Full Speed Ahead, As a New Chapter of My Life Begins

    There are some incredible things brewing for me this year.
    I've been clearing out old junk (vibrationally) left and right, refining what I want to experience in life and I'm watching as a wonderful new part of my life blossoms like the flowers of Spring.
    Lately, I've had a lot of guidance streaming through and I want to share some of those things here and what exciting things are in the works.
     I've come to the conclusion that, I am young, but I am not getting younger and I want to be successful NOW. I don't want to wait to be successful until I am 30 or 40, NO, I want to be successful NOW.
    What do I mean by "successful"? I want to be working from home, providing for my family, expanding my potential, and to be helping others do the same. That's what I want.
    My self confidence is back. I'm feeling more powerful each day as I take responsibility for my self and my life and I feel like I'm on top of my game. The ball is rolling and I'm running with it!
    If you have read previous blogs here, then you know that I'm participating in a beach body work out program called PiYo with Chalene Johnson. It's a combination of Pilates and Yoga all in one. It doesn't require any weights or equipment except YOUR OWN BODY WEIGHT. It's all about alignment, balance and strengthening the core and expanding potential. Dedicating to this program has helped transform my life SO much already and I'm not even half way finished - It's a two month program.
    I'm so pleased with it that I want to become certified to teach it live and be a coach!
    Not only is this in the works, but I will also be starting training to be a water pourer for traditional native american sweat lodges. It's a huge honor to be part of this lodge and community, I also feel led to organize women's meet ups/lodges for female empowerment and transformation.
    On top of that, I'm also being tutored in Quantum Code healing.
    With all of these things occurring at the same time, one would think I would be overwhelmed... Well, I'm not feeling overwhelmed, I'm feeling exhilarated and anxious to see what the future holds in store.
    This is my path to self employment! It's happening! Y'know, the best way to be financially successful and secure is to have multiple streams of income flowing in. That way, if something does fall through, you're not screwed. Also, with two, three or four means of income, you got a steady flow of income all the time!
    That's what I'm going for and that's what is happening right before my eyes.
    I've experienced a lot of obstacles to get to where I am now, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your eyes on the prize: Don't worry about what may come or what stands in your way because it's only testing your strength and your will to accomplish your goals! Don't let anything stand in your way. The only thing keeping you back is YOU.
    YOU have to expand your potential, YOU are the only one who can recognize what is in your way and YOU are the only one who can surpass the obstacles that you face. Find your determination, find your motivation and GET TO IT! Stop wasting your time living a life you don't want to live! Get out there and do something crazy and different and wild! Prove to yourself that there's nothing to fear! Soar, fly, spread your wings and go for the impossible because nothing is truly impossible... The word itself says. "I'm Possible"! That's a quote from somewhere...
    Take the bull by the horns and steer that MuthaFUKKA in the direction YOU want to go.
    Start by writing down your goals. That is the first step.
    Next, prioritize! Which goals do you want to accomplish first?
    Set your mind to it and brainstorm, what will it take to get you there? And don't get hung up on the "what if's", don't even entertain that BS. EYES ON THE PRIZE.
    Get clear about what it is you need to do to reach your goals and DO IT.
    Kick those old habits, invest in your personal health and growth, YOU CAN NEVER GO WRONG INVESTING IN YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH.
    The reason you need to write it down is because that is like telling the Universe what you want to sign up for. Like, in middle school and high school you got to sign up for your electives, TELL THE UNIVERSE THE ELECTIVES YOU WANT TO TAKE.
    This is so powerful because often times we get distracted to the point that we don't know what we ever came here to do in the first place. So start that new regime, make new choices, break out of those repetitive cycles and try something new.
    Writing your goals down and thinking about how you want to accomplish them is a powerful way of getting momentum built up in that direction. Once you write it down, the Universe is going to burst in to action to help you get there. You just have to gather your energy and channel it in to whatever it is you want to have for yourself. Then buckle your seat belt and enjoy the ride!

The Moon Lodge

    I have become fascinated with the ceremonial sweat lodges and I wish to organize women's lodges on every full moon.
