My mission is to help women to realize that no matter their circumstances, they always have choices.  I want to teach them to live from a Choices mentality rather than a trapped or cornered or stuck mentality, what I call a Victim mindset.

To define this mission even more, I would like to put it out to the Universe that I am looking to create a community of Western women who are Big Influencers and who can influence the women in their community, the women who need to know they have choices.

These women are world travelers, bringing peace and prosperity wherever they venture.  Of course, this peace starts inside of them.  They are highly conscious women and take 100% responsibility for their thoughts, feelings and actions.

These Big Influencers have natural leadership ability.  They want to change the world by creating a new and intelligent educational system that works with one’s God-given talents, rather than tearing down one’s self-esteem through standardized testing because they don’t excel in math, science or language.

These Big Influencers want to change the political structure by creating a system whereby people can trust what their leaders are saying and can make intelligent, informed decisions based off of that information.

These Big Influencers want to change health care so that people are given a variety of choices, and both traditional medicine and alternative therapies work together in harmony, rather than in competition and distrust.  These women envision a world of cooperation and collaboration in health care, in which we use our knowledge of the mind-body connection to bridge the gap between the physical and spiritual realms of health, thus using prevention as the main means of reducing health care costs and creating WHOLE health.

They want to change the world of economics, creating an economy in which businesses run in harmony and collaboration with an abundance mindset, rather than a lack and competition mindset, which further divides companies and the people who represent them.  Businesses will thrive because they treat their employees and customers with the utmost dignity and respect and listen to their needs.

The Dalai Lama said, “The World Will Be Saved by The Western Woman.” I want to make this quote a reality.  Through our intelligence, intuition, loving and giving heart, our ability to connect with others and build rapport, our ability to lead and to make empowered choices, we shall change the world.

Annie Burnside wrote an article about the Dalai Lama’s quote on 7/25/12, and she says, “The Western Woman’s influence will ultimately be a treasure unto all of humanity as they seek to include compassion, intuition, truth and love through heart to heart, soul to soul connections that know no bounds.”

If this resonates with you and you want to be part of this community, come meet me at my next FREE workshop for professional women on May 15.  Register at www.createharmony.eventbrite.com.

I can’t wait to meet you!

God Bless,
Angie Monko

I did this due to an influx of new clients, which is a positive thing. What created anxiety in me was not having enough time for me.

I found myself rushing about and being more impatient and short-tempered.  In April, my husband also began working in the business. And so I took some time to help him get acclimated, but to him it didn’t feel like enough time.

I also felt like I didn’t have enough time to really explain things to him and to move at a reasonable pace in my own life.  I knew I couldn’t keep up the pace.

So in May I took a full week off with my husband, and I’m booking time on my calendar to spend on leisure and quiet, reading more books and having more fun.  I am also planning to journal more and release negative emotion through emotional freedom technique, also known as tapping.

I have always honored my self-care routine of exercise, meditation, prayer and gratitude journal, but I need to schedule more time to tap and journal my feelings.

If you want to feel more free in your life, the key is to time block your time and then STICK to it.  The most pivotal time blocking is for your self-care routine.  Do this for yourself.  Put YOU first.  And then continue to block enough time for yourself to have the space to slow down and go within.

Afraid to slow down the frantic pace and go within?  If so, what are you afraid to face?  Not thinking about it won’t solve anything.  No matter what may be going on in your life, it CAN be handled.

You may feel trapped right now in your circumstances.  I understand because I have felt this way in a relationship, in my prior career, and even in my financial situation.  The good news is that you don’t have to fix everything in one day.  It just takes one small step and one small act of courage to begin to change your life in dramatic, positive ways, BUT you have to take that first step.

Creating space in your life to slow down, get quiet, look within for the answers, is the key.  Ask yourself what is the next right step you can take today.

If you need help to create space in your life, your next step might just be registering for my FREE workshop on May 15 at www.createharmony.eventbrite.com.

