A Lion's Heart

Listen in silence,

as the heart never lies.

Lead with perseverance,

as a lion's heart never hides.

-Jennifer-

One of my most favorite things to talk and write about is the heart which ultimately leads to love.  It has taken me my whole life to learn how to truly love.  To learn how to give love and also how to receive love.  I struggled for a long time funny enough, to find the words to express to other's how I unconditionally feel about, well everything.  And it took me my lifetime thus far, to be able to feel comfortable enough to find the words in order to ask those that I love what I need from them.  To be able to tell them what I will and will not accept in a relationship. 

I've talked before about how in the last few years I have gone through a transformation not just with the end of my marriage but with the end of some of my longest friendships.  It has been a process for me to be able to be brave enough to stand up and say,"This behavior isn't allowed in my life anymore.  So either the behavior goes, or you go."  Ultimately the friendships went.  Understand I later learned that they didn't really classify as friendships to begin with.

It took me learning to have a lion's heart to be able to learn how to honestly love and to be loved.  I had to become brave enough to know that the people in my life that didn't deserve to be there needed to go.  And to know that once they were gone, I was going to be okay.  I've learned over the last few years that I am better than okay, I am ecstatic with my life and where it is today.  I started to notice early on that when I closed the door on one relationship, a new relationship would arise. The new relationship was always at the most perfect of times.  Even with this venture of starting my blog I have deepened ongoing relationships and I have met so many incredible people in the process.  My life is the richest it has ever been.  Because I am brave enough to stand with a lion's heart to the world I live in.

When we dare to love and live with a lion's heart we see life so differently.  It is almost as if the world has catered to exactly what we need it to be.  The reality is, it is our perception of everything that  has changed.  When we approach things with courage even the things we fear don't seem to appear as frightening.  We become rational in our way of thinking through obstacles.  We become unabashedly appreciative of all of the wonderful things in our life.  And although we are living in the moment, we are eager to see what amazing gifts our future has in store for us.

The gift of love is the greatest gift of all. There is really nothing to compare. Once you learn to love through bravery, life opens up in ways one would otherwise think unimaginable. If you could dream up a "perfect" life for yourself, believe it or not what life becomes through deeping courage is beyond that in spades. 

Now for some, expressing love to other's can be pretty easy so this assignment may be a cinch for you. Your struggle may be running out of people to express love to today.  But to others expressing love can be incredibly uncomfortable.  So if that is the case for you, let's try doing something completely out of your comfort zone today.  If you never express love to another, write someone a loving letter.  If you struggle with finding words to say to someone, I have three words that are a perfect expression of love.  In the geniously simplistic words of The Avett Brothers, I and LOVE and YOU pretty much cover any and all things that ever need to be said to anyone.  If you're feeling really brave today, give someone a hug.  You may be gritting your teeth through it, but believe me once you let yourself feel through the discomfort, you will feel an opening.  That opening is the bravest part of yourself, because you have dared to love.  You have dared to love with a lion's heart.

How can you lead with a lion's heart today?  Share with us, we would love to hear from you!

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com.

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

Spark of Courage: The Article

Courage is love.
 To love is courageous.

-Jennifer-



I hope all of you enjoyed the experience of yesterday's community meditation.  Meditation on its own is so powerful.  Yet as a group it ignites an entirely different element.  Group meditation is a perfect platform to realize we are all connected through our loving intention. We realize we are all truly one.

We can enter into bravery by ourselves.  However, what army of one ever travels far?  It is when we join together that life gets better.  We can improve upon anything with an army behind us.  How many of you have had life experiences that have brought you to your knees?  We realize very quickly the blessings brought by our own army made up of family, friends and community.  It is an overwhelming feeling of being lifted up with a powering force that few words can really describe.  That powering force is nothing other than the almighty splendor that is love.

There is something so sacred about the connection of energy whether between two people or between a group of people.  Even sitting next to one another there is a settled calmness of strength that abounds from being gathered in the same space.  Now remember the exchange of energy felt in just holding another's hand?  And not just holding another's hand, but intending to send that person love and blessings?  How does that simple act of pure and unabiding love make you feel?  Just the thought of it can totally change your psyche at that very moment. The key is to not just think about it.  Be courageous enough to take action and live in it right now. By making the effort to act in love, we can ultimately change the world's psyche.

It takes courage to show someone our heart.  It takes acceptance of the one piece of courage we need to reveal to another, and that is to be open enough to be vulnerable.  This is not to say we are to open our entire selves up to anyone and everyone, but we can be loving to any and all.  How do you measure love?  Is it conditional to some yet unconditional to others? Here is a daily assignment that changed my life forever.  Thank you Deepak Chopra for this.  During one of Deepak's 21 Day Meditation Challenges we were instructed to see our Divine in everyone's eyes for one entire day.  Whether a person greeted you with a warm embrace or sneered at you, the challenge was to look for our Divine within them and send them love, no matter what.  Not an easy thing when you are dealing with someone who is being unkind.  But look what is missing in the act of being unkind, it is love. If we want to see more love, we very simply need to give more love. Once you experience the shift within yourself, it will change you, I promise. It's a really miraculous experience that I would recommend you to try for a day, then try to implement it everyday.

If we remember to get back to basics we can get back to love. It is the center of it all and it is the center of us all.  We are a pure extension of our Divine who is eternal, never ending love. This is the power we manifest by living within the spark of courage. When we ignite that loving spark within ourselves and then through kindness to another pass that spark on, we inevitably can and will light up the entire world. 

How can you share your spark of courage with the world today?  Share with us we would love to hear from you. 

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com.  

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

Spark of Courage Meditation

Hello Spirit Launchers!!!  It is again Wednesday and we are ready to join together for another community meditation.  Let us come together and join hands and join hearts with this meditation.  This week will be a little different.  This is the perfect meditation to do as a group, with a meditation partner or if you are practicing by yourself join hands with your Divine.  We will all come together at 8pm Eastern and 5pm Pacific Time.  As usual, I always recommend reading the meditation through a few times before we start.

Please make yourself comfortable sitting in a crossed legged position.  If you have a partner face them.  If you are practicing alone, envision sitting before your Divine.  In this meditation we are going to join together and transfer our energies, our loving sparks of strength, love and encouragement to one another.  Place your arms straight out in front of you. Now join hands with your partner. If you are in a group, all join hands sitting in a circle.  Close your eyes and let's begin.

Spark of Courage Meditation

Written by Jennifer Fremion

As you sit facing your partner and are joined in hand, take

a moment to feel the warmth between your hands.  As you focus on the warmth take

a long deep breath in your nose.  Hold at the top of the breath for 10 seconds and release slowly.

Repeat this deep breathing two more times.

Now focus on the feeling of electricity between your hands.

You can literally feel the exchange of electric current going between you and your partner's body.  Again take a long deep breath, only this time release immediately

at the top of the breath, and slowly out through your nose.  Repeat this breath

two more times.  Breathe as normal and focus on the feeling of energy in the body.

