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Breathe. Be Here. Be Present.

I think a lot. A lot.

I realize that most of my thinking hinders my ability to simply experience the beauty of the present moment. The sounds. The smells. The colors. The joy of being part of the eternal now.

My thoughts give rise to my emotions, which gives rise to more thoughts, and circles endlessly.
When I interrupt my thinking mind I feel peaceful. I don’t project myself into the future or wallow in my past or my fears.
Letting the thoughts just play like a song on a radio allows me to be the observer of the thoughts without identifying or giving them more energy to persist.

When I let my thoughts carry me away like the mighty waves of an ocean, I lose myself in my mind. I drown. I start to believe my limiting thoughts are my reality. I play and replay scenarios in my head. I remember the past. I rehearse for the future. I replay all my fears. I analyze. Overthink. I beat an idea down over and over until I am overwhelmed and uneasy.

Then I remember  I have a choice. I can either live in my head or live in the moment. Do I live in the mental stories or do I actually live? The stories make me feel good or make me feel bad, or something in between. The stories do not provide lasting peace as they are always changing, analyzing, criticizing, judging.

Regret. Fear. Anxiety. Love. Nostalgia. Guilt. Shame. Sadness. Pride. Creativity. My myriad of emotions. It’s all tossed in my head like a salad.

Then I chose to take a seat. I just sit there and watch the thoughts. I watch them until they are done rising and sinking. I let them ride but I don’t join. I actively interrupt the thoughts by commanding myself to “Be here. Be present.” I take deep breaths and focus on the feeling of the air filling my lungs and then releasing.

In…
Out…
In…
Out…
Be here.
Be present.
In…
Out…
In…
Out…
Be here.
Be present.

My mind becomes quiet. I am brought back to the present moment where everything is ok. The colors penetrate my eyes. The smells dance in my nostrils. The sounds tickle my ears. The air makes sweet love to my lungs. I am well. I am here. I am not identified with the stories in my head. I am not my memories. I am not projecting myself into the future. I am not trying to control. I am not trying to do more, be more, have more to prove some point to myself or the world. I just am. I just am this living being who is settled in peace, inner stillness and soothing joy.

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Just For Fun

“When you finally have a last look at your life you don’t want to then realize you’ve done everything while forgetting to have fun.” – Laura Gonzaga 

Go out into the world and do what lights you up. Go ahead and do the things that bring you joy. Do them not because you want some kind of reward or recognition, do it simply for the pleasure the activity brings you. Rewards and recognition may or may not come, and this shouldn’t be the reason to stop you from just doing what you enjoy.

I really love to draw, but I have no real artistic talent. I can’t draw a beautifully realistic picture, and even my stick figures come out funny. I can imagine deeply creative work in my head, I just don’t have the skills to translate my vision using my hands on pen and paper. But I draw my “crappy” art work anyway! I do it just because it’s fun. I do it just because I enjoy it.

What is it that you like to do but have been putting off because you’re too afraid you’re not skilled enough?

Go do it!
Sing if you love to!
Dance if you love to!
Draw if you love to!
Bake if you love to!
Make crafts if you love to!
Write if you love to!

Don’t worry about whether you’re great at it or who is better than you, do what you like to do simply because it lights you up! Everything else will follow from there :)!

Here’s my art below!  🙂 It’s called “Never too late.” Because indeed, it’s never too late to just do something you love because you love it and just for fun.

image

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Something Nothing

Why is there something rather than nothing?

There isn’t something rather than nothing – there is both something and nothing eternally existing.

Nothing exists. Something exists.

It isn’t one instead of the other. It is both.

 

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Scaredy Cat

image

It’s normal to feel afraid of the unfamiliar.

I compare it to my cat’s (Lila) perception of the world. A small sound I make with a spoon may startle her because she doesn’t understand that it’s just a spoon and nothing else. This is the same with us humans. Something simple may startle us because we just don’t know any better.

Breathing techniques are a great way to calm the heart when you’re afraid.

So don’t forget to breath.

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Contemplation

“This, too, shall pass.” – Source Unknown 

I remember sitting on this spot earlier this year under the blazing heat of the summer. I pondered my choices and felt utterly lost, without a clue as to where life was headed or what I wanted.  image

Today, as I sit here and contemplate life, I feel more certain – though the wind of uncertainty still caresses my skin every then and again. I realize that it’s ok to be uncertain, even though it’s a horrible feeling to me. Everything passes. All is fleeting.

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Ups, Downs, and in Betweens

There are moments in time where I feel so bored and so blah about life and where I am headed. I start thinking about all the things that went wrong and how I should have taken action earlier. I ruminate.

Yesterday I heard a powerful message by Shirly Joy Weiss, where she reminds us of how normal this act of having negative thoughts is. She goes on to say that it would be a joke to think that we, as humans, wouldn’t experience negative thoughts and emotions. She reinforces that it would be a joke to think that even spiritual teachers themselves don’t go through difficult moments and have negative thoughts and emotions. She recalls to us that this is a fact of life and it’s one of the most normal of experiences. Hearing her reaffirm these statements just made me feel so much better about being human. It’s ok to be bored sometimes. It’s ok to have negative thoughts. All these things come and go. Even the positive thoughts come and go. Our thoughts don’t define us – not the positive, not the negative. We will experience highs, lows, neutrals, in betweens and all else in the spectrum. This is what it means to be alive. To experience. To learn. To be.

We just have to flow with it and remind ourselves that we are so much more than our thoughts and we have to continue to persevere. Let’s persevere together! We can overcome our obstacles and not feel bad because sometimes we fall a little short. We’re human! It’s part of the program!

