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The Feminine Breath

Filed under: Breathing For Health, Breathing Globally, Breathing With Nature — Leave a comment
May 26, 2012

NOTE:  THIS POST IS FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN!!!

This past week I have watched 2 movies that have moved me greatly and have served as a reminder of what I have often left carefully hidden away from the world – the very roots of my being.  This post is entitled “The Feminine Breath” as it is a way of breathing for all of us that has been lost, decimated, and yes hidden from our awareness for way too long.  A resurgence is riding on the back of our planet that is daily reminding us of the havoc and imbalance we have created.

Jane’s Journey is about the astounding life and actions of Jane Goodall transitioning from a young girl with no college degree boldly following her childhood dreams into an internationally recognized woman living her passion and truth through daily actions and deep dedication to bring peace, compassion, and ecological health to all life.

The film Desert Flower, is a National Geographic stunningly filmed movie about Waris Dirie from Somalia who faces life challenges that are way beyond what any of us could imagine.  Yet she chooses to step into her strength and truth exposing a mutilation practice that, due to her efforts, is finally being eradicated.

Both women demonstrate what it is to bring back the feminine way of breathing and to embody that breath in each moment of life.

Clare Daikin of Tree Sisters says:

When we say ‘feminine’ most people think, Woman, but Feminine is one side of the whole that is all of us. We all have the receptive and expressive sides, the passive and active, the intuitive and logical, the flow and the structure. The feminine is like the in breath or the roots where we connect, receive and resource. She is the source of our deeper knowing and the deep lake of our pleasure. The masculine is like the out breath or the branches, where we make manifest, build, create, grow and structure. He is informed by the feminine and takes action to serve the whole system into optimal form to function effectively. He is replenished by her, so is served by her as he also serves her.
For more of this excellent blog post click here: http://www.treesisters.org/news/86/81/Reinstating-the-Queen
It is this very “feminine breath” way of being that is crucial to our vital health – that of self, relationships, community, countries….and the planet which sustains our life.  Without connecting, receiving and resourcing from our roots we cannot manifest, build, create and grow new ways of being that live in harmony with the earth.
We are the new life form on the block!  Let’s deeply learn from that which not only has come before us but is our greatest teacher.
Find your favorite tree this week, sit down beneath it, listen, and receive the wisdom as you breathe from the roots of your being…
OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:
Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview and Reviews can be found here:
http://resonancewithlife.com/daily-breath-book/
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Breathe Into This Moment of Beauty

Filed under: Breath Practices, Breathing With Nature, Mindfulness — Leave a comment
May 13, 2012

When faced with the depth of natural beauty that this picture of Alberta, Canada clearly evokes one’s breath is almost “taken away”.  Right in this moment in fact my attention is taken by a stunning bird with bright blue wings standing on my fence outside of the window.  As I watch the bird my breath is embodied and the moment is captured on my lifeline.

How is it that we are faced with unquestionable beauty every single day of our lives and yet we allow it to pass by?  A girlfriend and I were having a discussion about money the other day as we walked around a beautiful Austin lake.  Like the breath and the flow of the water in the lake, money is meant to circulate.  The inhale of receiving and creating….the exhale of letting go and giving out.

This natural cycle of breath, nature and wealth happens in each moment making us increasingly aware of flow and the very experiences that make up our ground of being…and that of everyone and everything around us.  All pulsing with life and begging us to immerse in the beauty of the moment being breathed into and out of.

Not all of our life moments seem beautiful. We often contract around them as if there won’t be another moment or another dollar…or another smile or sunset.  Is it our ultimate demise that has us forgetful and rushing to grasp the next experience? Yet what if we saw each moment as an opportunity to breathe more fully…to actually pay attention to our life now.

Like another friend of mine who is taking a mindful photography class.  She is taking on the practice of waking up to life flowing through the gift of the senses.  As you view the exquisite video below – meant as a promotional video for Alberta, Canada – remember to breathe into the moments of beauty, movement and awe…this is your life!

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.NaturalWealthJournal.com
www.WildlyFreeWoman.com

WEBSITE:
www.ResonanceWithLife.com

Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview and Reviews can be found here:
http://resonancewithlife.com/daily-breath-book/

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This Is The Way, Breathe Within It

Filed under: Breath Practices, Breathing For Health, Sacred Breath — Leave a comment
May 2, 2012

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”  – Isaiah 30:21

What if within the passage below you added the word “Breath” in companionship with “Me”?   There is great inspiration to be found out in the world – within nature, our Spiritual beliefs, and within others.  But what if we realized for just a moment that we also carry something with us that can provide not only a means towards a healthy, vital life – but also guidance as we step forward.  Not a voice behind us…..but the simple breath taken in and given back out.

