For anyone who has ever been an OUTCAST
Frizzy hair, braces, clothes from Walmart, and a trumpet case in hand, I was NOT the definition of “COOL” in Middle School OR for much of High-School. My mom drove a bright, yellow VW Van with Grateful Dead Stickers on the back. I didn’t receive many props from my peers for that one! This WAS small town Kansas, people.
As a teen, I always felt a bit on the outskirts, like I didn’t belong or fit in. As if every other kid had received some “How to be Normal and Popular” Handbook, except for me. The UPS Delivery Truck broke down on the way to my House, apparently, and was then permanently re-routed.
One of my most embarrassing “Nerd” Memories was in 7th Grade. I used to walk to school with *Adam, a VERY popular and Handsome fellow student. He was so ashamed to walk with me that he forced us to walk on SEPARATE sides of the street. We YELLED our conversations across the road, as we made our way to Kennedy Middle School. He also made me promise NEVER to tell anyone that we were friends.
One morning during our walk, I tripped on the curb. My trumpet case went flying, knocking my trumpet out onto the street. I fell face first into the cement. It was a major wipeout. I was mortified. Adam just kept walking, as I wiped off the dirt and small amounts of blood, and saved my trumpet from being smashed by incoming cars.
Instead of questioning why he didn’t stop to help, all I thought about was how clumsy I was, and how everyone at school was going to laugh at me.
The Truth is, I was the girl that the Popular Boys used to “pretend” to like when dared by their friends. Not super fun.
Around 16, something shifted, and I started hanging out with the Cool Kids, and was eventually even elected Prom Queen. Adam actually asked me out on a date!! I told him SURE! As long as we walk on separate sides of the street and he never told anyone that we went on a date.;) Hee hee
However, even in my ”More Popular” years, I still felt like an Outcast inside, a Mistake, even. I may have been wearing a tiara, but inside I felt like I was still carrying my trumpet and tripping over curbs.
I have tried to shove these feelings down, Self Analyze them away, and Process the shit out of myself and my emotions. I thought I had made peace with my Inner Nerd. I felt like we had reached a Truce. I thought I had fully embraced my confident, Business Owner, New York City Resident Self.
HOWEVER, I recently went to my Hometown in Kansas for the wedding of the most popular woman in my Class. A BEAUTIFUL and SWEET woman, and one of my close friends. However, the minute I walked into the wedding, I felt my inner “Nerd” come up and out. I immediately felt like an outcast and an alien. My dress was all wrong. My hair was frizzing. Was I too New York City? Who was I trying to impress? I felt like a fraud, a fake, lost, confused, and ugly.
I escaped to the Bathroom, where surprisingly, I was alone. I looked myself in the eyes. Deeply.
“Little Cora”, I said, “I know you are totally freaking out. You feel lost and scared and on the outside. I want you to know that you are AMAZING. You are beautiful. You are quirky and nerdy AND confident and cool. You are a mix of everything. You can’t be labeled or put in a box, and you may never feel popular. And that’s MORE than okay. Because we have each other. And we have an amazing support network of friends, family, angels, Spirit Guides, God. We are SO supported. I love you so much. Now get out of your own way. Stop overthinking. Go down there and have fun with your friends. Life is to be lived fully and you are missing it, by staying stuck in your thoughts, fears, and doubts. Let’s go PARTY!”
And that’s what I did. I embraced my Inner Nerd, Outsider, Prom Queen, Hippi, and Coach. I embraced ALL of me.
I walked down the stairs, back into the party, and when I tripped on the bottom step, this time, YES, this time, the men came running to help me back up.
xoxoCC
For your very own FREE Dream Body and Life Coaching Session with Coach Cora, click here: https://my.timedriver.com/HCQ3R
*Named changed to protect the innocent!:)
Cultivating Bliss with Sexy Soul Living!
Live your Bliss BABY!!!
“It is only when you have both divine grace and human endeavor that you can experience bliss, just as you can enjoy the breeze of a fan only when you have both a fan and the electrical energy to operate it.” -Sri Sathya Said Baba, Spiritual Guide and Mentor
Embracing both our Humanness and our Souls is KEY to living a BLISS-filled Life!!
I am so excited to announce this weeks’s GUEST BLOGGERS, Lindsey Smith and Lorraine Miller, authors of the Bliss Cleanse, a Kick-A** Book all about living your Inner and outer BLISS!!
Bliss is about connecting to your heart and living a life of happiness.
Are you someone who is connected to your heart? Do you wake up everyday beaming with gratitude? Or maybe you want to connect more to your heart and soul?
Here are 4 tips on how to cultivate bliss by connecting to your heart and soul:
1. Practice daily gratitude. Simply write down 3-5 things you are grateful for and focus on how you feel when you think about them. We recommend getting a separate journal to do this, and practicing gratitude either first thing in the morning or last thing before going to bed.
