Mindful Living Archives - Page 3 of 4

How Many Times?

Have you ever counted your thoughts? Or noticed just how many times a specific thought automatically pops into your mind?

The funny part is that we do everything we can do solve “the thought” or analyze “the thought” in order to make it unimportant, not realizing there’s an equally if not more important thought that takes over. Oh the irony!

The point here is two fold:

Meditation – the more you meditate the more easy it becomes to become aware of exactly how your mind operates. It’s like Joseph Goldstein once said, “If you want to understand your mind, sit down and observe it”. So simple, yet so true. Typically people misunderstand meditation as a practice to ignore or stop thoughts. However, the deeper, true practice is to sit back and be in awareness of the thought; to notice it, to say, “I see you”. When “seeing” the thought you’re recognizing it for what it is, a thought! The more you practice the more you’ll begin to observe in what patterns and reactive ways your mind tends to lean toward; and you’ll begin to notice just how habituated your thinking and so called “problem solving” skills truly are. It’s quite fascinating.
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There’s nothing but the present – we’ve heard this one before, but it’s true and it’s important. If we already know a thought will be taken over by another thought, aside from meditation, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to enjoy THIS present moment. I liken this to a bumpy car ride. You know the ride is going to be bumpy and you’re already on it; are you going to torture yourself by thinking how horrible it is and ask yourself, “will I survive this?”, OR are you going to stare out the window and see just how magical the world is, as well as get to know the people next to you on a more intimate level? If we don’t choose the latter we miss the beauty, magic, and love that is right in front of us when we become wrapped up in our heads thinking the thought is the most important thing!

Did I mention homework?

It’s this – begin to notice your thoughts.

You’ll be quite surprised at just how little a variety of thoughts you actually think in a day, and you will notice it’s about the same 3-5 things your mind wants to mull over again, and again, and did I mention, again?

Here’s to more clarity, simplicity, and peace of our minds.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

What Is It You Desire?

So often we focus on what is going wrong in our lives or our day… but how often do we spend time thinking of what we already have or would rather have?

I see way too many people focus on what is lacking, versus the abundance that already is, or the possibility of what is to come!

Take a moment to answer this question and don’t skip ahead 😉

What are the 3 words that pop into your mind with this word: Job

Pause a moment

Pause….

Ok, do you have your 3 words? How easy was it to come up with the words? What were the FIRST words that popped into your head before you started analyzing for the perfect 3 words?

You see, there are categories of words that reflect your own resonance with the word “Job”. For example:

Words that are similar to: Sucks, 9-5, Ok, Annoying, Not Fulfilling, etc. tend to reflect all the things that are going wrong.
Words that are similar to: Love, Thankful, Creative, Friends, Mentors, etc. reflect all the things that are enabling you to feel gratitude and the things that are going well.

This exercise is a great way to see in which areas of your life you focus on the lack rather than the abundance/desire.

You can apply this exercise to any word and you might be surprised to see what words pop into your head. And of course, try not to analyze or change the words right away. The point here is to allow yourself to be honest with what comes up so you can pinpoint what’s truly going on.

Do you see how changing your focus can make you see and feel things differently? How one word can change your enter feeling state toward something much more positive and healthy?

Give it a shot today, focus on what’s working or what you’re sure is coming into your life and see just how different the world looks.

In Abundance,

Susan

Photo by Jazmin Quaynor on Unsplash

Why Everyone Will Have A Coach In The Future

Yesterday, I wrote on how exercising the mind is just as important as exercising the body, and today, I wanted to share why I believe everyone will have a coach of some kind in the future.

To be honest, informally we already have them! Whether you know it or not, you receive some form of therapeutic benefit from your local yoga instructor, your boss, a dear friend, or heck, someone you may randomly meet at a dog park. In certain ways over a period of our lives, we’ll run into people that help relieve some part of our psyche, whether it was through their words, the safe space they provided, or their presence alone.

