Two weeks after breaking my ankle and subsequent surgery I hobbled into Ellen’s healing room.

A month prior Ellen, on a healing quest to cure her breast cancer leaves Fort Lauderdale, travels to Esalen Institute in California to meet with Don Oscar. Fun fact, Don Oscar lives up the road in Palm Beach, Florida.

Hobbling into the room on crutches a beautiful altar is laid out on the floor… the air is buzzing. Teetering trying to keep my balance with the ankle still in a cast. “Look here” the shaman says, “right between my eyes, now don’t look away.”

Taking swigs from one of the bottles he spit-sprays the liquid elixir mist all over me as the scent of flowers fills the space within and around me.

Staring at me he says “You have trained with many people of power, now it’s time for you to carry your own medicine bag.”

The next session the power song starts flowing through me as gifts to clients during their soul retrieval sessions.

A decade after the “index card experience” my helping ally- one of the names on the index card- tells me it’s time to learn heart centered shamanic Depossession, so I travel to Wisconsin to be in the circle.

I’m also here to visit the Indian mounds. They’re calling me. After checking into my room, putting the suitcase on the bed I look out the window as the sun is setting…. The deep indigo blue-sky contrasts with the dusty rust-golden colored wheat field.

WHAM.
It’s the EXACT SAME LANDSCAPE SCENE as the painted index card.
Whoa. Que the Twilight Zone music.

Everyone’s buzzing with excitement as we exit the bus at the effigy mounds. I walk up the path with reverence, quietly singing and rattling… before I know it, I’m walking in two worlds…I’m also seeing water and hearing the words “What happened to the water?”

In the “LONG Before” I’m seeing the verdant green mounds are surrounded by water; there are hollowed-out boats arriving for the rituals and celebrations. There’s dancing, singing and drumming. So much joy. When it’s time to leave the mounds that day I give thanks for the visions, the spirits of the land and the gifts bestowed.

Later that evening the teacher asks the circle to set up an experiential representation of the mounds in the meeting room. Everyone takes their assigned place…

The room is pitch dark, there’s only candlelight on the altar.

My ally says, “why is no one singing?”

“You’re representing the 13th moon.”

I’m standing on the 13th mound. 13 mounds representing the 13 moons. As I rattle…. a song is rising… I question….

“NOW, really?”

“YES! SING”, she replies. Sing the song of the “LONG Before”…. into the future.

Throwing off my cloak of anonymity… I feel someone next to me; my eyes slightly open as the teacher puts her recording device at my feet.

After the session I’m buzzing with energy…expanded. Other people in the circle are now coming up touching me. It’s uncomfortable.

The next morning the teacher asks if I’m willing to set up the experiential mound in the meeting room again this evening using my recorded “LONG Before” power song.

“No, that’s not going to work for me.” Even though she’s disappointed I hold firm to the boundary.

“People are asking for the song. Can I release the song to the students who are here?”

“Can you teach me how to unhook from people psychically reaching in while listening to the power song?”

My question is met with silence. It’s a big NO.

Now fifteen years later I understand it’s all a dance; I’m learning the steps as a newbie medium, how to hold a clear yes and a clear no. My energetic body was not ready to hold that space for others, that will come with time.

Within a year I’m singing power songs and sending them out into my community at each new moon. Playing in the “Long Before.”

Yesterday I learned from a Facebook post that the effigy mounds thousands of years ago, in the “Long Before” were indeed surrounded by water.

In Aquarius you are called to be the pioneer… to gather up our stories… from the “there and then” and the “here and now”; these are seeds asking to be planted. The world needs the power of our songs.

I am the One who is an Interstellar Magi dancing in the “LONG Before.”

Celebrating Ellen’s legacy on her 74th birthday.

The post Part 2 Index Card first appeared on Michele Grace Design & Marketing.

“I went to see this guy…and he creates the cards. He’s holding sessions this weekend if you want to go.”

