A Left Brained, Anxiety Based Culture

DISCLAIMER: The following blog is purely an opinion as well as an accumulation of knowledge I have gained throughout my own journey and battle with anxiety and depression as well medication for it which I am no longer on.  I am in no way downplaying anyone’s condition, nor discrediting their feelings.  In fact, my goal is to validate them in ways that others can’t.  I am also not a doctor.  To me, you are important and you matter.  You have a purpose in this world and are a beautiful soul.  If you feel otherwise, perhaps this article will encourage you to seek out the inner wisdom you need to believe it too. I am available to talk if you feel you need help.  Please reach out.

Through the length of time that I have been teaching, there is a commonality that my students share they are trying to overcome… One word, Anxiety.  It’s something that has become so common that almost everyone has it.  Back in the early 2000’s when Tony Soprano had a panic attack, it seemed like a big deal for a character with such power and control to admit a weakness to his THERAPIST to try and get treatment for it.  That’s a pretty loaded sentence… Therapy being a stigma and viewed as a weakness as well as anxiety.  As silly as it sounds, to me, this is as powerful as when Ellen DeGeneres had her first same sex kiss on TV even before that.  Images and sitcom scripts causing conversations about things that were once so shameful are now a beautiful and very normal part of everyday life.  So much so that we probably forgot about those episodes already and the impact they once had.  With the way in which the world responds to media and guidance from societal norms, these types of outside the box topics paved the way to what’s now very common in society.  This can have positives as well as negatives.

With all of the research I have done on human behavior, cognitive behavior, the brain, spirituality, my own therapy sessions, the body and beyond over the last 15 years, I have decided to piece together as best I can, some of the information I have accumulated to help people gain a different perspective as to what it is that they are actually going through.  For me, a more scientific approach helps me to simplify what seems so complicated.  Anxiety may be one of those issues that seem like there is no end.  An issue that is given a band-aid to keep at bay with medication, creating other side effects and not always allowing you to reach the bottom of the issue to fix it completely.  Often times, it under exposes what’s truly happening so it never gets solved.  Wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly what is happening to you when you are feeling anxious?  So that if there is something within your control that you can do to help it, you have the power to do so?  Imagine if there was a class that we could have taken as an elective in school to learn about the brain and how to work with it rather than it working against us?  Well, I’m going to give you everything I have so you can potentially have your power back.  Here it goes…

So let’s start off with a very basic thought… Anxiety is worrying about the future.  Depression is being fixated on the past.  Either way, attaching to moments in time that don’t even exist.  The past is only a story you are now telling yourself in your head.  And based on your perception of how the story happened (perception being based on your internal emotions regarding the situations as well as life itself), it will determine how you feel about it.  Meaning, if you have a pretty dark perspective on life, then chances are you will project that darkness onto everyone and everything making it your dark reality.  Same goes for light.  If you come from a place within of love and light, then the same scenario will look very different.  People will look different, and so will the world.  You see, the way in which the world shows up for you is exactly just that.  It’s a perception of your reality.  So this is why two different people can recall the same situation in two very different ways.  Have you ever had an argument with someone about how something happened?   How about the Robert Evans quote “There are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each differently.”?  So if reality is really that tangible, then it’s quite possible that the story you are telling yourself about how something happened could be altered by your feelings about it as well as your strong feelings about life itself.

Which brings me to anxiety.  So we spend time worrying about things that haven’t even happened yet.  Trying to control aspects that affect the outcomes that we are so attached to.  Think about it, if you were less attached to the end result of how things were going to turn out, and instead enjoyed every moment leading up to it as much as possible, how much easier would life be?  Less focus on the outcome of it all, and more living in the experience of it, then the outcome is just a part of that. It may not be exactly what you wanted, but it also may be better.  How many times have you had a “blessing in disguise”, but worried about it the entire time and it actually worked out even better than you imagined? If you spent less time being fixated on what he or she said, what they did and how wrong it was, and instead accepted them just for who they are, chances are if someone wasn’t a positive influence in your life, your positivity would cause them to drift away.  That’s where vibing high comes into play.  Frequencies love being around matching frequencies.  It’s called being in harmony.  Haven’t you been in a situation where someone so depressed or so anxious or so negative moves into your energetic field and all of a sudden you feel like you need to leave the room?  Have you ever felt someone’s anxiety spilling off them so much that you feel like it’s your own?  Are you going to naturally want to spend more time with that person?  Or do what it takes to move away from them?  Even if it’s going into the bathroom to cry about it a little, what you are doing there is literally releasing the energy that you picked up from them by secreting out of the eyes.  Because energy doesn’t die, it just gets transferred and needs to be released somehow, so you did it for them, and you.

