Colormewrite's Blog

Every year gets better, or worse, depending on your outlook.  As each new year approaches and another candle is added to the cake, why not choose joy?!  I’m putting down my whiny wand and victim cape and donning a new, better, optimistic perspective on my life and the world around me-how else can one attract that which they wish to be and achieve if not by emitting a similar vibration?  So all my aging comrades in arms, anoint your sword of adventure, tie on that lasso of truth, go out there and be the best you can be.  Who said you had to put away your childlike nature when maturity crept in?  Integrity demands we not give up on our dreams, whatever age we may be and that it’s never too late to start a new adventure!

We all reach a point where we return to the inevitable need to release and make peace with what is.  This doesn’t mean giving in or giving up, but it does mean surrendering to the power of acceptance. By accepting what is, where and who we are, we gain perspective and clarity for forward movement.

Sometimes the greatest gift we can give ourselves is letting go-ironically, it often leads us to where we were so ardently pushing to get!

Recently joined forces with another gifted therapist (my mom) to create our new group of psychological therapists, counselors and holistic practitioners under the umbrella of Motivational Therapy Group-Where Hope is an Action not an Idea.  We offer individual sessions, groups, talks, courses and a uniquely integrative approach to balancing and restoring the mind, body, spirit dynamic!  We are “The Shrink & The Shaman” .  Check out our new site www.motivationaltherapygroup.com.

We all know that family drama is not fun to watch or participate in, especially when it’s your own and it’s been going on far too long.  Our family baggage is the heaviest and hardest to put down, but the most essential for gaining entry onto the happy train.  Releasing resentment, pain and frustration from our past or present family interactions creates more room for health, happiness and prosperity in your life and relationships.

Just because you were born into a family unit, doesn’t mean you have to stay one, especially when the normal cracks and ups and downs of human interactions turn into chasms of painful, inappropriate dysfunction.  Sometimes talking, counseling or just a little distance can provide the perspective needed to gain new insights and relate on a more neutral, loving playing field as adults!

Stay centered this season

Tis’ the season for holiday giving, but what to do when your give a damn’s busted? Sometimes we give so much, so often to others, especially around Christmas time, that we forget about replenishing the source-ourselves. And no, I’m not talking about going out in a recession and buying yourself a ton of crap; although, there is something to be said for a modicum of retail therapy. Remember to stop, be still and resupply the inner sanctum of your soul:

1.  Meditate or take deep breaths to calm and center.

2.  Take a walk outside & appreciate nature’s divinity.

3.  Do something pampering and fun for yourself-whatever you enjoy!

Abundance from within pours out to those around you and truly returns tenfold.

Meditation is such a phenomenal way to stay balanced and centered-not to mention this centuries old practice is touted as a path to enlightenment!  There are many Eastern and Western philosophies, techniques and practices of meditation: Zen Buddhism, Hinduism and Vedanta, Yoga, Kabbalah,  Transcendental and New Age meditation to name a few.  The key is to find, or create, a method of meditation that you can integrate into your lifestyle.

There are proven health benefits that come from meditating for even short periods of time-depression and anxiety are reduced, blood pressure is lowered and healthier sleep patterns can arise.  Not a bad way to spend 20-30 minutes of your day in the name of spiritual growth, awareness, health and contemplation.  If you don’t reach Nirvana at least you’ll feel more calm on that morning commute!

The bitter-sweet of Starbucks.

At what point in our computer age of “techlightenment” did we lose ourselves, our manners and our social skills to the cyber shorthand of distance and disservice?  Nowhere is this failure to relate as fellow human beings seen greater than in the degradation of customer service-respect has practically base jumped out the window.  Case in point (true story):

I approached the Starbucks counter, already exhausted from a late night of work beforehand and about to begin another long shift.  The green apron comforted me as I placed my order for a caffeine quick fix, “I’ll have a caramel mocha latte please.”  The Baristo stared icily at me, “We don’t have a caramel mocha latte.”  In my tired stupor, I tried to recount the number of times I’d gotten that very same drink at this very same kiosk, “I ordered one yesterday.”  He put one hand on his hip, “We have a mocha caramel latte, but not a caramel mocha latte.”  At this point, I had to take a deep breath and stared at the fellow spirit incarnate before me-resisting my impulse to lecture him on the importance of customer care, with my then over five years of retail management experience.  I smiled wryly, “That’s the same thing, with the same ingredients.”  He tilted his head, “Yes, but that’ not what it’s called.”  Now my smile was gone, “Seriously?”  No reply.  I acquiesced to attempt a partial high road-with a smartass tone of course, “Alright, may I please have a mocha caramel latte.”  He rolled his eyes, shrugged and went to make my drink.

