Leah Lewis, LMFT, Counseling and Psychotherapy

EMOTIONAL SPRING CLEANING: The fresh beginnings and energy of springtime invigorate and inspire creation of new starts. Cleaning out dusty corners, tossing out items that have become frayed around the edges, opening up windows and letting air in. I am a notorious book hoarder, and I have been working the past couple weeks going through and releasing some of the books I have been holding on to for almost 20 years. About 9 boxes of books have moved around with me from place to ...place, much to the dismay of anyone I hustled into helping me move. Talk about the literal heaviness of keeping that which is no longer necessary! It is not easy or simple to rid ourselves of the things that we have hung on to for so long, and this bears even more true for emotional pains we have carried, some even for a life time. There are as many reasons one holds fast to these troubles as I have for keeping my books: memories; a belief you "should"; maybe someone gave it to you and you took it as your own even if if was unwanted. This spring, I invite you to purge an emotional wound which you have been hoarding to the point of burden. As I say this, something most certainly will have immediately come to mind. There are introverted ways of cleansing: developing a personal ritual to ceremoniously let go; meditating on the reason you have kept this burden; physically and purposefully introducing release from your body through your favorite activity or a long walk; creating. Then there are extroverted ways to cleanse: actively reaching out to a person with whom you must repair a relationship. Pain that refuses to budge or worsens when you begin looking at it closely may best be released through a professional therapeutic relationship. After this cleansing process, make sure to pause and experience the lightness you have created; relish in the fresh sunny air of your inner world. See more

Be gentle on yourself; you are a soul having a human experience.

You have a choice.

If you are going though hell, keep going!

What do you allow in your reality? Does it nurture or deplete you?

Unlike the cold I got last week, these symptoms I would like to pass along to others!

Happy New Year to all! What are you choosing to let go from 2012? What are you affirming for 2013?

Shared from a friend... A great reminder that every moment presents us with an empowering choice!

Today, try a different approach...

What ways are you keeping yourself from the love you deserve?

Sometimes we are just waiting for some kind of permission to follow our own instincts. :)