Loving a Narcissist
Jan 09, 2019 by Renee Linnell
You can still love the narcissist or addict, if you have to. You just have to love yourself more. Enough to know you deserve whole love. Real love. Balanced love. Love yourself enough to leave. So real love can find you. It’s scary at first, to be loved so much, to be loved so fully . . . especially when you are used to being with emotionally unavailable partners. But, life is so short. And you deserve it. We all do.
Introvert and HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) Blog
Dec 29, 2018 by Renee Linnell
When we were children we were told constantly that we were too sensitive. “Stop crying,” they said. “Toughen up,” they told us. “You are such a cry-baby,” the other kids yelled. “Cry-baby, cry-baby, cry-baby . . .”
What if our sensitivity is our gift? What if it is what we came here to do? What if it is a huge part of our Divine Purpose?
And suddenly the words come to me:
We don’t have to fit in. We just need to find what brings us joy and do more of that.
What if our sensitivity is our gift? What if it is what we came here to do? What if it is a huge part of our Divine Purpose?
And suddenly the words come to me:
We don’t have to fit in. We just need to find what brings us joy and do more of that.
Mar The Canvas
Dec 13, 2018 by Renee Linnell
I watched a famous painter in the Grand Canyon begin a new painting. He held a rich palate of colors, oil paint, and turned to face the white canvas. Then he placed the palate down and picked up a lump of charcoal. With his right hand he quickly dragged the charcoal over the canvas, assaulting it, and creating an erratic black line. He put the charcoal down and turned to look at those of us watching.
Body Blog
Nov 28, 2018 by Renee Linnell
I had an epiphany about my body. I was reading Madisyn Taylor’s Unmedicated, and got to page 87, which she opens with, “Our bodies work hard for us, taking the physical abuse of poor eating habits and toxins from various sources. They take emotional abuse when we tell ourselves we are not good enough or we don’t like what we see in the mirror.” Suddenly I began sobbing.
Depression
Nov 06, 2018 by Renee Linnell
I believe there is not enough dialogue out there about soul-sickness, especially among wealthy communities. We are taught to believe from a young age that once we have the perfect partner, house, car, children, and careers, we will be happy. And often times this is not the case; the happiness does not come. There is an insatiable need for more. Because there is no dialogue about this, most people think, I am the only one, something is wrong with me, or no one understands me. This leads to deep despair and usually a diagnosis of depression and medication.
My Writing Process Etc.
Oct 22, 2018 by Renee Linnell
Renee Linnell author of The Burn Zone sat down with She Writes to talk about her style, publishing and what advice she'd give to aspiring authors.
On Writing My Memoir The Burn Zone
Oct 10, 2018 by Renee Linnell
I would love for my readers to pull up to the surface, and feel safe in the exposing of, the parts of them that make them different. I would love for them to put my book down knowing their difference is their destiny and feeling ready to show and tell the world about their story, their fight of the human spirit, all that they have gone through, all that they have learned. I would love for them to discover the exhilarating freedom that comes with forgiving all of it, embracing their battle scars, and using those scars to go out in the world and fulfill their true Divine Purpose.
Courage
Sep 28, 2018 by Renee Linnell
I have a confession to make. I’m afraid. I’m really really very afraid. I have spent the last 5.5 years creating a beautiful, peaceful, calm, easy, comfortable life and now it’s all about to change.
Excuse Me For A Moment While I Thicken My Skin
Sep 19, 2018 by Renee Linnell
I used to be afraid to use the word “God.” It is so loaded. I used to have no problem saying “Fuck” out loud, but I would lower my voice and whisper when I said the word “God.” I have recently realized it is time to stop diluting what I say, worried about each person’s reaction to it. Instead I have to do the opposite: speak my truth clearly so that those that are offended by it move away and leave space for those for whom it can truly touch to come closer.
A White Woman's Response to The New Nike Campaign
Sep 08, 2018 by Renee Linnell
I have to post this; it’s been weighing heavily on my mind since Nike announced it's new campaign last week. And I’m slowly learning to speak my mind, and trusting that it’s okay if certain people don’t like me or no longer want to be friends with me because my opinions are so different than theirs.
TODAY Show Cancelled
Aug 29, 2018 by Renee Linnell
An hour ago I turned down the opportunity of a lifetime and chose peace instead. I chose having my own back. I chose trusting my own instincts. And I chose love.