Now repeat in your mind the words, "I believe in you,  I believe in me."

Repeat these words over and over again. I recommend twelve times. You will

feel a fullness of empowerment, love and encouragement in your heart.

Now say in your mind, "This is my loving prayer to you."

Before you open your eyes, gently squeeze one another's hands, then release.

This is my loving prayer to you.

Namaste



Thank you as always for joining in this community!  Please share your meditation experience with us, we would love to hear from you!

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com.

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

A Life By Design: The Article

Life is as beautiful as you will allow it to be.

Life is the blossoming of a heart to be freed.

Life is an extending hand of lessons to learn.

Life by design is the one that we earn.

-Jennifer-

Yesterday I introduced a home designer by the name of Katie Hartzog.  She so graciously shared her story to the world.  Her story is a reminder that although we have talents and creativity, we come to a crossroads of either using those talents in some way shape or form, or letting them go to waste.  Does this step mean a change in career per say?  Not necessarily.  Next week I will introduce you to an amazing woman by the name of Ruth Macris who is a creative photographer yet only in her spare time.  Photography is a life love for her but her family always comes first.

Your love in life doesn't necessarily have to be a career or on route to become a full time career.  The point is to find time to do what you love as often as you can.  This abounds your spirit and puts an endless smile on the face of our Divine.  Share with the world however you can the very life that has been designed for you.

I am coming up on a transition of my own.  I am preparing to start yoga teacher training.  This has been a calling for me for quite sometime now. But the closer that it gets to truly begin, I am finding myself terrified.  Not of the classes themselves but the traveling that will be involved. 

Since my separation in my marriage I have been recreating my life.  While I was married, although we physically shared a house together, it was never a home.  I would find any and all reasons to not have to be at home because it was so miserable. But I have created in my new home a loving space.  The energy is so peaceful and calm.  It is my safe haven where after a long day of work I cannot wait to get home to unwind and relax.  So the thought of leaving this comfort zone and having to travel a considerable way is making me extremely uncomforable.  But with this intensity in emotion, I know I am on the brink of my next take off in life.

I have surpassed so many obstacles in my life especially through the last few years.  Being separated in my marriage, determined to finalize my divorce as quickly as possible and at the same time working two full time jobs and finishing my nursing degrees was an over abundance of challenges.  But I knew that with each step of the way, I was clearing my path for a better future.

Nothing in life comes fully to us without earning it.  Although it may seem sometimes that things come easier to other people, we come across the situations on our own journey that will create the life that has been designed especially for us.  I call it our preparation for greatness.  We need enough practice to build a confidence in what we have been sent to purposefully do in this life.  The preparation is where we learn discipline and through practice and determination we show ourselves and our Divine our absolute love for what we are doing.

I've had a lot of changes in the last year just in my nursing career.  Yet I knew I was shifting very quickly to accumulate the lessons I needed in order to be prepared for the job I have now.  Even though there were some disappointments with the other positions, the positive lessons outweighed the negative tenfold.  I am the nurse I am today and beyond that, the person I am today because of every one of those experiences.

We have to earn our way.  The best thing to do when you are at the beginning stages is to understand that you are preparing yourself for something spectacular.  The moment the Universe recognizes you are ready for the next step, a new bigger and brighter door will open.

We never have to worry about what it is that life wants from us.  We just need to listen to our hearts which is the gentle loving voice of our Divine telling us to follow the instructions given and we will be guided all along the way.

So as I prepare for my new journey I accept the challenges.  I know that I am being prepared for something bigger than my dreams can tell me right now.  But I know that my life, your life, and our lives have all been designed to ring loud, bestow life's fireworks with every foot step we take, and to bring forth the beautiful light that comes out the very moment we become fearless to shine.

What is the life that has been designed for you?  How have you started to live out this life?  Share with us we would love to hear from you!

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com.

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

A Life By Design: The Interview

Katie Hartzog is the owner of Hartzog Interiors.  She grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and as a child she would love to drive by and look at homes and was fascinated by the architecture.  In her younger years she would tell friends that she wanted to work in design.  Looking back now as she tells her story, she has no recollection of such dreams and ambitions in design.  As she recalls, she always thought she would go to school to study architecture. So her freshman year of college, she did just that.  

She started out as an architecture student at Indiana-Purdue University.  Yet suddenly her direction changed when she took her first design class.  For Katie, there was something about colors and textures that she could just look at and immediately start creating.  She could design entire rooms in her mind by just piecing together different design elements.  In her mind this was what made sense.  In her heart, this was what she knew she was meant to do. So she immediately changed her major to design.

After school Katie tried working in many avenues of design.  She worked as a designer for furniture stores, builders and a local designer.  With each job Katie discovered her own creative strengths and formed her own signature design.  As much as she learned working with the local designer, she knew she was ready to spread her wings and have total creative freedom of her work. 

This was no easy feat.  Although Katie knew she was ready to go out on her own, she also knew her full time job that was her financial resource for support, had to go as well.  She thought if she was going to have her own design business she was going to have to go all in.  So after much thought she did just that, she quit her full time job.  To Katie, it was all or nothing. "All I ever wanted to do was to be able to wake up and do what I love which is to build, design and decorate homes. The thought of going out on my own was so scary. But I knew if I was ever going to really do this for myself I had to jump in with both feet.  With that I knew either I would land on both feet and be successful, or it wouldn't work out and I would go back to what I was doing for work before.  Either way the jump had to happen."

Katie was able to take her years of experience of both building homes and interior design to launch her own business endeaver with Hartzog Interiors. Her business started small but soon through referrals and word of mouth her business gained popularity very quickly.  She is known for her signature custom style of clean lines, contrasting materials, and her customized abstract ideas.  Each home is unique and custom to every client.  Each client's home is built and designed with the client's own style in mind. Katie states, "It is very important to me to use my unique signature along with my client's style in order to create a custom look that doesn't exist for anyone else.  Once I use that particular design, I never use it again. It belongs to my client and their home at that point."

"The most important part for me with my client's is building trust," states Katie. "I am an artist but I don't have the ability to draw my ideas on paper for them to see.  So I talk them through the entire process step by step and have them know that I have their best interest's in mind.  A lot of my client's are able to see my work through projects of friends or family that I have previously worked with.  So they are able to get a sense of my design before working with me.  The greatest thing is seeing the look on my client's face at the finished project.  That is the greatest reward is to see their smiles knowing that they are thrilled with the outcome.  That is what keeps me going.  I become very close  with my clients and have been able to build lasting friendships through this process. I work with such nice people and feel so blessed to have the clients that I do. That is one of the greatest parts of what I get to do, I walk away with life long friendships."

Now five years into her business, Katie is now thinking about what the next step will be with Hartzog Interiors.  She is exploring the idea of opening a store, more building projects, and a business expansion from within.  Although these ideas are just that at this point, Katie is always looking ahead to what the future of Hartzog Interiors will be. She states,"I am excited about what the future will bring.  Right now I am just thrilled with where I am and the fact that I get to design and do what I love every day."