Fascinated I make the reservation…. showing up at the small church meeting room in the back of a storefront. There are 15-20 people of us there to see this fella’s presentation. I’m not sure what is going to happen.

Then the plain dressed man of the hour walks into the room and stands at the podium; he starts speaking about his spiritual guide. He talks about love and joy.

Then he unwraps a new pack of white index cards bought at Office Depot….he asks an audience member to verify the cards are blank. Then like a magician he shows us an empty lidded wicker basket before tossing the index cards into the basket.

He then throws random art media- colored pencils, colored pens, pencils, crayons…all go into the basket that is now closed. He shakes the basket, puts it on the table and then starts speaking about love…and connecting with your spiritual guides. He channels information and answers questions from the audience.

I remember none of what is said.

Fifteen minutes later he opens the basket and starts pulling the cards out of the basket. Each previously white card is now colored with different pictures.

Each audience member is CALLED by name (the name is written on the back of the index card). I walk up as my name is called…. and handed a picture card.

My card shows a painted a deep indigo blue sky contrasting with the dusty rust-golden colored wheat field. In the sky white birds flying over the land. My index card is also beautifully hand colored- I can even see the colored pencil marks. Turning the index card over there are 5-6 signatures in different handwriting, script and color. One signature leaps out at me.

Stay tuned for part two tomorrow.

The post Part 1 The Index Cards first appeared on Michele Grace Design & Marketing.

I’ve been raged at by clients whose job is not going as fast as they want it. I’ve had subcontractors fail to perform according to the contract or go behind my back to the client asking for more money or time. I had CPTSD and my nervous system took a lot of hits back then.

These worry wort moments are rare nowadays… but when they do arrive it tends to be in the middle of the night. This morning at breakfast dear husband asks if I had any good dreams… “no but I woke up worried about the kitchen.”

Surprised, “there’s nothing to worry about. It always works out.” He’s right, except my body hasn’t caught up yet.

Today I’ll review and sign off on the drawings from the cabinet company. Get two more bids from plumbers on moving the sink to the island. Figure out where to put everything when the existing cabinets are removed in a couple of weeks. And put together the email series for the Initiate Retreat.

Here’s a snap of the lovely antique cabinet off of Facebook Marketplace, just the size and style I wanted. Solid mahogany from the 1930’s.

Want to read more of my interior design for our kitchen renovation process check out this post: What do I really need?

The post Worry Wart Wisdom first appeared on Michele Grace Design & Marketing.

and an unkindness to you.

Take that in a moment…or two.

*

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*

*

*

*

Years ago in a breathwork session I had a vision of sitting in church and knowing God within. Not because what the pastor told me, it came from my near-death experience as a child; my connection to nature and walking the shamanic path of direct experience. Everyone in the congregation during that vision also came from this place of god\goddess from within. It was an extraordinary heart opening experience.

This week a student I adore was judged for walking her own path of direct experience….in response this is what I shared:

In the mid-90’s essential oils were laughed at by the muggles. Today those that laughed or held disdain are pitching them all over social media. What is new will scare people and then it becomes the norm. Are you on the path of cutting edge stuff?

You’re a change agent. A way shower.

This month is an opportunity to root out the times you’ve taken the weirdness on as a wrongness of you. Journal about it. I suggest doing the dead wood ritual (click here) to let it go. To transform and transmute the energy. Take back your power.

If what you offer your clients,
if the tools you use are unconventional
and done in love.
There’s no wrongness in that.

Be you.
Go be seen, by choice.
Not by chance.

There are those waking up- aka coming of age- that need to hear this from me, from you. They may be crossing into territory deemed wrong, bad, the devil’s work.

Waking up is hard because you have to surrender the generational trauma-beliefs that are deeply ingrained… in thought, in the cells, in the breath and body of you.

AQUARIUS.

When the sun moves through this sign it highlights this weirdness among the muggles. This is the sign where you get to break out of the collective shell. Create in a new way. Innovate.

It’s also a place fraught with judgement.

