Exploring the Divine Feminine

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Carmen

The Divine Feminine is an integral part of our universe and exists within everyone, regardless of gender. You do need not to be female or identify with the feminine in order to work with this energy. In fact, this energy must exist and work with the Divine Masculine energy in order to create balance and harmony in our world. Like Yin and Yang where one has a little bit of the other and one cannot exist without the other, this is the same with the divine feminine and masculine energies.

What is Divine Feminine Energy?

The Divine Feminine is a sacred universal energy. She expresses the full spectrum of all that is the feminine principle, in its highest and most sacred forms. She is Mother Earth, the feminine counterpart and equal life-giver to the Divine Masculine (who sustains her). She is the creative force that brings life into existence. She sees life as sacred and is intuitive, collaborative, graceful, nurturing, healing and has unconditional love. She opens you up to the multi-dimensional and spiritual world and has an internal radiance that is evident to all. Her energy is key to bringing our planet back to balance and harmony.

She is:

Sacred, sensual, healing, mysterious, accepting, empathetic
Balances with masculine energy creates harmony
Receptivity, presence, loving kindness, self love, nurturing
Inspiring, sacred, empowering, honored and respected, connected to Mother Earth and the Moon
Openness, vulnerability, humility, adaptability, curiosity
Opens you to multi-dimensional and sensory world
Connects you to intuition, creativity, introspection, patience, compassion, flexibility, gentleness, wisdom, community focused
Healing, grace, collaboration and unconditional love

This sacred energy is the key in connecting to your spirituality and discovering your own Divinity.

Symbols of the Divine Feminine

The Silvery Moon
Water A Cup
The Tree (Tree of Life)
A Menorah
An Asherah Pillar
A Dove (Holy Spirit)
The Shekinah
A Feather
A Cow
Crown of Horns with a Sun Disc
A Winged Sun Disc
Bees, Beehives
A Downward Pointing Triangle
The Vesica Pisces
Caves Waters, Springs

This feminine energy is rising now on the planet, coming to the forefront and moving back to her rightful side beside the divine masculine. She is not rising to overtake or dominate the masculine, but to equalize, simply rising up from being suppressed, buried and forgotten for all these years. She is rising to take her place as his equal, working with, respecting and honoring the energies within both divine energies.

The Divine Feminine is ever present now because we need to reconnect to the Earth and to ourselves. Healing, loving and appreciating our planet, nurturing our relationships with both the planet and us. Recognizing the beauty and magnificence within all of us, so that we can not only heal, but fully awaken and grow, shifting and transforming the energy of our world to one that truly exists without fear and is in peace and harmony with everything. It may sound woo-woo but it is the heart of where we can go as a human race.

Connecting to the Divine Feminine

So what can you do to bring the Divine Feminine forth and anchor her in your life? Rediscover and connect with her aspects and energies, embracing the qualities that have been left dormant for so long.

Be open

Be receptive

Be nurturing

Be compassionate

Be present

and practice the qualities of the Divine Feminine on a regular basis, honoring and respecting her presence within you and within the world.

Want to discover more about the Divine Feminine and how to connect with her? Join me for Honoring the Divine Feminine event on May 11th. Deeply connect and discover this sacred energy and her role in your life specific to you.

5 Powerful Essential Oils For Opening the Heart

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Carmen

The heart plays such an important role in our lives, not only is it key in keeping us alive and our bodies functioning, it is the home for feelings. It is the place we manifest and create from, the space where we give and receive love.

As you may know essential oils are a wonderful tool in supporting your physical health but they also possess an emotional and energetic side. They help you in processing emotions and shifting things energetically. They work with all areas of the body, physical or emotional and the heart is no exception.

Often times due to the experiences of life we may shut down our hearts, guard them or close them off to love. This is natural as you may have been hurt or betrayed and you naturally want to protect yourself. This is just a part of the human experience and it’s ok, but a closed heart does not always lead the happiest life or create the best opportunities. The key is to have the tools to safely open up the heart space again, heal and move forward. Can it be scary, of course it can, but the benefits will outweigh the risks.

5 Powerful Heart Opening Essential Oils

There are a number of essential oils that you can use to support opening up your heart. Which one you choose depends on your intuition and the qualities you are looking for. When using a heart oil choose the one that you are drawn to, it is the one you need in that moment.

Geranium warms the body and opens the heart. It supports loving yourself, compassion and self healing. It supports you to more easily let go of judgments, angers, and resentments, and move you into the experience of unconditional love. Aiding you in letting go of emotional and mental baggage which can stagnate our relationships and block feelings of connection and love.