So now that we have found some common ground here on energy and how it works, as well as how your own inner feelings navigate your actions and create your reality, let’s take a moment to understand why this information that I have found is not taught in our school systems and then get into the science of the brain!
There have been changes in the education system over the years.  But to understand why the lack of this type of information existed for most of us, we would have to go back a generation or two to our parent’s or grandparent’s time when the curriculum was structured.  During the industrial revolution, the school system started figuring out ways in which to crank out individuals that were shaped to endure the hardworking 9-5 workday that would help produce the things that this country needed in order to survive.  Survival mode being the key.  Things like navigating your feelings, knowing your individual core values and Spirituality became secondary at best.  Learning to survive took precedence over everything.  We needed people to fight in wars, we needed materials in order to do so, we lacked in resources and so the education system was formulated to figure out how to produce the most out of nothing.  That means that things like logic, math, science and writing became the main focus and what we encouraged the youth of that time to heavily develop. Focusing on what we thought at that time, served us the most as a collective.  All of these areas that we focused so heavily on are conducted by the left side of the brain.  We primarily get graded and judged on how well this side of the brain functions. And if you “fail” in these areas, you could get penalized by being held back and repeating the lessons all over again until you get it up to par.  The left brain sees things in parts rather than the whole big picture.  Breaks things down into small pieces, sees things in straight lines, is rational and practical.
So what does the right side of the brain control?  The right side of the brain is where creativity comes from.  It’s subjective, feelings based, passionate.  It’s being “Big Picture” oriented rather than focused on small parts.  It’s the side of the brain that reads facial expressions, understands philosophy, can go along for the ride and be ok with just existing, essentially enjoying every moment.  So if you think about it, there’s been a very heavy focus on developing the part of the brain that makes us disconnected from our feelings and more in our heads.  Creating the lens or filter in which we see the world through. You cannot put feelings in boxes, they just need to be experienced and moved through.  Just as such, the right brain cannot understand things the way the left brain does.  As a species, we are primarily left brained.
So chances are if you are a straight A student and did super well in school, you may have trouble connecting then with your inner wisdom and feelings as well as how to manage them.  You can probably run a business, be employee of the month and a super hard worker.  But if you aren’t succeeding at that aspect of life, you may then feel a bit lost. Here’s another interesting aspect of the sides of the brain.  The left side, logic based side that we over develop, also is in control of the Sympathetic Nervous System, or the “Fight or Flight” response.  This is the rapid firing, over stimulation of the part of the brain that makes us anxious.  Which by the way, salt causes the Sympathetic Nervous System to be over reactive as well, but I’ll cover that another time when we speak about diet and environment affecting behavior.  And so, this is what medication is used for regulating.  To help slow down the rapid firing of synapses.  So without me getting involved in the money making business of pharmaceuticals, I’ll offer you this…  What happens when the band-aid comes off of a wound that is so deep, it really needed stitches to heal?  It gets reopens and bleeds again.  Until it gets the right level of care and attention, the wound remains and is always an issue.  You might ignore it for a while, but it always stings and gets in the way. And eventually becomes an even bigger burden than it originally was because it was left unattended.
Now bringing the attention to the right side of the brain, this softer side is in control of the Parasympathetic Nervous system, or the “Rest & Restore” aspects of the body.  In Yoga, we called this Savasana.   It’s where healing occurs.  This is the underdeveloped side of us that we need in order to be balanced.  The more we ignore our feelings, push through pain, worry and stay in fear, the less right sided we are, the more left sided we are.  So on a regular basis, we are ignoring what the body is essentially asking for, and instead moving with the momentum built  by the stronger parts of ourselves that we spent our entire childhood developing.  No wonder why we struggle so deeply with anxiety.
So I’ve dedicated my life teaching people this in many ways on many levels.  Breathing techniques that mimic the same results as medication.  Philosophies to give different perspectives and more information on how to live more through the right side of the brain to encourage more healing.  Meditations geared on slowing down the synapses and nurturing the bigger picture aspects of life.  The purpose of this article is to bring awareness to the fact that we have cultivated a society that nurtured the more harsher aspects of life because we went through some really harsh times as a society and did what we needed to in order to survive.  And therefor made it that much more difficult to balance out and change with the times, but it’s not impossible.  My feelings are that we are all human, we all struggle, we are not alone.  No one is weak for their feelings.  It weakens us not to acknowledge them and where they stem from.  They deserve to be discussed and handled with care because life is precious and a gift and too many of us keep leaving this Earth a little too soon.  My heart goes out to everyone struggling, has lost someone struggling or knows someone who is.  And hopefully, this can create a little more unity, rather than the separation that we often feel because of it.  We are under educated in this area, and over stimulated in others.  Our daily lives now include a bombardment of information from devices and platforms that can be better used spreading knowledge, love and joy rather than fear and pain.

