What Seems Hard Can Be Easy

I'm back after an extended absence which was much longer than I'd planned or even anticipated. What happened?

The easy answer is "Life".    

        

But the real answer is 'life'.

A short time after I last posted I attended the Desert Dreams Writers Conference in Scottsdale, AZ. I don't know about you but I find I'm always braver and willing to take more risks when I'm some place where most people don't know me.

Desert Dreams provided a perfect opportunity to take a leap into a known level of discomfort. You may not realize it from reading this blog and following me on Romancing The Genres, but I'm camera shy.

Hate to have my picture taken.

Is that enough of a hint for you to guess the momentous leap I took?

The conference chairs, Susan Lanier and Tina LaVon McCright, provided an opportunity for conference attendees to have a professional photograph taken by Diane Graham of Diane Graham Photography. If you live in the Tucson area, I highly recommend her.

See below what her results are with a camera- phobic client!

My Intention was to take the leap and have a professional picture taken instead of the first photo which is cropped from another photo where I at least thought I looked 'okay' which is why the shoulders are a bit odd.

Now I have a professional photo that can be cropped to fit and, if I do say so myself, I do not look like a deer caught in headlights. Both eyes are open, I've a smile on my face - what happened?

My Intention was to have a professional picture taken and Synchronicity brought me face-to-face with Diane Graham whose friendly demeanor and willingness to chat a bit so I relaxed, helped me be at my best. The first picture showed me laughing. Quick shots followed and it was over so fast I never had time to worry, tense up, or frown. Do you have a favorite between the two, and if you do, Why?

Look for the 'new me' at www.RomancingTheGenres.blogspot.com this Friday, June 1st. I'm sharing a wedding day story...

Gratitude

I picked up a book at Costco the other day. The Magic by Rhonda Byrne caught my eye so I picked it up, put it in my cart without paying much attention to it.

Yesterday I started reading it. The premise is one of those simple but complex ideas. The more we are grateful for what we have the more of it we attract.

Why is that a complex idea? Because there are times when we search for something we're grateful for because we want it to be big and glorious - not something as mundane as 'flush toilets' as my neighbor mentioned. (Although I am Very Grateful for Flush Toilets!) It isn't important (unless your toilet is broken). Do I really want to attract more working toilets? It is easy to discount some of the basics in our lives because we take them for granted and thereby don't value them for the gifts they are - until, and that is a huge word - until they don't work.

I've started my 28 day Gratitude Program outlined in The Magic. What I first noticed is that some of the passion or commitment has gone out of my voice as I go through my familiar daily spiritual routine. I found my voice this morning and noticed a difference. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I am grateful for this one gift.

Tomorrow I'm sure there will be another one. I wonder what it will be.

What are you most grateful for? How do you show your gratitude? And how powerful are those 'magic words' we teach out children - 'please' and 'thank you'. Ask "Please" and it is given "Thank You".  

There are Those Days

There are those days when everything seems to fall into place and then there are those other days when nothing seems to go right.

A place where I experience peace of mind

I have an Intention that is about The Universe Always Serves My Highest Good and on those 'haywire' days (and yes, I have them too) I take a deep breath and do my best to relax (not always an easy thing for me) and whisper this Intention.

Trust is difficult for me but it is imperative for my peace of mind. To turn that 'haywire' day around I must trust that there is something in the the chaos of the day that is 'in service' to me.

A writer friend, Tam Linsey, pointed out that the dots don't always connect the way we think they will and I use that thought to relax into the mess and let it be.

I admit it is still work even though I've been working on trusting that whatever happens in my life is there to serve me - but it is easier to do now and for that I'm grateful.

If you have some tips for dealing with those days when nothing seems to go right, please share.

You can also check out my post on March 2 to see what one of my passions is.

© 2012 Judith Ashley

A Thoughtful Frame of Mind

As the title of this piece indicates I'm in a thoughtful frame of mind. What that means is I've reviewed and made some changes to my Intentions and sent them off to the two women I call my Intention Sisters. I deleted one, rewrote one, and added one.

What did I delete? One about learning new technology is easy, effortless, and fun. Not really...but, I am better at it; can figure problems out most of the time; don't get as stressed; know when to stop and take a break.

I rewrote one that listed a bunch of things I would/was doing to increase my visibility within the writing community. This is what it looks like now.

My visibility within the writing community positively affects my being a published author with strong book sales.