“It’s the way we’ve always done it….”
“don’t go that way.”
“stay the same.”
“it’s dangerous to think that way.”

You my friend are an explorer of new frontiers.
Boldly going where your intuition asks you to.
A full body knowing…. honoring that life pulse within you.

If you are a recovering Christian, here are a few people I follow on Instagram:

The New Evangelicals: https://www.instagram.com/thenewevangelicals/

Bad.Pastor® https://www.instagram.com/p/CoYElEQO4mU/

If you need to talk…please reach out.

With love,

Rev. Michele Grace Lessirard, C.Ht.*

*I am an interfaith minister ordained in 1997 through the Universal Brotherhood Movement, Inc.

The post it’s the way we’ve always done it… first appeared on Michele Grace Design & Marketing.

I’m calling this Compassionate Pricing.

Listen pricing is not a one-trick pony. It can be whatever you dang well want it to be. But if you’re following someone else’s pricing model and your body isn’t buying into it then it’s probably feeling wonky. Bottom line you’re not getting the traction you want.

You invest in your business and hire a coach with a dream and a promise to yourself. You commit. It’s an experiment. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Stop beating yourself up over it. What if you choose differently?

When you leave that coaching program, it’s more than an investment. You may lose friends. You may feel cast aside. You may feel out of sorts. It’s soul loss.

I’ve witnessed too many women lose their ability to make their way in the world.

Fraud, failure and shame = you fucked up big time. (no you didn’t, and that’s why I do what I do). There may be silence too because you remember the voice of the coach saying you’re a quitter, you didn’t do things the right way.

The phrase “high-end client” creates a chasm tinged with judgment, bias and privilege; creating separation between the haves and have nots. The SOMEBODIES and nobodies. In December of 2022 I started asking what else is possible and thus a sliding scale aka compassionate pricing model came through.

If you are charging more great!
If you want to charge more and need support, book a session.
If this is triggering for you then my invitation is to go journal about it.
Pricing can be whatever you dang well want it to be…

Okay. Now that I’ve got that out of the way.

If you’d like to see my pricing structure click here.
If you’d like to talk, schedule a discovery session.

The post Pricing your services…. first appeared on Michele Grace Design & Marketing.

Proud. My nervous system didn’t take the hit.
I gave notice.
While I loved the fabrics and interior design.
This was not the place for me.

Systems.     Boundaries.
It gave me clarity on what I want to create.
For that I’m grateful.

I did a thing…
Haven’t done it in 44 years.

I applied for a job in a field I love.
Emailed my resume (first I had to create it).
Less than two hours later got asked to an interview.

Met with the owner (she’s lovely), we connected, “I’m honored you applied with your caliber of experience.” It feels both divinely inspired and meant to be. Next week I start playing again in fabrics, color and wallpaper at a local interior design center a two afternoons a week. Meeting and connecting with clients and designers- people locally. Works perfectly for my schedule. I know this is right and light because my body is singing and zinging. Let’s play!

Capricorn is about structure- building new forms. What’s here that needs to be dismantled and rebuilt? One can’t look at things as normal, because normal in this decade is constantly changing.

I sense the new structure will benefit all areas of my life. I can still do my thing online here with you aka mentoring, teaching and writing. This lets me explore a new/old path of creativity. Since the move to Tallahassee, Rich’s retirement and then the pandemic I’ve longed to meet new people and explore possibilities locally. Sometimes the old is new.

Home is a reflection of self.

Last year I designed a kitchen modification for a dear friend of my daughter; she wanted to open up her kitchen by taking down the wall and building an island. From my design drawings she got the pricing along with the coordinating the trades. Her kitchen update turned out beautiful. In the fall she posted pictures of her little boy standing at the island helping mommy make cookies. That touched my heart.

I started reading Establishing Home by Jean Stoffer. Her story woke up the interior designer-contractor in me that I had walked away from for many reasons. I enrolled in an online color theory class for understanding and reading neutrals by Maria Killam. OMG I fricking love her color wheel!

