Mourning dove greets me first as my ears catch her emotional song of a new day. She reminds me to ground myself. Her message of grounding is through connecting with the earth and family. Connecting with family traditions and remembering that family is foundational. A fitting message as today is Mother’s Day in America.

It is a warm May day in Texas and a gentle breeze keeps the background symphony of wind chimes tickling the air. Mr. Cardinal and his sweetheart are together finding small bit and pieces to add to their nest I’m assuming. They work together so lovingly in unison – such purpose and focus seems to be their message today, with a strong splash of harmony (wish I had that yesterday when my son and I were painting his bedroom).

My attention is drawn to the gardens in full bloom with purple salvia standing tall; red sage, mandevilla and roses set of by the deep purples and pinks of verbena, wandering jew and begonias. Ah! A beautiful time of year.

Squirrel moves onto the scene running across the fence and quickly disappears. Out again and this time swirling his way up the trunk of the old pecan tree. He stops at the crook where the trunk gives way to branches and pauses there to question what I’m doing. He notices I’m no threat and proceeds to scamper up the tree into the new soft leafy branches and leaps into the next tree. I find myself laughing out loud imagining the thrill of this fun way to travel. He precedes through 2 more trees this way and comes within such close range to my Goddess chair that I can see his eyelashes . . . and yes, he is indeed a little man (intuition confirmed). He clucks a greeting and looks me up and down while moving even closer. I was delighted and then for a split second I allowed fear into my wandering thoughts. “What if he is rabid?” As if sensing my challenge of staying out of fear to remain in this moment, he scurries on his journey. Squirrel’s message is to have fun, take pleasure in your actions and ask yourself if you are always doing doing doing rather than taking action because it evokes pleasure.

Here in the country under the canopy of pecan trees, clouds and miles of sky – I am blessed to see, hear and feel my morning thoughts. Through taking pause to enjoy the unfolding of a few moments nature so gently guides me and shares sacred messages to support me in living a blissful life.

How can you incorporate moments of nature into your day? How do you connect with nature? How do you allow nature to connect with you? I would love for you to share your comments and thoughts.

For more information about the sacred messages of the animals around us I recommend Animal Speaks by Ted Andrews.

Soul Hugs!
Marianne

Morning clouds have cleared and a soft blue sky break through surrounding me with wide open space. I take a long and deep breathe, filling my lungs with the warm morning air of Texas.

It is Mother’s Day . . . my day because I am a mother too. All is quiet in the MacKenzie home . . . my husband is golfing and my son is still sleeping. In preparation for a big move to the city, we have found new homes for each of our pets (more on that later). So, not even a happy tail or purring cat are here to wish me Happy Mother’s Day . . . and by the way I think, “where is my breakfast in bed”?

With this thought I feel a familiar unappreciated sense starting deep in my hips and gurgling upward. The picture in my mind growing clearer and more vivid of the familiar commercials with loving children bursting through the door to mommy’s room with breakfast on a tray. “Wake up mommy” they chime in unison with father lingering behind in the doorway sporting a mischievous grin. So! Where is my breakfast in bed? Don’t you love me and appreciate all the many motherly things I do for you? Now the feeling has gurgled so high I can taste the bitterness of the emotion. I’m not loved! I’m not appreciated! Wow, how quickly that one moved into my senses. I could actually see the commercial hear the loving words (that I’m not hearing right now) and feel what the emotions feels like of not being loved this way. Not to mention the taste – oh the awful taste of not feeling loved.

“STOP! “ I say audible only to myself. “This doesn’t feel the way I want to feel”.

So I ask myself, “Is it true? Is it true that my family doesn’t appreciate and love me?” (pause) I feel the wheels turning in my head as scene after scene is played of loving kind acts, words telling me how loved and appreciated I am and soon I’m feeling a smile spread onto my face. The bitter taste has turned to sweetness and my heart is full of gratitude for how special my family is to me every day.