Lavender is the oil of communication. It helps you to listen what people are saying to you at a heart level. You’ll feel the spirit behind the words and speak their language. It also supports connecting to your true self as well as bringing buried emotions, thoughts and feelings to the surface (and therefore enabling you to release them and let them go)

Neroli will open the heart, balance emotions and uplift the spirits. It’s soothing and euphoric in its actions, instilling comfort and strength, encouraging the release of repressed emotions fostering forgiveness.

Jasmine soothes the heart, is stabilizing and balancing. It can relax and uplift as well as accentuate the sensual in your life.

Rose helps to soothe and strengthen the heart. It helps to alleviate depression and promote a sense of peace and harmony. It opens up the heart and soul to love and spiritual connection.

How to Apply Your Heart Oils

Use these heart oils by putting a few drops in your diffuser or applying topically with one drop directly on the heart space (the sternum between the breasts). You can also create a rollerbottle. Add 10-15 drops of your chosen heart essential oil in a 10 ml rollerbottle and top it with fractionated coconut oil.

Wonderful uses for heart essential oils are any time you want to open up the heart, hear someone at a heart level, or soothe and strengthen the heart. This could be during meditation, your yoga practice, before you go for a walk, having a conversation with someone or simply using it in your diffuser to support the heart while you work.

The Difference Between Boundaries and An Open Heart

Some of you may be concerned that opening up your heart too much can make you vulnerable or a person that people can take advantage of. This is not the case, as there is a difference between having an open heart and having boundaries. Boundaries are what you have in place to ensure that you are true to yourself and your beliefs. Living from your heart space creates a great capacity to love, be genuine and caring for yourself and others. Boundaries do not need to be compromised when living from your heart. In fact, you will find smoother communication with others, an ability to manifest more of what you want and be generally happier in your life.

Play with these heart oils this month and see how things open up and blossom for you.

If you would like to explore more about the emotional side of essential oils I would invite you to experience a Perfect Alignment Essential Oil Clearing. The theme for February is Love. It is designed to open yourself up to love with reckless abandon. This is your time to shine, to harness that energy of true love and all the joy and gifts it brings. This is not just romantic love but love for yourself and love for life! When you are surrounded by the energy of love wonderful and amazing things happen. Message me to connect for this clearing.

Find Your Miracle Morning

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Carmen

A Miracle Morning. What would that be like? What would that do for you?

How many of us start out our days harried, rushed, having dragged ourselves out of bed because we just can’t get excited about the day? Trying to successfully get out the door, running through the list of things that need to get done and feeling just oh so unexcited about it.

What if I told you that you could change that? I mean really change that. Would you be interested?

The Miracle Morning

Months ago I was working with a client and she wanted me to create a banner for the book club she was running, The Miracle Morning. Of course I did that, but I was curious as to what this was all about so I looked it up. “Success before 8 am” it claimed, “Everyday will feel like Christmas”, “Not a morning person, you will be”. Really? I thought, I’d heard many of these claims before, what would make this one any different?

Even with these doubts in mind I decided I would give it a go anyway. I grabbed the book from the library and started reading. Hal Elrod claimed that even if you are not a morning person that you will be bouncing out of bed with enthusiasm each morning. Ok we’ll see, I said, I was not a morning person.

The whole basis of the book is in order to create success in your life and business that you need to be working on yourself personally on a regular basis. If you want to move up to the next level, raise the bar on success, you have develop personally and you have to work on it every day. Because if you are not working on yourself personally you won’t level up no matter how badly you want it.

“Your level of success, will rarely exceed your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become.” Jim Rohn

This made total sense to me. And I could see it, I love my me time, but when life gets busy, guess what goes first? Yup my me time, my workout, my reading, etc. and in fact this book was suggesting I needed to do the opposite. Protect and create that time all the more. Hmmm, made sense. All the times I have felt stuck, like I wasn’t getting anywhere, when I spent a bit of time on me, magically things shifted. Now if I was doing this on a daily basis…

The 6 Pieces

Your life is made up of a variety of components which are both external and internal. External ones are events, people, places. These things can affect you in your world, but they are not who you are.

Internal components are physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual, your inner world. And your inner world is where you create from and creates the basis for how you react or interact with your external world.

With this in mind, Hal has created the Miracle Morning so that you are working on all these internal components on a daily basis. Improving and shifting your inner world on all counts, which then in turn affects your outer world.

Hal calls these 6 internal components the Life SAVERS and they stand for:

S – Silence is one of the best ways to immediately reduce stress. Connecting you to your inner voice, gaining clarity and increasing self awareness. Silence can take a variety of forms and can be anything from meditating, prayer, reflection to deep breathing and gratitude.

