Friends are way better than Stuff! by Mary Gardner

At Beyond The Stuff we’ve all made a commitment to take certain days to blog. Yesterday was my day.

I missed it.

I did try. I sat down and started to write. But all I could come up with was this:

“God help me. God help me. God help me”.

Why? Well, because I live with a son who has been diagnosed on the Autism spectrum. And when we are feeding him 100% organic, no preservatives, limited dairy, glutten, wheat, and he takes all of his 12 vitamins a day and is on NO sugar, and exercises every day, we live a relatively normal life.

When we have Halloween and I cave to his thousands of requests for pop tarts and other sugar infested crap, our life takes a nose dive…. like it did recently.

The stress can get so bad because my son can’t sit for more than a minute at a time. I can’t get him to eat, I can’t get him to get dressed and my beautiful, funny and charming son has his own agenda, and mommy and dad often lose their cool.

Luckily, we understand that ALL parents need breaks, but especially those with challenging situations… and I had off last week, so I gave my husband a few days “off” where he got to stay with my parents to just relax and focus on whatever he wanted to.

Today is a different story. Things have gotten better. The sugar is coming out of his system and the exercise and the low stress/stimulation in our home is working. And most importantly, God did help me. And how did He help me? By sending amazing people my way to support me.. in so many ways. But here is an example of complete amazing support…


“I've been on set the past couple of days but just wanted to send you some strength and positive energy. I can't relate to what you're going through, but I do sense in you a unique resolve to handle even the most challenging circumstances. Sending you my best. Peace”,

“Hi Mary; Sorry you're having a rough time. . I can imagine that it must be very hard for you. (It makes raising my 3 teenage boys seem e-z.) If you want to talk on the phone, please let me know. Hang in there.”

“I'm right there with you, Mary.Here's praying the help continues to come showering down upon you!!!”

“I am sorry that you are having such struggles in your life right now -- butI know that if God is with you, you will overcome whatever life throws at you. "With God nothing is impossible." You and I both know that, but sometimes it takes a lot to really know and trust it. The hard part is applying it to our lives, to put it into action. May I offer one thought? You are not failing at life right now...you are succeeding at standing while the tempest of life swirls around you. Having the ability just to stand, in the midst of the storm, is a very courageous thing to do. And, even more courageous because your child depends on you to do so. Actually, I am moved and impressed at the way you are standing. So,not a failure at all. "Be still and know that I am God," is the requirement of the day.

“Mare, hang in there, you’re doing great things and you’re helping so many of us parents know that there are others out there who understand so thank you”.

“Mary, please feel free to use our mountain house anytime you guys want to get away”


So you can imagine how great I feel today. In addition, my son’s teachers have been extra helpful and understanding with us being late, and with me bringing shoes and socks because he couldn’t put them on without freaking out this morning, and to top it all off, my darling, sweet mom came and cleaned my house yesterday.

These are the things that are important to a person who are dealing with a chronic disability or going through a tough time.

Here are the things that have helped me:
1. Just a kind word that I’m doing the right thing
2. Extra prayer support – and they really do it.. don’t just say it!
3. Words of wisdom and understanding… or just told me to SHARE and VENT.
4. Help with my HOUSE
5. Help with my child- mom did homework with him… WHAT a relief! (And another family offered to take our son for a weekend… which was so generous… and VERY tempting!)
6. Gave my husband and I an opportunity to get away.. as a family or as a couple
7. Bought me lunch – and gave me an opportunity to just get OUT and feel NORMAL.


Were any of these expensive? Nope! They took time, and effort but not a lot of money.. the most was lunch….. and that was about $10 and can I tell you how grateful I was!? Immensely!

So today I sit here thankful, that I have friends and associates who are really, really good human beings. They took a minute out of their day to share their warmth with me and support.. and it has been amazing.

So now, because I’m so grateful, I have ½ hour and I’m going to send notes to people who I know that I can support.. and tell them that I am praying for them.. and that I care for them.

I saw this poem lately that also gave me strength:

Happiness keeps you sweet.
Trials keep you strong.
Sorrows keep you human.
Failures keep you humble.
Success keeps you glowing.
But only God keeps you going!

And God provides us friends! Thank you everyone! You got me through.

Change is 'What Is'!

Today, I’m sharing a few specific concepts which may help you better understand and interpret your own life circumstances while helping you develop the opportunity to see these things with new and different perspectives. Perspectives that will help you and your future immensely!

