Ask.

My word for 2017.

An incredibly profound and forward moving word.

A word that requires action, bravery, courage, chutzpah.

A helpful word that reminds you, it's ok to ASK.

Ask.

Ask invites us to live our lives and address our needs. Ask suggests that what we want or need is on the other side of one question.

Ask has taken me out of my comfort zone and brought me so many types of gifts that I might not have had otherwise...even too many to describe here.

Ask is profound, sharing, caring, committed.

Ask is about getting closer to people and expanding horizons.

There were so many occasions this year when I wanted to ask something and would not have if this were not my Word of the Year. It's as if I would pause and realize, "Wait, ASK is my word! I CAN ask that!"

Ask is about permission and is a teacher. 

I am ever so grateful for the word ASK -- I give it 5 stars and highly recommend it as a Word of the Year!! I do not think I have perfected the art of asking yet. There is so much more to ask.

Just a reminder that on December 31, 2017 I will send the annual post for our new words for 2018! We look forward to hearing about the words that will inspire and guide you and perhaps change your life! But don't share just yet...

For now, did you have a word for 2017? How has it served you? Will you share your insights about your 2017 word in the comments section below? We look forward to hearing from you -- your words inspire us!

Love,
Blessed

There have been times in my life when I felt disconnected from God. I remember when I was 19, attending the University of Nevada in Reno and driving up the Mount Rose Highway to Lake Tahoe with my mother. I said to her, "I can't feel God. I usually can feel God, but I can't feel God." 

My mother was quiet for a bit, and then she said to me, "I have felt that way too."

That was just what I needed to not feel so alone and enough to make me feel like my God connection would return.

When someone told me recently, "I think God has forgotten about me" it pulled on my heart strings. Now, after years of living, I know that feeling so well.

During some of my toughest years, I would shake my fist at God and say,"Where are you? Where are you?" Then I would be quiet and would feel God gently saying, "I'm right here."

I grew to understand that God is not the author of our pain, trouble, confusion and chaos. No, God is love. God is a comforter.

Whenever I feel distant from God, I think of the Seals and Crofts song "Get Closer". The lyrics say, "Darlin' if you want me to be closer to you, get closer to me."

That is always the case. If we want to be closer, we need to get closer! 

God does not withdraw...we do. When we draw closer, so does God.

For me, getting closer may mean praying and meditating on the word. Being outside in nature and feeling the fresh air can help many of us, or going to church or temple, reading something spiritual or inspirational or doing random acts of kindness...

As we begin the Holiday season, many may feel distant from friends, family and even God. Remember that God is an ever-loving presence that is the Source of our good, creativity and love. Also, remember that many of us have felt distanced from those we love and from God...you are not alone.

Any thoughts or comments you want to share from your own experience? What are some ways that help you feel closer to God or Source? We would love to hear from you in the comments section below.

"Darlin' if you want me to be closer to you, get closer to me!" I love that song.

Happy Thanksgiving to all...you are loved!
Love,
Blessed

As the seasons change, so do our lives. Expectedly, unexpectedly...things change.

It’s so difficult when you lose or have to leave a relationship because of death, some other type of loss, distance, separation or conflict, and then, on top of the loss, be challenged with having to turn your cleaving to someone or something else. This can be a very challenging time. I know this by experience.

After years of having a multitude of stable relationships, whether through girlfriends, family, workmates, healthcare practitioners, or spiritual leaders, I then suffered 20 years of significant continual loss. I never knew that I shouldn’t be taking all of those steady relationships for granted -- that everything could change so drastically. 
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When I buried two of my closest friends back to back, a primary care physician said to me, “You now have the very difficult task of developing new relationships.” It was one of the most real things that a clinician said to me during that time. It wasn’t easy to hear, however, I knew it was true.

Now, I have yet another relationship threatened very unexpectedly. I see that I have to cleave to new sources of support. So, instead of focusing over and over again on the uncertainty of this relationship, which has been very available and supportive during the last year, I need to shift. Shifting can be difficult, infuriating, unsettling, saddening (is that a word?), and strangely...hopeful.

So I am shifting to what I have always shifted to through all of these losses and transitions, which is “Wow, I wonder how God will bless me now? I wonder what blessings will come from this change? I wonder how things will get better as a result of this shift?"

The one thing that I have learned with certainty through all of this change is that I am always, always blessed in the tragedy or as a result of the change. Always. I call them Change Blessings. Unfortunately, those blessings may not arrive right away – I wish they did – but they do eventually arrive.

I started playing a game yesterday in my mind, which was to think about my life as it was before the staggering loss and pretend that I was that person then. It was amazing how helpful it was. I could feel all of the support that I had then and felt like I could move forward with confidence! I am going to keep trying this. Shifting and living “as if”. I will write another blog soon about "living as if" -- a powerful life tool. 

Remember, if you are experiencing loss or change...blessings are on the way! Look to find them...

What helps you shift or give you hope when life throws you a curve ball, a change you didn't expect or welcome? Would love to hear your beautiful words of advice in the comments section below. 
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Love,
Blessed

Permission.

