"Going with the flow of things"

I have had a great week. I feel at peace. It is a new feeling for me. I mean, I have felt peace within from time to time, especially in nature, but not at work or during my daily routine. I love it! I still have stuff going on in my head, that does not stop. Did you know that? The chatter in our head never really stops, it just becomes quieter as we find the inner peace. At least that's what people say. I did something crazy the other day, my husband and friend thought it was a mean thing to do. I did not think so, I just went with the flow of things. About a year ago as I was driving to Dos Coyotes, I heard a voice that said for me to turn right, and I felt as though I was lead to the cemetery, weird huh. I did not know why I was there and was complaining in my head how ridiculous this was. No one was there except for one lady sitting next to a grave, I went and talked with her telling her that I was lead here and did not know why. I came to find out that lady had just lost her 21 year old son named Jacob. I don't remember much what I said to her and went on my merry way. Never thought of her and her son again. One year later for about a week, every time I would drive by I thought of them, I even forgot their names and the next thing I knew their names just popped in my head. I had recently bought a beautiful butterfly pendent and wanted to do something special with it. It was still in my purse for two weeks. I wanted that pendant, it cost me $34 but some how, I was again led to the cemetery looking for Jacobs grave. I found it, and I actually left the pendant in a box for Jacob's mom. What was weird was just a week later was the anniversary of his death. I wrote to Tammy love Jacob. I felt strange about what I did, because of what my husband said, but later that day while hosing off the patio a butterfly was dancing right by me, literally at arms length, and I swore I heard a voice that said, "thank you", I know it sound weird, but I think it was Jacob, OK, so now you know, I am pretty nutty! I hope one day I run into Tammy and see her wearing that pendant, of course I would never tell her that it was me who put it on Jacob's grave, but I still hear that voice in my head "that was mean", so I hope she was happy and everything turned out well.
Lauren

"This is so cool!"

I am having a great week. My co-workers have been stressed running around the place, they have been moody, gossiping and I am still great. I am actually doing it, not letting outside drama get to me and ruin my day. I could never do that before, I would let them take my energy, and get just as stressed. How cool is that! Another thing that I have noticed is the two co-workers that I disliked, one who's was so hyper she drove me nuts, the other I perceived as a snooty, conceited bitch that look down on others, I have embraced both of them. I did this several weeks ago, and now it is actually working, I have accepted them and my first perceptions where wrong. Now, I laugh at the hyper one that has been so disruptive, and I join her and together we make the residents laugh. The other lady was more difficult, every time I knew she would be working, I thought to myself, oh no, there goes my day. Not true, I changed the way I looked at her, and looked past my perceptions, and now we laugh and we now support each other. It is so cool. This can work, we can make our work places enjoyable and a happier place. Just remember we don't know what is going on in the lives of others, and why they do the things they do, we relate to them only through our perceptions. The truth is most of the time our first perceptions are wrong.

Lauren

"Love the people that drive you crazy"

If anybody wants to ask any questions, or want me to talk about certain topics please feel free to ask. Everything I share with you is basically my point of view what I have learned in 43 years being on this planet. At one point in my life I did not believe in God, was angry at the world, and even hated being human. Now, I love people and have a close connection with God, with nature and with my self. Sometimes I think people have a misconception of "discovering" their selves. It is almost as if people think, when I am whole life will be perfect and I will always be happy. That is not the case. We still have to pay the bills, work, and have the normal stresses of life. The difference is how we handle them. Even though my life is different from my past and I am happier, I still struggle, that is life. I think that it will get easier as I practice what I preach. Remember the book "Eat, Pray, Love" the author was on Oprah, and the women in the audience amazed me, they actually thought if I can have what she has, my life would be perfect. One lady even went to Bali to do the exact same thing. Like I said before, it comes from within, and we have the opportunity to be happy and at peace right now, by changing the way we think about ourselves, others and the world around us. I know I keep writing about the same things, but it is so important. Love yourself, love the world and even love the people that drive you crazy. It works.
Lauren

"just a little something I wrote"

I had an incredible weekend. I was sitting at Dos Coyotes and wrote a little something. I just want to share it with you.