For example, have you ever left a Soul Cycle or a Yoga class in a completely zen state? Perhaps there was something about the instructor’s words that spoke to your heart and reached into a part of your brain that sensed relief, peace even. Or how about standing in line at the DMV and somehow you meet someone who was able to give you a hit of inspiration.

You see with the way technology is integrating every aspect of our inner and outer lives, and therefore making it hard to “turn off” and “slow down”, it’s no wonder more and more people are searching for ways to feel a sense of ease!

The rise of meditation, spirituality, psychedelic use, and personal development are on the rise and it’s not hard to guess why. We need relief. And it’s a good thing we’re recognizing it!

Our world is a lot more complicated than it used to be. Prior to the kind of technology that crept into our personal lives we were left to perceive the world through the tangible interactions and experiences we had; and now with the introduction of social media and text (to name a few) we are left for a lot more room for perception and interpretation in ways that are driving our minds crazy.

So where does that leave us? For one, it’s important to invest in your own personal practice of inner stillness. Working on meditation, being out in nature, journaling, taking hot baths, whatever it is that works for YOU, finding a personal practice that will build your inner stillness will be more important than ever.

And just like how there are coaches and trainers for just about anything, looking to a coach, therapist, whomever it is that you need, will be a growing trend. No longer will there be a stigma around having a personal relationship with a coach or therapist just as there is no stigma around having a personal trainer or chef! As we continue to appreciate and understand the importance of our minds (as we currently do our bodies) we will come to realize having someone to guide your mental life is just as important of an investment to yourself.

So, in what ways can you see having a third party perspective be helpful for you? In what ways, whether you realize it or not, do you find mental relief currently? What are the easiest ways of releasing stress for you and can you incorporate this into your life daily?

With that said, here’s to more stillness and building our own personal power so that we can dance with this beautiful life with more ease and grace.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Anna Demianenko on Unsplash

Why Exercising Your Brain Is A Must

Have you noticed the latest and hottest trend for the past few years has been how we can take care of our bodies? From the trendiest diet, lifestyle hacks, to exotic supplements that are guaranteed to have you performing like you’re 25 years old again, there’s an expert in every field promising a solution for any ailment you’ve ever experienced.

We’ve heard over and over again how important it is to exercise our body. To start lifting weights in order to prevent osteoperosis as we age, or to take tumeric so that we can decrease inflammation in the body, the list is endless!

But how about our minds? Our minds are the driving force behind how we function and why we’d want to function at all. It’s the one thing we rely on and most often, we rely on it without questioning – it’s on autopilot.

If we really understood the implications of autopilot, we’d want to recognize the importance of exercising our brain, our mind.

For reasons that are far better explained on the internet, we’ve survived millions of years due to one thing – looking out for danger. And unfortunately, while our basic needs are met, our brains have become so adapted to protecting us it’s the first thing that enters our mind. And in so doing we’ve allowed other, not so positive ways, to also enter our mind – comparing, judging, labeling, etc.

Our brains are wired to think and analyze because it wants to protect us. However, we live in different times! It’s time to recognize our thoughts as thoughts and most all of the time our brains have been habituated into thinking the same thoughts every day, all day – autopilot at work in its finest form.

If you’ve meditated for a while you know exactly what this means. You’re able to notice “Thought A” at it’s 50th time and not follow the story down another rabbit hole. You’re able to notice “Thought D” and see its very beginning stages of cycling up to “Thought A” status.

Which is why we must exercise our brains. Meditation is the most powerful tool out there. Coaching is another powerful tool in order to physically hear yourself talk and have that gentle reminder and support, verbally talking to yourself as if you’re a best friend is another powerful way in which you can get out of your head, automatic writing and burning the paper is another physical and visual way of getting it “out of your system”.

Little emphasis is spent on actually doing the work. Our minds cannot be controlled by a pill or a one-stop shop magical experience on psychedelics, and while this might help, our minds, just like our bodies, NEED TO DO THE WORK. It needs the daily exercise so that it doesn’t go off forming neural pathways in your brain that doesn’t serve your highest good.

