THE BLISS LIST / Autumn 2018

It’s that time again, blissmakers! Your Autumn 2018 Bliss List is here! The equinox is upon us, and with it comes a Nature-supported opportunity to even the scales of our lives before tipping over into the darker, more introspective half of the year. This is a beautiful time, blissmakers! Use this gift wisely and you will find that you hold enough spark inside yourself to blissfully illuminate the dark half of the year.

Following are some of the things that are lighting me up, and helping me find that balance before the shift in seasons. May they each be a light of inspiration for you as you navigate this equinox and beyond.

1. My new coach! I’ve been talking a lot lately of the importance of investing in self. I cannot stress how vital this is for successful personal growth and transformation. I’ve been working with a few different coaches in a few different niches this past year, but I’m most excited about my latest mentor relationship. She is a complete badass, and is so supportive, that I am certain I will recoup my investment with her and then some. And, in case you’re asking: Yes, even coaches need coaches. We all need outside support and perspective in some form. This keeps us broadening our horizons, moving through (and beyond!) our fears, and experimenting with new ways of manifesting bliss in our lives. My work with coaches ensures that I am the very best coach I can be for YOU. It’s good, good magick.

2. Jen Sincero’s books. Jen Sincero is a badass. And she helps other people hone their own inherent badass-ness professionally. I recently finished her book, You Are A Badass, and it was a beautiful, fun, and transformative read. I’m now about to start her follow-up book, You Are A Badass At Making Money, which is aimed at helping readers work through their limiting beliefs around abundance. I cannot wait! Sincero has the ability to take sometimes complex and challenging themes, and alchemize them into easy-to-swallow delicious nuggets. She’s lived everything she teaches, so she has credibility. She started out thinking most of this stuff was woo-woo crap. Then she applied some of these “self-help” principles and found they actually worked. This makes her an especially great resource for folks who balk at self-help anything. Check her out. She’s totally legit. And you will be better off for the experience.

3. Morning walks with my sister and niecelet! Pretty much every morning this month, my sister, my niecelet (the ‘Bug’), and I have been meeting up for walks through the town. Some days we walk through the neighborhood streets. Other days we walk to the park. Still others we walk through the town stopping for coffee, tea, fruit or bagels. It really doesn’t matter so much where we walk. It’s just good to get out into the fresh air, and move our bodies. The Bug gets a nice nap, and Sister and I get to catch up on our days, vent our frustrations, and share our dreams with one another. This little ritual has become one of my very favorite things in my daily experience. On the rare occasion that we aren’t able to meet in the morning, my entire day feels out of whack. I’m so grateful for this connection with my family, my body, my town, and with Nature.

4. Martha’s Best Papayas. Having attended the Woodstock Fruit Festival at the tail end of last month, I was blissfully reunited with my favorite food: papayas. And I’m talking about the good papayas. Martha’s Best Papayas are from Jamaica. They are Strawberry papayas (that’s the varietal), and they’re organic, non-gmo, and freakin’ delicious. They are second only to my beloved Solo papayas I had in Hawaii. If you have only ever had papayas from a supermarket, or even an ethnic market, let me assure you that you don’t know papayas’ full glory. Order a box of these beauties and you will understand. Trust.

5. My meditation practice. While it’s still a work in progress - that’s why it’s called a practice, right? - I’m really enjoying cultivating my meditation practice. Sometimes I do a proper seated gig in half lotus while I concentrate my mind on a particular point of focus. Other times I dedicate a few moments to consciously daydreaming about what my life will look like when I have manifested all my dreams. And occasionally I’ll just paint a smile on my face and sit with it until I either feel myself expanding into a more blissful state worthy of that smile, or I won’t … and I’ll just sit there experiencing what it’s like to smile when I don’t mean it. I try not to get too precious about the rules of my practice. I simply try to remember to do it once a day … preferably at the same-ish time of day. And I’m noticing a positive difference in my daily experience. I manage my stress better when I’ve been consistent with my practice. I sleep better. I generally have a more positive “I’ve got this” attitude. What an amazing return on investment, right? Sit and daydream for a few minutes every day, and feel more like the badass I know I can be. It’s awesome. And it works.

6. My Gratitude Journal. I’ve been consistently writing in my Gratitude Journal nearly every night for the past few months. There are many ways to rock a gratitude journal. My chosen method is to write about things that I want to happen as if they have already happened. I express gratitude for these awesome experiences in my life - as if they have already taken place - and this allows me to feel the excited, uplifted feelings of how I imagine my life will be when they actually are made manifest. These feelings equal an increase in my vibrational state, which puts me more in alignment with the very things I am wanting to manifest. It’s Law of Attraction in action! I’ve already been seeing some manifestation of things I’ve been writing about in my journal. New doors are opening where once there were only closed windows. Opportunities are presenting themselves to me from the unlikeliest sources. It’s so exciting, so fun, and so easy! And, well, I’m grateful for it.

7. My Berkey Water Filtration System. Water is important. And clean water is key. Most of our municipal water is contaminated with toxins such as chlorine, fluorine, and ammonia. That’s why I love my Berkey Water Filtration System so much. I can set it up on my counter, fill it with questionable tap water, and it will filter out almost all of the yuck leaving me with a continual supply of clean drinking water. And it tastes good. I have the travel size, which is still pretty large, and is the perfect size for one person. But they come in a number of sizes to fit a variety of demand needs. I strongly recommend the separate fluorine filters in addition to the black Berkey filters should you decide to get your own system. And let it be known that I am in no way affiliated with the Berkey company. I just really love their products. And I felt especially fortunate to have my Berkey on hand as all the bottled water in town was being pilfered in preparation for Hurricane Florence here in Asheville.

NOTE: Thankfully, we were not negatively affected by the storm. However, my heart goes out to those on the coast.