A – Affirmations are positive statements that you say over and over in order to support changing your thought patterns, your inner programming. You know those inner voices or even critics. Focusing on changing what you say by creating statements that you repeat over and over to change that negative self talk and bring in the positive. I personally have changed my affirmations to afformations which has made an even bigger difference for me. More on afformations later.

V – Visualization is the process of picturing and focusing on what you want using visual cues, whether they be physical or within your minds eye. It is the practice of imagining specific behaviours and outcomes that you would like to create in your life. Things like vision boards, drawing what you visualize or picturing it in your mind are all forms of visualization.

E – Exercise is simply movement of your body. This can be as simple as doing 10 jumping jacks and a few push ups, some gentle yoga or going for a run. The key here is to get the body moving and the blood circulating. It’s proven that just a few minutes significantly boosts your energy and self confidence, enhances your health, improves your emotional well being and enables you to think clearer and concentrate longer.

R – Reading is one of the fastest ways to improve areas in your life. You can quickly acquire, knowledge, ideas and strategies to achieve what you want. You also have the advantage of learning from experts who have done it before, no need to reinvent the wheel! And it’s limitless there are many books out there to choose from.

S – Scribing (writing) is simply putting pen to paper. Capturing your thoughts, whether they be insights, ideas, breakthroughs or simply just airing things out (that has value to and can be healing). You could write that book you always wanted a few minutes at a time, write your gratitudes, dream, just the art of pen to paper will benefit.

And Your Miracle Morning is simply the first hour of your day divided into 10 minute sections for each of these 6 components. Are you with me yet? Or are you still thinking yeah right.

How It Has Helped Me

I have to admit when I first started my Miracle Morning I was keen to give it a try but I did not think it would transform me into a person who loved mornings. Or that I would bounce out of bed an hour earlier willingly and have it feel like Christmas each day. But I gave it a go because well I wanted change, and I wanted improvements and if Hal assured me that this would make a difference then I thought fine, I’ll give it a fair shake. So I began.

As I got started on my first morning I enjoyed it. I found I was very happy once I got downstairs to start the rest of my day, things that usually bothered me didn’t, and magically we were more on time that morning, in fact I think we might have even been early, then ever before. Huh I thought. Ok I looked forward to day 2.

The next morning same results, and then the next and the next. And then all of a sudden I craved this daily time for me, I got mad if on the odd occasion the alarm didn’t go off and I missed it or had to delay it until after I took the kids to school. I was noticing I was more productive and efficient, happier and super excited about getting up each day. I was wondering which book I was going to choose next for my reading time and what other things was I going to bring in to benefit my life and finally move me forward. Things started to shift, stuff that seemed stuck all of a sudden started moving. I was not only hooked, I had seen proof and I was a believer.

What I think makes a big difference between the Miracle Morning and other morning ritual programs is doing all of these personal development pieces at once. I am sure many of you meditate on a regular basis, and exercise, perhaps read intellectual books, etc. but that most of you do not do these all in one shot. This, I believe, is the key, working on them all a little bit at once nurturing each part, feeding the soul completely before you start the rest of your day.

Ready to Create Your Miracle Morning?

What would it be like if you had this? Ready and willing to get out of bed each more with excitement, starting your day by filling your own bucket. How would your life change? Are you willing to try?

The Miracle Morning is something you can easily do on your own. Get the book read and follow it and you are on your way. And for some people that is perfect. But for others it is helpful to have that community, that support, that accountability when trying something new. Those cheerleaders that have your back and say “You Got This”, no matter what happens. That say if you miss a morning, without judgement, don’t worry about it, start again tomorrow, we all falter sometimes, and that is ok.

Either way, you choose the way that works for you. And that’s another reason why I love the Miracle Morning, it is totally customizable. I love having my full hour, but sometimes I only have 30 minutes or less. Hal says don’t worry, you can do it in as little as 6 minutes on busy days or if you are strapped for time (you will find as you go though that you would like more time and will make the adjustments to create that). Make it fit you, make it fit your time, the key thing is to just do it.

You can also choose to extend your silence time if you want 15 minutes instead of only 10, and really 3 minutes of visualization works, while you might do 20 minutes of writing and 5 of exercise. Whatever works, it does not have to be neat little pockets of equal time necessarily. Just ensure you get in all 6 personal development pieces in your chosen time. That I believe is of the utmost importance.

The Book Club

If you are one of those people who likes to have that community and support consider this – I was so excited about what I had discovered that I knew I had to share this with other people in my life. I knew that many other people could benefit from this and I wanted them to experience it for themselves. It really was creating miracles.