If you would like more information on these topics, you can check out my other articles, attend any one of my classes, workshops or meditations.  If you would like me to continue to write articles like these and would like to support the process to make it more possible, my Patreon link is below.  I would love to share in my own story and my own journey through therapy, medication, seminars and other material I pick up along the way.  So please feel free to leave comments, thoughts and suggestions if you feel as though this type of information is a benefit, and let me know that it is needed and received.  Life Coaching is available come 2019 for anyone looking to enhance their Spiritual self, connecting it with their inner emotional intelligence. YouTube Moon Meditations and other materials to help support the healing process are coming soon.  Please share this article with anyone who you think would benefit from this information. Here’s to the best version of you for 2019!

My Patreon Link is here:
https://www.patreon.com/HolisticHarmony

My Youtube Channel will be Updated as of December 31st, 2018, just in time for the New Year.  If you would like to stay current with the video uploads, you can find me here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE9QVckYoJKgKA0UZzH7euQ

Here is the link to my website to see where and what classes, workshops and other offerings I have to share this information:
https://daniellevirya.weblove.yoga/class-schedule/

I have a private Yoga Group on Facebook where I share posts of inspiration and love.  If you would like to be added to it, send me a friend request and a message asking to be added here:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001782998721

The information gathered for this article came from MANY resources over years of self discovery.  I attend workshops monthly, read books, attend seminars and am constantly seeking.  Here are some of the books that helped me write this article in case you are interested:
Habits Of A Happy Brain by Graziano Breuning, PHD
The Craving Mind by Judson Brewer
Buddha’s Brain the practical neuroscience of happiness, love & wisdom by Hanson
The Science of Positivity by Breuning PHD
Brain Rules by John Medina

Please find no shame in seeking help for your thoughts and feelings.  They are manageable and what you are going through is important.  If you feel as though you would like to reach out, please do!
Namaste ❤

Photo by meo on Pexels.com

14 Days Vegan 🌱

Most of you reading this are thinking “She drank the Yogic Coolaid, now she’s Vegan”…
My response to that is… “YUP!”

This wasn’t exactly a planned thing.  It is something that has been in the back of my mind for some time now… But not something I expected to do any time soon.  Truthfully, I love meat, I love cheese and I can’t live without Ice Cream!  I stopped drinking cow’s milk years ago, and butter substitutes have been my thing since Weight Watchers over a decade ago became my go-to for weight management.  I am a sucker for a good steak, burger, chicken cutlet or fresh piece of Salmon.  In fact, I didn’t realize how challenging it would be to have a proper protein intake without eggs or meat or fish.  And what do you mean I can’t have bread? There’s eggs in that?! I’m starving!!

I’m not really… as a child I fought my mom about eating meat.  I never wanted it.  I felt like if I never had it again it would be too soon.  So I’m going back to my roots, literally.  Finding ways to eat only things that come from the Earth and being a savage in the store looking for anything that has a “V” on it so I can eat it with a clear conscience.  See, I woke up two weeks ago with a totally neglected refrigerator and decided to only buy Vegan food to have in the house since everything else was depleted. Fresh start.  So I didn’t have a last supper, or hit up every fast food joint to prepare never having it again.  I didn’t make a list of what foods I need to get in one last time to max out and allow it to be easier to live without it.  I didn’t trick myself into thinking it was a good idea or convince myself that now was the time.  I just knew.

Dating back to my Tony Robbins Date With Destiny days when I attended back in 2004, I was first introduced to the idea of Acid/Alkaline diets and how it affects the body.  And how when an animal is slaughtered, the trauma it experiences causes it to leak out acid that then gets reabsorbed into the parts that we eat.  So we are putting acid into our bodies when we eat meat as well as other foods which are essentially toxic to the human brain and body.  So aside from the animal cruelty which literally makes me cry, I’ve always known on some level that eating meat and animal products are unhealthy for many reasons.  The way in which they are raised and kept is unnatural and therefore advocating that just seems unethical!

