Words in Sentences

Garden Dance Party

August 9, 2018August 9, 2018by ErinLeave a Comment

Alternate Title: What Protects You?

I had a dream last night that I was walking into a grocery store and there was a crimson red ribbon of color above me, spanning the width of the whole path way. And as I walked, it would come under my feet and fill me with confidence, that’s when I noticed it became a red carpet. And – just like that – it would be above me again. (While also still under my feet, but without me ever tripping or getting tangled.)

Then, in my dream, I heard that this was “the blood of Jesus”.

Now – I don’t really use Christianese language to that degree (yet?) but the women at the church I have been going to totally, totally do.

(And I love it, btw)

So, I have missed the 6am prayer line for a week at this point. I have been sleeping until 6:40 which has been totally and wholly necessary. But – even so – I know the women are praying for me – as I am praying for them, as I lay in bed – aware it is prayer line time. And I know that they are praying for me and my household, specifically, to be covered in the blood of Jesus.

One of my favorite things (but also one of the most mysterious things) is when you remember your dream during a certain point in a day.

And just when I was starting to question things, just when I almost got tricked into negative thinking (by the way, there really are different degrees that your mind can trick you into negative thinking – I really need to write a whole post on that), my reality just put me back on track.

Side note – isn’t it your reality that sometimes makes you think negative?

I point this out because it was my reality, it was the things that were happening, that curbed that and put me in positive thinking.

This, is proof of prayer working in life.

I put on a favorite ball cap over my fresh hair cut.

A random song came on a play list that reminded me there is something bigger than me and it – (cool thing) – happens to be in me, too.

I walked my dog in the perfect morning sun and he didn’t rip my arm off when he saw those three bunnies that live on the corner.

I felt beautiful inside and out. I felt cared for, okay, on track, ready, productive, successful, able.

I felt confident in my ability to get this back to school schedule right in the ass.

(I haven’t shared yet that BTS schedule requires me & my girl grew LEAVING the house at 6:55am, have I?)

And it was then – in this zest of a moment when I was stepping off my mowed happy watered lawn, happy because of all these things, that I remembered that red ribbon in my dream.

So – as I press on in this new season of writing regularly, taking my game up at corporate, raising teenagers, praying my dog doesn’t eat that thing that really is finally a problem, teaching – convinced that there is something bigger and it’s pulling me forward, I guess I just am sharing this idea that being rooted is one thing, but being covered is another thing.

And we need both. We ground ourselves but something else protects us.

Is this the grounding hope and the protection faith?

This is kind of blowing my mind. So I am going to think and pray more on it.

But for now –

What do you believe is protecting you?

Maybe an angel? Maybe the blood of Jesus. Maybe Kesha and Macklemore?

Just sayin’ – to me, in my very much non monk, non pastoral role of blogging here in my studio – it could be anything positive that makes you feel good.

The point is that you believe, energetically, that you have a shield that helps you stay on track and provides you confidence.

And now I am even remembering getting wigged out about work as I have not been feeling the protection on this upcoming project like I have felt on past efforts.

But that wigging has even been diminished by this notion.

Because what can hurt us, really?

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

If the universe is throwing me perfect morning dance parties and my day old coffee tastes good? I mean … that’s making it, right?

Whom then shall I fear?

Not a single person, place or thing.

Have a good one :)

erin

Words in Sentences

So, How Was Your Tuesday?

August 7, 2018August 7, 2018by Erin2 Comments

Alternate title: Not letting any negative thoughts in

It’s Tuesday night. I have a face mask on and am playing with hair color. My kids are at their dad’s. I voted. I really need to clean out my fridge but am contemplating letting all of that sit for Saturday. If I weren’t getting my kids a little early this week, I totally would.

I really need to make a fresh to do list. Things are ramping up at work and I know that I will do an awesome job waiting till the last minute (why would that tactic fail me now?) but also know that I will kill it if I up the ante a little bit.

I am leading a conference in September and am starting to thread the path together of how I will lead about 100 IT personnel through about 40 capabilities that need to be supported at the end of our effort.

This month also marks the last month I teach on Monday nights.

So it is kind of like I am simultaneously speeding up and slowing down – all while staying – well, positive.

As I started to peck around my dishes (ps you have no idea how fast I am typing because this dye needs to come out), I started harping on myself about the blog and what is the point and nobody comments and isn’t it stupid that I wrote an invitation to comment in my last post and nobody did and I should I edit it.

And I shut that down. No. Negative Thoughts.

For whatever reason, I got the momentum to write, easy – breezy – posts. I have readers. You GUYS ARE THERE I SEE YOU. And I love you. Talk to me! Tell me you think this is crap. Or that you think it is golden.

This is the start of my blog. It’s the resurrection. Well – it will be the full rebirth when I have a new title.

Praying on that.

Okay – see you two shades darker.

erin

Words in Sentences

Corporate Yogi: An Approach to Not Losing Yourself in a Corporate World

August 6, 2018May 2, 2020by ErinLeave a Comment

beads

The last thing I want to experience on a Monday morning is a sweep into the grind. Rather, I prefer a transition – a buffer – some sense of ownership over what is happening as I move from writing and planting to business architecture and thinking about rental car technology.

