A prayer from this beautiful TED Talk will be in my heart this year: “May everyone I meet be blessed by my presence. May my gratitude overflow into blessing all those around me.”

Gratitude and Presence Christmas 2012 with Women of Passion

I am so easily distracted by the many things inviting, calling, demanding my attention.  Inner impulses, ideas, images, thoughts, feelings, possibilities, desires rise up like sparkling jewels promising rich satisfaction if I will but follow their lead.  Emails and text messages, my cute dogs wanting me to play with them or my dear husband requesting my attention, a friend seeking support or a brother calling to chat, unfinished paperwork, a class to prepare, partially read books or my Yoga Journal magazine.  These and so many other good gifts of life pull me in many directions, distracting me from staying fully present in the moment.

My Great Uncle Solanus Casey said that human greatness lies in being faithful to the present moment. He said that if we were to cooperate with the grace being poured out at all times, we’d go from being great sinners one day to being great saints the next.

I am praying that with my cooperation and God’s grace, this may be a year of greater presence and gratitude as I practice and develop my energy regulation skills and teach them to others.

Power is made perfect in weakness.  I will all the more gladly boast of my struggle with dis-tractability that God’s power alone can transform into presence and gratitude.

Thanks be to God ahead of time for a year of presence and gratitude.

It’s that time of the year when both the positive and sometimes painful stresses of the season begin to build.  Temptations to neglect body and soul come in many forms: overbooking social events, not drinking enough water, and mindless eating of holiday goodies are three I anticipate will greet me again this year.

My daily centering prayer time and regular yoga practice are two primary ways I maintain my alignment with myself and stay rooted in God’s love. They are essential parts of maintaining my physical, psychological and spiritual health. When my spiritual tank is empty from not praying, and I’m disconnected from my body because I’ve not been practicing yoga, I’m more likely to ignore the signals that tell me to slow down, drink water, and stay away from the sugary treats that show up everywhere this time of year.

My former pastor Bob Whitaker used to tell us that people got sick at the holidays from eating too much sugar.  I snickered then, but wondered if there wasn’t some truth in his folk wisdom.  Now I learn, in my wise adult life, that in fact sugar does deplete my immune system and make me more prone to infection. My intention is to enjoy a little bit of the things I especially love — like my own Famous Irish Toffee and the Cobb Family’s homemade fudge — but to keep a kind and loving bridle on the part of me that wants to eat the whole batch before it’s even cooled down!

As you give thanks this week and start filling your calendar with holiday commitments, staying connected to the One from whom all good things come will be good for both your body and your soul.

What helps you stay connected to yourself and what holds you together when life gets stressful? Imagine how different the next six weeks would be if you dedicated even five minutes a day to writing a gratitude list, praying a psalm of thanksgiving, meditating on God’s love or some other soulful practice.

Yoga is an excellent way to nurture both your body and soul.

I teach Christ-centered yoga classes weekly at Glendale Presbyterian Church. You are welcome to “drop in” to my Wednesday 6:15 p.m. class. We’ll be meeting on 11/23, 11/30, 12/7, 12/21.  If you need directions or details, please contact me.

Also, my new favorite yoga resource is Yogaglo -  an online yoga studio you can access from the convenience of your own home.  I have been a member for several months and love it!  It’s an excellent source for everything from beginners and five-minute routines to two-hour advanced level backbend and inversion practices.  There’s something for everyone.  Check it out and get a free two-week trial membership.

What will you do to stay connected to yourself and the One from whom all good things come during this season of celebration?   Your good health is worth at least five minutes a day, isn’t it?

I took a bike ride today around the Rose Bowl in Pasadena – a short 10 minute drive from my home.

On my last lap I met Saul, a maintenance worker at nearby Huntington Hospital.  He was plugging along at a steady 12 miles per hour up a slight incline as I pulled up alongside.  I nodded and said “Hi” as I began to pass him.