I AM LEADING YOU along a way that is uniquely right for you.  The closer to Me you grow, the more fully you become your true self–the one I designed you to be.  Because you are one of a kind, the path you are traveling with Me diverges increasingly from that of other people.  In My mysterious wisdom and ways, I enable you to follow this solitary path while staying in close contact with others.  In fact, the more completely you devote yourself to Me, the more freely you can love people.

Marvel at the beauty of a life intertwined with My Presence.  Rejoice as we journey together in intimate communion.  Enjoy the adventure of finding yourself through losing yourself in Me.

Take some moments this week to be present to what your breath is telling you and be willing to listen.

*A tight and contracted breath when interacting with another may be telling you to let go and be present within the moment in the fullest sense.  An entire relationship can change as it is breathed into.

*A held breath might provide wisdom as to what is making you afraid.  Awareness of this can be transforming.

* A rapid and shallow breath may take you into understanding what you may be running away from as you slow the breath down.

*A full embodied breath can lead you to a deeper enjoyment of the delicious moment before you and an anticipation of the next.

The quality of our breath and the sound it makes travels with us wherever we may go.  Might it not be a wise idea to pay attention?

www.ResonanceWithLife.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.NaturalWealthJournal.com
www.WildlyFreeWoman.com

Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview and Reviews can be found here:
http://resonancewithlife.com/daily-breath-book/

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Our Earth Breathes – We Can Help Her!

Filed under: Breathing For Health, Breathing Globally, Breathing With Nature — Leave a comment
April 22, 2012

“Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.  Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out”, is a beloved saying of Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn.  As the video shows above, we are not alone in the act of respiration.  Our Earth that sustains and feeds us is breathing as well.  The question could be asked, what are we feeding her??

The Institute of Hearth Math who has done many years of scientific research on the power of the heart to inform our actions, feelings and thoughts believes that we should ask this question.  The passage below from their most recent newsletter addresses this question:

What Are You Feeding the Field?
This Earth Day, we all can pause to assess what our emotions are contributing to our environment, how we are feeding the field environment. This goes beyond conserving and respecting Earth’s resources. Everyone must ask, “What am I feeding the field?”Personal experience tells us when we are angry, inhospitable and uncaring, we affect not only ourselves, but also those around us. Consider how one unkind, thoughtless or angry person affects a roomful of people; the feeling of discomfort and negative energy is noticeable. Conversely, have you ever felt the change a room’s atmosphere undergoes upon the entrance of a vibrant, cheerful or positive person?What if people around the world intentionally experienced sincere love, care, compassion and other positive emotions simultaneously and fed this positive energy into the global field environment?This question led to an experiment, and after nearly five years, more than 40,000 members of the resulting Global Coherence Initiative, with members in 87 countries, regularly feed positive energy and heart-focused care and intention into the planetary field environment.Collectively, we create a field that interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field and energetic systems. As people intentionally send coherent love and care to the world, a more powerful heart-filled environment is created. This helps to build a reservoir of positive energy that benefits the planet. This reservoir can then be utilized to help bring balance and stabilization to people, thereby making it easier to find solutions to problems like climate change, the destruction of the rain forests and other global issues.There is more to this phenomenon than the feeling you get. HeartMath researchers repeatedly have categorized real mental and physical changes study participants undergo when they experience positive and negative emotions. HeartMath and other research shows that focusing on core heart-felt emotions can enhance one’s connection with others, and that this connection extends far beyond the individual.The research article Coherence: Bridging Personal, Social, and Global Health concludes that being responsible for and increasing our personal coherence are not only reflected in improved personal health and happiness but also feed into and are reflected in a global field environment. ” Institute of Heart Math**************************************

As we breathe from a place informed by our heart our breath opens and becomes more fluid and easeful.  We then change the environment of this “global field”….thus making better decisions for the health of our planet, which is essentially intimately connected to our own health.  Remember on this 2012 Earth Day celebration………EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY!

www.ResonanceWithLife.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.NaturalWealthJournal.com
www.WildlyFreeWoman.com

Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview and Reviews can be found here:
http://resonancewithlife.com/daily-breath-book/

See new review by Richard Miller, Ph.D!!!

 
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Belly Love and Body Image

Filed under: Abundant Breath/Abundant Life, Breathing For Health, Mindfulness — Leave a comment
April 16, 2012

In a recent post by Melissa Geiger called Reclaiming The Wisdom of Your Belly   she talks about the power that is located in this part of your body.  Our modern culture has us not only being ashamed of our abdomens, but also doing everything we can do to hold it in so that we will supposedly “look better”, or fit the cultural standards that have evolved from who knows where.  This applies to males as well as females.

