“You are a miracle machine. When you get out of your thinking mind and just feel from your heart center the anxiety fades away. Anxiety comes from believing you have done wrong. Because deep down you have blocked the miracle. When you love and see and feel with your heart, anxiety does not exist. Anxiety is a human, ego condition. When you feel it, drop into your heart and believe in miracles. Come up to your natural state; your higher, true state. No one can hurt you. Only you can hurt you. You are the powerful one. Make it so.“
Do you actually know how powerful you are? How much light is within you? How beautifully perfect you are? How your soul is the perfect creation of this much grander piece of art that we are all connected to?
When we understand what is truly important, we have a means of accessing this at any time. Especially during the moments we need it most.
Any emotion other than Love is fear. Fear of loss, shame, embarrassment… even anger, jealousy, anxiety… these are all emotions that lead to the ROOT of what it means to be human – the need to be loved and accepted.
What tends to keep us in this state of fear is like a dense, murky fog that hasn’t been lifted yet. If we can realize we already ARE the love and acceptance we are searching for and in need of the fog suddenly fades. You can see the light that was always there, hidden from your view.
Trust where you are. It is showing you something… Feel all the feels, follow through on your emotion, then look to see the hidden gift. Was it to strengthen your faith? Was it to strengthen your knowledge? Was it to reaffirm your own light? Time and time again, there is a gift in every situation but only you can find it.
So, after you read this post take a moment and close your eyes, and when you do feel into your heart. What do you notice? What is it whispering to you? Listen to your heart and don’t forget your light.
As I was sitting down to write I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. As I took another sweet breath of fresh air the thoughts suddenly faded and suddenly I could hear silence.
I heard the tick tock of two different clocks, the distant base of a passing car, the birds happily chirping, and the sound of my own inhale and exhale. Then suddenly more new sounds started to introduce themselves! A skwak of a crow, new cars passing by, a buzz from my phone. And in this new moment I am reminded of a great truth I learned earlier on – every moment is a new moment.
A strikingly simple way to be fully alive and present in the moment is to be still and discover what’s new in this very moment. You’ll suddenly realize you can’t stop! Everything is new all the time. You’ll notice the presence in a completely different way and suddenly you are the observer.
The more you practice this the more you will also realize how many “new” and some times not so new thoughts pass through your mind all the time. But you’ll be so busy noticing what’s new in the moment there won’t be time to indulge. This is the practice.
So give it a shot. Try to experience the present by making everything new again. You’ll begin to feel an expansion in your heart and feel alive in a whole new way… at the aliveness of it all; the pulsation of life.
I am beyond excited about a couple of things. For one, it’s DECEMBER. To be honest, I didn’t really feel like it was the holidays just yet. But something hit me yesterday… maybe it was all the neighborhood decorations, the overall mood of this city, or sitting at Starbucks reading Peter Levine’s Trauma and Memory while Christmas music was playing in the background. Either way, I am FEELING IT and excited to give this last month of 2017 100%.
Second of all, it’s Friday Focus and today – I wanted to talk about something that I have been feeling passionate about ALL WEEK. Clearly I have a lot of passion in general these days given the number of CAPS I’ve been using so far in this post 😉
Ok, so for this week’s Friday Focus I wanted to talk about PATTERNS.
Yes, I write about patterns – a lot. But what I want to drive home today, especially since a lot of people will be reflecting on this past year and working on New Year resolutions, is the idea around pattern recognition and why change ensues (or doesn’t).
Can we for one moment have a come to Jesus moment about our patterns? It’s one thing to say, “Oh yea, I kind of do that don’t I?” and grin at your friend, it’s a complete other thing when you actually recognize the pattern and the EFFECT it has on your life and most importantly the outcome.
Which outcome, or area in your life are you unsatisfied with? You see it every single year and yet, no change. Why? No really, WHY?
Scrutinize your patterns. There is an underlying emotion that is prohibiting you from stepping forward and making progress. Did you know that?
Often times, we say we want to make change in our lives and yet, we know deep, deep down we won’t do anything about it. And to be honest, that’s ok.
You see, we have to be completely READY for change to actually happen. No matter how hard you consciously try, if your subconscious doesn’t believe you, then unfortunately change won’t happen.
I actually LOVE telling people this because it’s the wakeup call that everyone needs to hear to A) either come to peace with the complacency and stop the mental shaming or B) grit their teeth and believe it to their bones that they are actually ready for CHANGE.
Isn’t that empowering? I mean, either way…. Now the power is truly in your hands!
Ok, this was sort of a love rant because I truly do care. I mean hey, we’ve all been there where we wanted to see change in one area of our life but couldn’t figure out why. This is one big hint as to why that might be the case!
When you have a moment to reflect, jot down the patterns. See where you are held up, where things aren’t flowing, and try to understand yourself a little more. It’s the one small step toward change you can make today before understanding the type of change agent you need to seek 💗
I’ve always strived when surrounded by some of the best. Learning by example, enthusiasm, failed experiments and cautionary tales has been some of the best ways I’ve gleaned insight into other people’s lives, and therefore helped provide flavor and color to my own life experience.
