The Oxford dictionary defines:

res·o·lu·tion

/ˌrezəˈlooSH(ə)n/

noun

1. a firm decision to do or not to do something.
   "she kept her resolution not to see Anne anymore"

in·ten·tion

/inˈten(t)SHən/

noun

1. a thing intended; an aim or plan.
   "she was full of good intentions"

Every year at this time we hear about resolutions and people ask what are resolutions are for the next year, and each year millions of people set resolutions, and typically by the end of January, they are forgotten. The gym is always busiest in January, the diet industry makes billions in January, and we vow to declutter, lose weight, get healthy, and more. But, it just doesn’t work.

Why?

Well first of all this is the season of rest, this is the time we should be hibernating, rebuilding our immune system, and rejuvenating our bodies with meditation, sleep, so much sleep, and time to reflect, and contemplate. It is not the time to set big goals and jump in with both feet and...

Looking for the Perfect Gift?

Maybe your even looking for some great ideas for yourself. You could even leave some hints for your Santa, and maybe some will end up in your stocking. 

I always find it so difficult to come up with new and exciting ideas for holiday gift-giving. So this year I reached out to some friends to see what they were asking for and here are some of the ideas they came up with, plus a few of the things I have loved this year. Creativity is the theme throughout. Create, Express, Learn and Enjoy.

Gifts for Her (or You)

Art Snacks Subscription Box is an art supply subscription box loved by thousands of artists, curated to inspire you to create every month. And they now have a watercolor box and an art journal box. Gift one, or a whole year. I loved mine, it is so fun to receive new items to play with.

There are some other amazing art subscription boxes I have tried Sketch Box and a fun one out of Europe (thank you Iris for that...

I just want to share a little about this past week and how I have been feeling.

I am not usually one to open up about how I am "feeling", I give space to others to share their feelings, and I may share the occasional thing I am struggling with, like my health, but I don't typically share my feelings.

I don't know if it is because I am feeling bone-weary tired (low iron again), if it is because I am speaking to Spirit on a regular basis, or if it is because I feel more comfortable in what I do. Or maybe it is a combination of all of that, and more. But, I do know I am feeling the need to share how I am feeling. 

This past week we released Transcendence: Art & Spirituality Summit, I could feel all the passion of this summit. I was so excited about it. It turned out amazing. Now, don't get me wrong, I have loved all my summits for different reasons, but this one really felt like 'home' to me.

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means your 'reason for being.' 'Iki' in Japanese...

Ever since my good friend passed last year, I have been really called back to Spirit. She was a Shamanic practitioner and mentor to me. I studied under her for many years and then moved away to look into other things. I studied, Chakras, Energy movement in the body, Reiki, and more. And then I moved completely away from Spirit and was really living in the uncomfortable material/heavily burdened world of the exterior. And, through that time away from Spirit, I suffered a near-fatal bought of depression that brought me back to my healing work and my creativity. But, still kept Spirit at a bit of a distance.

Even knowing that Spirit is an integral part of who we are and how we move in the world. I am not sure why I did it. Maybe it was a way to sabotage myself yet again. Since Kriket passed last year I have started my quest and return again. A quest to know more about me, about how things work in the world, about energies, and how I play a part in all of it. It is really an internal...

Happy Holidays, or at least I hope this is a happy season for you. I know it can be difficult if you have experienced loss, or are alone.  I totally understand that, my mother died on January 2, 18 years ago. It was the most difficult Christmas ever. We rushed her to the hospital on Christmas Eve, and the next day (Christmas Day) she came home to die. It was an excruciating week. But, we were so grateful when she finally passed as she no longer needed to suffer. It had been years of suffering.

But, Christmas was ruined for me. My girls were teenagers at the time, so I did what I had to. Once they left home I did nothing for the holidays until my grandchildren were born, when I started to come back around and heal my wounds. In that time, I had also lost a partner, so there just seemed no reason to celebrate.

