Happy Sacred Sunday!
This Tuesday was the Autumnal Equinox, which means we officially entered the fall season here in the Northern Hemisphere. If I’m being honest, the day escaped me. Tuesdays are my coaching days, and as soon as my last session ended, I jumped in my car to have dinner with my friend whose mom passed away suddenly. By the time I got home and laid my head on my pillow, I was out like a light.
How many times have you been so busy navigating your daily life that you miss a birthday, a holy day, a change of season … and you discover it while scrolling through Instagram the next day?
Yeah, me too.
Change often happens behind the scenes while your life movie is playing at full speed. That’s why it’s so easy to miss.
But even without knowing it was the equinox, I had been feeling an energetic shift in me that I couldn’t quite name. I spoke about it in The Well on Wednesday, and many of the members reported feeling a similar shift.
Fast forward to last night. There was a full moon. I probably would have missed this too if my son hadn’t learned about it and suggested we do a full moon ritual.
Nothing fancy. Just my son, his friend, and me in my backyard, sitting on our couch facing the moon with a piece of paper, a pen, and a fire (thanks to the tabletop fire pit my client gifted me).
We jotted down anything negative we wanted to release, ripped up the paper, and burned it in our fire pit. We then wrote an intention we wanted to manifest and placed the paper on the table to sit under the moon all night. And we prayed together. Hugged. Held hands. Shared a bliss-full moment.
It was the first time I had ever done a ritual like that. I’d heard about these rituals and imagined one day I’d participate with a group of woo-woo women at the beach or something. But I never imagined it would be with my son in my backyard. It was the biggest gift I could have ever received.
Rituals have a way of slowing life down, romanticizing it, and making a moment feel sacred. A moment like that makes everything feel okay.
I remembered what Byron Katie told a woman she was working with in her book, Loving What Is:
“Aside from what you’re thinking and believing, can you find one time in your entire life when you weren’t okay? It doesn’t happen. You’re always okay.”
No matter what your circumstances are, no matter how much uncertainty your future holds, no matter how much pain you’ve experienced in the past … other than the thoughts running through your mind, you are always okay.
As I sat under the full moon last night with my son, I felt that sense: we are okay.
Today is our last Sunday of September. Last week, I invited you to slow it down before October arrives. This week I’m asking:
What are you ready to release from this year, season, month, or week? Maybe it isn’t a circumstance. Maybe it’s a thought.
And whether you noticed the equinox or the full moon doesn’t matter. The beauty of life is that you create your own rituals, adopt your own language, and find your own moments. Light a candle. Write in your journal. Take a bubble bath. Go to church. Sit outside. There are no rules, only rhythms to nurture your soul when you need it most.
Then hit reply and tell me one thing you decided to release. I read every note.
Lastly, it took me a while to download my intention for October, but it came through my best friend and right hand, Frances, and I can’t wait to share it with you next Sunday. It’s going to change the way we approach the last 90 days of this year.
Sending you so much love today and always,
P.S. Funny that I’m talking about experiencing bliss in my backyard under a full moon, because this week on the podcast I’m talking about how you’re not guaranteed bliss anywhere… not even in Paris. [Listen here.]
Setting intentions
Happy Sacred Sunday!
Last week I told you I was going off the grid to attend the Warrior Week retreat with my sons’ high school. In that email I wrote:
So this is my intention this week: I’m choosing Warrior Week as time to be where my feet are planted. I am going there to serve, in whatever capacity is needed of me. I want to truly experience this place, not manage it within my busy schedule.
I have a deep feeling that this trip is going to be very meaningful for me, and I’m showing up fully for it. I will see you right here in your inbox next week, sharing whatever I gained along the way.
When you set an intention, you set it with a vision and expectation of how things are going to play out. You create a little movie of the future experience you’re about to have and then you set out to live that movie.
But life has a funny way of surprising you.
By the time that movie is over, your intention is far more meaningful than you ever imagined it would be … if you were mindful enough to remember your initial intention. Because with all the plot twists, it’s easy to let the current drift you away from it and forget it altogether.
I had a movie in my mind of how Warrior Week was going to play out. And at the beginning, the trip was aligned with my movie, only it was better. It was more special and beautiful than I imagined it would be. Similarly, it was also more challenging to disconnect from the grid than I planned for, and that sparked some important lessons there too.
But the most unexpected plot twist happened at midnight on Thursday morning when my son, Orly, called me to tell me that his brother had a very bad stomach ache and needed me.
I rushed over to the infirmary to see Justin in excruciating pain, vomiting uncontrollably, and unable to find relief. That began the longest 72-hour stretch I’d had in a long time. It was a time of uncertainty, trying to discern between intuition and noise, making impromptu decisions, and staying calm in the storm.
