Today I woke up  with the luxury of my morning being clear on my schedule.

I had a thought come in.

“Take a bath this morning”, the thought said.

Quickly, my rational mind (specifically, LG aka Logistics Girl) shut that idea down, real fast.

“What about your workout, what about how soft and relaxed you’ll feel afterward (shouldn’t that be a night-time thing, and why would you want to feel soft and relaxed at the beginning of your day?  And on, and on, she droned).

After a short morning ritual of meditation and writing down a few thoughts, LG took over quickly, and I took some time to return email, make a few calls, and look at my schedule for the rest of the day. I had appointments and an evening writing workshop. I knew my morning was clear.

The idea came back and reminded me that it would be REALLY nurturing for me to take a bath. Today. This morning.

I’d had a stressful, emotional few days. My body felt tense, already, this morning. I decided, before committing to the bath concept, and to pull an Angel card (Dorreen Virtues are beautiful), and see what SHE had to say about things.  (Isn’t it crazy that we ache for free time, for NEW, and then when we have it, if it’s not spent doing our familiar down-time routines – if we even have any besides TV and Tabloids – we (I) still doubt our intuitive nudges?)

‘Sulis’ – the Goddess governing Bodys of Water – was the card I pulled.  ’Take an epsom salt bath to clear your body and emotions”, was one of the actions that Sulis recommended.   Well, wouldn’t you know it.  The bath I had wanted to take was to be an epsom salt and baking soda bath (very healing and clearing combination – 1lb. each). Wouldn’t you know?

So off I went – giving in. (Lol!)  I added a few drops of a beautiful blended oil from www.evanstarspa.com, and soaked for 20.  It felt odd, being off my weekday morning routine, but it was divine.  And I’ve had the best day since.

Taking new loving actions towards ourselves can sometimes be met with LOTS of resistance.  Our mind and ego knows how to put up a really good fight to keep us the same.  Our Intuition knows EXACTLY what we need, what is the Truth, if we will only listen to it. I’m learning more and more how big the pay off is when I do.  But what a mentor reminds me of is this :  We don’t listen to it, because it will require CHANGE. It requires taking action.

How do you listen to your intuition, and what you need to love yourself more?  If you don’t know how to answer this, but you want to – I highly recommend creating a space to listen.  If you don’t, the guidance can’t come in and reach you.  And it’s instant – it’s quick – it’s right there. To journal, you’ll want to carve out a few minutes each morning or evening, and write down reflections, thoughts, yearnings. Keep it simple, and consistent, for a week or two.  I guarantee that you’ll receive messages on how to love yourself more…which always leads to more expansion… in love and life.

With love!

Leslie

This morning I was conflicted. My life works so much better when I dedicate anywhere from a few minutes to 30 or one hour if I get up early enough (very luxurious) in the morning, to inspiring reading, affirmation, prayer and meditation.  It’s become a ritual that I need. And often,  when I have just a minute, I take that minute to read something inspiring and peaceful, and simply anchor myself for a moment in positive truth before jumping to a higher gear.  Even a minute gives me something, and it sets a positive intention for my day.

BUT, I’m a morning person with exercise – and often if I don’t lay out my workout clothes the night before, and have my coffee ready first thing, I easily slink into my ‘morning ritual’  (if I workout first thing, I make sure to take a few minutes for my morning ritual, even if it’s not until lunchtime)  before heading out the door to exercise. And then it’s *really* tough to motivate 30 minutes later.