For now, I want to focus on how the very circumstances you are living through may be just a normal part of life experience and change. You may be thinking, “What??? Kelly, you just don’t understand my financial situation here! I have a major illness; my house is going into foreclosure; I’m losing money in the stock market; I just lost a million dollars. How could you ever think that THIS is normal?”

As I am in the same economic market as everyone else and have also lived through many terminal illness and death situations, I often experienced those same feelings and thoughts… until recently when something became abundantly clear and it all started with a conversation about butterflies…

Have you ever watched a caterpillar go from what it is to the beautiful butterfly it becomes? Have you ever seen one FIGHT or ARGUE with the process? If they did, from an outside perspective it would be easy to understand where they were coming from, as it just doesn’t look all that pleasant.

First, it hangs upside down (by its last legs, no less) while it’s outer skin splits to expel the newly forming chrysalis. If that wasn’t bad enough… in a very short period of time the original outer part of what the caterpillar was simply ‘falls away’.

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.
-Richard Bach

It takes 7 days (which might seem like an eternity to a butterfly) in typical summer weather and then a beautiful butterfly again has a choice to make the effort and come out of its cozy chrysalis. This too, is an interesting point in the process because many chrysalises are beautiful and after 7 days a monarch butterfly ‘in the making’ could get really comfortable in its beautiful smooth, jade colored ‘home’.

Even when the butterfly makes the choice at the appointed time to come out of the ‘change’ and metamorphosis it has experienced, another change must be embraced so it can become all it was meant to be: it has to wait while the newly formed veins in its wings are inflated, allowing time for them to dry and harden so flight is actually possible and safe for the newly formed butterfly

But what does all this have to do with you, our economy, the bailout saga, and the changes, and upsets that daily bombard us in life or on the news? Well, just about everything if you consider how all of life (everything in the universe, really) is so very similar. Indeed, whether a butterfly in metamorphosis or a human living in the now… Change is ‘What Is’. Truly,

If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies!

Have you ever watched butterflies for any length of time? Have you noticed what they spend most of their day doing?

It may surprise you to learn that the life of a butterfly is very, very similar to every single thing you’ve ever asked life to give you, if you had all the money you wanted, the job of your dreams, and the living space of your choice.

Think about it! After surrendering to change and metamorphosis, butterflies fly around, seeing every beautiful thing they want to see (wild and interesting adventures); they flutter from place to place (viewing beautiful sights and sounds), picking their favorite flowers to feed on (there is always an abundance of beautiful food to eat). In essence, they joyfully do what butterflies do, with extraordinary ease (read: no struggle). They live in the natural flow of nature and grace everyone with their elegance and beauty.

Isn’t that what you really want? Isn’t that what you ask for deep in your heart when you think of your grandest desires? Don’t you want your life to simply flow peacefully, with all you need placed abundantly around for your choosing everyday when you open your eyes? Isn’t that the exact description of what everyone wants; all the abundance and freedom given to a butterfly?

The million dollar question is: “Are you willing to go through the metamorphosis process—rather than clinging to what’s known of your normal everyday life as a caterpillar?”

Ask yourself honestly: “Do I have enough faith, when I can’t yet see the final outcome, to trust that the ‘chrysalis stage of life’ will take me from caterpillar to butterfly intact? Do I fully understand how I can choose my own thoughts as the transformation takes place so I can actually feel good and maybe even accept the process?”

Will you willingly choose to embrace the changes of life with an open mind asking what it is you are to do next and how can you benefit from this new and latest life experience? Do you think a caterpillar (as the only existence it’s ever known disappears forever), hangs around trying to fight the natural flow of becoming all and who they were meant to be?

The point is…

Framing your doubts with better perspectives while life change is taking place, requires ‘Willingness’.


Willingness to go through the motions of life withholding ‘any judgment’ until the entire process is complete. Willingness to accept and embrace the concept that “where you are, is where you are---and that’s okay because where you are, IS where you are and it’s okay because it’s WHERE YOU ARE.” This is absolute acceptance of what is, and when you really think about that, is there any other choice in life than to 'accept what is'?

The good news is there are examples to follow all around you, and they are probably the very people who drive you nuts! You know, the Pollyanna types who make it all look so easy! It’s not that they don’t experience metamorphosis; everyone does at some point or another in life. It is more about how they understand and then accept the true nature of all life. How they understand the process and through present moment thinking, allow what is, to be what is without objection (in other words, they accept what is while focusing on what they want with a detached mindset).

