What Will You Make it Mean?

Hello, Lovelies!

It's the start of a new month, a new school year, and a new season (my favorite!).

Of course, none of these things matter--unless we want them to. September 1st is just another day; school is school; and seasons come and go. 

Or... It's the first of the month, which means I get out my journal and write down everything I've accomplished, big and small, in the past 30 days. I take a few minutes to view the slide-show of my life through this lens, and as I do, my shoulders relax, my exhale deepens. Despite the huge to-do list I wrote last night, I now feel motivated instead of overwhelmed. 

The first of the month also means I get to spend time becoming clear on what it is I really want to accomplish--produce, create, experience--in the next 30 days. I write these things down, too. And as do, I feel my energy lift, become lighter. A small wave of fear ripples through my chest, tightens my throat... and then gives way to excitement, anticipation.

Once I've written out everything I want to accomplish, and the various tasks I'll need to do to achieve said results, and calendared (verb) these in my planner, the fog I dragged around this morning after a restless night of sleep is gone. In its place: a strong sense of clarity and purpose. Confidence. Something, to be honest, I've been needing lately to make more of. 

The last couple of months have been challenging: heartache, transition, challenges with my kids, and a fresh (and sometimes painful) reckoning with old stories I thought I'd sloughed off. I've questioned myself, my choices and capacities. At times, I've wanted to run, full tilt, away--to a big glass of wine, to being too busy to come up for air, to complaining and judging, to resentment and blame.

But, by and large, I've stayed with myself. I've practiced stillness, even when that stillness swarms with buzzing in my chest and thoughts that dart through my mind like frenzied rabbits at night. I've stayed with my process. I felt all of my feelings, the deepest lows, and the glimpses of expansion and insight. Pulling through the thrash, I feel myself growing, widening; my capacity to connect from a place of authenticity and truth--with myself, with others--deepens, slowly, day by day. 

Which is why I'm excited to make the start of fall mean all kinds of powerful things.

This year, the coming of fall means the advent of intention. As the Buddha once said, the whole of conscious life unfolds on the tip of intention. And I want my intention to be strong, focused, and clear--just like the bright fall air, the cool mornings and crystalline skies. I want to wake every day with an overarching vision of what it is that I want, above all else, to feel--in my body, my mind, and in my interactions with others. I want to light my bedside candle each night and write, with a sense of gratitude and excitement, about what I created that day, what I learned, what surprised me, and whose support I'm so grateful for that I could weep. 

This fall also means, to me, the sharpening of the year into its final point: four months left until 2018 ... So what is it, above all else, that matters most to me right now? What is it that I'd most regret not doing this year, and what do I need to put into place to make this happen? Whose help do I need? What do I need to learn? What habits and clutter and stories do I need to let go of, once and for all, so that I can focus on what matters and not on what doesn't? 

And finally, I'm making this coming of fall mean getting real. Realer than I've ever been. Asking myself what my agenda is, really... And then daring to ask what it is that my agenda might be masking. What is it I've been avoiding? What emotions have I been scared to feel? What soul-creations have I been dodging, resisting? How have I been playing it safe? What does my heart want to tell me? What is my spirit calling forth in me? And am I willing to listen? And if so, to act upon what I hear? 

This is the process of conscious living, and that's what I'm making this school year mean. With my clients, with my students... With my kids, with myself: what  does an intention to live consciously ask of us right now? What does a wide-awake way of walking through the world feel like, speak like, dream like, touch like, listen like, forgive like, heal like, love like? 

We get to make things mean what we want them to. Nothing, or something. We get to think--and live--on purpose, or by default. 

So, what do you want to make this fall mean? This first night of the month? The last days of summer? The advent of crisp, cool air? The turning of leaves to bursts of fire? What will this school year ask of you? What will you ask of yourself? How do you want to encounter the end of this year, come winter's bare-boned knowing? 

If you'd like more clarity than you have right now in response to these questions, I would love to see you at my next women's retreat on October 8th, where we'll dive deep into the processes I live by and teach to unleash one's full potential. My signature Your Path to Full Potential Retreats are small, intimate, intensive experiences designed for women who are passionate about living lives on and of purpose, and who want help accessing their full power, connecting with their authentic gifts and desires, and overcoming their fears and the patterns of thinking and acting that no longer serve them. 

If this sounds like you, click here for more info and to register. Or if this sounds like someone you know, please share this blogpost with her. Better yet, buddy up, and come together! 

Make this fall mean something special.

Make it mean you're ready.

And make it mean you're worth it. 

Love, 
Kirstin

PS. To register for my the next daylong Your Path to Full Potential Retreat, which includes a beautiful and nourishing lunch, click here.