God Bless,
Angie Monko (314) 422-6520

Then guess what?  When your self-esteem rises, you will begin taking daily actions for self-care, such as meditating for 5 minutes, eating a little bit healthier, getting that morning walk in, praying, journaling your feelings, writing a gratitude journal, doing meridian tapping, or doing anything that helps you feel human.

Then what do you think happens? When you begin consistently doing self-care you will begin to set sturdier boundaries.  It usually starts in the physical realm, like you begin to exercise, stop smoking, drink more water, eat more veggies, get more sleep, clean up your environment.

Then once you get about 80% solid in your physical realm, you move on to the emotional realm.  You begin feeling better about yourself and it’s no longer acceptable when others talk to you poorly, and so you say something, “Hey I don’t appreciate how you’re talking to me.  Let’s talk again when you’ve calmed down.”

Next you begin to examine your beliefs.  Are you still walking around believing things that you learned as a child from religions and people who told you things simply to control you, such as “Sex is bad and dirty.  And if you enjoy it, you are immoral.”  If so, you begin to become aware that these beliefs no longer serve you.  You decide to upgrade them to ones that an adult can live with, “As long as I’m not hurting myself or anyone else, it’s up to me to decide what beliefs are right or wrong for me.  Sex is healthy, and it’s okay for me to feel sexy.”

Then one day you wake up, you feel good about yourself and what you’re doing in life.  Your beliefs are aligned with who you are as a person, with you as an adult, not as a child.

You feel more connected to everything around you.  You begin to believe that you are safe and supported in the Universe, and that there is a Power Greater Than Yourself that wants you to be happy, whole, healthy and wealthy, abundant on all levels.

It all starts with self-care and setting boundaries.  What ONE boundary will you set today for yourself?

If you want to master boundaries and self-care, REGISTER today for my workshop, “3 Massive Mistakes Professional Women Make That Keep Them Overwhelmed, Overworked and Heading for Burnout!”  Go to www.createharmony.eventbrite.com.

God Bless You and Your Boundaries,
Angie Monko

Sometimes I have my own agenda for a client or even friend or family member, not only an agenda to move them through a process, but also my own time table.  I guess with a client a time table is necessary if someone is investing with me for so many sessions.

But what I’m realizing is that I need to create an agreement such as:  My objective is to help you get what you say you want.  How quickly you achieve this objective is up to you and your willingness and ability to hang out in the muck, the muck being your painful feelings and limiting beliefs.  And it’s up to your subsequent willingness and ability to surrender and let go of your muck.

Lately, I feel like I’ve not been patient at all.  It seems like I still want to hang out in the muck of impatience.  I will look at this and see how it’s serving me.  Right now, I see how it alienates my husband, because I’m always on the go, go and go.

The good news is that my May WILL slow down because I’m going to carefully schedule myself.  I just need to keep surrendering my EGO to GOD.  Keep surrendering.  Keep surrendering.  Keep surrendering.

A good little way to trick the ego is this.  When you start to feel anxious or fearful or angry you can say ho’oponopono, “Whatever part of me created this (fill in negative emotion), I love you, I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you!”

Please consider another way to “trick your ego” and get the changes you want in your life.  Come to my workshop on May 15 (register at www.createharmony.eventbrite.com) in St. Louis, MO.

God Bless,
Angie Monko

Jane said she did not want to come around our family and bring everyone down, and she said that she did not want us to feel sorry for her.  Chelsea re-assured her that we do not feel sorry for her at all, but we believe she can figure out her life.  Chelsea reminded her that she was worthy of getting that kind of support.

As soon as she said that, I honed in because it is a great reminder for all of us.  So I asked Chelsea to to write up a small article for today’s newsletter.  See below.  Note that this is ALL her; I do not change the content and barely the grammar for my girls.

“We have all experienced moments in our lives in which we feel lost or out of connection. This disconnection of what to do with ourselves and our future creates a false, and certainly draining, belief that we aren’t good enough. When we feel this way, the best reaction would be to journal, meditate, pray, etc. to create a positive, moving energy to get us out of our slump.

