Teddy & The Bear Spray (along w Articles on Gratitude & Sleeping)

Have I mentioned that I absolutely LOVE living in Montana?

Fall is one of the best seasons here, well, anywhere, in my opinion. Fiery summertime transitions into grounding Autumn, a chance to settle in, reflect, and look forward to things like snow in the mountains and pumpkin in the pies.

On one of my last posts I touched on a month of 'nomance.' How has it been going, you might ask?

First meal in my new place w some of the fam.

Am I falling more deeply in love with myself? You betchya!
Am I doing the things I absolutely love to do and settling into my new space? Oh yeah, it's been great. I finally have a place that I absolutely love to be in, along with feeling productive and grounded while at home. Gratitude!

I've also had time to write articles I've been meaning to write, like an Elephant Journal article with tips for getting good sleep. 

And plan fun workshops that I am passionate about like the Fall Equinox Celebration that I will be guiding this Sunday at Mountain Yoga.

I hosted my first real family dinner (albeit missing most of the family), lots of time for meditation and reflection, a place to teach private yoga sessions, and a cuddly dog named Teddy to keep me company while my friend Pamela is away visiting family.

Are there some nights where I've been so desperately lonely that I wonder how people do this whole 'alone' thing? Without a doubt. Certain nights (right before the full moon) were so emotional and overwhelming that I just felt really down on myself.

I'm the first person to admit that all emotions are created equal. In order to experience the full spectrum of this thing called life, you have to really allow yourself to go through and process whatever shows up for you, without holding back. 

Which I did. And am still learning to do.

But that doesn't mean that feeling lonely and sad is the place I care to be. It is, however, the place that I have chosen to be. A place where I can let the emotions that have been festering at the surface rise and be released. Even if it hurts, it feels good to just 'let them flow, let them go.'

And every time I go through something challenging or upsetting, there's a new sense of wholeness that follows suit and continuously makes this journey rewarding and worthwhile. A new amount of respect for myself that strength and confidence builds.

'Courage is like a muscle, we strengthen it with use.' ~Ruth Gordon

And then there was the night that my new neighbor came and knocked on my door in the middle of the night, sufficiently freaking me out. It was the first night that I felt safe enough alone to not lock my doors and also leave my blinds open. And bam, a fear of mine presenting itself in the form of incessant knocking at 3:33 in the am.

Was he harmless? Yes. Did it still put me on edge? Absolutely. Did it strengthen my courage muscle to act for myself and create strong boundaries, acting brave when I needed to act? You know it.

So what's a Montana hippy to do when she needs to be able to protect herself? 

Montana Late Summer Storms a brewin... Look out!

A little extra reassurance so that she doesn't have to worry in the middle of the night? A rifle.. not gonna happen. A man, don't wanna depend on that. A self defense class, maybe sometime in the future. In the mean time...

Bear spray. Yes, that's right, bear spray. I now have a locked and loaded can of bear spray in my bedroom. For those of you who don't have to deal with typical Montana woes, bear spray is like mace, on crack, times a thousand. Seriously. It works. And brings me peace of mind. Oh, that and I'll just be sure to lock my door at night. No big deal.

Which is where the title of this blog comes from. I was uber grateful to have my four legged companion Teddy with me when my neighbor came a knockin. An extra warm body in the house helped me to finally fall back asleep and not feel so alone. My family found this whole scenario so outrageous that we came up with 'Teddy & the Bear Spray'. Humor is one of the things I love most about my ridiculous family. Thank you for that, family. And thank you for the can of bear spray that I always refused to carry on the trails but now keep close to my bed. A little irony never hurt anyone.

Fun in the new yoga space w Teddy!

For my elephant journal article 'Gratitude, the Revolutionary New Sleeping Pills', click here.

To sign up for my Fall Equinox Celebration at Mountain Yoga, this Sunday 4-6pm, click here.

Namasté y'all! 

Happy Fall!

Thanks again family for constantly being my rock & support.

And thanks Sally Hope for being the best life coach a girl can have and helping me to grow my business to new horizons.

I love you all!