So, what tools and techniques work best for you? What thoughts have run through your mind already this morning? Can you notice repetitive thoughts? And how do these repetitive thoughts make you feel? Do you see the causal effects?

We already know our brains, our minds, are powerful. In recognizing this we should treat our brains just as well as our bodies.

And don’t forget, this is a life long practice. Let’s do the exercise together in loving compassion for ourselves and others.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Avrielle Suleiman on Unsplash

You Hold The Key To Every Situation

“As a being of power, intelligence, and love, you hold the key to every situation, and contain within yourself that transforming and regenerative agency by which you may make yourself what you will.”

~James Allen

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

There Is Only Love

Love.

I was having a heartfelt conversation yesterday and we were saying how the pain and joy in life all stems from one thing – people and our capacity to love.

Some of the hardest parts of our lives stems from our interactions with one another, strangers even! And yet, some of the greatest joys in our lives come from the very same source. Ironic isn’t it?

When we feel pain, oftentimes at the root of our suffering is the perception of non-acceptance, feeling unloved or even judged.

I say perception because the deep truth of it is that we all stem from the same Source, the Universe, whatever you like to call it. We are ONE, and yet we see each other as separate.

You see, all we want is to be loved at our core.

And here’s the bottom line – no matter what seems to be happening on the outside, recognize you are already love. Instead of looking out and the effects, look inside and recognize the truth of who you already are.

No one can take that away from you.

No one can say or do anything to make you less than what you already are.

All that needs to happen is to lift the veil so that you may recognize your own truth. Your own self.

When things do get tough I like to share a thought process Matt Khan speaks of called, “Thank you for teaching me”.

You see, when we turn the focus around from analyzing a false thought pattern of “what’s wrong with me” to “thank you for teaching me”, it allows us to realize there is nothing wrong with you, but it is an error in our way of perception of the person or situation. Thus, “thank you for teaching me” allows us to truly give gratitude to the person or situation and allow us to learn and build our very own capacity to give love.

Beautiful isn’t it?

So here’s to truly understanding our very own essence and capacity to love.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

The Courage Of The Seed

This past weekend I, along with 31 beautiful souls, completed our 200 yoga teacher training. 10 weekends, 108 asanas, mudras, mantras, and an expansion of soul, body, and mind.

To think that we all met in this time and space “randomly” would be far from the truth.

I am in gratitude and humbled by everyone’s strength, courage, vulnerability, heart, and of course wise teachings from our Rasa tribe leader Greta Hill and a multitude of other teachers who graced us with their wisdom.

Yoga has been a practice and place where I have been able to return to for strength and vitality, and I am honored to have learned the art and soul of this practice at a more in-depth level.

And how beautiful it is to wrap up Winter and step into Spring?

We all planted a seed, a rooted intention to begin this 200 hour journey, and to watch this seed continue to blossom is this sweet, magical unfolding will be truly a mystical experience.

Mark Nepo said it best in this poem below:

All the buried seeds crack open in the dark, the instant they surrender to a process they can’t see.

What a powerful lesson is the beginning of spring.

All around us, everything small and buried surrenders to a process that none of the buried parts can see.

And this innate surrender allows everything edible and fragrant to break ground into a life we call spring.

In nature, we are quietly given countless models of how to give ourselves over to what appears dark and hopeless, but which is ultimately an awakening beyond all imagining.

As a seed buried in the earth cannot imagine itself as an orchid or hyacinth, neither can a heart packed with hurt imagine itself loved or at peace.

The courage of the seed is that once cracking, it cracks all the way.

~Mark Nepo

Whatever journey you yourself have been on this past Winter – trust the process, have faith in the unfolding, watch the magic.

Here’s to planted seeds and watching them bloom.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Kristopher Allison on Unsplash

Friday Focus – 2/9/18 {Hits Of Inspiration}

Did you know that inspiration comes to us all the time in a multitude of ways? Unfortunately, we’re too busy thinking to recognize the subtle hits of inspiration!