So I created and led my first ever book club with a small group of people last Fall. And I loved it! I was so passionate and excited about the topic and I loved leading a group of people through it, watching their experiences. Seeing them learn and grow, supporting them in creating their own Miracle Morning and how it was benefiting them. It was fun, it was magical and it felt good to know that I contributed to the new benefits that they were now experiencing in their lives. It was a wonderful experience and one that I love to share again and again.

Our Fall group was so successful that I am offering this group experience again starting February 6. We read through the book together and connect on live calls to support and enhance our experience. We share and dive a little deeper into the book through guided questions and reflection – taking what we are reading and bringing that to the next level. It also provides accountability as we connect with each other once we start playing with our Miracle Mornings. If this interests you, join us for this next group by registering here. I look forward to having you!

And if the group thing is not for you right now, then I invite you to seek out the book and do it on your own. The Miracle Morning is an easy read and though, like me, you may read through and go “Yeah right” give it a try for a few days and just notice what differences it will make for you. It really will create miracles.

The Healing Waters of Rotorua’s GeoThermal Hot Pools

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Carmen

Imagine yourself sitting in the natural waters of a geothermal hot pool, surrounded by lush green majestic trees and a waterfall cascading beside you. Soaking up warmth into your body, healing, relaxing, purifying.

Geothermal hot pools like this abound in New Zealand‘s Volcanic Zone in and around the town of Rotorua. Just a 3 hour drive from Auckland, this elegant, beautiful ‘hot spot’ is tucked in the lush area of the North Island’s east coast, known as the lake district (also including area down to Taupo).

The town itself literally sits in the crater of an active volcano, creating the abundance of geothermal activity in the area. Sights such as geysers, mud pools and hot pools abound. Where the earth bubbles, boils, spits and oozes offering a plethora of unique sights to behold.

You can explore the town and surrounding area, finding many public hot pools to enjoy, some regulated by private parties and charging admission (Blue Baths, Polynesian Spa, Hell’s Gate and Waikite Vallley Thermal Pools), while other spots have been left natural and available to the public free of charge (such as Kuirau Park, Kerosene Creek and Waiotapu Stream).

When we were there, we ventured to Kerosene Creek, as we thought it would be a neat experience to be in a natural environment. We were not opposed to paying to enjoy the waters somewhere else, but thought that experiencing the pool in a natural environment would be a lovely experience. Plus our hostess at the Tuck Inn, where we were staying, a beautiful farm tucked in the lush New Zealand landscape, recommended we go there.

I was a little nervous at first, it was a little off the beaten track and there weren’t a lot of people around. When we arrived at the parking lot, we decided to just get out and take a walk first, check things out, and if it didn’t meet our expectations then we would head back to the Waikite Hot Pools, which weren’t that far down the road.

It was a beautiful spot, lush native bush with the creek running through. You could walk along the path beside the creek, discovering various pools along the way where you could pop in for a soak. We did meet a few other people who were enjoying the waters and I started to relax a little. The best spot was a large pool at the base of a waterfall. Easy to get down to and large enough for quite a number of people.

The kids all wanted to get in, I was still unsure. Was it safe, what if someone came by and grabbed our stuff? Plus it was a little nippy outside, I was not looking forward to stripping down even though it would be warm in the end.

Finally, I decided we might as well. So we grabbed our suits and got everyone changed. Matthew was in first and floating around, then D’Wayne ready to receive the twins once I got them ready. It wasn’t too deep, the twins could easily stand up safely in some areas of the pool. I quickly changed myself and got in with everyone else.

Oh my! It was absolutely lovely. I felt all my troubles and stress melt away almost immediately. The sand beneath my feet was warm and felt good between my toes. You had to be careful though, if you dug your feet in under the sand it could get quite hot, almost burning.

We splashed and played in the pool for 45 minutes, almost having the entire place to ourselves. A few others drifted by, and a few got in towards the end of our time. It was heavenly and so relaxing! We could have stayed longer but we wanted to also check out the mud pool and were getting hungry as well. Everyone felt relaxed yet revitalized and ready for the next adventure.

We hopped out and changed quickly, now that was a little nippy! But felt great! We snapped a few more pictures on our way back to the car, and then ventured off to the Mud Pool.

The Mud Pool was super cool. And was actually only a short 5 minute drive down the road near the Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland (also the home to the Lady Knox Geyser and a plethora of trails and other thermal sites to see). The Thermal Wonderland does have an admission fee, but the Mud Pool is just outside of this area.

It was amazing. Mud literally spurting, spitting and bubbling. The smell is also fantastic! That lovely rotten egg smell of hydrogen sulfide, which is well known throughout Rotorua (though I did find that depending on the area depended on how strong the smell was, some hardly noticable or not so bad, the mud pool was definitely the worst!)

