47

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Today is my 47th birthday.

Every year, I blog on my birthday. This is my 10th birthday blog, and I'm proud of that.

I did, as I do every year, look back and read through some of my previous blogs. I realized - I am a busy person! I do a lot in a year.

Since last year:

• I officiated 30 weddings and started a wedding officiant website.
  
• I got a new (yes my second) tattoo. This one is about peace. There is a peace sign in the middle of a world, which is the iris for an eye. The idea is what we see - what we deliberately see - we create. If we can see peace, we can be peace. In this time of world unrest, and USA unrest, this message is very important. I'm proud to wear it on my arm so I am reminded every day. It also matches the same place on my right arm as the love tattoo of last year sits on my left. So I've got my love and my peace. I'm ready for my flower garland - hahaha!
  
  

  

  My new tattoo

• I finished the exam and started the thesis for my Master's degree in Metaphysical Science. I expect to finish the thesis by end of January.
  
• I published two more books, and an app, and started another app.
  
• I won an award for my book, First Family, and went to Miami to accept the award.
  
• I changed locations for my Reiki practice to a beautiful studio shared with 5 massage therapists.

And more. That's just off the top of my head.

I'm planning for 2017:

• My son, Eli's Bar Mitzvah on Feb. 11
  
• A trip to Cozumel with my husband, Evan, to celebrate our 20th anniversary (also in February!)
  
• Booking 50 weddings (that's my max!)
  
• Helping my oldest daughter get ready for college applications and decisions.
  
• And who knows what else? New and exciting adventures await.

What have I learned this year?

It's hard to discern. I would say that overall, I realized how to stop worrying, how to incorporate an awesome manifesting technique into my day (which works!), how to trust the universe more, and be awake, and stepping more fully into my role as a spiritual being ready to share what I know with others.

So... not bad. 

My birthday today was pretty uneventful. And that was a little disappointing. I did my normal Tuesday thing. I saw 4 hospice patients, took myself out to lunch (a nice lunch - it was my birthday after all), and spent the afternoon shlepping kids around. Tonight I went to watch Eli perform with his Rock Band class, and he did a great job. I did get over 200 birthday wishes on Facebook and a nice call from my parents. It's fine.

I look forward to seeing what my blog post for 48 will look like.

Peace.

The Year is Ending, but Not the World. Here's How to Remember That.

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The US election has been overwhelming. First, all of the relentless campaigning and social media overload. Then, add to that the way people were angry at each other, the increase in crime, and just a lot of energetic noise. The election results, unstable, suspect, as well as the way everyone continues to feel stressed about what's ahead, have only made things worse.

It does feel like something is coming to an end: the comfortable way we've been living and going about our lives has been disrupted, and doesn't seem to be settling down soon.

It's been hard, and it's been exhausting.

I am sure I have Election Fatigue, if that's a thing.

Throughout my day, I have been seeking ways to deal with the ever-present anxiety churning all around.
I've tried meditation, listening to music, working as much as I can, focusing on gratitude, Reiki, and lots of social action like signing petitions, making donations, and sharing whatever I can. So, that's a lot. It's wasn't helping me as much as I'd hoped.

I guess it's an ongoing process. This Election Fatigue is new to me, and so I'm learning how to deal with it by trying lots of things and seeing what helps. I think I found a couple of things.

One thing that has helped is working on a new calendar. Last year, I published this thing called My Moments of 2016, which allowed subscribers to have access to a series of daily, 30-second prompts about their day, what they think about, and other little moments. The prompts get saved, and will be presented back to them at the start of January, 2017, as an ebook of their year's little thoughts and moments. It's a cool idea, I think, but it has meant a lot of work for me, updating it daily, and then creating the ebooks to send to each participant.

Instead of repeating that kind of work for this coming year, I am making it into an app. I hired a designer, and he is creating an app for me to publish that will allow whoever wants to participate in this to just get the app, update it daily, and save, share, or download and print their responses whenever they want.

I discovered this:
There's an optimism that comes from making a calendar, or posting on a calendar months into the future. It surprised me when I realized it. I mean, this isn't meditation. This is, however, a mental process that says, "The future will come. I will have something to do. I still have a purpose. My life is going on." The relief that brings is pretty amazing.

Another thing that's helped is scheduling weddings into 2017. I am, if you didn't know, a Wedding Officiant, in addition to the other things I do. It's a happy job. Love-filled, and quite wonderful. And every time I  book a wedding in 2017, I'm reminded of the same thing: I will have something loving to do, which will also be a source of income (so yay!), help people, and remind me throughout the coming year that love still exists, it's a focus, it's a celebration, and I'm part of it. Oh wow, I reallydo feel better now!

Do you need relief from Election Fatigue? Put some great things on your calendar in 2017. Even if you have nothing to schedule yet, put a message on your calendar to surprise yourself when you get to that day. Just a little love note from you to you. Or a cute idea of something to try, something to remember, or something inspirational.

Or else - try my new app. It will be called Reflective Moments, and will be available in the Google Play store for Android first by the end of this year. That will give you your own moment of reflection daily to help you remember that you are grateful for things, you do find things funny, interesting, you are thoughtful, you have people who care for you, and so much more of that stuff that matters. You don't have to think about what to write, because you get a different prompt every single day.

Love. Love.
Alice

How I Learned to Stop Worrying

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Here are two simple and practical techniques that helped me stop worrying. 

