*Note: Listen to the podcast episode of this post here.

Abundance is on my mind lately. It’s a word that I’ve learned to redefine.

It starts with tapping in YOU, into an internal sense of self-approval.

And all of your glorious unique magnificence my dear ones.

Let’s discuss, shall we?

You see, I believe that abundance is what happens when you CHOOSE to unabashedly BE fully your complete fabulous self. And you can only BE fully you, after you have accepted the youness of YOU. Every ounce and inch and nuance of your complete whole self & life.

After all, there is No one alive who is youer than you!  (...thanks Dr. Seuss).

Holy shizz buckets my friends, that may seem a tall order but it’s a necessary one. Here’s why...

Self-approval is incredibly important because no triumph in life will fuel you for the long run if you are only operating on the external approval of others. I know for a lot of us, this is uncharted territory. Scary even.

Why?...

I’m going to get vulnerable with you about one of my own breakdowns, are you ready? I’ve had so many breakdowns in my lifetime but this is the story I trust you need to hear today.

It’s my story of shifting gears in my biz over the past 2 years.

A little backstory for those of you who don’t know me. I started a blog called Divine Health in 2010, which morphed into Divine Health From The Inside Out. It was a place I wanted to share what I was learning and to use as more of my ‘storefront’ for clients, online course and products.

You see, in 2007, I had a bit of an awakening to myself. In 2009, I got out of a volatile marriage. In 2010, I decided to pursue my passion of holistic nutrition. My intention for my website was to share more of the ‘inside out’ aspect of health, not just the science of nutrition.

I ended up going all in on the nutrition, health and real food path of blogging on my website. I was obsessed. In part because I was...

I’m celebrating overcoming a HUGE obstacle in my life. One that has been a long time coming, one that I finally shifted to see as an opportunity for my own growth. And boy did I learn some powerful lessons as I worked through this seemingly insurmountable barrier, let me tell you.

I learned more about my own inner strength and abilities in the past 2 years as I worked through this particular challenge. It was a hard earned lesson for sure, one that was incredibly painful but so necessary.

Now I can feel the liberation, like having climbed to the top of a mountain and looking at the breathtaking views. All the struggles I faced along the way were worth it and fading into the background, as I now revel in what they allowed me to overcome and accomplish.

And I wanted to share some of those lessons with you today as I reflect back on what I conquered.

The first is, that we all have obstacles in our lives. Some little, some seemingly massive and impossible. These obstacles are a...

*Note: Listen to the full episode on the podcast here (recorded May 14, 2020). 

I believe in magic, do you? I believe EVERYONE alive is magical as fuck. They just may not know it, yet.

Take me for example. I spent most of my life disconnected from my emotional self and inner truth.

Part of that has to do with how I was brought up. My family did not communicate. Emotional intelligence was completely lacking and as an empathic INFP that simply caused me to go within. Not to actually find deeper meaning, rather, I spent much time lost in creating alternative realities to tolerate and often to escape the one I was living in. At least I was creating, I’m sure I could write several fantasy novels from those years.

What I finally learned by the time I arrived to my 40’s was that it was never truly safe for me to face my emotional reality. As a child raised in a punitive strict christian home, where corporal punishment was administered, empathy and emotional support was...

Passion, what lights you up currently? When you are passionate you allow yourself to explore your desires and to go towards the things that make you feel joyful.

I am all about fully enjoying my life these days, I didn’t used to. I used to lack joy. In fact, I was so apathetic and fearful that I used to just spend hours fantasizing about life, instead of actually living it. There’s a long history there that stems from trauma and abuse that caused me to not feel safe. This created a lot of blocks in my entire being as a whole, but I’ve done a lot of inner healing to overcome that.

Listen to this blog post as a podcast - Episode 123: Lack of Joy? How to revive your passion - Find: A Joy To Be Me - On: iTunes, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or Spotify

There have been many times in my life that I have sunk into 'lack of joy' mode and lost my passion. I'm not alone in this. I know a lot of women struggle with this lack of joy, apathy, boredom, no motivation. This also shows up in...

