At a time when headlines of greed, corruption and identity theft have eroded trust, along comes a Manhattan advertising executive who hands over her credit card to an unemployed homeless man. Jaded spirits might think Merrie Harris, 45, to be a wee bit crazy trusting an absolute stranger, Jay Valentine,35, with her card. No doubt, it was a daring act of generosity, unwavering trust and a fine display of honesty and the noble actions of both giver and receiver.

When Valentine asked Harris for change and told her he wasn’t working, Harris said she only had a credit card. She asked, “Can I trust you?” Valentine replied, “I’m honest, yes.”

With that he bought items totaling about  $25 and returned a short time later with the card. Harris  hugged Valentine. She trusted him and expected its safe return.

Thank you Ms. Harris and Mr. Valentine (interesting connection to love) for demonstrating trust and honesty at a time when corruption, greed and mistrust are rampant. As Ms Harris said during her interview in today’s New York Post, “Are we only supposed to trust people we know? What would Bernie Madoff’s friends be saying?” What an example that shines brightly over the shadows of mistrust and dishonesty!

Valentine demonstrated his integrity with flying colors–life’s unending series of unexpected tests and big temptations. People witness how e handle life’s ever-present “pop quizzes.” With integrity and trust high on employers’ list these days, Valentine may have just landed himself a few job offers. Read More

By Marilyn Thompson of BeautyInDC.com

Q. Sandra what led you to become an author, speaker and coach?

A:  Perhaps that career path was paved by my early fascination with butterflies. As a kid, I spent summers chasing after them; the ultimate symbol of transformation. Life is all about movement, sometimes desired and other times dealing with the forces of change and that takes tools to manage all our dreams, desires and detours. Helping people take charge of their destinies and creating life in tune with their desires has been a lifelong pursuit—witnessing transformations by clarifying goals, getting out of comfort zones, overcoming obstacles, and building and sustaining nourishing relationships, and the thrill of achieving what some might consider impossible.

Writing, speaking and coaching are all connected—inspiring movement toward what is desired, and heeding those inner rumblings and awakenings to move in the direction of those desires. We often know, even if deep down and unspoken, what we need or want to do, but it may take reading something that resonates right down to your bones, or perhaps a story of a courageous soul who made choices to act that’s the starting point for change to happen. The speaking, writing and coaching are all tools for assisting those seeking greater well-being, in harmony with their inner vision. I think of them as needed power tools for shaping our destinies.

Q:  You speak about facing life’s challenges with resilience and courage. Would you share your journey?

A:  We all face life-changing times in our lives which will tap our inner resources, and we must hunker down and hang on through both planned as well as uninvited twists, turns and detours. Even as much as I had written and presented programs about the fragility of life, I was lulled by the illusion that life would simply carry me into my carefully crafted future. I embraced that life doesn’t always go according to our plans, but with my “take charge” philosophy never considered that mine wouldn’t go as I had envisioned. Then, bam! My plan, with all its expectations, exploded when my husband who was never sick in the nearly 30 years of knowing him, became acutely and mysteriously ill in 2004. He was stricken with so many symptoms that defied diagnosis, affecting both his body and brain. It was a terrifying journey into the unknown, suspended for an unbearable time without any answers. Ultimately the degenerative condition was linked to multiple and chronic exposure to environmental toxins and that has further fueled my passion to be of service supporting wellness and well-being. Read More

There are more than 80,000 chemicals in use in North America. Only a fraction have ever been tested individually for their impact upon humans. Pretty scary. That’s of great concern to many today who have awakened to the realities of 21st century.   I’m among them and wondering right now about the impact from the noxious  fumes being emitted from my brand new keyboard. The plethora of plastics is just one of the multiple sources of toxic exposure today.

Indeed, we’re living in a toxic stew and it’s brewing up plenty of health concerns. Presidential cancer advisers serving on the President’s Cancer Panel commented in their letter to President Obama, “The American people–even before they are born–are bombarded continually with myriad combinations of these dangerous exposures”  Among their many recommendations, increase, broaden and improve research regarding environmental contaminants and human health.

