Adventures With Elaine #9

Saguaro National Park, Tuscon, AZ

Hi Family and Friends,

Well, I left the lakes and Autumn colors of Michigan and headed to the Southwest, which is an entirely different beauty, raw and spacious. I did intend to visit the Northwest corner of Arkansas, but life happened and I did not make it there.

I did receive some super advice from my friends, Randi and Michael, which I have filed for my future visit. You made Arkansas sound so inviting, it remains on my bucket list. Thank you!

There is something that happens internally to me when I return to the Southwest ... the crystalline, blue sky which at some point seems to merge with the earth offers a remarkable view of the horizon and just rolls my socks down! How fortunate I am that Michigan calls to my heart and the desert calls my soul! To be offered the opportunity to enjoy both, pretty much whenever I choose is truly a wonderful gift, especially at this point in my life.

I am staying with my daughter, Kimberly and her family and catching up with Andrew, my 10 year old grandson. He is ready for Halloween and I am hoping I can accompany Kai the Jedi trick or treating!

Last week I experienced my first sand / thunderstorm here in Phoenix. It was a frightful experience that left us and many without electricity. It is amazing to see how the sand gets swooped up into the clouds by the wind. 
Nature's force never ceases to astonish, if not shock.

Last Saturday, Kimberly and I took a day trip to the Saguaro National Park West and had a wonderful time. When we travel together we seem to manage to do something 'unusual' without meaning to. I am not sure why this is peculiar only to this daughter, (must be same skill or lack of skill sets) but we were just commenting on how nothing out of the ordinary occurred that day. Shortly, after the comment,

Not sure how the camera shadow showed up!!

we realized we had driven 22 miles past our exit lost in conversation. As always, we laughed, turned around and proceeded home!

November will find me in the southwest with brief trips to Dallas for work, and Michigan for some family time. I have started doing some volunteer work related to better understanding the gifts the millennial generation offer our world and why we need to support and not criticize them. I have some radio shows scheduled and will be doing some YouTube videos about them and so look forward to this work.

I am also getting ready to write a new book which has been inspired by the adventures and experiences of the last two years of my life. In preparation, I am wondering if you would be willing to email or FB me with the answer to this question: Are you consciously living a life that will become a legacy for those who follow you? If yes, what will your legacy be? If no, would you be willing to share why you are not?

With Gratitude,
Elaine

Adventures With Elaine #8

Hi Family and Friends,

I am back in Michigan after doing some work in Philadelphia and Dallas. I have been kept busy with webinars, appointments and some fun and laughter with Laura and her family. I came back to Michigan to celebrate my granddaughter Megan's 17th birthday and watch her cheer for her high school football team.

I had a great evening at the Piano Guys Concert at the Fox Theater in Detroit with Laura, Harold and Elizabeth. The Guys are incredibly talented, humorous and humble. A good time was had for sure and I thank you Laura and Harold!

Megan nominated me for a 5-day Gratitude Challenge on FB, and that turned out to be a great reflective time for me. I try to be conscious of the gifts in my life, but this was really five days of just recalling, remembering and realizing the blessings in my life. I suggest you try it! I think you will find it up uplifting and meaningful. Five days of conscious gratitude really opens one's heart and spirit.

Elizabeth is home from college and sort of getting ready for a semester of study in Spain. It has been amazing the conversations and activities the two of us have gotten into. She asked me three years ago if I would get a piercing with her and I said, "No piercing!" Then I said I would consider one in my ear but that is it. Well guess what? On September 5th we went for our ear piercings...an Opal stud! Not a big deal, right? Wrong! Even though I asked for titanium, I had an allergic reaction to the metal and had to take mine out 3 days later. However Liz E still has hers in and will wear it for both of us...I am done with anything metal!!

A few days later, a gorgeous, Michigan, autumn day arrived and Liz and I went bike riding to Sterling State Park. I haven't ridden a bike in awhile, but, as we all know, that skill comes back pretty quickly. Trust me, Liz looked better in her get-up than I did, but that did not

stop her from posting our pics on FB! We rode around the lake and along a marsh area that was being visited by a lot of Egrets. It was  really a beautiful time with nature at its best, and a fun-loving granddaughter at my side.

It has been a light-hearted visit with Laura, Harold, Megan and Elizabeth and one I will enjoy recalling. I realize yet again, how the simple moments with family and friends, the ones that make us laugh over the silliest things are really special.

At least twice a week, we eagerly waited for Meg to come home from her job with a bag full of pretzel-bites that were still warm from Mrs. Field's. Making a fire at night in the fire pit in Laura's backyard, sitting around it eating s'mores in the light of the full moon was a peak moment for us. Laura heard about a super movie, The Hundred Foot Journey, a PG-rated movie that we enjoyed so much, we recommend it as a must see.

