Adele Josephine

Happy Birthday America!

I pulled over on the South Bridge to catch a glimpse of the fireworks this evening on my way home…beautiful lights dancing in the sky brought memories of 4th of July celebrations flooding to my mind.

Sitting under that big tree at Municipal Park year after year celebrating the holiday and listening to the sounds of the orchestra and band playing patriotic music, kids giggling and rolling around on the blankets, Pappy spinning the wheel and Jo in her red white and blue nodding her head and humming to the music. Fireworks exploding over our heads and screams of joy as the colorful explosions launched particles of paper onto our blanket as we celebrated the 4th of July!

It didn’t matter where we were throughout the afternoon (running back and forth from Aunt Dolly’s or Daddy’s House) or evening, we knew that at nightfall on the 4th of July we would find our FAMILY by that tree…we were welcomed…we were loved. ❤️

To all my loves, I’m wishing you all a very happy and safe 4th of July and I hope you each have a “big tree” to celebrate under tomorrow.

“God Bless America, my home, sweet home.” – Irving Berlin

#happyhappymemories

#iamblessed

#happybirthdayamerica

Let Your Heart Guide the Way

Has there ever been an instant or a time when your brain is foggy…like a script running just under the surface trying to convey a message to your conscious self but it just will not play completely. A message trying to come through and even in the quiet stillness of the evening you can not quite grasp the message. You know there is something to be told…a nagging constant perplexing feeling…so you listen, pay attention and you wait…you continue to persevere until the breakthrough comes…trusting in the journey, knowing that your intuition will be your guide until your mind becomes clear again…letting your heart guide the way ❤️

”Behold I am with you All Days.”

Today is Ash Wednesday, today is the beginning of Lent, and today I began a 40 day personal journey to Self Revelation.

For those of you who know me, you know that I am Catholic but not a very religious Catholic.

I do however feel that I am a very spiritual person; and as I dive deeper into my spiritual journey I am learning that the Divine is within and God is everywhere.

I am learning that when we sit in silent stillness, the Divine allows us to hear what our hearts and souls have to say – when we are able to calm the churning thoughts in our mind and sit; God speaks to us, and we are assured that everything we need to succeed is within us.

When we sit in silence, when we take the time to quiet our lives; we may hear the divine whisper to us…you are enough.

When we calm the churning of our minds, we realize that we are strong, we are beautiful, and we are loved.

We begin to understand that greatness was planted in us.

We begin to understand that if we let go, become vulnerable, give up preconceived notions and expectations, when we stop controlling every situation in life – we can love a little more, life can flow as planned, life can be easier, and the mundane days will soon turn to blissful moments.

If we just continue to sit…

Message from Self

The messages received from ones self during meditation continue to amaze me…I received this message this evening…

“Life and the path to enlightenment and awareness of self is a constant churning of change and eruption. We are provided with everything we need at each point of our journey from the divine; yet we chase for something more. “ – Melissa Knepper

Why is it that we can’t just be content with our wonderful beautiful selves!?

I AM ENOUGH

Tonight I had a scheduled workout followed by “Fast Track” at the gym…knowing this I still this morning I got out of bed completed 1.74 miles in the cold and then did an hour lunchtime yoga class.

As the day progressed, something in the pit of my soul told me that I had enough and needed to rest; but still I came home from work, changed out of my work clothes, walked the dog and then headed to the gym to complete my weekly routine ignoring the intuition that was talking to me so strongly.

The nagging thoughts continued in my head…I need to push, I need to lose weight faster, I need to get stronger.

When In fact, what my hurting body and strong intuition was telling me was – I needed to rest.

I needed to sit and take time for me.

I started my workout and completed 50 rows with the bar and moved with hesitation to the tire flip where I felt tears swell in the back of my eyes as I bent over; I felt a nasty twinge in my low back and my knees were screaming at me. I placed my fingers on the tire and I couldn’t lift it.

I felt anger and frustration and disappointment.

I walked away and moved to the wall sits. Again my knees told me that I wasn’t going to be able stay there long and my back again spasmed and wouldn’t let me flatten it against the wall. And then the tears started streaming from my face. I had to give up!!!

After a few moments of tears and some feedback from the trainer, I washed my face and left the gym.

I went straight to the river to sit, to ponder, to listen to the ducks, to hear the raindrops dance on the roof of my car, to watch the city lights dance across the water, and feel the beautiful moon that is hiding in the clouds shedding it’s blessings down upon me.

I closed my eyes began to breathe and sat!