Circle of Serenity

Reviewing my Intentions while in A Thoughtful Frame of Mind, I realized that my list included things over which I have no control. What is most important is that I am visible within the writing community. I'll be open to and actually look for Synchronicity to show me how to make this happen. What did I add?

Each day I remind myself that my primary goal in life and the only real measure of my success is “above all else---be happy”.

It is important to review my Intentions every once in awhile. To take stock of where I am on my Life's Journey at this stage of my life; to see which way will take me closer to where I want to be at every fork in the road.

What do you do to keep yourself moving forward in your life?

Time Flies When...

The old adage "Time Flies When You're Having Fun" is alive and well in my life right now.

If you've been following Romancing The Genres, you know we've just launched a sister site Romance From The Genre-istas. RFTG offers Free Reads For Your Enjoyment. Saturday we went live with seven short (less than 1500 words) stories with Valentine's Day theme.

Getting ready took time. We (Sarah Raplee and I) had to create a new blog site; order cards; schedule the posts; set up links so readers can more easily move around; and write our own Flash Fiction.

I can hardly believe it has been more than a month since I last posted here. But obviously it has because my last post is dated January 5th and today is February 15th!

My Intention is to write a short post more frequently - but that didn't happen.

What did happen is that My Intention to see Romance From The Genre-istas launch took precedence. That happens in life - it isn't that we failed, it's that we succeeded in something else.

The next step is to stop, assess, and move forward either putting the initial intention on the shelf or polishing it up and acting on it.

Check back in and see how I do!

Read more about my writing at www.JudithAshleyRomance.com

The Perfect Christmas Tree

Happy New Year!!!

As I waited for the clock to strike 9 p.m. (I live on the West Coast so cheated by celebrating at 9 p.m. my time while watching the crystal ball drop in Times Square, New York City) a wave of light and lightness washed over me leaving a sense of calm joy.

Will I have challenges in 2012? Of course.
Will I have doubts in 2012? Probably
Will I meet every goal I set for myself? No

I've had an Intention for some time now (two years on 01/17) that my life is easier and it takes less effort to experience joy and happiness. That is an Intention that has been manifesting for some time now.

No, every day is not 100% but every day does have its moments of joy, moments of happiness.

One of the things I'm involved with is Romancing The Genres group blog. I'm one of the co-founders along with Sarah McDermed. In January 2011 we came up with the idea of a group blog. On May 1, 2011 we launched RTG. And this week we most likely will hit 14K (right, 14,000) page views.

I'm inviting you to stop by Romancing The Genres (see, I learned to easily and effortlessly embed a link) and see my post. Look at the pictures (I popped those in as well as these with nary a problem in sight). Click around and read other Genre-ista's post. I'm encouraging you to check out Sarah's. (another embeded link). If you look at the right side of the page, scrolling down until you see our February Guests - I did that also. Click on Guest Page and you can see my work in September and October.

One year ago I had no idea how to do any of this.

Here I am with Gimi and Connie, my Intention Sisters. Each week we talk on the phone, encouraging and supporting each other. Each day we send Intention Energy to each other. Acheiving anything is  easier when someone is there to support us. What is amazing is how important these daily and weekly practices are to me. They are written on my calendar and I take them into consideration as I look at other things I need/want to accomplish. My time with these women is a priority and I can look back over the year and see what

I've accomplished, what I've manifested because of their encouragement, support and their holding my Intentions on my behalf.

Check out my website www.JudithAshleyRomance.com I updated it in November and you can read the revised "In the Beginning" (Chapter One) of "The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl"; see what I've been up to, etc.

My wish for you in 2012 is that you find people who will support and encourage you as you manifest your dreams into your reality.

Up-date on Diana

In June of this year, Diana came to live in my yard. She is a Dwarf Japanese Larch (tree) and what sets her apart from other types of trees is that she drops her needles. Yep, that's right - her needles, not her leaves.

This morning the sun was shining (it can be a rare event in the Pacific Northwest) and Diana was splendiferous with dew drops shimmering on her reddish needles throughout twisted branches. I attempted to take a picture to share with you. In one she is in shadow - the sun as the backdrop. In the other one, she hard to see because of the large tree in my neighbors backyard.

I'll try again and when I get a shot that does her justice I'll post it here.

It is amazing to see the green needles turn reddish brown and orange. They have yet to drop but I'm assured they soon will. Winter is coming and Diana is getting ready.