Going through Meg's graduation pictures and trying to pick 'the' best one, became quite the challenge as we all liked different pictures, of course; driving to the grocery store with Liz several times gave us time to discuss life's major challenges but then we would get distracted by something silly like, what I was wearing ("you look like an Easter egg")! I enjoyed listening to Elizabeth's views on sustainable business, but I really enjoyed watching her pretend to get ready for her trip to Spain!!

Thursday, I will do a presentation for parenting grandparents in southeastern Michigan; and, Friday, I leave for Arkansas and then back to the southwest. I will be wearing a big smile as I reflect on my three weeks in Michigan.

With Gratitude,

Elaine

Adventures with Elaine #7

Hi Family and Friends,

Look who followed me into a gas station near Chelsea, Michigan!! I was pumping gas and when I turned around four Sandhill Cranes greeted me. I looked up the totem meaning of cranes:

"When a crane comes into your life as a spirit teacher or totem you are being asked to use your past as a source of strength in the present.
Cranes appear in the lives of people who are well served by some degree of secrecy in their lives. The crane teaches keeping your own counsel, protection of family and balance in life above all else".

It is amazing how messages of wisdom come to us. The cranes where nowhere in sight when I pulled into this gas station and yet, here they are! They stayed the entire time, and actually I left before they did. The message of balance has significance for me. I have been traveling doing VISTA trainings a good deal of July and August. I realize I am a bit out of balance right now, even though Sedona was so re-vitalizing. I need to anchor more consisitency with my well-being practices and I am grateful to the cranes for the reminder.

It seems so much in life is not in balance right now. If you watch the news, you realize that

immediately. However, even on a day to day basis I am seeing imbalance in our communications with each other, and less reciprocity in our relationships.

I have noticed a lot of would-be conversations sound more like monologues. One person talking and the other person looking kind of bored, if not trapped. I notice many people, whether in person or on the phone, don't even need a response or an affirmation that they are being heard! They just keep talking!!


Think about it: When was the last time somebody asked you how you are doing; what is going on in your life and really stopped to listen to what you had to say?  Are you talking more than you are listening? Are you curious and inquiring of what is happening to others? Are you taking or giving in your relationships ... or both? Think about it!

Stopped in Chicago to celebrate Sophie's birthday. This 6 year old granddaughter left me speechless, yet again! When she was asked to make a wish before

blowing out her birthday candles she said: "I don't need to make a wish, I have a happy life and I don't need an upgrade!"

I will be off to Philadelphia for a training and then to Michigan for some work with parenting grandparents while visiting with my daughter, Laura, and her family part of September. Around the 19th I will head to Phoenix to visit Kimberly and her family and will meander through Arkansas and a few other places that are also calling me. Enjoy the end of summer as it merges with the beginning of Autumn ... a very beautiful time of the year!

With Gratitude,
 Elaine

Adventure with Elaine # 6

Hi Family and Friends,

When I last wrote I mentioned I was heading for Albuquerque to pick up my oldest grand-    daughter, Shelby, from the airport. Well, we headed right to Sedona and Jerome, AZ 
for a couple of days of relaxation amidst the mystical red rocks.

Shelby did a lot of climbing, including Bell Rock and I did a lot of watching and waving to her as she ascended. The energy of this area was palpable to both of us, as it spiraled around and through us.

I realized how important it is for all of us to have a place where we are so comfortable and the beauty is so riveting that the experience is very healing for our mind, body and spirit. I also am clear one must live in or frequent the places where the Earth calls to us. Even though this was only a two and a half-day visit it was filled with peak moments!

The short trip was made more special when we met my daughter Kimberly 

and her family for dinner. They drove up from Phoenix and we met somewhere in between the two cities. As I have traveled this summer I am realizing I am really getting to see my daughters and their families a lot. This is definitely an  adventure bonus!

Shelby and I had a few more days together so we returned to Santa Fe and visited one of our very favorite places, Ghost Ranch. We have established a little routine of having lunch outside the ranch house, then Shelby takes a hike or climbs a mesa and I take more pictures of scenes I have already taken many pictures of!! It was one of those sweet, breezy, sunny days in the light air of New Mexico that makes your heart and soul want to sing!

I am also seeing a lot of wonderful friends along the way. Shelby and I enjoyed dinner with my dear

friend, Rebecca, in Santa Fe. We spent the evening outside, sitting under her ramada, catching up on our lives as we listened to the gentle sounds of water cascading down the rocks of her fountain.We also watched a spectacular sunset.