This morning was one of those mornings where I wasn’t prepped to workout first thing, but I knew I really needed to move my body. So, I made my coffee, grabbed my book and journal, and headed for my favorite chair in the living room, bargaining for 20 minutes of this time before heading out the door. It looked cold and gloomy outside, after all.  Well, 20 minutes turned into an hour after toggling between reading, checking my email (not usually allowed, but it slipped in) and assessing if I needed to head to the gym instead of walking outdoors.  Now a big part of me was ready to delay exercise until tomorrow. Finally I peeled myself off the chair and pushed myself outside to walk – my spirit knew it needed nature after a very indoor, rainy weekend.  I felt stiff from sitting so long, and really not very motivated to move.  Thank g*d for Ipods.  After contemplating a short walk, once I got into the groove I found myself back home after a great hour walk.  This really felt like a miracle this morning. We know we just need to take that first step, but sometimes it’s just so easy to make an excuse and not take it sometimes.

I know that if I had decided to chuck my exercise for the day, I wouldn’t have had such a spring in my step as I headed into  my work day.  And I may have taken a friend’s lunch cancellation a bit more personally.  I wouldn’t have felt as confident that I could accomplish what I had on my to-do list.  And , I probably wouldn’t have thought to put Pandora on in my bathroom, dancing to Jay -Z in the shower.  Dancing in the shower is not something I’ve found myself doing much of lately, especially on a dark winter’s morning – and on a Monday, no less! That to me is really the easiest way to compare the results of moving my body, versus choosing not to.

It’s almost like taking a ‘Sliding Doors’ (the movie) approach to something, in this case, exercise.  Day in the Life A, you move your body. Day in the Life B, you don’t. And then wonder and watch what results within you – how you feel, what your energy is, how you respond to things, what you do and what you don’t do.

Moving our bodies is not only good for us in all the ways we are often told and know, but it moves our spirit.  And moving our spirit leads to all sorts of good things too.  ;-)

With love,

Leslie

Dear Savvy Woman,

I’m talking with many women who are looking for their Mr. Right.  One thing that I notice that’s in their way – in a BIG way – is that they are lacking BELIEF. 

Now, don’t be fooled by the simplicity here.  Yes, we hear these beliefs all the time. We all hear from people that we talk to and know in our lives (even if you don’t specialize in this area like I do)  that ‘it’s hard out there’….’relationships don’t last’….’it’s not possible to focus on my career AND be in a healthy, vibrant relationship’….’being single over X age takes WORK’….ETC.  

These are all BELIEFS.   And a belief is simply a thought that has been repetitive enough within someones mind and being that it has been more permanently ‘grooved’ into a belief, like a woodworker carves grooves design into a piece of work, with stroke after stroke of their knife.

What’s essential is to realize that :

1) You are always at CHOICE with what you BELIEVE to be true.

2) Doing everything that it takes to re-create & live into BELIEFS  that support what you DESIRE in your life is non-negotiable.  It’s a MUST.

The truth is, you will continually meet resistance when you have a conflict between something you DESIRE, and the BELIEFS that you hold relating to that desire.   This area of life, love and relationships, works just like health, wealth, or beauty.  If you desire to make a million dollars, yet you don’t truly believe that it’s possible for YOU, you will struggle, and meet resistance, and have a hell of a time attracting that million dollars into your life.   If you desire to feel truly beautiful, but you don’t believe that you are beautiful, you won’t feel, embody nor exude your beauty.

My work with clients involves having them look at themselves and what they are doing , surrounding themselves with, focusing on, etc to support the CHANGE  that they want in their life. This involves detoxing and re-creating their  BELIEFS.   Sure, they can take the right ‘actions’ : date online to meet new men, extend themselves socially as much as possible, up-level their look to feel new and attractive, and truly let go of their past.  BUT, if they are doing all of these things yet they DON”T believe it’s really gonna happen – it’s not going to – at least not as effortlessly as they wish it would.  It may start and stop, or rev up and then burn out quickly, but they will continue to struggle in this area and have a much slower & difficult time meeting their guy.

And let this inspire you, because the really cool thing is that this is a key that unlocks so much.   So, it’s time for a little tough-love ladies, from me to you.   I want you to have an amazing time in this experience of growth and change as you attract YOUR Mr. Right.   So, take inventory of what you are investing in all the time- what  beliefs you are holding. 

