"Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing." ~ Laurie Buchanan

Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category

The Makings of Home Sweet Home

A robin feathering her nest
has very little time to rest
while gathering her bits of twine and twig…

A few weeks ago when the branches were still bare, we saw the makings of an impressive nest in our back yard. Having recently trimmed Willa’s coat, it’s clear that birds find her wiry hair to be prime building material!

It might be a person, a feeling, a specific structure, or a tangible item—what makes a house a home has as many different answers as there are people. Whether you’re:

  • Gil in South Africa
  • Kevin in Scotland
  • Sandi in the southern US
  • Terrill or Leanne in Canada
  • Sam near the Big Apple
  • Ted in New Zealand
  • Kathy in a her little house in the big woods

What is it to you that makes a house a home?

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

The Book—Discovering the Seven Selves
The Experience—Life Harmony

© 2013 Laurie Buchanan – All Rights Reserved

Find me on Twitter @HolEssence

About these ads

Category:

Life, Musings, Nature

Tagged with:

Rod Stewart and Déjà Vu

A couple of weeks ago I drove an hour and a half north to Janesville, Wisconsin. I didn’t go alone, I took my road companion of many years — Rod Stewart.

We jammed along Route 14, passing farmhouses on both sides of the frozen trek as the sun pierced the early morning sky. Crossing the border he asked, Do you think I’m sexy? Well, of course I do!

Arriving early for my appointment, I was shown to a waiting area. The ambience had a distinctly cool, futuristic feel to it that triggered an immediate sense of Déjà Vu — the sensation that what’s currently happening has been experienced in the past.

This, however, was like Colette Baron Reid’s book, Remembering the Future. This experience hadn’t happened in the past, it happened in the future, yet I was remembering it…

This is an untouched photo, straight from my iPhone. Eerie, isn’t it?

Mouth dry, heart accelerating, my now-clammy hands eased earbuds in as Rod’s stony-throated voice assured, I’ll stand by you, won’t let nobody hurt you, I’ll stand by you. I hit the “repeat album” button just before I was asked to remain perfectly still and a contrast agent was injected into a vein in my left arm.

As Rod and I drove home together we both wondered out loud, Have you ever seen the rain coming down on a sunny day? And came to the conclusion that, An old raincoat won’t ever let you down.

What was your last sense of Déjà Vu?

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Discovering the Seven Selves     Life Harmony

© 2013 Laurie Buchanan – All Rights Reserved

Category:

Life, Metaphysical, Musings

Tagged with:

Vastly Different from being Freshly Pressed

In the twenty years we’ve lived in our home, we’ve never had air conditioning. Instead, we open all of the windows, strategically place fans throughout the house, and use heavy antique irons to keep the doors from slamming shut.

Vastly different from being Freshly Pressed, “Ironing wrinkles out of the fabric” is a phrase I use to convey straightening, or smoothing out a situation.

At day’s end Len may ask, “What did you do today?” If I respond, “I ironed wrinkles out of fabric” he knows full well I spent no time at the ironing board.

Instead, I may have defused an argument, helped someone down-shift accelerated emotions, or assisted a student in their quest for obtaining scholarship funds.

When was the last time you ironed wrinkles out of fabric?

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Discovering the Seven Selves     Life Harmony

© 2013 Laurie Buchanan – All Rights Reserved

Category:

Humor, Musings

Tagged with:

Wait Loss

Different from weight loss (the shedding of pounds), wait loss (the shedding of patience) is less attractive on any figure.

I try not to do battle with time; clearly, it’s a losing proposition. Yet recently I found myself sitting in a waiting room swarming with other people who—like me—were becoming impatient. Fast!

Breathe yourself through this Laurie…

  • Inhale to the count of four.
  • Hold to the count of seven.
  • Exhale to the count of eight.
  • Repeat until your name is called.
  • You can do this.

Time—yours, mine, and ours—is irreplaceable. None of us knows how much of it we have left. Not to be squandered, every moment of this precious commodity should be enjoyed to the fullest.

Are you gaining or losing wait?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Discovering the Seven Selves     Life Harmony     Facebook

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Life, Musings, Spiritual Awareness

Tagged with:

Daylight’s Burnin’!

This week I celebrate Double Nickels — my 55th birthday.

In reaching this milestone it seems reasonable to suggest that I’ve got more time behind me than I do in front of me. In fact, daily I can hear John Wayne’s voice, “Slap some bacon on a biscuit and let’s go, we’re burning daylight!”

