Love Love Love

by | Feb 10, 2020 | Being Human, Love

In day-to-day life, loving, doesn’t seem like the easiest ride at the amusement park. In real life, there appears to be legitimate reasons to break connection. The connection breaker can be validated and commiserated. We can make differences the problem and build a life from them.
If we look at the universal nature of human beings, we are all in the same boat together!
1.    They have their ‘what matters most to me list’. You have your ‘what matters most to me list’. The content rarely matches.
2.    What’s obvious to them is not obvious to you. What’s obvious to you is not obvious to them. The content rarely matches.
3.    Where their mind goes, their life follows. Where your mind goes, your life follows. The content rarely matches.
4.    They see life uniquely through their eyes. You see life uniquely through your eyes. The content rarely matches.
5.    People do what makes sense to them in the moment. You do what makes sense to you in the moment. The content rarely matches.
Hopefully, by gaining understanding on how we’re all doing the same things in different ways, we can gain some spaciousness around times when differences look like deal breakers. Since we all possess the ability for fresh ideas, curiosity can replace reactivity and we find fresh places to connect. And we all want to feel connected.
Love, love, love……
It’s not always easy, but it’s the best game in town.
Sending smiles,
Cherie
PS. I would love to hear your thoughts on this! Let’s connect.

Light-hearted? Tis the Season

by | Dec 20, 2019 | Inspiration

The holidays are HERE! Are you ready for what this season brings? Maybe it’s just me but I know my expectations, preferences, and story book images of the season can surely get in the way of seeing the gifts that sit right before my eyes.
When I watch kiddos, they get this game. They are very light-hearted about the holidays. They are ready to roll when the lights come on. What can be learned from this observation?
My suggestion? Take a double dose of ‘taking things lightly.’ Pack your sense of humor and take it with you everywhere you go. The old adage, “Don’t leave home without it.”, is some of the best wisdom to remember during this holiday season. Another tip? Check your preferences at the door. Everybody has preferences (and they are rarely the same) but they needn’t be a reason to break connection. They may get met and they may not, but don’t wait on that to have a good time connecting with the ones that matter most to you in your life.
A heart full of love feels good, I know it and you know it. A mind full of unmet expectations and preferences feels icky. We all have a choice. What feels best to you. The good news is you get to pick.
I want to wish you the very best! I love knowing you and having you in my life.
Happy holidays,
Cherie

Support for “Ick” Conversations

by | Nov 11, 2019 | Inspiration

Maybe I’m the only one who has an adversity to conversations I’d rather not find myself in. I could have been in the circus or worked for the magician, Houdini, because I could find an escape route from these uncomfortable situations. Well, like most things in life, I couldn’t avoid them forever so I decided to see if I could grow a tolerance for them. As I launched this inquiry, over the years, I’ve noticed how my participation in these situations has evolved.

 

The old model:

1.    Getting face-to-face or ear-to-ear

2.    Looking at them, trying to be interested

3.    Sitting on my hands so I wouldn’t bolt

4.    Thinking I’m listening

5.    Reacting or trying not to react to what they’re saying

6.    Evaluating the Right or Wrong of what they’re saying

7.    Justifying, explaining, or defending my part of the topic

 

The new model:

1.    Getting face-to-face or ear-to-ear

2.    Showing up as best I can in the moment with as clear a mind as I can muster

3.    Knowing I’m equipped for anything that comes up in this conversation. No need to run.

4.    Putting my attention on the speaker while my mind is whirling a sh—show of commentary.

5.    Staying neutral. This is an active position for me because I see that I can’t hear what they’re trying to say when I’m falling into the story my mind is generating about what’s going down.

6.    Listening for what they’re really trying to convey. Am I getting their point? Am I curious about what they’re saying?

7.    Questioning them to see if I’m understanding what they are trying to communicate.

8.    Still staying neutral. How can we collaborate to address what they are sharing? 

9.    Seeing the value of cultivating goodwill with this person. What can be created NEW from this conversation?

 

When I review how these conversations go down for me now, I can’t believe I could experience such a dramatic difference in conversations I had once avoided. What surprises me, equally, is the connection and goodwill that comes from listening in a new way. I see where old patterns can’t persist when I show up differently. Something NEW has to happen if I show up differently.

 

This is typically where I laugh…

What? It’s ME again! Really?

Yep!