More times than not though, we choose to seclude ourselves and buy into the ego’s chatter. We feel we must do something on our own or prove ourselves to the world, when in fact the one who needs proof, is ourselves. We need proof that we ARE good enough; we need proof that we CAN have a happy, fulfilling life; that we DO deserve support.

Since we all are connected, the best thing to do when we are feeling lost and unworthy is to surround ourselves with individuals who have our best interests in mind and will support us no matter what. These people that we are blessed to have in our lives are the reason why our hard times are easier; so why push them away in our time of need due to an unworthy feeling?

Although the words seem easy to instruct, I’ve been there and I know it isn’t so simple…for any of us! But it is extremely possible, and quite rewarding.  It feels amazing to sit in a room with people of high energy that love you, after having a bad day at work. The positivity and possibilities seem to be extracted in those moments with them on the couch; those moments distract us from our negative clouding thoughts.

I challenge you to first ask yourself if you feel worthy of support. After you find your answer, test yourself by surrounding yourself with supportive people when you feel lost and down.  You will know, by the chatter in your brain, if indeed you feel worthy of support. If not, it’s okay!  Start to see the goodness in yourself and over time you will receive the support you have always truly deserved.”

I understand we want to think in terms of positivity because, bottom line, it is our positive thinking that attracts pleasant circumstances in our lives.

It is our positive thinking, our self esteem, to care enough about feeling good, that gives us the inspiration to take action on things that perpetuate our feeling good.

However, we cannot access that good feeling state UNTIL we clear out the debris of limiting belief systems.  So we have to be in our gunk for a while.

A good friend helped me to realize that, although I meet people where they are at, I may get impatient with their pain and want them to move out of it quickly, probably because I’m impatient with my own pain.  I process it quickly so as not to hurt myself more than necessary.

Everyone process pain at different speeds and so I need to meet them again and again and again if necessary.  I need to persist with them, see beyond their pain so they can eventually see beyond it.

I am the Go-Getter.  My philosophy is learn the lesson and move on.  It is like walking down into people’s basements, where I see all of their stuff, and some of it is very old, and it has developed a stench and it is moldy and has cobwebs and grimy residue all over it (the gunk).

So I walk down once, acknowledge their stuff, and then I am ready to walk back upstairs into the light.  But they seem to have super glue on their feet and want to keep going back down.  So I need to be willing to get my exercise and keep walking up and down those steps as many times as needed until THEY wear out.

This allows me to develop my patience and empathy muscles, both feminine parts of me.  It teaches me to be more patient with myself as well.

God Bless,
Angie Monko

(314) 422-6520

“I moved to Pennsylvania where my dad lives, and I met a guy that I ended up really liking. When I first met him, I knew what kind of guy he was. He was the insecure type, someone who was in need of love, hurt, and searching. We had a lot in common. We are all projections of each other . We see people as we are. I saw him in myself.

Anyway, ever since I moved here I was afraid to start growing up and start actually becoming who I really am because I knew my dad would not want me to go if we got along. Also if I was bitchy and depressed I would feel like I deserved to be yelled at and put down. Then something happened that pushed me to make a decision, to protect myself.

“Jim”, the guy I liked, and I got into a fight one morning and I knew we were falling apart; I was scared because I was very attached.  So I began to tap using meridian tapping or emotional freedom technique for about an hour.

I cleared a lot up.  Then I called my mom and asked for some help.  She gave me a plan and affirmations to say to detach myself and pick situations that reflect the love I have within myself.

As I started the process my dad and step mom began giving me compliments all day long about how I’ve changed and how amazing I was. I was so happy because it was all working out. Then that night I got a text from someone using Jim’s phone, saying he had moved two hours away.

I knew that meant I would never see him again. Instead of breaking down inside, I was grateful that I was growing up and he no longer was a projection of me. It’s funny how fast people can walk in and out of our life when we are ready.

