Day of GRIT: #1 of 28
METRICS: Posterior Chain Palooza F2 Finisher: Abs-travaganza F2
CONTEXT: “StoryAthlete Finds a Way…”
I have been in GRIT long enough that my heroic self seems to have a new voice whenever my lesser self comes up with an excuse for whatever I am resisting to do. That voice is Jocko Willick. “GOOD! Now whatcha gonna do about it?” I may drag my sorry butt some days, and my form of committed may require a white coat that ties behind the back, but that voice spurs me on the get past excuses and just get er done.
Quite often I get past whatever hurdle I am facing that day, and think to myself, “why the resistance? That wasn’t so bad as I anticipated and the feeling of accomplishment is way better than resistance and regret”.
Day of GRIT: 2# of 28
METRICS: 5K Day Finisher (Total Body KB/DB Circuit) F2
CONTEXT: “I Master My Chosen Craft…”
My craft would be energy healing. I am a Reiki Master teacher in the Usui Traditional Reiki lineage. I am certified in many other energy healing modalities as well. But I would never claim to be a true master of my craft because we are constantly learning and I am constantly adding to my skills.
I feel this is the same about life. We constantly and continuously learn. When we stop learning, we die.
It is said that a truly wise person is one who will admit that there is always something more to learn. It doesn’t matter what craft we chose, I don’t think we ever arrive at the end of learning.
I could just be a Jackie of all trades, but my chosen area of craft is energy healing. I have taken the required classes and courses to earn the designation of Master, but I still have a ways to go in learning and applying more knowledge through personal experiences. Personal experience is knowledge you cannot earn thru a textbook. It must come with time and patience.
Day of GRIT: #3 of 28
METRICS: 12 MOD Finisher F2
CONTEXT: “I Know Nothing’s Permanent…”
Feelings are fleeting. When we spend time with loved ones, we can be happy and relaxed, or elated and laughing til our sides hurt. When we have a falling out with our best friend, or a co-worker betrays us in some way, or, God forbid, we lose a loved one to death, all of these feelings of sadness and grief can linger for a while. We can even get stuck in depression for a time.
But I know through my experiences as an energy balancing practitioner, that nothing is permanent. Change is the only constant and we ride the roller coaster of life through ups and downs until the day we slide sideways into our graves having hung on for the ride all along.
I lived with nightmares for over 20+ years of my life. Daytime was a land mine of triggers for me. I could not see the future in any kind of bright way. Thankfully, after a mental breakdown at work where I broke out in hives, hyper ventilating with severe anxiety, I managed to make some changes in my life that led me to the peaceful bright future that I enjoy now.
Nothing is ever permanent, yet I know that I can overcome the not so nice parts of life and create more of the positive side than to ever have to endure any of the past again.
Day of GRIT: #4 of 28
METRICS: Upper Body-Complex-a-Palooza F2 Finisher F2
CONTEXT: “I Know My True North…”
I have been in business several years and thankfully have gained enough of a reputation to have a steady flow of clients coming in, whether regular or new. Since most of my business is online and international, I have had business cards to give out and to leave on community boards when I have been on road trips. I keep a few in my purse for those impromptu chats with strangers along my travels. CJ’s context today was a little jolt. I have been running low on cards, but I have not had it high on my priority list to actually redesign and reorder some.
I only recently put an intake question in my scheduler asking “would you like to share how you heard about Ladybug Wellness?”. Answer is optional, but I have had some pretty interesting answers lately and I realize that my reputation is preceding me in ways I did not realize. Some have seen my public bench over by the firehall a few blocks away. Some have been referrals through friends or other clients, and some from the forums and groups I participate in.
No matter the reason or the referral that clients book in with me, it is humbling to know that I have gained a decent reputation of serving my clients in the best way I know how and my work has been beneficial for them. Energy balancing is my passion and it all comes from a pure heart intention, yet it is a powerful and effective method of healing on all levels of being. I suppose this is why I always defer to Dr Brad’s famous line, “I just work here”.
Day of GRIT: #5 of 28
METRICS: Legs ‘n stuff F2 Finisher F2
CONTEXT: ” I Decide What My Name Stands For… “
What is in a name? A few years ago, I learned and realized that our name carries a ton of energy all of its own. If you are named after someone, or if you have a common name, you can carry all the joint energies from another person who has the same name. Family or surnames can carry the energies of family patterns all through the lineages. If you’ve been married and taken on a different name, then gotten divorced, you can have all that associated energies connected with that name even if you are not using that name anymore. It is still part of your personal history and character.