For example, how many times have you thought of an tantalizing idea while taking a shower, only to forget it once you’ve put on your clothes? Or, how about when you’re driving to your destination but just as soon as you turn off the ignition you’ve already forgotten what it was?

You see, we’re too busy thinking all the time. We allow ourselves to get caught up in the current of the few rotating movies we have in our minds eye; and when we’re too busy being involved with the movie, it’s no surprise we forget or even notice when creative solutions to our problems or future arise.

The key here is to notice.

Notice the subtleties. The small quiet voice. The thought before the thought. The flash of a picture or symbol in your mind’s eye before you move on to the same ol’ thought or problem.

The second key here is to write them down.

The more you write down the subtleties the more you understand how and when inspiration hits you. In addition, you’ll begin to differentiate between normal thinking and unconscious, creative thinking.

This is a routine practice for me and I’ve come to appreciate and find joy each and every time I notice these hits of inspiration. Oftentimes they provide insight or a pathway to a part of my life whether it’s a relationship, creative endeavor, travel, career, you name it!

I’m curious, how do you find your hits of inspiration? Do you notice a recurring theme or pattern in your day to day life as to where or how this inspiration finds you?

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash

The Power Of Choice – Choosing Your Outcome

Neural pathways. It makes me sigh with how powerful, wonderful, and amazing our brains truly are.

Did you know that most of our actions, emotions, and even reactions are all due to our neural pathways?

It’s why we feel a certain way most of the time. Whether it’s the moment you wake up, the route you take to work every day, how you converse with strangers, how you react in a fight, your natural food choices, etc.

It’s our brain’s way of making things easy for us.

You see, after we’ve settled on a core belief, our neural pathways do the rest of the work! Things become automatic because it’s efficient. It works.

However, what if you wanted a higher outcome? What if suddenly what has worked for you in the past doesn’t serve your higher good anymore?

This is where the power of choice comes in.

Oftentimes we think a certain situation presented itself in such a way the action was inevitable. But no, we have a CHOICE to go the other way; we have a CHOICE to stop and think about what it is we really want. How liberating is that?

It’s the understanding that most of our habitual thoughts and actions comes from a finely grooved neural pathway. It’s in knowing that now there is a choice to begin forming a NEW neural pathway.

The practice now is in the noticing. It’s in the moment right before reacting, the thought, the urge. It’s providing space for that moment to truly feel into what it is you want.

With mindful re-patterning there is a way toward higher choices. Over time you will find it easier to be habituated toward what was once “new” to you.

May we honor this time, the power of our thoughts, and be mindful of our own power to choose the very outcome we wish for.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash

Follow The Fire

Have you ever felt a calling within? A deep spark of inspirtation that left you feeling as if you were meant for that? A deep feeling of wonder as you contemplate whether or not you should follow that?

Whatever that is for you – follow it! Do your version of it. Maybe it’s wanting to take a few years off to explore teaching English in another country, or maybe it’s completely changing careers to a different industry, or maybe it’s experimenting with building your own business. Whatever it may be for you… follow the fire.

You see, oftentimes we’re afriad of the unknown. And we use this fear to keep us in our comfort.

But what if following the fire allowed you to recognize your own truth more deeply? What if following the fire actually showed you the “real” side of that and dropped the illusion of what you thought it might be? OR, what if following the fire allowed you to recognize a new skill and passion within your heart that leads you to a better, fuller life?

You see, we won’t know any of this until we follow the fire. We won’t know whether or not it was truly meant for us until we try.

Does it mean dropping everything to figure it out? No, it doesn’t have to be.

What it could mean is testing your idea out. It could mean interviewing people already in the industry; it could mean a work trade or unpaid internship to get a taste of that reality; it could mean taking a 3 month sabbatical to actually TEST and see if it’s really what you thought it would be.

Don’t get caught up in the fear and what if’s. Test. Play. Discover. Because until you do, you’ll never know what’s on the other side.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash