Betsy Gutting, JD

Finding Your Passion

2012-01-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday, everyone!

If you missed the live radio interview with Intuitive Medium Laura Rose this week, you can now listen to the show by clicking here. Alternatively, you can copy and paste this link into your browser: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/discovering-natures-spirit/2012/01/24/find-your-passion

We had an engaging show, and many said the information we shared helped them. We also worked live with two interesting callers. I'd love to hear your thoughts after you listen -- please share your comments.

I hope today you are connected with your spirit. Life is short to do anything less than what you love. If you don't love what you're doing right now, bring love to what you're doing! And remember ... you rock! Seriously, it's your true nature.

Warmly and with a smile,

Betsy

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2012-01-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

Many people are experiencing major change right now, or at least contemplating it. I was talking with a client this week about her life feeling like it's "falling apart." For most of us, when we lose people or our pets, relationships end, or our careers shift suddenly, it feels like our life as we knew it is unraveling. It often feels like we are unraveling.

My client asked about this. Why does it happen? How come, when it rains, it often pours?

Life as we knew it, falling apart, is an opportunity for "quickening" our soul growth. In other words, the ego/personality wants to have a comfortable, content life. The ego avoids pain at all costs and seeks only pleasure. It will do almost anything to stay comfortable, including spending years in a situation that isn't authentic (work or relationship) or furthering it's growth.

By contrast, the soul, while it loves life and wants to have joy and pleasure too, is most interested in growth. So when it feels like life is "unraveling," it's an opportunity for the soul to advance. In my experience, if we aren't going out of our comfort zone voluntarily in order to grow and experience new things, the soul will jumpstart our growth by attracting experiences that will "break our hearts open" so that we will grow.

I, and many other teachers of spiritual growth, believe that we are here in Earth school to learn and grow -- that this is the greater purpose for our life (in addition to having fun and enjoying life.). The soul's impetus to grow is stronger than our desire to stay comfortable. Many times, the only way a person can ignore their soul nudges is to self-medicate with alcohol, food, TV, busyness, "responsibilities," or other distractions.

While everyone distracts themselves at least occasionally, if you aren't choosing to ignore your restlessness or angst or self-medicating it, congratulations! You are saying yes to your growth by facing the inner nudges inside you and not succumbing to the ego's pull to stay comfortable where you are.

It's natural to have fears that you are not equipped to handle the uncertainty that you're feeling. The ego's job is to tell us this! It continually says, "you're in dangerous territory, " whenever we veer off of our comfortable routine, our usual behavior patterns, or our unspoken agreements with others of how we should be and act. The ego's job is to keep us "safe" -- ie, what the ego views as safe, which is not the whole picture. The ego is always trying to "hold it together," because it's driving force is to feel in control, no matter what the cost.

Your soul, on the other hand, knows your truth. It also knows that you are fully equipped to venture into any new territory your heart is calling you to experience. The soul knows that you are more than capable of attracting like-minded teachers, guides and community to usher you along in your path. The soul knows that you are supported by a greater intelligence or the creator of all life, or whatever you choose to call the magical essence of life that pulls us toward our destiny and lights us up with new ideas when we are open to expanding. The key is taking new ideas or changes one step at a time, checking in with your intuition and wise inner guidance as you go.

My guidance to you is to stay with what you know and feel is authentic and true for you. Check in with yourself through journaling or meditation when you have a decision to make. A great exercise I learned from my teacher, Sonia Choquette, and something I often lead my clients through, is listing all of your fears, so you can dump them. With eyes closed, tuning in to your heart, begin with the words, "I'm afraid of __________________." Fill in the blank repeatedly until you've said aloud every fear you're experiencing. Then take a deep breath, let all of it go, and fill in the blank, "my spirit says ___________________." This will open you to your deeper truth.

Join us for Creating Your Magical Life ~ Feb. 2nd at 7 PM

Bring your friends and join us for a transformational evening! Join us as we gather to co-create a powerful, positive shift for everyone present.

Thursday, Feb. 2nd 7 - 9 pm
Nalanda West
3902 Woodland Park Avenue North Seattle, WA 98103

$30
Bring a friend and save! $25 each
Space is limited. Reserve your place now ... register here

On the radio TODAY, Monday Jan. 23rd at 4 pm PT

2012-01-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to be appearing on the radio today, 4 pm PT, 7 PM ET, with Intuitive Laura Rose. I love doing radio! We will be talking about Finding Your Passion, including practical tools for finding and living your heart's desire. It's a call-in show, so call in with your questions: 718-664-6906. We would love to connect with you!

To listen in today click here.

I will post the link to the archived show after completion of the live show. For more about Laura Rose and her radio show, click here.

On the Radio Monday Jan. 23rd at 4 PM PT ~ Finding Your Passion

2012-01-20T14:51:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to be appearing on the radio with Laura Rose, this coming Monday, Jan. 23rd at 4 pm PT, 7 PM ET. We will be talking about Finding Your Passion, including practical tools for finding and living your heart's desire. It's a call-in show, so call in with your questions: 718-664-6906. We would love to connect with you!

To listen on Monday, click here.

I will post the link to the archived show after completion of the live show.

For more about Laura Rose and her radio show, click here.

2012-01-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

Join us Feb. 2 at 7 PM for
Creating Your Magical Life

2012 promises to be a major
turning point in our personal and planetary evolution ...

Are you ready?

Let's come together and CELEBRATE the shift ... and to set our INTENTIONS for 2012

Register now

Our evolution is not about fixing or changing ourselves. What if the way through, is all about love? If not about love ... a call for love?

2012 is asking us to choose a new way ... a way that:

Lets us be more true to our authentic self
Lets us feel secure and grounded even amidst outer chaos
Guides us through inevitable change with grace and ease, instead of the old way of 'pushing the river'
Shows us how to cultivate a healthy lust for life ... a new reason for being ... a passion-full purpose
Gives you tools to let go of struggle and strife, and create your MAGICAL LIFE

Are you ready for a new way? To feel inspired, supported, motivated, excited? Come set your intention for 2012 lift off!

We can't do this alone. Let's come together and CO-CREATE the shift!

Join us for Creating Your Magical Life!

The time is now. We are the ones we've been waiting for. So bring your friends and join us for a transformational evening!

Join us as we gather to co-create a powerful, positive shift for everyone present.

Thursday, Feb. 2nd 7 - 9 pm
Nalanda West
3902 Woodland Park Avenue North Seattle, WA 98103

$30
Bring a friend and save! $25 each
Space is limited. Reserve your place now ... register here

What former workshop attendees have said ...
"Betsy Gutting leads a person to gentle introspection and positive clarity in ways I have never before experienced."
~ Mac Macdonald

"Betsy, your fun-loving spirit and calm nature helped me move to a place of peace and clarity. Your work has been a source of healing and freedom!"
~ Dave Benham

I invite you to spread the love ... bring a friend and you both save!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2012-01-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."

Today, may we see and feel the greatness inside of us, pulling us toward our own compelling vision of ourselves and a thriving planet. May we become the leaders we were meant to be, radiating peace, acceptance and love. Certainly we would begin to mold consensus being nothing more than our true selves.

Affirmation: I am perfect just the way I am. Nothing about me needs fixing. I am not here to change myself, but rather to see myself through the lens of love and greatness that I AM.

Please join us this coming Thursday, Feb. 2nd at 7 pm for Creating Your Magical Life. Seattle weather is forecasted to warm up mid-week, with temperatures in the 40's on workshop day. I hope to see you there!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2012-01-12T14:38:00.000-08:00

How is your new year going so far? For me, I am both excited about new projects like the book I am working on, and at the same time, I feel more pressured than usual to accomplish my goals and intentions. It seems as though time is speeding up … that the days are literally moving faster. Evolutionaries say that many are having this experience, and that, in fact, the vibrational frequency of our planet has increased. In other words, energy is moving at a faster rate. It gives us the sensation, especially if you are highly sensitive and intuitive, that time is moving faster.

This can be disconcerting, at the least. I’ve stepped up my meditation practice to bring in more calm and ease. Mindfulness of a deeper truth is also helpful: all of our goals are being completed in perfect timing. It’s more important to be present for what is than to rush forward and ignore what is wanting our attention now.

Above all, we want to stay connected to our heart and creative spirit, which meditation, movement, dancing, yoga, walking and journaling help with. We can’t be effective when we’re feeling pressured. Stress triggers our reactive patterns, the intellect pushes it’s way in, and takes us out of the flow. Being out of our own natural rhythm, or flow, is like losing power in a wind storm. Our inner light goes out.

2012 is ushering in a new way of being. The new way questions any system that requires us to put our own needs for fulfillment on the back burner in service of ambition or accomplishment. Self-nurturing is no longer a frill or “negotiable.” When we’re connected to our inner guidance, we know there is something moving us forward besides our to-do lists and need to make a living.

Yes, we are human beings with needs for love, nurturing, compassion, order, shelter, and nourishment. We are also ever-expanding, creative beings with a spirit that needs to express itself in the world. Something wonderful always wants to be expressed through us. What lights us up is our own electrical source. It’s our soul’s nourishment. Unplug the lights, and you have darkness. Turn the lights back on, and you have joy.

If you’re not feelin’ it, it’s time to re-light the spark.

If you are feeling it, but find it discombobulating at times, your soul is reaching for your tribe. It’s time to form more community with others on the path. We can’t move forward on our own. As Robert Holden says, “Fear is a sure sign you’re trying to do something on your own.”

Join us next Thursday, Feb. 2nd at 7 pm for Creating Your Magical Life.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2012-01-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

I've just returned from a four-day meditation retreat. Getting quiet and going within brought me back to my spirit. The truth of who I am. We are not our careers, our paychecks, even our relationships. All of these are vital to our lives and well being, but they don't source us in well being. They add to, or subtract from, our joy, but they aren't the creators of our fulfillment. This source is our True Self. Meditation connects you intimately with your authenticity, with what your heart really wants, with what it will take to free you. Every time you a layer of what isn't you, melts away. You become closer to what is you. Meditation frees you to be who you really are. It frees you to grow and make choices that fit your True Self.

Meditation is like filling up your empty gas tank. It hooks you up to the inspired pipeline of your soul. You’ve filled up again. With your breath, hook up to your spirit, your source of all life and inspiration. Your breath is your bridge to calm and peace, even bliss. Remember, we can’t solve the problem at the level of the problem. Breathing gives you space and a new perspective. It takes you into a new, higher altitude. It’s like climbing to the top of a mountain and looking down on a 360 degree scenic view of your situation. You see it all; you have a new perception of what’s in front of you. From here, a new solution emerges. If you stay with your meditation practice (guided meditation counts too), you will begin to see a new YOU emerge.

I'll be leading a meditation class tomorrow evening, Friday, Jan. 6th: Deep Relaxation and Guided Meditation. Group meditation magnifies every person's intentions. The results are more powerful than doing it alone. Guided meditation is also excellent training wheels for individual sitting meditation (if you've tried that and not stuck with it.) I hope to see you there!

Detalis here: Deep Relaxation and Guided Meditation

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2012-01-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I am calling 2012 the Year of Connection. The year of like-minded partnership with our own wise self … and with others on the path of awakening to our life purpose, to more passion and joy in all that we do. I believe we are being called to wake up to the truth that we are not alone in navigating change and bringing our dreams to fruition. We are being called to connect with more like-minded friends in soulful community. A quickening of our evolution as individuals and as a planet is happening … even if it feels like unraveling and destruction. Chaos always precedes creativity. Breakdown, before breakthrough.

As Rev. Micahel Beckwith says, “There are some blessings happening in your life that you don’t even know about yet! Begin by counting the ones you CAN see.”

We have to SEE ourselves as new in order to become new again.

We aren’t separate. Our journey to higher self awareness and deeper fulfillment cannot happen on our own. It’s about coming together. If you don’t feel the partnership, just open up your mind a little bit to entertain the possibility of meeting more partners on your journey. Breathe and pause, get quiet and go into the stillness. In the sacred space of your mind and heart, call to you your soul partners. Then notice when opportunities arise to meet new people on the path.

With soul partners, we can soar beyond our limits in 2012. Come find more soul friends on January 19^th at Creating Your Magical Life New Year’s Workshop. Together we are flying into a new atmosphere .. please join us!

Lift-off New Year's Coaching Special

Do you have a vision for your life in 2012? A vision is the wind beneath your wings. It takes the struggle and strife out of "making things happen." In fact, a vision anchors you because it pulls you toward it. Decision-making becomes easier because all decisions are bounced off your vision. The result is clarity, confidence and inspired action.

In this 90-minute New Year coaching session, I will help you clarify a vision for your year, set inspired goals and create a plan for executing your vision with action steps. With ease.

The New Year boost is supporting you to consciously create a wonderfully successful 2012. Take advantage of this special offer where you'll receive a 90-minute session at my 60-minute session rate.

90-minute session for the 60-minute fee ~ $175*
January only ~ schedule now by phone: 206-605-2900, or click here to send me an email.

*Available to new and former clients

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-12-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

After a wonderful Christmas with my daughters, I woke up with a strong message from Spirit this morning: "Stay in gratitude ... if any anxiety comes up, feel it and affirm what you do want. Act as if your intentions are already coming true, already happening."

This is where gratitude comes in. Gratitude can be our bridge between what's we don't see now and what we desire to see. It's the magical antidote to focusing on what isn't working, which most of us are quite good at. Gratitude becomes our magic wand when we dare to imagine in our mind and heart that the relationship, the career move, the new home, the peaceful reconciliation ... is already here.

Well this can be challenging, of course. It asks us not just for faith. It requires us to take an active role. To let go of the 'victim' role and step into our role as masters of our own lives. If this sounds onerous or "too hard," it doesn't have to be. It can actually be fun and playful. Start with going into your imagination. Feel what you want in your heart. If other things are blocking, feel those emotions. Emotions are energy in motion. They are simply trying to get your attention because they are ready to move. Movement is healing.

Every time you pause, breathe and connect to your true desires and intentions, you get closer. Now affirm with gratitude your appreciation for your intentions becoming reality. Pretend you are a child pretending. We did this as kids. We know how to do it. We just have to be willing to act as if again.

I am affirming: I am so grateful that all of our heart's desires have already been answered. It IS happening NOW.

Creating Your Magical Life ~ New Year's Workshop

January 19, 2011 Register Now!

2012 promises to be a major turning point in our personal and planetary evolution ...

Are you ready?

Let's come together and CELEBRATE the shift!

What if ... the way through ... is all about love? If not about love ... a call for love?

2012 is asking us to choose a new way ... a way that:

Lets us be more true to our authentic self
Lets us feel secure and grounded even amidst outer chaos
Guides us through inevitable change with grace and ease, instead of the old way of 'pushing the river'
Shows us how to cultivate a healthy lust for life ... a new reason for being ... a passion-full purpose
Gives you tools to let go of struggle and strife, and create your MAGICAL LIFE

Are you ready for a new way? To feel supported, motivated, excited?

We can't do this alone. Let's come together and CO-CREATE the shift!

Join us for Creating Your Magical Life!

The time is now. We are the ones we've been waiting for. So bring your friends and join us for a transformational evening!

Join us as we gather to co-create a powerful, positive shift for everyone present.