TODAY Show
Aug 16, 2018 by Renee Linnell
Sometimes life hands you something so wonderful it takes a while to digest. I believe this would happen more often, much more often, if we would believe, and I mean truly believe, that we are worth it, believe that we deserve it, and then open up to receive and fully allow it in.
Bug Blog
Aug 13, 2018 by Renee Linnell
I was surfing this morning. Sitting way out from shore. And I noticed a tiny pincher bug clinging to my surfboard. A small wave lapped up at me and the bug moved to my thigh. I looked at him, so tiny and so far away from the beach, and I knew he was going to drown. I had a choice to make: put him on my bikini up near my neck and surf him to safety on the beach, or blatantly let him drown.
Love and Kindness
Jul 15, 2018 by Renee Linnell
45 laps around the sun today. I feel so blessed and amazed to have made it this far! What an incredible journey this Earth Walk has been. Filled with so many ups and downs, so many highs and lows, so many struggles and so many triumphs. And I never EVER could have made it this far and this long without the LOVE from all of you. The older I get the more I realize that love and kindness are truly all that matter, that love and kindness are the answers to all of my questions, and that love and kindness are my way to happily ever after.
Tequila and Espresso Martinis
Jul 02, 2018 by Renee Linnell
The Buddha said that moderation is the key; that we should choose the Middle Way. I tend to be too strict with myself; too regulating. Too worried about making the right choices and doing the right thing. Who would have guessed the key to unleashing the life force within me was not Ayurveda, but tequila and espresso martinis?
The Tango Lesson
Jun 06, 2018 by Renee Linnell
I have just returned from Argentina, after 11 years away from the Argentine tango scene. In honor of my trip I would like to share Chapter 34 of The Burn Zone with you; it is about tango . . .
. . . one day, a young Argentine couple from Chicago came to teach a workshop at the dance studio where I worked. They amazed me. He was so handsome, dressed in baggy, hip, multi-pocketed pants, with a chain hanging down the side, and big thick chunky silver rings covering his hands. She was gorgeous—tiny, with similar baggy pants, rolled up to her knees and sexy strappy little high heels. Her short hair was dyed a purple red, and she wore dark nail polish and red lipstick. And they danced the most beautiful tango I had ever seen: slow, sensual, rhythmic, yet with dynamic flashes of leg when you least expected it. He held her so close and with so much love.
. . . one day, a young Argentine couple from Chicago came to teach a workshop at the dance studio where I worked. They amazed me. He was so handsome, dressed in baggy, hip, multi-pocketed pants, with a chain hanging down the side, and big thick chunky silver rings covering his hands. She was gorgeous—tiny, with similar baggy pants, rolled up to her knees and sexy strappy little high heels. Her short hair was dyed a purple red, and she wore dark nail polish and red lipstick. And they danced the most beautiful tango I had ever seen: slow, sensual, rhythmic, yet with dynamic flashes of leg when you least expected it. He held her so close and with so much love.
Recently Planted
May 08, 2018 by Renee Linnell
I’m sitting outside at a café, drinking a latte and watching the people walk by. I’m supposed to be working on my manuscript, but instead I am in a daze, much preferring to look at the trees and the flowers and the ski mountain than my computer. In front of me is a little tree with a sign on it that says: RECENTLY PLANTED. Sorry, I can’t hold your bike!, and I think of myself. When I first moved here five years ago. Utterly broken. Utterly fragile. Barely able to hold myself up.
Coffee and Love
Apr 23, 2018 by Renee Linnell
But now I’m back and life is so fun again and I realize that my search for God shattered my world, and brought me full circle to the beginning, to the mind of a child, to seeing the world through the eyes of a child, and back to the paradigm that just being alive is amazing, just going through each day is amazing, just holding a warm cup of coffee is amazing. I had to be so broken to understand: It all comes back to this moment…and to love.
Finding Pele
Apr 10, 2018 by Renee Linnell
We must believe in Magic. We must believe in Divine Choreography. We must believe in reincarnation and souls that love each other finding each other over and over and over again, otherwise this whole “falling in love with beings that die” would all be just too cruel. And, we must believe in our Inner Knowing. I believe when we are very clear about what we want, when we send the prayer and then release the outcome, we are always answered. Anything can magically enter our lives at any time. We must simply believe.
Smarter, Wiser, Tougher
Mar 27, 2018 by Renee Linnell
A bird just flew into my window. I watched it happen and ran outside to see if he survived. He was sitting on the ground stunned. He didn’t look broken, just in shock. I kept checking on him. He stayed there a long time. His little heart beating visibly through his chest. His little eyes blinking.