I have received a great and loving gift . . . the gift of awareness. I feel this gift deep in my heart – can feel my heart swell and open wider to allow more room to grow. I can taste the sweetness and know it will serve me for many Mother’s Day to come.

“Hello ego . . . meet my heart and soul. You are learning to work together to teach each other a better and more loving way to exist and thrive”. Tears gently trickle down my cheeks as I turn to make breakfast for myself.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the millions of mother’s around the world. May everyday be special for you.

Soul Hugs!
Marianne

Have you ever had one of those weeks where it all is just too big? It is almost as if I started the week half holding my breath and knowing that this was going to be a really full and busy week. Not the kind of week you find yourself looking forward too, rather the kind you hear about from a friend and think “why would anyone schedule their week so full?”. Last week was like that for me. I think it becomes even more painful when you realize how off center you are. Last week I was so far off center that a feather could have knocked me over. That is when I realized the dishwasher was on its last leg. Bless its heart; we have been gently nudging it along since we bought our home because it was the only item of modern convenience that greeted us. We purchased a 1910 Victorian farmhouse that was in desperate need of renovation. The dishwasher was a thoroughly welcome sight amidst the 1960’s electric stove and lack of microwave or refrigerator.

With the dishwasher broken I had 2 huge loads of dishes to wash by hand and no time to think about throwing a fit. As the hot water filled the sink the soap suds grew and expanded leaving a luxurious pillowy cloud in which I plunged my hands and furiously began scrubbing dishes. Not sure how many dishes I had scoured when my Pleasure Meter (see my blog It Pegged My Pleasure Meter) started to remember how nurturing and therapeutic washing dishes by hand can be. I found myself watching a squirrel in the yard as she (I’m assuming based on how she was multi-tasking so efficiently) scurried down the tree checking and digging up what seemed to be a pecan nut. All the while she was moving so thoughtfully and going about her duties while keeping a vigilant eye out for Murphy, her most annoying predator and my fearless Irish terrier. A bird caught my attention as it swooped across the window and landed just below the outer window sill on my heirloom rose bush. The brilliant red of the Cardinal made me catch my breath and giggle with amusement as he (nature has a way of making the males so beautiful . . . almost unfair) primped and sang with pleasure. A deep sigh escaped my lips and I realized it was the first deep breath I had taken in hours.

So this is why it is preferable to have a kitchen window over the sink. I realized how many women through time had gazed out their kitchen windows while washing the dishes and somehow felt connected to them all. . . a part of the domestic goddess club.

So what did I find in the dishwater? I found the peace and centering that comes from being in the moment. From this awareness I began to enjoy washing the dishes, feeling the warm water wash over my hands and wrists. I imagined washing away my stress, the events of the week that had been less than enjoyable and thanked that sink full of suds for bringing me into the moment with joy.

When was the last time you washed the dishes by hand? I would love to hear about what treasures you found in the dishwater.

Soul Hugs!

Marianne

I’m just setting here wondering when I actually decided that cereal was not something I ate anymore. I love this stuff! Every week I peruse the grocery store isle to retrieve the latest request for my son and am absolutely amazed how many variety of sugary substances sold as “breakfast food” there are to choose from. Me on my high and mighty health conscious horse haven’t eaten cereal in a long long time. However I do allow my 18 year old son to eat however he chooses to eat and even buy totally non-nutritional foods at his request. So, why at 4:30 in the afternoon am I polishing off a box? Because my Pleasure Meter told me that I really was craving a bowl of cereal topped with ice cold milk (now the milk part is a whole other story – but those that know me know I don’t like milk!)

Pleasure Meter? Yes, I have a well installed and fully functional Pleasure Meter that I tune into many times throughout the day to determine if something will bring me pleasure. If I act from a place of pleasure the outcome is usually easier to achieve, enjoyable to do (it is pleasure after all) and brings me more joy. As our daily lives have become more sensory stimulating (ipod, TV, computers, cell phones, bill boards, radio, internet, etc) we have become less aware of our own inner voice – our own guidance system. Pleasure has long been considered a selfish pursuit. If so then I must be selfish. For me this means that I choose to do things that bring me pleasure. Often pleasure for me includes serving others (yes, being a Soul Coach is primarily in the service of others), making choices of what or how I do those things that need to be accomplished in any given day and also giving back to my communities.

