All Things Anne Wondra

The Right to Die of Natural Causes

Wausau - The defense has rested its case without calling any witnesses in the trial of a rural Weston woman who prayed instead of getting medical care for her dying daughter.

The charge was second degree reckless homicide.  The daughter died of untreated diabetes.

None of us gets out of this world alive.

As great as the human person is, we can not create life, or prevent death.  We can only postpone it. 

And why should postponing death be considered a higher value?

I have witnessed someone I love go through a lot of pain and sufferring while modern medicine took all of its medical care of him at one of the most well-know and respected medical facilities in the country.  He was finally brought home to die...and did so less than a week later. 

I'm the daughter of a man who, when learning what the next step in treatment of his disease would be, said no.  No more.  Enough.   He died several months later, at home, in hospice care. 

Allowing someone to die as they wish, allowing them measures that take the pain away, and allowing their body to take its inevitable course.  The quality, not the quantity, of life matters more.

And the mother chose to use prayer to help her daughter.  Perhaps she was a Christian Science practitioner or maybe that was her church of choice.  Prayer has helped many.  Will it heal and prevent death?  Will modern medicine? 

Just because a condition is given a label, a name, and called a 'disease' and is something the medical community has some treatments and drugs to use for it, is that reason enough to compel or require a mother to use those?  

My answer:  No. 

If it comes to courts and medicine and drug companies over-ruling our right to die of natural causes...or requiring 'medical' practices for conditions they put a label on and create treatments and drugs for...we have a much more serious issue.  Our health freedom to make choices, to handle our conditions as we deem most appropriate for ourselves and those we are responsible for. 

We each have the most vested interest in our own well being. 

No one else does... 

Resources:

Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney

Other healthy body stuff

Reiki, Bishops, and Superstition

The US Catholic Bishops find the practice of reiki to be superstition...dangerous, and not healthy to their catholic spirit....  Isn't that interesting.

I grew up Catholic.  I have a degree in religious studies, and I’ve experienced reiki…and I’ve worked in the church. 

The first thing I did when I heard this was laugh.  This, from an organization that teaches A LOT of stuff many consider superstition.   Faith, God, transubstantiation, immaculate conception, and purgatory, to name a few. 

Have they never read the gifts of the spirit, or heard of laying on of hands?   Reiki is pure channeled divine energy.  Do they not understand that their very breath and life is divine energy coursing through them, allowing them to walk, talk, think, create and be who they are?   (or they would be dead)  Once again, the church of my childhood is showing its lack of understanding and openness to the Spirit at work outside the confines of their rules.  Galileo comes to mind on that one.  How arrogant to think the Spirit of Life is limited to what some men on a Bishops’ Committee can understand….or that spirit is limited to act only in accord with the rules they’ve created.

So, it comes back to your well being.  And YOU have the most vested interest in that.

You have a brain, intelligence, access to a world of information, and a personal internal guidance system, a direct connection with your source.  You make good decisions every day.  You are very capable. 

Who's permission do you need?  Permission to do what you think and believe is healthy to your spirit, body, and well being?

My answer:  Your own.  It's your body, your soul, your life, and your well being.  You have the most vested interest in it.

If you want to learn more about reiki, visit the Kindred Spirit Center and talk to Sue or Susan.  Gather information.  Watch for informational classes.  Experience it for yourself.  Make your own choices. 

In my experience, reiki is a very spiritual practice...and it's a lot bigger, more inclusive, and open, and powerful, than the limits some bishops in a church organization want to put on it. 

Now what do they have a vested interest in, do you think?

 

 

Connections, creating, and surprises

A week of amazing connections and Universal Surprises.  Last Sunday, I stumbled on a  site called EmpoweringLightworkers.com and knew I belonged in one of the groups being offered; and I responded.  I too am on a journey.  Kindred spirits connecting and gathering.   I am a lightworker ... the light is shining brighter. 

An invitation crosses my desk.  Something tells me I am supposed to go.  A class called, The Key to Me and My Money.  My schedule opens up and the money for the class fee shows up in the mail  The class was amazing, so were the other participants and the presenter.  I was definitely supposed to be there.  The class wasn't really all about money; it was so much more.  A powerful, very well-done class.  A book, The Wisdom of our Burdens came with the class.  The author, the place, the people, the focus...more kindred spirits...connecting and gathering.  LifeMark Institute for Greatness.  Watch for the next class.  I will be. 