    If you read the blog titled "Transformation at it's Finest" from February, you know how my first lodge experience was. Well, yesterday I attended another lodge on my own for Ostara, the spring Equinox and had another great experience, without the crazy purging episodes afterwards... if you dont know what I'm talking about, go read that other blog first before you continue this one ;)
    Yesterday was FULL of synchronicities meaning, Spirit was really working through me yesterday!
    I had just dropped my hubby off at work and was about to head drop my son off so I could head to the lodge, I would have arrived about an hour early had it not been for a message I received from Annie, an adorable woman I met at my first lodge in February.
    She messaged me right after I left my husband's work and asked if I could give her friend a ride. She practically begged me to pick her up and that I would not regret it, for, this woman was a light being who really needed to come to the lodge and didn't have a ride.
    I pulled in to a gas station right at the highway I was about to get on and thought... i dont know who this lady is... what if im too boring? Then I thought, this would be a great chance to meet another kindred soul, if she wants to attend the lodge, she must be a great person. Plus, she is a light worker, like me! this could be a great experience!
    So, with that momentum and feeling my excitement, I called her. Annie sent me her number and I didn't even know her name so I introduced myself as Holly, Annie's friend and let her know I was about 30 minutes away and to get ready for the lodge. She was THRILLED and said, "you totally raised my vibration just now, I'll get my shit together!".
    I made a new friend!
    Her name is Donalee and she has work shops every Monday, coaching people to achieve their dreams through spiritual and self enlightenment. She is a vibrant soul and Annie was right, I absolutely do not regret picking her up last night.
    We arrived right as the door was closing on the lodge and we were told that we would have to come in on the 2nd round. So we got changed and grabbed our waters and waited by the fire for the lodge door to open once again.
    See, once the door closes, it stays closed (unless you need to go to the bathroom or escape the wet, heavy heat) until the water is gone and the water pourer (the one who leads the ceremony) is ready to start the next round.
    There are four rounds so there are four chances to join the lodge: when that door opens before each round. The four rounds, or, doors, symbolize the four cardinal direction which were sacred to native traditions. Each direction has a specified color, animal and meaning or message behind it. If you want to learn more, please read the "Transformation" blog entry from February or do a Google search, "traditional native american sweat lodge", there is plenty of info out there.
    We joined the 2nd round and the "south door" was with us. The lodge was PACKED like a sardine can. But not uncomfortable. With so many people and new comers, this lodge was a "cool" one, which means that the water pourer kept it gentle so as not to overwhelm. It gets incredibly hot in there. So much so that it is recommended to take metal jewelry off before entering or you may get burned.
    The whole idea is to sweat toxins out of the body. With the heat and sacred ceremony, you enter an altered state of consciousness. It is also pitch black in the lodge besides the light given off by the red hot rocks that the water is poured over.
    This is a "natural high" that strains the body to the point that it must work very hard, burning lots of calories, but if you start getting overwhelmed all you must do is tell the water pourer and you may leave the lodge. You will know if it is too much when you have a hard time breathing or start to feel like you are going to pass out.
    The day of the lodge, I would recommend eating light meals and drinking plenty of water.
    So as the ceremony for the South Door commenced, I thought to myself, how awesome would it be to have lodges for women only? I felt excitement in my whole body and a desire was born...
    Something happened in the North Door, the last round, that made the desire grow even stronger. The water pourer mentioned that the lodge was growing. That there would be lodges for women, Moon Lodges, and lodges for men, Warrior Lodges. And lodges for addiction recovery.
    So I am excited to say that I am now beginning to collaborate with the lodge elders to help me organize Moon Lodges on every full moon throughout the summer. I feel led to be a leader and water pourer for the Moon lodges. I feel a strong passion for this and I am excited to see where this leads.
    There are some amazing healing benefits to women gathering together. There are also amazing healing benefits when men gather together. The intention behind gatherings like this are strong and very powerful.
    Traditionally, women in native tribes would menstruate with the cycle of the moon and all their cycles come right around the same time of the month. This time was very sacred for native women and they would go to the lodge for support and comfort and guidance from Spirit.