Thursday, January 19 7 - 9 pm
Nalanda West
3902 Woodland Park Avenue North Seattle, WA 98103

$30, or $25 each when you bring a friend
Register Now!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-12-19T10:42:00.000-08:00

After getting my Christmas tree, my friend Dave and I stopped at the local market to get some spinach. I was going to make us some eggs after we got the tree in the stand. There, in the store parking lot was a surprise. A hummingbird, feasting on one of the few flowers blooming in Seattle in December. Hummingbirds metaphorically symbolize joy, and I can tell you I felt a wonderful burst of joy come over me. I love the hummer's irridescent green feathers. It's magical just to see one whirling in place, seemingly suspended as its long beak reaches in for nectar.

Spotting this bird of joy isn't what I'd expected as a holiday surprise. Maybe that made it all the more wondrous. This season, I invite you to stay in wonder as much as possible. Wonder is an open, expectant state of mind. It acknowleges the truth that life loves us, and life has more in store for us that we can imagine ... if we're awake to the possibility.

In fact, the words, "hmmm ... I wonder," are magical in and of themselves. When you muse in this way, you activate both sides of the brain. It's a great problem-solving tool. "Hmmm ... I wonder how I can move through my day and my long to-do list, with ease and grace." This is what I'm asking today!

What are you wondering about today? This works great for any place you feel stuck or lethargic. If there's something you know you want to accomplish, but aren't feeling the motivation. Try the "hmmm, I wonder" magic.

I am wishing you many moments of wonder this holiday week! Enjoy the magic ... it's what we're here for.

Join us Wednesday, January 19th for Creating Your Magical Life, a New Year kickoff workshop. Reserve your seat now ~ register here.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-12-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

Follow the thread. When you are seeking your passion, one of the most helpful things you can do is become your own detective. Good detective skill means letting go of what you think you know, using your creative imagination in service of your goal, and cultivating the curiosity of an exuberant 6-year-old.

Look for clues to your bliss. I didn't so much "find" my career as a coach, teacher, and author, as I did follow the thread of my joy. In the beginning of my quest, I spent a lot of time noticing what lit me up. I also invested time and money in my passion. Of course my inner critic gave me a multitude of reasons I couldn't succeed in this field. I began listening more to my heart. I continued to move forward. I said yes to countless nights in the self-growth section of the bookstore, and yes to countless workshops on living your passion and finding your purpose. I stopped skimping on the inspiration and education I needed to find clarity.

Turn your job search or pursuit of a romantic partner into a game. Remind yourself that you'll be fine whether you get this job or this date. Follow the thread to what you love. You might come to a fork in the road and veer off in another direction -- a direction you wouldn't have known about if you hadn't set foot on the path.

Stay open and be playfully curious. Pretend you know nothing about the passion or person you are seeking. Ask yourself, if I let go of all of my preconceived notions, what would I do? Loosen up. When we get too attached to the outcome, we constrict the flow of our search. A successful pursuit asks for a balance of loving your life as it is, and going after what you want. It's a delicate dance.

Join us Wednesday, January 19th for Creating Your Magical Life, a New Year kickoff workshop. Reserve your seat now ~ register here.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-12-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

I did a freeing forgiveness process this morning before I got out of bed. When I wake in the morning, before putting my feet on the floor, I check in with my heart. I notice how I’m feeling. I know that how my heart feels when I start my day will have a powerful influence on how my day goes.

I often have powerful dreams and sometimes they throw me off or put me in a fog. When this happens, I want to make a conscious shift – I need to bridge the gap between what I’m feeling on awaking, and how I want to feel this day.

It is my intention to consciously create each day with a joyful heart, feeling in charge of my life and on purpose. I want to enjoy every breath of my day, no matter what is going on around me.

And so this morning, to bridge the gap between my waking dream state, a dream that took me on a wild ride through a home that must have had 20 rooms (!), I began to breathe into my heart. I scanned my inner world to see if there is anyone I am holding pain about … anyone I need to forgive.

The answer was, “yes … forgive yourself.” “Forgive yourself for losing your temper sometimes with your beautiful daughters. You always did the best you could. Let go of perfection. No one can parent their children perfectly. We’re here to learn and grow. You’ve grown immensely through your mis-takes with your children.”

And so I did, and I felt better and lighter immediately.

What are you holding against yourself? Your past is here to help you grow, not keep you captive and apart from living in full joy, peace and ease. One of my clients once wisely said to me, “I realize I’m the one who has been holding the key to my own prison. It’s time to let myself out.”

Once you get the lesson behind your mis-take, you are free to let it go. It has served its purpose … to help you bloom even more into who you came here to be.

If you would like help in letting go, healing the past and saying yes! to your life as we approach the new year, consider coaching with me. I offer 30 minute consultations to see if we would be a good fit for a dynamic coaching partnership. Contact me at 206-605-2900, or send me an email.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-12-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

In my office yesterday, I saw a mother and her young son. I led them in a “game.” They sat on the floor, face to face, and looked into each other’s eyes (no talking or giggling allowed). I asked them to communicate their love for one another without using words, through their eyes only. After about a minute, the mom, tears streaming down her face, said to her child, “I love you exactly the way you are.”

Most of us would agree that seeing a child’s inner perfection is good parenting. We know that children respond favorably to being unconditionally loved. Unconditional love, “I love you even though I don’t always love what you do,” gives the child a sense of safety and stability. Seeing and love a child's innate goodness allows them stumble, grow and blossom into their true selves.

Interestingly, we don’t always see this connection with loving ourselves. We often hold our own behaviors and our past against ourselves. “If I’d only …” Embracing and learning from our past mis-takes is healing. Living in the past keeps us stuck there.

What if, every mis-take you’ve have made, every wrong turn, every coulda, woulda, shoulda, was merely a growing tool? An opportunity to expand your heart, to embrace even the dark moments, and love yourself anyway. Would you be willing to take the lesson as a gift, and let go of the ruminating, regret, guilt, shame, anger … or whatever your unique brand of being unkind to yourself?

Maybe you have let go of the past, you've done your releasing and letting go, but you're having a tough time right now. You're afraid because something in your life isn't happening the way it should. And as a result, you're still noticing the negative loop of unloving thoughts going around and around.

In the ten years I’ve been leading self-growth groups, teaching Live Your Passion workshops, and seeing individual clients, I have never ever seen self-flagellation change lives. It just sinks us deeper into the muck. What I have seen work, over and over, is love. As I said in my last blog post, everything in life, relationship, career and even money issues, is all about love. If it’s not about love, it’s a call for love.

If what you've got on your plate isn't what you ordered, life is giving you a call for love. How you can love yourself more fully today?

I invite you to pause, breathe, and take in a wonderful breath of self-acceptance. If you are truly ready for a positive shift, repeat this: “I accept my perfection. Whoever I am, whatever that looks like, I accept.”*

Repeat these words of acceptance daily, and get ready for a positive, magical shift in your life.

*Mantra excerpted from Parenting the Children of Now, by Meg Blackburn Losey, Ph.D.

Are you ready to let go of struggle and strife and create your magical life? I offer 30-minute complimentary consultations to discuss how coaching with me can do just that. Contact me at 206-605-2900 or send me an email.

Also, I'll be going into more depth on love, learning and growth in my New Year's workshop, Creating Your Magical Life. It will be a powerful workshop that could change your life. Join us!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-12-05T11:48:00.000-08:00

I spotted a sweet, blond petite 80-something woman admiring the male and female geese congregating around a cluster of old, majestic cedar trees at Greenlake this morning. I joined her for a moment, affirming the gorgeousness of the scene, telling her I "live for beauty." She smiled big and said, "Bless you!"

Wow … in that split second, this beautiful lady gave me such a gift. She acknowledged that simply appreciating beauty is a gift in itself. I could tell by the light in her eyes that me taking a moment to talk with her was a gift to her. I wished her many blessings as well, and walked away from a one-minute exchange with a full heart.

What if every interaction in life, with our co-workers, clients, children, spouses and significant others, and especially with ourselves, was all about love? An opportunity to give love and receive love. A chance to learn more about how to do both of those better.

I submit to you that everything is about love. Your choice of career, your choice of mate, and your decisions and interactions within those relationships, is all about love.

I realize you may not be feeling as though everything is about love right now. You might very well be arguing with me. You might be saying that your life right now is about paying the bills or dealing with a difficult boss or grieving a loss or major life transition. I get it. I love the way my teacher, happiness guru Robert Holden puts it: “If life isn’t about love for you right now, it is a call for love.”

Especially around the holidays, emotions run high and they can flood in and overtake our well being. If you are feeling sad, run down, neglected or just plain angry at someone, it is a call for love. A call to love yourself more. To know that the other person may be acting out of fear or lack, or maybe you are acting from fear or lack. If you can see the situation as a call for love, it changes everything. I feel my heart open just writing about it. Pause and breathe. Move into your heart for a moment, and give yourself and the other person love and compassion.

If we’re here to learn to love and receive love more fully, how would bringing love in to this situation shift things for you? If you're still in the past, it's time to let go and live more fully in the present. How to let go? Let yourself grieve what didn't happen that you wanted to happen. And look for the lesson and the gift. All of life, in addition to being about love, is about learning. Love motivates us; learning grows us.

Would you like support in letting go and moving on? Are you ready to take your life to the next level of happiness? I offer 30-minute complimentary consultations to discuss how coaching with me can do just that. Contact me at 206-605-2900 or send me an email.

Also, I'll be going into more depth on love, learning and growth in my New Year's workshop, Creating Your Magical Life. It will be a powerful workshop that could change your life. Join us!

2011-12-01T22:58:00.000-08:00

Mindful, Magical Holidays

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."
~ John Lennon

I love the holidays. Maybe because my spirit delights in celebrating, more than anything else. Or because we give ourselves permission to slow down, savor life, and each other's presence -- a little bit more. But last year my celebrational bubble was burst.

As background, nothing thrills me more than going to church with my two beautiful daughters, now 19 and 22, on Christmas Eve. Festive music, sparkly gold lights, wearing soft velvet, combined with sitting arm-in-arm with my girls in a spiritual gathering place, and I'm in mom bliss. Seriously, you've never seen me smile so big. But last year, when we got to the church, all bets were off. I won't go into the details, but as we pulled into the parking lot, my daughters announced they wouldn't be going in to the service after all. They would stay in the car.

Oh yes, I was emotionally triggered. I felt sadness. I felt anger. And to make it even more painful, my reactive mind made this meaning out of it: "Christmas Eve, alone. No one sits in church on Christmas Eve, alone!"

On the verge of tears, I spotted one of the ministers, Rev. Sharon Ramey, and had the wherewithal to show my vulnerability and reach out for support. As a mom and deeply loving person, Sharon would get it. She hugged me, spoke a life-affirming prayer, and invited me to sit with her family. I was appreciative ... but still holding out hope that my daughters would change their minds, I went to the front and saved us three seats. I envisioned them flying through the double doors at the last minute with a changed heart. "Mama, we are so sorry, we know how important this is to you, and we're sooo happy to be here, celebrating with you! The Center for Spiritual Living rocks! Please forgive our momentary lapse."

I'm sure you can see what was happening in my inner world: I was attached. Big time. I wanted our time together to match the sweet vision I'd been holding in my heart for weeks. It didn't. As the band began playing the opening song and I gave up their saved seats, I heard my inner voice whisper to me. "Let go, Betsy. Savor this moment. You're here! Let yourself enjoy. You are not alone."

Here's what I know about the holidays. We anticipate, we plan, and we have fantasies of how things will play out. Without being conscious of it, we cling to expectations of how things should go, and especially, how our loved ones should act. We don't often figure in our human frailties or the humanness of our dearly beloveds, or of strangers in store lines and on the road, for that matter. We have expectations that we cling to like a rock climber desperately grasping a rocky hold.

There is another way. We can wonder, envision, and expect great things, but let go of the "shoulds." Relax our expectations. And most importantly, know that we are in charge of how we experience life. We get to decide how we want to feel, regardless of others' actions or inactions.

In other words, there is very little can we actually control. But we can keep the inner magic flowing.

I encourage you to consciously create an intention for your holidays. Such as "I am at peace, feeling blissful." Whenever the humanness of you or another takes you away from your intention, come back to your holiday mantra. Take it to the post office, shopping, parties and family gatherings. "I am __________, feeling _____________. "

Breathe. Stay in the present moment. Accept what is. If you're feeling blissful, savor the ecstasy. If you're feeling depressed, feel your sadness all the way through. If you're in a time of healing, let yourself relax into, and embrace, this time of healing.

Awake and open to the moment, we can receive the gift of holiday magic.

If you are ready to move through struggle and strife to create your magical life, I would love to work with you individually to help propel your forward. I offer 30-minute coaching consultations to see if we would be a good fit for a dynamic coaching partnership. Call me at 206-605-2900 or send me an email.

Creating Your Magical Life

2011-11-30T21:26:00.000-08:00

Come celebrate the dawning of the New Year! Are you ready to let go of struggle and strife and step into your magical life? To re-awaken your passion and live your purpose? Informed by ancient wisdom and her own life experience, Betsy is excited to share the secrets of taking your life to a whole new level. You will come away with practical tools for making 2012 a phenomenal, life-changing year.

Join us as we gather to co-create a powerful, positive shift for everyone present.

Rescheduled due to snow conditions
NEW DATE: Thursday, February, 2nd 7-9 PM

Nalanda West

3902 Woodland Park Avenue North Seattle, WA 98103

$30, or $25 each when you bring a friend

Register here

Betsy Gutting helps people let go of struggle and strife and create their magical life. Betsy is a Certified Intuitive Life Coach, seminar leader, and creator of the CD, Guided Meditations for Awakening Your Passion. Fifteen years ago she left a law practice to create her own magical life. For more information, please visit www.betsygutting.com

Click here to register now!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-11-28T10:08:00.000-08:00

You are extraordinary! You may not be feeling it right now, I understand. Other things might be in the way, like stress, worry, blame, shame or guilt. Still, the truth is, no one else here who can do and be what you came here to do and be.

The wise part of you knows this. When we're depressed or angry (or just asleep to our gifts), it feels as though many people could take our place -- that in the larger scheme of things, our unique journey doesn't matter all that much. By contrast, when we're feeling excited, alive and on purpose, we know the truth ... that we came here to accomplish something, even if we're not sure what it is.

If you're not feeling the spark of your purpose and passion, you are not alone. If you believe that it's selfish or arrogant to see yourself as extraordinary, you're not alone. Real changes are happening in our country and our world, however. These are changes that are big and tumultuous enough to cause us to shift our thinking. We are all being affected, and all being nudged, if not catapulted, into looking at our lives through a different lens. We have no choice if we want to continue to thrive. It's time to see ourselves in a new, fresh way.

All positive change begins with our beliefs and our identity. We can only have and be what is within our identity to create. For example, a child who sees their self as lovable will be more likely to have positive, loving friendships. People who see themselves as intelligent and tenacious tend to take on more challenges that will propel them forward. And the good news is, even if you don't believe you are extraordinary, you can change your beliefs!

Affirming, with heart and intention, how you want to see yourself, can change your brain. Seriously. This is not just "positive thinking," numerous studies confirm our ability to change the brain and create new neural pathways to "reprogram" our beliefs. But it takes a decision. A commitment on your part to change how you see yourself. If you're having trouble, go back to when you were an infant. See your innocence. See through this baby's eyes ... the wonder and magic of the world. As my beloved teacher Denise Linn says, "If you could only see yourself as Spirit sees you, you would be amazed at your magnificence."

I invite you to take a stand for your own well being and greatness. Stands are powerful, because they change our identity. Seeing ourselves in new ways, we begin to act differently, and get more positive results.

