Introducing My First Book: Moonlight Gratitude

Read More

“Your book has a birthday. You don’t know what it is yet.” -Cheryl Strayed

I’ve had this quote above my desk for over 2 years. I would see it every day as I sat at my desk writing my heart out. I would visualize my book in my hands and seeing my name in print. I would go into bookstores and stand with my eyes closed imagining seeing my book on their tables and shelves.

My creative gestation clock was ticking loud and clear…I wanted to give birth to a book!

I spent most of 2015 sending book proposals out to literary agents and publishers with no luck. There were some responses. One even asked me to send the first 50 pages. That year was spent in a whirlwind of hoping, anxiety and creativity. By the end of the year I had felt rejected more that I cared to feel and put my manuscript away. I realized that I had lost the joy and passion and needed to take a break.

So, on January 1, 2016. I took a break from trying to get published and just focused on coaching and writing blog posts. I was happy to find my passion reignited and excited to spend time creating once again.

Then one day, January 27th to be exact, I received an email from the contact form on my website:

Hello I am an editorial director…I am looking for someone to work with to create a moonlight meditations book. If you would be interested in a project like this please email me at the above address. From reading through your website it seems like you would be a perfect fit.

I read it over and over. Was this real?! I googled the publisher and sure enough they were real. I couldn’t believe it!

My book’s birthday is March 15, 2017. It is beautiful and filled with words that came alive right below that quote that kept my hope alive. Snow Seychelle illustrated the cover and parts of the book with her beautiful underwater art. I am obsessed with whales and the moon and when I saw that the art included whales and the moon, I could not believe how perfect the pairing was. Everything came together so beautifully.

I wrote parts of the book in the desert, in mexico, at home, by the ocean and among the trees in Washington. I carried a notebook with me everywhere to capture inspiration as it came. And then one day, I had a finished manuscript and sent it off to be created.

My hope with this book is that at the end of the day, it can bring some calm and mindfulness. I suffered from insomnia throughout college and remember the anxiety of sleepless nights. I am grateful for that time because it gave me the empathy to write each passage.

Our trials can blossom into beautiful things.

I remember the day I saw my book on Amazon. I gasped. It was actually a real book. Then, last week I received an advanced copy. Finally holding the book was exciting and seeing my name on the cover was surreal. After so many years of dreaming, my dream came true and was in my hands.

You can find it on pre-sale at Barnes and Noble and Amazon. If you or anyone you know deals with daily stress, anxiety or lack of sleep, this book is meant to bring calm and mindfulness into your day. Please pre-order a copy today and share with friends.

Love and peace,

Emily

Snow Moon

Read More

In the depths of winter, a stillness takes over. Snow falls, covering the ground like a blanket. All is white. Even sound is muffled by the snow’s insulation. Layers are worn to protect from the cold and keep warmth inside. The snow remains as long as the temperatures stay low. Winter is the time for shorter days and colder nights.

Snow provides a beautiful stillness.

Tonight is the full snow moon. The cold of winter has lingered and many of us have gone inward; into our homes and into our thoughts. We have put on layers to protect ourselves from the cold as well as emotional walls to keep others out. Some intentionally and other without a thought. Our defenses go up and keep things from getting in, muffling the voices and emotions that want to get through.

The snow moon is the time to notice where these walls are taking place, where the cold lingers and as a few important questions…

What is being muffled, muted or quieted?

  • Is it your voice trying to say the things your heart is dying to articulate?
  • Do you keep up a wall in order to protect your heart from being hurt?
  • Have past hurts caused a cooling down of your desires?

The beautiful thing about the snow is that underneath, growth is still occurring. In the spring, melted snow reveals that life goes on despite the cold. No matter what layer you have put on to insulate you from pain, growth is still taking place.

In order to recognize the transition, melting has to occur. Sometimes this can look like forgiveness, understanding or love. We may need to offer these to ourselves or to others. When forgiveness and love takes place, something melts. Hearts are opened and free to express. All the thoughts that swirl in our heads can lay to rest. There is no more room for bitterness, cold or judgment.