When asked what it felt like at the brink of her following her own dream, Katie replied, "It was definitely the scariest thing I've ever done.  I can still remember the day I made the decision and knew that I was going to follow my dream and not hold back.  I haven't regretted any of it." 

What is it that you want everyone to know about Katie Hartzog and her design?

"That I create timeless beautiful things for people. I get pleasure out of knowing that people enjoy their homes and their space. I just want to be known for doing beautiful work and building great relationships with people and producing awesome designs."

What advice would you give to anyone right now who is on the edge of living out their own dream?  "Just try it. What is it going to hurt?  If things don't work out you can always go back to doing something else.  If you don't at least try it you will never know and what is the sense in that?  Think about everything you could be missing out on."

It was a pleasure interviewing Katie.  It has been personally inspiring to watch her over the years build her business to what it is today.  Katie is a Spirit Launcher at heart.  You can never go wrong with taking a leap of faith and letting the Divine hand guide your way.  What could launch you to follow your own dreams?  Share with us we would love to hear from you!

Go to http://www.hartzoginteriors.com/ to see more of the beautiful designs that are the heart of Hartzog Interiors.

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com.

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

The Stories We Tell

It is in clear skies.

It is in a light breeze.

It is in the rain, this treasure we seek.

It is on frozen ground.

It is in all things.

Unforgotten wealth that will forever be.

The stories we tell, live a life of their own.

They are the Universal heart

with a forever home.

-Jennifer-

It is in our actions, our words, our vibration and our spirit that we pass on to the world what is to be seen of us and our stories.  Our stories are written in every moment of every day.  These stories become the chapters of our greatest contribution to the world, our book of legacy.

It is in our relationship with our family, our friends, our co-workers and perfect strangers that we meet, that take us from page to page.  But it is in our relationship with ourselves, that leads us to the ultimate relationship with our Divine that reflects our beauty through rememberance as we enter into every new moment.  This process happens so quickly in life because the second hand keeps ticking.  It doesn't leave time to catch up.  The second hand remembers what has already happend and pushes us forward. It is that constant driving force that feeds us into what will happen in the next moment.

Have you thought about the legacy in life that you have already begun?  Have you thought about the legacy that you want for your life?  When it is all said and done and we return to our Divine, what is it that people will remember about us?  What was our truth that we revealed to the world?

I've talked in past articles about not rushing through life.  To be present and aware in each moment.  To live an enlightened everlasting love for life every day.  The stories we tell are in fact our everyday life.  It is what we see of the world and it is what the world sees of us.  We cannot go back and change the hands of time, but we can learn in the present in order to live a better life for tomorrow.

What do you see when you look into someone else's eyes?  What do you think they see as they look into your's?  Do you see love, compassion, acceptance and understanding?  Isn't that ultimately what we are all longing for?  We want to be accepted for the Divine creation we all are, and for exactly the way we are. When you walk into a room what is it that you offer?  What is your gift of contribution to that very space in that very moment?  When you walk out of that room, what is it about you that remains?

In our busy everyday life these are the questions we often times don't think about.  We are so consumed with our responsibilities and checking off our to do lists, that we forget what our actual stories are and even more fully what they could be and even more so what they are intended to be.

So think about this, what is it that at this very moment the world will remember you by?  Is it what you wish it to be?  If it isn't, it is only up to you to take action and change what is not into what has to be.  Our legacy will live on forever.  It is in the stories we tell through living our lives as intended, that we leave behind a Divine smile that will light up the entire world.

What is your legacy in life as of right now?  What do you want to add to your legacy?  Share with us we would love to hear from you!

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com.

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.



The Pattern of Connection

Connecting the dots day to day

is like filling in the blanks to show us the way.

Our exploration of life turns page to page.

And we collect the answers that only for us

Our Divine paves.

                             -Jennifer

The pattern of connection is an innate and yet acquired skill.  We are born with this skill, yet as we get older we can lose sight of it and it can require hard work and effort to maintain it. It takes practice, patience, understanding, a sharp eye, and an eager ear.  All of our senses must be present or we will miss something. It is our key component that in a heartbeat can change our perceptions not only for the better, but forever.  Each and every day we are given experiences that are going to challenge us, change us, promote us and uphold us, if our watchful eye is aware and our open heart can receive.

I've talked before about life being an unfolding event.  With each day we are given a new opportunity to expand on what we already know, apply that knowledge to new experiences, and let those experiences flourish into something even greater that is awaiting in the next moment.  We are collecting the souvenirs of life with each new step we are granted.

What we take with us from our past is the knowing that follows us to our present tense and even our future. How can we take from our past and mix it with our present to create a reaction of growth in ourselves?  Do you have a pattern in your past that maybe isn't the most helpful and in some instances can be unhealthy? How do we grow from that?  The Universe has the perfect formula, it's called a repeat performance.  When there is a lesson to be learned from an old pattern, the Universe will bring that lesson back around.  The corrective response to that old pattern now in the new present is, how am I to handle this differently?  The last time this happend I put this unhealthy behavior in the formula and mixed it with this unhealthy behavior and the result...a mixure of disappointment.  But this time, if I put this healthy behavior in the formula and mix it with this healthy behavior the result becomes, a mixure of blossoming opportunity.

When life creates an open door that leads to disappointment, it is not open for us to give up and close the door on our growth.  It is there for us to find the pattern of connection within us that reaches for comfort in our own discomfort.  Unhealthy behaviors can become a bit of a comfort spot in our behavior.  Although it feels rotten and destructive, if we are in that space for too long it can become comfortable.  This is where we have to stay connected.  Because it is in our patterns of disconnection that can lead us down a long dark road that can so easily get us lost.

By staying connected we save ourselves the misery of becoming lost in the fog of our disillusioned self where our ego resides.  The past is the easiest way to predict what lays ahead of us.  When we are connecting the dots along the way we are keeping notes of what has transpired already.  We see the curriculum that both follows us and is carried in our pockets along the way.  We pick up the pieces one pebble at a time.  Until those pebbles become mounds and then those mounds grow into our mountain of knowledge.  We can share in each other's curriculum however, until we are ready to hear what is on the syllabus of that curriculum it could fall on deaf ears.

This is key.  We have to be watching and looking for everything at all times.  When we are fully aware, we are present enough to taste, smell, touch, see, and hear every molecule of the lesson.  This is what changes us back to our original selves and our journey will lead us eventually back to where we came.  The pattern of connection is a powerful tool in understanding how we can take each moment and carve it into the pavement that shows us our own way back home.

How can you connect deeper in your day to day patterns?  How can those patterns lead you to your lessons?  Share with us we would love to hear from you!

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com.

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

Failure To Launch

The highest points in life

are the ones we are actively participating in. 

The points in which we are reaching to our highest potential.

