September Re-membering you!

September Re-membering you!

Believe it or not but Southern California does have seasons! I feel the changes in the wind, the sea, and in my thoughts. Of course, our seasonal changes here are not as dramatic as they are in the mid-west, east coast or southern states. Perhaps California has the best weather year round too, but we suffer through the world climate issues just like the rest of you. Ask any of my friends who are staying close to home as the wildfires burn at a rapid pace in fear of losing all they have. Or, anyone who has saved their cooking water to nurture their house plants, taking shorter showers, and have seen our verdant green grasslands turn to brown in the early spring. Yes, “brown is the new green” in our parks and on our lawns. But I am not here to talk about the weather or the color of the land. I am here to talk about September.

Many people set New Years intentions in January – marking their life plans by the calendar year. Not me, I mark my life plans as soon as the September winds begin to blow and the ocean temperature begins to cool down. The tides of change remind me of the days my mom would take me shopping for my “back to school” clothes, even though I wore a uniform of forest green, black and blue plaid.

September remembering…back to school….

As a schoolgirl I loved shopping for crisp clean notebooks, binders, colored pencils and pens. These tools inspired me to get organized. I even liked the look of my black and white oxford shoes, compulsory footwear in the Catholic schools I was dragged up in. The newness of fall and everything about it was exciting and curious to me. What would I learn? Who would be my teachers? Would I make new friends? Where would my “next steps” lead me?

“There comes a time when autumn asks,“‘What have you been doing all summer?'”

School.

Effort.
Play.
Trying your best,

Each hour of the day.
Making new friends.
Being good as you can.
Exciting discoveries.
Reading books with a friend.”
–  Boni Fulgham

Looking back at this past year I am amazed and delighted about the many things I set out to create and accomplish. This is the time of year I “acknowledge myself” for keeping the promises I not only made to others who helped me succeed, but to myself for rolling up my sleeves, doing the work and showing up for my life. It is so important to acknowledge ourselves. To take stock of the things we set out to do and did! This is something I had to learn, and didn’t come easy for me. In the graduate program of Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica I learned an important USM skill called “Positive Self-Talk.” Why is this important? How do we lean into praising ourselves, when the buzz word today is “narcissism,” as if that’s a bad word?

Fall Forward into your life!

First of all, we are all narcissists and we all have egos, so come on people, let’s let that judgment go. These personality traits are what drive us forward to reach our goals, to express ourselves, and to be better people. If we don’t like ourselves and love ourselves…how can we like and love others? The ego is like the accelerator in your car, and “Positive Self-talk” is like the gas in your engine. It fuels your drive. Our cars would not go very far without these ingredients, nor will our spirits.

Another analogy that may help understand the concept of self acknowledgment is the term self-parenting. Our spirits are like children. When our children do something challenging or meaningful – we praise them, and so, they want to do more to make us happy and to receive more of that nurturing attention and love. Our “spirit,” often referred to as “the inner child,” needs that kind of attention too. It is a way of parenting ourselves and thus, we empower ourselves and give ourselves the courage and motivation to move forward and to succeed. Re-membering ourselves to ourselves is a way of giving energy to the life-force that we call “the self.” We put ourselves back together by remembering all we do, all we give, all we get =’s all we are.

I am not ashamed; in fact, I am proud to say that everything I set out to do – I did! From September of 2015 to the end of August 2016! It wasn’t easy either, but with the help from those of you who invested in the dream to make Skin on Skin a Fashion Film, I was energized, motivated and – as Women’s Leadership Live says: “PowerFull!” I could not- would not – let you down. I set out to design a fashion collection and I did. I set out to produce and raise funds for a fashion film and I did. I set out to create a “collective” energy field to inspire and support those of you who dare to dream and I did. All the things I promised to deliver – I did. i.e.: The Runway RunAway Collection with 36 fashionable, elegant, easy to wash and wear pieces- done. Skin On Skin a Fashion Film done. Go Fund Me Perk awards, downloads, roles for diverse new actors of all shapes ethnicities and sizes, including deaf talent, bragging rights and shout outs on social media, IMDb, film credits, zebra scarves, leopard scarves…right up to the red carpet world premier at the La Jolla International Film Festival Skin on Skin World Premiere on July 30th, done! I kept my word to me, to you and to God. Even though there were challenges, too many to name, that nearly set me off the rails, I never gave up. Now, I am taking the time to reflect on my accomplishments, reminding myself that I am ok and that I kept my word. Call me a narcissist if you want, and yes, I was “ego driven” to have it all be successful too. But would anyone be inspired if I just stayed home and polished my toenails?

I love this quote about September…

September Re-membering you!

It reminds me that what “we get what we give” and so we must take the time to be grateful for all we have accomplished and all that we have received. This is what transforms our energy so we can keep moving forward in our lives. So…Let’s do this together…Breathe in the warm winds of September. As you inhale remember all that you have done in service to yourself and others with joy. As you exhale let the words “thank you” flow out into the world, knowing you are doing the best you can, you are ok, and you are content with all that is. Once we remember ourselves to ourselves, our spirits will feel rewarded and ready for our next steps. So take time in September to remember who you are and your curriculum on the planet.

Start a new project, re-energize the one you are working on, follow a dream, whatever you choose and get back to school for the learnings that will come from whatever lies ahead.

Life is for Learning,

Love

Lorelei