He gave me a huge grin, pulled his earphone out, and greeted me, “Great day for a ride, eh? Good to see you out here.”  His energy was magnetic. Probably in his late 50’s or 60’s, his eyes were hidden behind cycling glasses, but an endearing smile gleamed out from the life lines etched into his brown face.

I decided to drop my agenda for pushing myself through my last lap and slowed down to talk.  “Beautiful day, but my legs are killing me,” I told him, “I’m in the worst cycling shape of my life.”

He laughed and said, “Keep at it.  It gets better the more you do it.” And then he told me his story.

Make the Most of What You’ve Got

A year ago he was pre-diabetic and his blood pressure was high.  He was “tired of being old and fat” and decided to return to something he loved as a kid — riding his bike.  He works from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. then comes to the Rose Bowl to put in his miles.  He loves it.  And he has lost 45 pounds and his health is great!

“The best part is how good I feel after I ride. I love feeling healthy. It’s not just good for my body, it clears my mind, gives me peace…just riding my bike!  You know what I’m doing, I’m just living like I’m dying, that’s it! I make the most of each day, ’cause that’s all I got. You never know how much life you’ve got left.  Gotta make the most of what you’ve got.”

Making the Most of Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl with My Beloved Dave and "Little" Ruth

Living Like I’m Dying

I’ve had a blessed nineteen years of life since my diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer in 1992.  In the early years of life post-breast cancer, I did what Saul is doing — made the most of each day, did things that brought me joy, spent time with people I loved and rode my bike a lot!

In those days of “living like I’m dying,” people and pursuing my passions were more important than productivity.

In recent years my agendas for productivity battle for space on my calendar.  Saul’s interruption of my agenda to push myself on this ride was a reminder that while productivity can be a very good thing; it can also completely screw up my priorities.

People are more important than products.  Loving and enjoying my productivity but being unattached to outcomes is essential. When the drive to produce turns me into Bitchy Cissy or Pissy Cissy, it’s time to stop and get my priorities straight.

Thanks be to God for Wise Men dressed in spandex!

I hope you are making time and space in your life for the people and passions that energize and give you joy this Fall.

“If you want something done, ask a busy person.”

The equation of busyness with success behind this and other cliches normalizes working too hard, doing too much and going too fast.  Between social kudos for accomplishments and my tendency for compulsive activity, my energy regulation skills are constantly being tested. Staying well fueled in body, mind and spirit is challenging in a culture that invites us to overwork, overplay, overspend, overeat…over do just about everything.

Energy Regulation

Last week a sinus infection got my attention, inviting me to reflect on how my lifestyle might be contributing to my illness.

- How well am I regulating my energy?
- Am I burning the candle at both ends?
- Am I doing too much?
- What am I doing and how am I doing it that might be burning me out?

I’m not overbooked with appointments or workshops and retreats as in the past.  I don’t have commitments scheduled back to back all day and into the evening.  Hooray! My calendar tells me that I’m doing a great job regulating my energy.

While an assessment of my energy output looks efficient on paper, I had to look more closely at where I was losing steam. In addition to a handful of regularly scheduled appointments and teaching commitments, I spend my work week prepping classes, working on publications, consulting with colleagues, answering emails and phone calls, taking care of my dogs and garden, cooking meals, meeting with people for both social and business meals, working out, practicing yoga and a host of other things.  During my work days I rarely “take a break.” All systems are “go” from early morning until evening.

It isn’t what I’m doing that’s zapping my energy. I’m proud of the changes I’ve made to create a less packed schedule.  But the way I do it that needs some loving attention.

Going Too Fast

There’s a rushing, spinning, going too fast energy that takes a hold of me when I’m not paying attention. Lost in the grip of hurriedness, I don’t use my energy efficiently.  I am more prone to accidents and mishaps in this mode. And, too many days of it often precedes the onset of an illness.

When you’ve lived your whole life in the fast lane, it’s tough to pull over to the right and go with the flow.  It’s even harder to pull into the slow lane and just take it easy.

