Age, Appropriately

I’ve been thinking about the term “age-appropriateness”. I think that many times this phrase gets in the way of our potential to let loose and have fun. From the standpoint of emotional maturity it makes sense – nothing’s more obnoxious than seeing a grown adult throw a temper tantrum that would rival a two year old – but what I’m talking about here is the difference between the maturity (hopefully) that comes with age and experience, and being constrained by social propriety. Who makes up these rules, anyway?

Have you ever held yourself back from doing something that you’d really like to do because it doesn’t “befit your age”? I know I have, though after hitting the big 5-0 and experiencing the death of a dear friend last year I started to become a bit rebellious against this mindset. Why should I constrain myself to what other people deem appropriate? And you know what? I’ve been enjoying life a heckuva lot more.

I hold a vision of myself in old-age that is inspired by a woman I saw at a concert a year or so ago. This woman, definitely well into her golden years, was wheelchair bound, but also had a cane with her. With long crazy gray hair flowing, she “danced” in her wheelchair and played her cane like an air guitar with such exuberance that the crow parted to give her ample room. This woman was in pure joy, it was so beautiful to see. If she had “acted her age” she may have very well been at home embroidering doilies, having long ago given up her love of rock ‘n roll. Nothing wrong with embroidering doilies, but I somehow get the sense that it wouldn’t bring the level of enjoyment this woman felt while listening to the music that day.

So let me ask you a few questions: What have you given up to conform to society’s idea of age-appropriateness? Is there something that you would secretly love to do, but don’t for fear of looking ridiculous? And who would be doing the judging? Do they matter in your life if they don’t support your happiness? And what if you discovered that the one keeping you in your place is none other than you? Could you push yourself a little out of your comfort zone and pull in a little more youthful spirit back into your life?

Here’s to rockin’ on wit’ yer bad self!

With Love.

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From Over There:

“That which brings pure joy in youth is to be nurtured in age. To allow oneself the joys of youth is to allow a closer connection to spirit. It is the relinquishing of youthful joy as the body ages that creates a detachment to the spirit and over attachment to the body and potential physical ailments.  With the allowing of wonder and youthful excitement the aging of the physical self decelerates. This occurs as when one is in the state of childlike wonder, one is in a state of joy, and the body does not hold onto the energy of stress and tension in this state. When one chooses cynicism over wonder the energy of joy has no place in the body and stress builds, creating tension and an acceleration of the body’s degeneration process. Allowing the continuation of youthful joy creates greater happiness, no matter that condition of the physical self.”

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Featured Guest: Goldie Hawn, The Hawn Foundation

The Hawn Foundation seeks to help transform children’s lives by providing them with opportunities to acquire vital social and emotional skills, to improve academic performance, enhance the quality of their lives, and to help them feel more connected to their communities. It is our passion to assist educators to create supportive learning and social environments that effectively address children’s mental and physical wellbeing, while nurturing the growth of creative and reflective habits of mind.

Through advocacy and educational, evidence-based programming in our schools, The Hawn Foundation seeks to provide children with the tools to succeed and experience true happiness. Our objective is to develop and deliver social and emotional learning, supported by brain research, to help create a world where children thrive. To learn more, please visit: thehawnfoundation.org.

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If you'd like more information, to book an appointment, or check out the current class schedule, please visit molliejensen.com.

For Now

I’m writing this with my sweet, old, feeble-minded cat in my lap. This wonderful companion of almost 19 years goes by the name of Curtis, and he’s truly been the best cat anyone could ever hope for. An avid hunter in his youth, he vigilantly kept all manner of rodents and other crawly things from entering the house. Well, from entering alive anyway. From his continual purring to his constant cuddliness, just think of all of the positive things that can come from having a cat, and that’s him.

But the old guy is really starting to slow down. In fact, I believe it’s just a matter of time until we need to say our final goodbyes. It makes me sad, very sad, especially for my daughter as she has had him around for as long as she can remember. For now we hold him, tell him how much we love him, and just appreciate the time that we’ve been so blessed to have our furry little friend in our lives.

This, to me, is a reminder of the precious nature of life, and how death is inevitable for all of us – no one is immune. It’s also about appreciating life as it comes, even when those around you come and go. As hard as it is to lose someone, having them in your life for a period of time is a rich reward that needs to be valued when they are still with us – not just after they’re gone.

So for now I sit, Curtis in lap and sound asleep, paws gently twitching, no doubt dreaming of stealthy hunting of days past.  