So why not now? I invite you to affirm, with all the gusto and heart you can muster: "I am _______________ (say your name), and I am an extraordinary woman!" or "I am ____________ (your name), and I am an extraordinary man!" Say it in the mirror 3 times and smile big at yourself. For extra credit, use a colorful feather or homemade magic wand to get your body involved ... for greater embodi-ment of your stand. Have fun with it. Some days you'll feel it more than others. This is the way it works. Stay with it.

Know that you've just done a great thing ... for you and the planet.

This is a practice that will change your life. It will help you re-wire your brain. Do it daily for one month, with heart, and you will see life-changing results.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-11-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

During this Thanksgiving holiday, I am feeling especially alive. With so many of us feeling the vibration of gratitude at once, there is no end to what we can do! When we hang out here, we feel oh so divine. We know the truth … we are naturally gifted at creating heaven on earth! Today I invite you to write down your desires. What do you want to experience? Who do you want to be? Write it down. Desire is powerful. Desire fulfills itself.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-11-22T16:35:00.000-08:00

“Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Today, in this time of Thanksgiving, I was talking with my coach about perception. He made the point that so much of our discomfort with life is caused by our own perceptions of events. If we expect to have something happen a certain way or someone to act in accordance with our vision, we are often disappointed. Yet, we always have a choice to look at a situation differently. One of our greatest freedoms is our ability to change our perception -- to look at whatever might be causing us pain with new eyes.

For many years, I have been committed to living a life that reflects the essence of Thich Nhat Hanh's quote. To wake up every morning, and regardless of what's happening or not happening in my life, still be able to smile at the thought of twenty four brand new hours before me. I can't honestly say I'm fully there every day. I am human, therefore I feel sadness, frustration and disappointment at times. But I do know there is magical power in the practice of gratitude. Gratitude is absolutely one of the most effective bridges we can consciously use to feel more happy, light, fulfilled and free.

So much about life is a wonderful gift. For example, even if I don't have a devoted intimate partner, I do have wonderful friends and colleagues who care about me. Even during painful transitions, when it feels like every area of your life is off track, you're still alive! Life is always talking to us, if we listen. Life is always ready to show us what is working. Life itself wants to have a loving, intimate partnership with us.

I love the practice of saying, "thank you," before I even get out of bed in the morning. Thank you for this day. Thank you for my comfortable bed. Thank you for the unexpected joys that will come my way today. Thank you, even for the challenges, because the truth is, they grow me into a stronger and more resilient person more than the purely contented times do.

And here's a secret of manifestation: say thank you for what is yet to show up. Thank you for the cooperation and support I'm receiving from friends and family! Thank you for all the unexpected in-flows of money that are showing up. Thank you for the sweet, intimate times of sharing, love and hugs with my loved ones. Where intention goes, energy flows. We really do activate the energy of new possibilities when we affirm them with heart and belief. I've had experiences of imagining feeling loved and supported, for example, when I wasn't feeling it before. And guess what I got ... love and support! Nothing ramps up the energy for what we want like gratitude. It is truly magical.

Happy Thanksgiving, my dear friends. I am truly grateful for you. I am so happy you're here!

With warmth and a smile,

Betsy

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-11-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

Free yourself with forgiveness. Especially with the holidays approaching, thoughts of spending time with people you've had struggles with might be up for you. So often we hold onto anger, sadness or other feelings without even necessarily realizing it. This becomes “stuck energy” in our bodies, which keeps us from living the fullness of who we really are: pure love! Feeling and releasing our emotions is the gateway to freedom and joy.

Even little annoyances with people can prompt us to close our heart just a little at a time. And when someone we love does something we see as “really bad” or “really big,” the ensuing feelings of betrayal may cause us to unconsciously layer our hearts with enough armor to keep out the love we really want. Of course we don’t do this on purpose -- we know better. It is simply a reactive pattern coming up for healing.

If you want to be more open to love, abundance and just enjoying life, try this. Set the intention to free yourself by forgiving those who have hurt you. This is an important point: forgiveness is not about the other person. You are not condoning their actions; you are simply choosing not to carry around the baggage of your stuck emotions any longer. You're choosing to let go and make room for what you do want. It might help to remember that other people’s actions are not about you anyway. Each of us is always doing the best we can with the awareness we have in the moment. Forgiving is choosing to stop living in the past and free yourself to step into the now, where possibility lives.

Get quiet and take some deep breaths until you feel calm and still. Allow someone you've been holding a grudge against, or just someone you feel hurt by, to come to mind. Visualize, imagine, sense and feel this person in front of you. Then repeat to them a few times until you feel a shift, “I forgive you. I release you. All is behind us.”

By “releasing” them, you are not telling them to go away. You are simply letting go of the attachment to keep making them wrong. You may have to repeat this a number of times. Go slow, and have compassion for yourself. If it's still not working, go through the process with yourself in mind. Forgive yourself. This is not easy. It takes courage, discipline and love.

This exercise can bring miracles for you and your relationship with others. Above all, you are giving yourself a new, open road to create your brilliant future.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-11-15T17:48:00.000-08:00

I get a lot of my inspirations in the early morning hours or just upon waking. This morning’s thoughts may have been spurred on by Thanksgiving approaching, which in my family is a celebration of gratitude, but even more so, a feast of specially-prepared dishes and the joy of the entire family showing up in one place to be together. So this morning I woke up thinking about how much I love celebrations – how excited I am for the holiday festivities!

Because I feel the joy of celebrations so deeply, I have been working for some time on seeing and experiencing not just certain days of the year, but my entire life, as a celebration. Life is too precious to compartmentalize fun into tiny blocks of weekends, vacations and holidays. Can you imagine going to work each day with the expectation that your day will be an inner celebration?

This matters because I am one of the many in our culture who were raised with the belief that work equals misery. Even now that I’ve created a career of doing what I love, the imprint of this belief lingers. Which means that some part of me still sees any work commitment as less than the pure joy of a festive celebration. The thought of having to move through a challenge might trigger this part of me into feeling my work as heavy or onerous. It’s not true, but we don’t perceive the truth, we perceive what we believe.

Fortunately, this is only a part of me, it is not who I am. My wise self absolutely knows a different truth: that I can choose to approach my work and everything I do as if it were a fresh, new experience worth celebrating.

Today I decided to commit to looking at my life, my work, all of my experiences, through this new lens. Commitments are powerful because they are a decision. Decisions tell our subconscious mind that we're doing something differently ... we're shifting a negative pattern. We're swimming in new waters.

So far, it’s been a rich and joyful day, with wonderful, moving sessions with clients and a delightful walk around Green Lake earlier this morning. It’s almost 6 pm, and I am feeling happy, light and refreshed.

If you were going to see your life in a new way, how would you want to see it? How do you want to experience your “everyday” days? Fill in this blank: my life is _______________________. Are you ready to commit to this as your guiding intention? Where intention goes, energy flows.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-11-10T14:33:00.000-08:00

Last night at my workshop, Nurturing Your Brilliance, we had a dialogue about taking steps toward your dreams. I explained that the first step is deciding. That is, commiting to move to the next level of fulfillment in your life. Some brave souls voiced a fear of this. Commiting seemed scary. This might mean having to take specific action … action that feels risky.

This response is natural. Joseph Campbell didn’t call it a hero’s journey for nothing. Forging your own path, staying attuned to your authentic being, is not for the faint of heart. We are on a bridge, walking more fulling into alignment with our true self. While we walk the bridge, fear still comes up. Our spirit is enthusiastically cheering us on, while our ego digs in its heels, afraid of failure, rejection, what others might think, going broke, and more.

Ah, another opportunity for growth! Saying yes to our dreams seems to bring on our life lessons, or at least giving us a chance for emotional healing. It’s important to acknowledge that we are in earth school here – the school of growth and development. Moving through fear teaches us lessons in living we couldn’t learn any other way. It makes us stronger. Not that I’m saying we have to suffer to grow. We don’t. We can have flashes of awareness and elevated consciousness that seem to come out of nowhere. Prayer alone can move us into a new atmosphere of inspired insights. Intention is powerful if we follow our inspiration and take small steps, one at a time.

As long as fear and doubt is bubbling up, though, it’s asking us for attention. As I offered last night, feeling the fear and discomfort, rather than resisting it, moves us forward. Here is a process of moving through the inevitable fear and growing pains of moving into your brilliance even more.

Get quiet, take some deep breaths, and tune into the voice of your feelings. Write down all your fears on a piece of paper. Send love to the part of you who is afraid, sad, angry or disgusted. This is a part of you– it is not who you are! Who you are is a brave spiritual warrior, saying yes to letting go of everything in the way of your brilliance. Fear serves a purpose. It shows us what needs to be healed so we can shine brighter. It increases our awareness of self-imposed obstacles. It shines light on our feelings so we can feel and release them to move forward. Once we feel them, we no longer need the protection and shielding of these particular fears or concerns.

On this full moon, you might want to do a ritual of letting go. After you’ve written down your fears, worries or concerns, burn your paper (safely -- outside or in your fireplace), or tear your paper into tiny pieces and flush it. Give thanks, as my friend and mentor Darren Weissman says, for “this gift in strange wrapping paper.” It is guiding you more fully into your brilliance.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-11-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

How are your stress levels lately? We tend to think of stress as something that is "ours," i.e, we identify with it and think we have to fix it, or worse, that it's out of our control to change. Either way, we often feel we have no choice but to be victims of our stressful conditions. There is another way!

Stress directly affects our physical health because our emotions and thoughts create biochemical reactions in our bodies. As Dr. Christiane Northrup explains in Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, we need to understand that we are "ever-changing energy systems" that are affected by, and affect, our life circumstances and conditions. We have thought of our lives and health in compartments for too long. Everything -- from our thinking, to our relationships, to our work and our physical body -- is connected.

What's more, stress has a cumulative effect on our health and well-being. If you've ever told yourself, I just have to get through this one stressful event and then I'll take care of myself, you have it backwards. (Please be compassionate with yourself about this -- few of us were taught otherwise.) This kind of thinking is the mind's way of keeping us trapped in repetitive, reactive patterns, where we allow stress to run our lives and dictate our choices and actions. The truth is, we, as conscious human beings, are in charge of how we let unpleasant events affect us, and for that matter, how much we allow outside circumstances to control our choices. It's a commitment to take a stand for our lives and decide to put our well-being first as the foundation of our happiness.

The mind, of course, will tell you that if you make this commitment, something catastrophic might happen. Recognize that this is just the mind's way of trying to keep you safe. Clearly it doesn't work. In fact, the opposite is true. Not taking action to change your life for the better only keeps us stuck and repeating the same self-defeating patterns -- continually putting out fires and living in emergency-mode. Does this sound familiar?

To feel better, let's wake up to the fact that our spirit -- the part of us that gets energized and enthusiastic about life -- is housed in this temple we call our body. When we nourish our bodies, we nourish our spirit and have something to wake up for each day.

Here's something I didn't know before I read Dr. Northrup's book: in addition to the mood-enhancing seratonin and dopamine, new research shows that a gas known as nitric oxcide (not to be confused with nitrous oxide known as laughing gas), is the "uber-neurotransmitter" that balances all the other feel-good neurotransmitters such as seratonin. Dr. Northrup calls "nitric oxide the physical equivalent of the life force, chi or prana." We need it circulating through our body in high levels to stay feeling good, especially in times of stress or transition.

Nitric oxide is produced by the body during exercise, sex, meditation, and when we think joyful or hopeful thoughts. This might be why you've been getting inner nudges lately to do more of one of these activities.

How can you begin to think more joyfully, especially when you've just been thrown a curveball? This is a practice that I teach my clients and students. One way is to begin to affirm: "My well-being comes first -- it is the foundation of all good things in my life."

I'll be offering more practical tools at the upcoming workshop, Nurturing Your Brilliance at East West Bookshop, Wednesday, November 9th at 7 pm. Click here for details. Register now.

Also, this Friday evening, 11/11/11, join us for Deep Relaxation ~ Guided Meditation at Yogalife Queen Anne Studio, Seattle.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-11-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

Day by day, we grow and learn to be more of our true nature. As we reveal our authentic selves, in all our juicy, quirky, passionate, fun and sometimes messiness, we grow deeper in love with ourselves and others. Our eyes open wide and see like children again. This is the best gift we can give to our family, community, the planet. Our aliveness and enthusiasm for life.

Affirmation: "I am brilliant! This is my true nature. Life loves me and I love life."

Friday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 pm: Join us for Deep Relaxation ~ Guided Meditation at Yogalife Greenlake Studio, Seattle.
Come play with us at the Nurturing Your Brilliance at East West Bookshop, Wednesday, November 9th at 7 pm. Click here for details. Register now.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-10-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! I love this holiday because it invites us to be more playful. As adults, our thinking tells us that Halloween is "just for kids." It's our duty to pass out treats, but the days of dressing up and pretending you're someone else are over. Unless, of course, the eternal child in you has inspired you to play. Why can't we do both -- take care of the neighborhood kids and our own inner kid?

This is the perfect time to ask yourself, "If I could pretend to be anyone, a mythic figure, a cartoon or movie character, or an inanimate object, what or who would I be?" We are like multi-faceted diamonds with new sides of us always emerging -- if we let them. Life only becomes dull or depressing because we do.

You play lots of roles in your life. Your job title, mom, dad, sister, brother, friend, Board President, volunteer, teacher, etc. Your role is what you do, not who you are. Think of a role you play. Do you do this role with soul? Do you give yourself permission to express the juicy, passionate part of you? The soul longs to live full out ... to express itself through new ways of being and new experiences. This is how we grow. This is how we blossom. In the process, we get to be creative, feel excited, maybe even ecstatic or exuberant.

I've decided, at the very last minute, to dress up and help one of my friends hand out candy. My costume will come together, as it usually does, from clothing, jewelry and maybe a colorful scarf I have around. My creative muse will be dressing me, so we'll see what unfolds! I'll post a pic on Facebook! If you're dressing up, let us know. If you want to play full out, post a pic!

Come play with us at the Nurturing Your Brilliance at East West Bookshop, Wednesday, November 9th at 7 pm. Click here for details. Register now.

2011-10-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

When I notice a theme repeating itself in the lives of my clients, I know it’s a sign to write about it. In the past 24 hours, two clients have voiced the kind of extreme dissatisfaction with their work that could make them up and quit without a “back-up plan.” One has already given her notice, but she wanted to know how she could make the next month and a half bearable, possibly even enjoyable. The other can’t afford to quit without first finding another position.

There’s no situation more potentially transformational than feeling stuck right where you are. Both of these intelligent, resourceful and beautiful young women are technically over-qualified for the stepping-stone jobs they’re in. But for now, they are staying put. Their situation reminds me of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s classic book, Wherever You Go, There You Are. If we can’t change our situation or we’re choosing not to leave a job (or relationship) just yet, we have only one option: to change the way we’re being in it.

When we’re unhappy and feel tapped out, our spirit is suffocating. Another way of saying it is we’re not using the gifts and talents that bring us fulfillment. I have deep empathy for anyone facing this – it is the hardest work anyone can ever do. An attitude change is the beginning, yes, but the shift goes deeper. It involves courageously stepping out and being more true to yourself at work.

First you have to let yourself feel your anger and frustration, and realease it. Creative solutions don't come when we're pissed off. Let off some steam, or maybe you need a good cry.

Then go into your imagination, like you did when you were five years old, pretending and making up scenarios all the time. If you could show up in a new way at work, how might you be different?