A Saturday Morning Symposium, invited by Gina Sanchez, director of the Waukesha Wealth Builders Financial Stability Task Force, a Waukesha County United Way initiative.  I do a class segment on employability skills, Help from the Hiring Desk--Interviews, Applications, and Habits that will Help you Advance.  Carol Smith, another coach, does a 5-week program on employment success, a perfect and more in-depth complement to mine.  Felt good to hear the program, appreciate it and meet Carol.  The other surprises: the people I met that morning  interested in what I do.  And the biggest surprise was the speaker from US Cellular, a young man who was inspired by a speaker to turn his attitude around...and his career path.  The presentation was simple, entertaining, and insightful.  Again, the message came through, BE who you are; it's NOT all about the money.  Sometimes the biggest barriers we face to success are the ones between our ears.

To the journey of self-discovery, playing with our strengths, surrounding ourselves with positive inspiration, and living out of appreciation and gratitude for ourselves, our lives, the connections that come our way, our excitement at creative collaborations and possibilities, and enjoyment of the Universal surprises that come our way.

Press Release: Share your Vision (Board)

                                                                                       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dream it, Believe it, Do it – Share your Vision (Board)

Artists, soul-preneurs, writers, dreamers, are invited to share their Vision Boards on Friday afternoon, April 10, 3:15 pm, at the Kindred Spirit Wellness Center in Waukesha.  Anne Wondra, center director and life coach invites women, writers, artists and people with a dream to create a vision board, bring it, and tell their stories.  In the telling, we speak and hear and clarify who we are in the best vision of our selves.  And when we begin to believe in ourselves and live out of that vision, we feel better, healthier, happier…and life has more purpose, focus, intention.  Take the next step.  Come, explore the possibilities; share your vision.   

The Kindred Spirit Wellness Center is a place where people come to feel better.  Services, center practitioners, include Colene Smith, intuitive bodywork, healing and massage; Susan Hodges, reiki master, teacher, story midwife for women; Kathleen Eull, poet, writer, teacher; and Anne Wondra, life wellness coach, muse, teacher.

WHERE:     Kindred Spirit Wellness Center,  2312 N Grandview Blvd-Suite 101, Waukesha, WI  53188 

Cost        Open

Facilitator / RSVP:  Anne Wondra –Life Wellness Coach, Muse. (262-544-4310)

Register by phone or email (annew@wonderspirit.com)

Anne Wondra is a holistic life and wellness coach, muse, teacher, and business owner with a master’s certification in human resource management and a bachelor of science in religious studies and education.  Anne is the founder and president of WonderSpirit Resources, Inc. and WonderSpirit Coaching (www.wonderspirit.com), and founder and director of Kindred Spirit Coaching & Wellness center in Waukesha.

For more information and classes visit www.WonderSpirit.com

Panini Party Protocol

Panini parties are fun family gathering occasions in the Robi-clan.  We have been holding these now for several years.  It started with the purchase of a panini maker grill...and the tradition evolved from there.  So, panini party protocol in the Robi-clan goes like this:

If you have a panini maker grill, bring it.  (Parties currently include two.)

Roles and Responsibilities:

Officially, there aren't any...except that over time, it's evolved into a pattern and a system, so each of us knows what's expected of us.  Each time, we bring and do the same things--because we all have specialties, things we like to make and do and enjoy.  The results are always a good time together and delicious. 

Anne:   Olive oil, spices, mayo, pastry brush, wine, prepare bread slices with oil and spices at the party 

Mike:  Assorted bread varieties (Great Harvest bread, of course), panini grill master

Robimom:  Hostess.  Provides great place to gather.   Not responsible for any cooking or cleanup duties.

Mapcap group:  Grated cheeses and panini fixings, sauces, wine

Robiquad group:  Outdoor grill master (Mark), sauces, veggies

Everybody:  Bring sides, help setup and prep, assemble panini and give to grill master or grill your own, clean up kitchen after, bring containers for leftovers, have fun!

Panini Fixings:

• Veggies
• Cheeses
• Sauces
• Anything else you want in your panini

Optional Sides

• Fruit plate
• Veggies and dip
• Chips
• Spinach salad (Anne)
• more wine

Optional Entertainment

• Wii bowling

• Cards

Live Like You Mean It - a great theme for Wisconsin tourism...and life coaches

The new Wisconsin Tourism logo and theme were announced this week, Live Like You Mean It.  I like it!   Sure it's been used by others before.  So what.  The point it, it's positive and proactive.  LIVE like you mean it!  Think about it.  Get off the couch.  What are you doing with your life?  What's on your "Live like you mean it" list?  What are you reading that makes you feel something?