I look back and I wish that I had started that healing sooner, however, I wasn’t ready, nor did I have anyone to show me the way at that time. 

That still took...

Consistent gratitude is one of the most powerful tools that you can use to propel yourself into a brighter tomorrow. Gratitude isn’t a magical shortcut, though. It doesn’t necessarily create any changes outside of yourself. What it can do, however, is open you up to other opportunities.

As you become aware of the multitude of blessings already present in your life, you may begin to focus on abundance more and more. This can set you on a path to a mental state rich in optimism.

This transformation takes place as you begin to express genuine gratitude to others, and start feeling gratitude for everything in your life that brings you joy.

Become Receptive to Abundance 

A great way to increase your awareness of the abundance you already have is to start a gratitude journal. You don’t have to wait for something great to come into your life to appreciate it. Instead, just open your notebook once a day and take a few minutes to write down everything you’re...

Do you feel like you lack imagination? Do you struggle to create or to find solutions to the challenges in your life? It’s possible you’re suffering from a few creativity-blocking obstacles. By identifying the obstacles in your path, you can find ways to work around them.

Eliminate the creativity blockers from your life:

1. A cluttered mind makes creativity a challenge. Have you ever noticed that your best ideas come when you’re alone? You’re either being quiet or doing something very routine, like driving on a low-traffic road or taking a walk. It’s hard to get the creative juices flowing when you have too much going on.
   
   
2. You don’t prime your creative mechanism. Try doing a different creative activity for a few minutes. If you’re trying to write a book, try creating and humming a new song for a few minutes. Legos, Lincoln Logs, tinker toys, modeling clay, crayons, and brain teasers are other options.
   
   
3. Stress. You might have time to yourself,...

Intuition is a tool that all of us have. Some people suggest that it’s mystical power. Others would suggest that it’s merely our subconscious trying to tell us something. Regardless of the source, we all have that little voice that tries to tell us things from time to time.

As we get older, we often learn to ignore that little voice. We turn to logic and focus on being practical. But we’ve experienced a lot over the years, and there is some part of our brain that has accumulated a tremendous amount of wisdom. Listening to that little voice can be a good thing. 

Last week we talked about ways to determine if we are acting from a place of intuition or insecurity. So how can we develop our Intuition more to be able to step away from those insecurities?

Try these techniques to develop your intuition:

1, Meditate for a few minutes each day. One characteristic of intuition is that it has a soft voice most of the time. It can be challenging to notice it if our minds...

Life-changing decisions can be so intimidating. You spend days and even weeks juggling between the options in front of you. All you really want to do is make the best decision, but it's stressing you out. Your gut instinct tells you to go one way, but you still hesitate.

Indecisiveness can make some situations more difficult than they actually need to be. But what's causing your indecisiveness?

You're probably allowing insecurity to cloud your judgment and cause you to second-guess your intuition. Don't worry - it happens to everyone.

Here's how you know intuition is guiding you in the right direction: 

1.     It's constantly on your mind. Your intuition pushes you to constantly think about the impact of a decision. It's difficult to get the thoughts off your mind when deep down you know the right thing to do.
   •  Avoid underestimating the power of your intuition!

2.     You feel sad when you go against your intuition. You usually feel relieved when you...

Being creative can make anyone’s life more successful. The proof of this statement can be seen on National Geographic for instance. In one particular show, you will see mountain men, making “stone soup.” Living in the mountains and surviving requires creativity and these guys are exceptionally creative. 

To make stone soup, they find a nice stone deep in the river and use that to get minerals from it when boiled. To add flavor and other nutrients, they gather river algae and forage for a variety of mushrooms. Once everything is boiled up, they have a meal that fills their bellies and helps with their immune systems. 

The mountain men have unconsciously learned how to create new learning pathways in the brain and make the reptilian brain shrink. The reptilian brain which we still possess inhibits creativity and works more to find new things to be afraid of. For you, the best way to work on strengthening your brain and the creativity portion is to engage in...