I have also found that it is super important to have your name completely cleared of detrimental energies and then completely grounded and connected sovereignly to you so all other energy balancing will be effective for you. It is kinda like hospital records. You want to make sure you have that particular person and not just someone with the same name before you start “energy surgery”. Even more fascinating is that some practitioners are adept at picking up the inflections of how you say your name to find the energetic imbalances there.
When I first started clearing my name, I found some pretty interesting residual energies associated with childhood trauma, past divorces and detrimental family patterns. All of these energies can, and did, affect how I showed up in the world, and how I “projected” my reputation and character to others. We are always a work in progress, but I can tell you that since I did the majority of clearing my name, my life and my “reputation”, changed drastically for the better.
Day of GRIT: #6 of 28
METRICS: Much needed stretch day.
CONTEXT: I know Quit is a parasite.
Happy Mother’s day. Generally a happy day to celebrate all the nurturing people out there who have held the title of “mother” in any capacity.
Generally a happy day for all, and yet for some not so much, as celebrations are a huge reminder of awful memories.
I have accomplished much in my life, because I keep forging on and have never been a quitter. You know, that wonderful Taurus redhead determination, otherwise called stubbornness. I suppose it depends on the end goal which word I choose there.
I have healed myself so much that I overcame PTSD from childhood trauma. I have been an energy balancing practitioner for several years. Get me chatting about energy healing and I will not shut up about all the benefits as it is my passion in life.
Yes energy balancing and spiritual soul work can change lives for the better. But there is still a dark area to understand. We cannot override free will. We cannot help or heal someone who is not open to this work. Our hands are just tied. No way, no how.
And this is where the dark area of my own life continues to be a painful reminder that miracles are possible yet still cannot override others free will.
Back in February, one of our 4 cats started peeing in the furnace vents. Lots of money to fix that issue. Because I am fully open to energy healing, I hired an animal communicator to talk to Niko. She was feeling pretty low then. Animals have feelings so we tried everything suggested to help her. Things got better for a while. Zoomer died in March. He was 19 years old. We all have felt that loss in different ways. A few days ago I realized that Niko has been peeing in the vents again. This is NOT acceptable when we have two wellness businesses being run out of my home. (My energy balancing and Melissa’s reflexology). Not to mention the health issues from dirty air. We are addressing the physical issues asap again with home repairs and heavy duty cleaning. But the problem cat has been part of our family a few years now.
There is more behind this though. You see, Niko is actually Rae’s cat. When she left Larry in January 2016, Niko had already been having mental health issues and became even more depressed and withdrawn. Rae didn’t take Niko with her, and Larry asked me to take Niko home with me. Rae has held this as another point of contention between as accusing me of “stealing” her cat. Oh, and did I mention she has also accused me of sleeping with her ex? Yes, the father of my grandchildren. Despite me trying to explain to her that that accusation is NOT true, she continues to hold that against me.
Larry died in October 2018. He had been my connection to the grandchildren, and since he has been gone, my contact with my grandchildren has been sporadic and strained, and only on Rae’s terms.
Back to Niko. I did a bunch of energy healing and she had been a happy kitty for a long time, until recently. So, I hired the pet communicator again. Things did not go well at all this time. Niko feels she no longer fits in to our family and is also blocking any healing energy from me to try and correct any issues here. There is nothing more I can do, but I am obligated to ask Rae her wishes of what to do with “her” cat if Niko no longer wants to be here. Niko does not want to go back there, yet she agreed to let me ask Rae her decision.
After the pet communicator call, I texted Rae “Happy Mother’s day”, even though she has not responded to any text for her birthday or Christmas wishes since October. She replied. She wants her cat back and reiterated her accusations of stealing her cat in the first place, and her accusation of my involvement with Larry. (I’ll spare you the exact cruel words).
So my Mother’s day has resulted in some tears obviously:
My estranged daughter still hates me and is adamant of her untrue accusations. I have not had any kind of contact with 3 of my grandchildren since last June 2020.
My “soul connection” closeness with my son in law has been accused of something akin to “incest” of sorts. (Anyone who knows my back story, would know that is the cruelest accusation ever!).
Larry was my SON in law, the father of my grandkids. He used to call me mom. One of the most inconsiderate and cruelest things that anyone has said to me since he passed away is “he wasn’t really your son”. No, I didn’t birth him, but I don’t feel anyone has a right to define the relationship and the degree of love between two people who assume a nurturing and caring position and the title of “Mom”.
I feel like a horrible cat mom because Niko is now out of my hands in any kind of protection and assistance to her well being and future. And my attempts of energy and spiritual healing are of no use there. She will just be going back to Rae now. I can’t imagine that her home there will be the calm and peaceful life she hopes for.