And while the package I reside in has changed considerably over the years, I still feel the same on the inside—bright and sassy!

How do you feel on the inside?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Discovering the Seven Selves     Life Harmony     Facebook

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Humor, Life, Musings

Tagged with:

Mind Your Own Business

Do you remember Gladys Kravitz—the nosey neighbor who lived next door to Samantha and Darrin Stephens—on the television show Bewitched? She was always curious about what other people were up to:

Samantha Stephens: Oh, hi, Mrs. Kravitz. What a surprise (not!).
Gladys Kravitz: I came over for a snoop of, uh, a scoop of sugar. I hope I’m not disturbing you.

Our dog Willa—aka Mrs. Kravitz—is a snoop in the first degree. When our neighbors are in their back yard, she peeks through the fence!

Willa would do well to heed Hank Williams’ song, Mind Your Own Business!

I have more than a dash and a dollop of curiosity. When I was a young girl, my hero was Harriet the Spy.

Have you ever stuck your nose where it didn’t belong?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Discovering the Seven Selves     Life Harmony     Facebook

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Humor, Life, Musings

Tagged with:

The Brilliance of Pooh

Regardless of what you do (artist, chef, teacher, writer, hair stylist, gardener) there are countless times during the day when just be-ing is imperative.

It’s typically in the be-ing space that I join the esteemed ranks of Winnie the Pooh and think, Think, THINK.

In autumn I’m speaking in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico at the Women with Sacred Souls International Gathering and Retreat. My topic is keys—keys that help us open our emotional baggage, examine it, and offload it.

In my desire to leave each listener with something tangible from the presentation, I had colorful mini-cards made with a skeleton key on one side, and my quote “Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing” on the other.


Next to HolEssence people made a vertical garden in a discarded pallet – brilliant!

What’s your brilliant idea?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Discovering the Seven Selves      Life Harmony     Facebook

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Life, Musings

Tagged with:

To Sling or Not to Sling

Recently after teaching a class at HolEssence, my attention was caught on the drive home by four pairs of what appeared to be rather new tennis shoes hanging from telephone lines. Looking at the shoes silhouetted against the sunlit blue sky, the first thing that popped into my head was the song, “Waking on Sunshine” by Katrina and The Waves.

Grabbing my camera to capture the free-spirited moment, the second thought that crossed my mind was “Luke Skywalker,” and the third was, “Walking Tall” (really tall)!

When I got home I checked Snopes to see what the story behind this practice might be. As it turns out, it could mean anything from exuberance at passing a sexual milestone, to gangs marking their territorial boundaries, and everything in-between, including just plain old fun!

I also learned that the Southwest has a similar practice of placing boots upside down on fenceposts by the side of a road. And in the military, some soldiers pitch their boots over wires when leaving a post.

Have you ever been a shoe slinger?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Discovering the Seven Selves     Life Harmony     Facebook

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Life, Musings

Tagged with:

If I Only had a Heart

Without question, my favorite character in the Wizard of Oz is the Tin Man:

When a man’s an empty kettle
He should be on his mettle
And yet I’m torn apart
Just because I’m presumin’
That I could be a human
If I only had a heart

Where we live in Crystal Lake, Illinois our home is about three blocks—as the crow flies—from a family owned muffler shop, so we tend to pass their congenial “Tin Man” on a regular basis. For me, his presence serves as a thoughtful reminder to pause and reflect…what condition is my heart in?

I’d be tender, I’d be gentle
And awful sentimental
Regarding love and art
I’d be friends with the sparrows
And the boy that shoots the arrows
If I only had a heart

What condition is your heart in?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Please visit HolEssence and our Facebook page

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

 

Category:

Life, Musings, Spiritual Awareness

Tagged with:

I’m a Basket Case!

A few years ago when the economy took an interesting turn, we made the decision to change the store/product part of HolEssence (our small healing studio) to sacred space for Yoga. In doing so, we hosted a large sale event to eliminate product, and we put the display-type pieces down in the basement for safekeeping.

With summer upon us, we’ve taken advantage of the weather (no rain, snow, or ice) to clean said basement. Much to our surprise, we discovered that I’m a basket case! We knew that I’d used a lot of baskets to showcase various products to their best advantage, but we were amazed at the actual number!

Do you have an accidental or intentional collection of something whose size has unwittingly crept up on you?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

Please visit HolEssence and our Facebook page

© 2012 Laurie Buchanan– All Rights Reserved

Category:

Life, Musings

Tagged with:

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 3,362 other followers