Permission.

We need permission…

Permission to paint, explore, move on, be different, stay the same.

Permission to be our true God-given selves and follow our dreams.

As I journey forward in massive career and life change I find that, more than anything, I need permission.

Permission to move forward into my dreams of being an artist, teaching art, living on beaches, predominantly living outside, truly connecting, making eye contact, deep listening, abundant color, cooking, painting, fun…

Yes, more than anything, I need permission, and after all these years, this permission can only really come from myself. There is no physical other standing over me saying, “It’s ok. Go ahead. The road is clear. You will be safe.”

No, this permission has to come from a place of uncertainty and great courage and earned knowing and God-given power. Power fought for and fighting for, leaning in and listening power. That is where permission will come from this time.

This is warrior work my friends. Don’t think it small when you come up against your doubts that tell you perhaps your dreams aren’t good enough, or realistic enough, or grownup enough, or even worse, not attainable.

Keep taking the next step. 

As Wayne Dyer, PhD, says in the book Wishes Fulfilled, “Now you can choose to consciously participate in this non-sensory supreme reality—your imagination—where you assume your future dream to be a present fact and live from this new awareness.” The key sentence that follows,“This isn’t pretending or fooling yourself, it is inviting your spirit rather than your physical form to generate the creative essence of your reality. It’s what it means to transform your life.”

More simply put my friends…dream until your dreams come true.

Yes.

Dream.

Dive deep for…permission…from yourself.

Permission.

Say it loud!

Have something you want to say? We would love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Love,
Blessed

(Copyright Jane Hart 2017)

Life is a mix. Our relationships with the world and the people in it are dynamic and ever changing. One minute we are mindful of each other, and the next minute we are unmindful.

​Recently, as I was driving around town, I was amazed at how many people in cars let me go ahead of them or let me enter into a long line that I otherwise would still be waiting to enter. Everyone was so kind that I noticed the loving kindness.

The next day...well, you know.

Life and people -- us people -- are not always consistent, not always present.

As a minor and first world example -- because we each have very big examples of this point -- I went into two craft stores and asked for help from customer service. In store #1 when I asked about their products, the women workers said they had no idea what I was looking for and had never heard of the product. After the manager shrugged her shoulders and walked away, rather than walking out and leaving, I spoke up, "Do you think we could look up the product online? The internet says you have the product." Another worker said, "I'll do it," and added, "but you will have to follow me to another department." She trudged off. 

It took everything in my being not to say "isn't this your job?" 

But I kept thinking of the years of mindfulness training that I have experienced. What a waste if I didn't put all that education into practice. So after the experience of the worker's "not" help of not finding the product and acting irritated throughout our interaction, I said instead, "Thank you so much for taking the time to look that up for me. I really appreciate it."  Of course, I had to make a conscious decision to say this to her. I was teaching myself how to be mindful in that moment, and of course, her attitude shifted.

Store #2, same scenario. Never heard of the product, we don't have that, not moving to help me find it. Well, don't you know, I found that lonesome little product sitting on a shelf. As I approached the check out counter with product in hand there was a long, long line. I was feeling tired and thought about leaving. At that moment, the woman in front of me turned around and offered me a 25% off coupon. I accepted her gift and thanked her.

Life is a mix.

It's difficult, then it's good, then generous, then meager, then surprising, then maddening, then confusing and then joyful. We are mindful and then not mindful.

Here is my prayer around this topic:

Lord, teach me to be patient. Teach me to love even when I don't feel like loving. Teach me to listen when my first reaction is to speak. On the other hand, help me to speak up when that is the mindful action that is needed. Teach me to let the other driver go ahead. Teach me to help, and help me put into practice all that I have learned about being ever mindful of your children here on earth. We are each so very, very Precious. Let us treat each other that way. 

Life is a mix. Let's slow down and be ever mindful of each other.

Have something you would like to add to the conversation? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. We want to hear from yoU!

Love,
Blessed

Whenever I log on to a research data base on my computer, a security network sign shows up on the screen asking me if I want to “BLOCK CHANGE” or “ALLOW CHANGE”. The system wants to make sure that I am choosing to move onto a secure site. 

I always click on “ALLOW CHANGE”, and by doing this, I have access to a gold mine worth of research.



​I was thinking about the correlation to making this decision in our individual lives.

What if every time a change was going to occur in our life, a sign popped up asking us if we wanted to BLOCK or ALLOW change? I wonder how many times we might be tempted to click BLOCK CHANGE. 

As a species, we don’t like change too much. Personally, I can think of, oh, a thousand or more changes that have occurred in my life where I would have liked to have hit BLOCK CHANGE…yes BLOCK, BLOCK, BLOCK.

Yet, change is inevitable.

The good news is that, so often, change is the catalyst needed to usher us into greater abundance. YAY and YES to greater abundance!! If we only could trust more.

In fact, I can think of so many changes that I would have preferred to not happen, and yet as I look back, I realize that I have been so blessed as a result of many of those changes.

