My new Muse, Audrey McClelland

Over the past few weeks, a phrase has come up repeatedly in my life. 

"When the Student is ready, the Teacher will Appear"

The reason I love this expression is that 5 years ago I would have had NO CLUE what this meant, and I would have had no capacity to have understood it.  If that makes you laugh, perhaps a little bit at yourself too..then consider the fact that our life timeline is a comedy of errors!  Mistakes I made in my twenties, as I look back on them now, I cannot imagine having not known then what I know now! And when it comes to my two children, aged 10 and 3...there are many moments I find myself repeating a mantra in my head that basically says, "remember their age".

Recently, alongside some college friends of mine, I co-created a Social Group here in Rhode Island.  we call this Group "Conceive, Believe, Achieve!" or CBA for short.  It was the "thought" that sprouted to the thing...and therein produced the teachers!  I was delighted when my friend Sam Lemay first suggested that we attempt to find out if there was any interest in such a group by using the website called (meetup.com).  We did just that, and on the first day there were 25 members!  Our first physical meeting happened a month later in Warwick RI and it had 20 guests!  Our goal is to revolutionize the course of common life by empowering others to conceive of wonderful goals and then go out into their communities in the true spirit of giving and living and achieve great things (for themselves and others).  I am proud to be a part of this group and to write their blog.  You can follow and join at:

www.meetup.com/cbagroup

and read our blog at:

www.cbagroup.blogspot.com

So how does CBA Group connect to my new muse, Audrey McClelland?  I am glad you care to know and I am glad to share it.  I love synergy...synergism...synchronicity and symbiosis.  All of these and the Law of Attraction are working in my life right now.  I feel ready for full expansion.  I want this blog that I am writing today to be read by people all over the world.  I would like it to be the inspiration for others to make their mark.  Being an individual is a quality most of us cherish.  I no longer do.  To me, being an individual is a way of separating ourselves from our friends, family and community and I no longer want to separate.  I want to connect...in greater ways then ever before.

At our first meeting of CBA, I had a conversation with an acquaintence I have known for many years, Armand Albuquerque.  As I explained my vision for the future of my business (I am an entrepreneur), he remarked that it sounded like I want to "Brand" myself.  He was right, that was precisely what I want to do!  I do not want to brand myself for the sake of being so in love with myself that everyone needs to know me.  I want to Brand myself because this is the way to a full and complete life and there are many opportunities to make the Right impact and really empower others.  If along the way I am able to earn what I need to support my family too, then I have achieved the highest I can ask of my goal and I will not want for more!

Following this discussion, I began to work on this "brand" idea.  I regularly meditate as it is, and each day I go through an exercise of visualizing where I want to live, because a move to a new home is imminent in my lifetime.  I now am working on visualizing what my brand would be...what is my life about?  What are my talents, interests and favorite business pursuits and how can I assimilate all these into one place like a website?  How do I circulate my website or promote it?  How do I earn money with it?  How do I inspire people with it?  What can I use my writing for?  What is the right format?  I have many questions that need answers...as you can see.  But as we discussed in the introduction to my blog today, "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear".

Yesterday afternoon, I found myself discussing my vision with another college friend, Alberta Lemay (Sam's wife and co-founder of CBA).  She is an extraordinary woman who has no idea how much I admire her.  Years ago, when we were college students, we did all the fun stuff together.  Today, she is a successful hospice nurse, mother of two and a business woman with great vision!  It was more refreshing then a cold lemonade on a hot August afternoon talking with her yesterday!  She shared ideas that I had thought of and it occurred to me that I was not alone in my thoughts or beliefs about HOW people should live and WHAT they should create.  Berta offered me something others had never done...woman to woman inspiration!  I now have a vision for she and I to go forward and inspire women in all walks of life to believe in their dreams!

Finding friendships like the ones I have with Berta and with Sam and with our fourth founder, Bob Coderre, is both surprising and empowering.  But to go further, my daily visualizations, meditations and new career direction have given me something new...a MUSE.  A real-life, already accomplished, mentor to learn from.  This morning, in the Saturday edition of The Providence Journal newspaper (free copies are thrown on my lawn once a week), I found an article about a woman who both impressed and inspired me, showing me how what I want to do can be done!  At first I felt a twinge of jealousy because she is already established and successful at this, but as is true of every business model, if it works-it can be reproduced!  I realized then and there that with imagination, confidence, knowledge and a Certain Plan ( a very specific vision), I will be able to accomplish the same thing she has.  This person is Audrey McClelland and she has created her Brand.  Audrey McClelland has a home-based Blog/Website business that creates income to support her family, and frankly, her family are the FOCUS of her Blog and ultimately contribute to its success.  This is my exact vision and dream for my life...to do what she has done.

