Dear Women Who Love,

Because we all do, don't we?  Just about 24/7.  I was reflecting just the other day that almost always the reasons why we don't live a life we love or we lose track of ourselves is because we are trying so hard to love and take care of others.  How utterly astonishing we are. Even when we're crabby and hormonal and stressed, we give love or time or inspiration to someone. Observe yourself and see if I'm not right.

And while you are celebrating your love-ingness, remember that the never-ending love that some people call Allah and others Gaia and others call God, the Divine, or just Light (when I die, I'm going to ask this love a whole bunch of questions, including where are all the lost socks and what are all your names?) is loving you- all you have to do is pause and invite your awareness to relish in it.

At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

P.S. Remember the second major event of my 2006 Self-Care USA Tour (Tour details forthcoming!) The Woman's Creativity Spa will be held from May 20-26, 2006 in Santa Barbara, CA.  Register now or you'll be watching us from the Tour-Cam! :)

Self-Care Minder
Inspiration Gyration

How often do we sit waiting for inspiration?  We sit and stew and ponder and pout.  We think it's all about the mind and how it tie ideas to inspiration, yet, the experience of inspiration is first physical.  What is your calling card of inspiration? Goose bumps? Chills? A burst of energy? The urge to dance?  Suddenly feeling rather randy?

What if, rather than believing inspiration only causes these reactions, maybe you could consider that your physical body can provide the glow. Research has shown the more you smile, the happier you feel and if you wait for something to make you smile, then you are less likely to feel happy.  So why not do the same for inspiration--get into the body of inspired and then see what follows?

Try this: stand up, close your eyes and sway gently.  Allow your arms to be heavy and your neck to be long and relaxed. Feel your feet connected to the earth yet ready for anything.  Conjure a tropical breeze to caress your skin or the spray from a warm waterfall or whatever would feel good on your skin right now. Raise your hand to your mouth and pretend you just bit into something so delicious, your sense of smell and of taste is shocked into delight...now ask yourself, "How does inspiration want to move me?" See if your body has a response in movement, in shivers, in memories, in opening to the life force of the universe!

Inspiration adores being courted, being wooed. She has seen the human struggle for eons and like all divine help, she cannot roll up her sleeves for us until we ask, until we are willing to surrender to her song. It also helps to remember inspiration is rarely literal.  If you are inspired to write a song, but you are not a writer or a musician, it could be a call to change the tune of your life or play inspiring music while you design your computer programs or to sign up for a class in guitar.

Finally, when you feel flat as stale pita bread, go do something for someone else. Snap out of the self-centered overanalyzing mode and realize we rarely see our power to inspire others. I talked to a guy in India last week when calling to change my plane reservations and we inspired each other just be being friendly to each other.  Shockingly supportive (my inner critic had to chime in) comments on my LoudenMouth blog recently showed I can be inspiring when all I'm seeing is my warts.

Evoke the body, surrender to inspiration's spell, reach out in any way that feels good and I find that inspiration will undoubtedly come to call with energy to spare.

I'd love to hear what inspires you and how you have inspired others!  Send a quick note to Jennifer@ComfortQueen.com.

Comfort Wishes
I wish you a day in which you lower your standards.
Forget your thighs (or dirty laundry or debt or taxes or _____)
Throw a Mardi Gras party for your big heart.
Plant a seed for a stranger with your grin.
And mostly, watch a day unfold you will always be proud of because you were utterly and extremely and blazingly you.

Site Delights
Artella is a magazine and support network for writers, artists, and creative spirits.  To boost your creative brain power, check them out!

Comfort Reads
Get Unstuck and Get Going by Michael Bungay Stanier
Michael is part of my braintrust, a group that meets every two weeks to support each other's businesses. I love this interactive book--it is genius.

Urgent Message from Mother by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.
Inspiration to help us keep offering our gifts in service to the world. A good one to have around when you feel nothing is helping and there is no hope.

Storycatcher by Christina Baldwin
Using story to make sense of our lives and our purpose. Christina will be my guest on my radio show and you'll be able to hear a bit of it in on my podcast!

Creativity Day Spa Give-Away!
Does your creative life need a little R&R, some luscious pampering, and a day of splendid nurturing? Then we've got great news!

Kick-off Jennifer's 2006 Self-Care USA Tour and enter our free raffle! You could win the Creativity Day Spa of your choice! Each Spa is an uplifting, playful mix of SoulCollage®, expressive movement, creative journaling, and guided visualization from which you will emerge sparkling and glowing with renewed creative energy. The winner will choose from one of four uniquely themed Spas and receive the SoulCollage® book by Seena Frost and Jennifer's Comfort Secrets for Busy Women!

Spa dates, times, themes and location can be found here

Entering to win is easy! Enter online by March 29th.  

Please note that early bird registration for the first Spa, Swimming into the Creative Flow, ends on March 29th. After that, registration will increase by 20% to $130. So, if you're planning to attend the April Spa, register now to nail down your early-bird pricing.  If you win the raffle, we'll refund all of your money. You have to be in it to win it!  Tell a friend!

The winner will be announced via the Louden Mouth blog on March 30th!

NOTE: The ranch in Santa Barbara where Camille and I are doing the Creativity Spa is now for sale so this may well be the last event we do there.  Part of our retreat will be to be fully present in this amazingly special place with prayers that it will be available to us again in the future, or if not, that it's future use will provide as much positive contribution to the world as it has till now.

CLICK HERE to see all of Jennifer's retreats and creativity spas!