A good question to get there is, “What part of me wants to come out and play more in the world? What part of me isn’t getting any expression at work? How can I be more of that self at work?

You'll probably hear a lot of reasons from your naysayer self about why you can't bring this part of you to work. Write them down, and then open your mind. We tend to hold ourselves back more than any outside condition or person. What are you not giving yourself permission to do or be? Write down your fears about "coming out" and showing your authenticity just a little more. There's a reason you're still at this job or in this situation. What might you still be around to learn?

If answers aren’t coming, try this: let go of your “story” about why the job itself is to blame. Usually it’s partly the job and partly us, hiding our own light and reinforcing the negative rather than stepping out of our comfort zone and bringing more of our true selves to the table.

For example, one of my clients felt drained by the constant negatively she experienced from her organization’s client population. When we talked about it, she connected with the source of their negative emotions. They had reason to be upset, but it wasn’t about her. Separating herself from their situations and letting go of her desire to “fix” them, her heart opened. She left our session with the resolve to be more compassionate with clients. She said she really did want to help them, and this, not incidentally, is why she took the job in the first place.

Often we make assumptions about others that make us unhappy. We judge them -- and then beat ourselves up for not being in a different place. Find the "so what?" in what's so. You're on the path to change ... you're on your way. The rest you can't control. The truth is, we’re all doing the best we can with the resources we have. If you saw your workplace, and yourself, through the eyes of compassion, how would it look different? If you brought your most loving, accepting self to work, how might you feel different?

I love giving you tools to move out of struggle and strive and create your magical life. Join us for Nurturing Your Brilliance at East West Bookshop, Wednesday, November 9th at 7 pm. Click here for details. Register now.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-10-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

It takes courage to live from your heart when you've spent your entire life living from your head. By living from your head, I mean listening to the voice of the ego, which Dr. Wayne Dyer calls Edging God Out. Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way, introduced me to the concept of God as Good Orderly Direction. From her, I learned tools to get in touch with this good orderly direction, which I now share with my clients, students and you, my dear readers, with joy and passion.

The most important tool I can offer you is to commit ... commit to following your heart's wisdom. Commitment is like the match that lights the fire in your belly. Once the fire is lit, you are much more likely to stay on your courageous path. This does not mean you have to make decisions or changes you don't want to make. The ego makes us afraid of committing by injecting the fear of change. It says, "If you say "yes" to following your heart, you will lose your income, job, house or spouse." The ego makes scary threats and acts like it knows all. It feeds into our survival fears. As human beings wired for survival, we generally choose comfort over reaching beyond our limits, so we stay put, even if it means staying stuck.

To me, inspiration is the spiritual force that propels us forward, beyond our preconceived limits, despite the fear. If commitment to our path is the match that lights the fire, inspiration is the fire itself. It's the "what" that we are creating, and it's very exciting! It moves our life, shakes things up in a good way, by putting the bounce back in our step. When we're so stoked about creating something new, we have a new reason to live. Our heart is lit up again. And it can happen with something "small," like painting a picture when you haven't played with color for years.

Inspiration comes straight from your spirit, the part of you that knows what you came here to create, do and be. Which means, that to hear your inspiration, you have to ask for it. I love to do this in journal writing. I recommend setting aside 20 minutes a day to ask, Spirit, what do you have to tell me? Listen to what comes and write it down. If nothing comes, write the thoughts that are circling around in your mind. Often we have to dump what's there on the page before the inspiration can come in.

Once you ask and receive inspiration, you will encounter fear or some other kind of resistance. For example, "You haven't painted (sung, exercised, had a romance) in years, why start now? You know you don't have the talent for this to go anywhere." This is the ego's natural way. The ego is like a terrified child at worst, a disinterested bystander at best. I believe the ego and the spirit are always doing a dance. The spirit says, "Let's waltz!" The ego says, "I don't dance." The spirit responds, "Today's a new day! ... how about just one step?"

I like to think of fear as Forgetting Everything Is All Right. When I was a young girl growing up in Southern California, I loved swimming in the waves at Laguna Beach. Sometimes big waves scared me, especially when I realized they were approaching too close to ride. The only way to move through the fear was to face them head on, and then swim through, underneath the crest. We can do the same with fear. Rather than resisting it, we can observe it, "Oh there's a scary wave, and I don't think I can ride this one." Name it: "I'm afraid I might get tossed around, clobbered by the force, and maybe even drown." Having observed and named it, we've greatly reduced it's power over our us. Feeling the fear is the next step. Locate it in your body, and just breathe through it.

One last thing: feed your inspiration, rather than your fear. Write it down. What is lighting you up? Take one small step in this direction. Now you're dancing!

I love giving you tools to move out of struggle and strive and create your magical life. Join us for Nurturing Your Brilliance at East West Bookshop, Wednesday, November 9th at 7 pm. Click here for details. Register now.

Comfort For the Soul Message of the Day

2011-10-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

Last night I taught my class, Saying Yes! Answering the Call of Your Soul, at the UW Experimental College. I was very happy to see so many young people in the class, including several young men and women just out of college. Some were sick and tired of feeling dissatisfied. Others were excited about the possibility of teaming up with a force greater than themselves. They all wanted to find their life purpose ... their true calling.

When I was that age, I had never even heard of the concept of life purpose. And there were no classes like mine offered on university campuses. I graduated with a degree in political science, without a clear direction. But this is not entirely true -- I did have a clear calling -- it just wasn't a traditionally accepted one. At a graduation awards ceremony, I was honored with a $4000 merit scholarship. It was my ticket to Colorado's ski country. This was where my soul was calling me. Turns out I met my husband there. We had two beautiful daughters together, who continue to provide me more joy, love, and deep commitment than anything else I've experienced in life.

I could have easily dismissed my yearning to move to Colorado. Any "ambitious" and "directed" college graduate would have used that money to finance a graduate degree, right? This is where paying attention to your own quiet voice of truth comes in. Deep down, I knew graduate school was in my future ... just not yet. Turns out my husband and I met in Colorado, fell in love, and moved to Boston where I went to law school. I now help professionals, including lawyers, to find deeper fulfillment in their work and lives. It was all in perfect order, I just didn't have the full picture when I bought my VW bug and set off for Vail.

Trusting our inner voice is key. Others close to us will always have opinions about what we should do. They mean well, but they're not privy to the intimate messages our hearts are communicating to us. As I told my class last night, you are the only expert on your life.

Life isn't linear. We're often sent on a mission that makes no good and logical sense to our conventional, ambitious selves. In our wired-to-computers-and-cell-phones, modern existence, we need quiet space for reflection so we can hear that still small voice. In his book, Creating True Peace, Thich Nhat Hanh suggests creating a Breathing Room in your home. It could be a closet that you clean out or a part of a room. You can put a bell in it, and ring the bell when you go in to breathe and get quiet. Then everyone in your household, or your own sweet heart, will know that you need peace and quiet to be still and connect with your soul. Don't be surprised if your children catch on and begin to join you there. Peace and quiet feels pretty darn good.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-10-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday two dear friends, one from high school and one from college, both got back in touch with me. I hadn't seen either of them since our school days together. I was thrilled to reunite with them, if only over email. I remembered the sweet times we shared in dance classes together. Interestingly, also yesterday morning, I had woken up feeling a bit lonely. As a result of wanting to feel differently, I set the intention to feel deeply loved. I affirmed, "I am deeply loved, feeling really grateful." Within a few hours, both friends got in touch ... this after decades of being out of touch.

In my experience, intention really does attract like experiences to us. Where intention goes, energy flows. From this place of feeling loved, I went to my business networking group last night feeling strong and confident. I announced to my group that my first Deep Relaxation~Guided Meditation class at Yogalife in Greenlake was a great success -- we had a full house! My group applauded and I felt the love again.

Another thing I feel deep in my bones is that we're here to celebrate each others' wins and successes. In supporting others, we carry each other to the finish line. And then to the next finish line, because we're always expanding and growing, devising new plans and setting new goals. The biggest mistake we can make is trying to go it alone. We're here to co-create with others. To meet new people on the path. When two or more gather, powerful positive changes occur. Notice how geese fly in formations? We would do well to follow suit.

Come fly with us tomorrow evening. I'll be teaching Saying Yes! Answering the Call of Your Soul at the ASUW Experimental College, 7 pm. Register online here. Come let go of struggle and strife and step into your magical life.

Comfort For The Soul Message of the Day

2011-10-13T08:07:00.001-07:00

ACTIVATE YOUR INTUITION. You are naturally intuitive. Your intuition can guide you powerfully from moment to moment, connecting you to what is true for you. We use our intuition all the time without realizing it. When we’re busy and moving quickly from one thing to the next, however, we can temporarily lose our connection. Activate it by asking for guidance from your Wise or Higher Self or your higher power. Simply putting your hand on your heart, taking a breath, and saying, "Take me to my center," will connect you.

You can also ask a question before going to bed at night and wake with a journal by your bed to write down your thoughts. Or let an answer emerge as you walk on it. Your sixth-sense muscle will grow stronger as you listen and act on the guidance you are given. The guidance may not make logical sense to you. Let your gut be your guide. Intuitive inspiration is gentle and usually makes you feel calm and peaceful. It feels right. Affirm: I connect with my inner guidance by asking for what I need.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-10-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

When we say, "yes!," to truly aligning with who we really are – a deliberate creator – life becomes a celebration. There is no longer anything to struggle over. We feel ourselves living at a new level -- in a new atmosphere. We may not have changed anything about our life yet, but we feel a new sense of freedom. We now have a choice about everything we do!

The rub, of course, is owning our ability to choose what we do, how we spend our time, and who we spend it with. This brings us face to face with our fears and doubts. We may say, for instance, “I don’t have a choice – I may be miserable in my job but I have to show up to it anyway. I need the paycheck. I have a family; I have commitments. People are depending on me.”

Well, sure, all of this may very well be true. At the same time, what possibilities are you closing out? You have already decided that you have no other options, and this is never true. We always have choices, we just often lack the motivation, drive, desire or will to explore even the possibility of other routes. We nix them before we’ve even given them a fair shot.

Usually we are suppressing emotions that don’t feel good. Not feeling an emotion is blocking us from having the motivation ... from feeling energized and alive and vital enough to entertain another way of thinking or acting.

So if you do nothing else, do this: feel. Pause and breathe … in and out. Close your eyes. Count your breaths, 1 to 10. Then do 10 more until you’ve done 20 inhales and exhales. Feel your mind begin to slow down. You might shed a few tears. This is good. Feel your frustrations, anger or sadness settle, like silt floats to the bottom of a pond. You are here to create something glorious … to follow your spirit … to feel at peace most of the time. This is your birthright. But do you expect to feel at peace most of the time? If not, you won’t create it.

Today I heard Wayne Dyer wisely say , “If you want to accomplish something, you must first expect it of yourself.” He continued (now I’m paraphrasing), “The expectation must be be more than a thought. You must feel it in your being.” He's so right. You must know, not just intellectually that you will be an author, or a happy lawyer, or a world traveler, you must know it deep down inside and expect it to happen. Once we just feel that something will occur or that we will attract it, it almost always comes about in some form.

If you don’t yet feel this, don’t judge yourself. Just claim this as your "work" -- to practice knowing it … to align fully with your spirit.

What is it you want to accomplish? Practice saying it daily. For example, “I am at peace.” “I am an accomplished author.” “I am a sought-after speaker in my field.” Practice it until you do feel it in your bones; until it no longer feels like a pipe dream or an unlikely stretch. You are here to make manifest the whispers of your soul. No one is going say “yes” for you, but say “yes” to yourself, and you will find many at your side cheering you on.

Are you ready for some support and encouragement in saying yes? Join us for the workshop, Saying Yes! Answering the Call of Your Soul, next Wednesday, October 19th at 7 pm. Click here for details. Or register now!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-10-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that no matter how much we try to control life, "stuff happens" anyway? We can't control everything, but we can control our response to it. We can make room for our emotions. We can show up for ourselves, giving ourselves quiet moments to feel and release tension and stress. Sometimes we just need to say, "Enough!"

I invite you to take a moment now. Pause and breathe. Drop your shoulders. Come fully into this very moment. Feel your toes. Open and close your hands. Relax your heart. Notice what you're feeling. Without trying to change or fix it, just notice and name the emotion. Breathe through it until it begins to lighten.

Now set an intention for the rest of your day: how would you like to feel? Where intention goes, energy flows.

You're invited to my new Deep Relaxation/Guided Meditation class. Join us this Friday, October 7th at Yogalife Greenlake, 7:30-8:30 pm. Come away feeling renewed, rejuvenated and ready for your weekend!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-09-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

In my coaching and counseling practice, one of the things I love the most is helping people change their story. Our story is the untruths we've been telling ourselves that keep us stuck or in pain. Maybe because I have the spirit of a detective (I loved the Nancy Drew books as a kid), I love digging in and finding the limiting belief underneath our story. Once we shine our flashlight on it, we've struck gold. Seeing it means we can move it. Moving it means we can be free of it ... and begin to take action toward what lights us up.

Here are a few enlightening stories I hear from clients:

“I want it now – I don’t have time to wait/waste.”

This is the voice of the scared ego. Underneath it is the belief that things should be happening more quickly than they are; or that a fear, like running out of money or disappointing/angering a spouse, is running the show. Pushing or hurrying ourselves never works, though. We all have a creative child inside of us that, when in fear, drags their feet. Have you ever tried to rush a 2-year old? It simply doesn't work. So becoming aware of the fear is the best way to move through it into a more co-creative energy.

A good question to ask yourself is, "What is the fear underneath my feeling that I need ______ now?" List all of your fears or speak them out loud. Releasing fear puts us into a higher vibration so we can attract what we do want.

“I can’t have what I want.”

The key with this one is recognizing that it's just part of a story -- a limiting belief. Is it really true that you can't have what you want? Are there times in your life when you did get something you wanted? List them. The universe doesn't discriminate between one beloved desire and another. We might have a story about that too, like "I can have a successful career, but only if I'm constantly stressed out." This is just a story. Many thriving people with exciting careers have learned to de-stress and create balance for themselves.

To shift the belief, acknowledge it: "I seem to believe that I can't have what I want." Then get curious. "Hmmmm .... I wonder how my life would be if I didn't belief this?" Ask yourself, "What is the deeper truth?"

“I can’t seem to get motivated.”

Again, getting really honest with yourself here should bring relief. What's the real truth here? What is keeping you from feeling motivated? What is draining your energy at home and at work? Write these down. What would make you feel motivated? Go ahead and fantasize for a moment. If money, time and resources were not at issue, what would you do? Your answers to these questions will show you any unmet needs. How can you meet these needs by taking better care of yourself?

There are almost always small things we can do to feel better. What juices your energy? For me, it's dancing to a favorite song. It's free, and it takes 5 minutes. I'm smiling the whole time, which sends endorphins flying. And I feel big surge in energy afterward.

Are you willing to identify and add one energy juicer to your day?

“I feel discouraged. Nothing is working.”

Is it true that nothing is working? Do you have a daily spiritual practice? Without one, it is very easy to get pulled down into negative emotions. Daily journaling, meditation, dancing, or prayer are a few ways we can stay connected to our source of well-being. The truth is, we need a spiritual practice to thrive.

One more thing ... if you truly feel that nothing is working, you may need to grieve a loss. Feeling is healing, but many of us unconsciously repress our emotions. For one thing, clients sometimes say they're afraid to feel too much -- that they'll be swallowed up by the emotions. Creating safe space in which to feel is vital. So is finding tools that work for you.