A More Loving Pace and Place

After a lifetime of rushing to the future and missing the present moment, I’m learning to take the slow lane.   At this pace I am more able to sense the loving presence of God and as a result am a more loving presence in my world.  It is also the place where I’m most apt to hear the wisdom of God.

God moves with what spiritual writer Evelyn Underhill called the leisure of eternity.  No hurry.  No rush.  No urgency.

God’s got all the time in the world.  Why do I live as if I don’t?

The poet Kabir wrote “if a mirror ever makes you sad, you should know that it does not know you.” Wise words from a male Indian poet who lived over 500 years ago.

Remember what Aibilene says to Mae Moberly in “The Help” – Don’t ever forget it:  You is kind.  You is smart.  You is important.

If the mirror tells you anything else, throw it out.  It ain’t worth it’s weight in gold.  (And gold is at an all time high right now).

My eight year old red Doberman fur-child Harvest’s Thanksgiving Grace (her official registration name) passed away on Sunday after a spirited nine months of living with oral cancer.

Grace - May 2011

My husband put it well in his Facebook obituary:  “Grace truly lived up to her name, not only in her style but even more in her unabashed and infectious zest for life. You couldn’t overlook Grace. Her presence lit up her surroundings and she always drew attention — whether frolicking at the beach dog park or strutting her stuff at a dog show in her younger days. She lived (and loved) life to its fullest and blessed us by her example RIP, girl.”

In honor of her passing, I’m re-posting an entry from my first blog on Yahoo Shine written in 2008.  It’s just one of many “graces” God gave me through our beloved Gracie Girl.

Training Grace

Smart, strong and sassy, her champion genes make her stunningly beautiful and intensely self-possessed.

Walking Grace is not a graceful experience!  I often feel more like I’m the one being taken for a ride rather than the one leading the way — especially if we’ve missed a few days of outings.  Her energy and enthusiasm for being on the road again is uncontainable.

It isn’t that Grace isn’t well trained.  She comes when called (most of the time), “sits” on command and “stays” as directed–except when she jumps up and dances around awaiting the next opportunity to please me.

The problem isn’t that Grace is insubordinate or rebellious.  Far from it.  She just obeys her own interpretations of the instructions.

One morning I let Grace run free in the hillside amphitheater at the local college. Skye, our blue Doberman, followed close behind.  After a few minutes I called Grace to “come” — where Grace leads, Skye will follow.  Grace turned on a dime, circling back toward me.  Within seconds she flew past with Skye on her heals and ran up the hillside at far end of the arena.  After much sniffing and ignoring my commands to “come”,  she pranced back, flopped at my feet, tongue flapping like a wet flag in a wind storm and stared up at me in delight.

I’m like that with God.  I obey…on my own terms. Grace did what I asked–she came when called.  But she had her own idea as to the follow thru.

I do that too.  I follow the initial directive, then take off in my own version of Doberman self-possession.

As I “train” Grace, I am also being trained. We  are learning together how to contain and direct her beautiful energy in productive ways. At the same time, God is training me to manage and regulate my own beautiful energy in more life-enhancing ways.

In my health coaching program I teach the things I need to learn–like energy regulation. Effective energy regulation makes for better walks and healthier lives. God is teaching me.  I am teaching Grace.  Grace is teaching me.  I teach my members.  My members teach me.  God teaches all of us.

Training Grace is both what I do each time I work with my dog and what brings me back to God each time I get too full of myself and run off in my own direction.  Grace softens the hard blows of training both dogs like Grace and women like me.

Grace is central to the programs and workshops I offer.  The rules and regulations offered by traditional diets and fitness centers are too harsh for many of us.  We need the structure, support and information they offer but in a softer, gentler version.

An extensive study by Harvard University researchers reveals that french fries are the food most significantly associated with weight gain. 

Rounding out the list of edibles prone to pack on the extra pounds are potato chips, sugar-sweetened drinks, red meats and processed meats, other forms of potatoes, sweets and desserts, refined grains, other fried foods, 100-percent fruit juice and butter.

