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Simplify to Amplify

gratitude

Aloha Dear One, 

Do you have a lot of ideas of how the world could be a better place?

Do you often wish others would behave differently?

Do you find this is a recipe for woe and a foundation for chronic disappointment?

One way to stop doing this, without lowering your standards, is to simplify to amplify. A coach taught me this years ago. And now I’m finally embracing it at a deeper level. 

My simplified message is this: We get to dwell in a playful heart.

From this place, it’s natural to 

  • Cherish connection.
  • Cultivate gratitude.
  • Count blessings.

When we reside here, relationships flourish, heal, and resource us. They also uplift the environment. We get to remember that relationships are the playground of the heart or the battleground of the ego.

We get to tend to what matters most and weed out the things we don’t want to grow, turn them into compost, and cultivate whole-hearted living.  

The heart is the home of heaven or hell here on earth. Joy or misery lands here. Peaceful expansion or painful contraction create our realities.

What if we choose

  • heaven
  • joy
  • peace
  • expansion
  • liberation

And from this, we amplify LOVING RELATIONS. 

What are you simplifying today? 

What are you amplifying today?

 Let me know.

Warmly,

Amy

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My religion is gratitude

gratitude

Grounding in gratitude for what is and what isn’t is the most powerful spiritual practices out there. Here’s a personal/family update regarding gratitude and an invitation.

family update

We flew for the first time in many moons when we went to Kauai for a summer holiday a few weeks ago. We explored the gorgeous and sacred Na Pali Coast by boat and trail. We played hard. We breathed gratitude for the majesty of Mother Earth, Papa Sky, and the Gods of the Ocean. 

We made it home safely from our trip and the next day Everett, our 17-year-old son, developed pain in his right lower abdomen. My intuition guided me to take him to the hospital for an Emergency Room visit, CT scan, then surgery to remove his appendix.

Grounding in gratitude the whole time, when I felt the rug pulled out from under me after 2 hours of sleep.  The surgeon showed me photos of an unexpected liver mass on Everett’s young body he discovered during surgery. 

Shock. Uncertainty. Conviction. 

Settling solidly on the conviction that everything is going to be okay no matter what, I was grateful beyond measure. The belief in my ability to be present and attentive and non-reactive was solid and soft and powerful. Okay, sure, I admit that I sobbed, but then it cleared my head to ask what’s next? (Flying to Oahu for MRI on Thursday).

I’m choosing to let go of right or wrong about whether the surgeon should have biopsied the mass while he was in there. I’m choosing gratitude for Ev’s health. I’m choosing gratitude for this discovery now, and adopting compassionate curiosity of what’s next? 

invitations

Invitations: Take a few moments to ask yourself: Where in your life do you choose being grateful over being right? Where do you hunger for ease and less worry? Where do you get your energy to keep on keeping on when life gets lifey?

You’re invited to join us next Friday for the Distinctions of Extraordinary Living Masterclass on Reactivation. Everett is once again our special guest. 

When I think of religion, I consider the definition: “a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.”

My religion is gratitude. I ascribe the  practice of gratitude supreme importance in my life. I feel grounded when I’m in gratitude for what is, and grateful for what isn’t.

My favorite quote of the week

“The answer to who is right

 and who is wrong is who cares?”

~ Terry Real, Ecology of Relationships 

Big love & tenderness,

Amy

p.s. Let me know if you plan to join our July Masterclass on REACTIVATION with my special guest, Everett Gordon.