A Grateful Heart

I was flipping through our family calendar this morning, which is filled with quotes from Pema Chodron, to see what’s scheduled for May. The quote from her book The Places that Scare You, jumped out at me:

“Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts. Each time we drop our complaints and allow everyday good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior’s world. We can do this even at the most difficult moments. Everything we see, hear, taste and smell has the power to strengthen and uplift us.”

I’ve been overflowing with gratitude all morning. It’s so delicious. It has the capacity to move us into this feeling state that can actually keep expanding and growing (it reminds me of that Star Trek episode, The Trouble with Tribbles, where the “tribbles” just kept multiplying!).

I returned late last night from facilitating a weekend Self-Renewal Retreat for women at Kripalu Yoga and Wellness Center in Mass. I didn’t bring my laptop, purposely slowed way down and made probably no more than 5 phone calls over the five days I was gone.

And while it was a work trip, I still spent a good deal of time soaking in the cool Berkshire mountain air, walking, doing yoga/dance, meditating, having heartfelt conversation with my team members, soaking in the latest perspectives/teachings on wellness, yogic lifestyle, stress management and I even got to dance with and receive a hug from the beautiful Mother Maya, who teaches Living Ahimsa—a vow which encourages us all to practice non-violence towards self and others. A particularly relevant and thoughtful message given the major political news I returned to today.

After finishing an expansive meditation this morning (it’s amazing how much more spacious our minds can become when we “unplug” for an extended period), I could feel waves of gratitude spreading and amplifying through my body. This morning I paused to celebrate and give thanks…

For the gift of sight and to be able to drink in all the green growth of springtime.

For the amazing, other-worldly natural foods cuisine the Kripalu kitchen staff lovingly prepared for the more than 700 people who were on-site this past weekend.

For the supportive tribe and community that helped care for Jonah while I was away leading the retreat (and that always step up to support me when I travel for work).

To my sweet, wonderful husband and all the ways he supports our family’s physical, emotional, spiritual and financial well-being.

For the opportunity to help women reconnect with who they are and live from the inside out … and for the self-care ripples that occur when they return to their families, communities and workplaces.

For the brilliant team of women and students I get to work with day in and day out—what blessings each of you are in my life!

For the abundance of personal and professional support that surrounds me and continually flows my way.

For the deep, nourishing friendships I have cultivated that sustain me on so many levels. I appreciate these more every day and am so grateful for the opportunity to be vulnerable and show up “warts and all.”

For the myriad of life experiences I’ve had which were catalysts for helping me grow and evolve into the person I am becoming (let the journey continue!).

For the life-changing event I had at Dachau in 1996 which helped me awaken to the life I truly desire and my calling to help us all come into balance.

For the amazing connections and synchronicities that occur daily in my life that support me in remembering who I really am and what I’m here to do.

To my son and my siblings/extended family for being such amazing teachers and for never letting me fall into status quo or get “too comfortable!”

To my sweet, wonderful body and soul which allow me to experience what it’s like to be human, be spirit and all the vastness that lies in between.

P.S. I’ll be back at Kripalu Oct. 14-16 leading another Self-Renewal Retreat if you want to experience some of this yumminess and see the blaze of fall color!

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:

>Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Self- Renewal Groups
>Attend a retreat/event or workshop
>Join the Dialogue on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
>Pick up The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
>Download FREE Live Inside Out Teleclasses, and read my April Life Balance newsletter
>Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
>Empower Others: Schedule Renee Trudeau for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization
>Subscribe to my life balance blog The Journey for weekly inspiration
The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Photos: After finishing a full and intense weekend of teaching and facilitation, I relaxed on the front lawn at Kripalu looking out at the Berkshire mountains while enjoying a piece of vegan pumpkin pie and hot rosehips/lavender tea.

We Need Each Other

Yesterday afternoon my nine year old ran away from home.

He only went 2 blocks. He was barefoot and was carrying a cigar box filled with a Whole Earth Provision gift card, fifteen dollars and a birthday gift certificate from his uncle for bowling. He told me this was what he planned to use to support his new life.

He returned after about 15 minutes (meanwhile, my poor husband was cruising up and down the streets frantically looking for him!) but the experience—which followed a very emotional weekend for my young guy-- was intense for all.