The fact of the matter is, if we hold our bellies in trying to achieve something that our natural body does not want to conform to then we can NEVER get a full embodied breath, nor expand that lower portion of our lungs.  With belly held tight the breath inhabits upper chest and shoulders resulting in perpetually tight neck, shoulders, upper back and jaw.  No wonder we continuously need massages to help relieve these chronically tight muscles!

To help us in our decision to have a renewed loving relationship with our bellies here are a few things to remember (from Melissa Geiger/link above):

The Power of Your Belly

*In other cultures around the world, the belly is honored as the center of our physical & spiritual power.

*The Japanese word for belly is hara, and they use this word as a description of a person’s character. A “person with belly” (hara no aru hito) refers to someone who is calm, centered, warm-hearted and wise. Developing your hara is synonymous with developing maturity & integrity.

*On a physiological level, your belly is home to your Enteric Nervous System (ENS), which is often called “our second brain.”

*Psychological stress has an immediate impact on your digestive system. Chronic stress often leads to chronic digestive issues.

*60-70% of your immune system is located in your digestive system.

*Our digestive health has a direct effect on our daily sense of well-being.

*Diets that are high in sugar, fat & processed foods make your belly an environment where pathogenic bacteria, viruses & cancer cells can thrive.

*Eating raw & living plant-based foods bring more oxygen into your belly. Oxygen helps to create an environment where healthy cells thrive and unhealthy cells get crowded out.

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Many of us hold stress and tension in the area of our bellies, and the extra weight which is often gained there as we age adds to our refusal to simply love and accept this part of our body.  Breathing Spaces has talked about relating with the breath as if it was your lover.  What if you treated your belly just as mindfully?

Place your hands there and feel the warmth of energy that flows in as you bring loving thoughts and feelings through your hands into your belly.  In stressful times take time to move from this part of your body, rest your nurturing hands there, allow the belly to softly expand outwards as you inhale releasing any held tension, use your favorite massage oil to increase circulation and promote lymphatic flow, or simply be mindfully present to this powerful center and breathe.

After all Buddha had a belly!

WEBSITE:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT: 

www.NaturalWealthJournal.com
www.WildlyFreeWoman.com

Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview and Reviews can be found here:
http://resonancewithlife.com/daily-breath-book/

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Soulful Breath

Filed under: Abundant Breath/Abundant Life, Breathing Globally — Leave a comment
April 1, 2012

There is an organization called Playing For Change that travels globally, as well as connects musicians all over the world, on behalf of healing and connecting all of us through music.   I haven’t yet found a video that they have done that I haven’t overwhelmingly enjoyed.  However the most recent one below has to be one of the most SOULFUL pieces I have heard in a very long time!

Listening to this I couldn’t keep still and I found the music moving me in body, heart, soul and breath!  It wasn’t about the words….it was about the feeling within the voice, the passion in the depths of the music, the interconnection between all of the group that created the deep soulful rendering of a very old song.

When I drop into what a “soulful breath” is I feel that it has these same qualities.  The feeling and quality within the breath.  You have an opportunity every time you breathe to put some “soul” in it so to speak.  Passion for your life, the relationships you are creating, and the way you treat your environment.

Does your breath reach way down into the depths of your lungs, belly, hips, and back?  Or does it show up as a shallow rendition of your life?  Is there passion as you breathe and move, or are you on automatic?  What if your breath was your lover.  Would you pay more attention to it then?

Take some time to listen to this Playing For Change song soulfully rendered by the Blind Man….and if you are not moved physically and deep down into your very soul…… then you better check your pulse! (and your breathing!)

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Spiral Of Breath

Filed under: Breathing With Nature, Expanded Breathing Spaces, Sacred Breath — Leave a comment
March 25, 2012

When we really pay attention to our breath a spaciousness arises that has a quality of art in movement.  Have you ever thought of your breath as an art piece? As a representation of a timeless geometric code?

The exquisite Thomas Rucker photo above captured my attention in a very breath and body oriented way.  It represented to me the Golden Ratio Spiral which is the mathematical expression of the life breath of a living universe.  Golden Ratio Spiral spins the breath up, around and through the spine as well as spiraling back and forth through right and left nostrils.  This is all a microcosm of the galaxy we spiral within.