If you'd like a guide in moving through grief, loss, or just feelings of stuckness, give me a call at 206-605-2900 or send me an email. I help people move through struggle and strife and create a magical life.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-09-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

Don’t let the to-do’s of your day keep you from connecting to the deep source of love inside you. Remember that we create our happiness from the inside out, not the other way around. Let this place inside of you -- the quiet place within of truth and knowing -- fill your heart to the brim. Love is your nature. Abundance is your nature. Joy and bliss are your nature, just like the electric pink of these dahlias is part of their true nature.

The truth is, you have everything you need. You have it ALL going on! Let the doubts go, just as an experiment. Play with this knowing instead. Try it on – give it a shot. What do you have to lose? Enjoy!

Speaking of love, joy and bliss, I'd love to help you connect with yours. We'll be gathering twice monthly for a class in Deep Relaxation ~ Guided Meditation. All levels encouraged to attend -- including very beginners to meditation. I'll be guiding you, so all you have to do is relax and receive. Here are the details for the first month:

Wear loose-fitting clothing likes sweats or yoga pants.

Meets the First and Second Friday of each month in two Seattle locations

Dates and times for October:

October 7: Yogalife Greenlake ~ 7:30 - 8:30 pm

October 14: Yogalife Queen Anne ~ 7:00 - 8:00 pm

Register in person:

$15 ~ drop-in

$39 ~ 5 class pass (for new Yogalife students)

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-09-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

Come Alive to your True Self. We all came to this planet with gifts, talents and abilities we intended to develop and use. Often, however, we have dimmed our light by unconsciously choosing paths or roles that our parents, teachers or societal expectations encouraged. Sometimes we are doing what we enjoy, but squelching our own fulfillment with energy-sucking beliefs like perfectionism or people-pleasing. We might be so accommodating to others' needs in the name of "service" that we don't dare let out the person we really are. Living out of alignment with our passions and values is like walking around with a dark cloud over our head. We can easily become a slave to our routines. We forget the true purpose for which we're living.

You know you're living your purpose when your life and work are energized with a sense of meaning and joy. You come away from your interactions consistently feeling fulfilled. By contrast, when we're running on "auto-pilot" or "just getting by," we are living at half-mast ... doing our lives half-heartedly. There is very little juice, zest, or joie de vivre.

Try this: Noticing that we feel dimmed down is the first step to coming alive -- it's a wake-up call. Doing something we love always brings us back into flow. What are you missing that you haven't done in awhile? If you can't muster the energy for this, try making someone else's day. Think of someone you care about, and what would light them up. The creative spirit loves surprises. Surprising another brings us de-light as well.

Affirm: No matter how I feel right now, I invite my true self to guide me. I watch for signs of delight, and follow them to my bliss.

Are You Ready to Create a Magical Life?

2011-09-20T18:58:00.001-07:00

I have two questions for you ...

Are you ready to move out of struggle and strife?

And step into a magical life?

Here's what's true:

Our spirit knows exactly what we need to thrive.

We only need to connect with it regularly to access the subtle wise guidance that is already within us.

All we need to do is show up!

Join us for Deep Relaxation ~ Guided Meditation in a safe and empowering atmosphere of intentional co-creation ...

The details:

Join Betsy for the calming oasis we all need to re-balance and rejuvenate. Betsy will introduce a different theme each month, beginning with the Power of Intention.

After some gentle stretches to open and relax the body, Betsy will guide us in a multi-sensory meditation intended to lead you to a peaceful place of clarity within where you can connect with your wise guidance.

Guided meditation is a powerful, intention-based practice with deeply healing benefits including total body/mind relaxation, better sleep, a stronger immune system, and a greater sense of freedom. This class will also strengthen your intuitive awareness and manifesting skills, so you can move forward in creating your own magical life.

Everyone is welcome regardless of ability. Both brand-new-to-meditation and seasoned meditators are encouraged to attend. Please join us!

Wear loose-fitting clothing likes sweats or yoga pants.

Meets the First and Second Friday of each month in two Seattle locations

Dates and times for October:

October 7: Yogalife Greenlake ~ 7:30 - 8:30 pm

October 14: Yogalife Queen Anne ~ 7:00 - 8:00 pm

$15 ~ drop-in

$39 ~ 5 class pass (for new Yogalife students)

Join us!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-09-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

How often, at work or in your personal life, do you find yourself doing something you’d rather not be doing? We have many reasons, which are sometimes excuses, for why we do things, but that’s another article. For now, I invite you to imagine your daily interactions with co-workers, colleagues, and even family members. Notice what you’re doing, who you’re seeing, and how you feel as you approach each activity. What is your attitude? Do you feel vital and alive, energized and happy? Neutral? Frustrated, depressed or angry?

Every time we show up for a business meeting, phone call, or dinner with our kids, we are bringing our energy to it. Our attitude determines whether we add joy or value to the event, and whether we feel energized or drained by it.

Play with me for a second. This requires a little pretending from your 5-year-old-self. Imagine a world where, every time you showed up for something, including your job, you had to bring a tray of gold to the person or people you were meeting with. Even when you were supposedly helping them. If you had to pay gold everywhere you went, wouldn’t you be more selective about your job, your friends … how you spend your time?

I offer this metaphor because in truth, you are paying out your precious resources with everything you do. Your energy is worth it’s weight in gold. Every choice you make, from what to wear to who you work with to what field you work in, requires your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy. The more you love what you do, the less energy you expend, and the more energy you receive. So in other words, the more passionate you are, the more juiced you are … and the more gold you walk away with. Choose wisely.

You're worth it.

A Magical Fall: The One Shift to Make

2011-09-13T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hold on to all of your dream. Most people don't find their heart's desire, because they decide to pursue just half their dream - and consequently they hunt for it with only half a heart.

~ Richard Bolles, What Color is Your Parachute

Talk to any Seattlelite and they'll swear to you that summer passed us by. Our weather has been as frustratingly unpredictable as the August stock market dive. We had record low temperatures July and August, and now, the first week of September, a string of hot, "real" summer days. Our strange weather has felt symbolic of my personal summer as well.

I experienced excruciating sciatic nerve pain over a 3-week period and then came down with cold symptoms -- in August! Just as I was feeling well enough to roller blade again, I spilled a very small amount of water on my laptop keyboard, a couple of tablespoons, max, just enough to damage its major organs. We've all heard the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Given our planetary shifts and life's "new normal" of economic uncertainty, has there ever been a period in our lifetime when this advice was more apropos?

You can see why I needed inspiration. My recipe for lemonade was a committed resolve to get away and have some fun over the Labor Day weekend. I visited my 22-year-old daughter, Kate, in her college town of Bellingham. She was excited for me to check out her work place, a mostly take-out eatery called Pel'meni, which serves only two kinds of Russian dumplings, and features a self-serve record player with hundreds of classic albums to choose from for folks who choose to eat in at one of the three cozy tables.

For this story to make sense to you, I have to tell you that Kate, a graphic design student, has not always been fond of paying work. In fact, she did a lot to avoid it. She once candidly asked me, "Why should I rush to get a summer job? I want to enjoy my life while I can! Soon enough I'll be an adult, working hard to make a living in a job that makes me miserable."

Over a sunny breakfast in a Dahlia-filled courtyard at the Harris Street Café in Fairhaven, Kate spoke of her beloved job with a contented smile and sparkle in her eye. "Mama, she confided in a soft tone, "this job is perfect for me. It's my own show. No one tells me what to do. I'm in charge of everything. I make the dumplings, greet the customers, and handle the cash register. Everyone loves the food and appreciates what I do, and I get great tips! I've made a bunch of new friends and my world has completely expanded."

I know, you might be thinking, "Oh, to be young again! I remember when life was so simple. Now I have responsibilities and commitments. I wish I could be free to make choices like a young 20-something ..." Here's the truth, whether we can attract our heart's desire doesn't depend on the kind of job or rate of pay we're seeking. Kate inspires me because she now understands what many of us in mid-life still don't get. Getting what we want begins with a clear vision. We create our lives from the inside out.

Kate found her (for now) dream job in a struggling economy. She didn't let the black cloud of doom-and gloom job market statistics and trends keep her from seeking out what she really wanted. She loved the atmosphere and food at Pel'meni, envisioned herself happily working there, and bugged the owner for months before he finally gave her the job.

If there's one shift that has positively changed my life and the lives of my clients, it's getting to the truth of how we truly create magical lives. We change our focus. We stop looking outside of ourselves and blaming our circumstances for why we aren't happy or our work or relationships or love life aren't working.

Instead, we make this shift: we look inward.

As I guide my clients and students in meditation to receive clarity, we move our focus to our heart. In this place of deep relaxation, we're open enough to let in inspiration -- feelings, thoughts and clues to what we really want. Then we take practical action in our inspired direction, because chasing a watered-down dream is like driving with the emergency break on.

Yes, there will be difficulties and obstacles to move through. Fears, worries, doubts, money issues, etc. Fearlessness isn't the absence of fear - it's being willing to face and move through your fears. This is why we need support. No one turns uncertainty into opportunity by going it alone. If what you want lights you up enough, if you know in your soul that this is an experience you want to have sooner than later, then you will see doors open for you. That is, once you commit. This is your life, no one, including the universe, is going to invest more in your happiness than you do.

Are you ready to create a magical life? I would love to guide you with the tools you need, deep caring and support. I invite you to schedule a 30-minute coaching consultation to see if we would be a dynamic fit. Call me at 206-605-2900, or send me an email.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-09-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I explored beautiful Victoria, B.C., and happened on a cozy little eatery with delicious fresh and organic entrees called Cafe Bliss. Catching a glimpse of their sign made me smile big. Who doesn't want more bliss in their life?

This morning I worked with a client who is getting to know her most authentic self for the very first time. Like all of us, her bliss gets interrupted by moments of self-judgment, fear and self-doubt. We were taught to put ourselves last -- that pleasing others is our ticket to happiness. Then an unexpected event of loss or betrayal, or just on on-going, gnawing sense of, "Is this all there is?" wakes us up. The truth is, no one can make us happy unless we love ourselves first.

Loving ourselves is a practice in mindfulness. We first have to notice when and where we're not being loving to ourselves. Beating ourselves up in our inner dialogue is more obvious than simply failing to support our own creativity, although both drag down our self-esteem and vitality. Our inner dialogue is so powerful in shaping our actions, that it's a great place to start.

I want to offer you a tip I gave my client this morning. There is nothing more powerful than being your own, most nurturing parent to the innocent child within you. If you do nothing else, begin to act as if you have a child on board with you -- living inside and outside of you -- who is always watching how you treat yourself. Talk to yourself as though you were this tender 5-year-old. Every time you look in the mirror say, "I love you, sweetheart." When you feel discouraged or in pain say, "I"m so sorry you're not feeling well. What do you need most right now?"

It may feel silly at first, but nurturing your inner child will change your life if you do it. Compassion and empathy are profoundly healing. Giving this to ourselves is foreign and awkward to most of us. We get much better with practice, and after a month or so of regular self-nurturing, we begin to see our challenges in a whole new light. Life becomes easier, and our hearts lighten.

This is my recipe for your own personal Cafe Bliss.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-08-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

Embrace Your Saboteur. Have you ever noticed, when we get close to manifesting a deep desire, we can sabotage our success with fear, doubt or an old dysfunctional pattern?

The law of non-attachment teaches us to go after what we want without getting attached to the package in which it shows up. Easier said than done! When we get too attached to the outcome we desire, uncomfortable or painful emotional triggers kick up dust clouds that blind us from seeing clearly. What we're attached to eludes us. As soon as we say, "you, shiny object, are what I want (and need!)," we are hooked. We're no longer in the present moment. Instead, we're off in our past remembering past dramas and traumas, and creating stories about the present situation to make sense of what's happening. We feel a familiar sense of disappointment, loss or anger. We've been here before. Our walls go up to protect ourselves from more pain. Paradoxically, this behavior blocks us from creating the job, creative project, or sweet intimacy with others that our heart so desires.

This is when we need to unhook from our mind and come back to current reality. We can look around and literally name what's in front of us. For example, I see my laptop, my tea mug, and feel my feet touching the wood floor. This is grounding.

The next thing is to have deep compassion for ourselves and anyone else involved. Our mind wants to judge -- this is good or bad, right or wrong, trusting or deceitful. Our spirit knows better. All of us, in our essence, are pure love.

When the saboteur comes knocking, step back and be the detached observer. In other words, notice where you are freaking out, and what's making you afraid. To get a bigger picture perspective, I love the question, "What would love do in this situation?"

If the thing you wanted has gone away, don't despair. What has left was never yours to begin with. Thank the universe for giving you an opportunity to heal patterns that keep you from having what you want. Once you recognize your sabotaging pattern and give it love, you can release it from your repertoire. Know that you are now one step closer to having your heart's desire.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-08-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

“Money is My Own Natural Energy Yield.”

~ John Randolph Price

Do you feel limited by how much money you have or earn? In other words, are you putting your authentic desires on hold because of money?

I love inspiring author Iyanla Vanzant’s wise words, “"if money is the only problem, there is no problem." The “problem” is our story. We all have a story about money. “There’s not enough,” “I can’t afford it,” “I’m broke!” Or how about a deep-seated one many of us aren't aware of, “I can only make money doing what makes me unhappy.” These are a few examples of unempowering money stories.

“All my needs are met and there is always plenty,” has an entirely different ring, doesn’t it? Or even, “If I really want something, I’ll find a way to make it happen.” These stories are energizing. They make me feel motivated to go for what I want.

So if our money fears are not about the real lack of money, what are they about? Fear is insidious. It talks us out of heart’s desire in less than a split second. Money fears will take you down and keep you stuck, like a car turned sideways in a ditch.

A shortage of money is a shortage of vision. Your vision is powerful. It propels you forward. Go back to your vision … what do you want? What do you really, really want? Go into the picture as if your life were a Technicolor movie. See, feel, hear, smell and taste it. Visualize it until you feel the excitement coming back.

If there’s a lack of money, we must raise our vibration and align our consciousness with the energy of the universe. Money is not your supply, the universe is. Yes, money comes through others, but it’s our thoughts and positive emotions that draw it to us. For that we need a clear vision!

One of my clients envisioned making an extra $5000 a few months ago and a few days later, a landscaper offered her several thousand for a rare tree in her yard. No kidding.

When was the last time you created something wonderful in your life? Something that fires you up, just thinking about it. Go back to how you attracted it to you. What were your thoughts and feelings about it? Most likely, your heart was committed to having it. You were excited and motivated to take action. You wouldn’t have taken “no” for an answer. You knew this was right for you.

This is the state of mind we want to be in. It often means letting go of the past and forgiving yourself (and others) for anything you now regret. The past is history. As Iyanla says, “Forget the car accident, you survived.”

It’s time to step into the present and envision your dreams.

The Power of Trusting

2011-08-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

Note: I asked one of my career transition clients for permission to share her story because it is powerful, and I think it will inspire you. Enjoy!

"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."
~ Alexander Graham Bell

When Cynthia (not her real name), a hard-working and spunky, petite blonde woman, came to me for coaching, she was a frustrated attorney in a law firm that measured success primarily by the number of hours she billed. "I feel as though I'm hooked up to a (billing) machine," she explained, "and worse, that some of my best contributions are not considered 'billable tasks.'" Cynthia wanted me to help her identify and land her ideal job. She wanted to find her passion.