As we are always free to focus or think in any way we please, others make a different choice and choose to fight change every step of the way with doubt, stress and negativity… simply because they are not yet aware of or able to practice the art of allowing through detachment---and it does take practice!.

I think it takes great bravery and a lot of courage for a Caterpillar to willingly choose to embrace change and become a Butterfly, and it may require the same from you and me.

Choose to focus on the outcome you want while remaining in acceptance of what is (as best you can)! Choose to envision how it will feel when the metamorphosis is complete and you are fluttering around living the life you were meant to live…

Finding great perspectives about the journey we call life, expressing your willingness to change, and embracing what comes your way all the while focusing your intentions on what you want, can be wildly joyful—the choice is up to you! And what you think and feel is too!

Joyful in the Journey...

Kelly K. Brown

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad STUFF?

I am, that's who.

For years, I have been holding on to stuff - papers, computer cords, clothes, photos. All because of fear. So, what am I afraid of?

...that I might get asked to prove that I paid that contractor back in 2006?

...that I might need that cord that came with the MP3 player that died a year after I bought it on eBay?

...that if one day I do actually get my butt down to the size it was before I had children I'll regret that I gave away all my skinny jeans (which, by the way, were barely in style when I fit them)?

Two months ago, a dear friend of mine told me that now that her children were in school full-time and she could be more than a Stay At Home Mom (which in my opinion, is one of the hardest and most worthwhile jobs anyone can ever have), she wanted to be a Personal Organizer. Having just started my business earlier this year, I was eager to coach her through the process of getting started. She was happy to barter services and organize me. (In the end, I insisted on paying her because I am a far too extensive project to be organized for free, quite frankly. She offered, but if I'd taken her up on that offer, I fear she would have organized herself right out of my Rolodex, if you catch my drift.)

My friend and I both got a little nervous, I think, the first time she presented me with a huge pile of STUFF. It was all the CDs she'd come across that were duplicates or lacked cases or were cases with no CDs or what have you. Enter, the Stuff Monster, growling and grumbling:

Well, you can't throw this CD case away. What if you find the CD?

And you certainly can't throw this CD away. What if you find the case?

You can't throw this dupe CD away. What if you want to listen to it in my car? Wouldn't it make sense to have an extra copy?

And on and on and on. Left to my own devices and in the care of the Stuff Monster, I would find myself sitting on the floor of my library, reading the papers, strolling down memory lane, lost in the memories, getting nothing done. When those questions start rattling around my brain, I get paralyzed with fear, distracted from what's real in my life. The stuff that matters. Every hour I spend rifling through papers looking for a warranty because my files are overflowing with unnecessary user guides for gadgets I can't even find and certainly don't use is one I could spend reading a book to my children. Every minute I spend pulling out game after game because none of them have all the pieces is a minute we could spend playing together. Every minute I spend searching for a CD could be spent dancing in the living room.

I want to spend my time living and enjoying my life, not searching for it.

So today, I'm so grateful that I have someone, someone outside of my life, someone objective who loves and cares about me, who can gently guide me through the process of organizing my stuff. Figuring out what I need (KEEP), what someone else could use more than me (DONATE), and what really is no longer of use to anyone (TOSS).

That's what we hope to do on our show each week, I think. Help each other sift through the Stuff in our lives. Help each other stop being so afraid to look at it we're paralyzed, and just categorize it - stuff we need, stuff we can give back to who it really belongs to, and stuff we can let go of. That could be a thing, like all the stuff in our homes, or it could be a feeling, fear or resentment. But together, we can help each other (and those who listen to us) get Beyond the Stuff and get on with LIFE!

Lots of love,

Liimu

Purge City.....here we come!

The universe is sending me a message. I get it and choose to accept. It is saying Purge!

This is me pictured, with my book, at Canyon Ranch Tucson. I wrote about my amazing experience there in my introductory blog.

But, what I didn't share is that during my time away from home, we had a power outage lasting almost 48 hours, and my husband had to throw out much of the food in the frig.

Then, just three days after returning from Tucson, our nanny of 4+ years wound up leaving after a bit of a heated discussion. Truth is...it had been long coming, and it just reached a point of no return. She lost it. I lost it. And, then it was over. But, really I gained (and I believe she ultimately will too...since it wasn't a good fit anymore for her).

