LFC= Love, Forgive , and Create. A reflection on the gift of living at my fullest capacity.

What is Prosperity? The definition from “Oxford Languages” tell us that Prosperity is “The State of being Prosperous”, and one of the true meanings of Prosperity can mean: “The condition of being successful or thriving” For myself, Prosperity is about having happiness & health, along with wealth, as these 3 conditions support each other beautifully. No matter what’s going on in our lives, we can have that, and many of us already do without realizing it. We are born pure, a clean slate that becomes imprinted from the moment we take our first breath. We become disconnected, and our “clean slate” can and often does get imprinted with negative beliefs and thoughts that can keep us from our true source. The capacity of prosperity, deep joy, and health is within us, but how can we take hold of it and keep it on a day-to-day basis? 1). Awareness: This means taking a real & true look at one’s-self, life, and conditions. Writing it all down can really show us what we are dea...

Values : Individual beliefs that motivate people to act one way or another. Values are important as they are a roadmap towards the direction we take when moving forward in our life, giving us direction & purpose. Values point the way back to our true selves, and clarify and provide reasoning for our behaviors. When we stick to our values, we are staying true to our beliefs, and this plants seeds towards our self worth every time. Honesty - within myself, doing my best everyday to look at the situations in my life with an honest eye. The more I practice honesty in my life, I trust myself and my decisions more. When we work together in a coaching partnership, you will value your own honesty as you get clearer & closer to your goals. When you can honestly evaluate your present situation, you can make the changes you need that will move you forward successfully. Accountability - Being accountable to myself and others has strengthened & straightened the course of ...

My father came to the U.S. in January of 1967, landing on a Friday & starting work the following Monday. Born in Argentina to parents that came from Austria looking to find work in the early 30’s. My father was disciplined man, also very strict & frugal. For most of his life he worked as a “machinist” in the Los Angeles area, and married my mother in the late sixties. My parents divorced in the early 80’s, and I spent several years in a foster home, with my mother ultimately getting full custody. After age 14, I didn’t see or speak with my father for over 30 years. The Friday before Christmas 2014, he walked back into my life, showing up at the shop I co-owned & ran with my sister. Over the past years, I had sent him cards that his wife had intercepted, but he did manage to get one with the return address. Later I found out that my father had made a decision to find me that year, 2014. He had sold his duplex in Venice Beach, was retired, and had been livi...

Our feelings are primarily there to guide us, and learning to acknowledge, accept, and express them can be truly beneficial for everyone. When we Acknowledge that we are having “feelings”, it’s good, showing us that we are aware of them. Feelings are neither good or bad, they are simply part of who we are. Sometimes feelings can be very helpful, by showing us what’s important, and what makes us happy, sad, or angry. If we can Accept our feelings, feel them, sit with them, we can gain more understanding from them. We may have little power over feelings when they arise, but we can choose what to do about them. This is our responsibility & decision. Imagine our feelings as “visitors”, that come to stay with us for a little while, revealing things we may need to know. This is natural & can be helpful, it’s when the feelings decide they want to “stay in our system” for awhile, that can be harmful. It’s up to us to accept & acknowledge them, then let them go. This m...

One of the most loving things we can do for others & ourselves in this lifetime is to practice forgiveness. The term “practice forgiveness”, is to do it in the best way we know how. We may not do it “perfectly” hence the word practice. Yet to try brings value to not just the other person, but to ourselves, for it is a scrubbing of our spirit that washes us clean of negative emotions. When we feel injured or find fault with another persons actions or decisions, judgements can form, and resentments can grow. These can cloud our vision and quite literally take up space in both our minds and our bodies. The injury we feel can cause anger, and the negative emotions can make our jaw clench & tighten, and our blood boil. These negative emotions can move into the body, much like a person moves into a house, and not leave. They act up, behaving like the very worst tenants ever, wrecking havoc in the home that is our body. This can result in “dis-ease” of the body and soul, a...