-Jennifer-

How many seconds before take off?  How many minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years?  A take off should be a count down.  So why does it seem like sometimes we are counting up in time for what we want to be doing in life?  How many times do you say to yourself, "Oh I'll get to that later"?  Have you ever noticed how "later" ends up being even later than you anticipated?  The fact is, we can wait around our entire lives hoping to "get to" that something eventually. The longer we wait to do something the more life can become a failure to launch.

When we are filling today with mindless responsibilities but leaving the responsibility of filling our heart's work for tomorrow, we are missing the importance of living big, which is everyone's destiny.  When we see people in the world living big it's not because they are the "lucky chosen ones". We have all been chosen to do and be something spectacular in life.  It is just a matter of when and if we are going to follow through with our own take off.

Your life may not look like mine and mine may not look like your's, but that is how it is supposed to be.  If my gifts were intended for you they would have been gifted to you by our Divine Source and vice verse.  Don't look at someone else's life and wish that you were living it. The theme of my blog this week seems to be about copy cats.  As I've stated in earlier articles, we are not living our purpose in life if we are chasing someone else's.  Create the life that has been planned out for you.  How do you do that you might ask?

We can dream of a bigger tomorrow.  It is great to have goals in life.  But don't be so attached to those goals that they have to happen exactly how you plan them and you miss the journey that is the process.  The best part of the journey if fueling up, gaining momentum and then getting to the pause right before you are on the brink of living in flight. It is at that point that you don't need exact details of where you are going and what all you will be doing because all you need to know is, you have just launched into your deepest heart's discoveries. As you share your gifts in flight to the world, the world in turn shares its gifts with you.

What is important to you?  What are you drawn to in life that you could get lost in for hours.  What do you like to do that makes time fly?  What is that exact personalized talent that has been implanted in you for as long as you can remember? These are the key questions you can ask yourself.  These questions are the road map that can get you back to the life's path you were meant to be on all along.

When we stray from our path, we leave a part of us behind.  How long we walk or run in the wrong direction is up to us and determines how long it will take to come back home.  The funny thing is, it doesn't matter how far away we wander or how long we are gone.  Our heart's have an internal compass that will always lead us back home.

We are allowed to make mistakes, we are allowed to be afraid, and we are allowed to run and hide. It is what we learn about ourselves and our souls when we are reminded in those very moments of our human qualities. We are allowed to delay our own flight in life for as long as we wish.  But the beauty in life awaits us as soon as we let go of all that holds us back. When we let our wing span expand to the size of the Universe, and launch ourselves into flight.  That is where we become seamless and flowing, where we become unstoppable.  Although our bodies are grounded, we are all heartfilled creatures awaiting our own take off in order to soar to our greatest of heights. 

How can you launch your spirit today?  How can you start to live big?  Share with us we would love to hear from you!

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

Starring Role

Our starring role is in every day,

every moment, every word spoken, every

thought thought, every breath breathed,

and every memory made.

                              -Jennifer

As you may know from yesterday's article, I have had a copy cat on my hands. I had a lot of time to think about how it made me feel to see my own work used while someone else was taking credit for it.  Obviously, it was not a warm and fuzzy response.  It brought back a memory of the same type of situation that I had experienced years ago.  I was working for a well known cosmetic company and my supervisor asked for me to come up with events to help with sales for the month.  Well me getting into my creative zone, I didn't just come up with events for one month, I came up with events for twelve months.  Everyone told me to make sure my name was on the proposal and that upper management knew I had taken time off the clock to write them, but I didn't listen.  My response was, "What kind of a person would take credit for someone else's work?"  It was ludicrous to me to think someone could do that.  And then it happened.  Weeks later I found a faxed letter sent to corporate headquarters from my supervisor taking full credit for my work. The Universe was definitely on my side that day because I accidently stumbled onto the fax.  I immediately took it to my supervisor's supervisor and explained the situation.  Long story short, my supervisor was written up, given another chance but was never able to recover her reputation.  So she ultimately quit a few months later because no one respected her.  As the saying goes once a cheater always a cheater.  This was my first experience of dealing with a full blown cheater in life.

As I talked yesterday about how desperate people do very desperate things, this is a prime example. I had more cosmetic experience than my supervisor and I had higher sales at the end of each month. She definitely had pressure on her from upper management. Taking credit for my written work was her attempt to one up me, but ultimately where did it get her?  Further away from herself.  She buckled under the pressure and instead of accepting the situation and her role in it, she tried to force an outcome.  This never works.  When you butt heads with the Universe the Universe wins everytime and why you might ask?  Well because the Universe always knows best.

The Universe sends us continous signs throughout our lifetime.  We know when we feel good or bad about certain situations, when we feel comfortable around certain people or not, and we know without a doubt if we are living a joyful life or not.  These are all life's traffic lights telling us how to proceed.  We know when the Universe says green light it's a go. We also know when life turns to yellow and we need to proceed with caution. And we know when we are approaching or have come up on a red flashing light telling us, to stop and be still.  This is the point to where we realize we need a new direction.

My supervisor wasn't working in her field of passion.  She didn't enjoy cosmetics, as a matter of fact she didn't even wear cosmetics.  Yet cosmetics is still to this day one of my deepest loves.  How could she ever think she could compete with that?  That is just the thing, we know when we are working against ourselves in life. Nothing feels right and everything feels wrong.  So why force something that is not working?  Why not say, I tried it, it didn't work out, and I'm not going to waste a second more of my time doing something I don't love? Why not say, I'm going to find what it is that I truly love and do it to the best of my ability?  When you have this attitude you will never feel the need to become someone other than who you are.  You don't have to pretend to be great at something you don't love.  And you never have to take from someone else's work.  Because the moment you find what you love, nothing can hold you back.  You don't have to pretend because things just happen.  It's like magic. Your love is able to shine through.

What I learned from the copy cat issue is, even though my work is registered with a copyright, I didn't have it posted on my webpage.  I assumed as I did with my supervisor, that it was just known that this work was mine.  This experience was a very quick reminder that some people don't care how far off course they get.  When they want something they want it whether it is deserved to be their's or not.  They may promote themselves as being loving people, but if their inner struggles are greater than the love they have for themselves, those same inner struggles are going to be projected onto the world around them.  And it's all by their own doing.  Unfortunately, we can sometimes get tangled into their mess without even knowing it.

Watching someone struggle with not starring in their own lives is such a reminder to be always starring in our own.  Give back to the world that you love, the very world that supports you.  Be present and honest in everything that you do. When we are starring in our own lives, it is the people who are lurking in their own shadows, too afraid to come out into their own spotlight, that will try to rob us of our own.  If we stay true to ourselves, our light is then too powerful for them to steal.  Eventually, they will become blinded by our brightness and as much as they can see us, as long as they hide in their own darkness, they will never truly be seen.