 

Try doing difficult conversations differently. There’s no perfection, just showing up differently supports change, connection, and goodwill. Something, I believe, we all seek.

 

Please let me know if you give this a try, I’d love to hear from you!

 

Sending smiles,

Cherie

 

 

P.S. In these inquiries, I’m fascinated by the limitless Intelligence behind life that brings fresh ideas and solutions to each of us. What it brings, I’m grateful for. The fact that it is always here and in service to me, for living a more peaceful, loving life…amazes me.

Following Quirky Inspiration

by | Oct 31, 2019 | Being Human, Thought

Taos. This is one word that evokes movement inside anyone who has visited or has longed to visit this unique place. It’s a place filled with real-time postcard images that seem to have been enhanced by Photoshop, but they haven’t.
For many years, I’ve had the good fortune to facilitate Intuitive Painting workshops at Mabel Dodge Luhan House (www.mabeldodgeluhan.com) in Taos, New Mexico. This puts me in Taos twice a year for almost two weeks in the spring and two weeks in the fall. With every visit, I learn more about this unique town and the people who were attracted to it. Two immensely creative people who’ve been attracted to Taos were Mabel Dodge Luhan and Dennis Hopper. Why would this pair be on my mind? Mabel created the retreat center 80 plus years ago and Dennis Hopper owned it at one time. The energy of supporting creatives is imbued in the walls.
I find an individual’s creative process fascinating and I wanted to learn more about Dennis Hopper’s, so I started listening to every interview I could find. One of the most interesting comments I remember him saying was, he felt his most creative once he was clear of his addictions. This rang the Truth Bell for me. Why? Because we are naturally immensely creative. We can be awed by this fact once we align with what’s creating vs what we’re creating or the common thought-theme, ‘I’m not creative.’
When I was in Taos this September, on my way back to Mabel’s from the post office, I got an inspiration to visit Dennis Hopper’s resting place. Since I’m here in Taos to support spontaneity, freedom, and following inspiration, with a clear conscience, I couldn’t say no. But you should have heard the sh..t-show of thoughts that flooded my mind about following this inspiration. OMG! The thoughts ranged from reverence to heresy.
As will happen with inspiration, the next step showed up. I went to YouTube and there it was, a driving video to where I was inspired to go. When I arrived, I circled the location a couple of times because I didn’t want to impose on a person who was having a chat with another resident of the cemetery. When the other visitor left, I drove in. What I found was a homage to Mr. Hopper.
It was evident by the adornments to his resting place that he had been impactful to the lives of many. My ‘shame on you thoughts’ for visiting the grave of someone I’d never met changed. A rich feeling of gratitude replaced the spaces in my mind where shame had lived. There was now an abiding respect for all who have followed their inspirations and colored outside the box. I said a prayer of appreciation for all his earthly contributions and how he continues to inspire from where he lives right now.
I would also like to thank all of the creatives who followed their inspiration to come to the Taos September workshop. From the first gathering in the garden to the very last day, this group was filled with fun, collaboration, bursts of creative insights, and truly wonderful people.
Sending smiles,
Cherie

Saying YES to Life!

by | Sep 12, 2019 | Events, Thought

Saying YES to Life. Little did I know that I have been doing this, in a big way, for the past 6 years. It wasn’t as conscious to me then as it is now. Now I see that something larger than my mind has been slamming my hand on the YES button to some extreme invitations that I just couldn’t wrap my head. As a result, my world has expanded beyond my wildest imagination. In more ways than I could list in this message.

Some of the invitations I mentioned were so extreme that they pushed every ‘NO WAY’ button, belief, and understanding I held to be true about how life works. I shake my head and laugh today because I really believed the answer was NO to these opportunities. These things really did NOT look or feel possible for me. They weren’t even part of what I could see for myself in the biggest vision on the biggest vision board. I couldn’t have been more off the mark. 
 
That is why I’m so excited about the new program that has been birthed from this exploration, Level-Up: Saying YES to Life. This is a 4 month group coaching program that will give you an opportunity to gain understanding, to see opportunities, to get real support in saying YES to living a bigger life, and having a richer experience of life. The group will be small with a maximum of 8 participants. This program offers you both individual and community support.
(You can read complete details here)
 
If this resonates with you, let’s have a conversation. We can schedule a time to talk and get to know each other.
 
Looking forward to connecting with you soon!
Cherie