There is a little boardwalk to view the mud pool from, as well as a short trail to take you up above to look down upon the pool below. It was just fascinating.

The mud and hot pools are enough to keep you busy for a number of days. Just enjoying the natural wonders of this area. But Rotorua and the surrounding valley is also rich in Maori culture (the indigenous people of New Zealand) and history, dating back hundreds of years. As a result there are lots of things to experience and see around this, such as The Living Thermal Village, the Buried Village TeWairoa and Te Puia.

Rotorua is so rich in these experiences, we wanted to do them all, but since we were only there for a short time we had to pick and choose a little. Te Puia called to us the most (and turns out has the most fantastic geyser), and was an absolutely fabulous experience! And one that I will share with you in my next post.

A Little Light in our World

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Carmen

I have always felt it was important to give children one on one attention. But as parents though we know it would benefit our children as well as ourselves, it is sometimes difficult to do so in the run of our daily lives. Demands on time, routine and commitments, as well as other children, often pull us in many directions, not always toward our children.

There are lots of tips online on how to spend more one on one time with your children, make sure you acknowledge them when they come in the door afterschool, give them a hug, etc. but the main one is to consciously carve out time each week for each parent to spend some time with each child (which can still be challenging especially if you have lots of kids!)

I decided to do this with my oldest son, as I see him so much less than the twins and I knew that as he continued to get older if we did not maintain some form of connection that he would likely drift away, choosing to spend more time out or with friends. I wanted to nurture and maintain that connection so that at the very least, a solid foundation was laid for our relationship.

So for the past year or so Matthew and I have designated one night a week as Matthew and Mum night. This is a night where it is just him and I. We do it after his brother and sister are in bed and don’t allow anyone else to join in. We do any number of things, from play a board game, create/ cook something in the kitchen, or watch a show that we both enjoy. On the odd occasion, we’ll even go out and see a movie, dinner or grab a coffee.

Recently we have started watching Highway to Heaven starring Michael Landon (and also written and produced by him). Well known for his roles in Bonanza as Little Joe Cartwright, and Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie, Michael brought magic to the screen. His series Highway to Heaven is a show about an angel who’s mission from God is to help different people with various trials and tribulations helping them see good or change their ways. These uplifting episodes always demonstrate the good in people and our world; and that sometimes we just get lost a little along the way. With Jonathan’s (Michael Landon’s) angelic guidance it always results in a tear jerking (have tissues on hand) episode that shows us the light in the world.

I suggested this show to Matthew after having various conversations with him. He was often telling me about this video game or that show, and they often had the theme of violence and death in them. Always a negative or what I considered dark theme or message. I wanted to show (and expose to) Matthew that there is more to our world than darkness and violence, balance things out and expose him to some good things, happy things. And show him how being helpful or kind (all themes of Highway to Heaven) can benefit not only others but yourself as well.

Matthew loved the show from the first episode. He laughed and smiled, enjoying it immensely. So much so that he immediately asked for another episode. If my 11 year old boy was enjoying this, then I knew it must be a hit!

I feel that we need more of these kinds of shows in our world today. So many of them are competitive and/ or violent, with any number of deaths on a show. Yes it is our ‘society these days ‘ but why can’t we produce more of the good stuff? I know people want it and I know it is out there. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard someone watch a show like Highway to Heaven and say what a nice change that was, or I wish there were more shows like that.

Now don’t get me wrong, Highway to Heaven deals with some serious issues, like disability, alcoholism, divorce, prejudice, etc. but it is dealt with in a way that is real and kind; showing you that there are other ways of doing things, other paths to take. True, you may not always have an angel show up to lend a hand, but it demonstrates the power of people in general and how a kind word can make a world of difference to a person.

I look forward to our Mom and son nights, not only because of this show but because I get to spend that time with Matthew. I protect that night each week and work all my other commitments around it. I find Matthew behaves better, is more loving and pleasant when we have these opportunities. And we often have a little discussion afterwards about the theme/ issues that arose in the show.

Sadly, the show Highway to Heaven only lasted 5 seasons, running from 1984-1989. The ratings in the fourth season took a dive and NBC decided to cancel the show. Unfortunately, since then I haven’t seen a lot of shows that have that same kind of positive message. (I never get through an episode of Highway to Heaven with a dry eye) And I think it’s important that these kinds of shows exist.

For now, and thankfully, all 5 seasons are out on DVD, and I can watch them endlessly when I need a good release or pick me up. Even a little reminder that there is good in the world. Because I truly believe that there is more good, more light on this planet, but like these kinds of shows, they might just be buried a little bit.