Last night after a warm bubble bath and stories/a long cuddle session with mom, my son shared that being away from us was the scariest thing he had ever experienced. In his words, “he felt so alone …and vulnerable.” And, “It made me think of all the people out there in the world that feel this way everyday. That don’t have anybody.”

A few weeks ago, I led a small business retreat for a group of female entrepreneurs. The one piece of feedback I can’t get out of my head was from a woman who tearfully shared that this retreat was her first experience to be in the company of other women in this manner…a circle …feeling safe, nurtured and empowered. No egos, no competition, just unconditional support and enough “space” for everyone to show up just as they are.

I pretty regularly ask for and receive help now—both professional and personal—but I’m also remembering a time not long ago, where this was a very foreign concept to me. (Read my chapter on Building a Support Network here.)

Growing up as the oldest of seven kids, I look back now and see the predominant theme or message of “going it alone” was our family’s modus operandi.

Besides the distinct absence in our day-to-day lives of aunts, uncles, grandparents, family friends, ministers, close neighbors—a tribe that we could call on when things got stressful—my siblings and I rarely even asked our mom and dad for help. And, while I see the gifts that have come from being uber- independent, in the long run, it doesn’t serve to navigate choppy waters …alone ..in a small rowboat … when a nice big yacht replete with supplies and sailors is sailing by.

When I became a mom 9 years ago, I was forced to learn the lesson that we’re meant to be interdependent, we need each other. It’s our birthright to give and receive help. And, to be in community and connection with one another on a regular basis (read more on the gifts that come from this).

In fact giving from our hearts and allowing others to support us can be a spiritual practice for both parties (as my girlfriend shared yesterday who is caring for her husband who is very ill).

So yes my sweet son, it can feel scary at times to be alone. And while flying solo is not bad—you also learned one of life’s most important truths: tribes are good. We all need each other. And asking for and learning to receive help is what it’s all about.

An invitation: Are you interested in learning to let go and receive support, tap into the Transformative Power of Self-Care and enjoy the warm company of like-minded women? Join me April 29-May 1 at Kripalu for my Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance: Women’s Self Renewal Retreat in the Berkshires of MA (this retreat center is one of my favorite places on planet earth!)

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:

>Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Self- Renewal Groups
>Attend a retreat/event including our April 29-May 1 Kripalu Self-Renewal Retreat in the Berkshire Mountains of MA
>Join the Dialogue on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
>Pick up The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
>Download FREE Live Inside Out Teleclasses, and read my April Life Balance newsletter
>Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
>Empower Others: Schedule Renee Trudeau for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization
>Subscribe to my life balance blog The Journey for weekly inspiration

The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Doing vs. Being

This is the time of year that many of us feel more like human doings than human beings.

Yesterday afternoon, my husband and son went out to work on costumes for one of my husband’s upcoming Samba School gigs.

I had been looking forward to this rare present all day: two to three hours of quiet time alone in my house!

After they left, I hopped online to take care of a few timely work-related items (rare for me as I try to stay offline on the weekends).

Forty-five-minutes later, I looked up and—irritated-- felt the sands of time sifting through my fingertips. My mind raced to all the things I had wanted to do during this window—gardening, hiking, baking, cleaning out my closet, “pure fun” reading, biking (it was gorgeous and sunny in Austin yesterday). And as I noticed all of these distractions waving and running by with hopeful smiles like contestants on the Price is Right, I found my irritation subsiding and realized what I really needed to “do”—was nothing at all.

Finally surrendering, I grabbed a Mexican blanket, headed out into our backyard, found the warmest, sunniest spot I could and laid down on the grass.

Can you relate to any of this?

I think there are three kinds of people:
1. Those who feel they have to “do” to be worthy (they’re constantly in motion; this was me up until about age 35)
2. Those who feel they need to “do their work” before they relax and play (I’m in this camp with millions of other Puritan work ethic devotees)
3. Those who have no guilt ever about relaxing and playing at any time! (My husband sleeps here—in his book “any time is the right time for relaxing!”)

The wonderful, wise author/mind-body expert Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. says, "Remember—your to-do list is immortal. It will live on long after you’re dead."

Being very skilled at the “doing dance,” I can honestly share that it’s quite seductive.

We’re rewarded –particularly in the U.S.—for output. Our national anthem is "Just Do It!" (You don’t hear anyone say, “Can you believe how often she says ‘no’ and how much she’s slowed down? Wow, what a role model!”)

