Is It Just Me?

Is it just me or do you sometimes get lost in your own thoughts even when there’s so much going on around you?

I had been thinking about something I had seen on the news earlier that day when, out of nowhere, the co-teacher suddenly turned to me.

Mrs. T announces to the pre-K, “Miss Nancy will sing some songs with you.”

I’m thinking to myself, “What just happened? Why did she call on me now?” while simultaneously racking my brain for a song they’d like to hear. My heart is beating fast and I see all 32 eyes on me. They are watching and waiting to see what I’d do.

Singing shakily, I start, “The wheels on the…”

Immediately all of the kids begin exuberantly singing using circular hand motions.

Jacob happily starts belting out the next verse, “The driver on the bus said move on back…” and we all move our arms overhead, front to back, in rhythm to the words as we sing. Without a pause, we sing the next song, first crawling our hands up and down like an imaginary spider, then swooshing our arms to the side to wash away the rain with gusto.

Singing along loudly, with emotion, we all are rock stars at a live concert. Minutes later, when the set ends, the kids are giggling and appearing so pleased with themselves. Even I am grinning ear to ear as I hold up the quiet sign to settle them down.

That day I was grateful for the push and reminder to really be present in life and in the moments that are happening right in front of you.

“Get out of your head and get into your heart. Think less, feel more.” — Rajneesh

Always Listen to Your Gut

I hate to admit it, but I didn’t always listen to my gut.

Cousin Lena, my superhero, is three years older.

Her hand-me-downs were my favorite, my hair was cut Dorthy-Hammil-style like hers, and we always played whatever she wanted. I imitated her mannerisms and followed her around like a puppy-dog when she’d come over for weekly family gatherings.

Summer of ‘76, about 5 ½ years old, Lena and her younger brother tag along with me for my summer camp at the rec center.

“They have tetherball and a machine that gives grape soda at lunch for FREE!” I happily tell them as we get out of Mom’s car and hustle into camp.

But later that morning, Lena decides that she has had enough.

“Let’s go!” Lena announces as she gets up from the table and starts walking toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I ask, confused.

“To your house,” she states matter-of-factly. “I’m done with my gimp bracelet and bored here. We're leaving.”

“How can we just go? Do you know the shortcut?” I whisper.

It’s not possible for anyone to leave camp early in the middle of the day by themselves.

There’s no way we should do that.

Is it possible she somehow has heard the back way from my big brothers?

“Stop worrying. I know it,” she replies confidently.

“Are you sure?” I ask again.

She nods and turns.

Our moms wouldn’t want us leaving, but I don’t want to be left behind.

I hesitate for a moment.

Then we all just walk out the propped open door to the parking lot. My heart is beating.

After a bit, Sam and I glance back, pausing. I expect a camp counselor to come rushing out the door after us.

There’s no sign of anyone, though. Just us.

Did we really just leave without getting caught?

I’m starting to feel a lump in my throat and tears welling up in my eyes.

Lena shouts at us to hurry up.

We turn around and follow her, single-file, down Falls Road.

We carefully balance on the white line between the cars whizzing past on one side and the steep tree-lined embankment on the other.

Eventually turning onto a different busy road, we now have a little more space on the side of the road to walk.

I’m shouting, “Hey, this doesn’t seem like a shortcut.”

No reply.

We continue in silence except for the sound of gravel crunching under our feet.

To my surprise, we didn’t die that afternoon.

Just some blistered ankles and thirsty kids.

It seems like hours before we make it to my house.

Mom’s face in seconds goes from happy to puzzled to confused to alarmed to angry as Lauren stammers to explain why we’re home so early.

I keep my gaze down and breathe a sigh of relief that Mom's emotion is not directed at me.

I’ve never heard her yell like that before.

They never accompany me to camp again.

And from that point on, I learned to not follow my hero, or anyone for that matter, when my gut tells me otherwise.

Trust your instincts.

