by Ann Evanston | Jan 9, 2018 | Mindsets
I have been on the exploration of joy. Trying to truly understand what it means to live with joy, versus joyous moments. As I mentioned previously, being joy, 100% of the time seems so odd to me, although my psychology background believes it to be possible. There are times, like doing basic business tasks, where joy just isn’t in me. I am in “get stuff done” mode.
Then I thought about my grandma. As I think about her, and how she lived her life, she knew peace, contentment and joy. Every moment she accepted with joy. Quiet moments, busy moments, even times when she couldn’t hear the conversation as she lost her hearing….all in joy.
Even the shitty stuff.
Like losing her husband with 3 children under 8. OK, yeah, I wasn’t there for that, but I know how family spoke of her.
Or later in life when she was diagnosed with lung cancer, and made her choice to not treat it. She wasn’t in a state of worry. Or sadness.
Peace. Contentment and joy.
I guess that’s a key: accepting the moment as it is. Right now. Do you live with joy inside you?
by Ann Evanston | Jan 7, 2018 | Intimacy, Relationship
Too often we can associate intimacy with sex. Not that sex can’t be wildly intimate, but there are other ways to achieve intimacy with your lover. And often the non-sexual ways create the deepest spiritual connection.
For example, this Christmas my husband and I chose to have a home spa day. The goal was simply to nurture each other, and our bodies. We chilled bottle of champagne, and I pulled out every lotion, and scrubber and facial I could find. We made sugar scrubs for each other as well, choosing an essential oil to scent them.
Wearing our robes, with a glass of bubbles, we went through a spa experience together. Deep conditioning our hair, polishing our faces, dealing with those feet! And lastly a full body sugar scrub and shower together.
No sex.
No, that wasn’t the rule! It’s just what naturally happened. Sharing together, talking, laughing, touching each other‘s bodies…scrubbing and cleaning each other. Those things created intimacy. A beautifully deep, soul felt connection.
Intimacy this more often about nurturing the other then it is taken care of your own needs. It’s about the ability to listen, see, touch, and feel. It’s about allowing yourself to be imperfect and complete at the same time.
by Ann Evanston | Jan 4, 2018 | Energy
As a gardener, I am a big believer in the power of connecting to the earth (earthing.) There is even research that proves the value of it. You would think I spend enough time in the garden. I recently had an important reality check which has led to a new challenge I will incorporate in my life.
Waking up in the middle of the night sucks! Especially when your brain turns on and cannot go back to sleep. I woke and decided I just needed to get up. Initially I played one of my games thinking it would turn my brain off, and that didn’t work. So I decided to get on Facebook. I figured reading about everybody else’s lives would take my mind off mine!
While doing that, I ended up watching a video about the idea of grounding. (Also known as earthing.) Energetically the earth can help us heal. Especially around areas of inflammation. When I think about my time in the garden, I typically have shoes on, and often gloves depending on what I’m doing. I am not physically grounded.
This mini movie was all about how being connected to the earth can actually reduce inflammation in the body. And in the past several months, my husband and I have had conversations about how inflammation is my issue. I have it everywhere in my body.
That very moment I decided to take on a challenge related to grounding. Every day I will go outside and spend three minutes with my feet connected to the earth. Just three simple minutes, I’m not trying to be superwoman here and do more right away!
This means taking off my shoes and socks and making sure I am connected to the earth. Not the concrete or the asphalt. It must be grass, dirt, sand, ocean, lake or even natural rock. In many ways it’s a form of meditation yet I’m not stressing about visualization or quieting my mind. Just connecting to mother earth. It’s only been a few days and I really look forward to my commitment.
I could say there are some changes in my body, and I’ve slept better the last two nights but I want to leave that until further down the road! This could be a very valuable challenge for any woman who is always on the go and has a ton to do all the time. Might you join me in three minutes of earthing?
by Ann Evanston | Dec 30, 2017 | Uncategorized
I have two best girlfriends that I adore. We’ve known each other for 30 years. One, who this story is about, is much like me in personality: bold, sassy, strong and loving and always willing to tell it like it is.
Physically though we are very different. She is 6 foot tall with a huge head of curly blond hair.
This year when starting my e-book series Unscripted, she reached out to help find women to write stories. Of course I told her she should write one! As we were talking she shared a very interesting story. She said:
“Ann, I have never told you this so let me finish. This week I took a group of women to see Wonder Woman. They’re all women I’ve worked with over the years on body image (my friend is a fitness coach). I wanted them to see this strong, powerful woman on the big screen. As I watched I could only think about myself and something you have called me all these years.
For 25+ years you have always introduced me as ‘the blonde Amazon.’ I can always hear you saying; ‘meet my girlfriend Erica, the blonde Amazon.’ And I hated it. It took me back to childhood always being the tallest, or ‘biggest’ as it was described, girl in class. I was the giant! I never got upset because I knew you meant it out of love, but deep inside it was always painful when you said it.
Watching the movie I realized what a great complement it actually was. I am tall and strong and powerful. So now I am owning blonde Amazon.“
Several months later I get a text from her and she says you have to see this as you are a huge part of it. She sends me this picture:
I actually had tears well in my eyes! In starting a new business, that is what she chose to name it.
There is nothing more beautiful than fully owning who you are. All of you.
by Ann Evanston | Dec 28, 2017 | Energy
Every emotion, including anger, vibrates energetically. We can consciously connect to it, and move and transfer it anytime, anyplace.
I believe with awareness we understand that we can choose to connect to any emotion and transfer energy. I believe I control how I react and act energetically.
With wisdom, most of us learn this to be true.
One time I had a woman in a group setting transferring the most angry energy. It was permeating the entire room. People sitting near her were leaning away. The room, dampened. It seemed next day she left. The room changed. It filled with love, laughter, support.
Was she aware of her energy? And did if so, was she choosing it? I so hope not.
My challenge was I couldn’t overcome it. If you have been in a room with me, you KNOW how strong my energy is. How I can flow through a group of people. I could not get my loving, powerful energy to blanket over hers and put it out.
Now I must consciously work to improve my abilities.
Are you aware of your energy?