The moral here, besides the obvious one of not to order a caramel mocha latte at Starbucks when confronted with a haughty, uninspired, bitter employee, is this:  We need to take the BS down a few notches and remember that all we really have at the end of the day is how we treat ourselves and those sharing the journey on this planet.  Maybe if we peel ourselves away from the cold shroud of cyber space long enough, we’ll remember the power of words and actions that lack the detached strokes of a keyboard-the reverberation is felt much more deeply (and karmically) without a backspace/delete button.

A "higher power" is all around you-what you make it & choose it to be.

As is often the case, I received an epiphany while engaging in an activity of hidden meaning disguised as fluff entertainment.  This time it came during last night’s Glee “Grilled Cheesus” episode.  The debate on the show came down to the old conversation of separation between church and state.  Now, being purely spiritual, I’m the first to say we should all be open-minded and not shove any belief down anyone’s throat-but is it really that detrimental to have people appropriately express their faith and belief in school?

Whatever you believe, if you’re not hurting yourself or anyone else and you’re bringing more love and optimism into the world, couldn’t we all benefit from that?  As long as these faith-based expressions are moderate, good-natured and done with no agenda to guilt or pressure people into anything, what’s the harm?  I understand we can’t ask everyone to pray together and many people wouldn’t want to or be comfortable with that-but is pledging allegiance to a flag that cites a “god” that could be defined as any energy source or deity from any of the countless religions around our globe that problematic?

I don’t know, but the recent changes in our scholastic curriculum are concerning. The very artistic marrow of our culture is being sucked dry from our schools, and the almighty is fast on its heels out the door.  What’s left, it seems, are a bunch of underpaid, overworked teachers and uninspired kids memorizing facts that may never be of any use to them, other than getting them into the next dysfunctional level of our school system.  Perhaps we should start considering enlightening the minds of our youth with more free thought, art and faith in a world outside a box of no. 2 pencils and SATs.

America’s Next Top Model?  No, it’s Jane Doe.  How many times, when growing up, did your mother say things like, “Are you going to wear that?  Don’t you want to do your hair?  Make-up just adds so much….”   She probably didn’t even realize the messages that were ingrained in her from her upbringing (and the media) that she was handing down; the idea that a woman could not possibly be attractive without dressing her body, styling her hair and painting her face in a “certain fashion”.  And, apparently, that fashion can change at the whim of the next “it” thing.

So what’s a girl to do that’s more concerned with Coco Puffs than Coco Chanel?  Young girls are being entered into pageants before they can even spell them and when they grow up they are idealizing anorexic, vapid models. Where is the parent to tell them they are perfect as they are and to love themselves regardless? Are they too caught up in living their unfulfilled dreams vicariously through their children to notice it’s not their child’s dream?  Just be you and express your own vision, at least you’ll be happy and at peace-that always spills over to the world around you.  Maybe you’ll even create a new “it” trend of fashion and style based in reality!

Once bitten, twice shy, immortality, true love, fangs and fantasy, passion and peril…why are we as a culture and species so transfixed to a Vampiric tale?

Are our relationships so lacking in intrigue, do they fail to get our blood pumping, so we turn to those fictionalized characters that would suck it?  Perhaps it is the combination of  danger and selfless devotion that draws us in, knowing the two seldom exist in reality-much less in combination.

A guilty pleasure, a taboo fixation, an obsessive fantasy, or simply a fun distraction.  Either way, when you see those fangs digging in, don’t forget to invest in your reality just as deeply…or, you may bite off more than you can chew :-<