Hi and welcome!

I am an Intuitive and Spiritual Life Coach here in gorgeous red rock country, Sedona, Arizona.

It seems that all my life I have colored outside the lines — sometimes it’s fun and sometimes it’s scary. This is why I can attune to your needs; I have been there and back!  I too have had those days when I wondered who I was, where I was going and what it all means anyway.  I have felt the pain and the ecstasy.

Just prior to turning 40, when my partner was dying of lung cancer I started having flashbacks of being raped.  At first it was flashbacks of being raped by two men, which I consciously remembered as being beaten up by them, but not raped.  But then I was having flashbacks of my father’s sexual abuse.  I had done a great job of disassociating as a child and again as an adult…going out of body to escape the horror of what was going on.

Ten years of intense therapy ranging from psychodrama to holistic breath-work to traditional therapy ensued.  Along this path I came to the freedom of forgiveness — for myself, my father and even for the men who raped me.  I learned that anger and rage kept me the victim.  Removing the anger was like cutting out a tumor that was eating me alive…Love was the answer, self-love first and foremost, then love for others.

This gave me compassion and an incredible insight into people’s inner worlds. I can help you go into the dark and bring forth the light.  And, if your world is already light, wouldn’t you like to create more?  I would like you to experience and open to deep abiding love for yourself and others, to know the profound freedom and joy that come from this Love.  Together we can shape-shift your world and create a new paradigm!

I work with you through intuitive work, spiritual life coaching, and empowering workshops.

You bring your willingness to open and expand on all levels, your inner wisdom and creativity and most of all your desire to move forward!

Now I would like to gently yet firmly help guide you to a rich, vibrant life!

Many blessings!

Steadily Cheyenne (my dog) and I climbed the Soldiers Pass Trail, we rounded the corner and there were the Seven Sacred Pools.  On this hot,    dusty day there was no water in the pools.  I sat and meditated for awhile, Cheyenne made friends and shared treats with a tiny dog named Zippy and rested in the shade of a scrub pine. As we headed back down the trail we encountered two women who had some questions.  The louder of the two demanded to know how far the sacred pools were.  I assured her the sacred pools were just around the next corner.  She asked if there was water in the pools. 

“Not this time of year”, I replied.

“Are you serious? I can’t believe we hiked all this way and there’s no water.  Crap, they could have told us.” 

“Who could have told you?”

“The people who suggested this trail, they could have told us there was no water in the pools.”

They stomped off to go see the “dry sacred pools”.

 As I walked away I had to laugh, I wanted to turn back and say something sarcastic like, “Gee I’m sorry you haven’t seen any beauty today.”  But instead I practiced sending loving energy.  All around these two women were some of the most incredible, majestic red rock mountains, canyons and intense blue sky.  About 1/8 of a mile away they would have hiked past Devil’s Sink Hole, a huge naturally formed sink hole.  They had hiked from Jordan Road which meant they had been on several of the best trails in Sedona!  What I realized was in their search for the “Seven Sacred Pools” they had likely missed the sacredness on their journey. 

 It reminded me of the weekend I went to a Women’s Spiritual Retreat outside of Tucson.  On Saturday morning the leader told us to go out on the land and find our sacred spot.  There we were to draw a circle to sit within and meditate.  Prior to this I had a phone call from a client.  He was very upset, demanding to know what I was doing to sell his home, what was my plan and where was I anyway.  One of my better clients, we had become friends as well as business associates.  He had never treated me this way and I was shocked, embarrassed, hurt and frustrated.  I contemplated returning home early from the retreat.  I chose to do my meditation and then decide if I would go home.

 As I walked the land looking for my “sacred spot” I was lost in worry about my client.  The conversation played over and over in my head, fretting and fuming I stomped along.  Suddenly I heard the unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake. Similar to the sound of a locust, once you’ve heard a mad rattler you recognize the difference.  I stopped in my tracks and looked around to determine its location.  There about one foot in front of me, at the base of a large Saguaro was a coiled rattler, but she was the strangest looking rattler I’ve ever seen.  Pale peach in color with light diamonds on her back she was an Albino, pretty rare even in rattlesnake country.  I’m not afraid of snakes and rattlers are not particularly aggressive, so I backed up a step or two and asked her if she had a message for me.  “BE HERE NOW!”  ‘Be here now’?, I questioned.  And then I got it.  Wrapped up in my worry over the client, I was mentally and emotionally back in Scottsdale.  My body may have been in the desert but my mind and heart were not.