I realized that today I had over 10,000 steps the equivalent to 4 miles, 119 minutes of excercise, and 1002 calories burned.

The message the came to me was this – There comes a time when I need to walk away, to sit and rest. In order to realize my dreams and desires – it’s OK to say NO. It’s OK to stop and REST. It is NEEDED! There is no need to be frustrated or guilty or angry.

I give myself permission to take the time to rest – because by doing so -tomorrow I will be stronger!

I AM ENOUGH ❤️

Be Open to Receiving Love

On a cold winter evening she sat in the office with tears streaming down her face listening to the words I don’t need you to do anything, I just need to to be open to receiving love! Can you do that?

Seems simple right? But after a lifetime of doing, and giving, and controlling, and seeking, the one who plans, who creates, who calls and reaches out, and makes it all happen…how does one just sit back and be open to receiving?

It’s frightening to imagine what will happen if she stops being the “doer” and loves herself enough to let go and become the “receiver of love,” but when she stops deflecting and allows it all to process, she wonders…what if?

What if she allows herself to receive love – what if a beautiful transformation begins – friendships, romantic relationships, family relationships and life will begin to flow with a gentle ebb and tide like the water cascading in and out on the ocean shore.

Each day the relationships that are strong enough to last will flourish, and those that won’t will fade; new promising relationships will begin to bloom.

Each individual in the new relationships will finally know their worth, gentle partners in this journey through life – beautiful creatures open to receiving love.

I think its about time that she is open to receiving love.

Namste ♥

“Go and love someone exactly as they are.

And then watch how quickly they transform into the greatest, truest version of themselves.

When one feels see and appreciated in their own essence, one is instantly empowered.

– Wes Angelozzi

A View from My Porch

On a still dark calm night snow gently falls and drops big fluffy flakes upon the earth. There is an absolute stillness in the air which allows me to take a seat in my chair outdoors on the porch.

I close my eyes and begin to breathe and a calmness fills my soul.

My body sinks into that chair on my porch and I listen to the falling snow, the melting drops, the train whistles in the distance, traffic passing by on the street.

I hear the clear calm beating of my own heart.

The peaceful moments seem like hours.

All is clam, all is perfect, the air smells so crisp, and I take deeper inhales taking in the goodness of the moon overhead – and I sit.

For in these moments, I am truly awake, alive, at peace, and experiencing bliss – eternally grateful for the life I have been given.

Namaste

Autumn Blessings…

The other night while while sitting at a Thai restaurant finishing dinner with old friends and new, we opened our fortune cookies and read them aloud…I quickly scooped up everyone’s fortunes and carried them home with me hoping that I would be sparked into writing a blog post about the words on the tiny sheets of paper…“Put all your unhappiness aside, life is beautiful be happy; Get your mind set – confidence will lead you on; Reach out your hand today and support others who need you; Only the person who risks is truly free.”

And today on this Autumn Equinox I write and and try to center instead of running around in a state of craziness…today, night and day have the same number of hours, the equator is passing the center of the sun, the days begin to get shorter and the nights get longer, darkness encroaches…many of us tend to get tense and fear the longer nights and the approaching cold of winter; but on this day, I challenge you to light a candle, take some time out of your evening to breathe, to meditate, to center and focus and appreciate the fact that without darkness there can be no light, to celebrate the newness of autumn and the rebirth that comes with it.

As we move into a new and refreshing season, one that brings with it so many opportunities and most importantly, a chance to begin over; I will think back to the fortunes that were unveiled around that small round table in the dimly lit Thai restaurant the other evening; to the laughter and friendships and the silly little fortunes that were so meaningful to me…“Put all your unhappiness aside, life is beautiful be happy; Get your mind set – confidence will lead you on; Reach out your hand today and support others who need you; Only the person who risks is truly free.”

May you be happy, may you be well, and may you find peace!

