 My client sat on the other side of our big red couch, a few feet away from me. She looked very focused, the Happiness School binder she had printed propped squarely on her lap, her hands on top of it. She wanted to get clearer on her Core Essences and then make some changes to her life based on that. After thirty minutes of listening to her, the picture she presented had become pretty clear to me. The kind of Clarity we wish we could give ourselves and often can't. I could start to get a really good sense of what her Core Essences might be and when I offered them to her for review, she lit up. YES! She said. How did I miss that? (as an answer to this question, see above paragraph) Once we had figured that part out, we went about the business of using her Essences to brainstorm on creating something deliciously fulfilling for her life. It was going well, lots of energy and light in the room until she looked at me and announced that this was great, and would be a wonderful 5-year plan. That's when things got ... funny. A good 5-year plan. I knew to be gentle. I knew to be compassionate. And I also knew that there was no way I could let her walk out of my office with this as a 5-year plan. No. Way. So I suggested that maybe this could happen more quickly. I might have mentioned a year. Then I might have mentioned 5 months. Her smile was huge as she seemed to think both that I was a little crazy and that heck... she might as well check out my brand of madness. I could tell that part of her had known that after being in Happiness School for a while, 5 years was no longer "the way she rolled." We did a little exploring. Started with what she thought was in the way of her plan flowing more swiftly. There were a couple of things. The kind of things we often convince ourselves are way bigger and way more rigid than they are. Things like our family, things like money. Things like "what we've always known and always done." We looked at them one by one, the way she had learned to do in class. We asked - out loud - if we knew for sure that they were true. We boldly considered that they might not be. I could see her standing up straighter and her face looking brighter. By the end of our session, she had agreed to make a few calls. To check things out. Just in case. A couple of weeks later (yes, "a couple of weeks later"), I received an email from her - with a photo. A photo of just exactly what we had talked about. The Form to her Essence. Done. She had made it happen in two weeks. With the blessing and enthusiastic support of her family. This is all a big dance. The dance of knowing when to wait and knowing when waiting serves nothing more than keeping us small and possibly complaining. The more we pay attention to the cycles and our intuition, the more we know the difference. And the more we get to co-create with Life in Joy and Ease. Her email had me hooting in my kitchen. As soon as I saw the photo, I felt this delicious familiar blend of awe and ... "well, of course!" I LOVE this mix. It keeps us both humble and yet anchored in our magic-making. Listen: if there is one thing that I have learned in the last few months (and there is more than one) it is that we are adaptable. We can shift. We can do hard things, too. And if we are going to shift, why not shift in the direction of our dreams? In the direction of the stuff that we've only dared to whisper to ourselves - if that. In the direction of fully saying YES to our Essence-based life? This is the stuff that lights me up. This is my favorite way to live, my favorite thing to teach and now that I am somewhat grown-up, I am no longer afraid to call it magic. Organized magic. Magic with a plan. Here are two things I invite you to play with, today: 1) now is a good time to pay attention to what works for you and what doesn't. Maybe what used to work no longer does. Get real, get true, get honest. Pay attention to the seams that are too small. Write about them. 2) when you hear yourself make statements about limitations being set in stone (even tiny ones), take a second and ASK yourself whether that's for-sure-for-certain true. Again, get honest about your answer. Watch for your hardening, protecting your limiting agreements. Just observe. That's how we start to invite the magic in. Just observe. Well, that's it for now. I hope you are feeling some peace, seeing some Gifts, giving and receiving a lot of love, too. This Life thing isn't for sissies, is it? With a big hug, - Laura PS: After a year of having its doors closed to focus on current students, it is once again opened for enrollment, and you may want to join me for it. This time, it has a brand new, fabulous twist and that is that it INCLUDES my whole Magic of Essence™ course. While we dabbled in Essence during this past class, we decided to plop it right into the middle of Happiness School to add tons of value to the new course (and it is still not all that expensive: less than the cost of 4 coaching sessions for three months of really powerful learning and transforming) You can check it out HERE and see if it calls out to you. 
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 “Guide Me”
These two words have been my intimate companions for the past nine months. I have reached out to them in the middle of nights, at the beginning of days, in the forest, on the beach and in my car. I have reached out to them when I have known that my little human mind and my big human heart were no match for what was needed. I have reached out to them when I was afraid to not be smart enough, tough enough to find my way on my own. And I have been guided. So beautifully. Guided to say “no more.” Guided to get on planes, cabs, motorcycles and buses. Guided to go and guided to stay. Guided to break and guided to mend. Guided to love, too. Guided to share meals, my heart and my home. To trust. To let go of what I have loved, to let go of what made sense and to welcome the wobbly unknown, the barely formed soft-fleshed of what will be. There is a restfulness to being guided and I know that Rest is part of our healing. Here’s what I know: Change can be messy. One minute we’re clear, one minute we’re lost. And yet, we take action because it’s how we move forward. Change requires Trust. Change requires Support. VERY gentle Support. Change requires Courage. Change allows us to grow while simultaneously demanding that we grow. Change kicks our butt and grows our lives. 💛  |
"Every time I read your blog I am so profoundly happy I did. The truth you speak is just mindboggling. The real, real voice you have. It makes me almost crazy how much I love your words and your way of telling stories that cut to the quick- and I never have the words to really say how much this all means to me.
You put out so many heartfelt blog pieces that touch my heart and move me down the right path at the right time. Pure beautiful magic girlie. I love you for this. Thank you for digging in there and finding the gems of wisdom and then just sharing them out as if there's an endless supply ... which with you, there is." "Thank you for sharing your wonderful, heartbreaking, exhilarating experience with the world."
"Thank You Laura for sharing, for teaching and spreading loving kindness. " "I think I love you. You bring good things into my life, or remind me of things I love and know, but have let go of." "Laura, you are so good for me. I laugh and sniffle and get the shivers when I read your essays. Thanks so much for letting all your wonderfulness run around loose." "Heart-achingly beautiful, your words and how you reveal your truth." "Thank you so much for who you are and what you share with the world. Your mere being transforms lives as it has transformed mine. This particular post did to my heart what water does to parched soil." "Thank you for your gentle words that are packed full of wisdom. I have been struggling with the concept of what words can do to another person when they are negative words. Your words are the flip side of our word power, and shows how delightfully powerful kind words can be. Thank you." "Once again Laura Lavigne takes you on an adventure of the heart. She has a way of pulling you right in the car with her. Asking you to consider changing a fear to taking thoughtful action. Whether she's teaching a class, leading a retreat or heading for a happiness sprinkling, Laura will invite you to shed old ways of thinking and be completely authentic. Join in!" "Essentially pure love. I enjoy how Laura is kind to herself and to us other humans who dance in and out of each other's lives. " "Don't miss a post! You can count on Laura for warmth, humor, charm, and a lift to your day and your heart. She inspires me to be braver than I am, and to love the world out loud. She's a gem, and a generous one at that!" Me
I write because this is the way I am able to taste life more deeply. Archives
July 2020
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