I’m writing to you from the edge of ecstasy. I have tears streaming down my face from glimpsing the treasure that is life—from the sweet precipice of joy after deep grief—from opening my eyes and looking around at the life I’ve built—and reveling in gratitude for those who have helped me to build it.

I just finished meditating and it is the first time I have ever had this kind of reaction. I have experienced this kind of grace in church before but never on my own like this at home. Maybe I’ve seen some facet of it in nature but today feels somehow different. Thanks to a dear friend reminding me that there’s a free meditation available, I started more intentional morning meditation a few weeks ago. Today the silent chant was:

OM VARUNAM NAMAH

My life is in harmony with cosmic law.

The idea is that you bring your attention back to that phrase when your mind starts to wander. I repeated it silently again and again as my mind wandered to laundry, plans for the day, how much I paid for that Kombucha from The Apiary and then back to OM VARUNAM NAMAH and then gratitude to all of the people who brought me this far…I saw myself tagging so many people on Facebook – my cousins for loving me unconditionally….my dear, dear close friends as family….I know, weird right, that in meditation I’m Facebook tagging…my mentor who has opened me up to so much of my own intuitive power and the list went on and on….and then like a waterfall I fell down into the grief of the worst times of my life and then the joy shot up and out of the waters of despair and I relived that nexus of grace over and over and over. And knowing that God, the Universe, my ancestors, everyone, even the puppy dozing at the foot of my bed, brought me to this moment of grace, gratitude, grief and joy.

Phew…that is the edge I am just stepping down from now. 

And I recorded this video on The Growth Spiral yesterday at the beach. I mention the women in my Walk Inn Beauty Mastermind including wonderful wisdom from Vernita Porter — I hope you enjoy it!

Here are this week’s resources:

1. Today I started reading The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates — the writing is excellent and the story has me gripped after two chapters. I thought that you might appreciate this brief interview with Trevor Noah.

2. Brand new Brené Brown interview on the Tim Ferriss Show. Here’s the link to Tim’s show page which includes links to your favorite podcast platforms and here’s the interview on YouTube:

3. Our Experience of Grief is Unique as Our Fingerprint article by David Kessler. This article addresses the difference between grieving and mourning.

4. Mercury Retrograde now until March 9: Check out Alex Myles’ take on the next three weeks. I also like Vanessa Couto’s approach to re-do, re-think, re-imagine and so much more. You can read her blog post here. You can believe or not in this type of thing. Basically, it’s not a time to be alarmed. It’s a chance to slow down and pay attention, allow things to be cleaned up. Have patience if electronics and technology glitch (tonight several links that I wanted to share were not working so I left them out) and most of all, STOP and notice when miscommunications are happening and step back and away and recognize, most of the time, if you’re digging in your heels…try taking off your shoes. (Ha! I made a Merc Rx funny!)

Here’s how you can help this week:

 

 

1. If you or someone you know is feeling lonely and needs a lift, consider purchasing the one-hour recording of my Worldwide Virtual Valentine’s Celebration. You’ll get a grounding meditation, poetry readings, laughter, chocolate-tasting, oracle and tarot card pulls and lots of self-love strategies to cope with obstacles. The cost is $14 via Venmo or PayPal and it’s available for download through the end of February. 
   
2. Set an alarm on your phone twice a day for three deep belly breaths and do them.
3. Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up.
4. Laugh as much as possible this week. And try to dance if you can too–even alone at home. 
5. I’m committed to transcribing 2,000 words each week until the end of February. You can keep up with the sequel to my novel on Instagram.

Remember: Find magic in the everyday! There are clues everywhere!