So from a Yogic standpoint, that I’ve learned via my training and own personal studies, taking classes with advanced instructors and doing my research, I felt as though it was time for me to surrender towards what my heart felt made sense.  First of all, I’m constantly guiding meditations in regards to raising vibrations.  And I think it was the last one in August in particular where I noted during meditation that a way to INSTANTLY raise your vibrations is by putting good things into you body.  So a part of me wondered how I could sit there guiding people to do something that I am not living myself.  The other part of me felt like, I work so hard to work through this Karmic energy of my own as well as my ancestors and all of these blockages I have inside of me, so that I can be at optimal health and energy when I am channeling for meditation, performing Reiki healing, teaching classes and workshops on how to be the best version of yourself, but yet I wasn’t quite practicing it at the level that I know is best myself.  So how can I lead without setting an example?  There is a theory that certain Yoga poses are not even attainable so long as you put energy and trauma from animals into your body, because the depths you need to reach to get there is not possible with stored energy.  I have a hard enough time getting into some postures as is, I really don’t need to contribute to the challenge.  In fact, I’m up for the challenge of it not being so challenging to live this way.  I’m dedicated to it.  I’m dedicated to myself, my students and my practice.  I’m willing to explore and speak about things that people are curious about.  I desire to grow alongside everyone else and not think that I am at a place where I’ve grown enough.  I will always push myself to follow my heart and do what I think makes the most sense even if it’s not standard or accepted in society.

So what have I learned?
I learned after 14 days of being Vegan that it’s not cheap to live this way.  I’ve learned that I am substituting eating a lot of carbs to feel like I’m eating more than just vegetables and I need to work on that.  I’m realizing that some things that I thought I didn’t like, when I removed all the toxic foods from my diet actually started tasting and feeling better. I’m challenging myself to be more creative when I eat.  That going out to a wine/tappas place sucks when you can’t have meat or cheese.  I’ve stopped feeling as though asking for things to be altered when you do go out is annoying, but instead necessary and you deserve it as a paying customer.  There are also a TON of awesome Vegan places on long Island and I find it fun to find them and try them all.  Best of all, I feel so super connected to Mother Earth by only eating things that come from her.  Or variations of it.  Even taking a hike yesterday and walking in the forest, I felt a sense of connection to the woods like never before.  And anyone who knows me, knows how much I like to camp and already felt extremely connected to Mother Earth.  This elevated that to extreme levels.  I am extremely happy with this decision and although it’s going to make it extremely challenging at times, I’m ready for it!

Thinking about putting together a Vegan 101 Workshop for anyone who is interested in finding out about this lifestyle and ways in which to make it work for you.  If you are interested, hit the like button and leave a comment to let me know! Namaste 🙂

3/31 Full Blue Moon – Find Balance in a Chaotic World

For those of you that missed the meditation this weekend and/or would like to revisit the topics, here it goes!

This second Full Moon of March, considered a Blue moon when this happens, was in Libra.  Libra representing Love, Peace & Relationships.  All things to help balance out the madness that’s been going on lately.  The energy shifts in the last few weeks have been extreme!  Lot’s of loss occurring, as well as a lot of new life!  The birth of new ideas, projects, lifestyles and pregnancies.  Losses of jobs, money, relationships, even pets.  So the goal of this meditation on Saturday that I held, was to take claim of the shift that is currently happening in your life!

We do so by releasing the things that have happened up to that point, heal from it, and practice self love to make it work for us rather than against us.  I hand picked crystals that week under the influence of the new moon energy for everyone to connect with and choose one.  We held the crystals, cleared and charged them with full intentional energy.  This way, you are aligning with Mother Earth setting forth the things to be in motion with an added push of energy from the crystal.  A constant reminder as you hold and connect to this energy so you can keep your focus on the true intentions, rather than getting caught up in the chaos around you.  Helping you to make better choices as it’s happening, and reclaiming the power to create your own life.

Here’s what was released: (Take a moment to do this if it calls to you)

1. People that are controlling/demanding, telling you what to do.  Perhaps people that are holding you to commitments that you made long ago that you know for a fact no longer serve you now as you’ve grown.  No one should have the power to hold back your growth.  If you feel as though something that you committed to long ago didn’t grow with you, or is in a different direction than what serves you, then that should be adjusted to how you see fit. Not what someone else thinks it should be.  Bosses, family, partners, trying to control you and not give you the freedom to be authentically you, release that out into the universe and make room for the right things to enter.

2. Wishing for relationships and situations that once were, or have never been for that matter, that no longer or may not serve you.  Letting go of people, situations or fantasies that the Universe has removed or kept from your life.  That’s why you have to be careful what you wish for… if it’s not being brought into your life organically, or staying there, there’s a reason.  Vibrationally it’s because you aren’t vibing the same.  Perhaps you are higher or lower than where you think you want to be.  So all you can do, is let go of whoever walked away, or has never entered… and just do the things that are best for you to vibe so high, that whatever comes your way is exactly what you need at that time.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Anything else is a waste of time or perhaps a much harsher way of learning the lesson that’s attached to it.  So that leads me to the third topic….

