Category: Self Love

Guilt & Forgiveness, Mind-Body-Spirit, Self Love, Uncategorized

My Fast Food Addiction Almost Ruined My Life

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Before
After

I gave up fast food because it was killing my spirit, and probably my body too.

Fast food used to be my crutch. Each time I’d receive disappointing news, get into the headspace of not being “good enough,” feel fat (ironic much?), or have a hangover, I would buy fast food. It was so easy.

When I was younger, I had become idle in pursuing my passions, I was addicted to harmful romantic relationships, and completely detached from my body. I used to have a ritual of starting each Sunday like this: Brunch with my girlfriends, which would turn into mimosas on the beach, followed by a movie, so we could take a nap.

On my route home, feeling tired, hungry, and sad, I would pass a McDonald’s, a Taco Bell and a Wendy’s, side by side. For a while my pattern was to go to Taco Bell and order a few different options. If I was in the mood for sugar I would also stop at McDonalds or Wendy’s for a shake.

I would then drive home and eat all the stuff, half of it in the car.

I ended each week laying in bed hating myself.

Read more on Delish!

Childbirth, Pregnancy, Self Love, Uncategorized

9 Ways to Bond With Your Unborn Baby

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IMG_0978Are you nervous at the prospect of birthing a stranger? Sure, you love the little nugget floating in your uterus, but do you feel like you know them?

When I was pregnant, I had serious doubts about my ability to “do parenting well.” I felt wholly unprepared and feared the big P-D: postpartum depression.

Because I have control freak tendencies, I became consumed with putting in bonding work before my son was born — I had a deep need to get to know him before he was put in my arms.

Many of the following prenatal bonding activities are practiced in the HypnoBirthing (Mongan Method) childbirth preparation classes I teach, and some are pulled from my personal tinkering.

Read more on Babble!

Career, Self Love, Uncategorized

How a Mismatched Job Experience Helped Me Find My Courage

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I was paid good money to talk to myself on national television about a topic I knew nothing about for four hours, a few times a week (and not have a panic attack).

I was 21 years old living in Austin, Texas working as a student/actress. Acting opportunities were slim (and pretty much all unpaid), so when a friend who was a cameraman for The Jewelry Channel asked me if he could pass my headshot on to his boss-man, I said heck yes — not expecting anything to come of it. I had no hosting experience and only owned costume jewelry.

Three weeks later I received a call from a chipper middle-aged man asking me to come in for an interview.

“Um… OK?”

Because I was 21, I obviously stayed up until 2 a.m. the night before the interview drinking with my boyfriend. I woke up late, showered off the booze, guzzled coffee, and showed for the interview 20 minutes late. Winning?

Read more on Huff Post!

Mind-Body-Spirit, Self Love, Uncategorized

9 Amazing Things That Happen When Adults Start Coloring

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IMG_7324Coloring in the outline of a trendy owl will make you a better person.

The hardest part of coloring is starting. My initial thoughts, upon setting my adult coloring book and colored pencils on my little TV tray, was, “Shouldn’t I be doing something more adult? Like scrubbing a toilet? Eh, it says ‘adult’ on the book so I’m good. But what if I suck at coloring inside the lines? Embarrassing.”

And then I started and didn’t look up for two hours (except to get a glass of wine, because wine makes you better at coloring). Here’s what will happen when you start.

  1. You slip into a vortex known as “the zone.”

And it feels amazing. Instead of grubbing on a tub of frozen sugar or binge-watching Bravo, you can make your escape through a classic childhood pastime. The zone (sometimes known as hypnosis) feels so fabulous, it’s like an emotional massage.

Read more at YourTango!

Childbirth, Mind-Body-Spirit, Parenting, Self Love, Uncategorized

Why I Celebrate My Honest Postpartum Body

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IMG_1436Tell her she’s beautiful. Tell her she’s perfect. Tell her she deserves to feel at home in her body.

Remember the ditty “Do Your Ears Hang Low”? Well… Do your boobs sag down, do they jiggle to and fro? Do they swing to the right and then reach down to the floor?  Mine do. At least, I think they’re mine.

The postpartum boob transformation occurred quicker than the flick of a baby finger. My old breasts were small, perky, and fluid-free. These new things attached to my chest are droopy bags, albeit fabulous droopy bags. They fill with and distribute milk, but they’re just so different and devoid of perkiness.

And “my” stomach — where did that come from? It’s flattish, wide, and different. It’s so different from the stomach I came to know so well. Come to think of it, the only parts of my naked postpartum body I recognize are my knee caps. They’re not saggy … yet.

Read more at YourTango!

Self Love, Uncategorized

What Happened When I Stopped Taking Selfies for a Month

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Bailey
Aren’t you glad I stopped taking selfies?

I started living when I stopped taking selfies.

If I stare at my picture long enough, all of my positive features begin to fade to the background while my imperfections zoom in and laugh at me. I love selfies, but they mock me.

If I’m the one taking the photo, I have to take between fifteen and twenty before finding a decent one, all while muttering, “No darling, that’s wrong, so wrong. Try a new angle. Don’t smile like that. Don’t grimace. Why is one of your eyes more open than the other? Don’t open your eyes so much, you look like a crazy person.”

