Can What I Learned in 2023 Help You?

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❄️ Happy Winter Solstice ❄️ 

Does this Solstice time of year make you happy? Or does the increased darkness and lack of light bring you down? What if you decided to use this darkest time of year for your benefit?

I love winter. I love the Solstice. I love celebrating these Earthly holidays even more than the Hallmark ones because I can feel an inner ancestral call. I love this shortest day and I honour it by turning inward, by sitting in reflective silence and gratitude in the darkness of these shortest days. I use this dark time to reflect on all the seasons of this year that have passed and to go deeper inwards into my own darkness. I use the darkness to rest, to replenish, like nature is doing right now too.

In ancient times Winter Solstice was a New Year celebration, so keeping that in mind, I wanted to share some wisdom with you that I’ve learned throughout the seasons of this year in hopes that my sharing my learnings may help you in living your best life too.

You may have noticed in the last several posts I’ve used a phrase “live fully A-LIVE”. As this year has moved along I’ve become deeply aware that I was doing some things in my life to “numb” versus live fully a-live. It’s from that awareness that I created and share this Wisdom List as my solstice and holiday gift from me to you. 

Perhaps you don’t need any wisdom in your life because your life is “just fine”. But are you content with living life “just fine”? I’m not. I want to live life fully A-LIVE.  If you do too, here we go…

TRUST YOUR BODY

It never lies. When you’re making a decision (any decision at all) tune inward for guidance (whether it’s in choosing an apple or chocolate, going right or left, choosing red or blue - anything really). How? Thanks for asking! Take one or more intentional breaths and ask your body what you should do, what you should choose. Listen. It will just be a whisper of a response but that is your answer. I honed this while hiking in my forest. At each crossing of paths, I would pause, breathe, ask my body should I go right or should I go left. I then played with it with food choices and now I use this to make all the choices in my life.

Wisdom Tip: Breathe. Ask. Listen. The first whisper that you hear from within your body is the right decision for you. Your body never lies. 

TURN YOUR PHONE OFF

I know, insert an eye roll here 🙄  But I am SO SO SERIOUS about this. These damned devices were created for us to be addicted to and, surprise, WE ARE. As I write this I’m in a season of unplugging (fully from social media and from my phone as much as I can - but it’s a map, it’s a camera, it’s an alarm, it’s hard, they’ve made them addictive). Within hours of unplugging, my entire body felt better - calmer, less competitive, less hurried, less stressed. I had less care of what the world is really doing (because does it really matter anyway? 🤷🏼‍♀️ Trust me, if there is news you need to know about, it will find you). My body also felt more vital (which makes me wonder what exactly these devices that we hold in our pocket, in our hand, near our head and under our pillow for countless hours each day, actually emit 💥).

Wisdom Tip: Turn it off. Experiment for 1 hour a day. Watch how often you reach for your phone to distract yourself from what you are doing and more importantly, be aware of what you are reaching to distract yourself FROM. Is it from what you are thinking or FEELING or trying to get done? Just become aware. Do it and just see. It will fascinate you 🤯 There’ll be more on this to come in the 2024 as I move to a different life schedule that involves more unplugging and more…

SILENCE. SILENCE. SILENCE. SILENCE

The most fruitful time I have had this year was when I was in silence. No one around. No thing to do but just be. It’s terrifying for some, but trust me when you get beyond the terror of being silent with yourself it’s magical and beautiful and you will learn so much about yourself and to trust yourself because you’ll realize all your answers are within. And really it’s only about being silent and alone with yourself…. so why is it terrifying? 🤷🏼‍♀️ 

Wisdom Tip: Schedule time to be in silence. Whether it’s an hour, a half-day or a full day. Trust me that this will be magical for you too. 

The JOURNEY of life rarely goes as you planned. But it always works out.

We plan something, how it SHOULD go, how it WILL go and then we get disappointed when it doesn’t go the way we thought it would in our head. We are not in control of much in our lives and the sooner we realize and accept this, the more easeful our living our life will be.

Wisdom Tip: Know that it will not go as you planned, trust that it will go better. Trust the journey and keep journeying.