    My thoughts is that the women who attend these lodges consecutively will all synchronize with our menses with the moon cycle again. This is a fun fact: women who live together often have their periods at the same time or very close together.
     I will keep the progress of the moon lodges here.

My Lack of Independence and My Desire to Be Independent

    I have social anxiety. This is a new, unexpected epidemic as a result of the age of technology. Social anxiety can show itself in a myriad of ways but one of them is the fear of doing something on your own. This is very strange for me, I never knew I was afraid to do things on my own... Until very recently.
    I was raised to do everything on my own, as if I could never rely on others to help me. It's always been expected of me to be independent. But the reality is, underneath the facade of strength is a very scared, dependent little girl.
    Growing up with the experiences I had made me toughen up to protect that scared little girl and eventually she was forgotten, swept under the rug. Too weak to sustain any amount of life or energy. But now, slowly, as she realizes it is safe, she peels off layer after layer of toughness to expose a raw, curious side of herself that hasn't shown it's face since she was three years old.
    Like the Sun rising over the horizon, thawing a long-frozen landscape and melting years of caked on ice, life flows back in to her veins and through her heart and feeling a resounding thud as it beats against the inside of her chest sending waves of crackling electric throughout her body.
    As a young teen, I developed an attitude that allowed me to feel safe enough to socialize and function on a social level. Now as that part of me melts away, I'm realizing how little I know how to participate with other individuals in a manner that expresses the feelings and thoughts of the scared little girl dwelling within these flesh walls. I don't know how to communicate with people who still have their, "frozenness". I think I'm beginning to understand that I'm not actually talking to their frozen hearts, and that I'm actually talking to individuals, just like me, who also have a raw, fresh side of themselves, just waiting to see the Sun over the horizon... That makes being social much less scary... We're all scared of something, so why not be open about it and be able to laugh with each other when we realize how silly we've been to separate ourselves from one another?
    I'm fairly certain that, if one is to survive in this life with even an ounce of color in it, one must be able to laugh at oneself!
    I'm also certain that if I were to evaluate myself in this very moment, I would not find one single hair of independence on my body. I have the desire to be independent but maybe that's just too tall of an order to fill right now. Y'know, If I could just leave the house, once in a while, without wondering if anyone else should come with me - then I would feel kinda independent.
    As I type this, I feel like I'm pulling my hair out, wondering if I'm typing this right or if anyone will read this and if someone does read it, would they attempt to understand me or just ridicule me?
    Well, I want to dedicate myself to being raw and unashamed. So, ridicule me, shame me, tell me I'm wrong, but the fact of the matter is, I'm just being me and there's nothing to be ashamed of for that. And if you don't even try to understand where I'm coming from, then you are seriously limiting yourself. But if you can feel, in the confines of your mind, a stretching sensation as if your mind were grasping for a new concept, you are on the right track YOU ARE EXPANDING YOUR MIND!!!
    ....As for breaking free of social anxiety.... It's a constant battle, and has a lot to do with balance and directing kindness and compassion towards oneself. I feel uncomfortable practically all the time and so I have to consciously get in to my comfort zone which could be coloring, painting, exercising, eating, bathing, calling a friend, stepping outside and feeling the ground on my bare feet or just laying down and taking a nap. Then there are times when I feel almost too comfortable and like my world needs to be a little unsettled, so then I do something out of my comfort zone like getting extra silly and weird with my son, doing things to make him laugh, in turn making myself laugh. Or I'll do an extra work out or go for a jog or pick up a hitch hiker. That's why I say, it takes balance to deal with anxiety because part of what keeps me in a state of anxiousness is an imbalance that desperately needs my attention.
    I constantly ask myself, "what do I need?", and what, "would make me feel good right now?", so I can keep tabs on myself. I'm wondering, though, if social anxiety is the right term for this condition. This very well could be an identity crisis. The reason I say that is... When you identify very strongly with something outside yourself, you may lose your individual identity completely!
    For me, its my family. I feel like I'm failing them if I'm not living for them. I feel like I'm doing something wrong or forgetting something if I do things without my family and without my family being the motivating factor. How weird is that? So, what is it that you identify most with? Your family, your friends, your belongings, your position, your pets? You may be shocked to find out what you are living for and that you are not in fact living for YOU.