2. Celebrate you everyday. Instead of focusing on your faults or weaknesses, take time each day to celebrate something wonderful you did, even if it seems small like holding the door for someone. Take some time to remember all the things about you that you love, the parts of you that make you, YOU! Allow these feelings to fill your body and nourish you from head to toe.
3. Spend time with people who make you feel loved, supported, and appreciated. Try limited your time with people who drain your energy or create negativity and toxic thinking.
4. Now ask yourself, “What does bliss mean to you?” Bliss is different for everyone. Take a minute to reflect on what makes you feel joy and utter happiness. Practice incorporating more of those things into your life this week and feel yourself shift from being stressed out to blissed out.
Written by Lindsey Smith and Lorraine Miller, authors of the new, unique book, Bliss Cleanse: Your Two-Week Mind, Body, Spirit Guide to Greater Health and Happiness. For more information, visit www.BlissCleanse.com.
How To Recover from a Really Bad Binge
by Guest Blogger Isabel Foxen Duke
I know some of you have been there. That day when you’re running around trying to organize your sister’s bridal shower — or some similarly stressful event — and all of the sudden you’re on line at Starbuck’s getting ANOTHER not-even-that-good pastry for no apparent reason.
Then it spirals out of control. Another pastry turns into “I have to go home and lie in a bucket of take-out because I blew my diet and I’m definitely gonna have to start like, three juice cleanses tomorrow.”
Eventually you end up face-down. You’re drooling, you’re in the fetal position, and all you can think to yourself is “SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH ME.”
Been there!
And I have to tell you, the key to getting through it is doing whatever it takes to forgive yourself, and put it in the past.
Half of recovering from three bags of Chinese take-out is just letting it go, without berating yourself for “screwing up” or fantasizing about how you’re going to “make up for it” tomorrow.
And when you’re really in a lot of pain, both physically and mentally, try to take super-duper gentle care of yourself. Remember, you just made yourself a little sick, so it might be time to drink some hot water with lemon, lie in bed, and watch a movie while it courses through you. It’s just like nursing a bad cold, but one that usually passes in a day or so.
Your body is a living, breathing organism that needs to be taken care of, especially when it’s not feeling good.
RADICAL SELF CARE IS THE ANSWER TO ALL OF MY PROBLEMS TODAY (Tweet it!)
Say it out loud. And if you want to learn more about how to take care of yourself with food, download “How To Not Eat Chocolate Cake” for my self-loving (and kinda funny) food strategies.
Isabel Foxen Duke helps women make peace with their bodies, so they can stop obsessing about food and start living again (or for the first time). Your weight dramas are scared of her. For more articles, visitwww.IsabelFoxenDuke.com and download How To Not Eat Chocolate Cake. You can also follow me on Twitter @IsabelFoxenDuke and Facebook.
I’m HIRING!
Yee-Haw!!! I am HIRING!!!
I am looking for a Personal Assistant who yearns to be a part of a Company whose Mission is to assist our Clients in LOVING themselves Fully and Living a Soul Centered Life connected to their Unique Life Purpose of Sacred Service. You will be helping me with Newsletters, Emails, Google Docs, Website Updates, Networking, Errands, ETC. MUST be adept at working with a Highly Sensitive Empath/Indigo Child (ME!). We will have a BLAST! I promise!!!
MUST be in the NYC area and available to come to Park Slope Brooklyn once or twice/week. 4-8 hours/week to start with the possibility of more hours and even Business Partnership if it aligns. BIG Plus if you have experience or knowledge working with a Heart and Soul-Centered Entrepreneur. Hourly rate to be discussed. Coffee, tea, or mate provided.;)
Please send all resumes and cover letters to cora@sexysoulwellness.com. Answer the following questions:
Why do you feel Called to work with Coach Cora and Sexy Soul Wellness?
What do you have to offer this position, that would set you apart from other applicants?
What is your Word of the Year for 2013 and WHY?!
What is your Personal Life Mission and Message that I was put on this Earth to share with the world?
I will be in touch in the next couple weeks. xoxoCC
Fitness Modeling Adventures!!!
Holla!!
Check out the new and amazing exercise book, The High Intensity Fitness Revolution, by Fitness Expert and my good friend Pete Cerqua!
And there’s more!!!
I am the fitness model for the female version! A dream come true and rather outrageous indeed!
Snatch up a copy here and help make this book a best seller! There are female and male versions!
YOU ROCK!
xoxoCC
MY intimate and juicy THANKSGIVING Love story!
Recently, I was feeling a little blue, and a bit lonely.
Suddenly, I heard the words, “Cora, YOU are the Star of YOUR Greatest Love Story ever told.”
This has become my Mantra, and everywhere I go, I experience deep connection and Union with God, the Angels, SO many people, animals, trees, and flowers. AMAZING!
I am truly living MY Greatest Love Story.