Understanding comes from opening the heart and mind.

Tonight is the perfect time to set an intention to allow melting to occur around the walls you have built. If there are emotions that need to be expressed, express them. If there are words that need to be said, say them, or journal them if your voice can’t find it’s way yet. If your desires have been quieted, do something to add heat in that area of your life and let the melting surface the buried passion.

Growth takes time. Beautiful, strong and vibrant plants are the ones that take root despite the hardships. Spring is coming and the snow is slowly melting. Allow growth to take place and feel the warmth permeate all areas of your heart.

Vibrancy

Read More

Several years ago, I was driving down the street to work. The jacarandas were in bloom. There was a breeze creating a shower of beautiful, purple petals all the way down the street. At the end of the street was San Diego harbor. It was a dreamy morning. Everything was lined up to make beautiful day.

Everything except my energy. As I drove down the street, I felt the strangle of panic take over. My breathing became shallow and I started to hyperventilate. As I parked my car, tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t breathe. I allowed myself to sink deeper and deeper until I was paralyzed. I called in sick from the parking garage and drove home to cry.

Fast forward 6 years and I am driving down that same street and the conditions are exactly the same. I parked the car and stood underneath the sprinkle of jacaranda petals and smiled. The street was still the same. The trees were still offering their gift of beauty. The only thing that had changed was my mindset and the energy I was choosing to emit.

Think about how a lightbulb is able to shine. Energy flows through to emit light. The exchange of energy with a tiny filament can light an entire room. Cut off the energy and the room goes dim. That is amazing!

We too have the ability to allow energy to flow through us to emit vibrations that invite like towards us. For instance, the regular practice of gratitude creates more opportunities for gratitude. When we give love, it comes back. The same can be said with receiving gratitude and love. When we allow these vibrations to flow through us, we raise our frequency of vibration and therefore are more vibrant.

On the other hand, negative emotions can create the same effect within. A bad day can spiral into a bad week if we choose to dwell on it. The energy that it creates attracts things like commiseration, anxiety and stress. This is not to say that bad things won’t happen…but the energy we allow to flow through us will either brighten or dull our vibrancy.

To live a vibrant life, one has to look at the mind, body and soul. Our minds have great power over us and when we live and react from the mind, we tend to try to rationalize everything. This is where anxiety can take over. If there isn’t an answer or timeline we can create meanings which spiral into beliefs which then create like energy.

The same goes for our body. What we put into it and how we treat it creates vibrational energy that we emit. For instance, the feeling after eating a fresh salad as opposed to a greasy cheeseburger. Its no surprise that eating foods with higher vibrational energy like plants help make us feel more vibrant and energetic.

Finally our soul is our storehouse of energy. This is where vibrancy resides. Creating a routine where there is a connection to the soul is important to nurturing a vibrant life. Books, prayer, meditation, walks in nature, writing, art and stillness all have the power to connect us to our soul and create positive energy.

To create a more vibrant and energetic life, here are 10 things that will help raise the your vibrations and nurture vibrancy:

  1. Exercise
  2. Daily morning routine where you connect to your soul (it can be as short or as long as you like, just take the time to connect.)
  3. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables. Plants have high vibrational energy.
  4. Spend time in nature
  5. Smile
  6. Practice gratitude daily. Name 3 things you are grateful for every day. Write it down
  7. Take time to connect with loved ones.
  8. Breathe
  9. Be careful of what you take in. Think about how you feel after reading or watching something. If you notice that something brings you down, ask yourself: “Is this necessary for me to continue to consume?”
  10. Give of your time and/or resources to help others.

There is a beautiful thing that happens when we start to shine our lights more vibrantly: we light up what was once dark. When we choose to operate from a higher frequency, everything, including you seems more vibrant. This is because the vibration is actually opening the mind and eyes to what has been in front of us all along.