There will always be complainers among us.  It's Marty's Gold Brick Theory again, If you gave everybody a gold brick, somebody would complain they had to carry it to their car.... 

Here's the thing, we each get to choose the kind of energy and attitudes we want to put more of into our life and the world.  And which ones we want to hang around with.  Which 'side-affects' do you like better? 

As for me, I see great opportunity and positives with the Live Like You Mean It theme.  The tie-ins to fitness, wellness, travel, making a difference, community, living with intention are all there.  We can make the most of it.  If you're ready to play, ready to live with more energy and purpose and focus, borrow the theme for yourself.  And maybe even find a life coach to help you start if you're not sure how to.  That's what we do:  help people live like they mean it.  Find one in your area or start on my home page.

The gift of life is yours; it is an amazing journey...and you get to determine the quality of it.  - Five

Live like you mean it....  Can't hurt; might help. 

What brings you JOY?

Two quick things today.  

First, think about what brings you JOY and allow your response to guide you.

Follow the muse...and start at Starbucks.  Seriously.  There is a new gift item on their shelves.  It's a small hardcover book with a 5 on it and it's called Where will you be five years from today?   The cover band--that could easily make a bookmark--says the following:

The greatest day

of your life is the one on

which you decide your life

is your own.  The gift of life

is yours--it is an amazing

journey--and you get to

determine the quality of it.

Live the next five years on

purpose.  Now is the time.

Imagine the possibilities.

Go places, have adventures,

make a real difference, do

what you love.  Follow your

dreams, they know the way.

Start the conversation.  The book is a great starting place.  Get a goal partner and help one another.  What's a goal partner?  And how do you find one?  Ask me  and I'll tell you.

I started this business with a five-year plan after a Franklin-Covey class called What Matters Most?   At minimum, the book at Starbucks will get you thinking and PLAYING with joyful possibilities.

The second FUN thing is NEATO PENS!  I love beautiful pens.  Nice Pens bring me JOY.  And I discovered the Colorado Pen Company this week.  If you're like me, you'll enjoy this site like a kid in a candy store.  Check it out.  Talk about a perfect gift playground for pen lovers. 

Take care.  Enjoy!

Anne Wondra - Muse and Life Coach

 

 

 

Lessons from Border Collies - Find yourself some work to do

We can learn a lot from animals.  Take border collies, for example.  These are working dogs, used to herd sheep.  An interesting thing about border collies:  Even when they don't have any sheep to herd, they are driven to find themselves some 'work' to do. 

My in-laws have a border collie.  Her name is Reba.  When my father-in-law was alive, his daily routine included a trip out to 'the property' where he had a 10-acre plot of land with a big garden.  Reba was his constant companion.  Whether she made it her work to herd him or keep the rabbits away, I'm not sure.  I just know Reba was always at his side.

When my father-in-law passed on, Reba found herself a new project...my mother-in-law.  Once again, Reba is a constant companion, always at my mother-in-law's side.  Reba will go walking no one else who might take her away from her 'charge.'

The lesson here?  We are each responsible to find ourselves some work to do.  If we are self-employed or have an employer, we have some defined work to do.  For those who are not employed right now?  Find yourself some 'work' to do, whether it's paid or unpaid.  If a border collie can do it...

Today, there are many good, able-bodied, intelligent, talented, creative people, with time on their hands, available to make a positive impact in their neighborhoods and in their communities.  You don't need permission to gather with your neighbors and make your neighborhood a clean and safe place.  You can contact your local United Way and find out where your talents could be used to help others.  You can follow your own passions, inspirations, causes of the heart, and be with people who share your interest.

Opportunity knocks in job loss.  It's not all about the money.  It's also about use of time and attitude, and living with intention.   Find yourself some work to do, paid or unpaid, something positive and constructive you and others can do with you time and abilities and connections and creativity.  Besides, who would you rather hire?   Someone you knew perhaps from a community project you both worked on?  Someone who sees possibilities in challenges perhaps?  Someone who chooses to be positive, and does something constructive with their in-between time perhaps?  Who would you rather hire?  Choose to BE that person.  The benefits far outweigh the alternatives.

On the lighter side, here's a Just for Fun page and a youtube clip of a talented border collie.  Find a way to make work feel like playing.  Enjoy.