Despite this horrible dark area of my life that I cannot just “fix” because there are factors and free will out of my control, I still have 3 other adult children and 2 grandchildren here. I need to focus on them and appreciate Mothers day for their sake. Being a mother is like having your heart walk outside your body, in many different pieces when you have a large family. Parts of my heart are broken and I don’t know if those pieces will ever be repaired.
But I am not a quitter. Quitting is a parasitic energy I will not allow in my personal energy field. So, today I am using my GRIT context as a therapeutic writing release, and I will pick up the pieces of what I can and do control. Keep working on ME, regroup and keep going. Because that is what a GRIT warrior does…
Quote today from Dr Richard Barlett, Matrix Energetics. A variation of the well known serenity prayer:
God grant me the grace to accept the things I cannot change and the power to change the things I cannot accept.
Day of GRIT: #7 of 28
METRICS: 12 MOD Finisher- Hill Sprints F2. No suitable hills close by so used stairs instead.
CONTEXT: I Don’t Harbor Anger…
Taurus redhead not harboring anger? Well… I can tell you I have been through some stages of my life where I was fit to be tied up in a straight jacket. This is still an area of work for me. I can be super nice and compassionate and sweet, your best friend ever. But cross me once and I have had a reputation of making someone feel less than pond scum, just through words.
I know this is not the best response to any given situation so this is a continued thing I work on in myself energetically to find all those past conflicts and resolve them so they are not triggers in my future. For the most part, I think I am doing very well with that so I don’t think I bury and harbor anger as much as I used to. It still comes up in energy sessions though.
Ironically, my post yesterday was about a lot of tears about a situation in my life. That is definitely a situation where in the past I was absolutely livid. I suppose my tears now are testament to the efforts of the work on myself. Instead of being triggered to immediate anger and reaction, I now just have tears of acceptance of a situation out of my control. Small steps of progress.
Day of GRIT: #8 of 28
METRICS: Posterior Chain Palooza F2 Finisher: Abs-travaganza F2
CONTEXT: “I Operate to Capture Attention…”
So often I see advertisements that are freaking annoying and it takes me back to Consumer Education class in high school where we learned about the concept that the more annoying an advertisement is, the more it will stick in your brain like a painful earworm. But the theory is also that you will think of that brand ad first when you are going to purchase the advertised product. I am pretty sure that jilted me to this day and I purposely avoid those products or any support to that brand, just out of spite.
On the other hand, I have seen some advertisements that seem completely genuine in catching your eye, and drawing in the attention span long enough to find out what the product is. Sometimes I find out the product and am completely disappointed that I have no interest in the product, or that the advertising exaggerated the enticement in their ad.
There are few and far in between ads that I come across that are genuine and are a product or service that I would actually act on purchasing. I guess I am a tough sell.
For these reasons, I find it difficult to put myself out there in such a way to try to capture attention. Another area that needs improvement for me. I would like to be the genuine person who has an authentic service to provide, and I think I succeed there, it is just my lack of confidence in effective advertising that needs work.
I do rely on my web designer to keep my website looking professional and user friendly. I make an effort to provide relevant and useful information in my newsletters, and I share all of my GRIT writings in my website, along with a few on Facebook. It took a lot of work on myself to get a YouTube channel going. I am getting there, and so far the feedback I have received from my clients and readers has been positive.
Day of GRIT: #9 of 28
METRICS: 5K Day Finisher (Total Body KB/DB Circuit) F2
CONTEXT: “I Believe in Myself…”
Coming from a past of overcoming childhood trauma, I know too well the feelings of worthlessness, insecurity, fears, shame, guilt and a barrage of other low vibration feelings. I also know the lack of faith in myself to go on in life, the wanting to give up and just close my eyes and shut off the world. I had children though. Small souls dependant on me, and too much fears of actual death. Yes some pretty low points many moons ago. But I survived those lonely nights in the dark nights of my soul. I am still here. I still have a box of prayer cards I bought back in 1988. Those bible serves carried me though many lonely nights and gave me hope.
At some point it finally clicked and I understood how much I had survived in my own mental torture and replays of past scenarios through nightmares. Once I started facing those fears, they fell away quickly and life changed drastically.
I know those things happened, yet none of it triggers or bothers me anymore. With overcoming and survival came a sense of believing in myself. My future could never be what was in my rear view ever again. Fast forward to now, I can look back on my bucket list of facing fears and challenging myself and making memories. Life is grand when we start believing in ourselves.
Day of GRIT: #10 of 28
METRICS: 12 MOD Finisher F2
CONTEXT: “I Am Insanely Strategic…”
Some days I read the daily context and my brain glitches. Today is one of those days. Insane? Well, my kids and I used to love that Napoleon Dynamite song, “They’re coming to take me away haha” because it fits our family dynamics for that thin fine line of insanity. Strategic? Honestly, my form of strategic in years past has been how to dodge life’s curveballs in such a way as to avoid the looney bin.
