CassandraRae.com

“Soften Up”

During this morning’s conversation with God I asked him why he was always so accepting of me and giving me permission to feel how I feel no matter how much I don’t like how I feel and he didn’t even have to answer me directly.  In my frustration about his acceptance – can you believe I was frustrated by being accepted?! – I was venting about it and realized that if he scolded me for where I was at and told me that I have to do x, y, or z, that then I would totally rebel against him.

It was such an eye opener and all of a sudden I had a deeper understanding why giving myself permission is so much more powerful than pressuring myself into moving forward.

You see, I tend to do that: pressure myself relentlessly.

But, whenever I’m connecting with God he doesn’t do that to me.  Instead he continually tells me, “That’s okay.”  Even when I’m like, “I feel like such a failure!” he always responds with, “That’s okay.”

And this morning I was fed up.  I asked, “How is that okay? How is it okay that I feel uninspired? Can’t you just force me to stay inspired?”

And that’s when it hit me!  It really wouldn’t work if God continually told me that I’m not okay and forced me to take action.

So, if God is smart enough to know that force doesn’t work, then why am I continually trying to force myself?

You know, it’s such a human thing to force and try.  That’s really not what I should focus on here.  It would be way more powerful for me to make a commitment to follow God’s lead, give myself permission, and embrace myself along the way.

So today as I begin my day I am willing to commit to notice whenever I’m pressuring myself, to let it go, and to give myself permission to be where I’m at.  And you know what? I feel more inspired now than I have in weeks!

What about you? Which path will you choose? Pressuring yourself into action? Or accepting yourself into it? I’d love to hear your take.  Please post your thoughts, fears, and insights.

Tags: acceptance, humanity, inspiration, Life Coaching, pressure, Spirituality & God, stress

I have the pleasure of working my ass off as Dorothy!  Please join me as it all pays off on stage.  Here is the official announcement & invite:

You are cordially invited to “Ease on Down the Road” as Center for Spiritual Living presents another fun summer series.  Dorothy awakens after an earthquake to find that nothing is as she remembers it – nothing except her bossy, over-bearing sister, “Negative.”  Journey with Dorothy as she tries to find her way home and along the way meets a variety of L. Frank Baum’s most beloved characters, including Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion – all with a modern twist, of course!  The Wizard of SOM begins June 21st for six consecutive weeks leading up to a beautiful finale on July 26th.  Each musical vignette will be performed at both Sunday services, followed by Rev. David’s fabulous message; so whether you attend the 9:30 or the 11 AM service, you won’t miss out on this delightful trip down the yellow brick road!

Still begging and pleading for you to vote for me!  It’s super easy…just a few clicks away.

Tags: Center for Spiritual Living, inspiration, music, religion, Spirituality & God, theatre

If you keep focusing on that which stands in between you and your dreams you might not ever get there.

I realized this morning that I keep focusing on all the things I haven’t done or I’m not doing in my coaching practice.  There’s this underlying energy that I’m not good enough or doing enough.  And yet, I have more clients now than I’ve ever had before.

Why am I not celebrating?!

So this morning I decided that I am enough and it’s okay to stop believing that I’m not.

The first step really is choosing to be different.  There’s always going to be something else you could do, so it really does come down to making a choice to allowing yourself to be enough right now just as you are.  And truth be told, you really can accomplish more when you come from a loving place of acceptance.

What a great way to begin my weekend!  Now I give myself permission to go see a movie with the Hubs this morning – he needs to take some vacation days this month and my favorite theater is selling $6 tickets for all am shows on Fridays.  What a great way to celebrate!

Now what can you do to celebrate all that you’ve already accomplished?

Tags: attitude, celebrate, coaching, confidence, Life Coaching, negative self talk, productivity, self esteem, success

I am so excited (and a bit terrified!) to announce that I am starring in a musical!  Can you believe it? I’m still a bit shocked.  And I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be Dorothy in the Wizard of SOM at the Center for Spiritual Living in San Jose.

This is an amazing show that was written and directed by two amazing CSL women.  It is an updated, spiritual version of the Wizard of Oz – and a whole heck of a lot of fun!  It’s an awesome script filled with humor, heart, and song.  I hope you can come out and enjoy it.

It is our summer series program, which means that we will be performing a new installment of the play each Sunday beginning on June 21st for 6 Sundays in a row.  Performances are at 9:30 and 11 services and we are located at:

Center for Spiritual Living
1195 Clark Street
San Jose, CA 95125
Phone (408) 294-1828

So in order to enjoy the entire production you get to show up every week!  How fun is that? And of course, while you’re there you will find me, give me a hug, and tell me how much you loved my performance!  hee hee hee :~)

Okay, so I know all of you can’t make it every week.  If you must pick and choose a week or two, then I highly recommend you come for weeks 5 & 6 (July 19 & 26).  In both of those weeks I sing a solo!

Get connected at the Center for Spiritual Living

Tags: church, Fun & Friends, performing, religion, Spirituality & God, theatre

One of the topics I coach my clients on and certainly a hot topic in my own life is:

How do you recharge your energy?

So back during the Christmas season of 2007 I came up with a cool acronym for energy that I revisit anytime I feel low on energy.  Here it is:

E is for exercise: How much exercise are you receiving?

