2010 is going to be a powerful year.

I feel it, I sense it and I own it.

A gift to you all to create a practice before each meal in this New Year.

I think it is a delightful way to start 2010.

With a loving practice for your mealtime.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Recite before each meal.

This food is a gift from the entire universe.

The land, the sky, the ocean and the work of many people.

May I be the presence that deserves to receive this.

May I learn the right way of eating.

May I receive energy and be protected from illness.

May I walk the path of wisdom and love.

When I eat may I not forget the people who are now suffering from hunger in the world.

In this food, I see the presence of the entire universe supporting me.

-Mayumi Oda

And I offer you this from my heart for 2010.

May you be a guiding light for yourself and others who need protection and love.

May you be a ship to help others cross their ocean.

May you be a bridge for those who cannot find their way.

May you be the natural born  leader you are.

May you be love and live love and be the light you already are.

I Love You, XO

Laura

We all know that our greatest challenges are our greatest gifts and here is a little story to share about why obstacles are disguised opportunities.

Another Important Lesson

Obstacles help us to improve ourselves.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.

Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

—Author Unknown

Speaking of overcoming obstacles, I asked OnePinky member Corrine what she is getting from being in Body Image Mastery. I loved what she had to share. Leah, please note the impact you have on women all over the world. Thank you for that.

Here are a few things that came to Corrine’s mind that she agreed to let me share.

1. Meeting Leah – my relationship with her has been an unexpected joy in my life – i look forward to our daily emails -the inspiration and comfort they bring.
2. My 30 Day Challenge – given me the drive to make working out a part of my life – YA!
3. Recognizing the importantance of being present and “releasing that which no longer serves me”

xoxo,
c

Thank you to all you Pinky’s who are on to my XO’s.

The world needs more love….As far as I am concerned the more love that goes out in the world, the more love the world can receive.There is no such thing as too much LOVE.

SO LOVE and HUGS to you all, now and always.

XO, Laura

Great call tonight!

How do you know you have forgiven someone?

Great question and I want to reiterate what I shared about on the great call tonight.

I define forgiveness as freedom.

Forgiving my past, saved my life. That I know for sure.

Forgiveness is often collapsed with forgetting and one thing has nothing to do with the other.

Forgive does not mean forget, it means FORGIVE…

People ask me this all the time…how do I know if you have really  forgiven yourself or another person, place or thing?

A simple answer is  when you think about them or the incident, or yourself,  revenge,  shame, pain, blame and guilt do not show up.  Neutrality, balance and inner peace equals freedom and that is forgiveness.

Ask yourself, how has forgiveness served you and how is holding pain or resentment towards another holding you back in your life?

And I invite you to ask that question to yourself about your self forgiveness…

Why can you do it for others and not for yourself?

Good place of inquiry.

Ask the universe for support, ask your pinky power partner for support and know you are being held and loved.

Good work, learning, loving and letting go!

XO, Laura

I just spent about an hour writing the most special post…feels like the best one I have ever written and it is gone, I lost it.

It is gone.

(I will give you a hint, it was a direct reply to your post on being true to yourself…and I will so my best to rewrite it tomorrow.)

Those words are gone…and I have to just be with it.

No matter how many times I tell myself to save a draft, I sometimes forget and clearly using outlook for spell check is not working.

So sorry to use this precious real estate to say this…I have to go practice some self love and forgiveness. I cannot recover those 600 -plus words and just want to scream…

Boo Hoo.

So please forgive me for not having it in me to rewrite the blog tonight.

It was not meant to be shared. I guess, although it was incredible.

Night Night to me. Not to you, You have a great day.

I am sooo proud of you Leah! Learn, Live and Let Go…

You are an amazing change agent Leah,

I love you, XO

Laura