3. Trust in Divine Timing.  Everything you need is already inside of you and will be brought into your life as you deserve.  That’s why it’s always important to keep a positive outlook and attitude and show gratitude for the things you have, rather than live in the sadness for what you lack.  Believe that not only will you attract into your life what you think and feel, but you will also pull yourself closer to what you think and feel.  Just like a vibrational magnetic.  So if you feel sadness, or pain primarily, all the time, that is where you vibe and will remain with other situations and people that vibe just as slow.  Take the time to grieve and morn, and then when you have released and processed it, let it go.  Don’t live in that pain.  Make room for what’s to come.  And raise your vibrations so that it’s something in alignment to get you to where you truly want to be.  Always moving toward love and loving thoughts, rather than away.

4. All of these practices will help you to release fear and open yourself up to unconditional love.  Find your own balance by releasing fear, practicing self love, and pleasing yourself to find your own harmony.  Find peace and joy within yourself to find equilibrium to the chaos that is going on around you!

Crystals that were hand picked during this mediation were:
Crysocolla, Dumortierite, Black Obsidian, Amethyst, Clear Quartz

All crystals were cleared and aligned with Reiki by me, and then kept in the Amethyst Geode for 5 days to totally transmute any low vibrations that may have been attached.

Please feel free to leave any feedback below if you attended! Hit the subscribe button on the bottom right to be notified whenever a blog post is made 😊 Namaste!

Vision Boards & Law Of Attraction

Things in life don’t happen by accident or by coincidence, they happen because they are supposed to. The reasons as to why certain things are supposed to happen is based on our free will and the things that we choose to do to make them move that way.

~Success does not come on accident, or because you are “lucky”. Even if it’s inherited, success only stays for those who work hard to maintain it.

~Freedom is something that should be given to us, however it is something we wind up having to fight for. With other countries as well as the mental freedom we create within ourselves.

~Love is something that can be created and brought more abundantly into your life. Set a vision, work towards it and see what happens! This past weekend, I hosted a workshop where we set up a very powerful and intentional vision board to help us create the life of our dreams.

I decided to share my notes with those of you that could not attend, but wanted to know what it was about! So here is what I covered:

🕉

What is a Vision Board?
My first vision board was hanging on a cork board on a calendar in my office when I worked in Real Estate.  It was something that I thought I would change, although I didn’t.  It graduated into much larger, concrete versions, because I knew this was something I would be doing continuously as they have worked for me in the past. Like a piece of exercise equipment though, it only works when you are working it.

How do we use it? I explain how to use the Law of Attraction to bring forth what you want from it. We are all vibrating on a certain level, some of us are trying to elevate this vibration.  Everything that you want, is because you think you will feel better when you have it.  So that joy, at a high vibration, is what you are using the vision board to practice achieving.  You get excited when you look at the item.  You envision yourself having it… getting into that car – pulling the door closed behind you… smelling the new car smell, walking through your garden you designed and into your new home etc.  By doing this, you practice vibrating at the frequency as though you already have it.  So it’s radiating inside of you.  You know it’s out there, you believe it exists, and you attract yourself to that item by vibrating at the same frequency that it is.
There is a frequency that exists when you have something just as there is a frequency that exists when you LACK it.  So our goal here is to move away from the vibration of lacking, and start vibrating more towards the frequency of already having it. Thus, drawing it into your life hardcore.  By living in the pain, or the lack of not having what we want, we tend to live in that space much more than if we kept feelings and vibrations of the excitement as if we were living with it already.

What energy are you in while making your vision board? Do you truly believe that you will have this? Or are you just pretending?  If you don’t truly believe that you can and will have these things, then you won’t.  If you buy a treadmill and keep it in your house and you never use it, you will not lose weight with it… So simply having it isn’t enough.

Feeling calm and grounded is the place to start looking for pictures to match that.  Let’s get out of the place of despair and non abundance so that you are not looking at pictures that mirror that feeling.  We don’t want to activate the lack of what you want, we want to activate the feeling of actually having it.  We want to have the clearest vision of what evokes joy for you.  You decide to be happy based on your relationship to that thing.  When you are in your relaxed state envisioning things like freedom, success and love you will have a true idea of what it is that will make you feel that way.

At this point, I conducted a meditation to help everyone reach this state of mind.  After that, they went to town.  No one really spoke much.  I had piles of magazines, some people brought their own items.  Everyone seemed to really be focused, and in a place of being on a mission for the next hour and a half to make this board.  It was actually really fun to watch on my end.  We all had the same magazines, but everyone’s boards came out completely different.  To watch everyone in a safe and creative space was actually quite beautiful.  There was an energy in the room from the 7 of us that was high, but also of peace as everyone seemed very grounded.

Visualization – The last part of what I explained on how to use this board, is to visualize on a regular basis.  The most successful business people will often mention this powerful tool.