And if you’re local to SF, I’m hosting a FREE talk on Navigating the Holidays as you find YOUR Mr. Right, Sunday evening 12/6.   Save a seat, and relax as you experience a focused hour on why it’s so important to believe, and to feel MAGNETIC – especially this magical holiday season.  I can’t wait!  RSVP by clicking HERE.  

From my savvy heart to yours ~

Leslie

www.BeLoveSavvy.com

Dear Savvy Woman,

Let’s be grateful for what is and what matters most to us,  as we enter the holidays and soon say hello to 2010.

I’ll go first by sharing that I am so grateful for:

YOU, for the opportunity to connect with you in this way.

My health and Being: body, mind, spirit, and soul.  

My clients, and all the women who trust – and have trusted – me in guiding them to find their true love.  

All the brilliance, beauty and opportunity that exist on the planet in my lifetime.

My friends and family for their love and support,  and for being who they are in my life (or were), and teaching me what I most need to learn, sometimes to my great dis-comfort! 

The expansiveness and shiny-new experiences that emerge on the other side of the above dis-comfort!

And I’m grateful  - more with each passing day – to my husband Larry for being more than I could have ever imagined as a friend and husband – and teacher.  Last Thanksgiving we did not spend  together (that’s for another blog post or maybe even a book!).  I’m learning so much about myself and about life being in this relationship.  It’s both life-giving and humbling.

All the people that have paved the road for me and you, including my beloved mom who passed away 15 years ago.  I love you Mom, and miss you. 

And as I end this blog, I look inside the book cover of a book I read in the mid-9o’s after my mother passed, that her sister, my Aunt Margo, sent to me “Simple Abundance”, by Sarah Ban Breathnach.  This is syncronistic.  I read on this inside cover what I  know I am to share with you, a prayer that I learned from an Oprah show back then that John Gray shared with the audience, and that helped me to connect to my higher self, to the Universe and to more abundance.

“Oh glorious future, come sit in my heart.  My heart is open to you.

Oh glorious G*d, come sit in my heart.  My heart is open to you.”

Happy Thanksgiving from me to you ~

Leslie

www.BeLoveSavvy.com

Dear Savvy Friend,

I’m having so much fun with the first Success Circle coaching group – these  ladies are loving it ! After the first meeting  they were off to the races, with ‘homework’ that helps them to identify their inner knowing for more confidence, and Vision tools to step up their games! 

I wanted to make coaching (inspiration, support, accountability, feedback) accessible to all the women who are really desiring this right now, both from a time &  cost perspective.  This is why I launched the Success Circle. I also just simply love facilitating groups – it’s such a rich and rewarding experience for all.

I’ve learned personally as a member of a coaching group myself (as well as attending seminars with others) that there is always something for each of us to learn by other’s experience/questions/situation.  Something.  And often – a lot.  In my own life, I benefit greatly knowing that my call or meeting is coming up – it keeps me focused, or re-focuses me.  I feel surrounded in positive energy in those meetings.  And it gives me the support to keep going, keep believing, staying true to me.

So, I’m thrilled that a new coaching group around LOVE is forming.  Who is this for?  This is for the SINGLE women out there who are sensing that they’d benefit from some inspiration, clarity, and FUN with where they’re at.  From looking within a little bit.  This is a refreshing way of getting together with other women in ‘positive group think’ (it’s very subtle, the ‘negative group think’, but you may find yourself in it with women that you love to hang with – or that you feel you need to hang with). 

This group will hold LOVE & relationship as the main focus, and we’ll do learning topics (on things such as self-care, boundaries, a true-to-you Vision, mind-set,), and of course sharing, feedback, and accountability.  And the HUGE thing, tons of support in a safe environment to claim what you want and take steps towards it.  So powerful and life-changing!

Is this what you’ve been waiting for?   Take a peak at the Success Circle details HERE (as it’s the same format for the *LOVE* & Relationship Circle) ,  and then contact us at assist@belovesavvy.com telling us a little bit about you.