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From Over There:

“The body is fleeting, but the soul eternal. Appreciate the time spent in the body and the abilities it brings to you. Understanding the soul as eternal is not to dismiss the importance of time spent in the body and the lessons learned while inhabiting it. It is this perspective of appreciation of this time and what it offers that brings greater joy and an easier path to growth during the given lifetime.”

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Featured Guest: George Harrison 

Will have a new featured guest next week, so for now enjoy a little George Harrison again! Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)

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If you'd like more information, to book an appointment, or check out the current class schedule, please visit molliejensen.com.

From Where I Stand

As the end of the year (not world) approaches I’d like to leave you with a few insights I’ve gathered over the years, a few pretty recently. I’d also like to thank each and every one of you who take the time to read my posts and to those of you who send me feedback. I always love hearing from you, even if you disagree with what I say. And lastly, this post is good for the next two weeks and I'll be returning with something fresh and new on the 7th. 

Here’s to a Beautiful Whatever-You-Celebrate and a most Blessed and Prosperous New Year! 

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From where I stand:

1.       Getting older is a privilege to be grateful for

2.       About 90% of all hospital staff should be inducted into sainthood

3.       Life is too short to not eat cookies

4.       Laughter really is the best medicine, especially during difficult times

5.       I want my cake, want to eat it too, and I want you to as well

6.       Geriatric cats require a lot of attention, but it’s worth it

7.       The need to get your point across oftentimes means you won’t

8.       Silliness is a very enlightened state of being

9.       Having your heart broken open – while painful – allows more love in if you let it

10.   Good friends are worth keeping, even in death

11.   A genuine smile is the sexiest thing a man can wear

12.   Trying to fix someone never works

13.   Try and fix me and you’ll be fixin’ for trouble

14.   Sarcasm doesn’t always have to be mean

15.   Breathing does a body good

16.   Sometimes rose-colored glasses are necessary for survival

17.   Spending time in nature sets everything right

18.   Saying “no” can be a very positive thing

19.   The truth does indeed set you free, as long as you take responsibility for it

20.   Love really is the answer – to everything

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Featured Guest: George Harrison

For your viewing and listening pleasure: Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)

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If you'd like more information, to book an appointment, or check out the current class schedule, please visit molliejensen.com.

Take a Stand

I write this with such intense sadness in my heart. It’s been two days since the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary, and although I’ve spent those past hours in a state of shock and horror, the gravity of it all is just now really hitting home. As a parent first and human being second, I just can’t imagine what the family and friends of those killed (including those of the shooter) must be going through. I don’t personally know any of the individuals affected, but my heart grieves for them. Today, I can’t shake the tears.

There’s been so much circulating in the press about gun control and the need for better mental health care. It’s true, we need to change things.  But I sit here wondering how many more times something like this has to happen before those at the helm of the big business of firearms and health care actually take responsibility. Will they? Ever? If it means abolishing a broken system that creates billions of dollars in revenue for the few holding the strings, how do we cut those strings once and for all?

We’ve seen great things happen when large groups of people come together and take a stand. It’s not always an easy thing to do. It means work, it means sometimes aggressive (notice I didn’t say ‘violent’) acts. And it means taking responsibility for the greater good of us all. That in itself can be a challenge as oftentimes we already have so much responsibility just in our day-today lives.  But I know we have it in us. I have faith in us. For every bad act that gets blasted on the evening news, there are many more altruistic ones that go unnoticed. So my question to you is (and to myself as well), what can we do every day to support one another, ourselves, and a better world for us all? I don’t have an answer for you, because we all have varying views on what a better world looks like. But I can tell you this, a simple act of kindness, no matter how seemingly insignificant to us, can be profound in the life of the receiver. It’s a start, and with that I believe cause for a ripple effect that will give us a greater sense of connection and the power to stand together to inspire change.

Sending much love to you all.

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From Over There:

“When one’s perception moves toward judgment of right or wrong, know that this is a perception based solely on illusion. There is no right or wrong – only love. If one chooses to see and act through the perception of love then one will always be led in the direction of highest good. This is the way to unity, the way to peace. This is the only way to happiness.”

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Featured Guest: Francine Marie-Sheppard

Francine is the Director and Founder of the Academy ofClairvoyance and Consciousness, and Lightmuse: Intuitive Living, and a professional consultant, clairvoyant, teacher, healer and artist. She is the graduate of 2 different psychic training institutes in the SF Bay Area and the Womens Teachers Program at BPI. She has had additional training in Shamanism, and worked with Philippine faith healers, as well as trained with Michael Tamura, whom she considers one of her favorite teachers.  Francine likes to be assisted by Ascended Master healers when working in the ACC Healing Sanctuary, and sometimes she is still surprised who shows up to help out.  Francine has recently begun a new exploration into the healing power of symbols via a special healing energy space she has created called The Luminarium. For more information about the Luminarium and Francine's private healing practice, please visit www.beluminary.com.