I like to light a candle, as an offering, before I do this.  Like the way people light a candle in church before they kneel down to pray.  My grandma would have me light candles every week when we went to mass.  So to me, I light a candle that I hold while I stand in front of my vision board and I study each picture.  Really getting into the feeling and the moment of that image, until I feel like I have manifested that thing long enough, and then I move on to the next.  Try to do this daily with your images.  Take time for them and calling them into your life.  You will be amazed at what happens when you dedicate some time and energy into the things you want.  The ways in which you will get them will come effortlessly once you’re open to it.  So practice getting into the mind frame of the things you want, and make the Law of Attraction truly work for you, rather than against you!

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Meditation Part 1

What exactly is meditation?

Meditation is a state of mind – the same way people struggle to be happy when they are depressed, is the same way that we struggle to quiet the mind to get into a meditative state that is essential to healing.  It is the most important tool that we have on this planet as humans.  There are all different types of meditation.  Some may recall the Transcendental Mediation used by the Beatles.  It’s a personal journey and a personal choice to practice any mediation, just like anything else in life.  Most people shy away from it.  It is not powerful to be out of control of you mind and your thoughts. So, rather than taking a back seat and allowing it to have control over you, it is much more empowering to actually have access to the stability of living in the moment and not being distracted with things around you.  Focusing on awareness organically brings out positive affluences in your life.

It is said that praying is the act of speaking to the deity that you believe in, while meditation in making space for the answers to come through that you are seeking.  Why wouldn’t you want to mastermind with the universe rather than just being limited to the capacity of your own thoughts?  What level of growth and results are you looking for when you pray?  If you knew that there was another aspect of asking God for answers, wouldn’t you want to complete the task?  What good is asking a question when you don’t listen to the answer? And you continue to pay attention to your own thoughts instead, that are governed by your feelings that you are trying to move away from…

Focusing on the awareness of your breath is the best way to start meditating.  That simple act, can bring us into a present state of mind slowing down the thoughts.  Watching the sunset can bring you into a meditative state.  No thought involved, just awareness of the beauty that is in front of you.  When you take your focus away from your thoughts, they naturally will slow down.  They feed off of your momentum as to how much you are entertaining them.  This state of being is very powerful.  The only thing that stops you from mediating is your own impatience…. forcing it to happen quicker, feeling like you can’t do it, or not caring enough to try.  Like anything else, it happens more naturally with practice.  So if you eliminate the limits placed upon yourself that you cannot meditate or that it’s not for you, then nothing really should hold you back from practicing getting better at it.  Setting expectations on how meditating should be, is already not putting you in a state of just being.  Just being in the moment is a crucial part of being able to achieve a meditative state of mind.  This state is what helps change our perspective when we come back to regular thinking.  It slowly creates regular thinking that is more grounded and not as scattered.

Thoughts = things – therefore just thinking of thoughtlessness will get you just that! 🙂

I have been practicing the art of mediation for 3.5 years.  I am learning and expanding on it every time I do it.  If an athlete never makes it to practice, chances are they will not be the star of the game.  I will share my experiences and tips with you on every step of my own mediation journey so we can all be the stars at life together!

In Memory of Friends

When we are younger, we never really think about where our friend’s story will end…. Or how. We might fear our own deaths, but the feeling that you get when someone’s gone and not on this earth anymore, is something you cannot anticipate.

Each person’s legacy leaves an impact on so many people. And the feelings they bring up are different for each one of us.

While experiencing a new loss, I think about the person’s purpose. I think about the roles they played in the world. Why at this time, was it necessary for them to make a BANG, and shake up the lives of all of us that know them? What did they teach me, what are they still teaching me now? How did they feel… about themselves, about life and who they were. Is this what they see on the other side? Who they affected, and all dimensions of connections?

We are all family on this soul journey. Each and every one of us is important to each other. We all contribute to each other’s lives and shaping who we are by creating experiences that other people could not provide. We are all teachers, we are all students. Children to parents, parents to children, every relationship we experience with another person, no matter how long or short, is meant to show us something in life. It’s all relevant. Nothing is coincidence, everyone plays an important role on this earth, no matter how big or small. Keep positive, strong, healthy minded people close to you, and always try to lift up the ones that are struggling. They will teach you something too.

Let’s always help balance each other out, love and appreciate one another. Because one day, you might not be able to.

Drop In The Bucket

In a bucket full of love, do you want to be the drop that contributes to filling it up? Or the air the dissipates it?