Just know to always protect yourself and your work.  Your copyright is your signature on every piece. As I always say there is a lesson hidden behind everything.  For me, my lesson is to never leave a piece unsigned for the world to see.

As always with love,

Jennifer

Join me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

Some Heroes Fall

Hello Spirit Launcher's!! You may be wondering why there hasn't been a new article posted for the past few days. Well, here's the deal. And please let me make this perfectly clear that in no way shape or form is this article directed at any of my social media or local followers. I am thankful for your love and support of my blog. This is more of an FYI to new and even established writers.  I am simply writing this to inform you of what has transpired in order to shed some very important light on the protection of our work. This is a very difficult article for me to write.  Unfortunately, I have been unable to post new material until I was able to make it abundantly clear on my web page that my material is protected by copyright laws.  I have been noticing since posting my very first article that a much larger site would then post verbatim or similar material on their site sometimes the very next day. Either way each incident was within a very short period of time. The gross similarities have been a repeated occurance over the last few weeks. So I knew I had to look into making very serious changes on my site.

This has been incredibly disappointing to me but a great lesson as well.  You know me I am always looking for the lessons in everything.  I noticed the copy cat problem immediately, but thought maybe it was coincidental at first. However, there is a point where coincidence is no longer a valid excuse. Then a memory came back to me of an interview that was posted months ago before my site even existed, that was created on the other site as if the author had done the interview. And they may have, but the distinct interview questions themselves, were taken verbatim from a popular television show that interviewed the exact same person, and there was no mention of that at all.  Strange right?  But life went on and I kind of tucked that memory away.  That all came back as soon as I started to see giant similarities in wording and topics between my work and the other site's. Now that I am involved in social media I started to notice other people's work being used with no mention or credit to the authors, again strange right?  We all acquire signature styles and phrases with our writing.  Give credit when you use other people's work.  It is out of common courtesy and respect and very simply, it is the law.  It is that simple.

This was shocking and appalling all at the same time.  I admired this individual.  I thought they were the real deal.  But as I have learned, some heroes will fall. Sometimes people are granted this status too soon and fall because they were not meant to be there in the first place. We are all deriving our material from the same Source, I genuinely believe that.  Yet the material is translated to use with our own unique verbalization and fingerprint.  That is why we are given these talents. As I've talked before, it is so very important to use our own talents because we are honoring our creative Source when we do.  When we copy other's work without crediting them for it and posing as the originator, we are not being our true selves.  We are not tapping into our creative self which is the life that was intended for us to live.  Often times when people pose as someone or something they are not, it is due to an overwhelming need to be accepted. They are after the glitz and the glam; remember me talking in an earlier article about working solely for the accolades?  It is a desperate call they make.  When they become bombarded or feel the pressure is too much, they take the easy way out.  They cheat.  This should never be a deal put on the table as an option.  Nothing good will come of it.  As a matter of fact, the Universe is watching which in turn means our greatest Source is watching and they will gift you a giant box of consequence following the act.  You may get away with it for awhile, but just because you aren't caught or called out on it, doesn't mean it is acceptable...EVER!

I did not want to write this article because it is so deeply upsetting to me. However,  I felt it important to get the word out because I am sure that many writers have had to deal with similar situations.  And I am positive that social media although it has its benefits, can be a breeding ground for copy cats.  My work has been used by others on social media, yet I have been credited for my work which is a totally different scenario and I encourage that and appreciate that immensely.

I set out to create this blog in order to launch reader's inner spirits and inspiring everyone to inspire each other through living the fullest life possible. I don't look at this as being a set back.  I look at it as preparation for a really big future.

So dear bloggers, let us relish in the beauty that is our creative selves.  Let us share in the love for what we do and our work that will change the world.  Let us be a community of Universal code that as long as we work in harmony, our lives will become as they are intended.  Let us not follow down the wrong path and get lost in what is to be a beautiful process.  The process of being ourselves.

As always with love,

Jennifer

P.S. Join me tomorrow as I talk more on this issue and share all of the information I have learned.  I hope it to be as helpful to you and your journey as a writer as it was to me.

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

Sharing Warriorship



Shadows will fade.

Light can only be hidden.

                        -Jennifer

As we go through life we tend to gravitate towards people who can relate to us and our current situation.  Like is drawn to like.  We find comfort in people who can relate to us and our own circumstances.  In the good times, we can celebrate the celebration that is this life.  In the hard times, we can form a circle of trust in one another, one that can rarely be broken.  We form warriorships with one another.  Deep embodied friendships that can transcend through our lifetime.

The people that come into our lives are here to teach us about ourselves and the world we have created.  They are never here by accident.  They are perfectly placed in our lives at the most perfect of times.  Even if we don't realize it immediately.  Not all of these relationships end up being long lasting.  Some can be short lived but incredibly profound on our life in an instant.  Others can last a lifetime.

I met my friend Angie in nursing school after a span of a few years of being force to end many of my closest friendships because the consistency of those friendships were exactly the same as my former  marriage; unhealthy, manipulative, and destructive.  My life was surrounded by absolute chaos and I was just trying to keep it all from crashing.  I have always thought of Angie as my Earth Angel.  She came into my life at such a perfect time.  She made me laugh, really laugh for the first time in years.  She was always saying the most off the wall things to get a rise out of the people she was around.  She has such a big heart and a glow about her that you can see it from miles away.  I was so grateful she came into my life when she did.  We found out shortly after graduation she would be moving out of the country.  I was so sad to see her go yet, I realized that this would be my time to spread my wings.  Because of her, I knew that I could laugh again and in just knowing that, I knew I could create a future full of laughter and happiness. Even though she lives on the other side of the world, she still remains one of my closest of friends.

The friendships that I formed in more recent years have been the most healthy and spectacular friendships I have ever known.  It's interesting when you are on the search for healing your own heart how so many people shine out in your life in an instant.  They know the perfect thing to do or say.  We are warriors in life...together.  Everyone deserves to have deep lasting friendships that can hold us up when we feel like we could fall, to tell a joke when we need to laugh, or to have that someone to just sit with us without saying a word because no words need to be said.

After I went through what I would call a total life reconstruction, I reunited with a childhood friend.  This has been such a wonderful gift in my life.  To me it was as if the Universe said you are ready for something really phenomenal and here he is.  After having to end all of my childhood friendships, reconnecting with Mike has been amazing.  There is so much to be said about being able to laugh with someone and say, "hey remember when...?"  As deeply as I love my newer friendships there is something to having a life long history with someone.  Even better yet, we didn't see each other for almost 15 years and were able to pick up right where we left off.  Again, a life changer.

Sharing warriorship is a specialty in life. It is forever cherished, forever needed, it is the very treasure that lays within our hearts.  I would like to thank everyone for sharing warriorship with me.   A giant thank you to everyone who has been a part of the last few years of my life.  Because of all of you, I am able to see the vast richness that resides within my heart.  Because of your love and support, all of my shadows have faded, and now only the light remains.