The Healing Rhythm of the Drum

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Carmen

Last week was a very stressful week. For whatever reason, because honestly I am not sure why, I felt like I couldn’t get anything accomplished, I felt rushed and like the things I enjoyed were being pushed to the side in trying to get everything else done. It was crazy!

I was so wound up by the end of the week I was melting down on Friday, trying to finish up some writing and clean the house, so I could go out and have some much needed ‘me’ time by going out. And the place I wanted to go I knew would help me.

I was heading to a Community Drum Circle, a beautiful place, where you let go of your stress and commitments for 2 hours, letting the world melt away as you bang on the drum. You may go in feeling lost and angry, but you come out feeling relieved, revived and energized!

This was my second time attending the circle, as I had attended with my Mum, son and friend back in early September. We all loved it! I had been to other drumming experiences before but this one was absolutely phenonmenal! The power, the energy and the sense of community that exists within this circle was absolutely amazing. Everyone is accepted, everyone is there for you, everyone is banging on that drum and having the time of their life!

Judy Atkinson, facilitates the evening, and brings such joy, energy and enthusiasm to the circle. No one feels self conscious or left out, no one feels like they have to or are being judged, we are all just there to drum and let go.

Not only is this experience so much fun, it also has so many health benefits, as drumming resonates through every cell in your body, therefore assisting you in releasing negativity, emotions or stress, anger. It helps you to remove any blocks, healing and deeply relaxing us.

It also puts us in the now, the present moment, something which many of us are not; often thinking about what’s next, or reviewing something we did in the past. It connects us with ourselves, permeating the whole brain increasing our Alpha brainwaves, creating feelings of euphoria and happiness.

It is a fantastic night and a great stress release! It is also a wonderful activity for the whole family. Kids love it and get right into it as well, sharing in the experience.

Worried about not having a drum? The drums are provided and there are a few different kinds to choose from, and you can mix it up throughout the evening.

A word of caution though, with this kind of experience you can experience a type of ‘release’ afterwards (which is actually good). This can manifest in a number of ways, physically or emotionally – so you may feel very emotional the next day, experiencing strong emotions such as anger or sadness, or you may actually feel physically ill, feeling sick to your stomach, nauseas or an ache in the body. The good news is is this is your body’s way of releasing what you have moved in the drumming circle and it is moving it out! Releasing those toxins you no longer need, things that no longer serve you. And the more regularly you attend the less extreme these releases will be.

I felt like crap going into the circle on Friday night, I was angry, frustrated and lost. I was crying before I even got in there. We got our drums and sat down and I half heartedly started drumming, but I couldn’t resist the energy, the rhythm and banging of the other drums and before I knew it, I was in there giving it my all, smiling and laughing just like the everyone else. By the time we went home I was tired, but I felt much better, optimistic, relieved and ready to take on a new day. And I plan on going next week. It may seem odd to give up your Friday night to go and drum but the benefits are worth it. And I don’t look at it as giving up my Friday because regardless of how my week goes, I know that there is this little light at the end of the tunnel, a warm loving community waiting for me, and a beautiful experience of growth and connectedness that I need to have and to share with you.

Come out to Judy’s Community Circle on Fridays at the Inglewood Community Hall in Calgary. It’s so worth it! See you there!

Party! Party! Party!

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Carmen

Welcome! I am very excited to be joining the Ultimate Blog Party 2014 again this year! I think this is a great opportunity to get out there and connect with other bloggers while sharing the things that you love, including your own blog! Thank you to Janice and Susan of 5 Minutes for Mom for hosting this fabulous event.

If you are new to Momma on the Move I’d like to thank you for stopping by and for those of you who are returning welcome back. It is a pleasure to have you all here.

My name is Carmen and I have 3 beautiful children, 4 year old boy/ girl twins and an older son. I grew up on the East Coast and have a deep love for the ocean. I love the outdoors, travelling, exploring new places and to getting out there to enjoy and embrace life!

The kids keep me busy with the twins now in preschool and our decision to eat sugar and dairy free at our house. When not playing with or helping the kids, I am in the kitchen trying out or modifying recipes to meet our needs. I have even been dabbling in some gluten free recipes over the past year as well.

We made the decision to remove sugar, back when my Matthew, my oldest was in grade 2, due to behavorial and sleep challenges with him. It was amazing the difference it made! Shortly after we went dairy free as I discovered both myself and my daughter had an intolerance and the gluten well, when I discovered I was still feeling tired after eating a dairy free/ sugar free muffin, gluten was the only thing left!

