This song has always resonated with me, but right now it is resonating deeper than ever.  It is my authenticity shining through.

We don’t need the blues hangin’ round, girlfriends, so let’s throw out our raincoats and find us a rainbow to hang in the sky!

What’d ya say?

In honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 I spent today filling up my cup with creative joy.

As Americans, we don’t ever want to forget such a tragic time in our history as 9/11.  For the creative person that often means we create some kind of memorial that can be in the form of a painting, sculpture, quilt, music, photography, crafting, etc. Really, the sky is the limit.

I decided ten years ago that my memorial project would be a crocheted flag afghan.  I know better (then and now) to start projects like this because they take me forever.  I get burned out and have to put it down for long periods of time.  For whatever the reason I thought that this time would be different, like every other bigger type of project that gets me going.

My girlfriends, the afghan was no different even if it was in honor of 9/11. I actually finished the crocheting part probably about a year ago and only had the loose ends to finish off.  The problem was that there were LOTS of loose ends and I kept putting it off.

So today was the day and I would honor the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by finishing my project.  Perfect!  It felt good working on it and it felt great finishing it!  And it is beautiful!  Even my guys are happy that it is done.

If I may interject here, I know many of you are probably saying I just don’t have time to be creative. I know because I say it too.  In all honesty, we don’t have time not to.

Life always has stress factors in it including crises like 9/11.  For that reason it is important that we do activities that de-stress us and playing with our creative bent will indeed help!  When we de-stress even through our creativity, our energy changes, our body chemistry changes, and it puts us in a completely different place allowing us to see life from a different place.

Creativity is a win/win, which is why it is included in our self-nurture 30-day challenge.  It impacts us in body, mind, and spirit.

How can you include creativity in your self-nurture practice?

In honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, what small memorial  project can you create?

God Bless America!

Does it roll off your tongue easily and with conviction or …

Does it sort of get stuck and you feel kind of small or in some way it just doesn’t feel right to you?

If you are one of the many women who is living your life fully empowered, I applaud you!  What I am about to share could still impact your life.  However, I woke up very early this morning with a message on my heart for so many of the women I know (many followers of The Wonder Woman Challenge) who do NOT feel empowered or could at least live from a more empowered place.  In either case, read on.

“I am empowered!”

If you are not living empowered you are living power-less.  As women we so often give our power away leaving us in a very stuck place in life, which in the end leaves us with not as many options as we would like and often need.

It is very uncomfortable and down right depressing to wake up one day realizing that, as a woman, you have no choices in life or at best very few.

On the surface The Wonder Woman Challenge can look like a fun and fluff program, but in reality it is a program to teach us about who we really are, to love ourselves, becoming more authentic, finding our joy, AND living empowered.

Say it again, “I am empowered!”

Are you really?  Do you want to be?  Have you had enough living without the choices in life that you desire and need?  Have you had enough living power-less?

Have you had enough sitting in the backseat of YOUR life?  Yes?  Then you are ONE decision away from hopping in the front seat of your life to live more empowered.

What do I mean?

I am taking my own personal Wonder Woman Challenge to a whole new never before level, a bootcamp per se and I’m opening it up to you, my readers, to join me.

With God as my pilot and me as the co-pilot, I am stepping up (within my own authenticity) into courage to say, “I have had enough sitting in the backseat of my life living a power-less existence!”

“I AM empowered!”

The Wonder Woman Challenge Bootcamp will dramatically change our lives, yours and mine.  Along with creating more love and joy in our lives, we are going to:

• improve our health – what would that look like for you? Weight loss? A  more fit body?  Less dis-ease?

• improve our finances – what would that look like for you? If you don’t already, what would it be like to have your own money to do with as you please? What if you could impact your food budget?  What if you could have affordable maybe even free transportation?  What if you could save money?  What if you could lessen your family’s financial burden even in a small way?  And for some, what if you could put food on the table for your children?!  (There are lots of single mom’s out there super struggling having to “shop” at food banks.)

I am saying, yes, to truly living an empowered life The Wonder Woman Challenge way from a place of self-love, self-care, self-nurture! And as I am impacting my life, I will be impacting the lives of others and you can too!

The Wonder Woman Challenge Bootcamp – “I am empowered”!

