Where did November go? It seems to have flown by, at least for me. So much happened, so much to be grateful for indeed. The month started out with my visit to Seattle, where the Qigong workshop at Samadhi Yoga was fantastic and resulted in some video clips on YouTube. Breath Empowerment at the Anacortes Center for Happiness was also a success, as always; it's so good to be there. And teaching several Qigong classes to grades 5 through 8 at the end of the week was so much fun! It can be a challenge to hold a container for all that energy those girls have, especially one class after the other, but it's amazing to see them go from hyper and distracted to calm and focused. And the looks on their faces when they actually feel the Qi energy?! Priceless.

As for life in Austin, all is well. Master Li and I are almost done with revising the Sheng Zhen Gong, A Return to Oneness book. Good thing too, because he's about to take off for a couple of months. So what will I do? I've still got some Sheng Zhen work to do, both with the book and a new website that has been in the works. But I'll also be focusing on my own writing! And there is that month of January where I'll be teaching Sheng Zhen Gong and offering bodywork and energy-work at Present Moment Retreat in Mexico. Come visit!

Other than that little recap of the past month and sneak peek into the future, I have "the gift of giving" on my mind. As I write that, I hear in my head part of a line from the Sheng Zhen form Awakening the Soul: "the giving of oneself with no conditions is freeing oneself..." And it's true. Giving with no conditions, without expectation, and without worry, is so freeing. I've been thinking a lot about giving and receiving lately. What gifts do I receive? What gifts do I share? When do I give with conditions or expectation? When do I give without? What am I even expecting? What are those conditions? When do I stop myself from giving because of worries or stories? I'm not going to answer those questions here. But maybe you want to ask yourself those questions sometimes too.

This topic is bubbling up partially because I have been feeling extremely generous over the past few weeks. I've just wanted to give, give, give, whether it's my money or my time, my words, my love; whatever it is, I want to give. At first it actually seemed a bit odd to feel this more strongly than usual, because I just made a very large purchase and I'm under some big self-imposed deadlines, so shouldn't I be stingy both with my money and with my time? Shouldn't I be worried?

No. I shouldn't be. I give within my means, whether we're talking about money, love, energy, time. And if it seems I've overspent a bit in any of those areas, it always balances back out after a little course correction. There is no need to hold on so tightly. No need to worry. No need to withhold. Just a need to share. And maybe that's not even a need. But it is an urge, and one I'd like to give in to, along with trust and a deep knowing that there is always more than enough. And I think this heightened desire and willingness to give without worrying much about the outcome, or if I should or can, comes not only from my Sheng Zhen Gong practice but also from a couple of gratitude practices that have worked wonders in terms of creating more of an abundance mentality.

One of those practices is a group on Facebook for posting gratitude by thinking of all the gifts one receives throughout the day. It can be as simple as waking up in the morning or receiving a smile from a stranger or a loved one, or it can be something material such as a paycheck for more than expected or being treated to dinner. Whatever you want to post. And some people benefit just by reading others' posts. It's really quite nice, and has the power to work wonders, and here is the link if you're interested: 90-Day Gratitude Attitude Challenge. This group was started by my dear friend and former-lifecoach Laura Lavigne, who also runs the Center for Happiness in Anacortes.

And speaking of Laura, and Happiness, and Giving, there is something else I want to tell you about. It's called the Happiness Sprinkling Project and if you're curious about what that is and maybe even want to get involved, read more about it here, and be sure to watch the video! Maybe you can help this project meet its goal by December 6th? They're actually so close to reaching it that I am sure they will. Or maybe you want to be a "Happiness Ambassador" in your town? Maybe you want to spread the word? Or maybe you just wanna watch the video without any of those maybes in mind! So go ahead. Just watch it. Just receive. Perhaps it leads to giving. Perhaps it does not. Either way, sharing this video, telling you about this project, is my gift to you.

That's all for now!

Best wishes,
Rebecca

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