November 27, 2020

Permission to Experience

 

I would like to challenge you, to really come into the fullest expression of yourself. To come to know and love you, which includes the enjoyment of being YOURSELF! If you want to be grateful and see the beauty in everyone and everything, you also need to do the same thing for yourself and learn to love and admire the BEAUTY IN YOU.

You might be thinking, ok Jen, that is great, but how is having a photoshoot or dancing going to help me create a better relationship with my partner, love myself more and help me step into a fuller expression of myself?

I’d like to share with you 3 different benefits…

  • Seeing yourself from a different perspective
    Being in your body allows you to take off the roles of mom, wife, professional, daughter, sister, volunteer person, church leader etc. and to SEE YOURSELF as the beautiful woman you are. It is no longer about doing something for someone else, it is about BEING and ENJOYING who you are. You can learn how to surrender and be in your body fully and completely. When you are in this fullest expression, you begin to attract more of what you desire in your life.
  • Feel into the experience and what it reveals to you about yourself
    The value of a photoshoot is much bigger than the result of the photos. The photos capture a snapshot in time of the essence of who you are, but the photoshoot itself allows you to fully step into YOU and experience the joy, beauty and pleasure of being you. Each time you do a photoshoot, you will see the growth in your journey and how you feel during the shoot. When you dance, you can feel into your energy and that of your partner. The experience allows you to step more fully into the essence of being a woman. When you move to the beat of the music you can feel the energy move through you. In each of these examples, you are not talking about something, you are experiencing and creating a new loving imprint within your body.
  • Witness the growth of who you are in your journey
    Since it’s hard to see ourselves, it is beautiful when you can experience multiple photoshoots and see your progress along the journey. It reminds me of watching kids grow up, you can see their growth. When you have a photo taken, you can see the change in who you are and have become show up in your photos as well. The same is true for dancing. You can see and feel the shift in the way you move, how you carry yourself and how you step into your energy, essence and your power as a woman. You are no longer giving your power away. You can feel and own your divine feminine power.

 

When you give yourself permission to experience BEING in your body, your whole world changes.  So, what does experience “it” even mean? Experiencing “it” is about being in your body and living authentically through all the moments and emotions of life. Experiencing “it” means to allow yourself to be free to feel and embrace all that the world and your relationships can offer. It means giving yourself permission to step into the fullest expression of you.

 

December 21, 2016

Enjoy the Real Moments

As you continue to rush around in an attempt to finish up your holiday preparations, remember to take some time to enjoy the REAL MOMENTS that life provides. It can be hard during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season to take time to experience everything, instead of trying so hard to get everything to be perfect. I want my family, my kids, my friends all to be happy and fulfilled. So I create these expectations in my own head that in many cases are unrealistic and then am sad when things don’t turn out as planned. Can you relate?

As I was reflecting this week I relished in a few REAL MOMENTS from years passed. Though brief, these moments reminded me of the true meaning of the holiday season. Enjoyment in life is not about the decorations, shopping, or presents, but being open and present for those REAL MOMENTS that arise. These moments happen every single day. I have been able to see and experience God in the spirit of each one of my family members in these REAL MOMENTS.

Here’s an example from a few years ago… I took one hour off work to watch my youngest son swim. I brought a pad of paper to do some work while I was watching. It’s such a busy time of year, so I thought I would multi-task and use my time wisely. But then I saw his cute little wet face pop out of the water. I watched him see me and wave to me. In that moment my heart wanted to be with just him. So I put down any planning thoughts and decided to just sit there, watch, and observe him swim. I am usually a DOER and not a WATCHER, so this was an out of the ordinary experience for me. He was so joyous in his movements in the water. Even though I was observing him through a window, I could almost feel his positive energy wanting me to just be present with him. It was incredible.

Think about your own lives. What REAL MOMENTS have you experienced with your loved ones? It can sometimes feel easier to enjoy REAL MOMENTS with your children, especially the younger ones who still have this sweet innocence, but sometimes its harder to pay attention to the REAL MOMENTS with our spouses or partners. Take that time, look harder. When you don’t have expectations and aren’t looking to create a moment, GOD creates the REAL MOMENT to experience.

I encourage you to sit back, relax and ENJOY the REAL MOMENTS this holiday season. From what I have experienced, sometimes its the things that we don’t plan, where we allow ourselves to be still and see the spirit of GOD in one another that enable us to experience REAL MOMENTS.

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future full of hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

May you all have a blessed and Happy Holiday and a Wonderful New Year!

December 14, 2016

Being Present is the Perfect Gift

It’s that time of year again – the hustle, the bustle, the fast pace of the holiday season. Between parties and planning and gift buying, we have an overly full plate most of the time. We can find ourselves searching for the “PERFECT” gift for each of the loved ones on our list. You may find yourself spending hours combing the internet or driving between multiple stores to seek out that special gift that represents how much you appreciate that person. For me, there have been many holiday seasons where I have shopped and shopped and shopped and still couldn’t find what I was looking for. Why does that happen? Sometimes I shop and immediately find everything on my list, but many times I hit a dead end.

Has that ever happened to you? Your intentions are good, you weren’t going to these lengths for the perfect gift for yourself. You are on this search because you truly want your loved one to feel special. But why is it that sometimes we cannot find what we are looking for? Why is it that your efforts of kindness and giving suddenly feel like a chore? Let’s ponder this for a minute. When we are DOING instead of BEING, sometimes it feels harder and takes more effort. I have realized that in being attached to the outcome, which in this case is a gift, I am limiting the possibilities that could happen in really bringing the joy to the person I wanted to touch. However, when I let myself BE, with no intentions, the greatest miracles happen.

I attended a church service once where we heard discussion about our Plan A versus our Plan B. Have you ever thought about Plan A versus Plan B when it comes to the holidays?

Plan A in most cases could be shopping for the PERFECT gift. But what if Plan B was even better?

What if that PERFECT gift was YOU! Show up to your friends and family and those that are most important to you as who YOU are.

Here is an example from my life. I was on a mission to seek out the perfect gift but was struggling to find it and getting frustrated. While we were out shopping, my son saw a gingerbread house and asked, “Mommy, can we buy this please?” I hesitated, thinking that nobody eats gingerbread in our house and this definitely was not the present on my list, but I saw the look in his eye and knew I needed to go with this Plan B.

The result? We created some amazing memories because I was open to being present and noticing what was really important. My plan A turned into the absolute best Plan B and a memory we will never forget.

As we head into the holidays and the final few weeks of the year, I hope you remember that sometimes the best PRESENT is the gift of YOU! Be present and enjoy all the beautiful moments this holiday season.