I had anticipated being in complete culture shock from it this whole week. And, while I was certainly highly disturbed about it all last weekend, I managed better than I expected and welcomed the return of privacy in the house. I hadn't realized how much I missed that, and how much more positive the energy is here now. Things had been feeling quite negative since there was tension in our home and frustration on my part and our nanny's. To me, it was palpable. Essentially, there was a mutual discontent, so this is for the best in the long run. We had planned to let her go in January anyway since in February we are gutting our entire basement to make it a better living and play area.

I'm totally psyched about what the basement will become, yet completely overwhelmed at the notion of having to clean out all that is currently there. And, believe me, there is a ton of STUFF. Some of which we'll keep and other things will be discarded or donated.

Here comes that word again....stuff! I'm surrounded by it. Yet, the powers that be are pushing me more and more to get rid of it. Whether it be food. Negative energy. People who I am no longer in sync with. Clutter. etc.

And, what I know for sure is that until I (we) purge, there won't be ample room for all the good that can come. We need to invite it into our lives.

I'm so grateful to have connected with the Beyond the Stuff gals, and I want to keep myself open to enjoying their friendship and the pursuit of our business endeavors together. I'm making more 'n more room.

I'm not someone who lets go easily, so all this purging is far from a natural course of action for me. But, I'm more capable than I think. Just judging from how I've managed this week, sans nanny, so much is possible, as long as we don't get caught up in our own self-defeating thoughts. It's easy to talk yourself out of something or make yourself feel less than adequate. I'm generally a positive person, but I have my moments of feeling overwhelmed.

So, I hope you'll take the plunge and consider joining me on the purging bandwagon. We'll both be all the happier for it!

A Formula For Success?

As you get to know each of us better and better here at Beyond the Stuff, one of the things you will discover about me is how much I love to travel! This is a picture of my visit to China late last year!

An incredible trip, it was both enjoyable and an eye opening experience for me as I learned quite a bit about Chinese history, their culture and experienced many of their beautiful scenic nature spots (Yellow Mountain comes to mind!). I even was able to try some of their interesting food choices!

Everywhere we went, the Chinese people were extremely friendly and accepting of our entire group. Quite often they would ask us to pose for pictures, with them, their children and their families... I often felt just like a movie star... This picture is one example of my Adventures in China!

I was moved from tears…

to actual sobs on occasion as I watched the very end of Oprah’s Post Election Show when BeBe Winans, CeCe Winans, Wynonna Judd and Vince Gill performed the song "We Need Each Other Right Now."

Throughout the entire election process, I have seldom spoke of who I was voting for or what I thought about much of any of it as most often I was simply overwhelmed by the negativity of the words and actions of human beings. I was frustrated when two of America’s supposed ‘finest’ stated something (almost anything really) to which the other would immediately say ‘that simply isn’t true’, and then watch the exact same thing in reverse.

I looked on as both sides used negativity, fear and other less than positive strategies and tactics to prove their point, state their opinions hoping to sway voters this way or that. And mostly I just refused to watch it or take part in any conversation about it as my spirit just doesn’t live there anymore. Siiiiiiiiiiigh…

But now that the election is over, now that the races are won or lost and with my ability to be open to both candidates in many ways for varying reasons… I was curious to see how people were reacting to this once-in-a-lifetime, truly historical election, so I tuned in to watch Oprah's special.

Being the gracious receiver of the election results and the will of the majority, I loved McCain’s heartfelt concession speech, offering to assist and help President Elect Obama in any way he can. I also loved Obama’s acceptance speech that was so warm and uniting toward a country that voted at an almost even split. I loved his ‘I may not have earned your vote, but I’ve heard your voice” sentiment directed to McCain supporters.

And for a brief moment I began to wonder of both candidates…

“Where were these words, these feelings, these united we stand, divided we fall speeches during the past 2 years?”

I do not blame either candidate specifically or individually as this is the way US politics have been for as long as I can remember, even within the individual parties (i.e. Hillary vs. Obama) just a few short months ago.

So… why the tears today?

Truthfully, it was the release of some incredible pent-up feelings of SADNESS combined with RELIEF and LOVE flowing out of my core being all at once! My innermost self was literally crying out that it was ‘tired’ of feeling like it had been ‘holding its breath’ while waiting as so much negativity flew around this country for sooooo long. And the love flowed because I sense just how torn some people still are depending on which side of the fence they were on. (I often sense and feel the ‘emotional stuff’ in others around me. )

Whether you followed the election closely or not, anywhere you ventured to go or with most anyone you engaged in conversation, its likely they had a strong point of view—which when informed, is truly valuable and a great thing indeed!