    Growing up I always felt wrong and out of place and guilty... Growing up I had to leave my unique identity behind for the sake of survival of the fittest and my vulnerable heart would have crumbled and DID crumble many times by the weight of my family. So I became hard and cold inside, anger and frustration took the driver seat of my life (if you have seen "Inside Out" the pixar animated movie, you know the crazy things that can happen when Anger is in the driver seat!).
    Now, as I grow in to new levels of love and joy, the old layers of guilt, shame, and blame are shedding off like skins of an onion. Yep, I very well may be an ogre ;) LOVE Shrek! Alright, that's enough movie references for tonight...
    Good night...

How I Projected My Daddy Issues... And How to Heal Them.

    Where to begin...
    I didn't have a childhood that many, "outsiders", would consider abusive but there were multiple occasions when my father completely crossed boundaries that should never have been crossed. And as a result of how some of the experiences with my father affected my delicate psyche as a delicate child, I am very adamant about NOT physically punishing children.
    The first thing some people seem to assume when I say I will not discipline Murphy with violence is that he is going to be completely untamed and be a wild, crazy animal without any guidance or morals... Personally, I believe that it actually takes a great deal of intelligence to guide and discipline without forceful and violent means. It takes a level of intelligence that many people do not exercise because it is very difficult to break the strong vortex of a repetitive cycle that's been passed on for generations.
    My parents were physically and forcefully disciplined. Their parents were physically and forcefully disciplined and so on..... When you don't know of any other way to solve problems you will not search for other ways to solve problems because violence has become a successful means of getting one's way. But If you use your higher mind for problem solving, meaning, not using the violent and, what I will call the, "Basic", mind, you will show your children there are other ways of solving problems. In theory, this would make them less prone to violence.
    I'm going to talk briefly about children again, this is a very commonly discussed topic in my blog because childhood says so much about an individual and that is, after all, where it all begins.
    Each child is different. Even though brother and sister or brother and brother or sister and sister may be borne from the same parents, each child has a very different set and combination of prominent and recessive genes. For example, I have a very cute dimple in my chin and my sister does not. That is a very simple expression of the difference in each individual whether we share parents or not, WE ARE ALL "YOU-NIQUE".
    So each child would naturally have you-nique tendencies and talents, likes and dislikes, hobbies and habits, and each child needs their guardians/parents to flex to each child's specific, you-nique needs.
    My father, like many old school parents, only knew of one way to raise children. Or maybe he had the idea that there is only one way to raise children... Regardless, upon marrying my step mother, he realized that there were other ways of raising children. So while me and my sister got whipped with his leather belt (sometimes to the point of purple and black bruising on our asses) my step siblings got grounded.
    My father thought physical and forceful discipline was a natural component to raising children. And rarely did he solve problems with me on any other level than violence or leaving me in a corner in shame or yelling at me making me feel as small as a grain of rice, or not talking to me and turning a cold shoulder to me making me feel worthless! Wow, I'm still releasing some pain over this...
    And it's a wonder why our so called "civilized" society is so full of violence and women who feel no value and men who rape them. I think a truly civilized society would be devoid of these things.
   Now, on healing the issues we face today in our problem solving as adults, the first key is that you admit to yourself that you were not raised in a way that you want to repeat and let yourself feel those feelings that you don't want to hold on to any more. Let yourself feel it all over again, it's ok now, it's safe to let it go..
    You might feel pain, you might feel shame or sadness. Whatever it is you felt, let yourself feel it. Let out the steam through tears or eating or burning incense or taking a bath, using essential oils, brushing your hair, do whatever you feel led to do in that moment of feeling. Afterwards, when you have done that, you will noticeably feel better than you did. Keep both of those feelings in your mind or where ever you feel it, maybe in your heart or in your abdomen. It will feel like holding polar opposites in your hands. Black and white, and these will be holding the same space within you.