Life is full of challenges. It’s a beautiful chaotic mess of ebbs and flows.

One thing I’ve learned over the years after facing many challenges (as a single mom in burnout), not only the ones life throws at you, but the ones you face on purpose to stretch, grow or overcome something is the incredible importance of REST.

I feel like I can’t express this enough.

You have to recharge your energy before the next challenge begins, so you are refreshed. Even if you feel super driven or motivated, you can’t always be in production mode. It’s so important to take time out from the busyness of life to restore your energy. This is the only way you can really heal your body and mind.

Listen to podcast version of this blog post -Episode #46  : Find A Joy To Be Me on iTunes, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or Spotify 

You see, constant stress and tension will break even the MOST RESILIENT people. I believe I am resilient, but let me tell you, life took me down...

I spend a lot of time in the woods daily hiking, meditating, contemplating. I like to tap into the wisdom of the woods to help me stay in touch with myself.

I never used to give myself this gift of space and time. I always felt like I had to be doing something else that seemed more ‘responsible’ or dutiful. Needless to say, I was rather anxious and kind of uptight. And probably not the happiest or most fun mom either.

And I know I’m not alone in having felt that way.

I believe our culture as a collective is struggling to feel like themselves and most people (if they were honest) feel like they are just ‘getting by’ in their day to day life.

This leads to not knowing who you are or what your soul passion really is. What really lights your soul on fire. That was true for me.

Thankfully, I woke up and gave myself permission to start doing things that allowed me to expand and get in tune with myself. Space to breathe, meditate, dream, grow.

As I walk...

So it's another New Year, what are you going to do with it? How will you move towards your most vibrant health and life in 2019?

I shared recently how I reflected on my journal last year over the holiday season. It's a powerful fucking thing reading through your daily musings for an entire year, I highly recommend it. One thing I noticed in doing so, was where I let myself down. I'm not sharing that to feel regret or elicit any pity, but to acknowledge it for what it is/was, so I can shift.

You see, I played small many times in pursuing my dreams and visions because I kept seeking approval.

Playing small is the same thing as DOUBTING yourself, your abilities, your gifts and your soul purpose work.

A big lesson I learned, like a hard smack in the face lesson was that I was seeking approval when what I really needed was to give myself permission to BE exactly where I was at and show up as ME. I'm talking about in my work, in my life, in my relationships, with my writing.

I needed to...

Yes, I am aware I just used self-care as a verb that was entirely intentional.

The Collins dictionary definition of self care is: "necessary care activities, such as eating, sleeping, and, which are or should be initiated and performed by the individual receiving them, rather than an external carer."

I’m sure you’ve heard all the typical analogies & quotes giving you permission for your own self care.

“You can’t pour from an empty cup”.
“Put Your Own Oxygen mask on first”.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
“Self care isn’t selfish”
“Self care is not about indulgence, it’s about self-preservation”

Logically you can understand why self care is important, but do you actually follow through? It's time to give yourself permission to get really radical about your own self-care this year, I certainly am.

As you know, I’m a single mom running...

A vision board is a way to create a powerful visualization practice.

My first ever vision board I did a few years back, was when I decided to start living much more intentionally. Instead of feeling held back, I chose to break free from the old ways of thinking that were keeping me stuck. And boy, what a journey that has been.

I decided that instead of waiting for life to happen to me, I wanted to happen to life. What a shift that mindset was, let me tell you. While I can’t say I embodied that mindset overnight, what I can say is that it has led me to a greater experience of self-actualization.

My vision board from 2016 helped me take my breakdown and turn it into a breakthrough. You can read my first vision board post here and follow along with my progression.

Last year (2018), I decided to do a quarterly vision board. I love doing it this way now, instead of once a year, because it gives me a chance to shift with the seasons. Every season I feel is a new opportunity for...