Quick Hack to Help You Feel Better & Raise Your Vibration

Time and time again, one message keeps coming through in readings. Find out what it is, why most of us don't listen, and how we can change that. Plus, find out about the new, free ME Challenge that you can join to help you feel better and raise your vibration!

Do you know one of the song lyric messages Spirit has given most often in my Akashic Records readings lately?

🎵Stop dragging [your] heart around 🎵

I've always interpreted this as the following: Pause and make time for more joy in your life.

Does this shock you?

Probably not.

When I channel this message in my Akashic Records readings, people usually respond to this with saying "Yes, I know I need to do that."

We know that a moment of joy can lift our vibration. If we do several moments throughout the day, it makes sense that it will add up to make our energy lighter and happier.

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” ― Nicolas Chamfort

Excuses, Excuses

Just doing something we love each day should be easy. But why don't we find time for joy every day?

• Think of it in the morning, but by bedtime we're too tired or we’ve forgotten to make time for it

• Other priorities take precedent and we feel like we shouldn’t take a quick break for something joyful or fun until we’re done

• Put other people's joy before our own

• Feel we're too old to do things like color with crayons or build a card tower

• Habitually scroll through social media on our phone in our free time instead even though it often leaves us feeling no better than before we started

And the excuses could go on. "We’ll do it later," we tell ourselves. "It’s not a big deal to put it off," we think. I get it. I’m guilty of making all these excuses, too.

But days go by and we don’t make the time to do something unless it's scheduled on our calendar with friends or family. These days, with lots of heaviness around, it is so important to pause and make the time for yourself every day. It only takes a few minutes.

Joy Guides

Years ago, I learned we each have our own joy guide near us. Each joy guide is a spiritual, childlike energetic being that tries to boost our morale and happiness. In a recent Spirit Guide course, our homework instructed us to connect with our joy guides daily. Each morning, I set an intention for the day of how I would bring joy into my day. Sometimes it was a quick activity, other days it was something longer. It was fun to do! Whether it was coloring a mandala, dancing to a song in the kitchen, or going on the swing at a park, I noticed my mood improved. It was fun to hear the things the others did, too, like blowing bubbles, playing hopscotch, enjoying a new herbal tea, painting, and buying fresh flowers.

The point I learned is that it can be simple, but so effective at bringing a little happiness into the day. You don't have to connect with a joy guide to do it. It doesn’t have to take much time. Skip into the kitchen for lunch. Sing at the top of your lungs in the shower.

New Moon, New M.E. Joy Challenge

The new moon is a perfect time to start your new “joy habit” in your life. New intentions like this get a little extra “umph” when you begin them on the new moon. This new moon is the ideal time to kick things off! Of course, you can begin ANY time. The important thing is to just take that first step to do something joyful today. It's the quick hack to make you feel better!

Having trouble coming up with ideas of things to do? I’ve created a free, downloadable M.E. Joy Challenge chart pdf to for you with fun ways to incorporate joy. It's a way to make tracking your joy easier.

• Pick one to do each day in ANY order

• Color it in or 'X' it out when you’re done

• Use the blank M.E. Joy Challenge chart to personalize with your own ideas or record activities after you do them

• Rate them afterwards on a scale of 1-10 of how they made you feel so you know which ones to include the next cycle

Tag your joyful moments with the hashtag #MEjoy so our M.E. tribe can see ways you're finding joy this moon cycle and get inspired.

As a bonus, take notes on the chart or keep a tiny joy journal of things you did or unexpected instances that made you smile, so you can look back on it when you’re feeling low.

Let's see if it becomes a habit of routinely incorporating joy into your life! My bet is your outlook and mood will have improved by the next moon cycle, too. Your vibration will be higher. And who doesn't want that?

So, how will you find a little joy today?

Get the M.E. Joy Challenge pdf here: DOWNLOAD HERE

Schedule a healing virtual reiki session or Akashic Records reading here: BOOK A SESSION

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