Unfortunately, many also had some negative and harsh comment or tirade to say or yell about the other candidate or the opposing party. Daily my email box was filled with something negative about this one or that one or their running mate. Even television shows both fiction and reality joined, embraced and rather ‘enjoyed’ this horrible display of ugly human behavior. And many Americans… laughed.

What makes a nation as vast and great as ours collectively agree that this type of campaigning is ‘normal’ or good? Because its successful? Because it works?

That may be so and regardless, I continue to agree with Eckhart Tolle in A New Earth, as he discusses how this behavior on any level implies that 'success' of this type is being viewed ONLY as a future event where the ends justify the means. i.e. Negative and abusive campaigning is ‘okay’ because in the end we may win through the use of it!

In other words, you may have finished the project, won the election or achieved your goal; but at what cost?

When negativity, anxiety or stress reign in any endeavor, Eckhart states the reality of what is…

“You spent two years polluting your body as well as the earth with negative energy, made yourself and those around you miserable, and affected many others you never even met.”

My belief? True and genuine success is achieved only through small and measurable ‘successful present moments’. Successful moments of full awareness, where our deeds and our time are spent in truth, integrity, and experienced solely through the foundations of love. Something I did not see through nearly 2 years of our nation’s campaigning.

So today, as I listened to this wonderful song, “We Need Each Other Right Now”, presented by Oprah to begin reuniting a country torn apart by its very own 'formula for success', at long last I breathed… and then I cried as I let out ALL the heartfelt sadness I’ve been feeling and sensing in my inner being as this election on many levels (in my opinion) reached new heights of LOW…

No matter how the 2008 election turned out, it was destined to be a new moment in history, and this indeed was an incredible, historical election in many ways. I celebrate all the hopes and dreams of those who have waited and envisioned this day for so long.

I now also, quite joyfully, add my own hopes and dreams that in these next 4 years on the winds of such an incredible, historical event, that one of the changes I will get to see and experience will be a healthy, new and more positive way to campaign for the highest office our country holds dear!

And what an incredible moment that will be…

Kelly K. Brown
‘Being’… Beyond the Stuff

Living Without The Stuff......

I was in shock!!!

It changed my life!

I couldn’t believe it but then decided that it was just the way it was supposed to be from about a minute after I discovered it.

I walked in the bathroom to find my blackberry in the sink. Okay, not really. It was in the toilet! It fell out of my jeans when I sat down I guess!

How appropriate. I bet my husband was praying that’s where it would end up!

It was one day after I had called AT&T to get a new blackberry which was still under warranty and a new one was on the way. Only now, I couldn’t send the old one back, because now it had water damage.

What was I going to do? It was my life and connection to the outside world! I lived by email, texting and calling. And now?

Let me share!

I’ve been cooking!!! I’ve made beef stew and served 3 meals including lunch for my parents and dinner and lunch for my husband and me.

I made manicotti, which I served last night and have 2 more meals frozen.

I made a pork, pineapple, green pepper with brown sweet gravy which is delicious and will be served over rice tonight.

I made mini mushroom sandwiches which were browned in butter and brown sauce with provolone cheese!


What else? I’ve been cleaning!

I cleaned out and washed and got out my winter clothes which we only wear for about a month here in Florida… but I’m ready!

I’ve been making fires in the fireplace!

My son and I have had a blast using our fireplace for the first time in 2 years and figuring out what burns best and finding paper in the house that will start the logs on fire.

I’m learning how to use my camera!

I’ve been reading up on my new camera and learning how to post pictures and videos from it. Sounds easy but I just haven’t taken the time.. was probably too busy texting! (This is a pic of my son at swim practice.. since this is a big part of our life... I wanted to share it!)

What else.... ?
I’ve also been reading!

I read LEFT TO TELL, about the Rwandan woman who survived the Holocaust and have been reading cookbooks for recipes. I also have 2 other books lined up.

I even went to the library to get the books!

What I have in my head now is stuff like “how can I make my yard nicer” and “what can I make to eat for my family when I’m out of town starting tomorrow” I’m also thinking about clients and writing and my TV project/show.

I can’t say I don’t miss my blackberry and having the ability to be in silly conversations with friends who also are addicted to their blackberries, but I can say that I am getting a lot more done, and I do feel like I’m learning something different now, about a love for cooking that I had no idea was there! It just feels so good to me to actually create something that people enjoy and that I can create an atmosphere of a home where people can relax and enjoy some good food and wine!