Big love,

Leslie

ps. we add new members to the Success Circle at the beginning of each month, so if this interests you, let us know!  The next Success Circle meeting will be August 5th in SF.

Dear Savvy Woman,

“Feel your power.  Feel the power of your breath. Feel the power of your sound. Feel the power of your love. Feel the power of your forgiveness. Feel the power of your willingness to change. Feel your power. You are beautiful.You are a divine, magnificent being. You deserve all good, not just some, but all good. Feel your power.  Be at peace with it, for you are safe. Welcome this new day with open arms and with love. And so it is.”

This is a meditation taken from the book, “The Power is Within You“, by Louise Hay (a magnificent woman who’s been so far ahead of her time).

How do you feel – what do you think – what do you believe – when you read this above meditation?

I work with women who are ready to create more in their lives – to expand – and to live their desires.  Sometimes it takes a while before they give themselves permission to want what they want - and to believe that it’s theirs for the making. 

Having a coach enables them to step into bigger shoes, and it starts with allowing oneself to envision it, to fully believe it (sometimes we have blocks, one or many), to receivetheir greater good (oy, is it tough for us women sometimes to receive), and to take inspired actions.

Personally, working with a coach and coaching group has not only changed my life, but it truly supports me at times when taking a step and making a change feels so SCARY, or I’m stuck (I get stuck sometimes, too) on  the HOW? on a new step, and it’s simply stopping me from taking action (also fear-based).  And sometimes, I just revel in knowing I have that call on Thursday morning with the group and I can be with others who support me in feeling my power.

I invite you to take a look at the Success Circle program that just launched. It’s all about receiving coaching, feedback & company of San Francisco women who want to feel their power – and act on it.  Women who are looking to up-level their lives and sense they would benefit from inspiration, focus and some accountability to keep them moving.  Is this you?

New members will join in on August 5th!  

Questions?  Feel free to email me directly: leslie@belovesavvy.com.

To your personal power,

Leslie

www.BeLoveSavvy.com

Dear Savvy Friend,

I love it when really inspiring people continue to inspire me in surprising ways. When I saw this clip below of Gwen Stefani interviewed on the Jimmy Kimmel show, I knew why, beyond her amazingly cool style, voice, creativity and energy – I have such a girl-crush on her. She keeps it real, so it seems. No matter how big she’s getting. That in itself is way cool, but you’ve got to hear for yourself on this clip…

GWEN IS A BELIEVER.

Take the time to play just through the first minute and a half ( up to 1:18, specifically), and you’ll get the nugget that I want to share with you, what I’m talking about when I say she’s a BELIEVER.

“I can’t believe this is my life.”

“…. that’s my fantasy come true. …it was a fantasy I had in my head.  And I dreamt about it.  And it became real.”

“It can happen to you, too,  if you dream it hard enough.”

It begins by believing in your desires – in your dreams. Dream them. Play them over in your head.  Then….just watch them unfold.

Here’s to the rock-star BELIEVER in you~

xoxo

Leslie

www.BeLoveSavvy.com

Dear Savvy Woman,

This is in ’Life Improvement 101′,  and it will amaze me when I forget it in my own life - which I can and do!

Although recently I began implementing it into new areas of my life – some areas I hadn’t given myself permission to apply this to in the past – and it’s simply rocking my world!

Do you want to rock your world – shake things up a little bit with yourself?

Well, then….Drum-roll please…

Take INSPIRED actions, only.  What do I mean by this?  Well, I can bet you are like most of us living in this modern life, which is that we are leading very busy lives. So busy in fact that often everything just kind of runs together, gets more and more busy and overwhelming, and eventually you either flat-line in apathy (maybe without knowing it) or you stay on the merry-go-round getting so out of touch with your authentic self and without a minute to spare.  But that’s truly it’s own topic that deserves it’s own attention.

