Place to Stand

A Safe Place to Stand
Living from a Place of Center in Challenging Times
Tele-workshop with Karen Ely, April 7 & 14, 2011


We really like to be comfortable.

We like it when our life is humming along easily. Unfortunately, we rarely make changes when we’re sitting in such a cozy space. We begin to look seriously at our life, its meaning, and the direction it’s taking only when we notice that we are unhappy, uncomfortable, or unfulfilled. And, if we are not paying attention at all, we won’t take a hard look at our life until we are in deep anguish.

My wise friend and spiritual teacher used to counsel, “No one ever quits a game they’re winning. And they don’t need to be winning by very much.” But we can minimize the pain these uncomfortable places create by living consciously as much and as often as possible. By learning skills that return us to our center when we’re frightened or confused, we can find a place of solace and nourishment that that can serve us in the most difficult of circumstances.

On Thursday evenings April 7 & 14 at 6pm Mountain Time (5pm Pacific, 7pm Central, 8pm Eastern) we’ll meet on a conference call, discuss the week’s lessons (if you miss one, they’ll be recorded), present the coming week’s exercises and then send you on a dynamic journey of self-discovery in between calls.

If you’re interested in learning new skills for navigating through life in a conscious and centered way, then join us for an opportunity to embrace powerful new possibilities and, through the process, discover the peace that’s possible when you discover your self.

For info or to register, please visit http://awomansway.com/subjects/tele-workshops/tele-workshops.htm

UN's 5th World Converence on Women

Convening of a Fifth World Conference on Women (5WCW) has reached the UN Commission on the Status of Women. I encourage you to do what you can to help support the premise and vision for this conference. With Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile heading UN Women, the new superagency for women, the confluence and synergy of her leadership, UN Women and 5WCW holds great promise. Not as an end in itself, but as a huge step toward a global women's peace, justice and empowerment movement.

For more information, visit http://5wcw.org/

To register your organization, visit: http://www.5wwc.org/organizations/org_listing_form.html

o sign a petition of support, visit: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/support-a-un-5th-world-conference-on-women.html

Draw Yourself Bright and Beautiful

The way we tell out life story
is the way we begin to live our life.
~ Maureen Murdock

We're all a compilation of the stories we tell ourselves.

Over our lifetimes, we've been told stories by our parents, our partners, our bosses, our friends, our culture, our church. Stories of who we are and who we are not; stories of what we can do and what we can not. Stories full of limitations.

But these stories are not who we are. We are so much more.

Only we can change the stories . . . by starting to tell ourselves the truth of who we are and beginning to shine our bright light on the world.

Begin this week to take enough breathing space to draw yourself as bright and beautiful as you really are. Find some quiet space to make a list of all your positive attributes, including the positive things you've been told by others (no false modesty here!). Ask yourself, "Why is it easier to believe the negative self-limiting stories?" "How can I begin to live from this place of truth?"

Following your bliss

The way to find out about happiness is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you are really happy — not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a little bit of self-analysis. What is it that makes you happy?
Stay with it, no matter what people tell you.
This is what is called following your bliss.

~ Joseph Campbell

Take some contemplative time to make a list of what makes you really happy. Sit quietly with your list. Read it over slowly . . . noticing how you feel when you read each item.

Notice what's on the list. Also notice what's not on the list. Is there information for you in this?

Ask yourself, "Do I love myself enough to allow myself to be happy?" If so, take the steps today ~ even small baby steps ~ to begin to follow your bliss . . . who knows where it might take you.

Warmest wishes,
Karen

For Women Who Dare to Dream ~ Arnprior, Ontario

For Women Who Dare to Dream
With Karen Ely

Women’s Retreat ~ May 6 – 8, 2011
Galilee Center ~ Arnprior, Ontario

Join me and other extraordinary women for two days of fun and life-changing opportunities. Through large and small group exercises, quiet, music, joyful playing, and journaling, I will guide you on an exploration back to yourself, revealing how each step along life’s journey can be a miraculous opportunity to learn and grow. Throughout the two days we will spend time in silence and joy, eat chocolate mindfully, connect deeply with ourselves, make new friends and leave with a passion and plan for our future.

For information or to register, click here or call 928-254-1897.

The structure of miracles

There are energies larger than we are
that surround us everywhere,
and when the times are right,
we can connect with those energies.
Those times of connection are
the spiritual structure of miracles.
~ Aron Ralston

This is a quote from one of my new favorite books, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, the real-life story of Aron Ralston's survival and transformation on a hike in the Canyonlands of southern Utah. I highly recommend the book (and the movie 127 Hours) to anyone looking to be inspired by an edge-of-your-seat well-written memoir. It's even made this 64 year old want to tie on her hiking shoes and head to the red hills of Utah! .

What brings you more alive?

People say that we’re
searching for the meaning of life.
I don’t think that’s it at all.
I think that what we’re seeking
is an experience of being alive.
~ Joseph Campbell

It’s the first week of spring.

Ah . . . the breathing space I feel just typing that sentence.

The older I get, the more I love spring. There’s something gloriously hopeful about the birthing of another year of nature’s bounty. Bright new buds, brilliant yellow daffodils, softer air, longer days. Such possibilities fill the air . . .

It’s the perfect time to open to our own brilliance.

Find some quiet space to sit with your journal this week and make a list of anything and anyone that brings you more alive.

Then answer the following, “How much time do I spend with these people?” “How many hours each week do I do the things that I love?”

And then ask yourself, “What’s keeping me from being more alive?”

Warmest spring wishes,
Karen