I started living when I stopped taking selfies. I also stopped looking at other people’s selfies, which made me like them more.

Read more on YourTango!

Mind-Body-Spirit, Self Love, Uncategorized

11 Real Struggles Only Shy People Will Understand

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*Big ole vulnerable dose of myself.

I’m a shy extrovert. These two aspects of myself are in constant battle. My shy, introverted self pulls me back to my shell of WiFi and Netflix, while my extrovert self pushes me to connect with real-life people and find work that requires me to talk in front of people for hours. It’s tricky.

I enjoy my extroverted tendencies, but find my shyness leading the way most of the time. And it usually leads into a quiet room with snacks, my laptop, and a bed. Shyness can be a true struggle, and here’s why.

  1. Face-to-face networking is a rare form of torture.

To grow in a professional (and personal) sense, I need to connect with fellow writers, professionals, hypnotherapists, and general human beings. This means going into a room of strangers, awkwardly going up to people and saying something at least slightly interesting without stuttering.

Read more on YourTango!

Mind-Body-Spirit, Self Love, Uncategorized

What Would Happen If We Dipped Into a New Creative Medium?

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Hot off the Feng Shui Mommy Newsletter press.
Adult coloring books are all the rage right now. While I usually shy away from trends, purely because they’re trendy, I’m all over this fad. Actually, I was all over this before it was even a “thing.” I was that mom in the restaurant trying to keep my son from scribbling over my color-in-the-lines masterpiece. Now I just bring my own coloring book.

Initially, I thought I could only partake in this extracurricular indulgence on the weekends, or the rare moments when all my “important” work was complete- coloring seemed frivolous. 

“Shouldn’t I be writing? That’s my thing– my soul’s work.”

What I noticed after a week of partaking in this delicious frivolity every day, was my writing got better! And, I got better at that whole “living in the moment” trend. Interesting.

Stepping out of my creative bubble, made it burst, and let in some pretty juicy newness.

What’s your creative medium of choice? The activity that feeds your soul and injects a hearty dose of purpose into your day?

What would it be like if you tried something outside your creative wheelhouse? Something that you’re not a pro at, and would be exploring just for the sake of dipping into something different.

This newness may stir up latent insecurities, fear of change, and guilt that you’re not doing something you’re “supposed” to do. How fabulous.

Dipping into those seemingly negative areas of your being is the only way to release them. It also produces fabulous material for your primary creative work.

When I realized I wasn’t so great at coloring within the lines (and should really be washing those piles of dishes and clothes instead of sitting at my son’s mini-table with colored pencils and a coloring book) I felt really insecure, and questioned myself. 

Then, I sat down to write that evening and had so much fresh material. I had gently loosened pieces of myself I didn’t like to look at, but were so interesting when I allowed them to come out and play.

IMG_7324

On the days I pull out the colors, and then transition into writing, I end the day feeling emotionally free, mentally clear, and spiritually accomplished- it’s pretty cool. All this from flipping back the cover of a 5 by 7-inch coloring book.

You don’t need to jump on the coloring bandwagon, but consider the places some of the other creative bandwagons may take you. Likely, somewhere fresh and exhilarating.

Sending you love and encouragement for investing in something new, just for you.

Xoxo,
Bailey

Mind-Body-Spirit, Self Love, Uncategorized

How Do We Step Into Our Intentions?

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The intentions set for a new year have a bad reputation for only lasting through January. But what if we change the conversation? What if we shift those dismal expectations?


What if we decided the beautiful hopes and commitments we set for another trip around the sun will make a lasting and profound change in our life, persisting as long as we want it/them to.

What if.

One way I propose we do this is by living each day like a mini life.

When we hold the mind set that each day is one small lifetime, we dive deeper in, dedicating ourselves to relishing the moments, and how our (new) positive intentions paint those moments.

It also takes the pressure off. When we know tomorrow is a new lifetime, we release the need to take any perceived failures or disappoints from this life into the next. Recommit to your intentions at the beginning of each mini lifetime and celebrate their manifestations like major “lifetime” achievements.

How lovely that we can decide to be reborn every day. We can start every day afresh and light.

This mindset also serves to dissolve the monotony that can suck the zest out of life, and infuses fresh excitement into our favorable changes that require daily devotion.

Even if we engage in similar activities each day, we can bring new layers of perception to our intentions and motivations in each mini life.

This freshens up familiar activities, allowing us to mine new insights, ways of doing, and solutions from the old.

At the end of each mini lifetime, let’s honor it as we would the closing of a full life. It doesn’t need to hold sadness, because after each lifetime comes another. A fresh chance to start anew.

A new shade of enthusiasm and joy will color our lives when each day is honored as sacred.

For my readers who are parents, or soon-to-be parents, let’s marinate on these ideas to see how we can translate them into inspiring teachings for our children.

Each and every one of us deserves the deep satisfaction that comes with seeing our resolutions, intentions, plans, promises, (or whatever we feel like calling them!) come to fruition and fill our life with ever-expanding joy.

Sending you glowing love and gratitude! 

