Lately I've been pretty busy. I'm not complaining, as I requested it:) And in between teaching classes, giving talks and coaching, I'm preparing for these things, writing articles, being a mom, and trying to squeeze in a yoga class or two...

Well tonight, at the end of one of those well deserved yoga classes, my mind started racing about all I needed to get done. My intuition interrupted me. "Show up prepared," it said. As it goes with intuitive messages, I got the felt sense of what it meant along with the words.

Showing up prepared has two dimensions. Of course, you do your homework, plan your talk, or whatever it is that you're doing, so that you do a good job, but that's not enough. We need to show up full - full of our own spirits, fully present, and in a peaceful place so that we can hear our inner voice direct us appropriately.

The other day I went to the doctor for a check up, an elderly woman on the elevator with me was having a hard time finding her way out to the parking lot. I pushed the button for the floor she told me she needed to go to and stayed in the elevator to see if it worked. It didn't, a couple of other people got on the elevator and I told them where she needed to go and then got off on my floor. She looked at me nervously as I got off the elevator. I proceeded to check in with my doctor's office and then told the receptionist that I needed to check something. I went back out and sure enough, this woman was riding the elevator up and down by herself, having no idea where to go. She was about to cry and couldn't even tell me where she lived, but knew she was waiting for dial-a-ride. I saw to it that she found her way to her ride and then went back up to my appt. If I hadn't shown up prepared, I wouldn't have been paying attention to my intuition telling me that the woman still needed help.

I believe it's important to be clear about what we want in life, but aside from getting clear, our only job is to show up to whatever we're doing prepared - both physically and spiritually. It doesn't matter if it's going to the grocery store. By doing so, we hand the details over to life and allow divine order to take over.

Last week I had the opportunity to do a Sustainable Service training for the State of New Mexico, which is located in the beautiful capital of Santa Fe. I've always wanted to go there, and despite never having been, frequently imagined myself living in that area later in life.

Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States and was originally named, La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis," or "The Royal City of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi." This explains the statues of Saint Francis scattered around the town.

I couldn't help feeling like Santa Fe is the soul of the whole Southwest. I had coffee with an older gentleman named Stephen who gave me a glimpse into the community there. He spoke to four or five other men while I was there, at one point sharing his concern about his dog with cancer and inquiring as to the health of the other man. Their hearts were open to one another, the way you'd expect from deeply connected and artistic-minded people.

The sky in Santa Fe is deep blue and the air is crisp and clear. The spiritual roots of the town are palpable. If you haven't been there, and want to experience energy that is both grounded and inspired, I would recommend a visit.

For years I've lived ahead of myself - not metaphorically, but literally. I know this is a phrase we use in everyday language, but it's surprising how many of these common sayings are literal in an energetic sense.

If you're a visionary - someone who naturally has a sense of what's to come - you are susceptible to getting ahead of yourself too. Getting ahead of yourself is what happens when your energy jumps ahead of your body in an attempt to rush something along, only instead of accelerating your goals, it slows things down.

This is because we are most powerful when we fully embody our energy - without moving ahead of where we're at in the present moment. To get a sense of whether you're ahead of yourself, simply notice how you are around other people. Do you feel the need to convince them of who you really are? Do you get the message that they don't really "see" you? If so, perhaps it's because a part of you is in front of you! Make sense?

I've only recently become aware of this whole phenomenon because I'm no longer ahead of myself. I'm resting squarely in my body, and, I'm being responded to differently. People now see me - the real me. I have to wonder why I rushed ahead for so long... I think if I'd just kept pace with myself, everything would have unfolded a bit more gracefully.

Being in your body is no easy task - we can be beside ourselves, behind or above as well, but I'm thinking that's another blog... For now, rest easy knowing that where you're at is perfect, and accepting your present place is the most efficient way to get to where you'd like to be.

I just read an article about Oprah doing a 21 day vegan cleanse. And while I'm a firm believer in eating clean and even fasting, I've been hesitant to say too much about it. I think my hesitation stems from our society's obsession with thinness. I have spend years unraveling from these messages, and I don't want to feed into them (pardon the pun:).

I am ready to come out of the closet on this topic and shout out the benefits of cleansing from the nearest mountain top, which would be Camelback... We don't have to get radical here, it can, and should, be a process. The goal is to clear physical congestion and release attachments (energy strings dangling to the things we feel we can't live without.)

As we all know, clearing out physical residue increases absorption of what we really crave: spiritual energy. And pulling back strings of attachment allows us to better contain that nourishment once it's received.

So whether you choose try The Master Cleanse (my personal favorite) or to simply cut out coffee and alcohol for a week, you 'll be better for it - and most importantly feel better, more nourished and more alive..