I have always loved to write but started blogging because I felt that I could share more faster and reach a larger audience. I find that there are so many things to share and explore, as life is a story. Everywhere we go I am taking pictures and thinking about how I make this into an informative, yet interesting blog post for my readers. Everything from crafts and activities for kids, our adventures camping and in the outdoors, to the many sugar and dairy free recipes, I like to blog about it!

I also like to include tidbits about the importance of taking time for ourselves, gratitude and being ambassadors for our planet.

I like creating a community where we can share, interact and learn from each other. Plus it’s stretched me in the world of technology as well!

Now that you’re here, sit down grab a cup of coffee and take a look around. Let me know what your favorite posts are, what you’d like to see more of. Leave a comment sharing with me who you are and where I can find you so we can connect and get to know each other. I’m looking forward to visiting everyone’s sites and making new friends.

Here are some of my favorite posts:

Firewalking

Rainy Day Activities

All Things Pumpkin

Natural Sugar Substitutes

RAK your Brain

Firewalking

Grasshopper Popsicles

Enjoy! See you at the party!

Let’s stay connected! Here’s where you can find me

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

RAK your Brain – Celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Carmen

How often do you go down the street and someone says hello to you? or holds the door open as you enter or leave a building? How does that random act of kindness make you feel? I bet everyone reading this is thinking how nice that is, or how they really appreciate it. Some of you are even smiling and starting to feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

They may be little things but they are things that can totally make someone’s day. Paying someone a compliment, helping them carry groceries to their car, or shovelling the neighbors walk. Just because, with no expectation of anything in return.

Random Acts of Kindness are one of the easiest ways to make someone’s day and you’re own. You feel good doing it and people feel good receiving it. I remember one day recently I was having a tough day with the kids and I ran into my neighbor at the Y. We chatted for a few minutes but the conversation ended with him praising me as a mother. Telling me how he admired what I did and how tough I was. It was exactly what I needed to hear and it did make my day. Lifted me up and helped me to get through the rest of the day on a happier and lighter note.

RAK’s (random acts of kindness) are a wonderful and easy way to create more love, peace and happiness in our world. Many of us do these things every day and it usually ripples out into other people’s lives and makes our world a better place.

This week February 12-18 is Random Acts of Kindness week, where people are challenged to amp it up. Increase the number of RAKs that you do, to make a conscious effort to do a little more.

I think this is a fabulous idea and so easy to do! In fact I have been doing this with my kids and my youth leadership group this week. There is an entire website devoted to this that has ideas, lesson plans, and places to share your stories with others.

Some of the ideas they have are:

Saying Good Morning to a stranger
Buying the person in line behind you their coffee
Thank the bus or taxi driver
Lend someone a pen/ pencil
Offer your seat on the bus/ plane

And many more… I think sometimes we underestimate how far an act of kindness can go and what it really does for people. So get out there this week and amp it up, get the kids involved as it is important to teach our younger generations about kindness and love towards others. Go out of your way to do that extra act of kindness and make someone’s day, as well as your own!

Share your random acts of kindness below in the comments. Let’s see what kind of wave we can create and get ideas from others. Moving towards a happier community and caring world.

New Year, New You

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Carmen

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when many people make New Year’s Resolutions. The sad thing is many of us do not keep them much past the first 2 weeks of the year.

I have written and read many an article on why this is, too much pressure, not being ready, or you don’t really want to do it but feel you have to join the crowds in this New Year’s Ritual.

I have not created New Year’s Resolutions for many years. But I do have a ritual that I do at this time of year to set New Years intentions and start out positively. Like many people I feel new year, time for new stuff to come into my life. Let’s leave the old stuff behind! I also feel inspired – but I don’t inundate myself with all these have to’s, resolutions or goals. I keep my ears and eyes open and participate in what calls to me. Whether it be some of the many online seminars at this time of year or decide on a task/ project of my own. For instance, right now I feel like I want information, I want to grow and expand spiritually. In fact I am craving it, so I am seeking it out avidly. And I am enjoying it. There is no specific goal or end result in mind, so no pressure. I’ll just do it until I feel satisfied and then I’ll move on.

I believe though that setting an intention for the year is a good thing, and I have done this through the ritual I mentioned above and am going to share with you here. I have done this for many years and find it to be quite effective and cleansing. It is a way of releasing and leaving the old stuff in the last year that you do not want anymore and entering the new year creating space for new things to come into your life, whatever they may be.

It is a fairly simple exercise that I do on New Year’s Eve. And this year I had the pleasure of sharing this experience with my loved ones, which I felt was a real treat.

Set Your New Year’s Intentions

On New Year’s Eve, take a piece of paper and write down all the things that you want to let go of, no longer serve you, release or wish to leave behind in the old year. Write them out by hand, do not type them out.