There are many dangers that come from over-doing, but I think one of the deadliest—and scariest for me when I go into over-drive-- is we forget who we are.

I’ve heard many of our Career Strategists clients share in the last ten years “Isn’t there more? I feel like I just go to work, take care of the kids, handle my endless work/home obligations, sleep on the weekends and then start all over again Monday morning.”

When we don’t balance “doing” with “being,” we begin to feel like robots instead of the juicy, creative, vibrant, alive beings that we are.

And we forget that “Life is not a thing to be managed, it’s a mystery to be lived.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take pondering life's mysteries over finding a new way to cook chicken breasts, any day.

Onward through the week ... with a bit more mindful attention to balancing being with doing. The best I can.

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:

>Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Self- Renewal Groups
>Attend a retreat/event including our April 29-May 1 Kripalu Self-Renewal Retreat in the Berkshire Mountains of MA >Join the Dialogue on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
>Pick up The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
>Download FREE Live Inside Out Teleclasses, join us for March 31st life balance teleclass and read my March Life Balance newsletter
>Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
>Empower Others: Schedule Renee Trudeau for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization
>Subscribe to my life balance blog The Journey for weekly inspiration

The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly. (Note: This blog post appeared in a similar format in 2010. It is so timely, I had to share it again.)

Be Here Now ... Really?!

Growing up, my parents used to quote a lot of annoying phrases to me.

They were boomers, intellectuals and spiritual seekers, and were always looking for new perspectives and teachings to expand their minds. (My dad liberally quoted passages to us daily from Einstein, the Bible, Wayne Dyer, Swami Satchidananda, St. Francis of Assisi, Marianne Williamson and others.)

Being big fans of author/spiritual teacher Ram Dass, they often would tell my six siblings and me to just “Be here now!”(read more) when we begged them to take us to a movie or the mall. You can imagine how that was received in teenage ears!

I don’t recall them being overly present during much of the time we were growing up (certainly challenging with 7 kids!), but Lord knows they tried.

This phrase “Be here now” flooded back to me this weekend as I sat on the couch with a nasty full-body cold, wanting to be …at the creativity party I was missing …at my son’s piano recital with my husband … upstairs cleaning my office … outside working on the garden … online sharing about my Friday spring renewal retreat … at yoga class … really, anywhere but where I was. Sick. At home. Immobile.

As a life balance teacher/writer/speaker, I'm very passionate about enhancing the emotional and spiritual health of American families. And, I find it interesting that so many stress management gurus and spiritual teachers believe the answer to everything is to just “Be here now … or be with what is.” (Read more on “Being with what is.”)

Many of them say all suffering and emotional distress would end if we simply stopped resisting being in the moment. If we embraced the "Now." But, boy, when your head is about to split in two, your body feels like wet spaghetti and your nose is running like a faucet-- that can feel really challenging.

But, because I know that discomfort often brings amazing gifts, I was willing to explore this and at least take a look at what would happen if I stopped resisting my uninvited house guest Franny Flu for a while.

As I allowed myself to be sick and be with other scenarios in my life that seem “counter to my desires”—I could feel a sense of peace and quiet settle over me.

And, as I temporarily suspended expectations about work, relationships and other interactions--out went their siblings: worry, anxiety and stress.

So, it looks like there’s something here worth exploring. And, as my dad would say, “You never know when you’ll bump up against enlightenment.” It might even reside at the bottom of a Kleenex box.

A personal invitation: Do you feel overwhelmed, pulled in too many directions or in extreme need of a day completely devoted to enhancing your sense of inner peace and well-being? Join me this Friday, March 4 at Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance: Spring Self-Renewal Retreat. Hope to see you there!

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:
>Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Self- Renewal Groups
>Attend a retreat/event including our March 4 Lost Pines Women's Self-Renewal Retreat coming up this Friday; this is our last Texas retreat until November--bring a friend and save
>Join the Dialogue on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
>Pick up The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
>Download FREE Live Inside Out Teleclasses and read my February Life Balance newsletter
>Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
>Empower Others: Schedule Renee Trudeau for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization
>Subscribe to my life balance blog The Journey for weekly inspiration
The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Photos: Renee Peterson Trudeau; fresh picked raspberries from a farm on the Olympic Peninsula. These babies went straight into cornmeal almond pancakes--yum!