Those are my first thoughts yet I can look back on my life with some level of amusement. I have not introduced myself as “the crazy redhead” for quite some time. There are not so many hotspots and triggers in my life now as there used to be. And without the previous unpredictable landmines of trauma triggers, I can look forward to the future a little further ahead. This is what is needed to be strategic.
I have always admired chess players and logic brain puzzles, yet the strategy and skill required are so above my sense of comprehension. This is something I can always strive towards learning in the company of mentors though.
Day of GRIT: #11 of 28
METRICS: Upper Body-Complex-a-Palooza F2 Finisher F2
CONTEXT: “Heroism Is Required…”
A many times through my life people have told me to wrote my story. I finally had that opportunity back in 2017 to write a condensed chapter of my life in an anthology book. Mission accomplished, yet I know I will write more of a full version some day.
Anyway, when I finally got up enough nerves to create a YouTube channel, one idea was to read my story on a video. I did and I posted it. The next day, one of my close friends called me to tell me that although she knew me, she knew my story, she had read my story… There was just something different about hearing and watching me read my story on that video. She said she cried through it all. Ugh. It was supposed to be inspiring, not to make her cry.
She explained that the video made my story just so much more vulnerable and real. I can accept that.
Day of GRIT: #12 of 28
METRICS: Legs ‘n stuff F2 Finisher F2
CONTEXT: “I Never Stop Learning… “
Back in high school, I took some sort of career test that suggested my best job after high school would be working in a factory line. At the time, I am sure that well suited me as my life was pretty stressed with being a teen mom and getting married at age 18. Ironically I did end up in a monotonous job for 26 years. I used to joke that I could almost do my job in my sleep and I loved the 6 to 2 shift because I could wake up at home time and have the rest of the day for me and my plans.
I was always reading articles and books, expanding my knowledge in mostly nonfiction and self help type literature. I would also take courses here and there as I could possibly arrange while raising four children.
When my once wonderful job started taking its toll on my own mental health, it was time to step into Plan B with going back to school to earn an Associate of Arts degree with Psychology concentration. Alongside these mainstream courses and working full time while raising teenagers, I started taking energy balancing related courses and alternative healing courses.
I am still learning. I participate in several practitioner forums. I network and connect people and information. The more I learn and apply my new and ongoing knowledge, the better I can serve my clients, friends, and family.
Stagnancy and boredom are a tragedy to me so I never stop learning and I keep life interesting.
Day of GRIT: #13 of 28
METRICS: Sunday-Stretch-a-Palooza
CONTEXT: “I Struggle Well…”
I struggle well most days. My problem is with consistency. I also argue about balance. I can eat healthy overall, but then I have no problem devouring a chocolate bar or a piece of cheesecake and calling it a balanced diet.
I also have been known to say that “diet” is “die” with a “t”.
I figure as long as I am more steps forward than backward, at least I am in forward dance mode. It’s the dance that keeps life interesting.
Day of GRIT: #14 of 28
METRICS: 12MOD Finisher- Hill Sprints F2
CONTEXT: I Awaken the Giant Within…
I thought I had it made back when I was 23 with two small kids and landed a “good government job”. After being on social assistance off and on, yes that was a good job that helped raise my family through two divorces and all sorts of personal drama. That job, for a long time, was the only stable thing in my life. Until management and office politics changed and the whole place became a toxic environment. So much so that quiet little Jackie was pushed to the breaking point with the latest micromanaging policies and forced overtime, and an exhausted overheated body.
On April 23 2008, I had quite a mental breakdown at work, in front of a supervisor and several co-workers. I broke out in hives and was hyperventilating. I went straight to the doctor and was given 3 months off work.
In that time, I re-evaluated my life purpose, my priorities, and my work to family balance. Although I had always had an interest in psychology, courses never worked out in my schedule before.
I started taking night courses, which led me on a path towards energy psychology as well. Plan B was in motion. I always thought I would die at that job, but I never meant it to be a reality as it seemed to be becoming. Ironically, it was today’s date 5 years ago, May 17 2016, when I turned in my early retirement notice. The universe had more plans for me and there is more to the story of how that notice got revised and moved up substantially from October 14 2016 to June 22 2016. Once I was out the door, I never looked back and my life soared to where I am now in living my passion as an energy practitioner.
Heaven sends a feather, and if you’re not listening, you’ll get a brick. If you’re like me, and still not listening, you’ll get a Mack truck. Better to awaken the giant within through other means because the Mack truck is not recommended as a comfortable transition to a better life lol.