I encourage everyone to check out Audrey's link below:

www.momgenerations.com

and I would like to express my gratitude that her story was told.  The article was written by Jenna Peletier of the Providence Journal.  I could not have asked for a better Saturday, and I now plan to become a regular subscriber to The Providence Journal.  I would be sad to see publications like newspapers lose their circulation to "All web" news in general.

I hope that one day, my brand...my business model, will inspire others.  For now, I have a lot of work ahead of me and I am ready to start!  My sleeves are rolled up, I have a plan, I have supporters, I have my community..here we go!  First things first...off to meditate to create the vision and later, to allow my THOUGHTS to BECOME...THINGS.

For now, my practice site for my business model can be found below.  Any advice on how to improve on it would be gratefully accepted!

www.angelofavonlea.web.officelive.com


~namaste~

Turn and Face the Strain

I would like to begin today's blog with the lyrics to a very influential song...a song that happens to be on my mind.

Changes
by David Bowie

I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time

I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't tell t hem to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Where's your shame
You've left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you can't trace time

Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace I'm going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time

Let the words settle in for a while.  What kind of picture comes to your mind's eye?  What did it look like?  For me, I see a reflection of my hopes and dreams and also a reflection of my realities.  Everything changes all the time and never really stays the same at all.  I found myself discussing this with the 9 and 10-years olds today.  We all have the ability to shape and mold what those changes will be.  The better focused and prepared we are for the fact of the changes, the more control we have.  A perfect example of how we can control outcomes is to look at our health.  The reality is we may have been born with an illness or contracted an illness or just have a hereditary disposition toward a particular disease or medical concern.  Knowing this, we can exercise control and steere our course of life as we desire.  Our failure would be to do nothing at all when we clearly have control.

I have been thinking a lot about this matter and I discussed it last night with my stepdaughter Daly who is living with us presently.  Because we live together, we often eat together and shop for food and health items and so the discussion arose about ways to make small changes to improve our overall health and wellness.  As it happens, I have this wonderful book that I referred to yesterday.  I have 4 or 5 medical conditions ranging from minor to more serious and I read-up on them all to create a list of Natural foods, Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements to use for optimum health.  I confessed to Daly that I was feeling overly fatigued.  I assumed I would need to get to the Doctor for a check up but then it dawned on me that I...and ALL of us have the ability to improve ourselves.  What can a doctor tell me?  The first thing Dr. Beaupre will ask is if I have been eating a healthy diet and taking vitamins and water.  Then he will ask how my stress is and have I been exercising.  Well!  I should just march myself right out of his office then and there because I eat like a teenager...drink too much coffee and getting exercise but it is not on a regular basis.  So first things first, I decided to modify and take action to feel better.  I started slowly, using the supplements I have on-hand.  No need to break the bank on items I need to buy.  I upped my daily intake of Vitamin C and Vitamins D and Calcium.  I increased my water intake, walking and Fresh Fruits.  In less than a week my energy was higher than ever.  I never would have believed it was true until I felt the difference and now I believe.

I have a wonderful list now.  I combine all my successful systems from the past and what I have learned on my own and I know I can feel optimum health.  I have a few goals for my health right now.  I will list them:
1.  Lower "bad Cholesterol" and raise the Good.
2.  Maintain low overall cholesterol
3.  Manage Low Iron/Anemia with daily intake of Natural Minerals found in salad.
4.  Become a Runner
5.  Deepen my Yoga
6.  Deepen my meditation
7.  Eliminate Animal Fat
8.  eliminate or moderate refined sugars.
9.  Teach my children to do the same.

I hate to end the list on an odd number but somehow that odd number makes me feel lucky today.  I do feel very lucky today and also very loved.  My other Step-Daughter Didi reached out to share some spiritual encouragement and it made me really happy.  The physical and spiritual need to work together for any person to attain perfect health.  Our spiritual balance results in good mental health.  Combining that good mental health with exercise and a healthy diet is the best course to take toward warding off illnesses...especially major illnesses.  No one is in perfect health.  Even if we don't see it on a test, issues can exist below the surface and that is precisely why I believe good mental health can protect us.  I perform daily affirmations of my good health.  I EXPECT good health and I offer gratitude for my good health. 