Who do you share warriorship with?  What does warriorship mean to you in your life?  Share with us, we would love to hear from you!

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

.

The B Word

Boundaries are the very thing

that gives focus and expectancy

of ourselves and of another.

                             

                                        -Jennifer

Yes the B word that I am speaking of is boundaries.We expect the best out of ourselves or so we should, so why is it so easy sometimes to make exceptions for other people?  Do you have someone or more than that someone in your life that every time you spend time with them, you feel like the life has been sucked out of you?  They are negative, they exude vampirous blood every time they open their mouths to speak about another person or a situation and to be frank, they can be down right rude or even worse, they can be abusive. 

Now we can't always choose every person we have in our working lives, but in our personal lives we have the opportunity to be a little more selective in who we spend our time with.  I'm not saying we should be snobbish or that we should exile someone from our lives because they are in a slump. Absolutely not, that is when we should rise to the occasion and be of support.  What I am suggesting is being careful with who we surround ourselves with on a regular basis.  I am suggesting that in order to have a healthy balanced life, we cannot have unhealthy, unbalanced people as our support system.  This ends up being a teeter totter relationship.  Sometimes it's up, but most of the time the one who bears the most weight is down.  And eventually it will be your turn to hit the ground because of them.

We typically look for the good in everyone.  But at what cost?  Is it really healthy to have someone in your life that constantly weighs you down?  This is where boundaries come into play.  Having a set of standards to gauge your relationships by creates a sense of value in yourself and your relationships.  Questions like do I feel good or bad when I am around this person?  Do they add joy or pain to my life?  Do I get excited or want to run the other way when I see them?  Do I feel uplifted with this person or do I feel beat down?  These are awesome ways to look at our relationships because to be quite honest with you, the people we choose to hang around are a direct reflection of how we feel about ourselves.

Think about it. If we feel good about ourselves are we ever going to set the expectation of another in our life as being this? I can't wait to hang out with so and so because they always make me feel like the life has been sucked out of me! No Way!!  Now change this scenario to if we feel good about ourselves and have healthy expectations.  I can't wait to hang out with so and so! We laugh so hard my stomach hurts for days!  Even just reading each scenario gives two completely different emotions.  At some point in time we have to realize that we take the hit emotionally for their negativity. What relationship is ever worth losing our spirit over?  The answer is no relationship!

Boundaries of expectations are so important.  They are a reminder to stay focused and centered in our relationships with both ourselves and the other person.  We can't let ourselves fall into the well of negative emotions passed on from another.  Let me tell you that well is a deep, dark hole and once we hit bottom we can have one heck of a time trying to climb back up.

We are contagious with our attitude, our actions and our lives.  We should be that person that everyone looks at and says how do I get that happy and excited in my own life?  We set the example for ourselves and who we surround ourselves with.  The moment we let another take us down is the moment we lose our shine.  And whether the other person is intentional or not in their actions, the end result is we have lost our own light.  Without our own light we get lost in the darkness and we start walking against the grain in life.

If we set boundaries and stick to those boundaries, we can never stray against the life that was intended for us.  Never allow someone to steal your shine.  In fact, shine so brightly in life no one could think to impose their darkness onto your light.

What kind of boundaries do you have in your relationships?  Have you ever strayed from them.  What happened when you did?  How did you get back on track?  Share with us, we would love to hear from you!

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com with any questions or comments.

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

The Rush

It is not the grand prize at the end that

is the prize at all.  The real prize is in the

slow progression to the finish line.

That is what makes us victorious in

our own time

                  

                              -Jennifer

It is difficult to look at our itinerary for the day and not think, how will I fit all of this in?  Is there really enough time in the day to get everything done?  I remember one of the physicians I work with saying to us one day, "When God made the week, why didn't he make it ten days instead of seven?" BINGO! That is it right there! We all have responsibilities in life, we can't escape that.  But why has it become okay in our society to bog our lives down so heavily, that the thought of just a day or even just an hour of that day makes us want to crawl under a rock and hide?

Have you ever rushed around in the morning while getting ready for work, jumped in your car, your mind racing the entire way there and you pull in to park your car and you don't remember the drive in?  How many people do you pass in the hall at work, the aisle at the grocery store, just in one entire day and you don't even make eye contact with them because your body is physically there but, your mind is far far away?

I get it, I really do.  I was right there just a little over a year ago.  I was rushing to get my RN nursing boards passed, I was managing my business and clients, I was working full time as an LPN, and I was emotionally and physically drained all at the same time.  What got me to slow down?  Very simply, life.  I was in the middle of my last semester in nursing and a client of mine said to me, " Jen, sometimes things happen in our life to simply slow us down.  If we don't voluntarily do it, it does it for us."  She was so right.  Have you noticed that in your own life?  We get almost to our breaking point and then something happens and boom, we have to stop.  Life happens and we are forced to regroup and try again. It's like pressing the reset button on our lives.  So can I ask then what is the rush?  Why are we in such a big hurry to get through life?  Life goes so fast on its own, why would we want it to go any faster than it has to?

Can this be a measurement of how in love we are with our own life?  This is not to say that we don't love our lives and what we are doing day to day.  But the big question is, how can we make our lives better?  By freeing up enough time to let ourselves breathe and unwind.  What is the fun factor of your life?  Are you having fun and enjoying your every day?  Life will bring stresses, know that much. That is just a part of life that pushes us to become better. But what are we doing to have fun?

Life shouldn't be a race to the finish. Think about how much we are missing when we are in the game but our head is way out in left field.  Think about how many things we could miss out on in just one day because we are too "busy" to even notice.

I am hoping with the community meditations that we can shed some light on the importance of slowing down, even for a matter of a few minutes and taking inventory on what is going on both inside ourselves and around us. Remember that a good barometer of what is going on inside of ourselves is to look at our immediate world around us. Our external world is a direct reflection of our internal world.  If we are stressed and unhappy, life will bring us more stress and unhappiness.  If we are in love with life and grateful, life will bring more of that too. 

Find something in your life that you can do that will bring stillness, calm and rejuvenation to your spirit. For me that is yoga and meditation. For you it could be something totally different.  The point is to find that very thing that can refresh your spirit.  Regroup and then come back to your daily obligations.  This mind shift will help you to be present more and more throughout your day no matter how busy you may be.

That is what is so brilliant about life.  It will force us to slow down in order to see what is in front of us when it is actually in front of us.  So again why the big rush in life?

Where could you slow down in your everyday routine?  What could you add to your life to bring more joy?  What could you take away from your life to bring more joy?  Share with us, we would love to hear from you!

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com with any questions or comments.

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

The Universal Heart Meditation

We cannot fast forward the present

to be in future tense. We cannot

set back the clock to predict

happenstance. Accept the present

for the here and now.  Live in stillness

as we take this bow.