After you have completed your list burn the paper at midnight on New Year’s Eve, with the intention of releasing it all. Holding the intention is important. We did this outside at my parents firepit, placing our papers in one at a time and saying whatever came to mind as we did so. For example “I release these items and leave them in the old year”. It was lovely. Then we stood a few minutes in silence and when we were ready went back inside.

Then take a new piece of paper and write down all the things you want to create and manifest in 2017. Be specific and write out in as much detail as possible; using present statements such as I am, I have, etc. This is very important because if you simply say I want the Universe will say that’s great you want it and that may be about all you’ll get. It is also important to understand that your new list is not necessarily the opposite of what you left in 2016, as they may be quite different. They may be a springboard for setting your new intentions but it is important that they remain separate. You do not create your new list solely based on the old one. This will create a block in your manifestation.

Once you have completed your list just tuck it away and keep it somewhere where you can look at it later on. Yes, you are literally writing it down and then pretty much forgetting about it. There will be a time when you will go back to it but for now, leave it to rest. Of course you can leave the list and add to it over the next couple of days if you think of something you wish to add.

I felt a definite shift in my energy and outlook once we completed this. I felt lighter for one and had a more positive outlook on what was to come.

Though this is very effective on New Year’s Eve you can certainly do this on New Year’s Day or early in the New Year if you did not have the opportunity to on New Year’s Eve.

So in the next couple of days take a piece of paper and start writing! (The first full moon of the year is January 1 & 2nd and is a Super Moon, as well as another full moon on January 31 – which is another great time for releasing and a to do this activity)

It All Happens for a Reason

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Carmen

I find that in this day and age when someone says yes to you that it may not always mean ‘yes’. It may mean ‘yes for now, yes if nothing better comes up, yes if I feel like it that day’, etc. The meaning of yes which used to mean ‘yes I will regardless of what obstacles cross my path’ seems to be missing.

For me, when I say I am going to be there, or will help you or will do something, I will. You don’t have to ask me twice or remind me, you can consider it a done deal. I am not sure why today a lot of people don’t feel that way.

This past weekend was a prime example of this. I had hosted an Open House to promote my other business Your Inner Light, where I do Angel Readings, Dream Interpretation and Reiki. I had done so last year about this time and it was a great success. I cleaned my house top to bottom, did energy clearing and setting new, preparing food and treats (all homemade) in anticipation of my guests.

Now I realize with an open house that people do not have to RSVP but I had had 8 people who had given me a definite yes that they would be here. 1 pm came, 2 pm came, 3 pm came….not a soul turned up, not one. And no one had called, emailed or sent any other form of communication that they could no longer make it. I was thoroughly disappointed and felt like I had gone to all that work for nothing.

But nothing is for nothing (if that makes sense). In the end I had a beautiful clean house to enjoy for a while. And everything happens for a reason. I believe that my house really needed a good cleaning, both physically and energetically and that I needed a little motivation to do so. What we sometimes fail to realize is that the energy in our homes can get stuck and take up space, blocking other things that we want to come into our lives, whatever it may be, a child, a new love, car, friend, etc. If we don’t move it then that energy will just continue to block what it is we want.

That’s why they say it is good to move your furniture around or change the way you display pictures, etc. as it shifts the energy, frees things up and gets things moving again. The same goes for physically cleaning and getting into all those nooks and crannies that don’t normally get cleaned. I dusted picture frames, washed walls and outlets, windows and window sills. I drummed, I smudged. As I was cleaning and clearing I could feel the difference in the room. In fact it felt so good in here I wanted to cancel my date with my girlfriend this morning to just enjoy my house!

It is also healing for us physically to do that kind of thorough clean. It is like clearing our own energy, releasing things that we no longer need, whether physical items or energetically. I find it kind of like a ritual, I like to do it alone (usually with fantastic tunes) and I like to do it until I am done. I had offers of help so I could be done sooner, but I politely declined, because I knew what it would do for me.

It felt so good when I was done. I could notice the difference on the main level, how good it felt. I could see my entire kitchen table for the first time in months, having finally sorted through and put all the papers away. It was absolutely awesome!

Sometimes in our busy lives we need a purpose, a motivation to do the things we know we need to. For myself, I always left the papers because just looking at the pile made me feel overwhelmed and unsure what to do with them. But when I had a purpose, a mission, it gave me the motivation to just suck up and do it! and now I am so glad I did.

So regardless of the number of people I had come by on the weekend, it was not all totally in vain, because I have a feeling that I have just opened up the doorway and shifted some energy for some really great things to come into my life now (some stuff that was pretty stuck). In fact I am pretty excited about it.