I agreed to help her on one condition. I encouraged her to first focus on what she could control in her current job. This would increase her energy and help her feel better right away. Cynthia vowed to be less of a self-described "pleaser" at work, and to be more playful with her kids at home. She met with her boss and suggested some new systems that would both increase the firm's efficiency and give her more recognition for her true strengths. Her life began to flow more smoothly on all fronts.

Now she had enough energy freed up to devote to her ideal job search.

We began with the question, where do you start to find your passion? Especially when you feel trapped in a job that pays the bills but doesn't fulfill you?

We start with your imagination. This is the realm of the right brain. Our left-brained, analytical side is an important part of the discovery process as well, but our intellect isn't what attracts the job we love. Our feeling nature does. This is why I help clients create a vision of their perfect work. The visionary part of us lives in our imagination, and our imagination is fueled by our heart's desires.

Each time we met I guided Cynthia to create an intention because, where intention goes, energy flows. "What does your heart want? How do you want to feel in your next job?" I asked her. In a guided meditation, I led her across an imaginary bridge to see, feel, taste, smell, hear and sense her vision intuitively. I also gave her left brain some in-depth exercises for assessing the top skills, fields, work environment and more that would most fulfill her. She put the two together to crystallize a clear trajectory for her job search.

Not surprisingly, Cynthia's ideal career vision aligned with her cherished values. She wanted to work in the field of real estate, as she had before the economic downturn. To stay true to herself, she would need to work collaboratively on a team with her co-workers to build something from scratch. Her inner diva wanted recognition as well, and her humanitarian self wanted to leave a legacy of structural beauty for the community to enjoy.

As often happens when you become very clear on your vision, the universe responded. Not in the way Cynthia or I had hoped, however. The universe gave her the boot. She was let go from her firm.

Yikes. Fear set in. She had two young children to support and her family counted on her income. She began talking about the terrible odds of finding work in real estate, a field that, in her mind, "wasn't hiring." She could no longer afford to seek out her ideal, she reasoned. She needed a job now.

Fear is a funny thing. Fear says, "I can't have what I want," with ironclad assurance. The scared ego makes us think we can only find success doing what makes us miserable.

I agreed with Cynthia that if she thought she couldn't find work in real estate, she would be right. Our thoughts are powerful guides for attracting new opportunities to ourselves - or pushing exciting possibilities out of the way. If she wanted a shot at landing her ideal job, she would have to proceed as though it were possible.

She would have to give credence to the power of her vision to attract, which contemporary scientific studies now affirm. Our visions comes from the heart, which science has documented has a magnetic field 5000 times more powerful than the magnetic field of the brain.

I brought her back to the Law of Attraction. "You don't have to nail down the entire real estate industry. It only takes one offer ... one match. Your dream position wants you as much as you want it."

Often, we have the greatest urge to give up just before a breakthrough. We are tempted to turn back and settle for something bearable. The wait between creating our vision and having it manifest in reality can feel like an agonizing test. Until the new door flings open, we are asked to trust the power of our heart's inner guidance system.

Cynthia had worked hard to identify her dream job attributes. Plus, she'd been journeying to her imagination daily to feel the freedom and joy of having it. In fact, a few weeks before losing her job, she had applied for a job that matched her ideal (and no billable hours).

She agreed to put both feet in. For the next week, instead of panicking and grasping for jobs she didn't want, she visualized herself in the job she'd applied for.

Then I got her email, "Hi Betsy, I want to let you know that I got the job! I'm so, so happy."

I'd love to help empower you through change, wanted or unwanted! I help clients in both career and personal transitions transform their lives from the inside out. To schedule a complimentary 30-minute coaching consultation with me, call me at 206-605-2900 or send me an email.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-08-10T10:31:00.000-07:00

The simple beauty of my coaching office

This morning a colleague told me that I had a beautiful website. While it always feels good to receive positive feedback on my work, what struck me more was the affirmation that I am on track in living my purpose. In addition to helping empower others to transform their lives, I love creating beauty. Making anything more artful makes me happy and lights me up. As multi-faceted people, we are complex and colorful beings with varied needs and desires. We benefit enormously from knowing what we love and value, and then living true to our passions and values.

One of my clients also spoke of living in alignment in our coaching session this morning. She told me the story of a recent meeting with her financial planner, who had come out of his finely-appointed office to greet her wearing a t-shirt and shorts and new ankle tatoo. Not used to seeing him this way (most of his clients have multi-million dollar accounts), she laughed and commented positively on his very relaxed attire. He told her of his decision to only do things and work with people he fully enjoys, and who share his values.

It takes courage to live in full alignment with our values. To let go of clients, situations or our own behavior patterns, for that matter, that clash with what is truly most important to us. Especially when the economy is in turmoil, or we go into fear, it's easy to grasp for the quick fix that makes us feel more secure in the moment. We forget that our true security lies in our connection to Spirit, our life purpose, and who we came here to become. When we take the risk and stand firmly in harmony with our values, we are living in integrity. This is when the universe opens up and grace enters.

I'd love to hear your experiences of grace affirming your life decisions. Or times when you were tempted to go off track but stayed true to yourself instead. Your sharing inspires us. Please share!

2011-08-05T10:06:00.001-07:00

RIDE THE WAVE OF JOY. Check in with yourself right now. Where are you on the joy meter? I am writing at a café, noticing a group of middle-aged men conversing, connecting and laughing a lot. They are in the moment, listening attentively to one another. No doubt they have concerns, stresses, and to-do lists like the rest of us, but in this moment they are be completely present. The feeling is light and joyful.

No matter what’s happening right now in your life, you can choose to do the activities and tasks of your day with joy and ease. The ego might say time is scarce and you are running behind. Coming from fear instead of love, the ego habitually pushes us to do better and move faster. It makes us feel inadequate and drains our energy.

If you notice this happening, take a moment to step back and breathe. Affirm that you want to feel good! The frequency of joy is always available. When was the last time you felt light and playful? Take a moment to tune into this memory. The subconscious mind responds to what we nourish ourselves with. It doesn't distinguish between something that happened in the past, present or our imagination. We can bring the good feelings of our past into the present to rejuvenate ourselves. Take your light and playful memory and really soak it in. Allow every cell of your body to open and receive the sweet essence of your memory. Notice how your mood shifts. Place feeling good at the top of your list, and everything else will fall into place.

Affirmation: Feeling good is my birthright -- and I claim it! I am ready to shift into joy. Ease is the way.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-08-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

YOU ARE A SPIRITUAL WARRIOR. Moving toward your destiny is a quest that grows you in ways you never imagined. When we experience hurdles that feel too difficult to clear, we often wonder why this is so hard, and whether we should turn around or give up.

Take heart and don the cloak of your spiritual warrior self! The spiritual warrior knows that a goal is not just an end in itself – it is a pathway to healing and growth. S/he is aware that the trials we experience as we create our dreams build the character and stamina we need to see our goals through to fruition. We fall down and get back up, dust ourselves off, and begin again. In the process of creating positive change, we become a more loving, compassionate, courageous, humble, honest and grateful person. Perhaps this is the bigger picture of our true destiny.

Recognize that with all challenges on your path, a higher purpose is present. Often the difficult passages ask us to give up old patterns that aren’t serving us, such as perfectionism or procrastination. Your challenge may also be requiring something new of you, such as more compassion, self-love, or speaking your truth with yourself and others. Know that whatever pattern you are being shown, healing it is leading you to more happiness!

Try this: Ask yourself some powerful questions. How is this hurdle asking me to grow? To move through it with grace and ease, how must I show up?

What one step would you be willing to take in this direction?

Affirm: I have everything I need to move forward with ease and grace.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-07-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

It's a fact of life that we often want something we don't yet have. Inner peace, career fulfillment, passion with our mate. In her song, Soak Up the Sun, Sheryl Crow sings, "It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got." There's great wisdom in her words. At the same time, we are ever expanding and evolving beings. Doors sometimes close, throwing us back into the flux and uncertainty of loss and change. This is when "wanting what we've got" can feel very challenging.

The best way I've found to attract new opportunities is to act "as if." You've no doubt already done this for others many times, like envisioning a friend or relative healthy and well when they were struggling with an illness or having surgery. It takes a real commitment to your own well being to do this for yourself. But it's necessary! Our thoughts and emotions are the very foundation of our success. They create the magnetic power for what we attract. positive or negative, in our lives.

Most of us have thousands of thoughts daily about what's not working, what we don't want, what we're afraid will happen, what we can do to forestall the doom and gloom our thoughts produce. No wonder we often feel stuck. It's like planting an edible garden in toxic soil, and expecting to produce beautiful, thriving veggies as a result.

So here's another way. Play a game. Say "thank you!" ... in advance. You have to be willing to pretend for this -- to use your imagination, like you did easily and naturally when you were a kid. Do you remember what you would pretend to be when you were a small child? My sisters and I would pretend to be teachers and students when we "played school," or to be the players in The Sound of Music when we acted out the movie in our living room.

Although your inner child is very present in helping you imagine already having what you want, this isn't child's play anymore -- it's skillful manifesting! The key is really feeling, in your body, the truth of having it. In other words, you've got to get your heart involved. If you're heart isn't feeling alive and deeply satisfied when you imagine something, you probably don't really want it. (Sometimes our intellect thinks we want something we really don't.)

"Thank you, for giving me all that I need to thrive and bloom." "I am so grateful that I am so well loved and nourished." "I am thrilled that I have a wonderful job that pays my bills and more, and deeply fulfills me." It's true that saying these words alone won't be enough to bring them into reality. The truth of them has to register as clear direction to our subconscious mind, the part of us that attracts events, people and success to our lives. We do this by experiencing it in virtual reality first. If we can make it real in our minds, and it feels really good to us, we can bring it into material reality in some form. "This or something better," we can add, to detach from our desires enough to stay in the flow.

I invite you to make a game of saying "thank you!" for what you are working on manifesting. Expect your intellect or inner critic to object. Observe it telling you the reasons you can't have it. This is where your commitment makes all the difference. Say yes to what you want, despite the contrary voices. Visualize it, sense it, feel it and fully imagine it first in the sacred space of your mind.

If you feel you're not visual, or you'd like help with the visualization process, try my CD, Guided Meditations for Awakening Your Passion. Visualization is a skill you get good at with practice. Practice with the CD and you'll be amazed at what you begin attracting into your life. Enjoy the process!

2011-07-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

Graphic Design by Kate Warinsky

I remember going to my daughter, Kate’s, high school art department’s “Gallery Night.” All students were invited to bring their families to an evening that showcased their art. Kate invited me with great enthusiasm. She couldn’t wait to show me her drawings! But as we explored the art classroom's exhibits, I saw my daughter’s heart sink as she realized the teacher hadn’t put up any of her pieces. Being a teacher myself and knowing how vital it is to encourage budding talent, I felt surprise and then anger well up inside of me. Taking some deep breaths, I calmed myself and approached the teacher with a smile, thinking she must have made a mistake and inadvertently left Kate’s work out. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case. She told me there “wasn’t room” for all the kids’ work.

As talented an artist as Kate is, I could tell by her facial expression and silent ride home that this evening was a hit to her self esteem as an artist. Fortunately, it didn’t last long. Kate enrolled in a photography class the next semester and had a wonderfully encouraging teacher. The positive feedback she continued to receive fueled her own passion to design and create. A number of art classes later, she recently designed the poster for the Bite of Bellingham. Her lively and sophisticated design just appeared in Bellingham’s local newspaper. She is now a published graphic designer!

I have read countless stories of highly successful people whose talents have bloomed despite lack of encouragement, or worse, disparagement, by supposed “experts” in their fields. As I tell my job-hunting clients, it only takes one 'ideal job' offer to make a match. For those seeking a romantic partner, just one person who's "perfect" for you. And when it comes to living our passions, It only takes one discerning person to give an us opportunity to shine.

If you’re "waiting to be discovered,” I encourage you to first discover yourself. I learned from wise teacher and self-growth author, Barbara Sher, that our inner wisdom is the only true expert on our nascent talents and gifts. The truth is, you are gifted at what you love. It’s that simple. Now it may be that what you love, your passions, haven’t been fully developed yet. It is rare to be a “born” anything. We have to be willing to put time and effort into honing our talents. True, we don’t necessarily know where saying yes to a love will lead. This is where trusting comes in. Trust that if you’ve been given a passion, it was meant to lead you somewhere.

Which brings me to the importance of staying connected to your own wise guidance. When we’re feeling tender and vulnerable about a desire to do something different or make a change, we need to be careful about who we share this with. Choose only people you can trust who will hold your dream high and reflect back your brilliant potential.

Keep your ears attuned to your heart’s desires, and your eyes focused on the prize of your own passions. As Goethe wrote, "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-07-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

"They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you got to rise above "

~John Mayer

There is a real world, but it's not the one we've been taught to believe in. Everything "real" in this world has been created by someone, with their own story, their own perceptions, and their own beliefs. We get to create our own real.

What's truly real is the world that resides inside of each and every one of us. Your were born with a dream in your heart. And then someone said, "No, you can't." And as a new child in this world, you didn't know any better, so you believed them.

Whatever is dwelling in the deepest recesses of your being, I am here to say, "Yes, you can!" A seed does not grow into a flower unless there is a place for it in the garden. Today, just be open to what is wanting to sprout from your unlimited potential. You don't have to say yes or no yet. Begin by just noticing it. Acknowledge your dreams. We're not given a spark of inspiration unless we have the inner resources to make it reality. Our dreams, however remote they may seem right now, are the fuel that gets our momentum going. They are holding out possibilities to you like a sweet 5-year-old proudly handing you a bouquet of dandelions.

Try this: Take a spiral notebook or journal and write "If I could create my own real world, I would ..." Fill in the blank over and over. Be open and free with this. Let what bubbles up come out on the page. Don't censor what you write. If it's outlandish and something you would never do, so much the better. You are opening the flow, not committing to change your life in one fell swoop. We take care of the what; the Universe takes care of the how. This is the kind of exercise that inspired me to try stand-up comedy, and most recently, tricks on the flying trapeze. I didn't know how to do either one. I wasn't funny as a kid, and I only attended the circus maybe once. Spirit led me to both inspirations and took care of the details.

Affirmation: Today I notice what I love. In every little "maybe I could," there is a spark of the divine. The more I open to my divine creativity, the more I love my life.

Flying Into New Possibilities

2011-07-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

Go ahead

Put your toes over the edge

Let go and trust the Gods

Nothing you knew will ever be the same

Say yes, and you will become new again

As you dip into the deep, wide arc of the unknown

Feel the wind hold your dancing spirit in flight

Feel it catch your joy and set it on fire

Hear your soul cheering your daring dive

You did it! And you are still alive!

More alive, actually, than ever

Go ahead

Put your toes over the edge

Fear not the unknown

It is only the place

Your heart has not yet kissed

Fourth of July weekend, I did it. I said yes to a stirring in my soul.

With a few decades of experience now, I have learned to recognize the call of my soul to take a risk. I know I'm feeling "called" when the risk is scary enough to terrify me, but exciting enough to be life-changing if I go for it. I call this feeling, "exhilarated fear." And I felt this at once uncomfortable yet highly motivating feeling when I contemplated this new adventure.

I fell in love as soon as I heard what I would learn. I would learn to fly.

