As I beco
me more of who I really am,
I will share the overflow of that love of myself with you.
And I ask you, as you become more of you who you are, free of my expectations of how I think you should be, that you will share the overflow of your love of self with me.
As we do for ourselves what we cannot do for each other, may we both vow to always share the joy and love of who we really are with each other.
“The greatest gift you could ever dream is a gift that you can only receive from one person. And that person is you yourself. Therefore, the most subversive invitation you could ever accept is the invitation to awaken to who you are and where you have landed … When your soul awakens, you begin to truly inherit your life. You leave the kingdom of fake surfaces, repetitive talk and weary roles and slip deeper into the true adventure of who you are and who you are called to become…
Read The Question that Holds the Lantern by John O’Donohue, PhD in its entirety.
So as I was driving down the gorge this morning I was thinking about a conversation I recently had about leaving the nest, spreading our wings and flying. And this could be any situation that you have found comfortable (home, job, relationship, mindset, preconceived ideas …) but you also know or sense it is about time to move on – to spread your wings and fly out into the bigger world.
Right as I finished that thought, something caught my eye off to the left. As I looked over I saw a bald eagle flying alongside me. Whoa – beautiful – inspiring – stunning against the snow dusted gorge. Yeah, time to spread wings and fly. What about you? Time to broaden your perspective, your vision, your life?
Suzanne Schevene interviewed by Jade Shutes, founder of The East-West School for Herbal & Aromatic Studies
January 2012
What brought you to the study of aromatherapy and natural lifestyles?
Actually I was drawn to them at the Seattle Health and Wellness Expo in 1990. My children were little and I wanted to raise them in the healthiest way possible – oh the stories I could tell of the rock solid birthday cakes I made as I began the journey into whole grains. But I digress.
Aromatherapy caught my attention at such a deep level that it is a bit hard to describe, but similar to finding something that had been a part of your life long, long ago and you are being reunited. Not a conscious remembering, but more of a soul recognition.
That opened to door to the study of wellness in all its forms and I’ve been on that journey ever since.
What inspired you to create your line of products?
So many of us have had the experience of living in survival mode. And many are feeling complete with that and ready to move on into actually thriving and upleveling the quality of life. My piece in this to-date has been offering and teaching personal empowerment through energy work. But that only reaches those who are drawn to energy work. Continue reading
The first of the year is always an inspiring time for me. I love to take a look at the direction that the new year will seemingly take and then be open to new twists and turns as they appear.
An intention is a direction, an aspiration, a big picture goal. It’s a statement of what you are moving towards. I intend to take better care of myself or I intend to play more.
A commitment is an act of will and integrity. It is giving your word to follow through on something. I commit to working out 3 times this week or I am committed to doing something just for the fun of it every week in January.
It’s important to keep your commitments – and that begins with the commitments to yourself. If you don’t trust your ability to be honest with yourself, how can you trust yourself in anything you say or think, much less anyone else? But if there is some reason that it really can’t happen, renegotiate the commitment in good faith as soon as you can.
Committing to huge goals can be setting yourself up for failure. Instead, intend the huge goal, but use smaller, consistent commitments to get there. One step at a time. Just one, small committed step.
Move into this exciting new year with awareness of your intentions and commitments – and make it the BEST one yet!!!
No worries – you don’t have to start doing all 30 this week. Or ever. And I promise you there is no quiz next month to see how you do. But be forewarned – it may have the snowball effect on you – engage one or two and you just might find yourself leaning into these ideas more and more as you feel lighter and brighter as the days go on. Open to the possibilities. Enjoy!
This is a guest post by Marc at http://www.marcandangel.com. Here it is, a positive ‘to-do’ list for the upcoming year – 30 things to start doing for yourself:
As many of you know I’ve been involved with the Feminine Power Mastery program for the last 18 months. And for the last 11 years those of us involved with the EMF Balancing work have been called ‘evolving evolutionaries.’
Let me define these terms: an evolutionary is someone who understands that the transformation of our world depends upon our willingness to evolve ourselves and is committed to making that happen. Feminine Power, unlike masculine power which is the power to create those things that can be controlled, feminine power is the power to create those things that are beyond our control, but which our hearts most deeply long for such as love, care, connection, self expression, creativity, right livelihood and meaningful contributions to the world with a brighter future for generations to come.
I’ve been working with the the same desire and commitment all along and now offer it in different formats. Energy work, Body work or Coaching work – all based on the empowered yin or feminine power that has largely laid quiet for quite a while. Oh but the times they are a changin’. 
Currently I am in the Feminine Power Transformational Coaching and Leadership Program which I am most excited about. And in early 2012 I will be offering one-on-one coaching to help you rock your world by transforming some aspect of your life. It’s powerful, dynamic and not for the meek. It takes courage and commitment to shift at this level, and I will be with you each step of the way. It’s a 7 week program and I’ll have more information available fairly soon.
I look forward to stepping into this next stage of my commitment to be in service to the uplift and flourishing of the world, supporting you to step into the life of your dreams.
The first snowfall of the season has begun. As I went for my ‘first snowfall of the season walk’ I felt myself appreciating this gateway to the winter season and the inner reflections that often accompany it.
Consider this: Your experience of life is created 80% internally and 20% externally. The way you interpret and respond to what happens in life is how you are creating your life experience.
Do you often feel like a victim – powerless to change the external world, angry at others or life for what is happening to you, resentful that others seem to thrive while you just survive? There isn’t anyone that is coming to save you from this.
Changing your life is an inside job. It begins with you and can ONLY be done by you (that doesn’t mean doing it alone, but it does mean taking responsibility for your internal environment and development and getting the help you need). What kind of a world do you want to live in, to experience, to contribute to and to leave for future generations?
Let us build an empowered culture where possibility is a given and deeper levels of care, connection, creativity and well-being are the norm. I’m in!!!
Enjoy your day.
Imagine walking into a deep, earthy old growth forest
or along the sandy beach with rolling waves
or freshly cut grass in the summer
or homemade baked bread
As you take a nice deep breath, how do you feel? You can smell the wonderful scents in the air and feel it affecting your whole body. This is holistic – it affects your body, mind and spirit on many levels. Holistic aromatherapy does the same thing; it’s about connection and transformation.
Stress* and emotions** meet in the nervous system***. Figures state that from 75% to 90% of all of our ills are stress related. And emotional challenges for people of all ages are running rampant these days. This growing problem is huge, and a lot of it can be handled by you as you take responsibility for your life. And taking responsibility means getting the help you need to come back into holistic balance.
The challenges will continue to show up, but the question is – how will you handle it? If you learn to manage your stress and your emotions, your nervous system will love you for it. And, of course, your nervous system affects pretty much everything; it is the communication system of the body so your health and wellness will be the end result.