Our trip was all that it could be for a 'Gramme and Granddaughter!' I am so happy we could take this time together and enjoy heart-felt conversations, smiles and laughs, and the grace of being together with ease in some of our mutually, favorite places.

Now the reverie is over ... Shelby headed back east for her last year of college and I am now in Denver for another VISTA training. I had a brief visit with my pals, Jean and George, who you met in my last newsletter. George's flower garden is even more exquisite and here are the newest blossoms.
Till next time ...

With Gratitude,
Elaine

Adventures With Elaine #5

Hi Family and Friends,

One of my observations as I travel is the amount of stress we endure in any given day or week. I am only mentioning it because it seems to have become a way of life. There is currently a normalcy to having a day of stress; beginning with rush hour traffic, worrying about any variety of things we have no control over, running to appointments, work timelines/productivity goals, and ending with rush hour traffic!

All this stress is definitely pouring out onto our driving patterns. Having been on the highways for a couple of months now, I see road construction everywhere and I watch how we handle it. The highways signs will warn us that there is a 'reduced' speed limit ahead. It will come up in about 300 yards...75 mph to 65 mph and then to 55 mph and if there are construction workers 45 mph.

I have seen very few drivers make that 30 mph shift and for those who do, they are an impediment to all the cars lined up behind them driving inches from their bumper trying to bully them out of the way. This despite the fact, that road signs say, "Stay in your lane!" I don't know, but it seems we can't slow ourselves down!

Like most driver's I dread the b-zillion construction zones in the cities and on the highways. I am personally waiting for the
invention of cars where the police cannot take a picture of my license plate and send me a ticket in the mail! Surprise!! Or the ole speed trap where they drop the speed limit 10 miles for no apparent reason and then resume the original speed limit, a couple miles down the road. The external world is just plain stressful and slowing down to connect with our personal, internal world is vital.


I personally slowed down while in Denver where I spent a couple of wonderful weeks with my friends, Jean and George. We all worked on our unique jobs, but somehow the environment made for a very relaxing work day. For one thing, look at this office (to the right) I spent a few hours each day working in when I was not training. Not all of us have the luxury of sitting on a patio surrounded by a garden of wild flowers when we work, but curiously, I found I was more productive and just plain happier doing my work. Even Louis, their cat was pretty chilled out!

I thank you both, Jean and George, for the super, corner office, and for the wonderful company, conversations and laughs we had. I left Denver pretty relaxed, despite working on different projects, and headed for Albuquerque. I picked up my granddaughter, Shelby, from the ABQ airport and we headed straight for Sedona and Jerome, AZ.

I will share more about that part of my adventure in the next blog, but for now I am realizing I just don't have to rush! I hope you can find a way to slow down and enjoy the details of each day by being in the now! Don't let the current moment pass without embracing it; don't just have a past and a future... have a present by threading your now moments together with self-awareness and consciousness. I have found the gifts of awareness result in a total lack of boredom in my life... even if I am just sitting on a rock!!

When we are conscious of the present we recognize the need to open our hearts and minds as well as our mouths and express the things we perceive in ways that honor the unique gifts of all. It is in this present moment, we can find a common path together and celebrate the pebbles we each bring to the montage of life.

With Gratitude,

Elaine

Adventures With Elaine #4

Hi Family and Friends,

I just drove across Iowa and Nebraska for the 3rd time this year. I find both states far more beautiful than people acknowledge. The farm fields are so picturesque and I am a sucker for a 'golden field of wheat at sunset!

I just spent two great weeks with my youngest daughter, Allyson, and her family in Chicago. It was a mixture of mostly work and and play time  with my 5 year old granddaughter, Sophie, and my 1 1/2 year old grandson, Gavin.

Allyson and I do considerable work together and two of our major accomplishments were: she helped me create the formatting for my new web-site which will be called, Soul Echoes; and I helped her with the marketing of her new, Wisdom of Soul Trees oracle deck. Her deck is a beautiful compilation of 58 individual soul trees she has painted for people, 7 chakra cards and nine interpretation            cards. http://www.soul-trees.com/

I also made time for lunch with a new friend I met in South Africa, Lindsay, who was getting married in five days. I met her husband-to-be and we enjoyed a delightful time together. Also,
caught up with Jewel, a long time friend, whose friendship is so very comfortable and meaningful. One of the great 'smiles' of our friendship is when I first met her, I called her Crystal! She never corrected me and it was quite a long time before I realized her name was Jewel...which is just what she is, a jewel!

In between work, lunches and a few acupuncture appointments, Ally and I  made several visits to

Lake Michigan which showed us her many faces from calm, turquoise-colored water to steel gray white caps rolling in. We had a rain storm the likes of which I have not seen since moving to Santa Fe. The lightening show was beyond description and I could feel the thunder in my bones! Many mornings were misty or foggy, so I felt pleasantly drenched in water. I realized I totally miss the water in my life when I am in New Mexico. It has surprised me! I guess I took it for granted living in Michigan for most of my life, but not anymore!