The sacred experience I was searching for had been preempted by my worry and concern.  Had I taken one more unaware step I would have most likely been struck by the rattlesnake.  I thanked the Albino rattlesnake for her wisdom, came back into my body and moved on to find my sacred spot by the creek.  For the rest of the weekend I practiced “Being here now”, enjoying the sacred circle, community meals, sweat lodge, beautiful music and songs, and my own deep communion with Spirit.

 I hold the lesson of the rattlesnake in very high regard and think of her often when I succumb to worry or frustration.  

• How much time do you waste on worry?
• How much time do you waste on making up negative stories?
• Have there been times you missed the sacred moment because your focus was elsewhere?
• What are sacred moments for you?
• How can you have more sacred moments?
• What can you use to remind you to be here now?
• If only for today, how can you BE HERE NOW?
• I invite you to gift yourself at least one sacred moment or minute or hour per day.  YOU DESERVE IT!  Spirit lives to gift you sacred moments every day!

Namaste, BakeR

Join me November 11-13 at my Radical Healing Women’s Retreat - Come as an Abused Woman, Leave an Empowered Woman! 

For all the details click here Radical Healing Women’s Retreat

The butterfly always trusts! photo by Ted Grussing

Today I found myself worrying about compensation.  Actually my ego self was worried.  Am I enough – will I make enough?  Was the reading good – good enough? 

My ego self says, “show me the money”, as if that is the only way to measure my self worth.  My spiritual self  is always certain that indeed I am enough – I AM good enough.  I am always fully supported.  My ego needs the compliments and glowing emails that clients send.  My ego is fear based it needs to be fed.  My spiritual self feels the deep connection in the moment and knows that the true gift is leading a client to understanding, helping them  hear the Truth, or maybe connect with a loved one on the other side.  My spiritual self  is Love.

While I was in worry, all I could see was more fear.  When Mamacita stepped in and slapped me around a little I was able to turn my self to the Truth, to see the light and to focus on my good.  As I refocused on my service, 0n my joy in being of service and why I am really here, the phone rang – a client booking a session for tomorrow – of course!

Keeping my focus on gratitude and being of service empowers me and ultimately you.  As I step into grace it radiates out and touches all those around me.  When you step into grace, into gratitude it radiates out and touches all those around you! 

Are you out of touch with your Truth?  Out of balance?  How much time do you spend in fear or worry?

How much time do you spend in gratitude, service or joy?

Do you think to be grateful for all you are?

Are you grateful for your body? For the utensils that allow you to eat? For the chair you sit in?  For a computer that workd with no expectation of thanks?

Take a moment now to sit in gratitude – find at least five things that you don’t normally think to be grateful for:

• Shoes
• The cardinals song
• The men working in the hot sun on the electrical lines down my street
• Healers – especially chiropractors today!
• Can openers

Your Turn:

Make a commitment to yourself to practice gratitude throughout your day…it is the single most important step to changing your life!

Namaste, BakeR

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. 
 – Martin Luther King Jr.

Join me November 11-13 at my Radical Healing Women’s Retreat - Come as an Abused Woman, Leave an Empowered Woman! 

For all the details click here Radical Healing Women’s Retreat

Photo by Ted Grussing - "Welcome"

Recently I watched an incredible video of the near death experience of Anita Moorjani.  Unable to move as a result of the cancer that had ravaged her body for over three years, doctors at the hospital that morning had given Anita just hours to live  She crossed over and came back.  Here’s what this beautiful woman learned:

“ Let me explain that there is a difference between ‘being loving’ and ‘being love’.   Being loving means giving love to another whether you have any for yourself or not. It means giving what you yourself may or may not even have to give. This type of giving of love can eventually drain you, because we don’t always have a limitless supply. And then we look to the other to replenish our pool of love, and if it is not forthcoming, we stop being loving ourselves, because we are exhausted.  Being love, on the other hand, means loving myself unconditionally so that it overflows, and anyone and everyone around me just becomes an automatic recipient of my love. The more I love myself, the more it flows out to others. It almost feels like being a vessel for love to flow through. When I am being love, I don’t need people to behave a certain way in order for them to be a recipient of my love. They are automatically getting my love as a result of me loving myself. So to stop being love, to me, means to stop loving myself. Hence, I will not stop being love on account of another.”                                             –Anita Moorjani

I love her  line,  “They are automatically getting my love as a result of me loving myself.”  That is so true! When you love yourself you automatically love others.  When you truly love yourself you have plenty of love to give away.  There is an unlimited supply. 