I know but I know that this message resonates with a certain group of women who are hand picked for this kind of bootcamp.  Let’s find out if you are part of that group.  I sure hope so!  Email me at:

wonderwoman@shileennixon.com (subject line: TWWC Bootcamp)

Letting love flow,

Shileen

I AM strong! I can push through anything! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!  It is OK to feel uncomfortable!

I set a goal to run 1 mile and like it in 30 days (the end of my current 90 Day Challenge).  I am on day 20.  I started by walking 1/4 mile, running 1/4 mile (twice).  This week I increased it to (walk1/3, run 1/3) twice and that was my goal when I went out today.

I didn’t feel much like running this afternoon.  I felt lethargic and hot.  I thought that I wouldn’t make it past running the first 1/4 mile.  When I reached it I thought, ok, just a little ways to go and I can walk again or maybe just quit.  But then, something happened.

As I focused my site way ahead on the trail, I began to chant to myself:

I AM strong! I can push through anything! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!  It is OK to feel uncomfortable!

Suddenly, I was focused on pushing through to 1/2 mile.  That may not sound much to many of you, but for someone who hates running and has never been good at it (except for when I was child), 1/2 mile is a BIG deal!

Oh my goodness!  Could I do it?  I hit the 1/3 mile mark and although it would have been easy to resume walking, I strangely kept going as I chanted:

I AM strong! I can push through anything! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!  It is OK to feel uncomfortable!

And, I DID IT!  I made it to 1/2 mile.  Well now what?  Do I walk a 1/2 mile back?  I could but I thought no, I should only rest 1/4 mile, which is what I did.  I walked 1/4 mile and ran another 1/4 mile and finished with a 1/4 mile cool down.

Wow!  I am pleased as punch with myself, what I consider a big YIPPEE! for the day!

Here’s the thing.  I seriously don’t like to feel uncomfortable.  That is why I don’t like to run because I don’t like the feeling of losing my breath.  Aren’t there a ton of things in life that make us feel uncomfortable?

Working through things that make us feel uncomfortable (things that are good for us and authentic to who we are), makes us stronger, builds more character, and reveals more of our authentic selves!

I want to be strong, true, and authentic.  I want to know that I can push through when the going gets tough no matter what it is!  And because of that?  I WILL be running a mile with ease by the end of the next 20 days.  Yay me!

That was me in the spring of 2008.  I was so mad at myself, the health and wellness nut, who knew better.  But it took the doctor telling me to drop 10 pounds for me to actually do anything about it.  I dreaded it all at first but once I got started and engaged the right mindset it was awesome and the pounds melted off!

You can read the whole story with before and after pictures here => Weigh More Than A Diet

Three years later, spring of 2011, I found myself 10-15 pounds overweight with a loss of some of my beautiful muscle mass that occurred in this last year.  What happened?  Well, life.

There is no doubt that my body is changing given my age.  That’s ok because I can work with that as long as I apply what I know.  But, the fat gain and muscle loss was all emotionally based.  Life does happen and sometimes we think we have “it” under control when we really don’t.  One thing I have noticed in this past year is that very thing and it has taken honest moments and particular situations to grab my attention.

I am in a very different situation from 3 years ago.  I have more emotional cleansing to do on a regular bases in order to help me maintain my focus and not get lost in the emotional situations and even binges that sometimes occur.

With that I am so very thankful for the Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge that has been mentioned here at The Wonder Woman Challenge before.  I have partnered with a great team of people with the same goal of achieving and maintaining a healthy body.  I really need the community support system this go around.  Plus, it just makes it much more fun!

Remember this above picture? ↑ I use it all the time online even here on my “about” page.  It was taken August, 2009.  See those shorts?

I could not fit into them ↑ as of two months ago (June, 2011)!  You can see that I couldn’t come close to buttoning and zipping them!  I actually look pregnant there .. yoiy! .. just what every woman wants to look like!  Riiight!  So, I set a very simple 90 day goal because simple was all I could do at that time.  I wanted to be able to wear those shorts again!

Because of the 90 Day Challenge, ↓ 47 days later I could wear them!

I am certainly not done because I am not as toned as I was in the 2009 picture but I am well on my way.  I am in the process of gaining my beautiful muscle tone back with the remainder of my current challenge.

