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MindFULL Evolution

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Music Que: Frank Sinatra, My Way

Courage. According to Ellen, it’s “being scared and doing it anyway.” Letting go. The theme of the year. Compaction. My own made up word – a combination of Compassion and Action. Mix it all up and you have, “Time for NEXT!”

For the last year, I’ve written about NEXT, talked to many, many, many women about where they are with NEXT and given it a lot of thought. I’m in that phase of life, where what was is no longer, and what will be, isn’t yet. I can feel the small subtle shifts of change beneath me, around me and inside of me. And I have to say, after the ups and downs of the last two years, I’m finally ready to get up off the sofa and put down my iPad, bringing to life that which I’ve thought of, talked of and watched everyone else do.

And so, after 7 years of writing The MindFULL Creative, I’ve decided to sunset the blog as it is, and evolve it into something new. The new is in creative development, but the exciting potential has propelled me to sit and write posts that have been collecting in my Blog Box. I think I have enough to share on all the MindFULL Mondays still to come before the end of the year. Please stay tuned!

Thank you to all my friends and readers. Creating this blog was a big leap for me. From learning how to technically execute it, to coming up with a name and logo, committing to its’ content and generating the courage to put myself out to you, I have learned a lot. Most of all, I learned there isn’t one way to do anything. There are many.

As long as one of them is mine…

What have you MindFULLY created and then decided to let go of it? Let us know!

To Good Friends and Good Health

When you are a kid, where do you learn about life? Your childhood BFF (coined in 5^th grade by girls at sleepovers world-wide: best friend forever), of course! The one you try things with, lay by the pool with for hours and think has all the answers. In my case, Carolyn (aka Lynnie) did.

I loved The Waygood’s large, bustling home atop the longest, curviest driveway a 5^th grader could ride her bike up, filled with warm and loving parents, life-living siblings and motor bikes that roared through the back woods. It was her home I ran away to when my mom wouldn’t let me see David Cassidy at Madison Square Garden. It was to her, and her dreamy older sister, I turned to when I started experiencing changes in my body and had no idea what to do.

Lucky for me, years ago Carolyn and I reconnected via FB and once again, I can count on her wisdom as I experience mid-life changes that confound me. Phew.

In her first chapter, Carolyn owned a wildly successful computer consulting firm. After years of seriously intense work, and ever growing insight into the effects of constant stress on our bodies, she sold her company, “retired” and followed her interest in natural health.

Today, she is a Board Certified Doctor of Naturopathy, helping people overcome health concerns using natural approaches, such as nutrition, lifestyle changes, vitamins and herbal supplements, essential oils, exercise, and other non-prescription, natural methods for achieving optimal health.

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Sometime around early 2000, Carolyn’s mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. With no family history, the diagnosis was shocking. Without getting too personal, it seemed that there were several contributing factors that could have been more closely monitored, had there been more information available at the time.

Furious and frustrated by how little she knew, it hit Carolyn how few women are educated on the basic facts surrounding breast cancer risk reduction (or cancer risk reduction, in general), and she wanted to change that. She learned about a Class 2 Medical Device called the Breast Chek™ Aid, designed to enhance one’s sense of touch, making breast self-exams easier and more informative. She spoke at health fairs, corporate functions, and women’s luncheons – anyone who would listen to her – and taught people about breast cancer, risk factors, self-examination techniques, and the importance of early detection.

After about 2 years of further research and education, she realized that a large component of breast cancer risk reduction is actually prevention, and there were many things women could be doing to prevent cancer from occurring altogether. There was a lot of chatter about “early detection” but not as much about detection. Now she is moving toward specializing in Naturopathic Oncology – or the treatment and prevention of cancer naturally.

Via natural products called Plexus, she carries a small line formulated to address some of the primary biochemical risk factors for cancer, including high sugar levels, elevated insulin levels, a build-up of toxic waste (including estrogens), inadequate digestion & nutrient absorption, and more.

She wants folks to know that there are many natural alternatives and that PREVENTION is a powerful word. She whole-heartedly believes that the “best medicine is preventing disease altogether” and when people voice their desire for natural approaches to their health they can begin to live drug-free and healthier, more productive lives.