These days, while I still follow distant teachers, some of whom I know and many of those whom I don’t, I have been in immense gratitude to be surrounded by teachers in the world of yoga. From mudras, mantras, asana breakdowns, and yogic philosophy, it’s been such a gratifying experience to 1) see how complementary and interwoven yogic philosophy, other spiritual teachings I’ve studied, and even science based NLP work all actually are! and 2) to be surrounded by like minded people who are in a space of “student always” and in support of one other’s journey.
So this leads me to ask another round of Powerful Questions:
Who are some of your current teachers?
In what ways do these teachers stimulate and motivate you?
Physically
Emotionally
Spiritually
What teaching styles do they all have in common? Do you recognize a pattern that best works for you?
If you currently don’t have a specific teacher or teaching of study, what is one small step you can take to find one?
What types of classes or workshops are coming to your city in the next 3-6 months?
What other ways can you learn aside from student/teacher relationship?
Oftentimes we can learn a lot about ourselves as well as strengthen our own learned teachings by volunteering, coaching, or stepping into the teacher role itself (but that is for another post!)
What other resources can act as growth for you? Whether it’s seeking out community, a coach, or accountability program with your close friends?
Clearly there is a lot to digest here but the point of this exercise is to get you reflecting on what it means to be surrounded by thoughtful teachers who care for your own best interest, as well as think outside the box when it comes to growth and expansion.
After all, we can’t always do it on our own and hearing someone else’s perspective, unique insights, and experiences can be the one thing that produces a light bulb moment for you. Whether it’s the tone, the wording, the way in which the story was told… these are all ways in which another layer of your own understanding of life can unfold and provide a richer context for your to immerse yourself in.
If you live in the Seattle area and are curious about who my yoga teacher is you can visit Greta Hill at Bala Yoga. I highly recommend taking one of her classes. Her warmth, grace, and humble attitude is what drew me into her teaching style. In addition, her very own teacher Sianna Sherman, will be spending a weekend with us (and it’s open to the public! 12/16/17 – 12/17/17).
Here’s to the never ending journey of growth and expansion, and finding teachers that uplift and support you on your journey.
Ok, not really but there is a little burning involved, or if you don’t have access to a safe place to burn a piece of paper, there is a little ripping involved.
But hold your horses, before you get any wild, crazy ideas let me explain.
I’ve always been a proponent of journaling. Writing out your thoughts and/or feelings is one of the best ways to provide your analytical mind an outlet. Instead of “it” swirling around in your head you can write everything down in your journal and (this is the most important part) SEE what you were thinking. You see, there’s something magical about visually seeing your thoughts; because once you actually see it on paper you realize what’s driving you crazy is the actual overwhelm of rumination, not so much the thought itself.
Upon listening to a podcast recently I came across Dr. David Hanscome. He very much seems like a kindred soul.
He goes a bit further than just journaling and encourages people to either burn the pages or rip them up. The point here is to, again, visually see your thoughts disappear and recognize your thoughts are just thoughts! We feel they are real because of the chemical reaction we get once the thought is produced.
I write a lot about habituated patterns and the brain’s ability to groove familiar pathways. The more you think a thought, the more it creates an emotion, and the more you become the thought. It can be a vicious cycle but that’s not to say mindfulness, compassion, and working to activate techniques such as journaling and burning can’t turn things around so that you can gain perspective!
Even in the more spiritual realm there are rituals where around the New Moon or Full Moon people will write out what to let go of, as well as intentions, and burn the paper while offering the ashes up to the moon. Burning is not a totally new concept but that is beside the point – it can have dramatic effects for disengaging rumination and offering perspective.
Try it out! If you’re not already in the habit of journaling before bed or when you rise, try writing out 5 thoughts and burning/ripping the page. As you visually watch the page become ash or tiny pieces quietly repeat to yourself, “there goes the thought(s)”.
While earlier this week the 15 day forecast showed nothing but overcast skies and rain, the weather today unexpectedly turned out to be BEAUTIFUL today! I found myself appreciating the radiant hues of the sky as I watched the earth turn from dark to light this morning… I also love how my plans today have completely changed from working out indoors to making plans to walk Green Lake in order to take advantage of this small blessing. After all, it’s the little things right?
So for this week’s Friday Focus I decided to write about faith. I’ve gotten a few questions this week that relate to assurance about the future, how to deal with stress in the present, or even not knowing what to do and feeling a bit frustrated.
While the specific answer will vary from person to person I thought I’d post a set of powerful questions that come down to faith. (Bonus: related reading to previous posts on control such as this one.)
Taking the time to truly reflect on your responses below will allow you to have a better idea of what faith looks like to you. Especially during the times when we feel the need to control the situation. Ready?
Powerful Questions on Faith
What does it mean to have faith?
How does faith feel like when you are certain of it in your life?
How is it reflected in your voice when you know you have faith?
What does your body feel when you are in complete faith?
How do your actions change based on faith?
When you know you have faith, do you feel a shift in your overall mindset? How does the world look now?
If you’ve ever questioned whether or not you truly have faith in certain situations answering these questions will allow you to have a deeper sense of your truth. You may realize logically in your brain you know you need faith, but also quickly realize your body and actions don’t reflect the full ownership of this faith.
Take the time to truly listen. Once you’ve identified what faith looks like to you (because it looks and feels different for everyone) you can work to embody these details for a more faith-ful life.
Here’s to cultivating faith, especially in times when we need it most.