    While in this meditative state, you are capable of anything. You are capable of healing yourself, wiping the slate clean. You are capable of creating planets and ending poverty. That space you are in, is the eternal mind or the God mind. This is a state of complete balance and awareness and acceptance!
    The trauma I felt as a result of my father's choice of discipline was like a stain on my glasses, every time I felt someone getting angry, particularly with a child, my whole body tensed up and I could feel my blood pressure sky rocket. Survival mode starts to kick in and look for ways to combat a predator or flee for my life, putting my body and my biosphere into a state of resistance and fear.
    This is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This "dis-order" has the effect of making ordinary experiences in to full on apocalypses within the self, unnoticeable by anyone around you who is unaware of the condition. So the only escape ends up being you expressing those feelings.
     PTSD has built our society and has been passed for generations. Now we are evolving out of those limiting bondage's and stretching in to a new way of life here on Earth. It's happening, we can all feel it in some way or another.
    The soul is always expanding and looking for more and new ways to expand. This is often in the disguise as healings or traumatic events. It's not always traumatic but sudden, unexpected changes that force you to make sudden, unexpected changes are your soul jumping, leaping in to more expansion and growth.
    I still experience some anxiety when I feel the heat of anger beginning to boil, and I still get a little scared when I see a child get spanked when not listening to mommy or daddy. But the difference for me now is palpable. I opened up and talked to my mother in law and one of my close friends. They both listened to my sobbing story and helped me to gain a sense of balance within myself after I got it all out. Now, when I feel anger and get uncomfortable, I can leave the room without feeling like I'm abandoning myself. Because I've brought the part of my self that was stuck in those memories back in to the present moment. There is still a sense of tenderness there... But it's different. I can tell this is just the start of a new chapter in my life. The slate has been wiped clean.

Getting Excited About My Health! Changing to a Healthy Lifestyle.

    A week ago today, I started a BeachBody workout program, PiYo. It is a happy combination of Pilates and Yoga expertly synchronized by Chalene Johnson (which is my maiden name! haha). This program features short daily workouts and one rest day a week. Also included in the bundle was a bag of Shakeology and a clean eating program to go with it. Its been a hassle getting used to this new lifestyle so I haven't had time for other things like blogging. But that's something I'm willing to keep to a minimum a couple times a week instead of daily blogs.
    When you begin a new life style, its tough to get in to a new groove but, it can be so rewarding! To change my lifestyle I am giving my body a lot more, much needed attention. I'm choosing more active activities and choosing healthier foods, eating smaller portions and learning how to cook lots of new, light, yummy, healthy dishes and I'm excited to be taking control of my health. And here's a tip for any self help junkies or new age junkies learning all about self love: Loving your body IS loving your self!
    What's really been getting me excited are these new recipes and new foods. So, one thing people assume about healthy eating is that its all bland and not filling. Well, let me tell you, eating until you are TOO full is an eating disorder. You don't have to finish all the food on your plate. Once your hunger is satisfied, quit eating! There is a buffer zone between. "not hungry/satisfied", and, "TOO FULL/STUFFED". And that's what you want to avoid. If you're still eating after you feel full, you are eating too much! And you can stick to serving sizes but each person has a different limit, a unique portion size. It's up to you to find out what that is! Try eating smaller amounts of food more frequently throughout the day to keep the metabolism going. Eating too much at once will drastically slow metabolism while eating small "power snacks" throughout the day will keep it on fire!
    Eating healthy does not mean eating bland foods and no eating dessert. You have to be really dedicated to your over all health to really keep to a healthy eating pattern. You will need to learn about new, different foods and what foods combine well together and what foods dont combine well. Every time you eat, a chemical reaction occurs in your belly. This is why you may get a tummy ache after eating dairy and an orange or another citrus-type of food. The acidity of citrus fruits will spoil milk before it is fully digested. On the other hand, in India, food fasting is common and one meal they will eat after sun down or before sun up is yogurt and dates. Apparently this combination is excellent for intestinal flora.