I’m learning that without some of the stuff that I was doing before like relying on my blackberry for the connection to friends, that now I can focus more on my home to create a warm and loving home environment for my family. I thought I was doing that before, but now, I know I’m doing it!

And then there were five...

I guess I'm the baby in the group - at 38 and with three small children, 2, 4, and 6, I find myself most frequently amazed that I am able to continue to get Beyond the Stuff to what matters in my life. With three small children, a thriving marriage, a new business and an active Recovery life (where I sponsor people and rely on a Sponsor for direction in my life), I barely have time to THINK about Stuff, let alone get caught up in it. And yet, I find the time.

But back to me. I guess my defining moment occurred when I was about to turn 25 years old and graduate from college with a degree in English. I was a bit of a party girl (and had been for more than ten years) but didn't realize that I also had a genetic predisposition for having a mental breakdown. The combination of the supreme level of stress I generally operate under and the recreational drug use I was engaging in on a somewhat regular basis was (as a medical professional has since explained it) akin to my head being a ticking time bomb that I was shaking up vigorously on a nearly daily basis. Eventually it blew, and I ended up in the campus nuthouse for more than a month, followed by another month in rehab. I had no money, and no insurance, so I ended up in a state-run program with mostly folks who had been sent there right from jail. For the first year I was out, I stayed on the straight and narrow for no other reason than that I was afraid to end up back in that Hell hole (the very same Hell hole that saved my life, I might affectionately add).

Recovery changed my life. It absolutely changed everything for me. I went from a lost, confused, wandering soul with tons of potential to a lump of moldable clay overnight. It was very uncomfortable at first, just being a shapeless lump of clay. But as my relationship with my Higher Power developed and as I began to listen to and follow the direction of people in the Program, my life and I began to take shape. I learned how to discern my Path and how to follow it. And then things really began to get interesting.

I met my husband, Glen, in 1998 when I auditioned to be a lead singer for a wedding band (I thought I was going to find a spot to do karaoke - who knew I would be signing up for a real band gig!?!). Glen was the guitar player and he didn't pay me any attention for the first 6 months. But over time, we got to know each other and realized that we had the same goofy sense of humor and that we really complemented each other - he was straight where I was curvy, and I dreamed big while he kept me firmly grounded in reality.

We now live in a suburb of Philadelphia and have three daughters - 2, 4 and 6. (We have been married for 7 years. You do the math.) Our life is relatively Americana, but as I said, Glen is the anchor and the rock that gives me the strength to take chances and mix things up. Back in 2005 before getting pregnant with our third daughter, I decided I wanted to take up running. At the end of that year, I found myself running a marathon. (In 5 hrs 25 minutes, I might add - take THAT, Katie Holmes!)

Following that experience, I was desperate to continue running and to share my experience with other moms who might be struggling to reclaim their sense of themselves and even to have the courage to redefine themselves as athletes. I decided to join a Moms group for runners and came across Moms in Motion, but they didn't have a Philadelphia chapter. Since 2006, I have been the Team Leader of the Philadelphia chapter of Moms in Motion. We do some pretty cool stuff, including philanthropic work in support of causes like Mommy's Light, an organization that helps children who have lost their moms continue the traditions they shared. Of course we also race in events like the Race for the Cure, raising funds for breast cancer research. In addition, we have some really cool speakers, like Kristen Dandar Hallowell, who came and showed us strength training exercises we can do on the playground while our kids are playing, or Susan Sabin, who showed us how to teach our kids to meditate and how to meditate ourselves.

I'm probably most well known (and certainly most recently known) for my performance last year on the NBC hit "Clash of the Choirs," as a featured soloist in Patti Labelle's "Boom Boom" Choir. (Click here to view the video.) This continues to be one of the most incredible gifts of leading an open, God-directed life. Just last weekend, I was blessed to have been asked to sing with the choir and Miss Patti on her Christmas special, and was even asked to solo again on one of her Christmas songs (we all were). I'll be sure to post that video when it comes out.

Anyway, that's me. I have an interesting and full life. I didn't even get to really talk about what I do for a living. So funny, because in our culture that's usually the first thing anyone talks about when they are asked to introduce themselves. I have a great career. I own my own successful and lucrative training design and development company. I am very happy and hope that my clients are, as well. But I'm even happier to say that what I do is not who I am. Truth is, I'm figuring that one out with each passing day and all I can tell you is that it keeps getting better.

So be sure to stay tuned.

Exciting things happen...Beyond the Stuff.