Water is not to be taken for granted no matter where you live! Last year a small city in New Mexico ran out of water, as did several in California! Currently, four states in the southwest have only a 4 month water supply or less; and shockingly, none of them have a strategic plan for preserving / producing water. As I criss-cross this great Country of ours, I realize very few states have rivers and lakes that are pregnant and full.

Most show signs of drought and this scares me, not just for our children's generation, but even for our own. There is a fast-growing shortage of water and we need to care about that to the point that we hear our voices saying out loud, "I want a community / state plan for ensuring our water supply!!

This blog was not meant to be quite as serious as it gets sometimes, but I have to tell you my awareness and observation skills are becoming keener each day I am on the road. There are no walls to keep me from seeing what is happening in our Country, to our people and our communities. The situation with water is at the top of my list of concerns!

On the light side, I have experienced the kindness of the mid-westerners and I love this about the people in the middle of our country. They offer us some balance and stability. They are people close to the Earth, who  hold fast to their values. There is a steadiness here I don't experience in a lot of other places. This does not make anyone wrong or right, good or bad, it is just my experience.

Today, I am driving to Denver to do some trainings, there and in Boston. When the trainings are over, I (think) I will head for Pine Ridge, South Dakota, which is why this whole trip started on May 19th! I have learned quickly that many of my plans need an unplan!!

With Gratitude, Elaine

Adventures With Elaine #3

Hi Family and Friends,

I have been doing a lot of thinking these past couple of weeks on my road trip. Thinking about how hard it is to embrace freedom, unpredictability and the unknown.

I have wondered frequently why so many of us stay in the same place, doing the same things to the point of disinterest or boredom? Even when the bubble is broken or the cage lifted, why do we fly in the same space?

Freedom to be, to express myself, to be authentic as possible, to do what I want has always been a major priority in my life. I have talked about it a lot, but never seriously acted on it, until now. South Africa really unleashed that part of me and I am so grateful.

 I was in Michigan with family and in Philadelphia last week visiting with my oldest granddaughter, Shelby. We had some deep discussions about what matters to each of us. We both discovered in our own ways that a good portion of how we live our lives does not always support our personal freedom.   

Of course, to a certain degree compromise is necessary to be inter-dependent in a healthy way. But where do we draw the line in the sand which reflects our personal boundaries, desires, dreams, and uniqueness? Where is that place where the systems we belong to, study and work in, create a win/win for the system and for each of us? How do we make reciprocity the highest value in our relationships?

As I travel around the United States my observations of people, including myself, and how we live our lives is becoming keener. I am not liking what I am seeing and experiencing. A lot of things in the external environment govern our lives and we are so fatigued that too many of us are oblivious.This applies to all ages, even youth, whose time I am learning is far too prescribed.

In general, we are losing ourselves to busyness, and to the decisions others and systems make for us. In essence, we are losing our freedom to be who we are meant or choose to be. It is occurring in imperceptible bits and pieces.

As I sit in restaurants, or in my car at red lights, I see too many people on their cell phones, iPads, computers. We are so 'plugged' in that we are unplugging from ourselves. 

Do you know how many more problems we have to solve each day because other people can reach us instantly? Do you realize how cluttered our minds are right now, and how many emotional reactions we are experiencing as a result of this constant barrage of communication? Do you know how much time we spend driving to and from; running, running, running? Ours is a constant state of overwhelm accompanied by diminished sense of freedom to choose how we spend our time.

When I was in Bryn Mawr, PA, just outside of Philadelphia, I was stopped at a green light because a funeral procession was passing through the intersection. Cars, being held up next to and behind me, were blowing their horns! Yes, we had a green light but we were stopped for a funeral procession. I am not sure what it means when we don't have enough patience to allow a funeral procession to pass, but I know it is not a good sign!

One reason I decided to offer myself this road adventure was to experience a sense of freedom while embracing the unpredictable and the unknown. Curiously, what I have found is an unpredictable predictability caused by the entanglements of an intractable way of life; a way of life that does not allow you to not have a plan. It is in this place that we are hardly noticing our loss of freedom to choose, to be different, to go slower, etc. At the same time, I notice a growing fear of the unknown. These two seem to have formed a partnership, one reinforcing the other.

How about you? I urge you to reflect on this and examine how much freedom you have
and/or want to claim for yourself and those you love? How much fear are you carrying? What impact is it having on your life? Do you want to make any changes?

With Gratitude,
Elaine