Mother Earth is crying…  There are many of us out there that do things to make her feel loved.  Aligning crystals that come from Mother Earth, working on your energy levels and creating a new kind of energy that vibrates high are some of the ways to do so.  If each one of us is a drop in the bucket to make this happen, what are you doing to contribute?  What practices do you have to find balance in your space?  Physically, emotionally, mentally, in your home, within your body.  Imagine if you picked 5 topics that were really important to you, and you spent 5 to 10 minutes a day contributing thought to it, how would that make you feel?

So if you wrote down 5 things that matter to you most, what would they be?
Mine Are:
Yoga
Business
Meditation
My Relationships
Healing

So if I woke up an hour early, and did 10 minutes of yoga, read a book on business building the next 10, meditated on it for 10 minutes after that, spent 10 minutes writing out text messages to the people that matter most to me to catch up, and did Reiki on myself for 10 minutes, what would that achieve?
Well, after a week (6 days, take one day off) I would have done an hour of yoga practice, an hour of learning about business, and hour of meditation, an hour of catching up with my family and friends maintaining strong relationships, and an hour healing myself.
After a month it would be 4 hours of each, and after a year it would be 52 hours, so over two days doing each thing a year that makes you clear headed, keep positive and stay focused.  That’s a beautiful gift to not only yourself, but the people around you.  This is how we affect the world!

If this topic stirred up questions for you, great!  There are two books that I highly recommend that will answer them, so your next set of questions can be on the next level! 🙂
The first book is The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod – This book originated the concept of doing these things first thing in the morning so that you can lead through the rest of your day in the best mind set.  When you read this book, it clarifies all of the reasons why you should, as well as make you question why you haven’t already!
The second book is The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy – This book will give you principles that put into perspective how to shape your destiny with how small steps lead to much bigger things.
The two books go hand in hand together in my opinion, but if you only read one, do The Miracle Morning.  It’s a quick informative read that may change the way you wake up in the morning and start your day.  Be the drop in the bucket of love!

New Moon in Gemini

We tend to lay and bask in the sun knowing that there are harmful rays that need to be blocked.  It is proven by science that these rays can cause cellular mutation (cancer), as well as changing the amount of melanin released in our bodies, making the color of our skin different. We can see what the sun’s rays do to us on many levels.  What do you think about the moon?  Most of us probably don’t regard the moon in doing anything to us at all.  On a cellular level, mentally, and physically what does it do?  Well, I learned when I went on my Mayan tour in Mexico when visiting Chitzen Itza last September, a very fun fact that also gave me a lot of perspective.  Mayans regarded the moon very highly.  They knew that the way the moon raises the tide, it has that effect on all water.  And being that our bodies are made up of 80% water, when the moon is full and powerful, the water in our bodies gets pulled up towards our brains.  This is what they believe makes people “lunatics” (luna meaning moon), indicating that the moon affects our minds the way the sun affects our bodies.  Because our aquatic balance is thrown off and not being evenly distributed in our bodies, we act in ways that are not true to our balanced self.

Farmers use the moon as a guide, they know that the new moon is time for rest.  The time to plant new seeds and start new harvest.  The same is true for us and our intentions!  When we use the universe in our favor, things naturally come our way.  The pause in moon cycles during the new moon is the best time to create and manifest new opportunities and birth new projects.  This resting phase is the time to build up your energy so that we can draw the things we desire toward us, just the way the moon does.

My focus here is to let you guys know the significance of this moon and what to do to prepare or take advantage of it.  If you want to know specifics of the astrological cycles, the Jupiter and Saturn retrograde right now, as well the connection to the divine feminine, there is a great article put out by the DailyOM about this.  I would check it out!  For those of you that just want the basics, here is it:
Gemini represented by the “twins” is about partnership.  This is the time to reach out to people that share the same energy as you, are likeminded and are going in the direction you want – and collaborate with them! The sign of Gemini is said to be extremely intelligent and also great with communication, hence why this time of the year generates many social events and occurrences where you are coming in contact with a lot of people.  So take the time tonight to rest and reflect… What do you want to accomplish for the next couple of months to come?  Who do you need to approach or come in contact with to make what you want happen?  Is there a mentor or someone out there that can help you achieve your goals?  If so, reach out to them!  Spend tonight really thinking about what you need to bring into your life, to bring you peace and happiness.  And then go after it!  The universe can only provide for you what you set an intention on getting from it.  So if you ask to release anything that doesn’t serve you, it will guide you in that direction.  There are many things that hold us back, limiting beliefs in my opinion being the main thing, relationships, home life and jobs usually being the other main things.  Let them go. Make room for bigger and better things that are out there for you.  Just as people spend time praying for the sick to send them good intentional energy, spend some time thinking about you and what serves you to make you the best version of yourself that you can possibly be.  Everyone’s rituals will be different.  Mine include having my gemstones and crystals around me to draw in and transmute energy, as well as smudging or saging, lighting candles and setting goals/intentions with things like vision boards.  The things that I am able to accomplish in my life do not happen by accident.  They happen by intention, and the rest of the things that I don’t plan for (like this blog!) just come with the momentum of the energy I pull towards me.  Just as the things that do not serve me go with the momentum of away from me as I release.