You can learn more about Carolyn and her passion at www.ShopMyPlexus.com/Waygood

And then, please join me in a moment of silence for those we love that have been taken by cancer. This MindFULL Monday is the birthday of Jodi, my HS friend who died when we were only 36. This is the month of Sharon’s birthday, as well. I miss her everyday. Oh, and one more thing…please check out Annie Segal’s moving pictures of her mom, Nancy, beautiful wife of our childhood friend, Jeff Segal. Nancy passed away over the Holidays. In her memory, Annie is running the Relay for Life next week. #flockofsegals http://main.acsevents.org/goto/anniesegal

What do you MindFULLY do to take care of yourself?

Let us know!

If These Walls Could Talk

It has been quite a while since last I posted. I’ve been busy with work, travel, transition of my only child’s college launch, and a Mom who has needed a little extra loving. But I am excited to spring with Spring and to begin to re-imagine The MindFULL Creative. Please bear with me. The creative process takes time and I am learning new skills, finding new ways, and pondering my own NEXT.

While I’ve been out and about, I’ve spent some extra time at my Mom’s house. Sad for me, we live quite a distance from each other. If we lived closer we’d be together more often. You see, I scored. I like my Mom, as much as I love her. She is warm, creative, funny, willing to own her stuff and wise. All over her house she has post it notes, signs, cartoons, postcards and sayings on almost every surface.

me and mom

There is much on her walls to learn from and ponder.

I took a picture of this magazine article taped to her study door. The page is yellow with time. The words wrap around the wall, but if you can see them, you can read them. And if you read them, you’ll “see” more.

moms wall

I am also popping in a link to an article I came across at some point and saved. Sorry for not giving credit where credit is due. The article asked 21 people to share something someone said that forever changed their way of thinking.

http://www.knowable.com/a/21-people-share-something-someone-said-that-forever-changed-their-way-of-thinkin

I love to collect words of wisdom. I have journals filled with thoughts and teachings from some incredible folks I have known for lifetimes, and other I have met along the way. Over the next few weeks, as I MindFULLY work my way back into posting, I will share the musings of some of these special people. In the meantime, give a listen to your walls. If they could speak, what would they teach you?

Have you ever heard something that changed your MindFULL perspective?
Let us know!

Live and Learn

Does anyone else ever find themselves in the position of having to “know how” before trying something new?

I recently heard a new paradigm: first you do, and then you feel. Uch. Way too often I have led with how I feel, and then I do.

But, last week I tried to take this new advice and put it into action. On my own. I re-designed my blog. This blog is about creative expression and connection for me. A year and a half ago, I came up with the name, made a logo and started posting. It was not an easy step to take. And yet, I did it. Since then, I have focused on the discipline of simply posting on (MindFULL) Mondays. But for the last few months, I’ve wanted a new look and have not known how to get it.

My usual MO is to think someone else “knows how” and I have to pay to learn. However, after spending some time around friends who are amazing at jumping in and figuring it out, I decided to try and do it myself. I was scared I’d screw it up and that what I had was better than nothing. But that is not the way I want to Be. I want the thrill of knowing I’ve tried.

And so, on Tuesday, I sat down at 9am and gave it a shot. I lifted my head at 2pm, exhilarated that I had a new look! I had taken a ride on the roller-coaster of Flow and found myself in a new place. I felt proud that I got the banner to fit. I felt a little frustrated that I couldn’t do more. I felt delighted when I figured out how to use Widgets.

I’ve tried many things in my life and can look back and laugh (and cry) at what I’ve achieved and what I’ve fallen flat on. For the last 15 years, on every birthday, I start a new journal and make a list of things I want to check off. I am proud to have manifested quite a few. The outcomes haven’t always been as I had hoped, but the thrill of the effort has definitely stuck. My efforts range from bombing an audition to be a QVC host to getting on-air at a local NPR station as the News and Weather anchor. From getting a graduate degree in my 30’s, after feeling not smart enough for most of my life (the irony is a degree like that doesn’t mean you ARE “smart” – smart can be defined in many ways, thanks to Howard Gardner and his work around Multiple Intelligences) to trying for “dream” jobs in the most creative of ways and not getting them. And yet, here I sit, with all of these experiences leading me down a career path that gives me the honor of working with some of the best and the brightest across domains and industries and hearing the thoughts and feelings over thousands of consumers.

There are some new business ideas in this year’s birthday journal that Id like to explore. At the top of my list is to create a new website and have part of it be around eCommerce. I don’t even know where to begin.

Hmmm…will I wait to feel like I can before trying or will I try and then feel like I can?

How do you MindFULLY figure out what to do even when you don’t know?

Let us know!