An article in the NY Times quotes one of the lead researchers as saying “There are good foods and bad foods, and the advice should be to eat the good foods more and the bad foods less.”

Labeling foods good and bad may work for folks without troubled relationships with food, but for the rest of us it tends to suck the enjoyment out of what is meant to be a pleasurable and satisfying part of our daily life.

I agree that we need to become more aware of what we eat and how it impacts our bodies.  For the most part, the recent addition of nutritional content on the menus of major food chains has been a helpful wake up call to many of those I work with.  But  “good” and “bad” food lists don’t work in the long run.  They only extend the cycle of false hope, failure, and self-condemnation deeply engrained in the experience  of long-term dieters.

A more empowering model is to  “pay attention” to how specific foods effect the way you feel in your body.

I know when I eat a significant amount of high sugar or fat foods, especially alone or in combination with  other very dense foods, my digestive tract says “Too much.”  My body just doesn’t process all those heavy foods well.

If you’ve tried and failed at the “good/bad” food game, consider listening to your body.  Here are a few prompts to help you get started:

• Notice how you feel after grabbing only a cup of coffee for breakfast?
• How’s you energy after eating a big dish of pasta with cream sauce compared to a smaller portion balanced with some steamed vegetables or a salad?
• What do you notice when you come home from work and flop on the couch to watch television the rest of the evening?
• What do you notice after taking a brisk 15 minute walk instead of flopping on the sofa after work?
• How do you feel when you overeat, over drink, or under sleep?

Studies like this are great for confirming what our bodies already know.  But, our greatest problem isn’t that we’re stupid or lacking information about what is “good” and “bad” for us. Our greatest problem is that we’ve stopped listening to the inherent wisdom of our bodies.

No time to write.  No problem.  Thanks be to God for the body of Christ where many members with different gifts bring the good news of God’s grace.

Please check out my pastor Chris’ blog.  He brings a refreshing word of freedom for any of us lured by the idols of “beauty” offered in our culture :

Image & Idolatry: are you good looking or are you beautiful?

What you’ve always known to be true is now confirmed: you really are a size 8, and a size 10, and a size 14 — just depends on where you shop!

Manufacturers use  vanity sizing to delude us into thinking we’re getting smaller (and spend more money because we’re feeling so good about the lower number), when in fact the clothes are getting bigger.

What was a size 10 jean twenty-five years ago is now a size 6!  While that may bring momentary relief when we slide into a smaller size, we also may suffer great angst when the equation goes against us.  Recently a pair of jeans in my “usual” size wouldn’t slide more than half way up my thighs.  My thighs do tend to buff up a bit when I’m cycling more, but that was ridiculous!

A number of companies are attempting to address the disparity among different designers and stores by making it easier for us to find the right size and fit with less hassle.  But our best defense against the emotional ups and downs of the dressing room is mental preparation.  Before you go shopping, take a few minutes to ground yourself in the truth:

“I am not a number on a tag.  I am a human being.”

Don’t let the fashion industry delude you into believing that your self-worth is tied to a size.  Neither the relief or the angst associated with those numbers accurately reflects anything about you.  They are by-products of an industry that says it wants to make us feel beautiful, but is really all about profiting on our insecurities — which they do a great job perpetuating with games like this one.

If you want to arm yourself with more information, check out this sizing chart for more details on the disparity among different stores.

That isn’t what she calls herself.  But it’s my pet name for my wise soul sister Colleen Gallion.  She’s started blogging and will be an excellent source for those seeking a new way of being in your body and your life. 

Colleen helped me give birth to the Alive & Well health coaching program back in 2007.  She’s a fountain of wisdom and inspiration for both my personal and professional life.

Disengagement from our real experience of embodied life is a primary contributor to all manner of physical, mental and spiritual problems.   See what Colleen has to say about that in her most recent blog  “Cane, Cast or Mask?”

Check her out and be inspired and entertained.