Watching the renovation of Maria’s new home on an IG live session…she interviews her friend -whose managing all the tradespeople for the project (she has her contractor’s license). I start asking myself “what if” questions. “What would it take to______?”

Inspired I jumped online to check out my license status on the state’s portal; I could reactivate my residential contractor’s license. This option that WAS NOT there any other time I looked or called in the past 20 years- trust me I’ve checked. I submitted the application, got a letter from the state saying my status was changed from “null and void” aka “don’t even try” to “inactive” in less than a month. There are a couple of requirements to check off for the state. Again I’m follow the lightness. Asking “what if” and saying “yes, what will it take.”

Remember the comment: “Would you be open to working with our clients for drawings I need?” from the builder who ghosted me after reviewing my CAD drawings for our kitchen renovation (from this blog post)

In December I drew out the plans- demo, walls, electrical and lighting- to pull an owner’s permit for our kitchen reno. Talked to the building department. Hired a structural engineer to verify the wall can be demoed without a need for a support beam. The carpenter arrives early next week. Phase I is the demo, getting the electrical moved and building out a new pantry. Phase II are the cabinets ordered and installed. It’s flowing.

I lived as a child and young adult with an astonishing level of anxiety that was never named. I unconsciously took that anxiety into my business as an interior designer and business owner. While I never wavered, even in the midst of things falling down around me, I soldiered on. I can see now the fragments of this anxiety started healing big time over the last twelve years after my mother’s death in 2010. That’s why I find the 12-years Jupiter cycle (Doodle your Passion) so advantageous; the moment Jupiter lined up at the degree of my mother’s death the awareness and movement all started unfolding.

Some questions that have supported me over the last couple of months:

• Where am I living an either-or life?
• It’s either this or that?
• What if there’s room to do both- and?
• What if I trust myself and the timing?
• What is the ask of my body?

As Mars moves direct, and Mercury finishes up the retrograde my wish is you let the questions inspired you.

With joy,

*What is a Scanner?

Scanners love to read and write, to fix and invent things, to design projects and businesses, to cook and sing, and to create the perfect dinner party.(You’ll notice I didn’t use the word “or,” because Scanners don’t love to do one thing or the other; they love them all.) A Scanner might be fascinated with learning how to play bridge or bocce, but once she gets good at it, she might never play it again. One Scanner I know proudly showed me a button she was wearing that said, “I Did That Already.”

To Scanners the world is like a big candy store full of fascinating opportunities, and all they want is to reach out and stuff their pockets.

It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? The problem is, Scanners are starving in the candy store. They believe they’re allowed to pursue only one path. But they want them all. If they force themselves to make a choice, they are forever discontented. But usually Scanners don’t choose anything at all. And they don’t feel good about it.” – Barbara Sher, Refuse to Choose

The post I did a thing… first appeared on Michele Grace Design & Marketing.

Jupiter calls us to expand into something- a creative process- there’s the ask and the choice. Where you are born with Jupiter you are the attractor. It’s a magnifying force, your personal Midas touch. At the moment of my birth Jupiter in Leo was meeting up with Pluto in Leo (death/rebirth) in the 10th house at 27°- late degrees in a sign are considered fated.

Issues around death, dying and beyond would be a catalyst of my greater work in the world.

When I was 12 years old my grandmother was killed by a drunk driver. Her death shocked me… the first in a series of cascading events that occurred that Spring (Aries Equinox).

My beautiful grandmother was considered “only” a step grandmother by the adults around me; as she was my grandfather’s third wife. Together they built a custom home from House Beautiful floor plans, it was not only stunning but also warm and inviting. Mary Ellen’s passion was collecting antiques and restoring them in her basement. Her presence lent stability to my undiagnosed bipolar grandfather. When mom and I visited, she talked to me as a friend while serving me “big girl” coffee. Once we moved closer, I would often stop by to chat.