    In one week I have lost about 3 pounds and I feel so healthy. I'm also really taking control of my personal health and dissolving old eating habits and feel like life is good again. I'm so excited for this year. The last year was very dense and heavy. Lots of healing going on globally. This is a new year full of new experiences and new ideas and new creations and new choices and new behaviours. I feel the energy of this year crackling like pop rocks and light and brisk like the cool air off the river after a sunset. It feels like home. There is much momentum in positive directions. I feel it on my tongue. There's a warmth to it, I feel the summer coming, sailing in on the spring breeze.
    Meal preparation is key for these meal programs. Most of what I eat is made from scratch with organic ingredients and lots of alternatives like plain yogurt instead of sour cream, rice noodles instead of white flour egg noodles, coconut or olive oil instead of butter, stevia extract (always go with the liquid, not the powder) instead of sugar. I typically make large batches of food and refrigerate left overs to eat through out the week. In the morning I drink a small glass of water before I eat anything. Doing this and drinking green tea are key components to boosting metabolism along with eating small "power meals" more frequently throughout the day instead of eating three large meals for breakfast lunch and din.
    The reason why most of the food I eat is made from scratch is because, even though the packaged products from the store are convenient like hummus and salsa, they are loaded with unfamiliar ingredients and preservatives that over long periods of time can do a number on the body. In fact, it is my educated guess that preservatives are a silent cause of cancer... hush hush...
    WHY would I make such an assumption? Well, it's not much of an assumption. All cancer is, are mutated cells that, get this, DON'T KNOW HOW TO DIE. You see, death is a natural process of all life and living things, including every cell in our body. In fact, thousands of cells are dying every second, being replaced by new cells. SO when cell death, or, Apoptosis does not occur in a certain tissue or organ... TUMORS appear. Today, there are so many cancer causing criminals out there but I personally believe preservatives could be one of them, keeping cells alive longer than needed.
    Ok, sorry, I kind of went on a soap box there... Back to the topic!
    I think the most challenging part of this life style change has been meal preparation. It's difficult to go from frozen TV dinners and packaged Ramen noodles to cooking rice noodles and making your own pesto sauce with fresh basil, garlic and olive oil. But, hey, these foods are incredible and I feel incredible so I must be doing something right. lol
    Alright, that's all folks.
    Peace, Love and Good Health :)
   

Ah, children... Living **PEACEFULLY** in a Community or Large Families

    The way children are being raised is changing. No doubt, every generation seems to be different in some ways. Why is that? Our world is changing with every generation, so naturally, so will the people and animals and even plant life. But what seems to be arising for the following generations is a way of raising children in awareness of emotions and feelings.
    Currently, we live in a household of 7 including me, my husband and our one year old son, my husband's brother and his two year old daughter, and of course, mom and dad, my in-laws. It gets hectic around here but I honestly love it.
    Seven is a recurring number for me. When my dad married my step mother - I think I was about 5 years old - my sister and I seemed to inherit three older siblings. Two brothers and another sister. There was such a difference in age and upbringing that we never truly got along or got to know each other, but some how the seven of us managed.
    Now, I find myself in another 7 person home/community. I never really noticed that until now... But it's pretty funny.
    The thing about communal living is, it will challenge you every day, every moment. It's tough sometimes living with lots of people with lots of different ideas and beliefs and ways of doing things. It's a challenge because a lack of compromise can quickly become the death of a community but when compromise is consistently met, it can become almost an artful way of living and beautiful at that.
    As I was saying at the beginning of this article, the ways of raising children are changing. Every generation is more and more privileged, more and more opportunities and materials are available to the young generations.
    With this comes a natural increase in overall education levels. Children have a wealth of information at their fingertips on smart phones and computers. Children are being taught to use computers at very young ages, possibly even first grade now. I know some of my young nieces, nephews and cousins are avid tech junkies.
    Beyond this is a silent controversy about child rearing and punishment. The reason I call it a "silent controversy" is because it's not politically correct and is otherwise offending to even speak about how to raise children. Honestly, WHY AREN'T THERE CLASSES IN SCHOOL TEACHING STUDENTS HOW TO RAISE CHILDREN? Is it because your parents are supposed to tell you those things, like the sex talk? Well, I never got the sex talk. Sex was an absolutely forbidden topic in my home.
