My Pink Roadmap

1. Ask yourself this question. “If you knew you were going to die in a year, would you still be living the life you’re living?” If the answer is no, you might want to rethink things.
2. Identify your desire. If you don’t know which risk you’re dying to take, it’s hard to pleap. Be very specific about what you desire. If you can’t figure out what you do want, get clear on what you DON’T want. That will guide you.
3. Don’t obsess about the Hows. Figure out the Whats and leave the rest to the Universe.
4. Recognize and honor what’s holding you back. Assess your fears to determine whether they’re genuine fears meant to protect you (if I jump off this cliff, I might hit the rocks and die) or irrational fears that are merely holding you back (I might lose everything and people will think I’m crazy).  It’s okay to feel the fear. Just don’t let it rule your decision-making.
5. Think things through to their worst possible outcome. What’s the absolute worst thing that would happen if you took this Pleap? Follow it through in your mind. Most of the time, the nameless, nonspecific fear is greater than the actual worst case scenario. While it sounds pessimistic, doing this can set you free when you realize that the worst possible outcome- while icky- isn’t bad enough to keep you paralyzed.
6. Ignore what everyone else thinks. This is about you and YOUR dreams. If you poll your family, friends, colleagues, and partner, you’re likely to get talked out of your dream.
7. Pray for guidance, then watch for Signs from the Universe. You don’t have to do this alone. Surrender.
8. If you’re not sure whether it’s time to Pleap, wait. When the time is right, it will be evident. You will feel it in your gut.  You will no longer be satisfied with standing on the ledge. If someone pushes you over the edge against your will, spread your wings. FLY.
9. Practice radical self-care while you’re considering Pleaping. Nurture your body, rest your mind, feed your spirit. Pleaping is hard work.
10. Believe in YOU. You can create whatever you desire.  You are powerful beyond measure. If you live in love and act from your heart with pure intention, you will never fall flat on the rocks.

Following the Signs of The Universe
It is no coincidence that things appear in our lives in multiples. Whether it is that book that keeps showing up again and
again, insisting you read it. Or that persons name who keeps coming up around you, or that particular word that relates
to the idea you pushed aside to pursue later; the suggestions of our intuition and gifts from The Universe are all around.

It is in your hands to take charge of these signs or suggestions and run with them. How long will you continue to dismiss these suggestions before you realize the endless opportunities in front of you? When you do decide to act on these suggestions, will the opportunities still be there?

It is easy to think that we know the way we will be most happy. But when we give up control and surrender to The Universe, we open our lives to all that is truly possible. things we never dreamed of.  (Mind you I am mostly talking to myself as well here.)

What You Resists, Persists
One of my most favorite quotes that more than often deems true is "what you resists, persists." This is not necessarily implying that what you resist is actually the way your heart should follow (although in some cases this is true.) It is
merely stating that the longer you choose to work against the flow of life, the longer you will struggle. Somethings are simply out of your power. Things will not always go your way and you cannot control many of the aspects of your life,
except how you react. This is in your power.

My Invitation to You
So Pinkies, what suggestions from The Universe have you been ignoring? How can you choose to learn from your situations at hand versus complaining and resisting them? How can you take on a "go with the flow" attitude?

We as women have to reclaim time for ourselves to relax and mentally unwind.  One place I am always able to find time for myself is my daily bath ritual.  A bath for me has never and will never be just a means of mundane cleaning. This is the time that I take for myself to pamper and unwind.  I have a set of bath products that were created with lavender and vanilla essential oils for the sole purpose of aromatherapy to wash away the stress of my days. I drop in a bath bomb and as it fizzes I look forward to stepping in to indulge myself in the aromatherapudic properties of the essential oils, the healing qualities of the sea salts, and the shea butter that is going to help replenish the moisture I lost throughout my day. 

I came across this while I was looking for a new Mantra to take one from my Twitter friend, @SplitRockRanch on the website for The Secret. I loved it too much not to share with you Pinkies here.

I Promise Myself:

 To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.

To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature I meet.

To give so much time to improving myself that I have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side, so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