Now my name is NOT very common. I have met ONE other Cora in my entire life. AND CHECK THIS OUT!! In affirmation of my new Mantra, I was walking through my neighborhood and I saw THIS:
We are ALL the STARS of our Greatest Love Story! HOW OUTRAGEOUS!!! And how beautiful. I am SO grateful for my Love Story.
xoxoCC
To schedule a complimentary 30 minute Soul Awakening Breakthrough Session with Coach Cora, click here:
To learn more about the Institute of Integrative Nutrition’s Holistic Health Coaching Program, click here:
Wisdom From a Soul Centered Man
by Guest Blogger, Tim McCauley
In 2009, I decided to stop, evaluate, and decide how I wanted the rest of my life to go.
In that month of contemplation, I came to the realization that something in me wanted to be a writer, and always has. So, I made the decision to write. I didn’t wait for permission or shop around for a book contract; in June of 2011 I self-published my first book.
Along with my recognition of my Call to writing, I quit my job in Los Angeles, moved to Brazil, was deported from Brazil, and came back to Southeast Ohio. After the book was published, I realized that Ohio was a good place to be for a while; very few distractions. I became VERY engrossed in my work.
I work, research, write, and Coach every single day. If I kept track I’m most likely be putting in 13 hour days. Even the books I read for pleasure are part of my mission.
I’m not complaining. I do all of this out of love. I wouldn’t change any of it.
A few months ago, I had saved enough money to take a short vacation. I felt I deserved a break. My first thought was to use the plane ticket I already had to go to L.A. and visit friends, surf and hang out for a week or two. I logged in to see what dates would work for me, and started to get a little nervous. So, I logged out and went for a walk.
You see, at this point in my life, I’ve realized that my brain doesn’t always know what’s best for me. I have some desires that my brain knows will make me feel good, but those things rarely bring lasting happiness; they just leave me wanting more.
So, any time I start excitedly making plans to do something and I feel a level of uncertainty I put that on hold. I turn everything off and do one of the following:
-sit in meditation
-go for a walk
-set up my hammock in the back yard
The main goal here is to relax fully and completely. If my memory is correct, that day I chose the hammock.
Something about a hammock just brings me to a sense of ease and comfort; not a worry in the world and from that sense is a gentle whisper of a voice.
That gentle voice said to me, “Tim, you live four miles from an 800 acre lake. Look into getting a Stand Up Paddle Board. It’ll serve multiple purposes; you will step away from the computer, you will get in shape, and you will feel like you can walk on water!”
So that’s what I did; I spent my vacation money on a Stand Up Paddle Board. Weather permitting I go out to the lake four days a week and put in about 10-15 miles each visit.
I actually place it on my calendar each week. It’s an appointment with myself; a few hours of connecting with Nature and feeling completely in Love with life. Each night in my journal I remind myself that the reason for money in my life is to allow for more freedom; which I already have.
Anyone familiar with me knows that everything in my life becomes a metaphor or a spiritual lesson at some point; Stand Up is no exception. Not only has the few months transformed my body, but it has also reminded me what is really important in every aspect of our lives.
1. Balance
It’s fundamental in everything we do. We must be rooted and grounded in ourselves to move forward in life with ease.
2. Rhythm
In paddling there is a point where the board gets a glide and your job is maintain that glide by finding a rhythm that doesn’t upset the flow. Proper use of number 3 is required.
3. Power
Real power in Paddling and in life comes from your core! In sports the core is in your midsection and power transfers through your hips. In life the core of your being is waiting for you to find stillness within yourself.
4. Mindful Awareness
On any given day on the lake water is moving. As you paddle you have to become aware of the subtle signs of where that water moves, then you have to move your board to that spot and connect with it. Life is the same. Find the flow that best suits you and move into it.
5. Connection
I feel so connected with the Universe when I surf or paddle. It could just be an endorphin rush, or it could be that I’ve allowed my brain to find Harmony and peace. I’m not sure. But, I do know that if I don’t have the chance to go out to the lake today, I will do another activity that helps me cultivate an inner sense of connectedness. (Facebook doesn’t count.) Meditate, contemplate love, see the whole world in your mind’s eye and give it a HUGE hug.
Tim McAuley is a self-help junkie who loves to write and share his observations of the world. In his debut book, Tim takes us on his journey of coming to terms with difficult life circumstances, a life-or-death decision to get sober; the story begins when he learned to ride a wave – not only the ocean surf, but the metaphoric wave of the present moment. Tim has been offering his brand of Coaching (Soul Surfer Instructions) since. If you’d like Tim to email you a PDF version of his book Sign Up Here
Channelling Spirit
Cookie Monster is My New Neighbor!
Hi Sexy Souls!
I am now an official “Brooklyn Babe”! Check out my beautiful neighborhood and plethora of Celebrity Neighbors:
http://yearofoutrageousliving.com/81-cookie-monster-is-my-new-neighbor/