Day of GRIT: #15 of 28
METRICS: Posterior Chain Palooza F2 Finisher: Abs-travaganza F2
CONTEXT: “I Am Misunderstood…”
I have always been misunderstood and seemingly in a world of my own. My roots may have influenced much of my life in misunderstandings. You see, I had quite a contentious relationship with my father all of my life, until he passed in 2014.
He was totalitarian and did not like it when I stood up to him and called him out for crossing my boundaries years ago. He had disowned me for 8 years at one point, until my sister’s wedding when he tried to keep contact with me again. So many misunderstandings and judgments from him that finally drove me to make a public post on Facebook. That whole post went straight down the toilet no matter how I tried to keep it respectful. My father’s tirades and judgments were now all out for the world to see.
That public post cleared up a whole lot of misunderstandings with many of my childhood friends who always “knew” something was wrong, but now everything made sense. He passed away 2 weeks later. Our final words were harsh, but a sense of closure with the soul mentor I had through him in this life. It doesn’t made the relationship we had with our parents. When they pass, we grieve. And I did. It was a period of confusion, grief, and enlightenment of the previous horrors overshadowing the good things I had learned from him.
Through all my experiences in GRIT, I have shared more and more of my personal stories in my website. I have now moved that entire post and comments to my website rather than social media. I had received so many personal messages back then that I now share that story with others as a source of inspiration that if I can overcome that kind of past, others can too.
Day of GRIT: #16 of 28
METRICS: 5K Day Finisher (Total Body KB/DB Circuit) F2
CONTEXT: “I Am Wired to Live…”
In Body Code there is a term called “Spirit out of Body”. This is an energetic imbalance that is caused by a car accident, a fall, or an extreme emotional stress. Basically an event that jolts your spirit out of your body, literally, but energetically. The feeling that comes with this imbalance is feeling ungrounded or out of sorts.
There is also a term called “No Will to Live” which shows up where there has been an event of severe depression, or embarrassment. Those times when you “could just die” can create this imbalance.
Several years ago I was working with a practitioner and learning about Body Code as we worked together. As a practitioner she could only bring up the imbalance and possibly a date or age of the event.
She told me I had a “No will to live” at age 16. I knew exactly what that was. I was seven months pregnant and all sorts of things were going wrong. I was pretty down and I remember sitting on the edge of the bathtub staring at my father’s razors. Thankfully I didn’t act on those depressed feelings because I had a baby dependent on me for life.
Next, I had a Spirit out of Body imbalance from age 18. Yup, I knew exactly what that was too. I got married to my baby’s father then. He had gotten a DUI 3 months before the wedding and my parents wanted to cancel the wedding, but I was defiant that I wanted to get out of the house so I went through with the wedding. My new husband got plastered drunk at the reception and I ended up in tears in the bathroom with my Maid of Honor and her friend. That night, we had a huge fight and he slept on the couch. That all should have been some huge red flags but I realized that mistake too late. It took me 10 years and three more kids before I finally got my head on straight enough to realize that marriage was stagnant and never going anywhere.
It still took me a while before I managed to get my life on an uphill track, but I did it and I have overcome much of that past all thanks to balancing my energy and eradicating those past trapped emotions and energies that were holding me back from a life worth living.
Day of GRIT: #17 of 28
METRICS: 12 MOD Finisher F2
CONTEXT: “I Know Love Is Stronger…”
There are so many studies out there that have proven that particularly babies and the elderly can die from neglect and loneliness. With so many restrictions in different areas of the world, there have been many people dying for various reasons, and not being allowed to have their loved ones with them in their final days and moments.
Where are all the numbers being tallied for all the mental health issues, the overdoses, and the suicides that have been the result of being cooped up and alone?
Human beings are social animals. The most basic needs of a human are acceptance and touch, and the feeling of love. There have been many sentiments and opinions shared over the last 18 months. The one I agreed with most, is that if death is to be my fate, I would rather die of the disease than of loneliness.
I am fortunate that my immediate family agrees and we keep our bubble small, and hug lots.
Day of GRIT: #18 of 28
METRICS: Upper Body-Complex-a-Palooza F2 Finisher F2
CONTEXT: “I Build Resilience…”
In my published story, I explain my favorite analogy of trauma. Each time we have a major upset, these events are stored in glass bottles in our memory bank. When another upset happens, all the bottle fall again and smash on the floor. Over time we get better at cleaning up the messes, but the landmine of triggers remains.
When we start on a real healing path of processing all the unresolved trauma and disconnecting the emotional charge from these, we can finally store those memories in Plexiglass bottles, and close the storage room door once and for all. No more landmine of triggers and any new upsets in life won’t have nearly the same degree of oblivion as the triggered memories.