And, while I am finishing up this challenge I am thinking about what my next 90 Day Challenge goal will be.  Any ideas?

One thing I am seriously considering is using the money that I am saving on my grocery budget from my  90 Day Challenge to put in a “slush fund” for fun, pampering, self-nurture activities.  Wouldn’t that be a blast?  Oooh!  I can see it now!  I can make a cute little love jar (or some kind of container) to slip up to $2.00 a day in and at the end of the month?  Wow … do I hear Massage therapy? Manicures? Pedicures? Shopping therapy? Girls night out?  Hmmmmm …..

Thoughts and ideas please!!

I thought that I would share with you today the graduation party that we gave my youngest son last weekend.  Although I kept it simple, I did add little touches of creativity that blessed my socks off.

Note the little tea candle lanterns.  They were so simple to make and inexpensive too.  Creating the lanterns filled my cup and now every time I use them fills my cup as well.  Little things like these tea candle lanterns create so much joy for me!

What simple thing can you create in your world that will fill you up with joy?

This week the members of The Wonder Woman Challenge received an email about focusing on nature for one of their self-nurture activities.

Hint:  If you have not signed up for the challenge and/or the weekly encouragement tip go do that now so you won’t miss out on anything.  Click HERE or look to left of this page.

Here is an example of what I did today.  My little (very little) herb garden needed some love.  So we went out and cleaned it up a bit.  If any of you have ever grown fresh mint you know that it grows like crazy and my mint had pretty much taken over my little garden space.

There’s no way I could use as much as I pulled and I certainly didn’t want to throw it out, and although I am sure there is a great way to preserve fresh mint that I am not aware of (please share your ideas ), I simply put it all in an old awesome looking watering can that is now sitting in my family room.

So now every time I look at it, it blesses the daylights out of me plus the house smells like lovely mint!

Aaaaahhhh!!  I love it!!

See?  Simple!  I took 15 minutes out in nature to weed back the mint.  Then brought a little nature indoors by placing the mint into a sweet container, and now the self-nurture activity keeps on giving to us in body, mind, and spirit.

Does it get in any easier and sweeter?

Shileen

]]> http://shileennixon.com/minty-fresh-outdoors-in/feed 0 http://shileennixon.com/unwinding-with-alone-time http://shileennixon.com/unwinding-with-alone-time#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:34:58 +0000 admin http://shileennixon.com/?p=2163 This moment in time …  mmmm.  Sometimes you don’t realize how much you need something until you get it.

Today my family and some of our friends went to Kennywood Amusement Park for the day.  To their disappointment I did not go.  I felt like I had disappointed everyone, but I knew in my spirit that I needed to stay home.  I knew that being in the midst of lots and lots of people with all kinds of craziness would only add to the stress I was already feeling.  Oh, I’m sure in the end I would have had a good time, but again, it is not what this girl needed today.

Me before alone time!

I have spent the afternoon and evening by myself having what I call alone time.  It took me awhile to unwind and de-stress but suddenly it hit me.  Oh my goodness!  I so need this time and space to just “be”.

Me after alone time!

As the day has progressed the tensions and stress and all the things that made me feel irritated and uptight have slowly faded away.  Even though I have worked today at home, I have still been able to unwind and de-stress with soft music in the background and beautiful weather filling me with happiness.  I’ve been able to breathe and think without interruption.  It sure feels good!

Do you ever feel like you need time alone to just “be”?  Actually, I am a person who requires alone time to recharge and rejuvenate in my body, mind, and spirit.  It’s strange that I haven’t recognized the need, but sometimes life gets crazy with one thing after another to where I miss the signals.  This sure explains a lot of my behavior lately.

So, I am making a commitment to myself to be more aware of this very important need that I have … alone time, space, time to just “be”.

With that, I encourage you to create more awareness around what you need and then honor that need.  What might that look like for you?  You know me, I love your comments so please do share!

*Pictures provided by Home Sweet Home Pet Sitters

In Part 1 of this series, Know Your Truth: Think, Speak, Live , we discussed how living out our truth takes courage, it is a process, and that we need to be careful to not get stuck in the process. In today’s article we are discussing how to step up in courage to get the think/know and speak part of knowing your truth moving.  Trust me!  Putting these things into practice will get your heart pumping with excitement (even if it is a bit scary)!