    Hello Pinkies, it is 12:26 a.m. here in Ennis, Texas. I usually prepare the Think Pink Post several days before actually posting it online, but tonight I learned a valuable lesson that I felt compelled to share.
     My spiritual journey started not that long ago at all. In fact, I only recently surrendered my life, thoughts and dreams to God in September. But ever since that moment my life has been on the fast track to paradise. Sure, there have been moments of down time, questioning and anxiety. But overall my journey has been a profound one.
     Recently I have been feeling that God was leading me to break away from the bar I have been working at for the past several months. This decision scared for several reasons, one being loss of income. I usually brought anywhere from $100-$200 in a week. Though this may not seem like a lot, it is still money that won’t be there, should I leave the bar. Another situation that made me uncomfortable were the terms that my boss and I had been on for the last few weeks. The last thing I wanted was for him to think I was leaving the bar because of the tension between us and the conflicting conversations we have had in the past.
     I had been pondering and pondering whether or not leaving was the right thing for me to do. Then, my signs showed up; Lissa had a conversation about being patient and becoming, the last Mojo Tips Newsletter was about knowing when the timing was right: a peace would overcome you and it would be clear that this is what needed to be done.
     Tonight at the bar I was told I would not get to work a shift that I was promised. This was the last straw for me. I confronted my boss asking what the deal was and the conversation snow balled into a heart felt understanding of both sides of the story. Not only did I get the opportunity to express that I was leaving and why, but he got to tell me why the tension was there between us; thus resulting in the perfect moment. (Thanks Universe!)
     Another valuable lesson I learned from this situation is how vital communication is. In past conversations I told my boss that he couldn’t speak to me in the irritated tone he had been. Since this is one of the only ways he knew how to communicate, he stopped talking to me. This created tension, awkwardness and stress for both of us. Accepting others and loving them, means that take the good with the bad. Had I not told my boss to watch is tone, we could have gotten the problem solved a long time ago. Everyone has their own way of getting things out. It might not be our way of doing things, but it works for them.
     Where my journey will take me, who knows, but I praise the Universe daily for placing the people, occasions and lessons in the right place at the right time. I also give thanks for blessing me with an open heart and mind. My world has just started being created; I can’t wait to see what unfolds next.
    What about you Pinkies? What has the Universe brought into your life? How can you practice patience while you are becoming?

    

This past Saturday, October 24th was the first workshop I put on, Be Joyful! The success of the workshop far exceeded my expectations. Not only did my nerves not get the best of me, but I felt as if I had done it a million times before.

I didn’t realize the space we were using didn’t open until 10 a.m. and I had the workshop start at 10 a.m. Some how we mysteriously got started on time anyway. I got breakfast for everyone, so the ladies grabbed their refreshments and we all sat around in a circle. The room we used was very comfy- looked like a big living room, lots of soft cushy chairs and couches.

We started off by going around the room, introducing ourselves (There were 11 of us including me.) After the introductions, I started the conversation about why it is important to have gratitude in our lives and how it can affect us in a positive way. I invited others to join in the conversation with whatever came up for them. After the discussion we moved on to our exercise (JOY JOURNALS!)

I provided all the supplies need to decorate their journals and make it their very own. I printed out cards that had the 3 questions on them:

1. What are 3 three things I am grateful for today?
2. How was I my most authentic self today?
3. What inspired me today?

I feel that the workshop went very well. It seems that we created a safe space for everyone to truly be themselves. By the end of the class I felt like I had known everyone for years.

I have to give big thanks to Lissa Rankin, without her, these workshops wouldn’t be taking place. Thanks Lissa!

Growing up, most of us are taught that finding our happiness means we must ‘get’ something outside of ourselves that allows us to achieve this emotion. In actuality the circumstances of happiness are quite the contrary.

When we are kids we believe that unless we get that shiny new bike, the new Malibu Stacey Doll or the video game that ‘all our friends have,’ our lives will be ruined. In most situations our parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles go out of their way to purchase these ‘crucial’ items for us in order to satisfy our adolescent need for happiness. If our elders can’t afford the toys we are yearning for, sometimes we are supplemented with something similar or temporary until the true prize can be received- still implementing the concept that without these items will not be truly happy.

As we enter our teenage years the same circumstances apply, however the objects differ. Instead of ‘needing’ toys and games to maintain happiness it changes to clothes, boyfriends or girlfriends, cars, jewelry, hair cuts and colors, and being friends with the right people. We can all see our own children, nieces, nephews and neighborhood kids behaving this way. We can also remember when we were younger, and placed value upon material things that we were sure, would certainly bring us eternal happiness. 

However, what some us fail to realize is that there is not automatic switch that turns off once we leave High School and enter into adulthood. For most of is looking outside of ourselves for happiness is a behavior that we have grown comfortable with. Sure it might not be as much of a material need as when we were younger, or it indeed, might be. ‘I won’t be happy until I get that new iPhone’ or ‘When I lose 10 lbs. my whole world will be brighter’ and ‘If I could just find the right man in my life, boy, would things be wonderful.’ Where does it stop? At what point will we see that all we really need to be happy lies within ourselves?

Whether choose to believe it or not, happiness is choice, as is any other emotion, i.e. anger, frustration, being irritable, being upset- it is all a decision left in our hands to decide whether the emotion we are experiencing serves us in a positive way. As easily as we can say ‘If my husband would just help out around the house, I wouldn’t be so angry at him’ we can alter our thoughts to ‘If my husband does or does not do the dishes, it does not affect my way of being, I choose to be joyful.’

In reality, we have no control over the existential circumstances of our lives. When it comes down to it, the only thing we have a say over is our actions, our thoughts, feelings and emotions. Letting another persons actions sway your moods gives away all your power. When there is a loss of power, there is a crack in the foundation. Own your emotions, decide to be happy, chose to act- no react. There is no point in waiting for something to come to you to experience joy when you can have it right now.

Thanks for reading Pinkies,
Megan