As I sit, I am fully present. The dance of life reveals itself.
I hear the background noise of the cars passing by,
A child's voice and innocence prevails.
The sky is so blue, crisp and clear,
The clouds drift by above the world below,
And of course my beloved wind Goddess conducts the symphony,
While the trees dance, dragonflies play, and the birds stop by to say hello.
The chatter of people fades in and out, I feel elated, I am a silent force, quiet,
Yet complete, one with all of this,
As I sit in wonder of it all, I am whole.
This is what being presents feel like.
"oh what a wonderful world"
Lauren

"How do you see the world?"

My book, "A touch on the Shoulder"is about a journey of self-discovery. While growing up I never fit in. I was always searching for a place to belong, asking the questions who am I? What is my purpose? Why am I here? I traveled the world, meet incredible people and had the adventure of a life time. But the answers to all the questions in my head did not come from searching outside myself, it came from within. I searched for over 35 years outside myself. I know you all heard this before that the answers lies within ourselves, but because we are human we have to discover that on our own. I have read inspiring books, went to incredible seminars, and meet wonderful insightful people, but YOU have all the answers already. The truth is it is a life time of discoveries. That is actually is not a bad thing, it is a wonderful thing. To be in a continual awe your whole life, even when your 80, now that is amazing. There is only one truth we come from God, we are perfect right now. So, you may ask than whats with all the questions and searching? Because God created each of us as an unique being to create a life of our choosing and some where along the line we forgot that. It doesn't matter if we choose to live a simple life of joy with our spouse, have a family, be an author, or be Oprah. As long as you are in awe of a flower when your 80 years old, you will be just fine. Because in that flower is a refection of you, actually how you see that flower is a reflection of you. How you see the world, the people around you is all a reflection of you. So if you see beauty in the world, that comes from within. How do I know this because for over 35 years I only saw a world of pain, suffering and despair. The world hasn't changed, I have, and now I see beauty, joy, excitement, and a little suffering when I am in my head. Hey, it is a work in progress. So, my friends how do you see the world?
Lauren

"What is a "pain body"?"

Do you ever get nervous in the pit of your stomach? Tolle, calls it the "pain body", this happens when you feel anxiety, sadness, anger, etc. and it manifests in the body, mine is in my stomach. Other people feel it in their heart, their head or where ever. I have been totally aware when it occurs. Most of the time I know what triggers it, sometimes I don't. But what is fascinating is when I know why it happens, the reasons are so absurd. Once I felt it because I say a certain person e-mailed me, and even before I read it, my stomach was in turmoil. By the way the e-mail was positive and fine. So what is up with that? Then one time I had no idea why I was in the"pain body", It got worse because I was trying to figure out the why? I noticed how we get our selves worked up for absolutely nothing. It amazes me what we do that to ourselves. I mean, I know we don't like to suffer, but we sure do it to ourselves over and over again. I am learning to observe the feeling in my stomach, get out of my head (which makes it worse) and then it just drifts away. It is pretty cool, when you can notice these things, catch them and make positive changes. I just need to 1. Be me, no matter what 2. Stay out of my head and judgments and 3. Accept others and send them love. I am trying on a daily basis to do this, not so easy, but I am getting better. Yeah!
Lauren

"What I wish for"

Every morning at 9:30 I lead the exercises for my residents. These are new exercises I made up with Rock N Roll music. What I love is the fact that for 30 min. I am so connected to these incredible human beings. We are one entity, together feeling happy and alive. The last song is "What a Wonderful World" and you can feel the energy in the room, of peace and love. When I look into their eyes I see beyond their bodies, I see them, their true selves, their soul full of love. And then after we clap and cheer the experience is gone. We are back as individuals going along the road of life with our normal routines. We still enjoy each others company when we play UNO, or bean bag toss, but it is not the same. For 30 minutes a day I know what it means to be a part of something big, being connected to something deeper than just any one person. This is who we truly are, not this body, or ego, but the true self. The true self of being a piece of God. So, when I continue to talk about being present and the ego's mind it is because it is so important. I wish everyone could truly see who they really are. Now that would be a wonderful world.
Lauren