An example comes to mind. Years ago, I was house sitting for a couple who was traveling on a year-long trip around the world. Cozily moved into my great temporary home, and two months in, the couple had to move back into their home. This left me without a place to live and uncertainty regarding the months ahead. BLOCK CHANGE. 

The day I had to move out -- the day after Christmas -- I spontaneously got on a plane to Florida, and oh my, what very unexpected blessings were dropped into my life like manna from heaven as a result of that unwanted CHANGE! I stayed for three weeks on the beach, came back home, packed my things, drove out of a very snowy driveway, and moved to Florida! I absolutely felt like I was home there with long daily strolls on the beach, talking with the dolphins, and my "just until my skin turns brown" lifestyle. Yes! ALLOW CHANGE!

It isn’t easy when change shows up at our door. In fact, change can be very, very difficult. But rather than move into fear when change occurs, I am going to try to be more open to clicking “ALLOW CHANGE”. Then I will wait expectantly for a new harvest and abundance as a result of that change. 

What about you? Do you fear change? Are you open to change? Ready to click on the ALLOW CHANGE button in your life and see what happens? Let us know how you feel about change in the comments section, we want to hear from yoU!

Love,
Blessed

(Written by Jane Hart, Copyright 2016) 

​I love tea. I drink it every day.
I make it myself. I order it out.

Tea is instantly available to me throughout the day. I buy it, I have lots of it, I go places that sell it, and they serve it to me.

When I went to China I survived on Jasmine tea and French fries (I was not a fan of the food there). Whenever I ordered tea the waiters would smile and say, "Okay". Clearly they had taken my order and understood that I was ordering tea. 

After ordering, several minutes would pass, and I would begin to wonder where my tea was. I was not in the agitated state yet, just curious. 

Several more minutes would pass, and I would enter the "Where are the waiters, and where have they gone with my tea?" stage.

After about 10 minutes I would reach the agitation stage. I called the waiters over and said, "Could you please bring me my tea?"

Each time I went through this scenario they would look confused, smile, and say, "Tea, yes, tea,". They talked to me as if I was confused. Hahaha.

About 20 minutes after ordering my tea it would finally arrive at my table. Every time...20 minutes.

Funny thing is, I went to an Asian restaurant here in town the other day. The exact same thing happened. I smiled and shared this story with my friends. 

Why are we in such a hurry? Tea drinking is a ceremony in many places. It is to be sipped slowly and enjoyed. 

The Chinese wait staff (lol wait staff) had no awareness that anything was being delayed or that anything was wrong. Of course nothing was wrong. However, during my two week trip across China I saw Americans and Europeans alike flaunting their impatience about the not-so-prompt arrival of their tea or coffee. We all looked pretty silly.

Why are we in such a hurry? Does anyone know why? It's destroying us, and still we hurry.

I hope my tea takes 20 minutes the next time I order and that I sit and take in the marvelous view of this day, this hour, this minute, this place. It will never be repeated in the same way. Ever.

What could you be savoring that you are rushing through instead? Why is it difficult to slow down? What could you do to not rush so much? Please share your thoughts in the comment section, we want to hear from yoU!

Love,
Blessed
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(Written by Jane Hart, copyright 2016)

The Lilies of the Field is one of my favorite books/movies of all time. I have watched the movie over and over again throughout my life -- often during this time of year. I love the story of faith, reluctance, will, patience and perseverance all tied up in one story.

I see myself in Homer Smith, the main character of the story, played by Sidney Poitier. When charged to build a chapel by a ruthless Mother Superior, Smith is a willing but reluctant participant.

In the story line, Homer repeatedly tries to abandon the building of the chapel. He wants to walk away, run, give up. Difficult people and circumstances as well as personal challenges add to his lack of enthusiasm for the project. Homer, however, gradually becomes changed in his inner life and is persistently cheered on by the spiritual figures around him. Ultimately, he is unable to abandon what he knows he needs to do for his soul. So with help -- and accepting help is a significant part of the story -- he completes the building.

Homer's story is not unlike many of ours where a dream is fulfilled through a calling, collaboration, and agreement. 

The story line tugs on my own heart. I search for what it is that I have started but then abandoned in my life. A relationship, a project, a story, a dream. I want to pick things back up if it is God's will. I believe in the "church" of my life being built and completed. In order to get there, however, I have to face my resistance, fear and bitterness and push past the obstacles in my path. Yet, in order to succeed, I also need to celebrate my well-entrenched discipline, strong faith and willingness to persevere. In fact, we each must sit with the duality of our personhood. Perhaps, that is the good news.

What is life calling you to finish? Have you abandoned or put something down that God would have you pick back up again? Have you put a dream or many dreams on hold? Thinking it can't happen or you don't have the strength? Have you asked for help? Pray to God about what to do next.

In this Season of RENEWAL, may God bless ALL of you (and God is blessing you), and may these next two holy weeks fill your heart and mind with more of God and God's gracious will for your life. 

Love,
Blessed
May all things be renewed in God's bright light.