One of the three caring and strong trapeze instructors wrapped a harness around my waist and hooked me onto a safety line. I climbed 25 feet above the ground on a skinny metal ladder, stepped onto a narrow platform, and dutifully put my toes over the edge. My partner on "the board," the safety instructor, pulled the trapeze bar toward me with a giant hook. "Grab the bar," he said, in his gentle yet firm tone. I felt the primal fear of slipping off the board envelop my body from head to toe. A heavy, black cloud of dread. My heart beat faster. Deep breaths helped, but as much as I made sure not to look down and chanted, "I am safe," the growing fear had sucked up all the exhilaration. "Survive!" was now my only mantra.

Turning back wasn't an option I gave myself. Despite the overwhelming fear, I had imagined successfully flying more than I'd considered failing. I grabbed the trapeze bar with one hand and then did the most terrifying thing - I let go of the platform's pole and took the bar with my other hand. Summoning all the courage and wild abandon I could muster, I stepped off the board and swung into the vast unknown.

I flew! Out over the net. The swing propelled me forward and I savored the high. Woo hoo! I did it! The impossible. I transcended the terror! I felt expanded. Open and bigger for having risked. I felt new again.

My swing slowed down to a near halt. The instructor gave the call: "Let go of the bar." It took a couple of tries before I trusted enough to drop into the net. But by the end of the day, I had completed a "knee hang" trick and back flip into the net.

On Day 2, I trusted enough to release my hands and knees from the bar and fly into the waiting arms of the catcher. Wow, what a feeling -- connecting in mid-air with a strong, handsome man whom I trusted implicitly. "I've got you!" he exclaimed. Another "woo hoo!" Exhilaration had returned - one hundred fold!

Moving through fear, letting go, trusting, staying focused, and persevering, these are all powerful lessons of the flying trapeze, for sure. But something else struck me more: I didn't do this alone. I had a crew of classmates and coaches who cheered me on from the moment I arrived.

"I'm the only one in our group who's never done this before?" I had uttered with trepidation to the warm and smiling young woman who initially greeted me. "I'm really glad you're here," said Emily, in sincere response, with an enthusiasm and welcoming that immediately put me at ease.

My "angels" were accomplished trapeze artists in their own right. Confident, strong and caring people, the instructors were right there for me at every step in the process: hooking me in to the safety lines, holding my harness belt until I took off, catching me in mid air, and expertly handling the lines should I need some help down.

I came away struck by this knowing: nothing life-transforming happens by going it alone. In my experience, it is very difficult to remember this, especially when we're in the midst of a difficult life change or transition. We forget that life isn't ours to struggle through solo. The truth is, we can accomplish seemingly impossible feats with the power of caring support.

Another truth: our potential will never be wholly seen by ourselves alone. After I accomplished my first knee hang trick and catch, Gary, the Emerald City Trapeze School owner and instructor, approached me with a knowing smile. "It's time you learned your next trick," he said. "Oh, I responded with obvious hesitation, "that sounds good ... as soon as I master the knee hang." With a little grin he replied, "Who's in charge here anyway?" He motioned to the "flight school" instructor, "go ahead and teach Betsy the heels-off trick."

Right. In my mind, I wasn't ready to advance. In Gary's vision, I was already successful in my next trick. His nudge led me to success on the second try.

On the third and final day of class, our seminar leader, Sam Keen, spiritual teacher, philosopher, and author of Learning to Fly, said something radical. "You don't need courage to be successful. This is a myth. You can catch the courage from your classmates."

Yes. I catch courage from my own coach, and I my clients say they catch it from me. Our guides usually have a higher vision of our capabilities than we do. This is why we can move into our genius so much more easily and quickly with the help of wise insight and direction.

What is it that you could use a little - or a lot of -- courage to do? Eleanor Roosevelt wisely said, "You must do the thing you think cannot do." I invite you to come talk to me about flying into your new possibilities.

To schedule a complimentary 30-minute coaching consultation with me, call me at 206-605-2900 or send me an email.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-07-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

I love summer! It's my favorite season, and not just because I was born and raised in southern California and the sun finally comes out in Seattle. Summer brings the energy of fire, which we can harness to open our hearts even more to living passionately and on purpose. We usually plan some "down time" this time of year. This gives us an opportunity to reflect on our lives, what we want and don't want, and where we need change. We're also more likely to lighten up in the summer and be more open to change and inspiration. Summer is an invitation to love ourselves into the magnificent beings we came here to become. To do this, we must say yes to living a magical life.

A magical life is living in tune with nature's laws. It's the realization that we create with our thoughts and intentions. That is, we create our lives and attract opportunities, including jobs and relationships, from the inside out. Everything you have in your life right now began with a thought. Even if you didn't realize it at the time, you brought it into being by seeing it or something similar in your imagination. We become super powerful creators in our lives when we choose to attract what we want with intention.

Two weeks ago I made an intention to take my life and work to the next level of fulfillment and happiness. When I'm near death and looking back on my well-lived life, I want to feel without a doubt that I lived full out. For me, this means challenging myself along the way so I keep growing into my potential. Recently, I knew this meant taking a new risk in some area of my life. Risks don't have to be huge, i.e., potentially catastrophic or a threat to our current livelihood or base of security. For me, the best kind of risk asks me to face and move through a fear, knowing that I will also feel exhilarated and proud of myself for going for it.

So I did it. I took a flying trapeze class. I climbed 25 feet above the ground on a skinny ladder, stepped onto a narrow platform, and put my toes over the edge. I grabbed the trapeze bar with one hand and then the other, and summoned all the courage I could muster. I let go.

What happened next??? Read about it in my July newsletter, coming out early next week! Sign up to receive your copy here.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-06-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

One of my teachers, Sandra Anne Taylor, recently hosted a HayHouse radio program entitled, The Happiness Intention. Sandra talked about "being happy no matter what." In other words, choosing your emotions, regardless of what's happening in your world. In addition intending to manifest our goals and dreams, we can choose to have an emotional intention. That is, an intention to live from a certain level of integrity. That regardless of what life serves up, I will put my own well being first.

Not easy, I know. We get triggered by negative events and people on a regular basis. Things go wrong, our hopes are dashed, we feel discouraged or defeated. I'm not talking about putting a happy face on sadness, anger or frustration. Feeling is healing. We have to feel what we're feeling before we can come back to a sense of calm and equilibrium.

What I'm talking about is another way of seeing and doing life. It's about making a decision -- a decision that no matter what happens in your life, you're not going to let it influence your well being for long. At the crux of this decision is deep wisdom. It's the realization that life is a creative process, which means ideas, jobs, projects, and relationships are always changing. Part of life is gain, another is loss. We get invited, and we get rejected. (It's not personal, but we often take it personally). We can't control the comings and goings of our circumstances, but we can control how we respond to them. We've all heard the adage, "When one door closes another one opens." But we've got to come to peace with the other door closing before we can walk through the one standing open for us, waiting for us to dance though.

Since I made the decision to put my well being first, I've experienced a sense of freedom that I know is possible for everyone. It doesn't mean I still don't get triggered emotionally. It's part of the human condition. We want things to go well, and a certain about of attachment fuels our commitment to projects and goals. But the truth is, we can't influence external events positively when we're stressed out and feeling negative.

Deciding to take control of our own happiness is an incredible act of power. It is taking care of our emotional world in the same way we care for our physical bodies with adequate rest, nutrition and exercise. It means taking responsibility for moving gracefully through our emotions when we do get triggered, giving ourselves compassion and understanding along the way. And then remembering that nothing outside of me can change my decision to be happy no matter what. Nothing. I encourage you to take the same stand because your well being is the foundation of everything you are, do and have in your life. Free yourself from gauging your happiness by what's going on externally in your life. You matter, and you're worth it.

Would you like help shifting to this empowering perspective? Contact me to schedule a complimentary coaching consult by email, or call me at 206-605-2900.

2011-06-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

Peace. What if there is nothing you need to hurry up and do? What if we allowed ourselves to live by our own inner rhythm? The beat of our own heart, the pace of our own walk, the light of our own eyes … will guide us ... if we let it. Pause. Breathe. Feel your heart. Be the sacred observer. Notice what you're feeling without judging it. Allow any emotions to release. You are enough.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-06-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

When I took my daughter, Kate, on a road trip from Seattle to Santa Fe in 2004, we made a game of finding businesses that matched the names of our family members. We vowed to take photos to chronicle our trip. The sign for Kate's Cafe was 20 minutes out of the way, but I threw expediency to the wind and turned off the highway anyway. We were on a mission!

What I didn't realize at the time was that our mission had a deeper purpose. I was in the middle of a major life transition. Our hunt for signs that matched our names was symbolic. Identity was up for me because I was in the process of transforming mine. I was on a journey to reinvent myself.

One of the first things a business owner does is name their business. As soon as they name it, it is birthed into form. This makes the enterprise feel more real. With naming, a new spark is ignited in the owner's creative mind. Sparks can turn into flames, and a fire begins to burn in the belly to bring the business into reality.

The same is true for any new project, career possibility or relationship. Naming our goal is a powerful way to claim our gifts to bring it into fruition. We begin to back up our idea with a new identity. This is key because we can only create what is within our identity to have.

Before I could become a teacher of living your passion, I had to see myself as a teacher. The thought of teaching lit me up, but I didn't yet have the confidence to step into this new identity. I took out my watercolors and painted a red-orange circle on a piece of poster board with a declaration inside: "I am a passionate teacher of self-discovery!" I looked at my affirmation daily and said it aloud. At first it felt foreign, like dressing in a color you haven't worn before. But after a week of working my declaration, I felt ready to create and announce my first class.

When I wanted to write, I began naming myself as a writer. The most powerful words in the English language are "I am ..." With these words, we give our subconscious mind, the part of us that attracts what we want, a destination. We name our new identity. "I am a loving parent." "I am a kind and giving friend." "I am a best-selling author!" "I am a healthy, vibrant person with a beautiful body and peaceful mind." With words, we move our power from an idea beneath the surface into the real world. We cultivate a fertile inner garden to grow the seeds of manifestation we've planted.

"I am" affirmations won't work ... unless you work them. Saying them in the mirror will magnify their power. Mornings upon waking and evenings before going to bed are good times. Writing the words on sticky notes is a great reminder.

Your word is powerful -- use it as your wand. Who are you now? Who would you like to be? Are you ready to grow into the next greatest version of who you came here to be? Write it down, make it happen.

The Drive to Feel More Alive: Self-Care for Women Lawyers

2011-06-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

In my teaching and coaching practice, I’ve helped empower hundreds of lawyers to take a stand for their own well-being. In the process, I’ve had the incredible satisfaction of seeing their lives transform.

I’ve helped women associates and partners who wanted more freedom to call the shots in their busy lives, transition to their own solo practices. I coached a long-time litigator to discover her calling as an attorney for an exciting international non-profit, empowering women without a voice. An accomplished yet stressed-out judge with young children came to me to create a self-care and mindfulness routine, which included learning to say no, delegate more, and communicate her needs effectively to her husband. Another judge, whose children are grown, came to me to reconnect to her true self and attract a life partner.

While these women lawyers have different circumstances, they all share one powerful commonality: a hunger for more meaning and fulfillment in their work and lives. I call this the drive to feel more alive. We all have it. We’re just often too busy or stressed to notice until a crisis hits or our bodies begin to speak to us with symptoms, and we’re forced to pay attention.

The good news is we can begin right now to give ourselves the nurturing we need to truly thrive. It only takes a moment. Right now, I encourage you to stop. Take a breath. Close your eyes for just a few moments and breathe fully and deeply. Relax your shoulders. Let your jaw loosen and your belly soften. Giving yourself a mini-stress vacation, just five minutes a day of relaxed breathing, will bring a shift you will notice. You will begin to feel calmer and more in charge of your life, despite of what may be going on around you.

Want even greater results? Asking the right questions will help you bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. Where in your life are you feeling restless, lost, or hankering for change? Put your hand on your heart and take a deep breath. Relax. Ask yourself, "How can I take better care of myself?" Listen to the answer you receive, and take one small step in your desired direction.

Would you like more tips, inspiration and support? Join us Thursday, June 23^rd for an early summer evening class, Let's Talk: Your Next Adventure! Free admission. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

Betsy Gutting is a Career and Personal Coach, Expressive Arts Therapist, speaker, and author. Sixteen years ago she left a law career to help empower others to create authentic careers and passionate lives. She has been teaching life-changing workshops for ten years. For more information, please visit her website.

Let's Talk: Your Next Adventure!

2011-06-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

Come harness the fiery energy of summer to get inspired for your next adventure. Inside of restlessness or inertia is the spark of "yes!" that can move your work and life to the next level of fulfillment.

Are you ready to feel LIT UP with passion again?

Join us to re-ignite your inner spark. Discover what's in the way of having what you really want, and come away with renewed clarity and confidence.

Thursday, June 23 6-7:30 PM
Greenwood Public Library
8016 Greenwood Ave N
Seattle, WA 98103

FREE
Click here to RSVP Yes
Please tell your friends ~ all are invited!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-06-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

Use the power of your smile to instantly lift your mood and feel more energized. Take some deep, relaxing breaths, and activate your inner smile. You may want to think of someone you love and appreciate very much, and imagine that the two of you are standing face to face, looking into each other's eyes, smiling at one another. Allow the good feelings to reverberate through your body, from head to toe.

Now, with this inner smile, send loving kindness to each of the major organs of your body, one by one. Imagine that your inner smile is going into your brain and smiling directly at the pineal, pituitary, thalamus and hypothalamus glands. Smile at your ear drums, giving thanks for your ability to hear. Move to your heart, smiling at this amazing organ that pumps blood to every living cell of your body. And so on, until you end up at your feet. Send appreciation to your feet for having taken you on every moving adventure of your life. Finally, imagine that your inner sweetheart is standing behind you, beaming it's smiling eyes toward the back of your head, sending you deep love and appreciation. Notice how you feel after completing this exercise. Notice the shift? This is how it feels to be in present time, in a state of appreciation. This is the most powerful place to be for attracting goals and desires into our lives.

Join us to get support and practical tools for moving forward in your work and life, Thursday, June 23rd at 6 PM, for Let's Talk: Your Next Adventure! This is a free event. Location: Greenwood Public Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave, Seattle, WA 98103

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-06-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

Recently, I cracked two eggs to make a lunchtime omelet. In my multi-tasking way, I left the room to get something and when I returned, one of the unbeaten eggs had “drifted” into a well-defined heart shape. As soon as I saw the heart, I felt an overwhelming presence of love in my kitchen. “You are so not alone,” was the intuitive message I received. “Love is all around you.” My heart swelled with gratitude and I quickly grabbed my camera to share the mysterious egg-morphing mystery with my Facebook friends.

I have many dear friends, clients and family with whom I share deep and loving heart connections. Still, I want to share my life with a loving partner, and I know in every cell of my being that this love is on its way. I mention this because I believe our desires are always being answered in small ways. The affirmation of being loved came to me in the shape of an egg yolk. Most of us are just often too busy or stressed to take notice of the intuitive messages life floats into our awareness.

I've also experienced another phenomenon. What we want may not show up immediately in the exact package we have in mind, at least not yet. It sometimes seems that "the meantime" between manifestations of our most heartfelt dreams can be excruciatingly long.

I've said before that letting go of the mediocre to make room for manifesting your destiny is not an easy path. Committing to what you really want, and putting it out there, takes tremendous courage. Take heart, you're on a hero's or heroine's journey. Its design seems to grow us into our most sparkling, diamond-self potential. Saying yes to love in any form, for example, expands my heart and and opens my mind beyond what I thought was possible. Seriously, I often wonder: is it possible to feel love even more deeply than I already do? What a gift that is. A gift that continues to grow from a void in my life. What a paradox this is!