I haven’t heard from him since.  I still care but I let him go. I told him goodbye over Facebook and he never responded! It did hurt a bit, but I will not let that make me scared of relationships. I know that as long as I feel good and love myself I will attract those in my life that will not hurt me. This is only a small representation of the lesson I have to learn, which is yet to come.”

Until next time…
Maddie Reynolds

What should I wear to look and feel important?  How can I make others respect me?  I should drive a certain car and live in a certain part of the neighborhood.  I need to make so much money.  Many of us are outer-image focused, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Here is where we can get into trouble though.  We can allow our need to appear put together to interfere with our inner peace.  How do we know if our self-image is not healthy and not serving us?  We require others to behave according to our values and beliefs, and we judge them if they do not.  We feel superior and judge others and thereby separate ourselves from and don’t support them because they don’t look or behave the way we want them to.

You see, that is a belief too, that others must be like us.  The problem is that when you judge others for being different from you, and you assume you KNOW the right way to be, you cause yourself to suffer.

If your thinking causes you to feel badly, then it’s coming from your ego, not your Higher Self.  Your True Nature is to LOVE, ACCEPT and FORGIVE yourself and others.

If you are not doing this, you are letting a part of you that is fearful and angry run the show.

So you can be beautiful on the outside and convey a confident, secure person, but it is most important that you align this outer image with your inner image to be congruent.  Do you love and accept and forgive yourself?  Do your inner feelings match your outer appearance?

This is the true definition of congruence.  No one can determine if you are congruent but you.  If YOU are aligned with you, you are congruent, no matter what anyone else says.

If you are NOT aligned with you, no amount of money or prestige or what anyone else says or does will make you congruent.

So what can you do?  Be open to examining your belief systems (BS).  Are they based on the Truth of who you are (love, acceptance and forgiveness), and when you believe them, do they lift your spirits, helping you to feel at peace, joyful, connected, and empowered?

OR are they based on FEAR, an old way of thinking, helping you to feel separate, angry, judgmental and disempowered?  Even though you may feel a sense of satisfaction  because you get to be right, is that really WHO you want to be?  If not, change how you perceive a situation.

The new age of business that is emerging is about honest communication, authentic collaboration, caring about one another, doing business and supporting each of us because we know, like and trust each other and because we are happy to see each other succeed and prosper and spread good tidings to the rest of the world.

Women are the ones who must pave the way, because we understand relationship.  Your first step?  Get clear on what you want so you have something to focus upon.  Keep focusing on THAT and don’t let others’ drama distract you.  While you are busy focusing upon aligning with what you truly want, you will naturally begin to love, accept and forgive yourself!

In order to transform this world, you must be able to transform yourself.  By becoming your own thought leader, you influence your family, your husband, your children.  They will begin to heal and change before your eyes.  Then you will influence your community, then your state, then your country, then your world.

Love,
Angie Monko

“Many things have happened since the last time I wrote. I am living with my Dad in Pennsylvania. Living here is not exactly as I expected it to be, but nothing ever is as you expect. I thought the change would make it easier for me to make decisions about my future: where I want to live and what I want to do. I wish it were that easy.

The transition went very well. The high school is great, and everyone is very friendly and welcoming. I met a boy I like, and I’m friends with a couple of girls too. So in that regard I’m doing great. But when it comes to my mental and physical health, I definitely think there is room for improvement.

I have Cystic Fibrosis, and I must rigorously take my medications and do my inhalation treatments to stay healthy.  I admit it. I can be lazy, skip a medication, or forget to do my nebulizer.  I can be stubborn in denying what is good for me.

I can get into a funk and stay there a few days feeling sorry for myself. I have ended up in the hospital a few times for not wanting to take care of myself. I don’t want to go back if I can help it. They tell me there will be a cure one day for this disease, and I must keep healthy until that day comes.

I had a few reasons for making the decision to move here. I wanted to become more mature. I wanted to get away from my Mom so I could form my own beliefs. I wanted to reconnect with my Dad.