This is my way of building the best kind of resilience.
Day of GRIT: #19 of 28
METRICS: Legs ‘n stuff F2 Finisher F2
CONTEXT: ” I Encourage Myself… ”
It takes a long time to figure out the life lesson that we need to love and encourage ourselves in order to show others how to treat us. We’re all here with no life skills operating manual. We have been at the mercy of what our parents taught us with what they knew. Which probably wasn’t much, considering their learning came down from their parents.
This is the reason that networking and connection is so important to our personal growth. To surround ourselves with those who have gone before us and have learned life skills to share with us. Humans are social animals. But humans are also cruel S.O.B.s when they cater to their lower selves and just bump along thru life damaging anything in their path.
I am grateful that I found the path of energy healing as a sustainable self empowerment journey.
When it comes to love and encouragement, others can shower us with love and appreciation, but if we only love ourselves, say 10%, that is all the love that we be able to cross our barriers and walls. Thankfully, through energy balancing, I can find and balance the blocks that prevent me from loving and encouraging myself, and also the blocks that prevent me from connection, nurturing, and harmonious energies with the world outside myself.
This is, in my opinion and experience, the best method of encouraging myself.
Day of GRIT: #20 of 28
METRICS: Sunday-Stretch-a-Palooza
CONTEXT: “I Protect My Reputation…”
My client intake form asks for minimal information because I don’t need much for details to work with a client, and they can keep their privacy as well. Recently though, I decided to re-add an optional question “would you like to share how you heard about Ladybug Wellness?”. The answers have been interesting.
Several years ago, before I had an online scheduler, I had much less of a client base and many clients came to me through the “six degrees of separation”, or more like, one to two degrees. They saw an ad, heard about me through one of my friends, or came across my website somehow.
These days when I have several clients just booking in and they are all over the place, it is interesting for me to find out they have been referred through a family member or friend in another country, or saw one of my comments or posts in one of my forums.
I truly am grateful for where ever my clients come from, and I do my best to serve them in the best way possible. One important way that I do that is to protect my own energy by working on me first, and to balance out any non beneficial energies I may be projecting out towards others.
Day of GRIT: #21 of 28
METRICS: 12 MOD Finisher- Hill Sprints F2
CONTEXT: “I Am a Producer…”
My website has been my outlet for the past 22 years. My little corner of the world wide web to share pretty much an online autobiography and any other musings that are meaningful to me. Much of what I share has been “Jackie’s Compilations”, but some is also writings from my own experiences. Since being in Story Athlete this past, I have started a more of a blog section for my own writings and musings.
I started a newsletter quite reluctantly 2 years ago. Through this time, I have found that there are some people out there who appreciate and even look forward to my newsletters. I find that quite encouraging and feel more inspired to serve when I know that someone somewhere might gain some benefit.
I also started a YouTube channel a year ago. Although started, and I have videos up, I also have not developed, produced or uploaded anything new in quite a while. Time to get back on the bandwagon there.
The one thing I really have trouble with is writing from the heart when it is a deeply personal topic. I have been wanting to put up a tribute page in my website for my son in law that passed 2.5 years ago. (OMG it’s been that long!!??). While I have some of it put together, I often end up in tears again when I try working on it. I am sure once it is done and up, you’ll understand why it has taken me so long. It will be heartfelt and beautiful tho.
Day of GRIT: #22 of 28
METRICS: Posterior Chain Palooza F2 Finisher: Abs-travaganza F2
CONTEXT: “I Am Capable…”
Back in 2009, after one of my energy courses finished for the day, our instructor introduced us to her investment advisors. I took their card and almost forgot about it until tax time when my previous tax preparer moved away. I dug out the card and called them. Terry and Jaymie have been my financial guardian angels ever since and have taken very good care of me.
I know how busy they are so I wanted to get my tax stuff more organized before taking it in to them. Jaymie made an Excel ledger of business expenses. For a few years, I would print it off and fill it in manually for him and I was not techie enough to figure out Excel on my own even though I had taken a computer programs course.
I keep saying I am not very techie, but I have been opening to learning and seem to plug away and learn as I go. When I do figure out something new I am like a kid at Christmas with feeling pretty excited.
This past year, I finally figured out how to use Excel more to my advantage with actually entering data on the computer into the Excel document myself. I know to some this may seem like I have been living in the dark ages, but I am pretty proud of myself, and I have now organized several years of business information in such a way that I can find it easily and also share with my accountant easily as well. Being this kind of organized makes things much more streamlined for me, takes a huge weight off my shoulders, and allows me to serve my clients even better.