INVEST IN YOURSELF

Buy the books. Take the courses or the classes. Invest in coaches or trainers. Align your life with those who are doing what you desire to do. Whether that is writing an epic novel, being an amazing parent and grandparent, living a healthier life, travelling the World or running an impactful business. Find people who have gone before you. Read what they write. Listen to what they record. Buy a ticket to their workshop or their course or their program. Your life will be changed. Mine was changed SO MUCH this year by buying a ticket to hear Liz Gilbert speak and then rounding off my year by investing in a day retreat with a mentor who is living and doing what I want to live and do. I hired her to inspire me and to guide me to dream into my becoming the most magical version of me in my own life.

Wisdom Tip:  Surround yourself with those wiser than you. Those who inspire you in areas you desire to build and change in your one audacious life. YOU ARE WORTH IT.

LEAVE BEHIND WHAT’S NOT SERVING YOU

If you are taking part in the End of Year Soul Ritual from 2 weeks ago you are very aware of how  2023 went and what did and didn’t work for you. What can you change as you move into 2024? What can you leave behind? Where were the energy leaks in your life in 2023? A relationship that brings you down? People you surround yourself with who always complain? Those you follow on socials who make you doubt your own magic and greatness? A conversation that needs to be had? An apology that needs to be voiced or written to yourself or to another? Only you know. Only you can change it. Be wise. Do what needs to be done in the next 10 days so you’re not crossing into 2024 with it.

Wisdom Tip: Leave that shit behind 💩

BREATHE

Just breathe. We spend so much time in our heads and little in our bodies. Set time to intentionally breathe daily. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. More if you can. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to be intentional.

Wisdom Tip: Intentionally breathing calms your mind, body and soul, it brings you into present-moment awareness and rejuvenates you for the rest of the day. Just intentionally breathe. 

To assist you in this final Wisdom Tip, as a gift from me to you, I have prepared a free guided breath work journey that supports you in an intentional breathing practice. I welcome you to gift this to yourself daily and be curious about how you feel before and after doing it each day and curious again about how you feel at the end of each week. 

I know you’re going to say “Life is too busy to breathe” but life is only busy because you say it is 🤷🏼‍♀️ If you say “I’m making this short intentional breath work practice a daily priority for ME this holiday season” then it is! Set the intention. Infuse it with words to make it so and it will be. If you’d like to share this with a friend or family member do so by clicking the share button on this blog post ⤴️

I’ve been hinting at what is coming in 2024 and although it’s still coming together in my mind (thanks to the recent dreamy retreat I attended) I can share some of the amazingness here 🥁 🥁 🥁 

IN-PERSON WORK

If you live in Northumberland County know that I am coming for you…. I have been gifted the use of a dreamy space in Cobourg and I’m crafting 2-hour in-person transformational journeys for women that include: a 45-minute guided, therapeutic breathwork journey with hands-on support, life coaching, Mayson Method Energy Healing, journaling, deep conversation, integrative soul play to do at home afterwards and limited between-session support. These sessions will be available to book one-on-one OR in small groups. THERE ARE VERY LIMITED SPACES so if this feels like a FULL BODY YES for you, get on my waitlist for these sessions by connecting via email or by DM.

ONLINE WORK

If you live anywhere else in this amazing World 🌎🌍 and want that same session know that it’s also available to you virtually. To book your virtual 2-hour session click this link to access my calendar 🗓️ 

FREE 30 MINUTE SOUL CALLS

To support you in beginning your new year audaciously I’ll be offering a limited number of free 30-minute one-on-one Soul Calls with me 🥳 If this is a FULL BODY YES then click this link to access my calendar and book your January FREE CALL NOW 🗓️ 

Be sure to stay tuned because there’s so much more to come in 2024 ….. women’s gatherings, retreats, writings, recordings, more in-person and virtual sessions all to support you in living your life FULLY A-LIVE and AUDACIOUSLY! 

Happy Winter Solstice and Happy Holidays to you and your family. 

Know that I wish you a rest-filled, abundant, joyous holiday season filled with all of your most favourite things including rest, self-love and intentional breath work and JOY! 

I’ll be back in a few weeks to start off 2024 audaciously of course! 

With so much love and gratitude for your presence here,

Audaciously,

Sharon xo