So turn and face the strain.  Turn and face what strains you...what stresses you.  Face it head on.  Do not be afraid of it...embrace it.  Doing so will make you stronger.  You will be STRONGER.  Have faith.  IF you believe something is good...good for you...then live it out.  Live that dream.  Do not be persuaded by people who are naysayers because there will be plenty of them.  If you listen to their negativity and change to their beliefs over yours, you will have their negativity to weigh you down.  Don't do it.  I hope you will believe.  I never saw negativity for what it was.  I never realized what a miserable person I am sometimes.  I have mood swings and I become irritable and I am impatient.  This is what I am like when I am having a bad day or a bad moment.  What I just described is what you would see in me on my worst day.  There was a time when I would have denied it, but now I can admit it and work to CHANGE myself...in those moments..when I need faith and hope.  I need to show Love for my life and all the good in it.

Today was amazing.  Here are some pictures of our time exploring at Greenwich Bay...Our Beach...here in Warwick RI.

I will leave you with these beautiful images.

~namaste~

How to plant stuff if you live in Rhode Island

the fairy house

Springtime has arrived here in Rhode Island...at last!  I recently looked back through my yearly agenda and saw that in early March I had notated that it was time to start my early seedings.  I also had cutouts from several magazines, including Better Homes and Gardens and Martha Stewart which illustrated how to set up a small garden in your yard.  They were modestly sized which appealed to me and they were full of the type of Veg I prefer such as lettuces of various type, herbs and sprouts.  I love a leafy and unusual bowl of greens.  Anyway, being that we had snow in mid-March, the seedlings waited until it was a regular 45 degree temp before I began them at all which was after April 1st.  This happens every year because I really have no indoor space for them.  when will I learn that I can just buy the 6inch plants at the Ann & Hope outlet or even Walmart!

Well this year we had some special seeds flown in from Puerto Rico along with soil and fertilizer.  So we started a nice set of seedlings which include:
3 types of Sunflowers
Small Watermelon
Tomato
Purple Broccoli
Carrots
Spinach
Basil
Cilantro
Sweet Peas

alas...no lettuce, but I will get some!  Our Annuals have begun to sprung up virtually overnight.  It seems that way anyhow, but as we all know, long before we saw it it was happening...just below the surface, new life was budding.  I love that about life.  My lilacs have started to bud and so has a beautiful pink Hydrangea that I purchased only 3 years ago.  She is massive now.  Where she is planted is much to sunny for her but still she prospers.  David thinks I don't know that he sneaks my plants a special Fish-based fertilizer.  Shhhh...don't tell him, but I know it.  Anyway, soon the yard will have that wonderful feeling and it will last until around October.  I am glad though that we can add some food items to the list of things we can grow. 

I planned out several spots for the garden but it is challenging.  we have very little space.  I was determined to not let our organic gardening needs take a back seat for another year and so I went around my property doing as Michelle Obama suggests and finding anything that could be used as a planter.  NO EXCUSES this year for not doing it.  In the past it has always been that we lacked the extra cash to invest in a garden or the baby was too small and took up my time or our jobs kept us from doing it.  This year I have even more distractions than ever.  we have a busy daycare of active kids all vying for the bit of sunny yard we have to work with.  My mix-matched pots and planters may at first appear to be unsightly, but as the good weather persists, the wonderful things that sprout forth should take everyone's mind off that!  I look very much forward to creating a garden that can be maintained year-round and will get to that point one day.

I read in a Martha Stewart "Living" magazine a few years ago about how to create a year-round "salad greens" garden.  It was fascinating.  She insisted that if properly created, this garden could sustain year-round growth even in a New England winter.  It was a lot of work though.  I wondered if I could really see myself hiking out to my yard in snow boots to cut the lettuce!  But in the Spring, Summer and Fall there is no excuse for not giving it a try.  So here we are getting down into it!  The space in the photo above is about a 9ft by 4ft area and we are using pots because our soil is not prepared.  It would be more costly to put it in that way and so we are going to give it a go with the pots!  I am hoping that the sunflowers will be easier to maintain than I expect.  If they are I have a special event in October that calls for Sunflowers in the decorating. 

I keep having to shoo little poeple out of the "garden" pen because they don't understand what it will be used for.  Hopefully they will be excited to see tomatos, spinach, carrots and flowers grow!  On the opposite yard near the grill and driveway we discovered a small bush of raspberries had sprung up unexpectedly last summer.  I think I might get my thickest gardening gloves out and finally clear that old planter and put in some blueberry and strawberry shrubs as well.   In the summer, the kids and I love to go to The Warwick Blueberry Farm on Warwick Neck Avenue to pick our own.  They are inexpensive, fresh, organically produced, local fruit!  We just love introducing new friends to the place.

well, thank you for reading...and may all your organic gardens bloom!