    Let's face it, we are expected to know what to do when we have children. I've been told, "if you know how to make them, you should know how to raise them". Well FUCK you. Because making love is not just about making children, OKAY? Children don't come with personalized instruction manuals so it's actually quite cruel to expect anyone to know what the hell they are doing when it comes to raising children.
    So, while there is no instruction manual, it is almost taboo to talk about raising children like it is taboo to talk about sex. Why is that? Why do you think? Alright, my soap box is over... moving on...
    Child rearing is fading out. It may not ever be gone, but other ways of handling children are being introduced to the world. My mother, for one, was never physically punished in any way. So naturally, she didn't physically punish me or my sister and the one time she tried, she failed miserably and we ended up laughing about it.
    You know why child rearing is phasing out of raising children? It's the difference between a king leading his people by love or fear. You will sure condition a child in to minding you if you beat them when they do something you dont want them to. But if you give them undivided attention and unconditional presence, you will be there to guide them through whatever comes up, showing them love instead of making them fear you.
    Using fear is an easy way to manipulate others... but it's the most destructive way to raise a child, in my honest opinion.
    I am no saint. I will not claim that title because I have used fear to manipulate others. But at least Im willing to admit it and really see my actions in an authentic way. Every day is a challenge to love more and rise above the manipulation tactics and exercise my brain, my heart and my soul to find other ways of dealing with situations.
    Parents are now doing a lot more breast feeding, co-sleeping (where the baby sleeps with parents instead of a little cage somewhere across the room or in another room completely), baby wearing (putting the baby in a carrier instead of an obnoxious stroller), using natural wipes and cloth diapering, using "clean" or "green" detergents, not doing circumcisions, making home made baby foods with whole, unadulterated, organic foods, eating the placenta, natural birth/water birth/lotus birth, and so much more because we are becoming aware of emotions and feelings and vibrations and frequencies! It's a huge movement which can be partnered with the "new age" movement.
    More and more people are home schooling their children or doing Waldorf schools, free schooling, etc. Everything is changing when it comes to raising children. Im not suggesting public schools being wiped out or GMO foods being banned or child rearing made illegal and what not, instead, I am voting that for some day there will be a happy balance of all of it so that there are even more options available to every social class.
    A recent personal experience brought a lot of this up for me. So Murphy co-sleeps with me and Corey. That means he does not have a bed or crib. The reason for this is I don't want to be separated from my baby and I would wake up a lot sooner to tend to him in the middle of the night if he were right next to me rather than across the room or in a different room entirely.
    However, lately, my libido has been ZILCH. I just have no urge to be intimate with my husband. This has obviously caused some issues in my marriage because my husband seems to have an increased libido now that I have none. Inconvenient and annoying... But something had to be done about it. So I talked to my mother in law who suggested that maybe it's because Murphy sleeps in our bed. A wise thought indeed. Murphy is 14 months old now and as much as I would love to say we could go to a different part of the room or house to be intimate like the couch or kitchen or... its NOT OUR HOUSE and there are others here all the time so that's not exactly an option.
    So to make a story short, I purchased a small toddler bed, about the size of a cot and put it at the end of our bed. That has made things a little easier but at the same time, more cramped in our room. But I am happy with this decision because sooner or later, Murphy will catch on and possibly start sleeping there on his own without me having to nurse him. Plus he can climb up and down from it easy as pie. My whole theme of parenting is supporting independence and preventing trauma.
    My mother in law picked up on the fact that I base a lot of my decisions for Murphy on prevention of trauma. My question is, why aren't more people aiming to prevent trauma for their babies and children? All it takes is a little empathy... Which every human and animal has as a natural trait. That's why if you hold a high vibration of love, animals will be less likely to run from you. But if you hold a lower vibration of fear, animals won't think twice about dodging for cover from or flat out attacking you. This is most easily seen in cats and dogs. Seriously. Not kidding. Keep an eye out when you are with your pets and how they react to different people. You will be shocked at their behaviour when you try to empathize and understand it. Same goes for children.
    But you will never understand this unless you look for it. How could you know if something was there if you never looked?