Love the One You're With

Love the one you’re with and that would be you. Bryon Katie, author

I’m about to overflow with insights and revelations. If I didn’t have so many deadlines this week, I’d grab my journal and pens, head for the nearest cave with a bag of pistachios and a jug of water and write, write, write!

This past week began with a solo personal planning retreat, followed by a screening of Race To Nowhere, then I led a beautiful Women’s Winter Self-Renewal Retreat and finally this weekend, I attended a Byron Katie seminar with two of my team members.

Just when I think it’s time to give up teaching the self-care message and move on, the Universe presents me with one case after another for why this work is so key and how crucial it is to our relationships (with self and others), our career paths, our emotional well-being and our spiritual development.

If I were holding an onion, self-care would be the outer layer, then a few layers deeper, I’d find self-acceptance. Then finally at the core: self-love. I see self-care as the doorway through which we must go to truly accept who we are, and ultimately, to begin to love ourselves.

I’ve been on the self-care journey for close to eleven years and I still have a long way to go.

Yet, reflecting on the gifts that have come to me from learning to love myself, I am grateful for where I am. (Friday night after returning from a long day at The Crossings, before my head hit my pillow, I entertained a bit of self-criticism: “Your energy was really low today, you weren’t as focused as usual,” followed by a compassionate reminder, “And you didn’t get any sleep on Thursday night and received an abundance of positive feedback about how meaningful the day was for those who attended.”) Self-love is definitely an ever-evolving process.

Practicing self-acceptance and self-love has helped me to:
-be more easy-going and to “go with the flow”
-see that little things stay little (my kid not picking up his toys) and don’t become front page news
-have more space around my thoughts and become more present
-be kinder and more compassionate to others (whether it’s a waitress, family member, car mechanic or business partner)
-feel and connect more deeply to God as opposed to experiencing God as a concept in my head
-react less and Live Inside Out more
-sense my connection to everything around me and how interwoven we all are

And most importantly, it’s helped me feel –more and more often--that everything is ok, no matter what happens. And ultimately, this ongoing sense of peace and well-being is what we’re all seeking, isn’t it?

Last night as I put my 8 year-old to bed, I played Long Time Sun for him (this version is from Snatam Kaur's Feeling Good Today kids CD). Whenever I hear it, I am flooded with feelings of peace and self-love. I hope he feels the same.

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:

>Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Self- Renewal Groups
>Attend a retreat/event
>Join the Dialogue on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
>Pick up The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
>Download FREE Live Inside Out Teleclasses and read my January Life Balance newsletter
>Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
>Empower Others: Schedule Renee Trudeau for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization
>Subscribe to my life balance blog The Journey for weekly inspiration

The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Photo: A retreat attendee enjoying the beautiful weather at Kripalu; join me April 29-May 1 in the Berkshire Mountains in MA at this amazing yoga and wellness center.

I Love My Body

I celebrated my 45th birthday over this past weekend. But I didn’t feel social (unusual for me).

I just felt a strong pull to nest, rest and reflect—read more—so much so that I cancelled my long-anticipated workshop with Shiva Rea and instead spent a good part of Sunday alone enjoying a massage, a hot aromatherapy bath and a long rest.

When I awoke I was overcome with gratitude for my sweet 45-year old body and was inspired to write a letter to my dear old friend.


Dear 45-year old body:

I love you. I really do. I’m sorry it has taken me so long to arrive here, but regardless, I have!

I appreciate you in so many ways.

-I love you radiant face that gets more interesting and playful the older you get (and fascinating neck--it seems as if you're developing a personality of your own!).
-I love you sweet soft belly just the way you are. And, I’m amazed by your ability to grow a child that is now almost up to my chin!
-I love you open, inviting and accepting smile (and thank you teeth for staying so cavity-free!).
-I adore you bright blue green eyes that are filled with a mixture of insight, depth and curiosity.
-I love you full sweet, strong upper arms that give great hugs, will never be willowy and were inherited from Grandma Harrison (so I’m told).
-I love you constantly changing, ever-evolving torso that has shifted through stages including: strong and sexy, pudgy and pouty, feminine and flirty, tired and disconnected and fluid and fabulous!
-I love you hands (Nonnie’s hands) and the way you have supported me in writing, painting, expressing myself musically, cooking and serving others.
-I love you strong, sexy legs and flexible hips that can move, balance and support me in dancing and doing yoga for hours.
-I love you rapidly changing, looks-different-every-day skin—in all of your various stages, colors, creases, patterns, spots and spring to summer styles and looks (I promise I’ll start wearing sun screen more often to protect you!).
-I love you amazing feet—hail to the feet! You’ve carried me for thousands of miles from Big Sur to Egypt, from Oaxaca to Ephesus and around Lady Bird Lake twice a week for the last twenty years.
-I love you sweet, healthy breasts that have helped me embrace my femininity and have brought me from maiden to motherhood to middle age (oh the stories you hold!).
-I love you sometimes cranky, but always lovable knees--especially the small crinkles that are just starting to crash the party and how they suddenly make their entrance when I do a downward dog.

