All About Women | Women

“Every choice has consequences, and a dream master is aware of the consequences. Making a choice can open many doors, and close many other doors. Not making a choice is also a choice that we can make. By making choices, we can master the art of dreaming and create the most beautiful life.” ~ From The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel and Don Jose Ruiz

Remember, not making a choice is also a choice. You have the awesome power to make choices. Make conscious and deliberate choices. Take your time about making important choices; choices that will effect your life. It is okay to say to someone, “you know, that is an important question/request. I want to make the best decision, so I would like to take some time to pray about it.”

No one will tell you not to pray! And if they so, then that should give you a clue.

GRACE CARD: For every action there is a reaction. Choose wisely.

Coach Carolyn

Sometimes fear can stop you from making the best choices for your life. If fear is stopping you from living your best life, then sign up for my Transcending Fear Mentoring Program. It's a wise choice!

The final Grace Card for the week is DEVOTION: Stay connected to the Divine. Pray, express your gratitude, or ask for help out loud. Make the practice of devotion a daily habit.

I am eternally grateful for Cheryl Richardson for creating these Grace Cards. In all my gatherings including my women’s circles and my BWP Meetups, I open with the Grace Cards. They are so beautifully illustrated and everyone gets the card that call to their hearts; not their heads but their hearts. I always tell the women to let the card pick them instead of them picking the card. And it works!

At the Elizabeth Seton Women’s Center here in NYC where we hold our gatherings, the cards are generously displayed in a glass bowl for our use. The directors, Arlie and Karen, even gave me my own deck for a birthday gift!

So, for this weekend, begin making the practice of devotion a daily habit. Express gratitude. Pray. Ask for help – out loud! And stay connected to the Divine.

In loving devotion,
Coach Carolyn

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." ~ Alan Cohen

One of the things that fear does is it causes the “fight or flight” reaction. I call it a reaction and not a response because there is no time to really discern which you are going to do – you just react! You quickly assess whether you are strong enough to fight, or not strong enough so you run away.

Now this is a brilliant reaction to have when you are facing physical or emotional danger. But if it is a perceived fear or a false fear, then you must assess differently. And sometimes it is best to just take a chance, do the thing you are afraid of and transcend the fear. Unless you conquer the fear, it will continue to conquer you.

When facing a fear, STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK:

“What’s the worse thing that could happen in this situation?”

Usually the worse thing never happens. Like author and humorist Mark Twain once quipped, “I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened!”

So just for today, take a chance and do it afraid.

Grace Card:
Chance: Take the leap. Divine protection is always by our side.

Coach Carolyn

“If a book told you something when you were fifteen, it will tell you it again when you're fifty, though you may understand it so differently that it seems you're reading a whole new book.” ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

One of the Universal Laws is the Law of Gender. This Law speaks of timing. When you plant a seed, you must give that seed the proper gestation time; otherwise, nothing will grow. And so it is with you. Personal growth and development works the same way. It takes time. But not just time where you wait and do nothing. It is during this gestation period that you are to water and nurture the seed. It is about taking the inspired action necessary to have healthy growth.

You must realize that it is just not your time. You may read a book, attend a seminar, listen to a teleclass and get nothing from it except a lot of theories and facts. Two years later, you hear the same material, now you are ready to not only hear the message, but implement it into your life.

So if you are drawn to some information but have no idea what to do with it in the moment – simply wait for divine timing. It will definitely lead you in the right direction.

Grace Card:
Patience: Trust in Divine timing. Your future holds something far greater than your past.

Coach Carolyn

Okay, I just had to share this. I pulled my three Grace Cards this morning:

Vision: Pay attention.
Perception: See the past as part of our spiritual evolution.

And guess what else?

Peace: When we balance silence and activity, we discover true peace of mind.

You think someone's trying to tell me something?

And believe me, I do shuffle the deck.

In the school of living life on purpose, lessons unlearned will be repeated. You never flunk out. You just get to take the test over again. So don't worry over not getting it absolutely perfect. Just land somewhere in the ballpark and grace will find you.

Live passionately,
Coach Carolyn

For those women who have attended any of my groups, know that I begin every session with Cheryl Richardson's Grace Cards. Grace cards are a deck of 50 beautifully illustrated cards with a simple self-care message on each. I use the cards at the start of all of my group sessions as a centering, a prayer, and an ice-breaker. It gets everyone to share and tell a little bit about themselves so that everyone in the room knows them too.

I have shared here and in my groups, that I am going through a transitional period right now. I am facing some definite unknowns and there is a level of fear. I will choose to do the next right thing, and do it afraid. I love the saying, "And this too shall pass." I know that intellectually, but it's still right now, and hasn't passed yet!

Every morning as part of my morning ritual, I pull 3 Grace Cards to see what the Divine has to say to me. Sometimes they are just reminders to stop and take a breath. I can forget this, especially in the throws of transition. The Grace Cards have a way of bringing me back to what is authentic. So, what cards "found" me this morning?

Silence: Be still.
Awaken: Keep your eyes open.
Peace: When we balance silence and activity, we discover true peace of mind -- the source of all joy and happiness.

Of course, I began to cry. So, what's the message?

And this too shall pass -- if you would just be still, staying aware and alert, true peace will come.

And so it is.

Coach Carolyn