                                         -Jennifer

Well it is Wednesday and we have all gathered for another community meditation and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining us. Because there has been such a warm response to our evening meditations, I am going to add a morning meditation as well. The morning meditation will start at 7am eastern/4am pacific and then again this evening at 8pm eastern/5pm pacific. Please feel free to join us for both. The power of meditation as one is purely magnificent. But the power of meditation as a community can change the world.  It is a very simple gesture that has such a grand influence on the world we live in.  If we can nourish our own heart's by connecting with ourselves and our source, as a community we can change the heart of the world we live in.  And we need that today now more than ever.  So let us gather and exude the very love we have in our own hearts and ignite our world with that very love.

Today's meditation is inspired by the interview I had with Rodney McCarter of Mathis Grey that I shared with all of you on Monday.  Rodney stated at the end of the interview, to follow your dreams because they can take you to places you have never been before.  So together let's have our dreams take us where we've never been.

If you would like, play soft relaxing music in the background.  Sounds of nature or the ocean are wonderful for letting the mind be at ease. My suggestion as always is to read through the meditation a few times before we start.  Close your eyes and sit in a comfortable cross legged position.  Relax your hands palms facing upward on your knees.  Breathe in and out slowly a few times to begin.

                               The Universal Heart Meditation (5 minutes)

                                                  by Jennifer Fremion

Envision your heart's deepest desire.  If your dream could take you

anywhere, where would you go?  In this space there are no restrictions, no worries.

In this space there are only infinite possibilities.

Sit in stillness and focus on taking long deep breaths.

Let the vision of your dream go out into the Universe.

Focus on your mind's eye (the space between your eye brows).

Just relax and let go.

By releasing your dream to the Universe

you have entrusted it will be taken care of.

Sit in stillness as long as you like.

Before opening your eyes take one last

long deep breath in your nose, and then slowly release.

You are at peace.  You are home.

Namaste



Where did your dream take you?  Share with us we would love to hear from you!!  Thank you for joining us!

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com with any comments or questions.

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

Our Highest Calling

Life is to be lived.  Life is to be breathed.

Life is to be loved. Though life should not be

taken so seriously that we aren't having fun.  But

serious enough to realize the preciousness

of each moment lived.
                    
                                            -Jennifer

Have you ever experienced a life change that seemed to come out of nowhere?  A change that seemed to fall out of the sky.  It was almost as if it hit you square in the face to catch your attention.  To let you know that change is here, that it has arrived, ready or not, it has come.

When you first experience change, whether it be a new love, a career, a relocation, or the end of something, this change is either met with joy or fear or maybe even a little of both. Depending on the day, week or even hour we can play topsy turvy with those emotions.  When we meet a new love for instance it can be met with exuberant joy, yet depending on our past experiences sometimes we can let fear creep in a little...or a lot.  We can start to worry about whether this relationship is going to work out or what if I like the other person more than they like me?  Instead of letting the unfolding happen, the fear factor can creep in and sometimes if we let it in enough, it can ruin a good thing.

On the other hand, we could have a devastating change.  Take my divorce for instance.  I got married thinking I would have the career I always wanted, I would have children and a loving husband.  Well, I got the career, but life took a huge turn and I left my marriage because I knew the second half of that dream could never be fulfilled by staying.  This change met me with the most deepening hurt and emotional pain.  Yet now, after time, I have the exact life I always wanted.  I am the happiest I have ever been and I mean EVER!  I live life now to love life and every moment that comes my way.  And my career, well I actually have multiple careers all in helping others live their best life. It can't get any better than that...or can it?

It's interesting how good things can turn sour, and devastation can lead to exhilarating happiness. Beneath all of these things we have our highest calling waiting for us.  We will make many mistakes in life.  We are human.  The point of this life is to live the lessons brought forth.  Relish in those lessons and let them lead us to our destiny.  From pain we can derive joy.  From joy we can derive pain.  But it's all in how we look at things.  These changes are all momentary shifts in time. So be present in them because change will keep coming and coming again and again.  Life is the ultimate surprise.  After all, if we knew what change was to come around every corner, what fun would that be?  What lessons could be learned?  It is the element of surprise that reaches us to our core and brings significance to each and every moment.  When we cherish both the fun and hard times we come out with a greater knowing. A knowing that we are being lead to our best life ever. We understand that our highest calling is behind each change and each challenge that change will bring.

We may look at the fun times with a pessimistic heart and await the gloom and doom that may or may not follow.  We could also look at the hard times and think that we are being punished or that we did something "bad" to deserve what has occurred or that we are having a bout of bad luck.  I can say this, after my deep hurt and years of struggling with that exact attitude, I can wholeheartedly say that my divorce was the best thing that ever happened to me.  It was the awakening I needed to crack through my heavy heart and shed the brightest light on my soul.  My divorce taught me that if I ask for better and do better with what I know, I will receive better.  Now when times get hard, I still my mind and allow myself to ask, what is this moment teaching me?  When I get through this, what will I have learned about myself that I didn't know before?  No matter how much we have evolved in our lessons we will continue to be met with challenges and tough times. What changes is our attitudes towards those tough times.  We can navigate them knowing that something better is awaiting us on the other side.  And more than not, it is a bettered version of ourselves.

For me, I've learned to breathe deeply and take in the fun times because in one swift motion they can be gone.  And in the hard times, to just hold on knowing that life is about to reveal something big.  This is not the time to cower, this is the time to show courage and exude your bravery shield.  It could be the battle of a lifetime, but by the time it's over you will be stronger and life will reveal its grandeur like you never knew possible.

We never know which way the wind will take us, but if we have faith in knowing it is for the greater good of our highest calling, we never have to worry, we never have to fret. Because we know the ultimate goal is this ultimate life that was intended for us to live, to shine, and to ignite our spirit.  And for our hearts to be wide open to receive the messages that are the calling of our lifetime.

What changes have you experienced?  What did you learn about yourself that you never knew before?  Share with us! We would love to hear from you!!

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

Starfire

Lyrics to Starfire

There is one last step I need to take

to be in your garden.

And that one step I need to take

is I need to be honest

and say I love you.

                                                

                                                - Rodney McCarter of Mathis Grey

Rodney McCarter is a singer/songwriter for the independent music label Crush House Entertainment.  Born in Fort Wayne Indiana, Rodney didn't always know he wanted to be a musician.  As a kid, his parents always played Blues and R&B music around the house but he didn't touch an instrument until he was older.  He grew up in a large family and is the youngest of eight kids.

It wasn't until middle school that music came into his life in the form of an instrument.  But not in the form you might expect from the kind of music that is in his life today.  He started playing the trombone in the school band.  Definitely wasn't his favorite of instruments, but he was able to learn to read music and play.  He realized years later that he was actually really good at it. He didn't write music back then, but he started writing poetry which he stated he really liked to do.  It was an outlet of sorts for him but at the time he said he didn't really know what to do with it.