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If you'd like more information, to book an appointment, or check out the current class schedule, please visit molliejensen.com.

How 'Bout Now?

Staying in the present moment can be tricky when we have multiple things to juggle on a daily basis, the future glaring at us to stay on track, and the past to color our perspective. Oftentimes, it feels like life is coming at us from every angle, making it a little difficult to pay attention to what’s currently going on around us. Add to this our critical internal navigation system (aka, our inner-nag) always at the ready to keep us from looking bad or re-creating past mistakes, and it’s a wonder we get out of bed in the morning.

But when you allow things to slow down and turn off (or at least calm) that internal voice, have you noticed how much more enjoyable life and relationships are? Pretty amazing, actually. Setting aside the often ever growing to-do list, and letting go of the need to constantly keep yourself in check allows you to truly experience each precious moment of life. Now believe you me, I know how hard it can be to quiet the inner noise. It’s there, but you can make peace with it.

I’m a big proponent of talking to yourself, and wonder what kind of lunatic I must look like for doing it so often. The truth of the matter is that the voice that attempts to guide us – no matter how misdirected – just really want to be heard. So the trick is, listen. Have a conversation. By doing so, you quiet the voice.

When working with clients I often refer to this as “talking yourself off the ledge”, especially when the voice is screaming at you to jump. For every internal screaming Mimi, there’s also the internal voice of reason, and it’s up to us to use both as a source for moving through and out of our past, and to plan for the future without obsessing over it.

A good analogy for this is that you wouldn’t pitch a screaming fit back at a small child for throwing a temper tantrum, would you? That would be pretty counterproductive. As anyone who’s had the joy of dealing firsthand with a little darling when they go off the deep end knows, staying calm and rational enough to see the root of the behavior is paramount for the fit to pass.

Time to start listening to the inner-voice so it stops tearing us down, and instead, cheers us on. That way you have the opportunity to enjoy the moment, be present with those you love, and not “trip” on the ever existent to-do list.

With Love.

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From Over There:

“To find value in every interaction, no matter how seemingly mundane, is to live in present moment. To live in present moment and experience the present moment one must release the need for approval of others.

Approval must first begin with self. The mind is out of present time and into self-preoccupation when an individual feels the need to compare attributes with another. If one values their own strengths and talents then there is no need for competition, or ego to prove value over another, because self-value is already acknowledged.

When one is comfortable in relationship with self, then one is comfortable in relationship with others. When one is in this comfort range, then the availability to be present in every moment is increased.” 

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Featured Guest: Emotional Freedom, a book by Dr. Judith Orloff

National bestselling author Judith Orloff MD presents new solutions for dealing with emotions in our hyper-tense world. She invites you to take a remarkable journey, one that leads to happiness, serenity, and a mastery over negativity that pervades daily life. You possess the ability to liberate yourself from worry, anger, and fear. True emotional freedom is closer than you think. 

Synthesizing neuroscience, intuitive medicine, psychological and subtle energy techniques, Dr. Orloff maps the elegant relationships between our minds, bodies, spirits, and our environments. With humor and compassion, she shows you how to identify the most powerful negative emotions and how to transform them into hope, kindness, and courage. Compelling patient case-studies, stories from her on-line community and workshop participants, and from her own private life illustrate the simple, easy-to-follow action steps that you can take to cope with emotional vampires, disappointments, and rejection.

Emotional Freedom is a road map for those who are stressed out, discouraged, or overwhelmed as well as for those who are in a good emotional place but want to feel even better. As Dr. Orloff shows, each day presents opportunities for us to be heroes in our own lives: to turn away from negativity, react constructively, and seize command of any situation. Complete emotional freedom is within your grasp. To learn more about Dr. Orloff, please visit: www.drjudithorloff.com.

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If you'd like more information, to book an appointment, or check out the current class schedule, please visit molliejensen.com.

How Weird

I’ve been thinking a lot about the word “weird”. I really like it. I know it’s often used as an insult, but no matter in what context someone uses it to describe me, I take it as a compliment. Why? Because it means I’m stepping outside of someone else’s self-imposed limitations and not being restricted by them.

When someone refers to another as “weird” in a derogatory way, it’s because the “weird” person represents something that’s way out of the comfort zone of the other individual. Whenever we push ourselves beyond the limits of our comfort zone it leads to growth. And since growth is what we’re here for, if I light up something in you by my weirdness, well then, you’re welcome!

