Are you relaxing into summer? Or is your tension headache putting a damper on summer fun? Are you making time this summer to do more of what you love? Summer is the time to slow down, kick back and savor the iced tea by the poolside. 
Recently, I savored a favorite summer-time activity by taking two teenagers to a festival in the park. As the teens walked around by themselves, I enjoyed watching the little kids and parents interact. Parents, love on those babies! They will be teenagers walking around on their own before you know it. Ten years fly by in the blink of an eye!
I reminisced about going on the merry-go-round with my kids when they were little. Do you enjoy the merry-go-round at the fair? Or does it make your headache worse? Does the merry-go-round at the fair remind you of your life? Do you want to get off the merry-go-round of life? Enjoying the merry-go-round depends on your perspective.
If you are focusing on “Oh, I hate this! The lights, noise and vibration are giving me a headache! Get me off this thing!” you will not enjoy it. If you are focusing on “I hate the commute to work! There are too many dishes in the sink! The dog barfed on the rug,” life can feel like a never-ending merry-go-round—up, down, up, down, round and round, same-old, same-old. 
Yes, if you stay in the same old patterns of thought, emotion and behavior, the same neuro-pathways in your brain get triggered and stuck in a rut. You get more of the same. What goes around, comes around.
But, if you lift the circle into a spiral by learning the lesson and by mining your truth out of each situation, then, when the pattern of thought, emotion, and behavior comes around again, you have more resources to deal with what life throws your way.
For example, I am a recovering chocolate addict. It took me many turns around the spiral to overcome my sugar and chocolate addiction. It did feel like a never-ending merry-go-round. I ended up with a nasty candida yeast imbalance that went around in a circle for years while I fed the candida with sugar.
I first lifted the circle into a spiral when I noticed the relationship between sugar and how I felt physically. Then, I lifted the situation up the spiral again when I noticed that I ate sugar when I felt an emotion—sad, mad, glad, anxious. Pretty much any emotion triggered my sugar craving. I learned the lessons, integrated the wisdom and lifted the situation up the spiral to overcome the craving for sugar.
Yesterday, I savored a few spoonfuls of my favorite ice cream and that was enough. In my past, I would have eaten the entire container. Because I was connected to my state of inner calm, I had no craving to finish the whole container of ice cream. My body, mind, emotions and spirit felt happy about that choice.
I’ve just written a book about finding your natural state of inner calm. The book is called Seeking Serenity: How to Manage Anxiety and Love Your Life. I am super excited to share my book with you. I’m proud of the personal and professional work I’ve done over thirty years to collect stories to share with you. The book is full of tools and techniques that, when you practice them, will help you find your center when you lose it. Everybody gets off center sometimes, but with practice you can get back to feeling re-centered, grounded and in the flow of life quickly.
The book, Seeking Serenity: How to Manage Anxiety and Love Your Life, is available for pre-sale now. Here is the link. The book will be available to download for free on August 1.
If you want to get started right way, message me (651-472-3995) and we’ll set up a time to chat about your journey and ways I can support you. I would love to help you find your natural state of inner calm so you can enjoy the heck out of each moment this summer.
Joyfully yours,
Leah
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