I realize now that a thousand mile move across country does not mean maturity. I realize that new friends and a different family offer no escape from my responsibilities. I cannot hide from myself.  I am the one who has to grow up and accept the fact that no one can do my treatments for me. No one can make me healthy but me.

I have not thought about death much, and I don’t think I am afraid of it. Rather, I think I am afraid of growing up. I am afraid of the future, what it may do to me. I am afraid of a time when my families will not be there to push me.

You see, both my Moms, both my Dads have always been there to tell me what to do. I did not have to worry. They did it for me. I did not have to remember. They did it for me. And while they were doing all that doing, they were also telling me that the desire to be healthy must come from me.

If they became upset with me for not making the effort to be healthy, it meant they loved me. But I also felt guilty when I did not do what I was supposed to do, like I let them down. Maybe out of guilt I thought I deserved to be sick?  Maybe I was pushing them away so they would have to prove their love over and again? I was twisting love into something unhealthy. Also, when it comes to my two families, the truth is it was easy to put them at odds with one another.

They are very different in their beliefs; yet, they are the same in how much they want me to be happy, healthy.  I was childish, and I did not let them down. I let myself down. As one of my Moms says, I was sabotaging myself.

My two families came together this Christmas and they talked, shared meals, watched movies. They were good to one another, and I was silent, did not know what to say. I know how to love them separately but having them together was strange, and I didn’t know how to feel. Their divorce was awful, full of hate and blame.

Sixteen years have done much to heal them. They were not having a problem, I was. I do not know if I am any more mature. I do not think I have escaped anything; I do not know exactly what I believe; I have still not made any final decisions about where I will live; I have not chosen a college or a career yet.

I know that I have done well in taking care of myself these last few weeks. I feel good about that. I want to speak with my friend, Judy Ryan, in St. Louis, a friend I have grown to respect and trust, and I want to tell her I am thinking, thinking a lot about my future. I feel good about that too. I feel good about healing myself.”

Love,

Maddie

I have learned so much about myself in the last five years by helping others.  Whatever we teach is what we need to learn most.

I am learning how to have more family harmony.  I am learning to love, accept and forgive myself.  I am learning to treat myself well so I do not burn out.  I am learning to trust my body, mind and soul””s innate ability to heal itself.

It seemed appropriate that on the day I commemorated my company”s 5 year anniversary I had a break through of sorts.  It felt like a baptism and a merging of all of my different energies.

I went to Kathleen Christ for a cranial sacral/hypnosis session, which we did in the water.  Kathleen started with a little ritual in which we “emptied” my body, mind and heart of past hurts and even my attachments to dreams and such, thus creating space to do the work at hand.

Next she called my female energy forward to see how this part of me had served me in my life, what gifts she had for me, and asked if I needed any additional support from my female energy.  After this communication, my female energy was invited to stay and observe.

Next, my male energy was called forth, and we did the same process, assessing the gifts it had brought to me and determining if I needed more male energy support.

Then I had an opportunity to introduce my female (yin) and male (yang) energies within me and merge them.  I learned I was out of balance.  I have a lot more male energy (produce, get results, persevere, focus, be determined), and I did not need more of that.

My yin energy felt overpowered by my yang energy, and so now I””m allowing the two to communicate. I””m inviting more femininity into my life, including more patience, nurturing, dance, song, beauty, love, play and overall joy and creativity.

We called upon my angels next and finally upon Christ consciousness. It was a surrendering to my Higher Power.  It was very powerful.  I felt somehow “resolved” within myself afterwards.  It”s hard to explain without experiencing it.

It felt like a rebirth of me, a cleansing, a baptism, especially since I was in  95 degree the whole time.  Why in the water?  Change happens more rapidly.  To learn more, you can checkout Kathleen””s website at www.watsu1.com.  She owns the St. Louis Aquatic Healing Center.  I highly recommend her!

If you”re not ready for the water, but are ready to set some healthy boundaries, checkout my upcoming workshop on April 10, 2013.  More details can be found in this newsletter and on my website.

God Bless,

Angie Monko