lara simmons

"START a  new life today, WRITE a new life today, WRITE YOUR LIFE!" Quick - and very exciting - announcement! I have been invited to lead a WRITE YOUR LIFE workshop at New Renaissance Bookstore in Portland, OR on Saturday, March 11 from 6:00pm - 8:00pm. If you live in the Portland area I would love to see you there! Click here to learn more. 

For this final post of the Write Your Life! online mini-session , I would like to share a prayer with you. I don't remember where I first read it, but it was written by a three-time cancer survivor and I think it gives great advice. Don't live in fear. Open your heart. Become who you were sent here to become. I hope it inspires you to continue the work you have started by writing your life. "I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire.  I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me,  to make me less afraid, more accessible; to loosen my heart  until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise.  I choose to risk my significant, to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom,  and that which came to me as blossom,  goes on as fruit."  -- Dawna Markova

"Make small changes see where they take you, repeat." -- Carolyn Hax

"A journey               of                a  thousand miles                                  begins                                   with  one step."                                  -- Lao-tzu Don't forget to take  your "one step"  today!

"IF I believed it were possible, what step would I take next?" -- Mary Morrissey How did it go? Were you able to take your first step, or did you get stumped or sidetracked? Either answer is ok.  If you DID take your first NEXT EASIEST STEP in the last twenty-four hours, pat yourself on the back. Great job! Cross that one off and pick your NEXT EASIEST STEP from the list in your journal. Do that within the next twenty-four hours.   If you DID NOT take your first NEXT EASIEST STEP, pull out your journal and answer this question: What happened?  Be brutally honest with yourself. Why didn't you do it? Are you afraid? Are you still unsure about exactly what it is you want to do? Do you not believe that what you want is possible?  Whatever the answer, write it down and then decide what to do next. You may want to redo your life map , or spend a few days repeating the heart-centered meditation . Maybe go back to your list of next easiest step...

"You are never given a wish  without [being given]  what it takes to make it come true."    -- Richard Bach This week is a bonus week - one I hadn't really planned on doing - BUT as I sat and finished the posts for last week on Thursday, I felt like things were incomplete. Like I was leaving you hanging. And I didn't want to do that.  There IS a fifth chapter in  my book  and it's called, " What's Next?!? " because it's all well and good to WRITE YOUR LIFE - to  draw a new map and listen to what your heart really wants  - but after that you have to figure out how to LIVE this new life you have imagined. And that, my friends, takes ACTION.  Yes, ACTION.  Stepping out, putting one foot in front of the other and starting to move in the direction of your dream whatever it is.  So that's what we're going to talk about this week: the DOING. First things first, grab your journal or a piece of paper. Fin...

"We...attract into our lives whatever we think about most, believe in most strongly, expect on the deepest level, and imagine most vividly." -- Shakti Gawain

"If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want and all that is left is compromise." -- Robert Fritz At first glance, this quote may seem to contradict the one from yesterday, but I hope you will spend some time meditating on them as a pair and find the part of each of them that is true for you. 

"The key to happiness...is in figuring out  exactly your place in reality,  and occupying that.  Attempting to full bigger shoes than yours,  or cram yourself into tinier ones,  is just setting yourself up for misery.  Look at who you really are,  and be realistic about how much space  you actually need.  From the outside it may look rather small  (or oversized),  but I guarantee that once you're inside it,  it'll fit perfectly."   -- Rob Brezsny

"If you can see yourself as an artist  and you can see that your life  is your own creation,  why not create the most beautiful story  for yourself?" -- Don Miguel Ruiz

"We have to rewrite ourselves again and draw all new maps." --Mary-Louise Parker This quote is from Mary-Louise Parker's book entitled, " Dear Mister You ," in which she writes letters to a number of men who have been significant in her life. I read it while finishing up, " Write Your Life! " and it fit perfectly for the introduction to the penultimate - and perhaps most important - chapter called, naturally, "Write Your Life!" There is too much going on in that chapter to cover it in one blog post, so I am going to share a different exercise today, one that hopefully will give you a roadmap for where you want to go next. For this exercise you will need a few sheets of paper (or your journal if you prefer), a pen, and two sessions of about forty-five minutes each of uninterrupted time, maybe a bit less. Start by taking three deep breaths. Set your meditation timer for five minutes and allow yourself to just BE for a few minutes...

