Upcoming Retreat: Envision Your Life, 2011 and Beyond!

Hello Lovelies!

On Saturday, March 5th, 2011 from 9am to 4pm (only a little over two months away!) 12 women and I will embark on a journey of discovering infinite possibilities for our lives. Through Journaling around powerful inquiries, engaging our bodies in gentle movement led by certified Yoga instructor, Laura Godfrey (click here to learn more about Laura), expressing ourselves through creative projects, and sharing our hopes and fears with one another, we will explore our dreams, discover and work toward releasing the limiting beliefs that hold us back, and create practical steps toward making our visions for our lives a passionate reality.

If you think that sounds like a wonderful experience, it gets even better! Not only will we be embarking on a life-changing journey with other amazing women, we will be doing so amidst the beautiful natural landscape and centering facilities of the Platinum LEED Certified Holy Wisdom Monastery, a retreat center located just on the edge of Middleton, WI. To learn more about this AMAZING space and their offerings, visit, http://www.benedictinewomen.org/. This building is as environmentally sustainable as it gets and incredibly beautiful! I can’t wait for us to grow in it together!

This retreat is a wonderful alternative (and antidote!) to overwhelming New Year's resolutions and perfect for all of you women who want to start off this next year...and the rest of your lives, more in alignment with who you REALLY are...your fabulous, passionate, joyful selves. Yippee! I can't wait! And GUESS WHAT?! It gets EVEN better!

I am offering an EARLY BIRD SPECIAL from now until February 2nd, 2011. That’s right. From now until February 2nd, I am making this retreat available for just $99—that includes:

- a delicious, all natural lunch provided by the staff at Holy Wisdom Monastery
- all retreat materials
- time to reflect on and explore your inner most dreams
- time to connect with beautiful, natural surroundings
- discovering the core limiting beliefs and behaviors that keep you from your dreams
- tools to release your limiting beliefs and positive steps toward creating your joyful vision right away
- have the opportunity to experience my loving, acknowledgment-based coaching in action.
- connection with other fabulous women (!)
- the ability to express yourself in a safe, and accepting environment
- an opportunity to connect with your body and explore it's innate wisdom
- an opportunity to connect with your creative power
- re-igniting or igniting for the first time your passion and inspiration
- and the opportunity to create positive,  lasting, joyful results for the rest of your life.

Contact me TODAY to register for Envision Your Life!
After February 2nd the cost goes up to $129, so you better ACT NOW as I am only accepting 12 women in order to allow plenty of time and intimate connection for all who attend. Don’t miss your chance to experience this amazingly fun and nurturing event and all of the positive growth that will follow!

Much Love and I can't WAIT to see you in March!

:)Melissa Simonson
Astrology Coach, Inspirational Speaker,

and Singer-songwriter
www.igniteyourvoice.com

©2011 Melissa Simonson

This Year I Resolve to be Kind to Myself *

A few days ago I misplaced my car keys for what felt like the millionth time.  Of course, it was only an hour before I had to lead an after school girl’s group at a local middle school; and of course, I realized that my car keys were sitting in the front seat of someone else’s car on the other side of town.  It was nothing short of a hair-pulling, expletive-screaming, time-to-pause-and-take-deep-breaths kind of experience.  Needless to say, I was more than a little bit frustrated with myself in that moment.

As we embark on yet another new year, I could resolve to end these car-key catastrophes once and for all—getting one, or perhaps 5, spare sets would probably solve the problem.  I could resolve to be more organized, thus avoiding these hectic moments, but let’s face it people.  I was the kid who not only needed her mittens sewn to the sleeves of her winter jacket, I was also the kid who needed an organizer on her desk in the fifth grade to ensure that she took the correct folders home from school.  If it’s not my keys, or my mittens, or my homework eluding me, then it’s probably going to be something else.  That’s just…me.  This year, instead of steeping myself in piles of well-wishes and adding to a list of good intentions that make my stomach churn, I simply resolve to be kind to myself.

In all of our good intentions it can become so easy to lose the most important ingredient in living a joyful life: the truth of who we are--the fact that we are loveable no matter what the bathroom scale says, or how much money is in our bank account, or how good we are at keeping track of our car keys.  As human beings, we attach ourselves to an illusion of perfection, the belief that we are somehow not enough as we are.  One day, we look into the mirror, and all that we can see are the ways in which we don’t measure up. 

The exciting news is that we have a choice.  We do not have to buy into that illusion.  We do not have to resolve to be somehow better than we are, to be more than we are, and it is entirely possible to love ourselves—as challenging as that may seem, at first.

One of the most powerful tools that we have in creating joy is our ability to acknowledge ourselves, to draw our attention to the good in who we are and what we do.  My primary role as a life coach is to direct my clients toward rediscovering the magnificence that shines through them every day.  The truth is YOU are magnificent. We all are.  We each have a unique gift to offer the world, and believe it or not, we each offer that gift every day that we rise.  I invite you to pause and ask yourself, “In what ways do I give a gift every single day?”

The more that you focus on all that is magnificent within you, the more you will see those parts of yourself thriving, and many of the parts that frustrate you will begin to fall away.  Just like we did when we were children, we thrive when we feel loved and accepted.  If you so desperately want to be good, to be a success, I suggest that you start seeking the good within yourself, right now.  You will be amazed at what you find.

One thing that I know for certain is that the part of me that causes me to misplace my car keys is also the part of me that allows me to be creative and quirky and spontaneously joyful.  I am constantly exploring and theorizing.  I am a woman of high ideals and bright ideas.  Organizing stuff might not be my forte, but being present and compassionate with people is.  If I hadn’t experienced my missing car-key fiasco the other day, I wouldn’t have had a laughter-producing story to share with the girls that I teach. 

And so, this year, before you resolve to climb a hill of high expectations, I invite you to pause and ask yourself, “In what ways do I give a gift every day?” Get creative—see how long that you can make that list; and if you forget to ask yourself that question, be kind to yourself anyway.  After all, you are magnificent…just as you are.

*Originally Published in the January 2010 edition of Wisconsin Woman Magazine.

:)Melissa Simonson
Astrology Coach, Inspirational Speaker,

and Singer-songwriter
www.igniteyourvoice.com

©2010 Melissa Simonson

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEBSITE? No problem!--as long as you use this entire blurb with it: As an Astrology Coach, Speaker, and Singer/Songwriter, Melissa Simonson sees it as her life's work to be an authentic expression of her inner truth, and to assist others in being the same. Melissa creates a space of fun and acceptance as she invites her clients to discover the extraordinary within their everyday lives. By asking powerful questions and bringing the spiritual down to earth through her own stories, she helps individuals realize that joy and abundance are not impossible to obtain, but rather a birth-right that we can realize at any time. To learn more, visit: www.igniteyourvoice.com