N is for nurture: What part or parts of you need some nurturing?

E is for eat: How much food are you receiving? And is it healthy?

R is for rest and relaxation: How much relaxation are you receiving?

G is for give: What are you willing to give to yourself?

Y is for you: What are you willing to ask for? Or ask for help with?

As you can see most of it is about receiving.  Most of us are really good about giving, but the truth is if we give, give, give and not receive, then we run out.  And when we run out, we’re out of commission, which doesn’t help anyone.  So be sure to throw some giving to yourself into your daily life.  Oh…and don’t be shy about asking for more energy from the Universe.  There’s plenty to go around!

The plain and simple truth about recharging your energy is that it almost all comes down to your sleeping, diet, and exercise habits.  You don’t have to make major changes in your lifestyle.  Focus on adding one new healthy habit at a time and sit back to watch how your life can change and your energy can soar!

Tags: energy, recharge, tired

Yesterday I attended a Mike Robbins workshop at the Center for Spiritual Living and my main take-away was:

I am one tough cookie!

Yeah, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t part of the lesson plan, but damn…I feel empowered!  And that was a part of the lesson plan.

We did these two exercises – that totally reminded me of Challenge Day by the way – and during the first one  I realized that I am super attached to “the rules” and that I am afraid of “getting it wrong.” This is what’s keeping me from taking authenticity (and my coaching practice) to the next deeper level.  But, you know what’s so cool about discovering this and sharing it with my small group? That just by sharing the truth about what’s keeping me from being more authentic is being authentic!  Did you catch that? My mind is doing cartwheels!

Anyhow, the second exercise was all about sharing what you appreciate about yourself and when it came to my turn to share I blurted out:

I appreciate about myself that I’m one tough cookie!

It’s true.  I’ve successfully made it through some life threatening challenges including going to UC Berkeley’s business school while being a single mom.  And you don’t accomplish that without being a tough cookie.

What really hit home for me is that in the past I was so tough I became hard and like Greg shared with me, a hard metal will crack upon impact.  But, a tough metal will bend, mold, and survive because it’s resilient.  In my journey of connecting with myself, creating peace in my life, and following my dreams and passions, I left Tough Cookie behind.

But, I really need her now.  I pride myself in being calm, positive, and uplifting – all great traits – and Tough Cookie is just who I need to fully show up in my life and play whole heartedly.

I’m so ready for this next step and I am super glad that I have Tough Cookie on my side because not only does it take guts to create and run your own business…it takes one Tough Cookie to parent a 16 year old girl.

Tags: human nature, humanity, inspiration, Life Coaching, Mike Robbins

This book wil NOT teach you new parenting skills and strategies.  It will give you a comprehensive understanding of a potentially boring and dry topic (brain development) in an interesting and readable way.  The author (a health and medical science editor) weaves in personal stories with facts and research findings about the teenage brain, which makes this non-fiction book a page turner.

The bottom line is that the human brain is under major construction (some might even say destruction!) during the teen years and if you’re frustrated with your teen’s inability to think things through ahead of time, then stop judging your teen and your parenting skills and read this book.  This is ground-breaking news that every parent should know because it will change how you look at your teen and your expectations.  Add this knowledge to your parenting toolbox today.

p.s. There is also some interesting information about the toddler brain in this book, so if you have babies and young children I highly recommend you read this book too.  Besides the more you know before your child is a tween and teen, the better off you are!

Tags: Book Reviews, books, brain, health, Parenting, teen, tween

Oh my gosh!  My blog has been nominated for it’s very first award!  My heart is racing.  My eyes are batting.  And I’m on bended knee humbly asking (read: begging!) for your vote.  I have been nominated for the best local blog in San Francisco in the Nickelodeon’s Parents’ Picks website. Click here to cast your vote today and every day until July 15.

Tags: award, bloggers, blogging, Nick's Parents' Pick

Michael Port says, “The single most important act of any one individual thinking big is inspiring others to think big.

Truth be told, sometimes it’s easier to help others to think big than to do it ourselves. And here is the gift of thinking big… the process of helping others is what builds our confidence and increases our capacity for doing big things in the world.

So today, as a big thinker I very respectfully and humbly request that you tell 3 people about the Think Big Manifesto.

Together, we can make the world a better place. Together, we can make history. Here’s the link to Amazon.com for The Think Big Manifesto:”

And so while I was online buying the Think Big Manifesto I also picked up:

And in order to get “free” shipping I also bought:

Tags: books

Hi ya’ll ~

I received this message via a Facebook friend and I am considering taking the challenge. Of course, I’m also already thinking of ways that I can watch TV by not watching TV. Like, watching a movie from Netflix on my computer doesn’t count right?! Let me know what you think about the challenge and if you’re going to do it. Here it is:

Subject: Live your Life Challenge

A FB friend asked in their status, “What would happen if everyone stopped watching TV?” We had an interesting conversation speculating. Let’s find out! I dare everyone to stop watching TV for a week starting Fri. 4/24 and post your results in your status.

Pass it on to your friends.

p.s. I just finished watching Lost, one of my favorite tellie shows!

Tags: challenge, inspiration, TV