Maybe they'll help you too. 

Give a try and let me know! I welcome your thoughts!

Love,
Alice

How Being Spiritual Puts the Soul in Sex

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Getting in touch with your spiritual side can enhance your sexual experiences too. Here's why.

First, let's talk about the spiritual connection. Practicing any sort of spiritual practice - such as meditation, Reiki, energy healing practices of other kinds, etc. makes you aware of something outside yourself that is also connected to yourself. 

More than that, this spiritual energy that you're connected with is ALSO you. That's the Duality of Being. (And also the Unity.) What I mean here is that we are all one, conscious energy that is having an individual experience. Every life form on the planet, every plant, animal and person, is having a conscious, individual experience, and is connected to each other at the very same time. 

If you're still with me, you may be wondering why a singular conscious energy would want a zillion or so different individual experiences. That's where it gets interesting. The illusion of an individual experience is for experiencing and learning. 

If the One energy source was only that, it would not be able to learn or experience anything. In order to experience anything, that experience is a reaction to something outside ourselves. If it's outside ourselves, it is not perceived as us. Even if we experience pain in our stomachs, that pain feels like something "other" than our "normal" selves. Experience is a reaction. 

Now, becoming aware of being both an individual experience and something much, much bigger is a powerfully spiritual experience. It allows us to step outside ourselves to see our individual emotions from a more objective perspective. We can analyze our experiences without them defining us. 

By now, you're probably wondering what the heck this has to do with sex. I will get there. Hang with me for another moment.

When we are able to step outside of ourselves and observe the ways in which we interact in this illusionary reality, we are living as our true aspect - that of Spirit. We are not caught up in the storm of emotions or the trappings of ego. What is Spirit really? Love. Pure love. That's what the One energy source that is our true essence is made of.

So, in a nutshell, we are Love experiencing and learning by completely empathizing with each individual consciousness. We are capable of shifting our perspective through meditation, for example, to be that One consciousness, and send love to our little individual selves as we live, learn, and try to make sense of everything we are experiencing. 

We can also have compassion for other people, and empathize with them. That is a beautiful quality, a spiritual one. It makes the world better. 

And here, finally, is the connection to sex. Good job making it this far. 

The more we are aware of this spiritual connection throughout the day, the more we connect with the essences of it - gratitude, love, compassion - in short, the more we elevate our existence in this way, then the more our lovemaking naturally becomes influenced by this idea. Because, the natural compassion we are used to having extends to the lover during that time.

If we focus on our partner during sex, paying close attention to how the partner is responding to touch of every kind, and adjusting our touch to what is obviously pleasurable to the partner, we are empathizing with that person as that person is experiencing it. We, ourselves, can share their pleasure while participating in creating it. In doing so, we are experiencing being spiritually one with that person - creating a much higher level of lovemaking.

The soul of sensuality is very spiritual.

And that's the message I got today.

Walking Thank Yous

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I've been thinking lots about the meaning of life. I guess it's my ongoing thing to do this. I've always been a seeker of spiritual connection. 

The new insight I've got is what I put in the graphic to the left. And here's the question - how to "live love"? I think I know. Sure, it's being kind, doing nice things, that's certainly the surface. But underneath is this deep sense of gratitude for life. This lifetime, especially. The relief I feel about having a warm house, healthy children, a car, food, books to read, time to grow... and bathrooms - I'm really grateful for those too. Really and truly.

So back to what I was saying...

This gratitude. It motivates me to do those nice things. I volunteer. I try to be encouraging, and also empower people, and inspire by sharing this feeling. Whatever I do is an expression of gratitude - it's walking my thank you. Thanking by DOING rather than saying (although I do my share of saying thank you as well, and teach my kids to say thank you because - manners, after all!).

Walking my gratitude means that everything that I can do that's an act of kindness, big or small, or even something regular like making dinner, has become an expression of spirituality. 

When people thank me for doing these things, it sorta feels weird to me, because I'm doing these things because I'm grateful. But, I also know that people need to express gratitude. I don't need the thanks (except for my kids - yeah I like it when they say thank you, although sometimes I laugh when they thank me for something like taking care of them when they're sick - of course I do that!)

I'm pretty sure this idea will feature prominently in my next book.

What do you think of this idea? Does it resonate with you? Please reply and let me know. 

Peace and love.

I don't need scientific proof

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I've gotten to a point where I don't care about scientific proof that Reiki, or life force energy, or chakras, or angels, or guides, or ancestors, spirits, or any energetic forces exist. I just don't care what scientists have to say about their validity or not.

I see posts on Facebook saying that Science has Proven that the Aura is Real! Give me a break. I can feel the aura pulsing when I give Reiki. I can tell where it starts and I can find the areas where it is damaged. I can feel energy changing frequency when it's healing itself. 

I don't need science to validate my work, my beliefs (which come from experience), or the results that Reiki can offer.

I also don't need science to proclaim that human thought creates changes. I already know. I have manifested more results in my life through the power of intention and expectation than I can list. 

I have arrived at a place in my own life where I trust my experiences, listen to my intuition, and guide my life based on those signals. And, it's working.

If you're waiting for science, I would advise you to stop wasting your time. Live. Listen to your innermost knowing. Give it a chance to tell you what's real, to show you your Truth. And then see what happens when you do.

#MikeDrop