And remember, if you’re stuck in this judgmental mindset just know that there are going to be plenty of “weirdos” that come along throughout your life to help you move past it. So get out of your box, kick it to the curb, and go have fun hanging out with the other oddballs! 

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From Over There:

“To be comfortable in the presence of those who you perceive to be different than you is to first be comfortable with yourself. It is the individual who judges others harshly that is in non-acceptance of themselves. To accept the self without the need for action minimized by socially imposed norms is the path to true liberation and acceptance of all. This acceptance allows the unique traits of individuals to flourish, creating a more balanced and egalitarian society.”

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Featured Guest: Christine Arylo

Christine is an inspirational catalyst for women and girls everywhere, daring, inspiring and guiding them to be, love and live their REAL MEs… instead of the images they often find themselves trying to live into. She sees clients through her life coaching company, Dare to Live You, and is the author of two books, Choosing ME Before WE, and her latest, Madly in Love with Me: The Daring Adventure of Becoming Your Own Best Friend.

Christine leads workshops throughout the US, and her message is featured on top radio stations across the country. To learn more about Christine, please visit: madlyinlovewithme.com. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband Noah and their dog, Nanook.

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If you'd like more information, to book an appointment, or check out the current class schedule, please visit molliejensen.com.

Black Friday

I’m writing this on the infamous Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving where multitudes of Americans lose their minds in shopping frenzy. I myself don’t partake in the event, and find the whole thing a bit on the creepy side, but don’t blame those brave souls who choose to fight the crowds. Who am I to judge the parent who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford gifts for their kids unless they did? I just wonder why it has to be this horrible, stressful event.

The thing that gets to me is when you hear about grown (supposed) adults who revert to behavior that’s lower than any of our primate cousins would exhibit. The fighting, pushing, and sometimes tragic violence is beyond bizarre considering the reason behind this season of giving. Now I’m not Christian, but I do enjoy celebrating Christmas, and I’m pretty sure this isn’t what Jesus had in mind when he said, “Ask and it will be given to you;  search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” Not, “Go forth and pummel someone to get the best deal at Walmart.” 

Unfortunately the materialistic mindset that we’ve been handed through the media and corporate messaging has perpetuated this mess, and it’s up to us to hand it back. How? Through conscious giving. And when I say “conscious” I don’t mean that little Sally can’t have the Easy Bake Oven® or Tonka Truck® she wants, and instead has to be happy with a donation to Save the (Fill-in-the-Blank) in her name, but that we understand the motivation behind what we give and that we teach these same principles to our children. Giving Sally what she wants so she won’t be a brat is just going to make her more of a brat. But if giving Sally that Tonka Truck® for being a generally good kid feels good to you, then that’s a whole different story. Though the occasional gift of Save the (Fill-in-the-Blank) in her name doesn’t hurt either, just sayin’.

And what about those kids whose parents are out there pushing and shoving and exhibiting bad behavior in pursuit of the all-mighty bargain? What kind of adults are they breeding? My hope is that they eventually find some understanding of what they are doing. All we can do is start with ourselves by increasing awareness, and let it serve as a way to get back to the point of giving: joy.

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From Over There:

“Motivation behind giving is more important than the gift itself. It is important to acknowledge why it is that one gives to another at certain times or during certain situations. To give may represent an actual article, or it may be giving of time, or of advice, or of a compliment. Regardless of what is given, ask yourself why it is you give. Ask yourself if it is simply for the joy of giving, or from the desire to be accepted, or for manipulation. Whatever the reason know this, the intent behind the giving is imprinted on the gift. The receiver receives the intent along with the gift. This is why at times when a gift is received – although it may appear pleasant – it does not bring joy to the receiver.” 

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Featured Guest: Barry Perlman

Barry Perlman (astrobarry) is an intuitive astrologer who’s been counseling clients from around the world for over a decade. Since 2002, he has shared his astrological wisdom on his website, www.astrobarry.com, where thousands of visitors enjoy his weekly “horoscopes that keep it real” and other writings. Barry has appeared in The New York Times, on the CBS Evening News, and on radio in the US and Australia. His horoscopes have appeared in Sydney-based FAMOUS Magazine, The Livingston Weekly, and on BettyConfidential.com. He is also co-owner of The Sacred Well, a metaphysical shop in Oakland, CA. He lives in San Francisco with his partner and his lovable 90-lb. mutt JoJo.

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If you'd like more information, to book an appointment, or check out the current class schedule, please visit molliejensen.com.