Sweet body, I so appreciate how you house my soul and allow me to live fully, laugh often, embrace pleasure, express love to those around me and enjoy motherhood, marriage, traveling, dancing, hiking and wrestling with my 8 year old.

I am so grateful for your vibrancy, energy and overall health. I promise to continue to listen and respond to your needs and desires in the coming years. And above all, I will do my best to love you through all the changes and evolutions that are yet to come.

Much love and deep gratitude—your best friend, Renee

FIND YOUR TRIBE, ATTEND A RETREAT/WORKSHOP OR JOIN THE DIALOGUE: Would you like support for learning to love and accept yourself and begin to attune to your needs and desires? Join or become trained to facilitate a Personal Renewal Group, or visit our calendar to learn more about our upcoming January career workshops, retreats and events (including our free 1/20 teleclass).

We love to hear from you. Please visit and join our Live Inside Out community to read how people are living more intentionally and share how you do the same.

The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Photo: Me and my shadow at Pedernales State Park, December 2010.

Feeling the Mystery

I just returned from a weekend yoga retreat at the rustic, quiet Margaret Austin Retreat Center, two hours east of Austin.

The weekend was led by two beautiful, gifted Vinyasa yoga teachers from Yoga Yoga (my yoga “home”). They did a wonderful job of creating a nourishing experience for all.

I attended the retreat with a dear friend and while I have to admit I had some misgivings about sleeping in a bunk bed in a room with strangers (initially at least), I fully embraced the experience: long, nourishing yoga sessions, time alone in nature, space to quietly meditate, out-of-this-world gourmet vegetarian food, the amazingly stunning full moon, the sounds of the wind/coyotes/owls/tall grass/birds/cows and time for heartfelt sharing with my friend.

I don’t know if it’s the act of unplugging for 48 hours, the immersion in a contemplative natural setting, the opportunity to slow waaay down and not have responsibilities tugging at my sleeve or my willingness to be open to whatever wants to emerge, but I always feel different and somewhat permanently altered after I take a retreat. It’s as if the experience brings me back to the “true” reality of life. My "lens" gets re-adjusted.

Last night I enjoyed a yummy dinner of veggie nachos on homemade corn tostadas and Asian arugula salad with almonds and oranges with my partner and son.

Afterwards I took time to really savor the experience of putting my eight-year old to bed—smelling his sweet,clean,just-washed wet hair, holding him tight and feeling his heartbeat, telling him a story about an adventurous wild boy in the woods (“make it scary mama!”) and kissing his sweet soft cheeks.

Going for a walk last night with a good friend, I shared with her how everything seems brighter, sharper and more vibrant after this weekend. Smells, sounds (the cicadas in the park next to my house sounded like they were preparing to launch into Vivaldi’s Four Seasons) touch, sight—all seemed amplified. I felt and still feel more alive (read more), more attuned to the nuances of my surroundings and more connected to the web of life.

I have always deeply resonated with the quote “Life is not a thing to be managed, it’s a mystery to be lived.” (Read more.)

As someone who has always liked to “get stuff done” and has danced her whole life with finding the balance between doing and being, it’s often easy for me to fall into the pattern of deriving a lot of my sense of accomplishment and worth from how I “manage life.” And, I’m sure like many of you multitaskers—we can do this quite well!

But the deeper invitation I feel called to respond to –at almost 45 years old—is to embrace, revel in and hang out as much possible in life’s mysteries.

Because, as someone who lost three family members early in life, I know that there will never be a time when I’ll lament not having finished a work or household task.

But if I’m not mindful, I might mourn the loss of not fully enjoying a big full moon in a dark night sky, the delicious, unmistakable smell a new baby’s head, moments of quiet stillness in the early morning mist or allowing my heart to fully open to those around me.

