Gorgeous Northwest Fall by Train: We all need more Me-Time, rest time, self-care time. Here's a way to get it!

So why do I love to travel by train? Well, lotsa leg room, bathrooms when you want them, snacks and full meals ditto. Trains go as fast as traffic in the flat portions of the country. Slow down in the mountains; trade off is spectacular views as you hug the side of a very big rock. Stretch your legs stops every 4 hours.

SO - let me SHOW you what I mean.... I will take you along on a recent trip home from Seattle to southern Oregon.

Starting with the spacious interior in Business Class. Quite empty and only adults. The families (and crying babies) stay in cheaper Coach. Business is wonderful. It's quiet, you have an attendant to pamper you, you get $ off meals. I only pay $30 more on the Coast Starlight on this 400 mile trip. It's even cheaper on the short-haul Cascades. Everyone is banging away on laptops or watching the scenery with headphones. Did I mention the Observation Car? But Business seat is much quieter and almost as scenic. Bliss. Me Time or work time. WiFi in Business. In my photo below, I am alternating photos with working on my first novel.

And my ever-present crochet, in this case creating warm clothing for low-income families in my community. [If you want to learn to make things with your own hands - what a thrill of power! - just ask.]

The next series of shots are Puget Sound.... In coming days, follow my trip south!

Next time: glorious central/west Washington, from south South to the mighty Columbia River!

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Harness the Energy of Nature for Your Own Transformation!

The sun is just starting to climb over the horizon.  Dawn is here.  In the same way, Spring is the season for beginnings.  As the Light begins to return, more and more each day, our human bodies get more serotonin, and more dopamine.  We have a surge of energy.  We are throwing off the lethargy of winter.  Harness this natural biological surge and move forward.  Do the 5 Breaths meditation listed earlier, or another free guided journey from my website www.soaringdragon.biz/classes, and when you are deeply relaxed, softly and gently ask your deep unconscious what it really wants.  This is the part of you that always knows what you really want the meaning of your life to be.

Pick one small change - perhaps in your health or how you spend your life - and make a commitment to yourself.  Start walking every day for 20 minutes.  Check out my recipes and ideas for healthier eating.  Read my blog for steps to take for more self-love and self-respect.  Start Dumping the Garbage every night (see 101 Stress Busters).  Just one small thing, not a major make-over, because that can scare your unhealed inner child so much she starts sabotaging - and it scares other people into sabotage as well.  Just one small thing.  Commit to it utterly.

Set up rewards for yourself (not food-related, please; meditate until you know what you really want and aren't giving yourself permission to have), when you do your one small thing every day for a week.  And keep your word to yourself. You're a person of integrity.  You deserve to be able to rely on your word.  Give yourself that reward - perhaps time to yourself.  I have a client who went to her sister's house for 90 minutes every Saturday, just for Me Time, because she could not trust her family to respect her boundaries.  Eventually, she was able to have Me Time at home, and also Creative Time when the whole family did various art projects together - bliss!  Whatever your rewards are, know that you CAN brainstorm the rewards that are small in cost but huge in meaning and personal value.

Everywhere, plant life is coming into exuberant form, pushing up through the earth, bursting into colorful bloom or lush foliage.  You are part of this ageless rhythm as well.  Let the energy of spring flow through your veins and answer the call with a clear and exultant YES!  The journey of a lifetime is accomplished step by step.  Take a step and commit to another one every day....