Decades after her death I walked into Kmart, when a stunning jet-black haired woman abruptly cut in front of me. The whole experience felt like an apparition, angelic. A tap on the shoulder “Michele it’s time to wake up to the truth of the medicine you carry.”

The woman in Kmart carried the same vibe as my grandmother; seeing her or the reflection of her brought up many buried feelings I had around her death. The sadness and grief. The joy of our connection. But more to the point the contradiction of my parents and grandfather; how they acted one way in private and another way in public. Keeping the family secrets secret.

Soul loss and how it may show up…

It is said you are as sick as the secrets you carry. As children we carry those secrets as a kindness to our parents, and an unkindness to us. This soul loss shows up in the body, mind and spirit. There are crossroads where you get to make a choice– soldier on like generations have done before you in love or with love start to release the gunk that binds us to the lies.

Jupiter is that alchemical solvent that dissolves long standing gunk between you and the ancestors. He changes signs every year, and within that year there is an ask-“Here’s what happened then, now what you are going to do with the awareness?”

For me the Jupiter cycle, the experience as a deathwalker is one experience of many that led me to the shamanic path. My near-death experience at age three gave me insights into energies I wasn’t ready for or didn’t have the words to describe. That talent, gift and capacity went into hiding. My grandmother’s death was a breadcrumb I left along the way to say, “pay attention to what was happening then, and the choices made for you.” What needs to be surrendered?

Even as an interior designer I was designing Hospice and long-term care facilities. Then as a shamanic practitioner my helping allies were very clear on what courses I needed to study-Death, dying and beyond along with training in Compassionate Heart-centered Depossession and Curse breaking.

Jupiter rules the 2nd Chakra in the body. “In alchemy Jupiter/Tin embodies qualities of wisdom, logic, education, and maturity.” The seat of procreation and creativity.

For my friends, clients and students tracking Jupiter’s movement is a gift. There is a story waiting to be revealed and healed.

Your voice, the power of your presence has the potential to change lives. What is the ask of Jupiter? Start there. May you Doodle your way into grace, ease and joy.

With love,

Click here to access my guide Doodle your Passion. How can I out create myself using the Jupiter as a guide?

I started using astrology in my life to heal and empower; the cycles helped me understand where I lost power in living life and then course correct. You don’t have to know astrology or even your chart details, allow what is shared to unfold. Listen to the audio, play with in the doodles. Asking…what is Jupiter’s message in my life and business?

The post My Angelic Meetup in Kmart first appeared on Michele Grace Design & Marketing.

It can wait.
until the pandemic is over.
until the kitchen renovation.
It’ll be too much work. Dust everywhere! and
don’t mess with the electrical.

Maybe it was moving the clocks back. All I know I am dang tired of cooking in the dark. Deciding to ACT, I get out my drill, turn the circuit breaker off and get to work. We find there are only two screws holding each light fixture in place. Groaning the heavy 60-year-old light fixtures give way while fiberglass insulation rains down on us. I cover and tape the gaping ceiling holes with cardboard, while the capped electrical wires dangled from the ceiling (you can’t put live wires in a ceiling without a junction box). It was ugly and messy (pictures below).

Next day I head to the BIG Box store for a junction box, a sheet of drywall, trying to engineer how to create a wood cleat to secure the new drywall pieces up on the ceiling (that kept me up at night). Walking the aisles, carrying my wooden cleat I see two big boxes sitting on the floor marked “drywall repair clips.” Feeling like I’ve won the lottery, here’s the answer to my dilemma. Ripping open one of the boxes with my keys I buy two packs of exactly what I need. We’re in business!

After nailing the junction box to the joist in the attic and securing the electrical wires- all the time hubs saying “do you know what you’re doing?” Dear Husband helps me secure the drywall patches in the ceiling. The drywall clips impress both of us.