 

Intention: Coaching available to Everyday People

Everyday people need coaches too, not just executives.

The  average hourly rate for coaches is $205; For now mine is $75. 

My intention is to make coaching available to everyday people--because I was and am one of those everyday people coaching made a difference for.   In times like now particularly, people need to see possibilities and opportunities and receive support in their strides to appreciate the NOW.

In a world of technology, traffic, and ready information, people still feel alone, energy-drained, unappreciated, and starved for affirmation and support to help them see opportunity, focus on what matters, and ENJOY living.  

And yes, we are tired of being sold to.  We want someone who sees us and what's good about us; the parts we've lost touch with, the essential elements of who we are and why we're here. 

Some have an employer who will fund coaching as a training or professional development investment.  (Never hurts to ask.)  Some prefer not to have their employer involved. 

Coaching is often about the personal side of success--our beliefs and world view about ourselves and those we work with.  We are masters in the roles we play.  And underneath, many still perceive themselves to be frauds and afraid of being found out.  We don't see our natural beauty or the talent we take for granted.  Our spirits are wounded, and we are trying to find our greatness and why we are here.  That's how I help.

I'm a farmer's daughter and I understand that a cost of living increases don't come for everyone each year.  And I have that business, entrepreneurial spirit with a mix of spirit, business, human resources, and education in my background.  And I have a heart, common sense, and a sense of fun.  And I'm a muse--all about art and soul and living well, a playful spirit. 

I choose to work with those who are changing and growing, or ready for a change; desiring to become more sure of themselves, confident, and beautiful in who they are, ready to step forward with intention. 

So no more excuses.  Are you ready for more?   Wellness Incentive coupons  are gifted to each new VIP News Notes member, and  I offer classes, group coaching, and home-study options to fit needs and budgets. 

Properties of Money to remember

Money is meant to flow, like water in a stream.  We exchange money for something of value.  And when we feel the exchange is fair, and we genuinely ENJOY and APPRECIATE the service or item or privilege we've received in exchange for that money, we FEEL GOOD about spending it.  Think about when you've really enjoyed spending money.  What did you buy?  Even paying your bills.  Do you appreciate the electricity you use every day?  How about the use of your phone or car or the internet?  Money is meant to flow.  And it can flow TO us just as easily.

Money likes being paid attention to.  Pay it GOOD attention.  What we resist, persists.  And what we think about, we bring about.  How many ways can you and a friend think of to have more money flowing to you?  Easily, enjoyably.  And spending money?  Easily, enjoyably.

Money is an exchange of value.  Feel good exchanging money for something you value.  Appreciate, and enjoy the benefits of it.  I want learning, personal growth time with a coach to be one of those exchanges you feel really good about. 

Thrive on the Details

Thrive on the details, to enjoy immensely the details you notice, was last week's Laws of Attraction tip. 

 An interesting thing happens when one decides to enjoy and act on the seemingly inconsequential details they notice:  Much bigger things stop from becoming issues or problems.  Take the example of the New York Police Department.

"The New York Police Department's resources were hard-pressed fighting major crimes like murder, arson, extortion... But they undertook a small-details oriented policy shift:  More attention on the petty issues pushing everyday life in the city....'guality-of-life' crimes."  The result:  "Paying attention to petty crime made the city more attractive to live in and also dramatically reduced major crime." 

How did it work that way?  Like this.  One of the petty crimes they started paying attention to was subway turnstile jumpers--people who would jump the turnstily instead of paying the 25-cent fee.  Very petty, right.  Spending valuable police time arresting someone for evading a 25-cent subway fee.  Except that when the police made the arrest, they also ran the fingerprints against outstanding crimes.  And guess what.  A lot of the petty crime turnstile dodgers were also wanted for much more serious offenses.  Word spread quickly, and the subway became a safer and more attractive place, as did the rest of the city.

We all know individuals who deliberately and continuously "push the envelope" or "test the limits" of rules, laws, policies.  In some circles, such behavior is encouraged and rewarded.  Schools and and bullies come to mind.  How do you feel about such behavior?  A detail to pay attention to, or not?  Something to nip in the bud, or ignore?  What bigger problems could be avoided or elimated by paying attention to the details? 

This week's law of Attraction is Tolerate Nothing.  When we put up with something, it costs us.  And unnecessary costs are unattractive.  What are you tolerating?  And what unnecessary costs are you adding to your life?  To join Saturday's call, register here and get a Tolerations Worksheet to get you started.