A recent Toxic America CNN special report highlighted growing daily exposure  from our lifestyle largely dependent upon chemicals:  storage containers, food wrap, cookware, carpets, shower curtains, clothes, personal care products, electronics, bedding . . .”In short, every room in almost every house in the United States is likely to contain at least one of these chemicals, many of which did not exist a century ago.”

Paula-Baillie-Hamilton, MD, PhD, author of Toxic Overload has long tracked the impact of this toxic trail.  “Our bodies were never designed to protect against this chemical onslaught. As a result, our systems usually fail to process and remove most of the chemicals once they have entered our bodies, so their levels start building up in us. Consequently, every single human on the face of the earth is now permanently contaminated with these modern synthetic chemicals.” Read More

On this Independence Day are you celebrating your freedom to design your life the way you want and fortunate to be living it; or are you feeling perhaps a bit, or maybe even very stuck, trapped in situations you’d like an immediate escape route?

The energy of freedom creates a mindset of unlimited options–the world is your oyster and the pearls are countless possibilities. Contrast that to feeling trapped–like the oyster shell itself, it’s confining in living within restrictions,  few choices except the attitudes you choose to hold. Feeling stuck is energy-draining, emotionally taxing, and keeps you bound in limitation. It might make you scream, “Get me outta here!  How long will this go on?!! Venting is good. Even a cathartic scream helps for a time.

Today I’ve received several calls and emails from friends who are stuck right now in circumstances beyond their control–aging parents requiring constant care, responsibilities that cannot be delegated,  jobs not yet materialized, relationships that no longer work with complex legal entanglements to free them.  Each offers a unique opportunity to develop greater patience, which is a true test when thrust into circumstances you cannot change for an unbearable endurance run.  What can you do to sustain your spirits when feeling stuck? Read More

Are you in the gap, the space of not yet experiencing the life situation of your dreams? I think of dreams as the glitter–the ideas that spark our passions, the bright spots that we envision will light up our future. The “gold” is the achievement of the goal, the dream, our heart’s desire. The gap is all that percolates in between the desire and the achievement of it.

When I’m in that gap, I have to go to work on my thoughts, my feelings, my frustrations and fears. I can’t dwell on the ones that don’t serve my desires; they’ll just keep me stuck in places I don’t want to be. Some things are within my ability to change, but some are not. That’s when I have to remember to “allow”, and replace all those thoughts of how badly I want something, how much I wish things would change, how much better life would be if that dream would hurry up and materialize, to allowing things to be as they are in that slice of life.

Recognizing that some things are not within my power to change, I focus on allowing them the space they’re already taking up in my reality.  It stops the resistance, the gnashing and thrashing as I allow it as part of my life in that slice of time, embracing rather than resisting it.

My daughter, Stephanie, per my last post, with a dream of being part of the entertainment industry, ventured her way to Hollywood earlier this month, where things do glitter and turn to gold for talented souls who hold firm in their resolve. The wait can be torturous, unable to fast forward through the discomfort, frustration and fears. Allowing things to be as they are, and not entertaining thoughts of giving in to them or giving up the dream, fuels determination and persistence–the grit of every desired role or experience of life.

Sometimes the hardest thing about making a change is to get going in the direction of whatever you desire–whether it’s taking steps to make a bold career move, making healthier food choices, or striking up a conversation with someone. In coaching people to facilitate the process of desired experiences,  it’s often in overcoming the reluctance to taking risks that holds people back. While it may be safe in your comfort zone of “what is”, it’s not stirring up the passions that you hold in your heart. Those nudgings from the heart speak your unmistakable truth of all the wishes you may not give voice to but that doesn’t diminish their desire.  Pay attention to them and the clues which accompany them, helping you to choose to get going.

Those clues might be as veiled as overhearing a conversation, a book that a stranger left on a bus, or noting your feelings upon reading or hearing about others achieving your often secret desires. They strike chords within of what you needed to hear or see to finally say “Yes! That’s it! I’m ready! When the “Yes!” choice is made, the guts to take action rise up to support you to get on with life as you’d rather experience it. You probably don’t have the plans in place yet, but you do have the vision of what’s vital for life support of your heart. When you share them, people may think you’re crazy for leaving a great paying job, a relationship that seemed to be “perfect”, or move away because something’s “calling” you (besides others calling you crazy!). The guts to get going rallies all sorts of resources. Read More