Growing up with an addicted & mentally ill parent caused me to hide many needs & desires, and “people-please” in order to feel accepted as survival mechanism. As an adult, hiding those needs and desires caused me to feel blocked, and unsure about myself in many social situations. The things that I saw & experienced shaped my future behaviors, I was always putting the needs & desires of others before my own , and not putting my dreams & goals first. " " In the past six months, during coaching sessions with my peers, the same blocks/issues came up over & again. They consisted of not giving myself permission to create, and shine as my Higher Power wants me to. Another major block came in the form of wanting to try/do new things, then losing interest the moment I pursued the desire. " " Recently wondering why I seem to not be able to break through a “creative block”, a memory has resurfaced. In my childhood home, behind the garage, t...

  Recently, I began calling my Sponsor “Mama Bear” after watching her handle a situation in an Alanon 12 step meeting with loving detachment.  The nickname stuck, as through our time together, she was presented with many new challenges, and having big adventures facing them head on. My sponsor was climbing the “Big Boulders”, of life and it was inspiring to witness this as I worked through both the 12 Steps &12 Traditions with her.  As I began to try new things in my recovery, I realized that I could not (yet) scale the “Big Boulders” that my  “Mama Bear” sponsor was climbing. For a few days I fell into “compare & despair”, then suddenly the realization came upon me. I am a “baby bear ” in my program/recovery and “Progress not Perfection ”, showed me that I can simply do my best with what I have, “Just for Today .  “First things First ” taught me that I cannot do the big things until I do the small ones, and “How important is it”?   Shows me ho...

One of the first pieces of literature I took from a meeting was the blue & white Alanon book-mark, “Just for Today”. Packed with good suggestions, in an easy to read format, this bookmark has helped me through many tough days, and the St Francis prayer at the bottom became one of my favorites.  Despite this tiny powerful bookmark, there were times in my life that felt so dark, I had a hard time picking it up. “ Not for Today” , I would think to myself, at times I momentarily forgot my program and all the tools that recovery offers.  As I continue to grow in my Alanon program, I have slips and days of falling off my “wagon of recovery”. Sometimes, when negative feelings surface so strongly, I resort to isolation and despair. These are coping mechanisms I learned long before coming into program. I momentarily forget about the Spiritual power of the Fellowship. The Do’s & Don’ts tell us “Not to wallow in Self-Pity”, yet sometimes I find that If I engage in a “Pity ...

"Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy, pure creative energy"_Julia Cameron    I believe that we come here to create, and if we look around, everything is a creation. Today, I am feeling inspired by creative women, and have found a delicious new ( to me) author in a most unexpected way. Her name was Lois Wilson, and she was the wife of the  Co-founder of AA, Bill Wilson . Her memoir,  "Lois Remembers"  is the literature that is read during my Sunday morning Al-Anon meeting, and I have found myself captivated and inspired. As I listen to their travels & adventures I realize that I too, can enjoy life as they did. A willingness to create, listen and learn, has filled my personal tank with the fuel I need to keep moving onward and forward. Life really is that simple, just for today.

 I have to forgive myself today, I am not a "super-human"anymore, the way I was ten years ago & running the shop business and having what I thought was a big life. And even that wasn't enough for me, I felt that I had more in me, I had to do more & show more. I took all kinds of work-shops directed toward helping the business succeed and then went to work & tried to apply it. At the Apple stores, both Old Pasadena & Glendale, I signed up for 2-3 workshops a week. iPhoto, Pages, and the old favorite, iWeb. I went to classes almost anywhere & everywhere, attending workshops on Wilshire Blvd at the "Small Business Association", while attending Trade Technical College.  In the end, I was exhausted & I am still tired, yet refusing to admit it. Like a fighter going down in the 5th round, I keep getting back up  despite the fact that I'm so done.  And after the combination of my fathers suicide & onset of menopause, ( and leaving a busin...