And in other news…

Feel free to email me at BaileyGaddis@yahoo.com to explore this topic further.

As a yummy bonus, here is a short and sweet relaxation recording for you. 

This is straight outta a newsletter I plan to send out weekly- exploring the challenges, beauty, and questions living in the mind-body-spirit continuum, conscious parenting, blissful birthing, and many other layers of this wonderful journey we call life.

If you’re connecting to these words, you can subscribe here, Feng Shui Mommy Newsletter

For more relaxation recordings go here- Your Serene Life

For daily (short) thoughts and inspirations, go here- Feng Shui Mommy Facebook page

And, if you’re pregnant, please oh please check this out 🙂 Feng Shui Mommy Online Childbirth Course

Mom Humor, Pregnancy, Self Love, Uncategorized

9 Things Your Vagina is Urgently Trying to Tell You Post-Baby

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IMG_4679For the love of God woman, use a donut cushion!

Your vagina assumes a new personality after having a baby. It sheds its past insecurities and fears; it’s capable of learning. If your vagina can push out a baby, it can do anything.

The new personality of your vagina has some sage postpartum words for you, helping to integrate your new badass self with your new badass vagina. I’ll go ahead and assume the voice of your vagina, so let’s pretend she has a British accent.

1. I damn well deserve to be called by my proper name now.

Once your vagina has gone through the big girl task of birthing a baby, it deserves to be called by its proper name. No more “down there,” “va-jay-jay,” “pink lady,” or “my petunia.” It’s vagina, and Queen Vagina to the men.

Read more on Your Tango!

Self Love, Uncategorized

10 Steps to Reclaiming Your Childlike Wonder This Christmas

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Toddler BaileyNothing drains the wonder of Christmas like mall parking lots, a melting bank account, saying “yes” to too many obligations and “no” to our kids every 6.5 seconds.

Christmas as an adult often lacks the visceral joy abundant in childhood. Many of us lose that lightness in the chest, watering in the mouth, rosy-ing of the cheeks, pepping of the step, and enjoyable anticipation in the gut as the years tick away on our biological clock. Here’s hoping “they” figure out how to bottle that cocktail of feelings and infuse it into the cider.

I’m talking to you Santa.

In the meantime, let’s figure out how to steer our holiday actions down a lane paved with opportunities to evoke the childlike-holiday-wonder that fizzled out around the time our teenage hormones bubbled up.

These activities are not just for your kids — step into the experience and reclaim your childlike wonder.

Read more on Huff Post!

Self Love, Uncategorized

How I Stopped Failing at Femininity

baileysandbabiesblog

Bailey 2cropI used to be shackled by distorted notions of the meaning of my vagina.

I thought it required I be docile, unconditionally pleasant, agreeable, subservient, visually appealing and shiny—but not too shiny—I wouldn’t want too much attention.

I didn’t know how to do any of that. I thought I was failing at femininity. But really, I was failing to grasp what true femininity was.

These were private fears. A secret shame in my feminine nature. My mother was, and is, a feminist who kept her last name when she married my father, worked passionately for Planned Parenthood and refused to be shoved into a box of archaic social expectations.

Read more on elephant journal!

Self Love, Uncategorized

Please, Remind Me to Cry

baileysandbabiesblog

I crave my tears.

I want to taste their cathartic salty elixir in my mouth.

I want to swallow my sorrow.

The smiling is making me ache with repression.

I need to release the fear. The doubts. The screaming insecurities.

I need to feel them sliding out of my soul.

Please don’t enclose me in your soothing embrace.

I don’t want to be soothed.

Read more on elephant journal

Self Love

How to Be Perfectly Imperfect

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11036220_10153235577287033_4615141852708667765_o

I used to wake from a dead sleep, crawl out of bed and slog into my closet to ensure my shoes were properly lined up.

I once declined joining my family for a beach day because I “needed” to clean the stove.

In fifth grade, I cried when I received a B in math.

The fruitless pursuit of perfection used to devour my joy. My tunnel vision only allowed me to view the imperfect minute details that needed tweaking, while real life lived outside that tunnel.

I experienced blips of relief when everything was “in its place,” but these moments were fleeting and were quickly wiped away by a new email flush with to-dos, a small human walking into my home and living life, or the general passage of time.

Read more on elephant journal! 

Self Love

Celebrating the Honest Postpartum Body

baileysandbabiesblog

Remember the ditty ‘Do Your Ears Hang Low?’ Well, I’ve tweaked the lyrics a bit to apply to my current situation. Here goes:

Do your boobs sag down, do they jiggle to and fro? Do they swing to the right and then reach down to the floor?

Mine do.

At least I think they’re mine.

The postpartum boob transformation occurred quicker than the flick of a baby finger. “My” breasts were small, perky and fluid-free. These new things attached to my chest are droopy bags — albeit fabulous droopy bags. They fill with and distribute milk — fabulous — but they’re just so different and devoid of perkiness.

And “my” stomach, where did that come from? It’s flattish, wide and different. It’s so different from the stomach I came to know so well.

Come to think of it, the only parts of my naked postpartum body I recognize are my knee caps. They’re not saggy. Yet.

Read more on the Huffington Post!