We got this. Let’s keep on moving! Keep on dancing to the beat of our beautifully unique soul!

WE ROCK!

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Go For It!

Without action all we really have is potential.
It’s great to imagine and plan things in life, but it’s even better when you actually put your thoughts and goals into action. Without actions your dreams will remain dreams. It’s so much easier to imagine the ideal job, make wishes upon stars, day dream, fantasize, and wonder how things could be. It’s much harder to actually DO something about it. So we remain stuck in limbo. Boo! That’s no fun place to be.

It is only when we actually start taking steps towards our goals that we begin to see our dreams materialize.  Everything starts with an idea, but it will end with an idea if we don’t do anything about it because ideas without actions are powerless. We have to actually GO FOR IT! LITERALLY, start doing what you want to see change in your life.

You want to lose weight? Stop wishing it, and start to work out. Start small, grow as you go.
You want to change jobs? Work on your resume and send it out to new employers.
Want to create your own business? Research online resources on how to make that happen and get in touch with people who have successfully done so already and who can help you along your journey.
Want to learn a new language? Sign up for a class whether online or at a school.
Whatever it is – DO IT. NO EXCUSES!
Whatever excuse you come up with for not following your dreams, come up with a solution to replace it and GO FOR WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE HAPPEN IN YOUR LIFE. Put your noggin to good use and find solutions for your excuses and TAKE ACTION TODAY!

It is only through action that you are going to actually get anything done for yourself. No one else is going to come take over your body and do things for you – YOU GOTTA DO IT YOURSELF.

There is no point in sitting there wallowing in self-pity, feeling bad because things aren’t happening for you. Newsflash – things aren’t going to really happen for you if you’re just sitting there doing nothing about it. It’s great to dream, but dreams don’t just pop into reality outta nowhere – you actually have to DO something about it.

Today I purchased a planner and have decided to become a more powerful me. A me that is going to take action in life in order to see my goals manifest into reality. I am going to save myself through my actions!

Save yourself. GO FOR IT!

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Declarations For Letting Go

I am letting go.
I am releasing what does not serve me.
I release painful memories.
I let go of thoughts that hold me back.
I am free from all past hurt.
I release people from my past who hurt me.
I let go of blame.
I let go of guilt.
I am floating in freedom.
I am bathing in freedom.
I relinquish all my burdens.
I am as light as a feather.
I am healed.
I am swimming in bright blue clear waters.
I am rising with joy in my heart.
I am bursting with bright and loving energy.
I am new.
I forgive myself completely.
I am totally forgiven.
I let go of blaming others and forgive them for my sake.
I am as fresh and pure as the day I was born.
I am living from a new paradigm.
I am living from a new world.
I am living from new set of eyes.
The past no longer has power over me.
I am in complete control of my emotions.
I choose peace.
I choose freedom.
I am whole and in peace.
I am completely free.
I am flying above all my circumstances.
I am abundant and well.
I am new in every moment.
I am alive and I breath in fresh rejuvenating air.
My lungs are filled with the refreshing oxygen and as I breathe out all that does not serve me is released.
I let go.
I let go.
I am free.
I am free.

You are free.
You are free.
From this moment forward, you are free.

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The Extraordinary Ordinary

“If you’re always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one you’re in?” – Unknown

Much of our life is made up of ordinary moments. Eating, brushing our teeth, walking, cleaning, sleeping, bathing, running errands, taking out the trash, doing laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, driving the kids to school, doing homework, and on and on and on.
The bigger, less ordinary, moments in life like getting married, reaching the top of your career, graduating college, moving across country, buying your dream home, among other grand achievements, happen with less frequency. When we live our entire life neglecting ordinary moments because our mind is too busy chasing after peak moments, we fail to enjoy the entirety of our life experience. Like a hamster running on a wheel, we fervently chase, chase, chase the next moment because right now, just as we are, is not quite enough.

All too often I catch myself feeling frustrated because right now my apartment is too small. Right now, I have debt to still take care of. Right now, I am not at the top of my career. Right now, I am not exactly where I wish I were. So what do I do? I spend time neglecting my ordinary moments chasing after the next moment. I beat myself up and don’t feel good in the here and now. This state of mind blocks me from seeing the beauty in the ordinary. It inhibits me from realizing that although I am not yet experiencing the bigger, more defining moments of my life, it does not mean that my life isn’t already big and momentous in and of itself in the present.

Each day, I realize more clearly how important it is to my wellbeing to simply enjoy the journey without getting worked up about the destination. Life is not about chasing moments, though it’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of chasing. It is easy to get stuck in not feeling enough because right now you are just not there yet. The funny thing is, there is no there – there is only, always, here and now. It is always in the now moment that we will experience anything, ever. To live a happy and satisfied life, we must carry happiness and satisfaction with us in both the everyday standard moments as well as the bigger more rewarding moments. If we place our happiness on any future desire then most of our days will be gloomy because we will always have more average days than peak days. We will always be waiting for happiness to happen in some future time while our present suffers. It is in the here and now that we have to find our joy. It is in the ordinary that we have to see the extraordinary. It is in taking out the trash, washing the dishes, walking the dog, driving the kids to school, brushing our teeth, washing our hands, doing the laundry, walking to work, and all the other little things that we have to participate in with joy. The joy we experience in the extraordinary is the same joy we can carry with us when experience the ordinary. Life will be joyous not just because of the great things you will achieve, but it will be joyous because YOU in and of yourself are great and joyous. Feel it! 🙂

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