I don’t actually know when I become so in tune with my Pleasure Meter, but I do know that when I follow it’s guidance I live more fully in joyful activities, have enduring energy and life just feels satisfying.
Does that mean that if it doesn’t register positive on my Pleasure Meter I don’t do it? Often yes, I don’t do it. But sometime there are things that just have to be done and they don’t measure well at all on my Pleasure Meter. The awareness that they are not going to bring me pleasure, but they still need to get done allows me to consider other possibilities.

• Would someone else enjoy this activity more than I would?
• Can I pay someone to do it?
• Is it worth giving up doing something that would bring me pleasure?
• Does it have to be done at all?
• Could it be done in a modified way that would bring me pleasure?

How well is your Pleasure Meter working? If you rely on your inner truth of doing what brings you pleasure in life I would love to hear from you. If you aren’t aware that you have a Pleasure Meter, I encourage you to become familiar with the way your Meter communicates with you. Just by being aware that you have one and are willing to listen, you will begin to realize how much we do that is not within our Pleasure Meter.

Challenge for this week – get familiar with your Pleasure Meter. Allow yourself to imagine only doing things that bring you pleasure at least for an entire day.

Soul Hugs!
Marianne

Silky ribbons of steam rose in opulent swirls dancing and darting about. There was such clarity I could actually see the individual droplet of moisture creating steam! I was mesmerized and in awe as this elegant dance of water, air and sunshine performed its ceremony. I was for this moment seeing . . . really seeing what beauty a cup of tea could bring into my day.

Regret crept into my moment as I realized how many cups I have held and never really taken pause – never really been present enough to see. Then the regret evolved into excitement as I thought of how many more cups of tea were to come. I will never look at a steaming cup the same again. Notice how interesting it is how our mind loves to interrupt the present moment with thoughts of the past or future.

Today have you paused to really see the world around you? Stop now and notice the movement of air (can you see or feel it?) – the sun and where her rays of light are visible. This simple pause can instantly fill you with childlike wonder and joy. Our bodies love a pause, while sometimes our mind goes crazy with the slowing down. How is your mind responding to you pausing? How is your body responding?

Allow yourself moments of pause and share with me what you noticed in a whole new way.

Soul Hugs!
Marianne

My Soul has been whispering to me since the day I was created. However I have only listened at sporadic times during my life. Only when I became conscious of the wisdom that resides inside of me at all times – did my life have an almost magical quality of delight. I live with a gratitude for the beauty around me, a richness of love.

Soul Whispers blog is my way of sharing my journey – I hope to allow you to see through my eyes, capture my feelings and if words will allow, to share life experiences of my Soul whispering. I do this in hopes that you too will become more in touch with the immense love that resides within you at all times.

This awareness for me was profound! Like most life changing awareness’s, I turned to my past and replayed all the times that I had not listened to my Soul’s whisperings. Looking to the past is fine if you are willing to learn from it and leave it alone. Living in the past will only bring stress into your life – find a way to learn from it and let it go. I also learned that our Soul ONLY whispers in the present moment. Being present is key to enjoying and benefiting from this amazing whisper of love.

As my awareness progressed I experienced the joy in life that I had long been searching for. Imagine my surprise to find it had always already existed inside . . . tapping into that well-spring of goodness was my reward.

As a Soul Coach, I support and guide others to realize and utilize their own Soul’s whisper to guide their choices in their businesses, relationships, health and life. This blog will also share with you more about Soul Coaching and how you too can draw more fully on your own wisdom.

I’m honored to have you along for the ride and look forward to your questions, comments and please share your areas of interest.

Soul Hugs!
Marianne