When we are giving love from a space in us that is already full – we are not depleted, our well is full, it overflows onto others.  First, because we filled the well ourselves, we always know how to replenish it.  Second, the love we give away always comes back tenfold.  “That’s great, you’re thinking, “but how do I fill myself with love?”

• Know that you and source/god/spirit are the only ones capable of truly filling your love well.
• Give yourself affirmations to work with daily such as?  I radiate love which returns to me tenfold.  I surround myself with beauty, grace and joy.  I am full of energy, vibrant and vivacious!  I create new stories for myself, filled with light and love.  I love myself!   If any negative messages come up when using these affirmations that is your clue that the old tapes you still run need to be erased.  Cancel the old message and replace it with your affirmation.
• Nurture yourself – have a spa day, take your creative child out to play, walk in the park, hike a mountain, bake a treat just for you, meditate, watch a beautiful or funny movie.
• Stand up for yourself by having strong boundaries.  Say no when you mean no – say yes when you really mean yes.  If you’re doing anything from a sense of guilt or obligation instead of joy, you are not standing in your Truth.
• Send yourself an online greeting card – date it for a day in the future, so it’s a complete surprise.
• Give your inner child a new toy – soft and cuddly or something that makes her/him giggle.
• Dangle your toes in water, a creek, lake, pool, lay on your back and watch the clouds go by.
• Create a ritual/ceremony for yourself to honor your wisdom, beauty, breath, toes, nose, emotions _____________ or all of you!
• Write out the ABC’s and choose one positive word for each letter that describes you, i.e. Alert Brilliant Creative….Xerothermic Youthful  Zesty
• Give yourself Reiki
• Work with a Spiritual Life Coach to empower you to find that inner love…the love that can never be taken away!

What can you do to love yourself more today?

What will it feel like to have so much love for yourself that it spills over all those around you?

Do you know that you are worthy of this much love?  YES YOU ARE!!!

Have a beautiful, love filled life!

Many blessings!  BakeR

Call me 928.284.1442 or email me baker@fortyfourtimes.com to set up your FREE 1/2 hour coaching consultation!

Soaring Osprey by Ted Grussing

When I was first working with Mamacita she told me one day that I should get a silver travel trailer and travel around the country. I actually contemplated this for a couple of weeks…what the heck could she be thinking? I don’t even particularly like to travel, at least not that kind of travel. I like to immerse myself in a community, get to know the people, walk the streets, explore, eat local food, stay in one place for a couple of weeks. But travel around from place to place with not only myself but a large dog and cat in a silver bullet? I just wasn’t seeing this possibility.

I relayed this story to another psychic, her reply was, “oh Mamacita is a trickster!” “A trickster?”, I asked. “Why would Mamacita play tricks on me?” I was absolutely shocked that Mamacita would do this to me. My spirit guide would try to trick me. What?? I didn’t understand how she could do that.  Couldn’t I trust her above all? What I later realized through counseling with Mamacita was that she wanted me to learn how to discern what MY truth was, no matter who told me to do something. She taught me to discern between my hearts true desire and someone else’s agenda. She taught me to discern between what fit’s my vision and when my ego needed to be stroked or inflated.

This would serve me well in later years when I was asked to work with a client who clearly needed a therapist, not a coach. My ego self was just sure I could help – that I could “save” this woman. Number one rule in my business – I don’t “save” anyone. Spirit works through me to guide people to their own answers, with questions and sometimes wise suggestions. But it’s not me – it’s my higher self – connecting with their higher self.  As soon as I fall into the savior trap I know I’m in ego and it’s time to back away! This then was another clear indication of a trickster moment, only this time the trickster was my ego. Another test, thankfully I passed. 

Where or when in your life do you get fooled by your ego self? When do you feel challenged to stand in your Truth?

Often when I make a decision coming from ego, it is fraught with fear…fear is the root cause, and consequently it will usually end badly one way or another. Recently I allowed a woman who called late morning on a Sunday to make an appointment for that afternoon because she was only in town for the day from Phoenix. This clearly does not fit my vision as I have chosen NOT to work on Sundays. Instead of asking the proper questions my ego asked, What if she decides to become a coaching client and wants to work with me long term? Wouldn’t it behoove me to work with her just this one Sunday? So I rearranged my day, sent my husband away, put the animals in their respective rooms and waited for the client. Ten minutes before she was scheduled to show up the phone rang, she was canceling!