The air we breathe, and all life forms as we know them emerge out of timeless geometric codes.  The very nature of our breath is a sacred representation of all life on Earth….and the entire Universe.  Can you imagine what it would be like to be a tiny particle traveling on the back of the breath?  The inner worlds you glimpse might take you shooting off in directions unknown and drop you down into the knowing of a moment nestled in the silence of a pause.

We are an integral interconnected part of the spiral of life.

Allow breath to emerge as an artistic expression of the universe

Wrapping you in carefully selected layers of receptive earth, air and stone.

Touch the layers of life around and within you.

Ride the spiral of breath……

WEBSITE:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.NaturalWealthJournal.com
www.WildlyFreeWoman.com

Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview and Reviews can be found here:
http://resonancewithlife.com/daily-breath-book/

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Heart Focused Breathing

Filed under: Breath Practices, Expanded Breathing Spaces, Physiology of the Breath — Leave a comment
February 9, 2012

At the recent Breathwork Summit put on by The Shift Network I was extremely privileged to hear many gifted and wise breath “experts” share their particular expertise and stories.  It was actually a delight!

Among those who spoke were Deborah Rozman and Rollin McCraty of HeartMath.  Since it is only days before Valentines Day I thought it appropriate to share some of their findings and practices here on BreathingSpaces.

The bottom line is that the heart rhythm is affected by our breath.  The heart then sends neural information to our brain on how to react based on how we are breathing.  The more shallow and faster the breath the more emotional response.  As we continue in the “fight or flight” or sympathetic nervous system response pattern the hearts more chaotic rhythm will send more input to the brain that then keeps our breathing stuck in the quick and shallow pattern.  As you can see this could be a vicious cycle!

If our heart rhythm is out of sync, as happens when our breathing rate is faster and more shallow when we are under stress of any kind, then we are out of what HeartMath calls “co-herence”.  This heart rhythm of co-herence is one that is natural and in balanced alignment with all systems of our body, mind and emotions.  It turns on the parasympathetic system – our natural restful state.

Here is a Heart Focused Breathing practice that you can use in times when stress hits and you feel your breath rhythm change:

1)  Focus your attention in the heart.  (you can place a hand there as well)

2)  Pretend the breath is going in and out of the heart.  Count to 5 with each inhale and 5 with each exhale. (A rhythm of co-herence)

3)  While you are doing this breath rhythm, focusing on breathing in and out of the heart, bring a positive feeling like gratitude, appreciation, and compassion -  or imagine a beautiful scene out in nature that makes you feel good.

In a short period of time you will come back into a heart rhythm of co-herence through focusing your breathing towards the heart. All systems will come back into alignment.  This only takes minutes and can be very effective.  (HeartMath also has a biofeedback device called EmWave that can actually show you when you come back into a smooth and life enhancing rhythm)

On this Valentine’s Day share a heart-focused breath with someone you love!

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.WildlyFreeWoman.com
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

WEBSITE:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Book: http://resonancewithlife.com/daily-breath-book/

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Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Available Now!

Filed under: Breath Practices, Breathing For Health, Breathing With Nature, Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath — Leave a comment
January 25, 2012

Happy Birth-Day to the long awaited book that has many of your favorite posts from BreathingSpaces within the pages!!  My heart is wide open as I deliver this book into your hands, hearts and souls.  My deepest wish is that this book will be of service to those who read it and that it will encourage pauses in life to simply be with the breath and the sacredness of this life we have been given.

Here is some advance praise as well as links where you can purchase one of three options – Downloadable with beautiful formatting and the ability to print out each week’s focus for a daily reminder; e-book for Kindle, iPad, etc; and soft cover spiral bound to place in your library as a treasured resource.  For a SNEAK PREVIEW go to: http://resonancewithlife.com/daily-breath-book/ or the Our Daily Breath tab on this blog.

A Road-Map to Living an Inspired Life!

Richard Cawte, Ph.D.

That says it all.

Life has become so hectic for so many of us, with so many things to do every day (and never enough time to do them!). In Give us this Day our Daily Breath, Gaye Abbott gives us a clear, easy-to-follow guide that helps us find places of calmness and deep ease from which the day can emerge in a fresh, vibrant way.

We tend to pay attention to peripheral things in our lives and yet so often the very thing that sustains us – the act of breathing – is something we barely pause to consider. What I love about this book is that it brings the act of breathing to the forefront, allowing the reader to explore his or her relationship with the world through the breath itself. It’s an inspired piece of writing, flowing from the heart.  

Giving us weekly practices is a stroke of genius, because it makes it easy for the reader to experiment and adopt new ways of breathing bit-by-bit. That’s why I love the book so much. It’s more than just a book. It’s a road-map to living an in-spired life, a step-by-step manual that invites us to align ourselves with the rhythms of the natural world – and then shows us how.  

