Welcome to this week’s issue of Weekly Wellness Wisdom!

What’s New from Centered Living

This fall I’ll be offering a series of tele-classes designed to enlighten and educate about Authentic Wellness.  I’m very excited to be introducing powerful ideas and strategies for becoming more centered, authentic and joyful.  Please stay tuned for more details in the weeks to come.

Weekly Wellness Wisdom is on its new weekly schedule.  Every Saturday you will receive the latest issue.  If for any reason, you don’t receive your weekly email, please email me at lori@loriboothroyd.com and we’ll help. 

If you find this newsletter helpful and supportive, please share it with your friends!  Simply forward this email and invite them to subscribe.  Thank you for passing it on! 

~~Thanks for all your personal notes of concern and empathy for my virtual assistant, Tracey and her family.  I am happy to share that they are safe and sound back in their Findlay, Ohio home following the worst flood there in a century.  And as you can see, Tracey has brought her expertise back to the newsletter format.  Enjoy! ~~

Wellness Wisdom Feature Article

Go With The Flow

Often, our perceptions of stress come when things don’t quite flow the way we had hoped or planned for them too.  Our desire to control can often increase our sense of stressful situations, heightening emotions such as frustration, anxiety and even anger.  Today’s article explores the concept of going with the flow and next week’s article will continue with some simple strategies for helping you to let go and go more with the flow. 

What do I specifically mean by the term go with the flow?  Going with the flow means practicing acceptance to bring us peace, happiness and a deeper sense of harmony.  Practicing acceptance is an art form unto itself.  And I often focus on it in my workshops and in coaching my clients because it is indeed so challenging for all of us! 

There are essentially two ways to experience joy: Getting what you want, or through wanting what you have.  Accepting and wanting what you have is probably the most reliable and consistent method of the two.  This doesn’t mean that we give up or settle for less in our lives; acceptance means practicing contentment moment to moment with what we have (whether that moment is one to be fully savored or one you choose to change down the road).  Neither savoring nor making conscious change in our lives is truly possible without first accepting the experience for what it is.  Without acceptance, we are like children pressing our faces on the glass windows of a candy shop, at the edges of our existence and not fully living. 

Below are some suggested areas for practicing acceptance (adapted from author Victoria Morgan). 

1.  Ourselves – height, age, marital status, disposition, health, overall appearance.

2.  Our Past – family history, hurts, disappointments, regrets, nostalgia about the good ol’ days and how much better things were years ago.

3.  Our Present – where we live, our occupation, our income, who is sharing (or isn’t sharing) our present with us.

4.  Other People – those who may or may not accept us for who we are, those who know us best and those whom we know the most about. 

5.  Uncontrollable Circumstances- death, taxes, the weather, traffic patterns, the antics and salaries of celebrities.

6.  Whatever comes, in each moment – joy, sorrow, anger, fatigue, wonderment, surprise, just to name a few. 

My suggestion is for you to review this list and choose just one thing this week you would like to bring your awareness of acceptance toward.  If you benefit from journaling, this is the perfect topic to explore through some writing time.  I’d love to hear what you choose – please email me with your acceptance growth-edges and any questions you may have. 

The bottom line in regard to acceptance is this:  The more you accept, the greater your energy and clarity for living grows.  When you accept, you are free to change some things, probably more than you believed possible.  In the process, you are bound to experience more contentment and – who knows, even more happiness along the way!

Personal Reflections

Flexing My Flexibility Muscle

Our trip last week to the Pacific Northwest was glorious!  I savored the sights of mountains, crystal clear lakes and communing with the largest, most majestic trees I have ever encountered……truly a special time.  Probably my favorite moment was meeting the enormous wet eyes of a seal that popped up next to my kayak and watching her swim around me playfully before again submerging into the deep cold waters of Puget Sound.

Was the trip what we had planned on or anticipated?  Not at all. In fact, the entire journey was an exercise for me to be flexible and go with the flow.  Each day was another opportunity to release preferences and expectations.  Sometimes the weather didn’t cooperate with our plans and intentions; yet, in the rain, we wore our raingear and I discovered that I love to hike in the rain!  We were unable to camp in the deepest wilderness due to the weather conditions, however.  That was a tough one for me to let go of as I had dreamed of that experience for months.  Again, through letting go I could enjoy the alternatives more fully.

We also coordinated our travels with a delightful couple we are fortunate to call our dear friends.  The delight of traveling with others also signals a greater need for compromise and negotiation. That is not always easy for me, with all-too-clear ideas of my preferences and wishes.  Yet throughout the journey, opening myself up to what each day offered rather than grasping for what I couldn’t have, I experienced unexpected joyous moments and a new kind of freedom. 

May you find the path that allows you to joyfully go with the flow of your life.

To your wellness,
Lori

About Lori

Dr. Lori Boothroyd is known as the “Coaching Psychologist”. She has served her clients and students well over the years through integrating her knowledge from earning a Ph.D. in psychology, as well as her advanced training in coaching and wellness psychology. Appreciated for her warmth and down-to-earth style as much as her expertise, Lori is a dynamic speaker, author and coach. She lives in Traverse City, Michigan with her husband, Dr. Gregory Boothroyd.

For a complimentary coaching consult, to inquire about programs or to ask any questions, please email: lori@loriboothroyd.com