New Year Soul Satisfying Resolutions That Work

by Linda Franklin

Aren’t you tired of making New Years Resolutions that you never really intend to keep?   Aren’t you tired of going through the woulda-coulda-shoulda’s regret ritual?  Then stop torturing yourself and make 2012 the year you trade in your no results resolutions for ones that  actually allow you to soar.

Here’s the thing about most resolutions. When you don’t follow through with them you feel defeated and that’s not a good way to start out the New Year.  Feeling bad about yourself gets you stuck in bad energy and blocks off  good things from coming into your life. Of course, we don’t do it intentionally, but nevertheless, that’s what happens.

Ask yourself what would make you happy in 2012?  Be careful with your answer.  Dig deep and ask where your wish is coming from.  Is it from your surface ego or from the deep foundation of your soul?

From my experience I have found that satisfying my ego is a temporary fix, but satisfying the desires of my soul has a profound  and lasting result. The soul is a tough taskmaster and when it doesn’t get what it wants you always feel like something is missing.  No matter how much you achieve the good feeling drains away quickly leaving you feeling empty and unhappy. 

Here are 3 Soul Satisfying Resolutions that have worked for me:

1. Stop Trying to Mastermind Your Life  - When you give up the need to mastermind every twist and turn of your existence you can reach a deeper level – the place of feeling.  When you feel rather than think you are able to create a reality that moves you forward.  What a wonderful feeling to get unstuck!

2.  Trust Your Instincts -   You are on the right track despite the sense that life, as you know it, often seems to be derailed.  Often radical change is what is needed in the accelerated pace of the world we are living in. 

3. Recognize Your Potential - In this New Year gift yourself with the knowledge that you are unique and have unlimited potential. Give yourself permission to be who you are and do the things that feed your soul.

I know that if you practice these three steps 2012 will be the best year ever.  You can never control circumstances but you sure can manage how you respond to them.  That knowledge is life changing.

Happy New Year.

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says,”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

Soul Mate Search Hinders True Love

by Linda Franklin - The Real Cougar Woman

According to the myth, soul mates not only have a deep connection, but love and accept everything about each other. Being soul mates with someone implies you have similar tastes and interests, and love doing everything together.

Last year I wrote a blog Soul Mates Are Not Who You Think They Are.  I don't believe in soul mates and I never have.  

Single women worry there is something wrong with them because they can’t find their soul mate, and married women question whether one nasty argument means her husband isn’t her soul mate after all. But what does the term really mean?

9/11 Thoughts – Don’t Let The Collective Fear Run Your Life

by Linda Franklin – The Real Cougar Woman

People in our country are scared.  Fear is running rampant because of the sluggish economy, lack of trust in our elected officials,  hurricanes, floods, terrorist threats and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.   And this weekend, the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the fear levels are being knocked right out of the park.  Here in NYC we are on terrorist alert.

This unstable foundation of fear that runs as an undercurrent through the hearts and minds of humanity, helps to create the conditions that manifest “worst-case-scenario” outcomes.

In my opinion, we are experiencing a “global transformation.” This is what is driving the momentum of the relentless changes we are witnessing.. At the core of these changes is energy. You are energy. Our world is energy.  The incidents that take place in the form of the insidious acts are also no more and no less than energy.

Sex and Yoga - Perfect Partners

by Linda Franklin - The Real Cougar Woman

You are drenched in sweat and your heart is racing.  You've just completed 50 minutes of contorting your body is ways you never thought you could.  Now as you lay quietly you notice you fee happy, energized and inspired.  So what made you feel that way?  Was it yoga or was it sex?  Or was it both?

Sex and yoga are a match made in heaven. Both use the body to calm the mind and stimulate the spirit. And just as a fulfilling yoga practice is based on physical agility, mental clarity, and spiritual openness, every successful sexual union relies on a similar set of artfully orchestrated characteristics. When you bring increased awareness and sensitivity into each sexual experience it does enhance your pleasure.