Life took a turn for Rodney in his late teen years.  He said he could remember it like it was yesterday. He and his friends were in the parking lot of Walmart when Metallica's song "One" came on the radio.  He couldn't believe what he was hearing.  This was the beginning for him and his undying love for music. This prompted him to go out and buy his first guitar.  He said at one point in the interview, "I still remember the feeling of buying that guitar.  It was electric, which is totally different from what I play now.  I think about sometimes what my life would be like had I never bought that guitar.  I can't imagine doing anything but what I'm doing right now with my music".

After buying his first guitar he started his first band.  Rodney and a few friends got together and started a garage band.  He said, "It was really loud and really awful (laughter) but it was a lot of fun.  Our bass player never learned how to play bass and we just never really got it together.  We played one show and it was in the garage of one of my friend's and her mom was our only audience.  But we had fun with it".

Rodney then switched to a softer sound that is much more comparable to his sound today.  He took classical guitar lessons at Indiana-Purdue University. "This helped me get really comfortable and familiar with playing the guitar.  I stopped the lessons and kind of went out on my own when I knew I wanted to write my own music".

He started playing small coffee houses and restaurants.  His first show was at the restaurant Laguna Grill.  There was no PA system so he had to sit on his amplifier as he played for his audience. He said, "I can still remember that.  It wasn't ideal but it was good enough. I think I walked away with $25 that night".  He knew this was exactly what he wanted to be doing. This was where Mathis Grey, his stage name was born.

When asked if he got nervous playing in front of an audience he said, "I get more nervous playing in front of people I know.  If it's an audience of people I don't know I'm not nervous at all.  Not really sure why but that's just how it is".

"It hasn't been easy trying to jump start a career in music," stated Rodney, "but, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. There is just something about writing and creating something that is so personal and then getting up and playing it in front of an audience.  Even if my music connects with just one person at a show that is good enough for me".

Rodney's major musical influence right now is Grant Lee Phillips.  He also listens to classical music and R&B.  "Everybody loves music.  That's the really cool thing about it.  There isn't one person in the world that doesn't like music. It might not be the same kind of music but they love it all the same.  I like to listen to all types of music. I just love it".  Mathis Grey's style of music has a soft, slow driven melodic feel.  Rodney is very much into storytelling through his lyrics.  He says the lyrics are the heart of his music.

Fourteen years later, life is much different now for Rodney. He is touring across the country with other musicians with his label Crush House Entertainment.  "We just finished a tour going from Indiana all the way out to California.  That was the longest tour I've been on.  It's interesting to play shows where people don't know you or your music but by the end of the show they are connected and really getting into the music. Our second leg of the tour which will be out East will start this Fall". 

Rodney's favorite show so far was in Chicago at the Hard Rock Cafe.  "It was the coolest place I've played.  The audience was great and things just felt really real to me at that point.  I've been doing this for a long time now and I just feel like now is my time. It's happening I can feel it".

I asked Rodney at the end of the interview for advice he could give to anyone who has the desire to fulfill their dream.  These are his words, "Just go for it. And DON'T give up.  When people tell you that you can't do something, and you love what you're doing, do it anyway. Just don't give up. Because when you start doing what you love, it can take you places you've never been before".

I am so grateful Rodney took the time to share his story and his journey.  Anything is possible in life if you love enough and are determined.  Follow Rodney on Twitter @MathisGrey.  You can also find him at http://mathisgrey.wordpress.com/ or http://m.soundcloud.com/mathisgrey or http://mathisgrey.bandcamp.com/. Look for Mathis Grey's new single "Starfire" to be released this Tuesday, May 14, 2013 on iTunes and amazon.com. Join him in Chicago this Thursday, May, 16, 2013 as he plays another show at the Hard Rock Cafe at 10pm!


As always with love,

Jennifer

P.S. Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.
Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com with any comments or questions.

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.

The Power Course

Powerlessness is a lie told to our inner most self,

that will finish any and all opportunities

before they even begin.

                                   -Jennifer

To begin anything we need to know and understand our own inner powers.  Our power of word, our power of thought, and our power of action.  Losing a battle with powerlessness is the easiest way of letting go of our own purpose.  The very thing we were sent on this Earth to achieve. 

There are certain things that we can let go of that will increase our power.  Letting go of past hurt, past anger, and past fear.  Working through these things can increase our heart power thus catapulting us into seeking and fulfilling our life's love.  Letting go of our own power to appease fear, or possibly someone else's fear of our expansive powers will only set us into a tailspin of discontent and regret.

Giving up our power to someone else is one of the biggest tragedies in life. This is a disappearing act we perform on living.  We jump down the rabbit hole without hesitation, only to find out the worst case scenario is never getting out. We can so easily walk into a situation that may appear appealing in the beginning but veers off the road often times after we have our heart's invested. Then the sense of powerlessness kicks in and we dizzy ourselves with conflicting thoughts between the known and unknown.  We lose our sense of intuitiveness, or so we think.  We set boundaries for how we think others should live, and then we cross those very same boundaries to delve into something that peaks our curiosity but strips us of the very power that is deservingly our birthright.

So once we have given up our power, how do we get it back? By connecting.  In order to become powerless we have to voluntarily give up our power.  Even if at the time and during the process we didn't realize it was happening.  It is an emptying of sorts of our spiritual connectedness we have with ourselves and our loving source.  When we become disconnected we become confused and our inner compass never seems to settle on one sure fire direction.  So we become lost with where it is we are to be going and how exactly we are to get there.

If the answer is connection, how do we reconnect?  We reconnect through stillness.  We sit in stillness and talk to our inner most self which is ultimately connecting with our source.  By asking for help in making any decision if we sit in stillness long enough, the answer will come.  The answer funny enough will come in the source of power.  Truth be told we never completely give up our power, we just forget how it is that we use it.  When we reconnect, the circuit is no longer frayed, there is no bad connection or static fuzzing the message.  We hear loud and clear.  The next step is then taking action and trading old habits for new habits that expand our power not confine it.

The truth is, we have everything we need inside ourselves.  We often times look outside of ourselves if we feel something is missing in our life.  When the fact is, it has been inside us all along.  We just have to know how to reach it.  We must know that we are protected by universal code.  Universal code is our guide and if we work in harmony with it, we will be led expansively into infinite possibilities.  If we choose to go against it, we then have sticky feet that hold us down and create a sense of panic stricken confinement.

The beauty of knowing the power of power is being able to use our words, thoughts and actions to create a loving world.  One of support and encouragement.  A sense between hearts that we always have a shoulder to lean on, we always have a hand extended to help, and that we always have the power to truly hear another's heart beat. Taking the power course in life builds momentum together through a quantum shift, in order to achieve miraculous giving which ultimately leads to miraculous living.

How can you celebrate your inner power today?  Share with us! We would love to hear from you!

As always with love,

Jennifer

P.S.  Follow me on Twitter at @jfremion

Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com with any questions or comments.  Sign up for automatic emails to live inspired everyday!  Join me Monday May 13, 2013 when I post my interview with singer/songwriter Rodney McCarter!

Copyright 2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.