Namaste,
Melissa

Reflections of a Summer Gone By…

Reflections of a summer gone by...laughter,visits from faraway friends, hazy moon lit walks, making new friends andreconnecting with old friends on deeper levels, floating on rafts with the oneperson that loves you unconditionally and is always there to support you,tears, pain, smiles and giggles, growth, puppy kisses, endings, new beginnings,toes in the sand, wet dogs swimming in large bodies of water, the smell of rainon a hot summer day, cool nights on the porch, miles of walking when youthought you could not go on but you did, hikes deep into the woods with dearfriends, moments you wish you could bottle and keep near your heart forever,memories, terror that was supposed to be amusement, forgiveness, beingchildlike and not caring what others thought, new paths, yoga in nature,meditation so deep my soul could see into the future, pool time with friendsthat drink too much wine and make you laugh so hard you thought you were goingto pee your pants, beautiful art, dedication, experiencing the unconditionallove of a dog and his crazy puppy ways, a beautiful work family and boss thathas true passion, morning walks in humidity so thick you could smell it with afriend that kept me going on days I just simply wanted to quit, the ladies thatare so very dear to me, doggie play dates and the conversations with friendsthat ensued as the furry animals romped, pokemon go, adventures to new places,a beautiful week at the shore with my Momma, sun basking on my body making mefeel alive, feeling the closeness of my “Jo” with every breath Itake, intuition, tennis, grueling therapy sessions which make me stronger andcentered, anesthesia, love, blessings, being in the one place where you feelthe most wonderful thing you have ever felt in your lifetime and wanting timeto stop because it is true bliss, labyrinths, monks, closeness, safety,conversations deep into the evening with neighbors, faith in God above, beinghonored by being allowed to help friends in need, death, new life, miracles,knowing exactly what you want at this very moment and working to manifest theoutcome, the ability to use my gifts to make a difference in this crazy worldand the ability to sit back and feel this sense of gratitude for all that Ihave and all that I am in this moment…not looking back to make changes andnot looking forward to the anxiety of the future…just being present…becausein this moment all is right and pretty damn perfect! To all of you who who are on this crazyjourney we call life…I wish you peace! May you be happy, may you be healthy,and may you take a moment to feel the gratitude that surrounds you in thisprecious moment. Thank you for making it a summer to remember…I love you all with my entire being. THANK YOU AND NAMASTE!

Summer Cooking with DoTERRA – Tasty Simple HEALTHY TREATS – It was a hit!!!

Soon, It’s time for lunch and I am kicking myself that I didn’t bring the left over treats from Wednesday evening to enjoy for lunch and share with the office today! I guess I will have to enjoy them tonight and throughout the weekend…oh poor me! LOL

Anyhow…I would like to take few moments and share with you how you can create simple healthy treats that taste amazing by simply adding a drop or two of DoTERRA Essential Oils to the preparation process. I know I know, I didn’t know that essential oils could be ingested either…but these oils are pure grade and all natural and can be ingested, difused, and applied topically.

So on to the good stuff..

Cowboy Salsa was made with corn, black beans, avacado, cilantro, onions, and the trick was to soak the avacado pit in 6-8 drops of basil oil and then put into the Salsa to keep the green avacoado green…IT WORKS MARVELOUSLY! Click here to see how you can create Cowboy Salsa for your next family fun night http://www.doterra.com/summersplash/portfolio/cowboy-salsa/

The Ricotta crackers were simply delightful and easy to make by adding a drop of dill into a cucumber and ricotta chees mix adding a cherry tomato and a sprig of basil to the top makes the look darling http://www.doterra.com/summersplash/portfolio/ricotta-dill-hor-doeuvres/

If you are looking for a refreshing fruit concoction, look no further because the Tangerine Sunset is simply amazing made with strawberries, pineapple, orange juice, a drop of tangerine oil mixed with lemonda is simply WOW! http://www.doterra.com/summersplash/portfolio/tangerine-sunrise/

The Spearmint Cucumber and Tomato Salad was an absolute knock out…take a glance at the ingredients here http://www.doterra.com/summersplash/portfolio/spearmint-cucumber-tomato-salad/

The cous cous was yummy too and very simple to make – just a little of this and a little of that…ok tomatoes, cucumbers, vinegar, and some DoTERRA dill oil – see the recipe here http://www.doterra.com/summersplash/portfolio/cous-cous-salad/

And then there was favorite the Strawberry Romanoff Cupcakes…OMG they were delicious…basically you grab a box of white cake and then whip heavy cream with a teaspoon of sugar and a bit of lemon juice into stiff peaks and then fold the following ingredients into the mixture: sour cream, a dap of rum extract, DoTERRA basil oil, and brown sugar http://www.doterra.com/summersplash/portfolio/strawberry-romanoff-with-basil-cupcakes/

I must say these very some pretty tasty and very healthy yummies. For more information about DoTERRA Essential oils, contact me or take a look at my web site www.mydoterra.com/itsessential

Happy Friday and if you are looking for something fresh and healthy this weekend, why not whip up one of these delicious treats…I know I will be in the kitchen at some point this weekend!

Love and Hugs,

Melissa