I don't like spicy food.

So when I was making a recipe that called for a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, I was already planning on finding some sort of substitute.

But, before finding a substitute, I decided, “hey, what the hell, I want to at least try the flavor before writing it off.” (This is my "open taste" digestion.)

I peeled back the lid, stuck a spoon in the adobo sauce, and gingerly touched the spoon to my tongue.

Turns out…I do not like chili peppers in adobo sauce—or more accurately, I do not like adobo sauce.

There are plenty of other humans out there who DO love adobo sauce. Just because I don't like it, doesn't mean it should be sent off to Mars or something.

It just means I won't be putting it in my mouth ever again.

Everyone is different!

Society tells us that we're supposed to do so many THINGS.

"Get a job and climb the corporate ladder," they say.

"Get married and have kids," they say.

"Hustle harder," they say. "Rest when you're dead," they say. "Suffer more," they say. "Don't be a weirdo," they say.

I see things differently.

You are here to feel amazing. Do the things that make you giddy. Allow yourself to overflow with joy. Follow the desires that light you the EFF up. It all gets to be easy! It's all supposed to be easy. So, do the things that make you shake your booty. And if you're tired, please take a nap.

Living in alignment will probably make you look like a weirdo. And you're here to be a weirdo.

I hired two new coaches this year.

First, I hired a new triathlon coach My previous coach was really good. I had fun and I trained and raced well with help from his coaching. And then I hired my new coach--a guy I've known for 15 years, a guy who knows more about triathlon training than me and all of my previous coaches combined.

And everything--the training, the racing and the athlete-coach relationship--got even better.

I had no idea how amazing things could be until I was brave enough to release the "not this" to make room for the "THIS."

And then I hired my business coach She's the coach I didn't even know existed (and yet I've known her for more than a year). She's a spiritual badass who plays the energetic alignment game so well and brings all of her strategic gifts to the party.

I had no idea I could feel this supported. I had no idea it could be this easy. I had no idea it could be this amazing. It keeps getting better and better!

Have I told you the story about how I met my husband, Pete?

We were both interns at a dolphin research center in Hawaii. I had already been interning for about 6 months, studying dolphin cognition, behavior and health when this new intern group started.

Pete was part of this group. Our time overlapped for about 2 weeks, so my group could help train the new group.

And it was not love at first sight. 🤷‍♀️

I thought Pete was a cocky bastard (and he pretty much thought the same about me).

And I was a little annoyed that these newbies were taking up so much of our time.

I wasn’t due to make my Earth-side appearance until Halloween at the earliest.

My mom’s doctor was preparing to take a vacation and wanted to talk about the “what ifs” while he was away.

So, on October 10th, my mom went to go see him to talk logistics.

No one was worried about my mom going into labor while he was away because, like I said, I wasn’t due for another couple of weeks!

What they didn’t realize at the time, was that my body had (and still has) its own timing and didn’t (still doesn’t) like to be told when to do anything (thank you Gate 5).

We didn't come here to be aligned all the time. We came here to find alignment again and again and again. Being in alignment is like balancing on a balance beam. Sometimes we're walking, dancing, cartwheeling and flipping in total alignment; other times we fall off. And then we get back up. It's the act of getting back into alignment that is the practice.

And there is nothing like a Cat 4 hurricane to blow you right off that balance beam.

Hurricane Ian knocked me off my beam. And I did all the things to get myself back up there. I took care of myself mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. I grounded into my body and fed my soul. I took care of myself and my pack. And I'm back on the beam with an overflowing cup of sparkle.

Do you trust yourself enough to listen to your soul's whispers?

Listen closely. Is your soul saying, "we don't like this, please stop doing it" or "this is awesome! more please!"

We've all been taught to use our HEADS to make decisions. But our heads are just for decoration (and word problems). Our wisdom lives in our bodies.

Before my client Susie came to me, she couldn't figure out why her job was draining her. She didn't know why she came home exhausted every day when her job wasn't all that chaotic.

She knew that teaching yoga lit her up and she knew that being outside in nature fed her soul so much, but she wasn't giving herself permission to listen to those whispers.

She didn't know her soul was telling her, “yes, please do more of this,”because she had never learned to trust her inner voice.”

Are you ready for Fall??!

It's my favorite--apples, apple cider, cider donuts, pumpkin everything, those smells-like-fall-feels-like-summer days and my birthday! Ahhh… how's that energy feel for you?

Our natural environment changes so deeply during this time, and to stay in alignment, we humans must change with it.

The month of September is the time to come back to yourself. Release energy that is no longer yours. And welcome the energy that IS yours.

This is how we stay in alignment.