Ultimately, we landed in a hospital in Atlanta where we discovered Justin had appendicitis and needed immediate surgery. We were transferred by ambulance to a children’s hospital in the area to perform surgery and hope that his appendix had not ruptured. Luckily, it didn’t, which meant Justin would be discharged from the hospital 24 hours later instead of spending 3 to 5 days there.
We were able to take a flight home late last night to reunite with our five fingers and in time for Orly and Justin’s first day of school.
Here I am revisiting these words:
So this is my intention this week: I’m choosing Warrior Week as time to be where my feet are planted. I am going there to serve, in whatever capacity is needed of me. I want to truly experience this place, not manage it within my busy schedule. I have a deep feeling that this trip is going to be very meaningful for me, and I’m showing up fully for it.
Suddenly being where my feet were planted, serving in whatever capacity was needed of me, truly experiencing this place, and that deep feeling that this trip was going to be very meaningful for me, became bigger than I ever imagined it would be. So much so, that I am not ready to share all the lessons. There are too many and I must organize them in private before I can share them coherently with you. I’m still processing it all.
There is one moment of clarity I do want to leave you with:
Your circumstances do not define your happiness. Your interpretation of those circumstances does.
What I have just shared with you may sound like the trip took a negative turn. You may be reading this thinking, ugh, that sucks.
When my husband called, the first thing he said to his son was, “I’m sorry your trip got ruined, buddy.”
Justin’s response: “It didn’t.”
Because here’s the thing Justin and I both understood. I got added to this trip at the last minute. Not all parents were there, but I was, and it was my son who needed me to be there.
Those 72 hours were painful but we were also met with incredible kindness, synchronicities, and blessings. We both had a deep gratitude for how everything played out. It never escaped us how lucky we were, and how differently this all could have gone.
Last night as we waited to board our flight home, I asked my son what the highlight of this trip was.
“The time we spent together post surgery.”
Who would have ever thought that could possibly be his response. And yet, it was.
When your focus is on gratitude, your circumstances take on a completely different perspective.
I am back home and getting ready for School Year’s Eve tonight. Tune into this week’s episode of Bliss’n Up to hear more about the challenges that ritual brought this year!
I will also spend some time in reflection to gather all the other lessons I brought home from this incredible week at Warrior Week. (Because there were plenty of moments of clarity even before the appendix surprise!)
In the meantime, I’m wishing you an intentional Sacred Sunday with your eyes set on gratitude.
Sending you much love today and always,
Happy Sacred Sunday!
It’s the last day of #AnchorAugust and the time has come to notice what this month has looked like and name the one that’s coming. Don’t you just love when the first or last day of the month lands on a Sunday, making it the perfect end/start to a new cycle?
Am I the only one who geeks out on these nuances? 😁
Today I am sending you this love letter from a cozy coffee shop in Portland, Maine. We came here for my cousin’s wedding. 
For me this was a very special wedding, because this is my father’s sister’s daughter’s wedding. I’ll give you a minute to read that again. 😉 My aunt has always lived in the northeast, so I don’t see her often. But growing up, I always noticed how much my father went out of his way to stay close to his sister. When he had business in New York, instead of staying at a hotel nearby, he would stay at his sister’s house in Connecticut and take the train back and forth just to spend quality time with her, her husband, and their daughters. He taught me that distance doesn’t have to mean disconnect.
I’ll admit I haven’t always been as good at this as he was.
But August was all about Anchoring and I’ve been extra mindful about anchoring into my relationships. It felt quite synchronistic that my cousin was getting married the weekend after his birthday. He wouldn’t have missed this wedding for anything, and although he couldn’t be here physically, it was important for my Five Fingers to be there to represent him. 
At the reception, Ryan was showing his little cousin magic tricks, and I knew my dad was smiling down. He was always the one doing magic tricks for kids at parties.
That’s the power of naming your intentions. The Universe has a beautiful way of giving you opportunities to live out your intentions if you choose to pay attention.
I was always going to come to this wedding … but anchor august intention allowed me to connect the dots and show up in a more meaningful manner.
I hope this reminds you that the facts don’t have to change to make your story that much more beautiful.
So as I sit here enjoying the crisp weather and small-town charm, I’m closing the Anchor August loop and opening September with an open heart.
💡 Here’s a little hint: September’s theme is all about strengthening your foundation so you feel unshakable heading into the fall.
Want the full story and how to apply it to your own life?
🎧Click here to tune in to this week’s podcast
Now it’s your turn: Will you adopt September’s theme with us, or are you naming your own? Hit reply and let me know. (I read every single note!)
Sending you so much love as we close one month together and step into the next. It’s a privilege to walk this intentional life alongside you.
With love,
Bliss’n Up Podcast
P.S. If this message made you think of someone, would you forward it to them? A simple “this made me think of you” could be exactly the encouragement they need today.