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In the News
- Have a question for
Cheryl? Call in during her live Internet radio show, Coach on Call, on Mondays at 5pm ET (2pm PT, 10pm GMT) at www.hayhouseradio.com.
Simply dial (866) 254-1579 if you live in the US, or for international
callers dial, 1-760-918-4300 after your country code. Cheryl discusses
a variety of topics related to practicing Extreme Self Care and living
a high quality life.
- We have a variety of unique life-changing gifts in our webstore here. You can have books personally signed for you or a loved one with a note
of encouragement or support, include a hand-written gift card with your
order, or find a special item to support your own self-care. There are
heart ornaments, books, audio programs, lotions, and our popular
Mesmerizing Oggz Egg (you need to see it to understand :). Check them out here: www.myextremeselfcare.com.
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Good Girl
No More T-shirts only $9.95
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It's a fall clearance special and you'll find them here. |
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Greetings!
We're doing some fall cleaning in our webstore and this week we're running a clearance special on our "Good Girl No More" t-shirts. You can purchase a t-shirt for only $9.95 while supplies (and sizes) last. These shirts make great gifts for your girlfriends who want to take better care of themselves. Members buy them as gifts for Life Makeover Groups, wedding and baby showers, or "girl's getaway" weekends. You'll find them here.
On September 24th I'll be supporting the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society here in Mass, by giving a talk called "Life
Lessons from our Furry Friends." I'd love to have
you join me to support this great organization. You can get ticket info (and see a photo of me and Poupon as a kitten), here.
Have a great week!
Love,
Cheryl
p.s. - Need a little Divine Direction? Use the "Touch of Grace" button on our homepage here: http://www.cherylrichardson.com.
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Topic of the Week:
Reclaim the Feminine
"Come, come, dear reader. Return to the house of the Great Mother. Enter the soft rounded door and feel immediately welcome in the central room of the heart, fully open and exposing an enormous breadth of emotional intelligence."
Gail Straub
I've just finished reading a beautiful book -- a memoir
called, "Returning to My Mother's House:Taking Back the Wisdom of the," by Gail Straub, a wise woman whose guidance I've been blessed to
partake in over the years. Gail's book chronicles her wild and
imaginative life as an international social/spiritual activist, a pioneering
self-help teacher, and the daughter of a Bohemian artist who died much too
young at the age of fifty-five when Gail was only twenty-three years old.
In this book, the unfolding of her life story is a gentle
call to action challenging the reader to pull back from high speed living,
overachievement, and "accomplishment at any cost" to a more receptive way of
being that pays homage, first and foremost, to our interior lives. I like
that idea -- a lot.
Over the last year I've been more focused on reclaiming a
more feminine, openhearted, way of being in the world. Rather than my
typical "take charge and make things happen" stance -- something I've done all
my life, I'm learning to stop and breathe for a while, allowing the next step
of my journey to reveal itself when the time is right. It doesn't mean
that I'm giving up the pursuit of my goals but rather giving in to a new way
of leading a purposeful life that feels more respectful of my soul.
The honoring of our interior lives is a holy
commitment. It starts by first remembering that you have one -- a complex,
rich world inside your own heart and mind that needs daily tending and
nurturing. Then, as you open to this inner life, it requires a fierce choice to
make this honoring a priority in your daily life by doing things like:
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Taking consistent time out for self-reflection whether
through journaling, quiet walks alone in the woods, or enjoying soulful
conversations with good friends.
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Staying connected to your feelings and making choices with
your head and your heart.
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Exploring the rich insights that come from paying attention
to your dreams by writing them down and talking about them with people who
will encourage and honor your own interpretation.
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Immersing yourself in the beauty of the natural world.
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Making moments of personal prayer and silence as much of a daily
priority as you do other activities like doing laundry, eating meals, or caring
for your family.
The faster life moves, the easier it is to fall prey to the
seduction of high achievement, busyness, and the never-ending pursuit of
"more." There's nothing wrong with wanting to grow or fulfilling your intentions, but when it comes at the cost of
maintaining a connection to your inner life, the successful feelings are short-lived and
disappointing at best. When the balance of activity is skewed toward our
outer lives, we end up overriding our deep longing to be more present to our daily experience.
In the prologue of her book, Gail writes:
"This is the story of how I returned to my mother's house
and reclaimed my own female wisdom, taking back what both Mom and I had
betrayed. I see now how my story is so many of our stories. It is
the story of both men and women who have abandoned their inner lives, leaving
behind their hearts where deep dark feelings reside; putting aside their
intuitive imagination where dreams flourish; ignoring the invisible worlds
where the irrational and mysterious offer their incomparable gifts; and
disowning the realms of silence, simplicity, and solitude where the interior
matures. Modern life rarely acknowledges or even allows space for such
things. But we ignore these things at our peril, both as individual human
beings and as an earth family."
This week's message is simple and important: Please
don't ignore your inner life. Listen to that little voice that tells you
to say "no," that asks for more time to rest, or that longs to engage in those activities that keep you firmly connected to your spiritual center. In the end, honoring the feminine returns us to the knowing that we are all connected and that our investment in our inner lives is crucial in creating a better outer world for us all.
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Take Action Challenge
This week, take one step every day to nurture your interior life. Write down a dream and ponder it for a while. Set aside time with a trusted friend to talk about how you feel. Get out and take a walk in nature to notice the beauty and simplicity of Mother Earth. Or spend a few moments in silent prayer to center yourself and reconnect with your heart.
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Life Makeover For The Year 2008 (sm) is written and produced by Cheryl
Richardson. If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission of this newsletter, please email:
cheryl@cherylrichardson.com. © Copyright 1999-2008. Cheryl Richardson, P.O. Box 13, Newburyport, MA 01950. All rights reserved.
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