Hello friends,
 
We're back! I hope you had a nice break in the holidays, and that you are still a little shiny and hopeful with that happy "re-set/re-boot/renew/resolve" energy that comes with the New Year.
 
In our first podcast of 2016, Erin and I have a conversation about a new twist on the old New Year's resolution:

Your Word of the Year.
The word of the year is the one-word resolution that oh-so-simply empowers your growth for 2016. Based in an exercise from the teachings of Dr. Roberto Assagioli, this simple practice allows you to plant and develop a new character strength, and it will surprise you with its efficacy. Your word will "train" you in a new attitude, and open you up to a new way.
 
How do you pick your word of the year? How do you let it become the muse whispering to you over your shoulder?

Listen in, and Erin and I will offer some tips, and we will each share with you what our word for 2016 is.
 
Thanks for being with us, and inviting your friends to join in on the fun of listening to these conversations. In coming weeks, we will build on our New Year's positivity with two shows on "Hope" - hope for ourselves and hope for our world, and a thoughtful exploration on the power of The Serenity Prayer.
 
All the best to you and yours for 2016 - onward!
Mary & Erin
 
EPISODE 138: WHAT'S IN A WORD? YOUR WORD OF THE YEAR
It's the New Year! Such a great time for the re-start, the re-boot, the re-set ... but how do you stick with it for the long term? Maybe you gave up making a New Year's resolution a while ago because you always fail at sticking with it. (Doesn't everyone? How is it that we can FORGET our best intentions so quickly?!)
 
Try this: boil your New Year resolution down into one word: your Word of the Year.
 
It's the word that is the medicine for the chronic condition that ails you, and it lifts your eyes to the horizon, makes you breathe deeper, and enhances your sense of dignity as a student in life's classroom.
 
Did you know that you can call in a new gift of character from the heart of the Universe, and from the amazing wellspring of your own soul? You can find a strength you've never had before. And you can begin to have new experiences of a fortunate life, despite a long history of disappointment.
 
Here's some thoughts for you, from this show:
 
Spiritual surrender: "to take shelter within." it means you accept and live inside the love and safety provided by your Higher Self.
 
"Our goals in life are merely the features on the game board of our life. What is of greater importance is the spirit with which we do or do not achieve our goals, and how we live our life, day by day."
 
Our difficult growth processes can be softened, if we call for ease & grace, as we willingly engage all our challenges.
 
"What's the best music in the whole world? The music of what happens." - from an Irish hero tale