I love buying presents. I love wrapping presents. I love giving presents.

However, learning to receive has been a bit of a journey!

I remember as a child feeling uncomfortable, even squirmy about receiving gifts.

In the past I was told I’m “Hard to buy for” – and I realized it was because I didn’t feel worthy of whatever gift I was given. I’ve re-patterned around this over the years, and lo and behold, this year I’ve discovered it is time to “up” my ability to receive openly and freely. I’m in a new space and the energy is higher, and so this life-lesson of receiving has arrived again, encouraging me to deepen my self-worth. If you discover the “same” thing coming up that you’ve re-patterned in the past, don’t make the mistake of thinking you “aren’t doing it right”. Instead, know it is simply an opportunity for you to deepen your learning, expand your ability and raise your vibration.

After giving myself this gift, I thought I’d send it along to you as well…

• I forgive myself for believing I’m not worthy of the gifts – material and spiritual – that are given to me.
• I ask my family, friends, and my higher power to forgive me for all the times I’ve unknowingly deflected their gifts.
• I give myself permission to realize I am worthy of these gifts.
• I give myself permission to be just as excited about receiving as I am about giving.
• When I receive with grace, I am choosing to honor the giver. That is the greatest gift I can give!
• There can be no giving with a reciprocal receiving. I am free to become both an amazing receiver and giver!
• I love giving joy to my friends and family with my appreciative receiving!
• I am raising my willingness to receive from a place of worth – I am deserving and very grateful!

Namaste,

Suze

The alarm went off too early this morning. Generally I open my eyes and am excited to greet another day, but today my body protested, and my mind got in on the action. I was tired. I’ve been keeping long hours and packing a lot into my days. Daily activities are ramped up trying to complete projects before the year’s end, and the added functions and gift-buying and special events tap into our reserves. Combining all of that with fewer than 8 hours of daylight (we are approaching Winter Solstice!), and the “I just want to hibernate” feeling is totally justifiable…but it doesn’t get me what I want.

Last week, I had loads of energy! I am one of the organizers of the Canadian Folk Music Awards www.folkawards.ca  – an annual event celebrating music that comes from the heart. The folk community is a wonderful, creative and caring group, and the energy was infectious. My spirit was completely fed.

This morning as I turned my mind toward the events of this past weekend, the tiredness dissolved. My light rekindled! My body’s energy rose! A smile erupted and just by remembering I put myself back on track!

I forgive myself for believing I’m too tired to tap into my passion.

I give myself permission to shine my light!

I choose to connect with others who are also living their passion and boost my body’s natural immunity!

I am free to keep my body, mind and soul healthy and happy by living from my light!

I felt my passion when I …..

I commit to living my soul’s delight today by ….

Often when the days get busy the very things that support us are the things that get shelved. We drop away from the gym, we over eat foods that compromise our body’s ability to process them, and we burn the candle at both ends.

Let’s all burn our candles with joy and creativity! The light you generate will raise your vibration, boost your immunity and illuminate the world!

Namaste,

Suze

I’ve been spending time this week with the elders of my family, and having cause for a lot of gratitude. That I can still be with them, and visit – and play game after game of cards and scrabble, and drink pots and pots of tea while hearing their memories and listening to the stories! Watching them move slowly, their bodies showing the affect of their age (they are all in their 90s!) I am grateful for my ability to do simple things – like bend over to pick up a dropped sock, do up my buttons, walk up a flight of stairs, sing, laugh, feel the sun on my face…

• I ask my body to forgive me for all the times I’ve put it down for …

• I give myself permission to focus on what I am physically able to do, and what parts of my body work wonderfully!

• I can focus on physical limitations, or I can focus on how amazing my body works – I choose to be grateful for what my body can do!

• I am free to celebrate my physical BE-ing today by…

• I am grateful for the way my body….

Your body is truly amazing – how will you show your gratitude to your physical BE-ing today? By making healthy food choices? Taking yourself for a walk? Snuggling with yourself under a warm blanket?

Looking in the mirror and thanking your body for everything it has done for you today?

Sending you a great big hug, and giving myself one of gratitude,

Namaste,

Suze

Lasting relationships come down to—you guessed it—kindness and generosity. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise, but is it really that simple? Psychologist John Gottman and his wife Julia run The Gottman Institute and have studied healthy relationships in married couples for 4 decades. Their results are scientifically proven and conclusive. Regardless of the variables – socio-economic factors, age, financial status, family background, children, ethnicity  – there are two distinct characteristics in happy and successful partnerships:

Kindness and Generosity.

It is fascinating research and gave me a lot of things to think about when my partner read the article from The Atlantic aloud to me. I’m really interested in building a “grand” relationship. I’ve had good, I’ve had bad, I’ve had mediocre, and now I am focused on creating a ‘grand relationship’…and to do that I must continue to nurture a grand relationship with myself… only then can I show up full on and authentically in all my relationships – a grand partnership included!

The article got me thinking about when and where I am kind and generous with myself, and where and when I am kind and generous with others. It isn’t selfish to be kind and generous to ourselves first. The more I think about it the more I think it’s mandatory. This kind of self-care allows me to be present to others in my life – friends, family, clients, and business associates.

• I forgive myself for believing that I don’t deserve my own kindness and generosity.

• I give myself permission to deepen my self-care in kind and generous ways.

• I can leave myself until last – I’ve tried that and it’s often disastrous, or I can deepen my self-care and be kind and generous to myself. Imake this choice because it supports me as well as others!

• I am free to be kind and generous to myself today by…

• I was kind and generous to myself this morning when I went to the pool first thing! Rocky relations come back to you guessed it kindness and generosity fiction really come as a surprise but is it really that simple psychologist John Gottman’s wife Julia Gottman Institute

• I am becoming a kinder and more generous person, beginning with me.

The world becomes gentler, relationships easier, and partnerships truly a place of secure and sacred growth when we are kind and generous with ourselves.

Namaste,

Suze

Check out the full article here:

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/06/happily-ever-after/372573/

Transition – a time when doubt can spring to the mind of even the most confident individual. When things around us shift, we begin to question and wonder “What if?”  Maybe it’s just the age or stage I am at, but it seems as though everything is in flux. Everyone I know is finding changes coming rapidly and often without warning. Perhaps it IS the year of the Horse, and in the final quarter of the year when the horse is galloping! But how to ride it out without being bucked off!