Most of us wake up in the morning with some sense of it being another day in the blur of our days, where the past will repeat itself and things will look pretty much like they have many times before.

Many of us have days where we wake up eager and excited, often due to the anticipation of a special event. Some of us wake up with exhaustion, resignation, even dread.

But what if, on a regular day, with nothing out of the ordinary planned, we decided to wake up expecting miracles?

What if we spent the day believing that magic was right around the corner?

What if we allowed ourselves to see miracles everywhere?

After all, you are a walking miracle. If you’ve ever watched a documentary on what it takes to go from conception to birth, you’ll have seen images of a miracle taking place. If you’ve suffered miscarriage, stillbirth or experienced the death of someone far too young, you’ll understand on a visceral level that you, reading this, taking a breath qualifies as a full blown miracle.

I think we forget this.

I think we close our eyes to the miracles that surround us every day. The grace of a butterfly’s flight. The perfection of a single snowflake. The colors of the sky at sunset.

I have found that once you start looking for – and seeing – miracles around you, they begin to multiply.

And that brings deep gratitude and delight. 

This week, as an experiment, get out of bed expecting miracles. Every day. Make a note of every miracle you witness. Write it down if you can. Redefine the word if you need to. (Sometimes a great parking spot can feel as miraculous as changing water into wine.)

Have fun with this. Let yourself be delighted. Share your findings here, on Facebook, or with your friends. We can all use more stories of miracles in our lives.

See yourself as the miracle you are.

 

Last weekend I wrote the following in my news(love)letter:

Sometimes I sense the universe lovingly laughing at me.

Monday on the blog I shared my two new words of the year. I also wrote that neither of them seemed the clear winner so I was choosing them both. 

Tuesday my friend Liz Lamoreux shared her word of the year with me and a little internal bell went off. 

Thursday I went for a walk along the ocean, listening to Wayne Dyer’s book Wishes Fulfilled on Audible. As I turned to head home I stopped in my tracks and laughed. My word of the year was suddenly, brilliantly, clear. 

It was a word I’d been hearing for months but had been resisting. It was a word that felt selfish, greedy and uncomfortable to claim. A word that could be misinterpreted or seen in an unfavorable light. 

Receive.

I feel a twinge as I write it, wondering what you’ll think when you read it. But I know the power of this word and now that I’ve seen it clearly, it won’t be ignored.

You see, I’ve received much in my life but it always makes me feel guilty. Or like I need to keep score in my head to make sure I give just a little bit more back. Receive and I have a long, slightly sordid history. I can tell it’s time to start unpacking the stories and letting them go. Because my belief is that when we learn to receive without strings, we are able to give without them too. 

*****

Consider today’s post a reminder that it’s okay to change your mind. That finding the words, affirmations, mantras (and people) that work for you is a process. That it doesn’t matter what others think of your choices as long as you are standing in your integrity.

If you have a word, intention, feeling or color of the year, I invite you to spend time this week really exploring it. And if you haven’t chosen one, but think you might like to, there’s no time like now.

Wishing you a week of receiving, giving and dreams-come-true.

P.S. My newsletter has a new format! And I’m having so much fun with it. Join and receive A Ray of Shine (7 practices for your soul, excerpted from the Shine e-course), and a weekly group oracle card reading every Sunday. Get all the goodies by entering your email in the upper right corner of this page.

My dreams are coming true easily and effortlessly.

My dreams are coming true in perfect timing.

My dreams are coming true even if I can’t see the evidence yet.

My dreams are coming true.

Choose an ending that resonates for you. One that makes you feel good and doesn’t trigger all the gremlins that tell you exactly why the whole idea is preposterous. One that helps you put one foot in front of the other on the path to those dreams.

If the gremlins won’t stay quiet, have a conversation with them. Tell them you don’t have to believe them. Cry about it. Write about it. Sing or dance about it. But keep telling them – and yourself – that your dreams are coming true.

The dreams might not look exactly as you imagine. They might not be the same dreams you had a year ago, a decade ago, or even yesterday, but (let me repeat myself) you have dreams that are coming true.

Use this mantra to relax into trusting that you do enough and that you are enough. That you are worthy of a dreams-come-true kind of life. Even if it’s a hard one. Even if today makes you want to curl up into a ball and hide.

Use this mantra when it feels right. If it triggers pain, or shame, or guilt then file it in a drawer for the day you need it. The day when it helps your body relax and your heart expand even if the house is messy, the bills need to be paid and your to-do list runs off the page.

It might not be the dream you think you want.
It might not be the dream society has beaten into your head.
It might not happen when you think it should.
But you are a child of the universe,
You are deeply loved,
And there is a dream out there with your name on it,
Conjured by your heart,
Making it’s way to you.

If you doubt this, make a list of every dream of yours – big or small – that has ever come true. Even if there is one thing on your list, that’s proof.

So beautiful, your dreams are coming true. What do you need to do to get ready?

A number of years ago I decided that resolutions were an exercise in futility and yearly goals were a perfect reason to beat myself up. I gave them up and began choosing a word of the year. That word became a wish, a hope, an intention, a theme that I wanted to walk in the middle of for those 365 days.

Words like Allow and Ease, Celebrate, Create and 2014’s Home.

This year I’ve had two words knocking at my inner door and neither has come out a clear winner. Because I’m not a fan of having to do things one way, I’m inviting both of them to play.

Move.

2015 will be my 3 year in the elemental system of the 9 Star Ki. This is a year of growth, change, action and possible overwhelm. Moving my body will be essential to maintaining my sense of inner balance. My hope is that this will also be a year of magical movement in my business. And my intention is to move others with my words and my work so that they might live their best lives. Yes. Move! Bring it on.

Delight.

I want to feel delighted this year. With my family, in my friendships, with my clients, sitting at the computer or staring out at the ocean. I want this to be the feeling I wake with and the one I end my day with. I want to be bowled over by the beauty and mystery of this world. I want to pause and drink in the delight on my daughter’s face when it appears. I want to appreciate delight, savor it, instead of running over it to the next moment. Deep breath. Delight. This is going to be good.

Move & Delight. These two words will be my guides for 2015, the mantras that run constantly through my mind (along with Trust – my mantra for life).

And you? Do you choose a word for the year or do you have a different practice? I’d love for you to share whatever you do in the comments.

May your year be one of ease, worthy of celebration and filled with delight.

 

P.S. If you’re wanting to choose a word but still waiting to find the right one, here’s a lovely list from Vivienne McMaster to begin with. 

P.P.S. I have several soul mantra necklaces from Liz Lamoreux but I think this year I’m going to order one of these beauties. Drool.