Hubs then heads out of town to the Gator Football game. One bucket of drywall mud later the drywall patches are taped, mudded and then 24-hours later sanded…mudded again, and finally sanded. I was even able to match the existing skip trowel plaster finish on the ceiling with a wet rag. Ordered these LED lights from Amazon (recommended and inspired by a DIY mom Instagram account who ran her own electrical). Ran a chalk line on the ceiling to make sure each new recessed light lined up, measured and marked four center holes for the new LED lights with a drywall screw.

The electricians came Monday morning…took less than 90 minutes and now I have lights in the kitchen on a dimmer. No more cooking in the dark. Cost for the project: Lights, electricians, drywall and such under $400. Hubs says the new lights make the kitchen look very happy.

The point of this story is what are you tolerating? What’s here asking for change? How much are you holding? Last summer I handed my kitchen renovation blueprints off to a remodeling guy… the job was too big, so he sent it to his builder friend. I caught Covid, then the builder’s estimator got Covid and well no pricing arrived. I texted the guy in September to see if he was still interested. We got on the phone; I answered his questions.

He asked, “who did the drawings and specs?”

“I did”…. long pause….and then he replies “well you know what you’re doing.* Would you be willing to do spec drawings for our clients?”

“Sure I’m open to that….” I never heard from him again. Ghosted.

I tolerated these old lights way too long. I’ve tolerated men in construction who felt intimidated by me way too long.

I told myself a story about what couldn’t happen, rather that what I could make happen. I knew as soon as those old light fixtures came down, the movement was a good thing for the me. A good thing for the house. This week I called Paul our handyman, and we’re working out a plan to take down the wall. I’m doing a happy dance!

Movement. Creates. Momentum.

I am grateful for my awareness and have much to share about the last two years of uncovering and awakening. How trauma informed my choices and my creativity… how trauma shows up in your creative process (it’s not bad or good- it just is) and why you may be stopped at the gate and/or called to pivot.

Here’s a snapshot of how the work unfolded. We have light!

* If you’re new to my world I hold both an interior design and residential contractor’s license for the state of Florida. The contractor’s exam was one of the hardest tests I’ve ever sat for with a high failure rate. 34 years ago I took the contractor’s exam eight months pregnant and passed. I know how to do interior remodeling…. and that can intimidate some men in construction. Design-build is my thing.

The post do you know what you’re doing? first appeared on Michele Grace Design & Marketing.

This is the time of the year where I creatively hit things out of the park. The creative timing aligns with my birth chart and things flow. Here’s a snapshot of our proposed kitchen remodel. I’m moving walls, building out a new pantry and moving the sink to the island. Everything that has to do with building is still in flux because of the pandemic.

Currently I’m working on launching VisionKeeping™ (to teach YOU how to tap into your creative timing) along with finding a contractor for our kitchen renovation. BTW I could use your energetic help… please hold the vision of a great contractor showing up to work together.

Last month two guys came to look at the kitchen job. I explained “I need this wall taken down, new electrical run and a new wall to create a pantry. It’s pretty simple.” They got their tape measure out when I handed them the architectural drawings- plan|elevations|notes|rendering.

Me: “Here you can draw on these….”
Them: “Wow, who drew these?”
Me: “I did.”

Truth is….

I love to build things!

Houses. Businesses. Art.

I used to make myself wrong because I like to do a lot of different things. I’d start a project, then pivot. I’d lose interest after learning all I could about something. Sitting in the hospital after giving birth to our daughter, my husband hands me the notice that I passed my residential contractors exam. It’s a hard test, with a high fail rate. At the time I was the only woman in a sea of 600 men; so pregnant I can barely reach the table.

My plan? to flip houses (circa 1989)… then the economy crashed, babies take a lot of time to raise, and the contractor thing went on hold.

As a young interior designer I didn’t know what I was doing so I’d ask a lot of questions. Tradesmen where my best teachers. These are good men who love to teach and collaborate; then there are scammers who will lie.

For our last kitchen renovation in 2014 I pulled the permit, moved a doorway and build out the walls along with contracting the subs. We striped the kitchen back to the studs; then after the electrical and plumbing was complete- it was time to hire a drywaller. I estimated 18-20 sheets of 5/8x4x8 drywall.