“It takes courage to speak our truth. Speaking our truth allows what is deep inside of us to come out – our hopes, dreams, desires, beliefs, who we are. Many of us let life’s not so fun circumstances run amuck, which swallows up our truth eventually leaving us lost and depressed. Oh my, how I know that all too well. There comes a point in time, though, when enough is enough.” ~ Speak Your Truth & Soar!

It does take courage to speak our truth!

Sometimes it even takes courage, a ton of courage, to admit our truth in thought much less speak it. And sometimes it takes a ton of courage to think our truth, to speak our truth, AND then to LIVE our truth.

Think, speak, live!

Whatever your circumstances you CAN rise above it! It starts with your thoughts. What are you thinking? Are you stuck in the negative spiraling journey into defeat and failure? If so, it’s time to do something about it.

It’s time to have an honest moment with yourself. Get quiet, no distractions … no TV, no music, phone, people, etc. Go for a walk, go to your favorite spot in the house, or wherever you need to go to hear the honesty in your spirit about you. All you have to do is to listen without judgement. Let it bubble up and just hold it in a safe place in your heart.

From your thoughts allow your speech to affirm what you are holding in your heart. Declare your truth … yes! … out loud! C’mon say it right now! Even better, go to the mirror, look yourself square in the eye and declare your truth, out loud! Say it again, but this time say it like you really mean it with conviction! How does that feel? Don’t judge what you feel just acknowledge it and move on saying it again and again. At this point you may want to journal whatever comes up.

Continue to hold your truth in that safe place in your heart, continue saying it out loud to yourself, and continue journalling about it. At some point when you are ready begin sharing your truth with safe people. Be selective especially early on with whom you speak your truth to because this is a delicate time. As you grow more confident you can shout it from the roof tops.  Actually, for that matter, you may be ready from the git go to shout it from the roof tops. If that is you? Then go girlfriend!!

Are you excited, scared, depressed, still feeling numbed out?  Do you feel something bubbling up inside that makes you feel like you know but you know?  I love hearing from you so please do share whether in the comment section or shooting me an email!!

We think/know our truth, we speak our truth, and now it’s time to put it all into action. Many people get stuck here when it comes to living out our truth, our authenticity.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of Knowing Your Truth: Think, Speak, Live as we dive into the nuts and bolts of living out our truth.

Photo credits:  Intuitive Development

Exercise is self-nurturing.

Yes! It really is!  However, in my coaching practice I discourage my clients from including exercise as part of their self-nurture challenge until they are able to get beyond equating exercise with punishment.  Let’s face it, most people hate exercise and self-nurture is about doing things that you love.

I am here to tell you that it is possible to turn exercise into a beautiful, loving, self-nurturing activity.

Realize that your body is an amazing machine that works hard to keep you functioning.  A lot of people take care of their cars much better than they take care of themselves, but I know that’s not you, right?! Of course not!

When I learned to tune into my body at the gym, wow!, did my workouts change and so did my results!

As you workout you do want to push yourself to get the results that you are after, but while you are pushing yourself, you are doing so in a coaching manner.  You can have a difficult workout, but not in an ugly, degrading and/or punishing kind of way.  Your thoughts want to be more from a place of encouragement and celebrate your improvement even in the smallest way.

But here is where it really changed for me when I discovered Supta Baddha Konasana, a restorative yoga pose.

After my workouts I lay in this restorative pose and really tune into my body allowing myself to feel the work that I just did.  And while doing so, I think about all the different systems at work, I imagine the new muscle being created along with excess fat and toxins  being discarded and flushed out of my body.  While I’m visualizing and meditating on all of this, I move into a spirit of gratitude and thank my body for all that it does for me and for the work that it just did, and reaffirm my body and self that I will continue taking good care of me because I love me.

No matter where I am exercising, at home or in the middle of a busy gym, I will take 5-10 minutes for Supta Baddha Konasana.

Girlfriends, this is such a powerful technique.  I encourage you to try it and watch how a shift about exercise begins to take place.  And, overtime, watch your results improve!

Are you ready to add exercise to your self-nurture practice?

Stay tuned for how to use Supta Baddha Konasana a different way that will make you feel like a queen!

Click =>Join the 90 Day Challenge