"To awaken to your true nature, who you really are,  simply 'let go' of all the stories and 'be' right now."  -- www.personaltransformation.com What story do you need to LET GO so that you can BE right now? What story do you need to LET GO so that you can embrace what comes next?  Spend some time meditating on your "story" and what parts of it are ready to be released. Then release it into the Violet Flame (or with some other ritual of your choice) and LET IT GO! 

"Be grateful  for all the challenging people  in your life --  bosses, co-workers, in-laws,  children, friends --  because they're  your greatest teachers.  These relationships are difficult  precisely because of  your resistance to the lesson,  which might be about compassion,  self-worth, generosity,  or unconditional love."   -- Amara Rose This week I am reading the prosperity classic, " The Game of Life and How To Play It ," by Florence Scovel Shinn and there are some great reminders in the book. One, in particular, relative to our work this week with RELEASING.  Here is the affirmation:  "I cast this burden of resentment on the Christ within,   and I go free, to be loving, harmonious and happy." Is there someone on whom you have heaped your resentment over the past few days, weeks, or even years? Let it go by repeating this mantra whenever you think of this person. Allow you...

"What is the story you need to let go of so that you can step into the story that is waiting just for you?"        -- Gloria Burgess, PhD, Jazz INC When I did my own RELEASING meditation, what came to me was the word CONTROL. I need to let go of CONTROL over all aspects of my life. I need to "let go and let God." This may sound crazy or even fundamentalist, but if you sit back and truly think about it what can we control in this life? Pretty much NOTHING. So why not admit that and live from that reality instead of spending so much time and effort trying to control that which I cannot control anyway? The physical manifestation of RELEASING, for me, is taking a deep breath. When I take a really deep breath and let it all out in one long AH-H-H ....I feel the sensation of letting go and it is  such a relief . I am no longer pretending that I have it all together, that I have all the answers, that I am in control. I am rel...

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive.  He who is devoid of the power to forgive  is devoid of the power to love."   -- Martin Luther King, Jr.  As I mentioned yesterday, RELEASING can take many forms, and one form is forgiveness . Who do you need to forgive in order to move forward in your life?  Try using the Violet Flame Meditation today for forgiveness. As you ask that the Violet Flame be sent from the center of the Earth, place an image of the person you need to forgive in your heart chakra. Allow the Violet Flame to burn away any hurt, any resentment, any attachment, any negative energy you may feel. Release and let it go.  If you find that you want to do more forgiveness work, click here for Day 1 of my 30 Days of Forgiveness challenge from 2014 or above on the word forgiveness for the 2015 challenge. 

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.  We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."    -- Albert Einstein

"Allow yourself to know."    -- David Pond

"If you can't trust your own inner senses, what can you trust?" -- Dan Millman

"We all have a better guide in ourselves,  if we would attend to it,  than any other person can be."   -- Jane Austen , Mansfield Park The theme for week two is KNOWING. This week is all about INTUITION and how to tap into yours. Making time for meditation and just BEING is a big part of that so I hope you will continue your work from last week and make time every day this week to just BE.  If you would like to start to play with your intuition, try out the exercise below. For this exercise you will need your journal (or a couple of sheets of paper), a pen and a comfortable place to sit and write. Start with at least five minutes of just BEING. Then take three deep breaths. IN...and OUT....IN...and OUT...IN...and OUT....    Ground yourself by placing your feet firmly on the floor. Sit up straight, resting your torso and head evenly on your sitting bones. Take another deep breath. Bring to mind the biggest challenge or problem in yo...

"Use stillness to effect change."  -- Anodea Judith