When I disrespect myself and my vision, I attract people who disrespect me. This decision clearly came from fear, I’m building a new business, therefore sometimes I think I must do anything and everything to make that happen, even when it goes against my truth/my vision. It may seem like a small waver to work on a Sunday and sometimes it is justifiable if I’m working with a client who respects me and my time. But I knew almost immediately that this wasn’t going to happen. Everything about it felt forced!

Here are some questions to ask yourself when you are trying to make a decision:

• Does this serve my higher purpose?
• Does this fit my vision? (if you don’t have a vision, that may be the first step)
• Am I coming from heart or from ego?
• Will this bring me joy? Peace? Satisfaction?
• Does it serve the community, my clients, the world?
• Am I forcing it?

Mamacita would tell you to go within and ask – that you and only you have the answer. Trust your inner knowing. If your decision doesn’t “feel” right, if you feel like you’re forcing it, then you probably need to step back.  Stop, take a look at your answers above and really check in with your heart self to find the truth.

Your true answer is found within! 

BakeR, Intuitive and Spiritual Life Coach

　My next women’s retreat The Answer  is June 10-12, 2011.  Click here for details.  Intuitive and Coaching sessions will be available before and after the retreat, reserve your space now.

Nature is certainly creative or was it created that way?

A New Creative you! 

The beginning of a new year seems to give us a new lease on life. We get to start anew, to release anything that didn’t work last year and move forward. 

In view of that I’m going to ask you to engage your creative side. To look at things in a different light, to think of color and sound and objects differently. To let go of the analytical and just go with your creativity and intuition. 

Don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the questions, just let your unique answer float in from the ethers, engage your inner child and create. 

What color is the letter S?
What does turquoise sound like?
If you were an animal what animal would you be?
What does an eagle think as it soars in the air?
What does it feel like to be a tree?
If you were a car what kind of car would you be?
What time is it on Saturn?
What does platinum feel like?
How old is magenta?
If you were a road where would you go?
Where were you in 1844? (no analyzing just go with it, let it flow)
What does capybara taste like?
If you were going to get a tattoo (okay it can be removed the next day) what would it be?
Where would you put the tattoo? (remember it can be gone the next day)
How much can you possibly love?
What does your brain feel like? 

Now that your creative juices are flowing try these on: 

What was the most fun you had in 2010?
When did you feel most inspired in 2010?
What was the best meal you ate in 2010? Where?
What was the best gift you gave to another being? What was the best gift you received?
What did you do, create, or become in 2010 that you are most proud of?
If you had one word to sum up 2010 what would that word be? Would you like the word to be different, the same or better for 2011?
Is there something you wanted to accomplish in 2010 that you could dust off and try again?
What do you want to create this year?
What could you add or subtract that would make this year soar?
How can you be healthier this year? Mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually?
You have all the time you need, all the money and all the creativity, so what’s stopping you from creating the life you truly desire? If you think you don’t, call me I’ll help you figure it out. 

The best meal I ate in 2010 was in a little restaurant in Key West FL. André and I went there for a mini honeymoon. I have no idea what I ate, but I remember the beautiful orchids on the table, the huge Andy Warhol lithographs, the intimate quiet setting, and looking into those beautiful eyes across the table. The food was great too, but for me it’s all about the beauty of my surroundings. It’s different for all of us, what speaks to me doesn’t necessarily speak to you. That’s why we all have to find our own unique niche. You have to listen to the music and read the books that feed your soul, eat the food that nourishes your body and pray to your own God.
You must find that one particular thing that you were meant to do, and when you do, pursue it with zest. If you were meant to paint, or write, or drive a bus; and you don’t then you deprive the rest of us of your talent, your gifts. 

A few years back I was flying out of Phoenix airport at 6AM, which is not a pretty time of day for me. I left my car in long term parking and got on the Roadrunner bus. The bus driver was so happy, but not in an annoying way, he was just lovingly joyous. As he took off he announced that our cars were parked in the green parking lot, section B (or wherever it was). He announced it again a few minutes later and reminded us that we may want to write it down. Wow, write it down, why didn’t I ever think of that before? He then announced it one more time before dropping us at our terminal. I was so impressed that he not only had fun driving a bus at 6AM, but he was determined to make our lives a little easier. Such a simple thing, done so caringly. It made my day! If I can make someone’s day a little better, what better gift could I give? 

I believe I’ll just make that one of my intentions this year…so let me know if I can make your day a little better. And remember to thank the bus driver, the car wash attendant, the garbage collector, the President (honestly can you imagin