What is your heart’s desire? Speak it aloud and write it down. Are you willing to at least experiment with the belief that "the powers that be," whatever this means for you, are conspiring with you to bring it into reality? The essence of my intention is to give and receive love and devotion. It shows up in delightful and sweet ways on a regular basis. Like recently when two dear people in my life left flowers on my doorstep for my birthday.

Be your own detective. Look for evidence of your desire showing up in your life. When you receive a demonstration of your intention, please let us know. In this world that often keeps our heads spinning, we could all use more good news!

Join us to get support and practical tools for moving forward in your work and life, Thursday, June 23rd at 6 PM, for Let's Talk: Your Next Adventure! This is a free event.
Location: Greenwood Public Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave, Seattle, WA 98103

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-06-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

Are you feeling restless or stuck? The best and easiest remedy is to get our energy moving. We often think we have to come up with the "right answer" for our next step. Often we have more than one option, so we feel conflicted over what to do. We're afraid to make the wrong move, so we do nothing. Or we convince ourselves that we have no options. Either way, it doesn't move us forward to "wait" for clarity. I'm not saying forge ahead on a a new path if you're not clear it's what you want. I'm encouraging you to get moving in some small way. Say yes to one small thing.

If you're at work, make one phone call you've been putting off. Or clean out one file. If you're at home, run the vacuum or dust the furniture. This morning I wasn't sure about my next move. Yes, I have many tasks on my plate that I can do, but I was looking for something inspiring that would increase my energy and creative momentum. So I took a few photos of some 9-inch blossoming coral peonies whose lusciousness is taking my breath away. I posted them on Facebook to share with my friends. This one, small creative act moved my energy. I now have a fun and challenging project I'm ready to begin working on.

What one small thing can you do to get your momentum going? Do it with intention, such as, "As I photograph these gorgeous flowers, new inspiration comes to me on my next step." Where intention goes, energy flows. Now go do it!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-05-25T17:02:00.000-07:00

The same is true for any new project, career possibility or new relationship. Naming our goal is a powerful way of to claim our gifts to bring it into fruition. We begin to back up our idea with a new identity. This is key because we can only create what is within our identity to have.

When I wanted to write, I began naming myself as a writer. The most powerful words in the English language are "I am ..." With these words, we give our subconscious a destination. We name our new identity. "I am a loving parent." "I am a kind and giving friend." "I am a best-selling author!" "I am a healthy, vibrant person with a beautiful body and peaceful mind." With words, we move our power from an idea beneath the surface into the real world. We cultivate a fertile inner garden to grow the seeds we're planting.

Your word is powerful -- use it as your wand. Who are you now? Who would you like to be? Write it down, make it happen.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-05-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

Do you know why you are here? This is a big question, I know, but for many of us life is motivated by achieving and accomplishing. Both of those feel great, and I'm a big believer in setting goals and moving toward your trajectory with discipline and joy. It's the joy part that is missing for many. Joy is not an expendable frill. It's a necessary ingredient to fulfillment and feeling really good. And if we're not feeling really good on a regular basis, we are living on borrowed time, draining our life force and jeopardizing our health, relationships and true job security.

Which brings me back to my first question. When you think of your current goals, what lights you up about them? What is your "big picture" reason for doing them? I hope it's more than earning a paycheck. Obviously this is essential if they are work-related goals, but its only one piece. Money alone won't give you enough juice -- enough life force energy -- to achieve with ease. We need to find a larger reason for living and working -- the benefits beyond the survival needs that our work satisfies. Otherwise, life is a series of routines, punctuated by effort, stress, accomplishment, completion and relief. Relief is another word for "taking a break from being stressed out." Another project is always waiting, and the cycle begins again.

One reason you are here is because you bring blessings to everyone around you, just by you showing up in the different areas of your life! If you don't believe me, it's okay. It is usually easier to see how your loved ones are blessings to you than it is to see this in yourself. Look around you and acknowledge who you appreciate in your work and life. Note how they are a blessing to you and others. Know that if you can see this in others, it's in you as well! When you can feel, in every cell of your body, that you are a blessing, wonderful life shifts occur. Here's how to feel it.

Twice a day -- when you first awake and right before bed are good times -- look in the mirror and say to yourself, "I am a blessing!" Look directly into your eyes as you say it. If you wanted to hear this from a sweetheart, wouldn't you want them to say it looking into your eyes? Give yourself the same devotion. If you want to accelerate the benefits add, "It's my nature. Infinite love and gratitude." You are opening your heart here, giving love and gratitude for the realization that you are truly a blessing. These are powerful words. Repeating them daily will give you a new, bigger reason to live.

Would you like to hop on the express train to deep happiness and fulfillment, regardless of what's happening in your life right now? Do this mirror exercise daily for a month and notice the results. Let us know how it goes. I'd love to hear your comments ~ please post them here.

You are a blessing!

Unlock your Guiding Genius

2011-05-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

One of my clients said to me recently, "I chose you to be my coach because you were a lawyer. You know how to be in the real world. You know that I have responsibilities I can't ignore. It makes everything you're teaching me about attracting what I really want feel more possible."

I truly understand the challenge of taking our lives to the next level. I live it every day just like you do. But I'm not quoting my client to give you a testimonial. I am sharing her words because they are full of wisdom.

She is talking about the power of using our whole brain - the left and the right sides. Our intellect and our intuition. We're at a critical time in our evolution, clearly reflected in the natural and economic upheavals we've been experiencing. Have you noticed we're in a new world? Now more than ever, we have a vested interest in unlocking and activating our guiding genius.

By guiding genius, I mean that part of you that knows what you need to be grounded in your commitments and feel vital, alive and living your purpose.

Our schooling has taught us to over-rely on the intellect - the analytical and evaluative functions of the brain.The intellect sees through a lens of either/or thinking, such as, "I can either make a good living or do work I love." This is a just a belief, but our beliefs, when hidden below the surface, can powerfully influence what we feel is possible for us.

The intellect lacks the vision to see beyond our current life circumstances. It can't engage in creative decision-making - the kind of thinking that uplifts our consciousness to see and attract new solutions to our stumbling blocks. It makes us think in limited ways and see in tunnel vision, effectively blocking the tremendous store of inner resources available to us to create the life we really want.

If we're listening, we all get inspirational glimpses of what could be. We're gifted with tiny flashes of insight that urge us on to a greater vision of fulfillment. Here's the catch. In my experience, we are given just what we need to accomplish what we reach for. So until we dare to reach, or at least articulate what our heart wants, our vision will be cut off from the wealth of answers inside of us.

The happiest people are open to thinking differently ... to seeing with new eyes ... to saying yes to receiving what they want, even if they can't see it coming just now. Are you?

I'll give you a real life example. Another client told me the story of how she accomplished her dream of moving out of the city of Boston to a beloved seaside town. Trained as a lawyer, my client's analytical mind listed all the reasons her dream was impossible. For one thing, it wasn't financially do-able. Plus, it was unlikely her condominium would sell.

Still, her heart was speaking clearly. She had visions of riding her bike to the beach and breathing in the ocean air. Keeping her focus on her vision, she took steps toward her dream, and the universe began to organize around the move. She attracted the perfect realtor for her, and her condo sold in 3 days. Next, a wealthy financial guru gave her the advice she needed to attain the home she wanted near the beach.

The key was, she said yes to the possibility of moving, without knowing the full picture yet of how it would happen. She set her intention, listened for inspired leads and ideas, and took the steps to follow through on them.

This morning while driving, I asked my intuition to give me a sign. I wanted to feel the presence of what I call my spiritual assistance. I have faith in its presence, but sometimes we want tangible evidence.

A few minutes later my eyes landed on a gas station sign that read, "We handle all of your problems. 7 days a week." A feeling of warmth and strong knowing came over me. I laughed. "Stop trying to do it all by yourself," was the message I gleaned, "let us help you."

I don't think this message was meant just for me. Where in your life could you use some assistance? Do you sometimes think you have to do it all by yourself? Are you ready to change your thinking and receive some support? Begin by asking for it, aloud and in writing. Show your higher self that you're willing to meet it half way by committing to positive change. Then listen for inspiration, and follow it.

Would you like a solid anchor of support in your life? Breakthroughs come more easily and quickly when we navigate change in partnership with a coach. I invite you to schedule a 30-minute coaching consultation to see if we would be a dynamic fit. Call me at 206-605-2900, or send me an email.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-05-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

Every loss is an opportunity to come closer to your inner gold ... to live more in line with your true values. It doesn’t feel that way when it first hits you. In fact, for most of us, loss triggers a feeling of defeat, hopelessness, despair, or our “story” – the negative inner dialogue that tells us why and how we’re doing something wrong. Our inner critic will chide us with “I told you so” banter, urging us to take action and fix the situation right away. This is us in reactive mode. In this state of mind, the fix we come up with usually isn’t helpful.

What we really need to do in these moments is step back, breathe, and feel the emotion that is coming up. We forget that feeling is healing. Feeling the emotion is actually our bridge to a solution that will move us forward.

Once we feel the anger, sadness, defeat, etc., we can come down from our body’s reactive response. We can breathe and get quiet, and remind ourselves that we are safe, affirm that we are strong, and that we have all the inner resources we need to move through this. Restoring calm puts us in the peaceful atmosphere necessary to not only take positive action, but to help us grow into the next greatest version of ourselves.

Every difficult situation is designed to evolve us spiritually. And for those of you who may see your spiritual growth as a fringe benefit but not a necessity, I challenge you. Living a life, including your work, disconnected from your spirit is dangerous. The painful effects on your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health are cumulative.

Every change gives us a new opportunity to shift our view … to see our situation from a different vantage point. In times of loss, we can activate our inner alchemist to receive the "gift" in the loss or change. The alchemist has the power to turn dross into gold. If we're really honest with ourselves, there is likely something we've been ignoring anyway. Now we can shine the light on it and learn from it.

From a place of inner calm, ask yourself, what does this situation want to teach me? Imagine that the loss is actually a gift. If this change or loss were a present, what would it be giving you?

Here’s an example: For this change before me, I am now choosing to feel grateful! I can claim this as another opportunity to go to the next level of my work and life. To course correct, to shore up my boundaries, to ask for what I need, to put myself first. To call in new allies. To say yes to my core values. To stop denying the truth in front of me. Although I cannot see a different outcome now, I choose to embrace this change as part of the flow of events. All of life is guiding me in the direction of my intention, which is to thrive!

Now you … what gift might a change or loss be giving you?

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-05-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

Feeling uncertain, stressed, or discouraged? Take a moment to repeat these words: I am safe, secure and at ease. All the resources I need to move forward are here, right now. I choose to take this moment, to relax, breathe and get quiet. The more relaxed I feel, the more my next step becomes clear.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

2011-05-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

“Focus on what you want, and it will come about.” How many times have you heard this truth? And yet, I for one, am continually amazed at how challenging this can be. Ah, the nature of being human! As earthly residents, we are stationed in what feels like a limited universe. We see what is happening right in front of us – the difficult boss, arguing children, distracted partner, low bank account - you name it. And we unconsciously decide that this situation is the barometer of our life. We let it determine our well being (or more aptly, our less-than well being!). We only do this because we forget the truth.

We forget that change is the nature of the universe. That we are not our conditions or circumstances. That what we focus on expands, and that we attract what we are focusing on. Our subconscious mind is like our server in a restaurant, just waiting to take our order. Would do you choose from the menu today? Head down in the muck of what's not working, or heart uplifted in the knowing of your full potential. We can be powerful initiators of positive change in our lives. In fact, just observing our current situation and naming the emotion we feel as a result of it, can shift it!

What do you want instead? Name it. What’s one small step you can take in this direction? Make it do-able. Write it down, and then go do it.

Last weekend, I did just that. My home's front door was scuffed and looking kind of shabby. I re-painted it. Then I found a fiery red flower box and filled it with red geraniums, blue lobelia and some tiny, white lacy blooms. Small steps that initiated a big energy boost. I can see my cheerful red flower box from my living room window as well. Every time I look at it I smile.

Now you … What one small thing will move you in the direction of feeling more alive and vital today?

Would you like clarity? The confidence to step forward in a new direction? Consider coaching with me! To schedule a 30-minute complimentary coaching consult, call me at 206-605-2900, or send me an email.

**Join us for Saying Yes! Answering the Call of Your Soul**

If you knew you couldn't fail, what would you do? The soul nudges us to break free and step into the fullness of who we really are. In this lively, interactive evening, Intuitive Life Coach, Betsy Gutting, will guide us to connect with our inner wisdom, awaken our passion, and let go of the 'no's' that block our joy. When two or more gather, powerful, positive changes occur ~ join us!

Wednesday, May 11 7 ~ 9:15 PM

UW Experimental College

Parrington Hall (classroom number provided

upon registration)

Seattle, WA 98195

$25 general public

$18 UW students

Register online here

Betsy Gutting, JD

Finding Your Passion

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

On the radio TODAY, Monday Jan. 23rd at 4 pm PT

To listen in today click here.

I will post the link to the archived show after completion of the live show. For more about Laura Rose and her radio show, click here.

On the Radio Monday Jan. 23rd at 4 PM PT ~ Finding Your Passion

I will post the link to the archived show after completion of the live show.

For more about Laura Rose and her radio show, click here.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."

Affirmation: I am perfect just the way I am. Nothing about me needs fixing. I am not here to change myself, but rather to see myself through the lens of love and greatness that I AM.

Please join us this coming Thursday, Feb. 2nd at 7 pm for Creating Your Magical Life. Seattle weather is forecasted to warm up mid-week, with temperatures in the 40's on workshop day. I hope to see you there!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

After a wonderful Christmas with my daughters, I woke up with a strong message from Spirit this morning: "Stay in gratitude ... if any anxiety comes up, feel it and affirm what you do want. Act as if your intentions are already coming true, already happening."

I am affirming: I am so grateful that all of our heart's desires have already been answered. It IS happening NOW.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Creating Your Magical Life

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Affirmation: "I am brilliant! This is my true nature. Life loves me and I love life."

Friday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 pm: Join us for Deep Relaxation ~ Guided Meditation at Yogalife Greenlake Studio, Seattle. Come play with us at the Nurturing Your Brilliance at East West Bookshop, Wednesday, November 9th at 7 pm. Click here for details. Register now.

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort For the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort For The Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Are You Ready to Create a Magical Life?

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

A Magical Fall: The One Shift to Make

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Do you feel limited by how much money you have or earn? In other words, are you putting your authentic desires on hold because of money?

The Power of Trusting

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Flying Into New Possibilities

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

The Drive to Feel More Alive: Self-Care for Women Lawyers

Let's Talk: Your Next Adventure!

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Join us to get support and practical tools for moving forward in your work and life, Thursday, June 23rd at 6 PM, for Let's Talk: Your Next Adventure! This is a free event. Location: Greenwood Public Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave, Seattle, WA 98103

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Unlock your Guiding Genius

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Comfort for the Soul Message of the Day

Join us for Saying Yes! Answering the Call of Your Soul

Friday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 pm: Join us for Deep Relaxation ~ Guided Meditation at Yogalife Greenlake Studio, Seattle.
Come play with us at the Nurturing Your Brilliance at East West Bookshop, Wednesday, November 9th at 7 pm. Click here for details. Register now.

**Join us for Saying Yes! Answering the Call of Your Soul**