An installer walked the job with me and quoted a price of $5,000. I told him “no it’s a $1,500 job.” He stormed out of the house angry, calling my husband at work“Your wife is crazy- that job can’t be done for $1,500.” My husband put the man in his place-told him my credentials along with some choice words. The next day a new drywall guy came, looked at the job and quoted $1,500. Bingo, he got the job.

In construction and business, as a builder of dreams I like to take things apart and figure out why they’re not working so we can course correct. Maybe you’re like me? Are you a renaissance woman aka scanner* who likes to do a lot of different things to keep from getting bored? I may work on my website, work on the kitchen plans, go back to working on the launch. It’s the mixing up of things and building that gives me great joy.

• Have you explored the energy of a scanner? I highly recommend Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher and Renaissance Soul-How to make passion your life by Margaret Lobenstine. BTW I’ve completed coach training in Margaret’s process, it you’d like to talk let me know.
• Where are you locking yourself into just one thing when your soul longs to learn and play?
• When did you stop playing? I’d love to hear your aha around the stop, in the comment below.

Are you following your joy?

Why do you love about what you’re doing? I’d love to hear your why in the comment below.

With joy,

*What is a Scanner?

Scanners love to read and write, to fix and invent things, to design projects and businesses, to cook and sing, and to create the perfect dinner party. (You’ll notice I didn’t use the word “or,” because Scanners don’t love to do one thing or the other; they love them all.) A Scanner might be fascinated with learning how to play bridge or bocce, but once she gets good at it, she might never play it again. One Scanner I know proudly showed me a button she was wearing that said, “I Did That Already.”

It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? The problem is, Scanners are starving in the candy store. They believe they’re allowed to pursue only one path. But they want them all. If they force themselves to make a choice, they are forever discontented. But usually Scanners don’t choose anything at all. And they don’t feel good about it.” – Barbara Sher, Refuse to Choose

The post I love to build first appeared on Michele Grace Design & Marketing.

We go to have lunch.
Arriving tired and hungry.
My friend sees a cohort she knows.
We sit down to have lunch together.
Doing the “introductions.”
I babble a bit.
Not expecting to be “ON.”

I take the woman’s business card.
Later that evening back in the hotel room….
Opening up my computer.
I check out the cohort’s website.

There’s a freshly written blog post
a scathing takedown
of my self introduction.
I’m her teachable moment.
Heat rises up my neck,
the criticism stings.

Suddenly I feel very small.
She’s right, my intro sucked.

Takedown.
Taking down a leader.
Taking down a friend.
Taking down a person.
Taking down a movement.

Making them small to make you feel bigger.
I grew up with a mother,
who said one thing in public and
then another thing to me in private.
I don’t do well with two-faced people.

Woo people, scanners, truth tellers
aka renaissance women may feel challenged
when It comes to self-introductions.

The bigness of our message…
What you offer often feels like
trying to sip water out of a fire hose.
I get it. I get you.

We are in the Leo season.
Of creativity. Risk.

What shows up first off this Leo New Moon maybe a wall of shame.
Barriers. False flags. Rudeness. Ego.
Who am I to speak this truth?
Who am I to be so bold?
What way are you taking yourself out of the game of life?

How does my BIGNESS leave me feeling vulnerable?
That is what is known as your BRIGHT shadow.
Spirit calling you to honoring the gifts, talents and capacities you were born with.
Rather than being dedicated to your inadequacies.
This week activate your Bright Shadow.
To your glory, grace and story.

If I carry all this light,
share my story I’ll be ____________ [you can fill in the blank].
First thought? Pull that awareness like unraveling a ball of string.
Who is at the end of the string?
A person. An Event. A decision your little one made.
To go invisible. To stay safe.
Play with that awareness for a day or two.
What pops up?

Your peeps, your community
needs the POWER of your PRESENCE.
Go be you.
All of you.

With joy,

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