In order to secure said transition, I do a couple of things:

Do Not Set an Alarm

Exception here is if there is an early morning meeting or if I go to bed super late. Otherwise, I let my body get the sleep it needs on a Sunday night. I wash my sheets on Sunday, I do one final round of puttering around; tidying things up. And then I try to be in bed, reading by 8:30p or 9p so that I can fall asleep and get the full amount of sleep cycles I need to wake up naturally.

If I do have to set an alarm, I based it on my sleep cycle (3.5 hours for me). I highly recommend knowing your sleep cycle and waking based on when you complete a cycle. There are a plethora of apps to help you find this. The one I use is appropriately titled “Sleep Cycle”, :)

Enjoy Your Morning

I have the luxury of working from home, but not necessarily all the time. Regardless though, I make sure I have time in the morning to enjoy it. I resist the rush. Things that make a difference are:

Electric tea kettle by the bed, filled with water at night so you can turn it on – snooze – and have a cup of hot water or tea before you even get out of bed. (I have tea in my nightstand and a really pretty tea cup I keep by my bed.)
Candles in the bathroom, always
Programmable coffee maker and good coffee. Just drink good coffee, people.
Some outdoor time. I walk my dog in my softest cotton clothes and a ball cap.
Some prayer time or meditation. I have a 6am prayer line I join where I pray with other people. Sometimes I skip and pray on my own or write a little bit.
Eat something. Cook yourself sweet potato fries and an egg. Have a greek yogurt smoothie. Wipe down your counters.

Ground Yourself

I have turned my bathroom into a complete sanctuary. It has stones from various places I have traveled. It is a gorgeous yellow. It has a framed picture of a Ojai garden. And. No. Clutter. I put any shower supplies in a basket under my sink. I have the minimal makeup that I have tucked to the side. And I take my time in my own skin feeling whole, fresh. Sometimes just holding time to connect to these other places and to my creative self. I keep Deepak’s book in the room and just read a little each day. I take a couple deep breaths and I don’t leave my bathroom until I feel like I have come fully present.

Dress Personally

I do not wear clothing that makes me feel muted, lazy, conformed or uncomfortable. Invest in a couple good suits (J. Crew, you really can’t go wrong – you will wear the blazer forever). If I go to our IT Campuses, I wear my favorite jeans, a tee and a blazer. For corporate, I’ll wear one of three shift dresses or a suit and a fun top. I have weeded out everything from my closet that I don’t love. I want to feel creative and vibrant. The people I respect most are the ones who look happy and awake. The way you dress is either intentional or its not, no matter what degree of casual or professional dress.

Come up with something signature that makes you feel like your creative or yogic self. My friends and family have given me jewelry. I love wearing these gifts – especially this particular vishuddha bracelet (throat chakra, connected communication) and these gorgeous mystic topaz earrings. Part of what I believe makes a person not feel disjointed between work life and home life is when you blend using small subtle ways. For me, it’s feeling the support of family. Or writing personal notes the night before and dropping them in the corporate outgoing mail. Just little things to help blend.

Call People You Love

Twice a week, I drive out to our IT Campus in Weldon Springs. I use this time to go through a call list of people that I like to check in with on a regular basis. OR I listen to one of Joyce Meyer’s YouTube videos. If I need to get pumped up, I have a playlist I love. But, I try to maximize the time in the car. I also try to keep my car neat. It doesn’t work. (CUPS!) But having wipes in the compartment helps just keep things fresh so you don’t start your day off feeling behind because your car is messy. If I do have a heap of cups or mugs, I just clear them from the car at the start of my week for sure.

Pick Your Hat

A couple years back, I wore myself out “switching hats”. So, I took the time to list out the things I do for my job and connect them to the spiritual or intentional parts of my life, my motivations. I thanked God for these abilities and was able to see how they connected with traits I show when hiking, helping others or cooking spaghetti. (Here’s my favorite post on that.)

From there, I started to find myself wearing ONE hat, to all places. I felt I grew in integrity. My decisions started to feel less disconnected and more cohesive. I didn’t feel at the mercy of a schedule or a to do list. The schedule was MINE. The list was MINE.

And if you study spiritual text (like this book below on the Yamas and Niyamas), this stuff flows over to your work life. I still have a lot of growing up to do in my professional life – I am sensitive and get frustrated. But I am certainly evolving and a lot of it comes down to having principles that define who you are.

Regardless of if you have flexibility in your schedule or not, I believe the key to feeling connected is to take the time to understand what it is about you that makes you good at what you do and then support yourself. Whether with the right food and time in the morning or the right rest and discipline at night, the trick is creating space in your life so you can be fully present and vibrant.

Yes, it does suck sometimes to spend the ten minutes putting the dishes away so you can have a clear sink and counter in the morning. Yes, it is so much easier to just say you’ll eat out tomorrow rather than put the salad together that you got the stuff for. But the discipline of these things will eventually set in. And, what I experienced, is you kind of “grow into yourself”. And people start to know you for who you are and what you do. The expectations that people have of you are organic to who you have revealed yourself to be, not you constantly trying to strive towards the changeable expectations of your environment.

My favorite thing about my work is that people know my personality and I can be a little bit of a hippie or edgy, a little weird and creative. The bottom line is my performance is consistent because I am consistently myself by allowing the time, the space and the breath to be fully present.

What are some of the ways you balance your life? Comment below! I would love to hear your tricks!

Till next time.

Man. I need a better sign off!

– erin