The Expanded Self

I had the most scrumptious weekend at the Seven Sisters festival. I shimmied into their healing haven and offered 10 beautiful women chakra and soul healing. All of them commented on how powerful it was. A few of them allowed their faces to leak a little. A few more held their tears in. A few of them floated out of there. They all remarked how they felt lighter, freer or more grounded. Just lovely.

Hello beautiful humans. If you have an hour free tonight, come and join me for this free event about letting go. It will be fun (and we might just learn something)! Register here https://oursacredcommunity.com/mec-events/letting-go/

Do you feel like other people take advantage of you? Would you like to have more time for yourself but just can't fit it in between what you're doing for other people?

You might need some healthier boundaries. Join me for this panel discussion to learn some wonderful tips to help strengthen your boundaries so you have time for yourself. https://tinyurl.com/47cx84nk

Says it all, really. You have the power to choose.

Everything is energy.
You decide how you spend you time and where you spend your energy.
Choose wisely.

I took this photo at Wilsons Promontory where I was hiking and camping for a few days recently. As I walked on the beach, I felt the water to be freezing.
And I mean FREEZING!
The water there comes straight off the southern ocean, and we were heading into winter.
Once upon a time, that would have been enough for me - a quick toe dip and a big no thank you to any more of my precious body being exposed to those low temperatures.
But on that particular day, I chose to look beyond my initial thoughts, feelings, and fears. I chose to take all my clothes off and get fully wet.
That water totally lived up to my expectations of it being freezing. And when I could move beyond that, it was also refreshing, invigorating and, best of all, life affirming.
I invite you to give it a go. Look beyond your initial thoughts, feelings, impressions, preconceived ideas and, most of all, fears.
Do something you might not usually do. Embrace something just a little beyond your edges.
What do you find?

❤️ ⚡️ 👸

Every long distance hiker I've ever known takes what they call a luxury item. Some of the ones I've seen are chairs, an espresso coffee maker, alcohol, an e-reader, and an SLR camera. I even saw someone with a normal bed pillow strapped to the outside of her pack recently!

My luxury item is this simple looking, stainless steel travel mug. I love nothing more than melting into a piping hot cup of tea in the morning, when I've finished hiking for the day, or before bed (actually, anytime is a good time!). So I've sacrificed the 20 gram tiny plastic cup for this mug that weighs more than 10 times more. That's a fair cost in hiking terms. But it gives me so much pleasure to drink from this mug on the trail and in camp - I am literally grateful for every mouthful as I drink from it. It's worth every bloody gram because it improves the quality of my experience so much.

So what do you have in your life that brings you a little bit of luxury every single day? Maybe it's a few minutes dancing, sitting in nature, or having a snuggle with your favourite snuggle bunny. Maybe it's the best coffee you've ever tasted that costs 20% more than the one down the road (and 50% more than one from Macca's).

Whatever it is, make sure you have one. And that you take the time to enjoy every second of it.
❤️

Someone once told me I was a machine. She meant it as a compliment - I could really power through things, make stuff happen and get things done.

But I took it as a warning. Because I’m not a machine. And I knew if it continued to operate like one I would break.

So here is a gentle reminder to stop from time to time. To go slow. To flow simply. To be soft and receptive rather than to keep striving and pushing.

Not that any of those are bad things - they are indeed very valuable and necessary. Rather, what we need, what our spirits yearn for, is balance.

What does your balance look like?

My lovely friend and fellow entrepreneur Brenda Rogers is running a webinar about all things menopause tomorrow night. If you'd like to know more, check out the link below and come along to learn what's going on in your body :)
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/menopause-perimenopause-whats-going-on-tickets-149510412669?fbclid=IwAR3-98nX6SGjyIPr1-mobfSa_-u7PKqbrccM0QtP7vI9JgiL1mEaqGc51Q8

Just a wee reminder :)

This! May we all create magic 🤩

🖤

What's next in your adventure of life? Maybe a new job? Maybe a whole new career? Maybe ending or starting a relationship?

Whatever it is, have you thought how you will go about it? Will you latch onto the first thing that comes along that looks remotely like what you're looking for? Will you consider a variety of options and weigh them against some criteria? Will you wait for the thing that really lights your fire?

Whatever method you choose, you need to engage your purpose FIRST.

BEFORE you leap into something new, figure out what your purpose is, or at the very least what your values are, and use those to guide how you make your decisions. Find out more here: https://www.theexpandedself.life/blog/purpose-driven-change

Leap. Land. Leap. Land. Leap. Land.
Is this your pattern? Leaping from one thing to the next because when you land you figure out that it's not really the right thing after all?

Huge mistake. And so very common.

What's the alternative?

Engage your purpose. Let it light the way for you. Read more here: https://www.theexpandedself.life/blog/purpose-driven-change

"I don’t like this any more"
"This isn't working"
"I don't want to be here"
"What a stupid idea"
"Surely there is something more/better/bigger than this?"

Any of those sound familiar?

You might have your own version as well. It's that point at which you choose to change something. When I've chosen change in the past, my pattern has often been to leap into something completely opposite to where I'm leaping from. For instance, I leapt out of a research career where I was largely self-directed into a not-for-profit with close scrutiny over what I did. I leapt from marriage into single parenthood and avoided relationships for years.

It's not always the best way to go! Drastic change without clarity over direction does not always bring us the outcomes we want. Because something is missing.

That something is the guiding light of purpose and our personal values.

In this blog, I explore how you might bring your purpose to any change you make as a guiding light so you get the outcomes you really want. Have a read here: https://www.theexpandedself.life/blog/purpose-focused-change

This week, I have a little wander through some of the trials and tribulations of making change. When you leap at change for the sake of it, or because something that looks pretty fun comes along, you run the risk of making a huge mistake. Chances are, somewhere down the track, you'll find that change, that looked so awesome in the beginning, really doesn't serve you. Here's what to do instead. https://theexpandedself.life/blog/purpose-focused-change

https://theexpandedself.life/blog/equality

Equality is a myth — The Expanded Self I don’t believe in equality. I don’t believe it’s possible and I don’t think it’s what we should be aiming for. In this blog, I share with you why I think that and what would be even better.

I've no idea who Parker Lewis is but I love the idea of this saying. May it be a fully weird Sunday for you!