If you live in Texas (or are able to fly into Austin), consider joining me Friday, Nov. 5th at Lost Pines Hyatt Resort and Spa (on 400 acres on the Colorado River) at my Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance One Day Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat. It might just change your life. Or at the very least, your perspective on life.

FIND YOUR TRIBE, ATTEND A RETREAT/WORKSHOP OR JOIN THE DIALOGUE: Would you like support for reconnecting with who you are and focusing on your self-care? Join or become trained to facilitate a Personal Renewal Group, visit our calendar to learn more about upcoming events including our November 5th One-Day Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance Women's One-Day Self-Renewal Retreat (bring a friend and get a discount).

Also, check out our Live Inside Out community and read how people are living more intentionally.

The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to life balance and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Photo: Renee Trudeau--the morning mist hanging over the grasses at the Margaret Austin Retreat Center.

Exquisite Self-Care

Last night we had some friends over for dinner and I ate something that I’ve been off of for about six weeks. And, it made me feel like crap. My husband would say—since my dairy and wheat intolerances manifest as emotional disequilibrium---I acted like crap, too!

This morning I woke up really thinking about the concept of exquisite self care. Not plain, vanilla, just doing the basics to feel good self-care (although this is essential). But really discerning, attuning and responding to my deepest needs and desires. Treating myself with the utmost care, love and tenderness.

For me this week, this would look like:

-abstaining from wheat and dairy and making sure my diet is diverse, nutrient/energy rich, delicious and I stay very hydrated

-attending my good friend’s Daring Divas dance class and connecting with the women in this vibrant community---no matter how busy my schedule looks

-appreciating and supporting my partner and taking time to be present with him/his challenges (this always comes back to me a hundred fold!)

-going to bed NO MATTER WHAT by 9:30 p.m. on the weeknights (after 44 years, I’ve finally figured out my very best sleep happens before midnight)

-getting outside to enjoy the amazing 71 degree weather at the park with my son, even though I’ve got mounds of work at the office (no worries, the important stuff always gets done)

-paying attention to my personal rhythms, ebbs and flows—trusting that I will be guided to know how/when/where to best take action at work and at home

-returning the expensive, but uncomfortable sheets I bought this past summer that don’t support me in having optimal sleep (I know, Princess and the Pea, but sleep is really key for me!)

My husband and son are going on a camping trip this weekend. Pause. I think I hear some whoops from the parents who know how delicious and rare it is to have time alone in your house when your beloved family is away!

In the past, my usual MO would have been to rush into planning mode—filling all my waking hours with lunches, walks, get-togethers and non-stop social activities with friends. But today, I’m really challenging myself to slow down. To go inward and ask, “What would exquisite self-care look and feel like this weekend?” And who knows what the response will be.

It might look like cleaning out my garage, sitting for a couple of hours and coloring mandalas, blasting some blues and dancing in my living room, going on a vigorous walk/run or sitting on my back porch swing soaking up the decadence of unscheduled time. I have no idea.

But, I do plan on choosing how I spend this time very intentionally. Really reveling in this concept of what exquisite self-care might look and feel like to me.

I’ve learned that not only is self-care crucial to our well-being, to our sustenance, to feeling “alive”—more and more, it’s become my spiritual practice.

Because I find that when I listen and respond to the whispers in my heart about what I most need to love, nurture and nourish my physical and emotional well-being, I feel more connected to my Source, to God. Often, if I listen closely, it’s as if I can hear an invisible voice cheering me on, saying, “Yes, this is how you’re supposed to live--how you were intended to live. You are worthy and deserving of this level of care. And, when you honor and love yourself, you honor and love me, your Source.”

And I believe that sense of interconnectedness is what most of us live for. I know it is for me.

FIND YOUR TRIBE, ATTEND A RETREAT/WORKSHOP OR JOIN THE DIALOGUE: Would you like to experience connection and community and receive support from like-minded women? Join or become trained to facilitate a Personal Renewal Group, visit our calendar to learn more about upcoming events including our November 5th One-Day Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance Women's One-Day Self-Renewal Retreat and our FREE October 14th Live Inside Out teleclass on Being More Present and Remembering What Matters.

Also, check out our Live Inside Out community and read how people are living more intentionally.

The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to life balance and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Photo: A desert flower in an oasis in Big Bend National Park, one of the places my soul gets nourished.