I was so stressed out before the April 30 deadline this year, but I got through it and submitted my ledger via email to Jaymie. His response was “I see you are becoming a Master with Excel”.
May be a simple thing to anyone else but a huge feather in my cap!!!
Day of GRIT: #23 of 28
METRICS: 5K Day Finisher (Total Body KB/DB Circuit) F2
CONTEXT: “I Ask More Questions…”
Even though I took a whole bunch of courses to get certified in many different energy balancing modalities, it is my own intuition and experience over time that make my work absolutely fascinating.
Each and every session with each and every client is often full of surprises, and I am often just as confused and surprised as they are.
The key is in asking questions. you see, the subconscious mind is the body’s data bank of every single second of a person’s existence. It is also the energy body’s protective body guard, even when it comes to bad stuff. You see, our minds and bodies want to stay with the familiar. It doesn’t like change at all. When we do energy work to find imbalances that are creating dysfunction, the body is not always willing to give up information.
That is where the correct questions come in. When we ask a question, it is like sleuthing and the body must give an answer.
I may have several questions for any given situation that can find imbalances, but if I continue to ask questions and variations of those questions, we can find and balance a whole lot more and in turn serve my clients in the best way possible.
Day of GRIT: #24 of 28
METRICS: 12MOD Finisher F2
CONTEXT: “I Optimize the Process…”
About two years ago, I was really feeling overwhelmed with several years worth of email clutter. I started a mission to reduce that clutter and to optimize how I use email and communication with my clients. Thousands of emails to sift and search through to find the relevant information needed for a client session. Not at all effective or professional.
I finally figured out an efficient way to clean out the useless clutter, irrelevant newsletters, and mailing lists, and to efficiently file each client communication so I can easily find it all when I need it.
Recently I had a couple fairly new clients who were impressed that I “remembered” their last session notes and concerns. I just smiled and took in the compliment, secretly proud of myself that I have optimized my process well enough now that I can find it quickly and review in just minutes before a client call. This gives me the freedom to take care of my own needs and to expand to serve more clients effectively as well.
Day of GRIT: #25 of 28
METRICS: Upper Body-Complex-a-Palooza F2 Finisher F2
CONTEXT: “I Have a Moral Obligation…”
Years ago, I was at a metaphysical fair and chatted with a lady who reads birth charts. The event got busy so I didn’t get a chance to have a full reading with her, but she seemed intrigued with me and pulled up my birth chart anyway. She told me there was one super important thing I needed to know: that I have a gift to be able to help sexually abused young women to get off the street/ out of their abusive situations.
That bit of information got filed in the back of my mind until about a year ago when a conversation sparked that memory and I realized that is what I am doing these days with energy balancing. Although I don’t need details from my clients, I have often found that they have some sort of abusive situation in their past that they are in the process of overcoming.
Because this is my own back story of why I got into energy healing, I have a moral obligation to serve these clients and show them their unique path to empower their own lives like I did with my own life.
Day of GRIT: #26 of 28
METRICS: Legs ‘n stuff F2 Finisher F2
CONTEXT: ” I Know Happiness Is Not a Destination… ”
Back when I was in high school, there was a consumer education class that was mandatory on the curriculum. I am not sure if that is still a requirement these days, but I think it should be. In this class we learned about the law of supply and demand where if a product is scarce, you can easily drive up the price and make a lot of money. Contrarily, if a product is readily available and easily obtained, there are times you can’t even give it away.
That is one valuable concept I took away from that class. Years later I learned a bit about marketing. Find a problem that a person has, and cater to it. Make your offer urgent and scarce and you can make lots of money.
Ok, maybe that is not the whole thing about marketing, but it is one reason that I can smell a scam and a marketing spiel a mile away. Marketers play on your human nature and cater to problems, which can be a good thing, but who created the problem? How bad is the problem? and are there other solutions rather than the expensive solution glaring in your face?
In all areas of life, money is a driving force and can be the root behind all sorts of upsets when someone falls for these marketing spiels and ends up broke, which in turn affects their basic survival and relationships. It is a psychological nightmare until a person learns to empower themselves, lean on their own self reliance, and build effective reciprocal relationships with others.
The current marketing spiels promote that we won’t be happy until we resolve “x” problem with “this” particular solution or product. This fuels the whole idea that happiness is a future dated feeling that we must always strive for. The best explanation I found of this whole concept is the “The Story of Stuff” video where it explains how marketers created the American Dream after the world wars to stimulate the economy, but in doing so, they created a host of other problems both psychological and environmental.
Personally, I am not one to jump on the latest bandwagon of anything. I prefer to wait it out and see how others fare and then decide if “x” solution, product, or service is right for me. Referring back to yesterday’s context, I also feel I have a moral obligation to allow my clients to decide if my services are in their own unique best interests.
