Hello October!

 The past two months I have not composed a blog with my mini intentions. Reflecting on that has been a reminder to me how easy it is to disconnect from our intentions, goals and vision. I certainly thought about each of those things in August and September…. however, for me it is dramatically different having a clear conscious intention each month versus the swimming thoughts in my head. So I am back at it and ready to consciously check in with myself each day.

 **Complete reading Carry on Warrior The Power of Embracing Your Beautiful Messy Life. It is an incredible book. A friend and I formed a book club and we are meeting at the end of the month. Carry on Warrior is our first book. I LOVE it! My sister, who is also in the book club, is giving me grief for selecting “a book I would read for work.” Who’s life isn’t messy though and who doesn’t want to embrace it :)

**Utilize four new coping skills this month. I am committed to playing with self care to determine a variety of ways that I can ground myself and “shift” from being below the line and feeling negative, to above the line and feeling positive. I don’t think of myself as a bath person, however that is certainly going to be one of the modalities I am going to attempt. I also did not think of myself as somebody who laid in shavasana an entire yoga class and turns out that tapped into just what I needed while there.

**Start cooking. Unfortunately, I have set this intention MANY times. Cooking and I are just not two peas in a pod. I don’t appreciate food all that much. I like to eat healthy and have good meals- with as few preparation steps as possible. A new friend I met at the retreat, reinspired me to further connect in the kitchen. I am going to try to make it more of a ritual. I intend to light some candles, play my favorite tunes and begin the cooking process. I admit right up front that it is not going to be an elaborate process every evening. I will plan the meals strataegically in order to maximize a night or two of leftovers and continue to prepare some of my staples (tacos, spagehetti and plain chicken) :)

**Start each day with gratitude. Pre October, I was a pro at jam packing my morning. I carve out time to exercise, shower get ready for work, take Maple out and bolt out the door. It is efficient and down the minute. While there are some beneficial pieces of this- I want to redirect myself from starting out the day with that bang. I am one of those people that always wakes up before my alarm. Not because I am always fully rested but because I have gone over my morning routine so many times in my head the night before that I am prepped to put that plan in place. Starting today, before I rush to the gym or outside for what now is officially a wog- I am going to sit in silence and connect with the gratitude I have for that day and life. I will set an intention for that day and work to stay connected to it throughout the day.

 **Embrace the uncertainty of life. Mary Beth led us through a meditation at Rock Your Bliss and the essence of what came to me at that time was the power of not knowing. That by no means means that I am going to stop creating and being proactive. Those elements are going to co-exist with turning over some of that control. I will take action steps and not always wonder what the future holds. During this meditation it struck me that even if I had the opportunity to know the future, would I want to? I am committed to embracing the journey and practicing being in the moment. I will write more on this later.

 Cheers to a new month and new season full of possibility and opportunity. What are your intentions for the month of October?! Cheers to you!