Syd Arthur - One Woman's Search For The Meaning Of Life

by Linda Franklin - The Real Cougar Woman

Prince Siddhartha, raised behind palace walls and showered with every extravagance, abandoned his protected life to embark on a spiritual journey. He ultimately reached enlightenment, and became known as Buddha-which means one who is awake. 

Fast forward 2,500 years from the time of Buddah and meet Syd Arthur.  Syd is a middle-aged woman living in the cloistered world of suburbia.  She, like so many of us, is struggling with the myriad of issues women face today - everything from from diet fads, to the search for the meaning of life. Ellen Franklel, the author of Syd Arthur, takes us along on Syd's journey to find fulfillment within herself.

I loved this book,  I loved the way Ellen beautifully details Syd's emotional struggle to find meaning and purpose.  I found myself laughing as she visits the ashram in the Catskill Mountains, and crying as she loses a very dear friend and mentor.  I felt like I was there with Syd as she lunches with the girls and when she spends a week in a silent buddhist retreat. 

Starting Over - It's Never Too Late To Change Gears

By Dr. Fayr Barkley, Ph.D

We have all been there, back at the starting gate, I mean. Whether we have had to reinvent ourselves for a new profession, get used to our own company and being alone in the empty nest syndrome, or going through a divorce or break up with a significant other ALL women at some point in their lives experience starting over. 

In the 20 plus years I have been counseling and advising people one thing that has clearly shouted out to me by the person sitting in the chair across from me is this: There is fear in the unknown; and starting over is rife with unknown. "What if" thinking is rampant: What if I never find another relationship? What if I am unable to learn when I go back to school? What if potential employers think I am too old to reenter the job market? I have seen people what if themselves into depression and anxiety. Certain that life is over and they can't reinvent, restart or gear up for the challenge, many draw the bedroom curtains and avoid life altogether.

Accomplishing More By Slowing Down

by Linda Franklin - The Real Cougar Woman 

There comes a time in your life that you must make a choice.  Start accepting who you are or keep beating yourself up for perceived your imperfections.  You realize everyone has got stuff they would like to change but it's okay to like or even love yourself for who you are - warts and all.  You make peace, take a deep breath and stop punishing yourself for being YOU.

This acceptance takes time because we are all a work in progress.  But after many decades of micro managing everything I find the strangest thing is happening. Because I have stopped being so critical of myself and have stopped trying to mastermind everything in my life, change is occuring on it's own. Being in a more relaxed and happy state has allowed that change to take place. I am loving it and I am appreciating how the universe is showing me that when I get out of my own way miracles happen.

The Real Cougar Woman Shares Her Secret For Happiness

The Real Cougar Woman is celebrating the start of summer by taking time out for some personal reflection.  It is time to take inventory, in fact, it's long overdue. For the past couple of days I have been looking at the choices I have made and evaluating what's working and what not. 

To reflect effectively you have to get quiet.  It's impossible to do it when you are smack in the middle of your day-to-day craziness.  You know what I mean.  As women, we just keep trucking along regardless of how we feel.  There is a huge price to pay for not taking time out to re-evaluate. When we are at dis-ease we create disease which can manifest in many different forms.

It's easy to figure out what's working and what's not.  But, too often I forget just how easy it is

Men Love Real Cougars. Carlin and Linda Tell You Why

Money & Spirit - Crossing The Great Divide

Money and Spirit is there really a connection between the two?  Many who might not have thought so in the past are beginning to change their minds.  After you have experienced extreme economic stress it can cause you to revamp your thinking around money. 

During times of financial challenge it is very easy to fall out of alignment with your true spirit.  That's where Diamond Alignment comes in.  When you are in "Diamond Alignment" consciousness everything is part of the Divine Energy ... including money.  When you think about it, how can money - the most powerful physical influence on the plant not be Divine Energy? 

I talk about the effects of this financial downturn from firsthand experience. For the past past 2 1/2 years I have been in the trenches with everyone else - my own home has been in foreclosure. I know that my Soul is experiencing this challenge because I, through the use of the Diamond Technology, am called to bring light and truth into this challenging time. My mission, as I see it, is to mend the split in consciousness between Spiritual and Material Wealth.