Happiness is not a destination, and it cannot be derived sustainably from the latest marketing promoted solutions. I believe that happiness is a fleeting feeling instead, and for me, I have found that energy balancing is the best solution to create self empowerment and joy in our lives.
For reference: https://www.storyofstuff.org/
Day of GRIT: #27 of 28
METRICS: Sunday-Stretch-a-Palooza
CONTEXT: “I Reflect on My Results…”
As I look back over the last year of the months I participated in GRIT, I can see how far I have come overall.
Mind, Body, Business, and Relationships have improved.
Relationships: The more I work on myself, the more I find that I am surrounded by beautiful like-minded souls. Yes I end up losing some stagnant relationships along the way at times, but this makes room for wonderful new connections that are truly aligned with my personal journey. I often refer to that saying “Friends come into our lives for a reason, season, or a lifetime. I find it fascinating how some people from my early life have come back into my life and they have grown much more aligned with a personal healing journey and in turn much more aligned with me. Others, unfortunately, do not choose a true healing path and the Universe has a way of having those relationships fall away rather than hold us back. Change is the only true constant.
Business: I was stressed to the gills at the end of April regarding my taxes and submitted my information just two days shy of the deadline. I have not done that in years!!! Thankfully I have discovered and finally learned how to use Excel to my advantage to file all sorts of information which in turn has helped clean up all my email clutter and many computer files. I know this seems kinda silly to someone else who may understand techie stuff way better than me, but I seriously feel like a kid at Christmas with a new toy and I am running circles with it now!! Cleanliness and organization is such a wonderful feeling. This helps me to be able to find information much faster, to serve my clients much more efficiently as well. Have you ever heard of the age old advice to always bet on the dog or horse that does its business at the starting gate? Ya. When you let go of all the crap, you gain energy and momentum like never before. This is what I am feeling like now. Bring on the world!!
Body: In this area, I have only gained the effort put in. With only sticking to an F2 GRIT level, I have not shed any weight to speak of, but I have been doing some other things to cleanse my body. I have always known that an ulcer I had years ago was a cause of all this weight gain. I recently learned that the antibiotic package of horrendous horse pills used by the traditional medical for ulcer issues can actually cause weight gain. Not surprising and my stomach was so damaged after that experience. Our gut is our second brain, so that says a lot too.
I also recently learned that Slippery Elm is the Ayurvedic solution for an ulcer. Yes it is many years later, but I decided to try this out anyway as it claims to reduce inflammation in the body. I went through a bottle of Slippery Elm this past month and OMG! Brain fog is definitely gone! My body feels “cleaner” throughout my insides.
Mind: Since all of these aspects work together, and since my relationships, business, and body have improved, it is only due for the course that my mind has drastically improved as well. No more brain fog, more clarity in thinking, able to understand and execute new information. The daily GRIT context writing really stirs up my thoughts and gives me reason to write and share these thoughts. I try to keep up with reading my teammates contexts and this offers new perspectives for me that I can often apply to my own life. I have managed to clean up so much digital clutter that my mind no longer carries that guilt and confusion lending way being able to apply my mind power in other areas of life.
In all aspects, I feel like I continually ditch the anchors of life, that really are just mental blocks, and in turn, my entire life improves like a well oiled machine. Of course I still have some dark areas of life to work through, but my time in GRIT has certainly created a shining bright light at the end of the tunnel of life. Hope is what drives life, and I have an abundance of hope.
Day of GRIT: #28 of 28
METRICS: MAY GRIT FINAL WORKOUT: “KB Khaos” F2 Finisher: KB Swings + Burpee Ladder F2
CONTEXT: I Expect the Unexpected…
What I have learned over my years is that the more chaos and trauma around or within us, the more we need to keep things close to us constant and in control. This is my understanding of how OCD develops. It means Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Or it could mean Old Cranky and Demented too. Your choice.
The more we heal our inner selves and learn more effective coping skills to deal with the ups and downs of life, the more we can handle expecting the unexpected.
My sister nearly drowned when she was 3 years old. She is now 48 years old. She has the biggest heart ever, but she is developmentally challenged and has the mentality of a 10 year old most days. Remember the movie Rainman? My sister is not like that with the toothpicks in the movie, but the schedule… omg! Never mess with her schedule.
I grew up with this rigidity of keeping my sister’s schedule or having to negotiate any upsets with her. Then I raised 4 kids alone. Four different personalities on four different schedules at times. It is a wonder I didn’t end up in the loony bin. My saving grace, I think, is that I have learned to expect the unexpected and roll with life’s punches as gracefully as I can.