Life throws up many challenges, but as Gaye says: “the breath is a tool to anchor you. Allow it to be the constant thread around which you weave your life.” Wonderful advice.

Truly a book to read, delight, rest and reflect in!

Richard Cawte, Ph.D., International Business & Author of the Natural Wealth Course, www.ResonanceWithLife.com

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Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath is a wise, graceful, kind and gently humorous guide to awakening more fully through weekly explorations of breath.
 
By relating the natural breathing rhythms to the cycle of the seasons, Gaye Abbott invites readers to reconnect with a sense of being at home on Earth and in our bodies. This fresh perspective combines with personal story and observation to offer valuable new insight into the healing and transformational power of breathing.
 

Lea Bayles, M.A., transformational coach, speaker and author, creator of the Replenish Your Soul series of guided meditations lea@leabayles.com,  www.leabayles.com

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Give Us this Day our Daily Breath is a wonderful book born from Gaye Abbott’s decades-long practice of yoga, meditation, awareness, mindfulness and joy, celebrating the breath each and every day like the gift and prayer that it is.   Inspirational, creative, healing and practical, Gaye offers insights, exercises and easy-to-follow practices that allow us to fully appreciate and embody this act of breathing and all it contains. Gaye writes, “When we come together with another life form, we share the breath in the air that surrounds us. We take of the same breath, so to speak. Down through the millennia this has continued. In fact, we are breathing and sharing the recycled air of the dinosaurs, the very first humans, the dolphins, and the trees…In many of the classes, workshops and retreats, I often have people sit back to back and feel their own breath first, then connect with the breath rhythm of the other without attempting to change theirs. Almost everyone noticed, in a short period of time, that the breath would synchronize and become one. 

Perhaps it was always one to begin with. Through this interconnected basic biological process we can feel each other, and with acute knowing understand what is within the other – even if we do not consciously acknowledge it. What if each one of us joined another – or others – in sharing a peaceful breath rhythm. Would the world change?” 

Yes it would, and with Gaye as our guide, it is bound to. And what a joyful and transformational journey it will be. Thank you Gaye for giving us this day our daily breath and reminding us of the incredible beauty, grace and power of this thing called breath that we too often take for granted!

Leza Lowitz, #1 bestselling Author of Yoga Heart: Lines on the Six Perfections www.lezalowitz.com

OFFERINGS: Downloadable (Instant PDF Download Below) with beautiful formatting and the ability to print out each week’s focus for a daily reminder OR through LuLu – e-book (EPub/iPad, Nook, Kindle etc); and soft cover spiral bound or regular soft bound to place in your library as a treasured resource!

PDF Instant Download – $9.97

E-book & Soft Cover Spiral Bound Versions

Also Available HERE

Ebook : – http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/daily-breath-ebook/18852025
Regular bound soft cover: – http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/our-daily-breath—paperback/18852066
Spiral/coil bound soft cover :-  http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/our-daily-breath—coil-bound/18852103

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Be A Breath of Life

Filed under: Abundant Breath/Abundant Life, Breathing Globally, Expanded Breathing Spaces — Leave a comment
January 16, 2012

Baha’i Prayer for Peace

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity.
Be fair in thy judgement, and guarded in thy speech.
Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger.
Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be a breath of life to the body of humankind,
a dew to the soil of the human heart,
and a fruit upon the tree of humility.

The shape of our life depends on how willing we are to create a masterpiece.  As my life unfolds itself I sometimes wonder what shape it will take next….forgetting that it is in my hands as I take a breath,  release it completely, and trust that I will be guided within the spaciousness that shows up with the next exhale.

Do you forget that the person standing next to you in the interminably long line is affected by the quality of your breath?  In fact the person sitting at the edge of the Ganges mourning the loss of a loved one is also affected by your breath, as is the whale that breaches out of the depths of the ocean.  The question is, will you be a catalyst for love and peace….or yet another addition to the anxiety and fear that strangles and contracts the life that we all have been given?

The choice is to be a breath of life, even amidst our own fears and longings.  Your life and those dear to you, as well as the entire planet, need your breath of life.  Since we all share the air would it not be a good practice to relax into the next exhale with all of the love you can possibly embody in one brief moment of time?  There is the peace….

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BOOK LAUNCH on 2/26/12!  Watch for the availability of Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath this month.  Available in download, spiral bound, and e-book forms on this blog site as well as ResonanceWithLife!  See a sample on the Our Daily Breath tab above.

WEBSITE:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT: 

www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

www.WildlyFreeWoman.com

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