Taking INSPIRED action means both responding to things if and when you feel inspired to do so.  It also applies to -quite beautifully - when you are looking to do the BIG things; the steps that have you feeling trepidation because they are NEW and UNKNOWN.

The brilliance of this, and I can say I am continually surprised, is that energetically everything aligns when you take inspired action.  Rather than operating from shoulds, indecision, or resentment, by taking inspired actions only you align with what’s true for you which aligns with the Universe and it just feels so light and breezy-easy. 

This apples to everything from deciding what you want to do tonight, to who to call back, to placing calls for information-interviews while you’re job hunting.  What happens is that we often act on reaction, or out of ‘musts’ and ‘shoulds’.   We also wimp out when we don’t feel inspired and we’re facing something that feels daunting and unknown.

Things to do to get inspired and into action:

- Get a little quiet.  Pause before you return a call from a negative friend and check in with yourself – is this a Yes or a No?  Give yourself permission to say NO to doing something that may have just become habit.

-Tap into your VISION (don’t have one? search my blog for Vision Box, Mind Movies, etc).   Does this action or response you’re looking to take align? 

-When you’re stepping out & up into something new, focus on  making decisions and taking inspired actions based on where you want to be, not from where you are currently.

Believe me, this isn’t always easy and it takes some awareness  practice, but the dots connect and connect and like any good habit, it becomes easier and more natural as you go along.  I promise.

Much love,

From my savvy heart to yours~

Leslie

www.BeLoveSavvy.com

Dear Savvy Woman,

If you want 1 year of Prosperity, grow Seeds

If you want 10 years of Prosperity, grow Trees

If you want a Lifetime of Prosperity, grow your Self Worth.

From my savvy heart to yours ~

Leslie

www.BeLoveSavvy.com

My Office

Dear Savvy Woman,

Here’s a picture that I recently took of my office.  Isn’t it pretty, clean and simple ? ;-)  I like things that way!  Notice the big candles in my fireplace. These are to remind me to slow down, and to bring softness and spirit to my workspace. 

The big gold box on the left of the mantle is my Magical Creation Box. I’m going to tell you more about how to make yours in an upcoming post…stay tuned.  The women at my Love & Success Boot Camp last week *loved* making theirs!

The big gold frame (gold, a fav of mine, is a very creative hue, by the way! Not to mention it’s gorgeous & luxurious…) on the right that you see holds a Letter of Gratitude that I wrote to the Universe (see my Dec ’08 blog posts for instructions here: www.BeLoveSavvy.com/blog, and  write yours for this year!).    I can’t help but stop and read it regularly because of it’s massive presence in my space.

This space is part of my physical environment – my office where I spend a considerable amount of time.  But I write not just about physical environment, I also want to highlight that our emotional and spiritual environments are tremendous in shaping our experience.   How are yours working for you?

I  repeat this often to clients and to myself: You are the average of the 5 people that you surround yourself with. Who do you hang out with the most, either in person or in cyber space?   Be sure to make conscious choices.   We spent a lot of time on this at the recent Boot Camp event and it is both daunting and exhilarating, because we can’t change what we don’t acknowledge.  As creatures of habit, we can get use to environments that don’t serve us and our destiny of Well-Being.   Daunting, it can be, because the reminder is there that we are always at choice.

What will you choose?

Be sure to create environments that hold you in your values and support your highest good and desires.  Start small, grabbing the low-hanging ‘fruit’ to pick off.  In your physical environment, sometimes we just need a clearing out of the build-up = papers, magazines, unused items.  In our emotional and spiritual, we might need to taper down contact with a draining relative,  or let go of friendships (with love) that don’t feel supportive or have mutuality.  And sometimes we find we are in a relationship with a man (a large part of our environment) that isn’t the right partner.  

Here is to continuing to create our environments with love.

From my savvy heart to yours ~

Leslie

The Savvy Woman’s Love Coach

www.BeLoveSavvy.com