Present and Mindful Living – A New Twist on the Dog Days of Summer

In the Moment with Here and Now Health Services

Mindful Living – Continuing my Writing Commitment

In my first blog post in March, I made a commitment to myself and to my audience that I would write these occasional blogs to create awareness around the benefits of Mindful Living, and that I would only do so when pivotal moments of reflection occur. So here I am on this beautiful Monday morning, thinking about my dog, about the hot humid weekend that just passed, and thinking about summer. So what does all that have to do with Mindful Living?

Inspired Spontaneous Decision Making

In a year that has been marked by rapid growth and learning for us at Here and Now Health, this past weekend had been planned as the first ‘off’ weekend we hoped for in a long time. Believe me when I tell you we were patiently waiting for these days to arrive so we could simply put our feet up! But a while back, yet another ‘learning’ opportunity presented itself. It was a bit of a seesaw deciding what the priority was, but in the end, a spontaneous decision was made to go for it. I am by nature a logical person, which means often weighing out the pros and cons of just about everything before I come around to the best course of action. However, as time goes on, I find that this need has become simply the beginning point of a process. I think my ‘old’ self still needs to allow a certain amount of left brain engagement before I eventually allow the right brain to step forward and take charge. But sooner or later, it does. It always does.

We each have our own way in which our inspired intuitive right brain speaks to us. For some it’s our gut, for others the heart. There are shivers up and down the spine, a chill in the air that others can’t feel, a sense of being so grounded that sometimes the feet won’t move. There is also the mind – thoughts that ‘seem to appear out of nowhere,’ and of course, a myriad of signs and symbols from Mother Nature when we are paying attention. At different points in time, I have experienced all of these sorts of intuitive knowing. And I have learned to trust them, and follow them.

Creative Road Tripping

This latest choice in really ‘listening’ to all these essential parts of myself resulted in road tripping to Chatham this past weekend for a doTERRA training event in order to join and support my newest team members. Creative solutions to my stumbling block about having a ‘weekend off’ were gifted to me over the course of the days preceding that made this decision easy to make once the time pressure to do so was on. I asked my husband to come with me, so I would have company for the long trip, and we could have some uninterrupted quiet time in the car to catch up. After all, road trips have been a long time favorite of ours, even if we aren’t both inspired to reach the particular destination. We reached out to a friend to take our little dog; because unlike us, she does not enjoy the car, and we knew her stress would not contribute to the relaxed journey we were trying to create. We considered the route, realizing that an important stop to a visiting out-of-town friend could be made along the way; and we agreed to come home immediately following the event, despite a late and long drive home, so we would have Sunday to re-ground.

 Resulting Awareness

A lot of inspired thought resulted over the course of this short journey and I am grateful I attended. Sometimes stepping out of the familiar routine allows for that to happen. One presenter at the event used analogies about tapping into both our right and left brain as a matter of course. I paid attention to the validation of those words! Another mentioned that while ‘vision’ is necessary as a starting point to any path of success, it does not result without action! I needed to hear that too. But the most important lesson I received this weekend was in fact an inspired thought – one of those ‘aha’ moments that comes out of nowhere when you least expect it, and really hits you in your core when you are practicing mindful living. It came amidst a conversation about self-care and the importance of balance, when someone mentioned casually about finding small ways to stay centered. This particular person spoke of finding just 20 minutes a day for her self, 20 minutes for her partner, and 20 minutes for her children. It seemed simple enough. In fact, in my own stress management teachings, it is not too far off the mark of the homework I often give my clients. “Find just 15 minutes a day to claim as your own,” I tell them! “Start small – set yourself up for success – everyone can find 15 minutes.” Again, I was being validated about my own thoughts on self-care while I listened to this person share her coping strategies in a small break out session.

A New Twist on the Dog Days of Summer

Paying Attention

As she spoke, a resounding loud thought was gifted to me. And it was this – when you are in a growth spurt, even when you can’t slow down yourself, if there is someone in your inner circle that can hold that energy for you, then balance is still beautifully maintained. Profound, deep, intense knowing settled into my bones. I loved this. I felt it. I KNOW that we are all one, and as such, we each mirror for each other what the other needs, and we can affect, positively or negatively, the energy of that being.

We were near the end of our day, and I was off to meet my husband for the long ride home. Once settled in the car, he offered me the cell phone so I could follow up on a few messages. (I was proud of myself that I chose to leave it with him for the day, so I could be fully present in my learning). To solidify the intuitive gift I had just received, the first text I saw popped up a serene photo of our pooch on the beach, sitting happily on the lap of our friend back home. In that moment, I realized who ‘my child’ was – the one that needs her own 20 minutes of attention of each day – and the one in my inner circle who was holding the energy of peace and calm for me! How perfect! It was a hot and humid weekend, the first of many for our summer I am sure; but there sat my dog, happily taking in her surroundings, living the Dog Days of Summer, fully mindful and present, and not phased at all by the busy life of her pack.

What about You?

 As you reflect on these words today, I would like to suggest to you that you also embrace the Macro Energy of our planet at this time. We are living in a ‘Number One’ year in Numerology terms, and that means rapid change and growth, and lots of new beginnings, whether we like it or not. At Here and Now Health, we believe in living the energy of the season, the energy of our area, the energy of our country, the energy of our planet. Understanding the significance of a Number One Year is an important piece of that! It is a lot easier to enjoy the ride than it is to fight against it! Hence, the rapid growth for us!

So consider this – What is Your Vision? What is Your Call to Action? What Steps Will You Take to Step Into the Manifestation of That? And while you’re amping it up, who will hold your energy for you back home? Who will keep you grounded when you move forward on your path? Do you need to ask them to hold this space for you, or is it a natural reciprocation of what you hold for them? Once you know where your safe haven is, and where those loving inner circles of support will be waiting for you – Step Out and Go For It – there is a world waiting and a Vision that is uniquely yours ready to unfold!

Many Blessings and Happy Summer,

Cheryl Moore

Cheryl Moore is a Social Worker and Holistic Health Practitioner with over 30 years experience in the healing professions.   The purpose of her Blog is to create awareness around the benefits of Mindful Living. She uses a variety of topics and experiences from both her personal and professional life as a point of reflection for writing her posts. She is committed to sharing posts with you only when these pivotal moments of reflection occur for her, not necessarily on a ‘regular basis,’ and not simply because our human framework of time requires her to do so in order to meet someone else’s expectations. If you wish to subscribe and follow her posts, you can do that here.