Get a little journal for yourself, I don’t really care if its a tiny pad from the dollar store, and just simply write down tonight the following:
What is not serving you in your life that you would like to change
Who you are because of it
Who do you want to be and what do you need to get there
Visualize yourself being the person you want to be with the things you need for that, and start drawing it into your energy field.  Don’t be surprised if things start coming your way that you didn’t plan.  Most importantly, accept it with open and loving arms!

For all you crystal lovers out there, it is also important to know that when you want to transmute negative energy and draw it out of your gemstones and crystals, the full moon light is a much more gentler approach than the sun.  Much like the way the sun blanches out fabrics, the same can occur with the color in your stones.  I charge my crystals during the full moon each month, to transmute any and all negative energy I’ve picked up along the way, and clear it out to make way for positive vibes only!
Gemini crystals are as follows:
Agate, Aquamarine, Apophylitte and Moonstone

Release and Manifest

The full moons are always good for releasing out into the universe all of the things that you have accumulated that do not serve you.  While the new moon is for manifestation and attracting all of the things that you would like to invite into your life.
What does this mean?

The universe works off of intention.  Your thoughts are energy.  Putting that energy out there will call it to come to you or move away from you.  So if you sit in quiet thought saying to yourself all of the things that come to mind that you really want to release and not think about anymore, you will.  Regardless of someone apologizing or perhaps how the outcome affected your life, the point is for you to be ok with what has happened as well as ready to move on to bigger and better. The things that do not serve you, bring you pain, cause you grief, guilt or frustration, just accept it for what it is and release the control it has over your thoughts.  The more angry energy you put into a thought, the more you fuel it into existence.  So if you want something out of your life that is negative, ask it to be released within the universe.  The energy of that full moon will transmute the negativity into positivity.  The same force that rises tides, it is that powerful…
But really, feel in your heart that all is ok, and that’s when that energy will truly leave your body and move outwardly.  Try breathing.  Take in deep cleansing breaths and imagine a white smoke filling up your body from head to toe, and then as you exhale, visualize all of the black toxins escaping your body.  Literally push those emotions stored inside of you out through your mouth.  You can even do it with a sign of relief.  Notice how you feel…

Moving on to the manifesting part during the new moon (today), use the same concept but in another way.  Say all of the things in your mind that you desire.  Be more specific than “money”, “vacation”…. Actually think about why you having these things will make you a better person, so that that version of you is what’s portrayed into the world.  Think about it like this, if we are operating at 100% very happy and fulfilled, then that’s the energy that we spread to others.  This is why we are deserving of all great and glorious things. Because the happier and more fulfilled we are individually, the more it makes for a higher vibrational (positive) Earth to live on.  And just like negativity, laughter and love can also be contagious.  What do you want to spread? Anger, confusion and hate?  Or light, love and hope?  The more hope and faith we have in the world, the better its going to be for all man kind.

 

It Starts With YOU

Have you ever stopped and wondered how much you influence the world in a day?  What if everything you did had intention behind it?  Would it be possible to make every move throughout the day be purposeful? How much more effort would that really take?

A LOT…. but like anything else, the more you practice the better you get and the easier it becomes.  There were many times in my beginning stages of trying to learn how to do hair, that I had a lot of negative self talk. “I’m 30, I’m too old to not be established in my career”.  “This is taking me way too long to learn! I better quit while I’m ahead”.  “I should just go back to working in an office, at least I’m good at that”.  Because I was able to push through those instincts, and go AGAINST my gut, I was able to get to the point where it became easier to do blowouts. And formulating chemicals became second nature. That haircut didn’t take an hour to execute anymore, thank God!!  What if I would have quit?  Well, I wouldn’t live on Long Island, I wouldn’t know hundreds of people that powerfully impact my life on a daily basis.  I wouldn’t have my own businesses or live in a home and have the space to be creative and free. I was able to pull through and stick with the learning process enough to retrain my brain.  I retrained it from not knowing a thing about doing hair to having it become more effortless.

The same can be done with our intentions everyday!  We might not be able to change every single thought we have to be purposeful with pure intent.  Sometimes, we will be human and we will be reactionary. What harm could be done with practicing this everyday as much as we can, consistently? And when we fall off with it, just forgive yourself and bring it right back.  It’s a great exercise that may very well effect you in other positive ways.  You may not notice it right away, but any action you put forth creates a reaction.  Follow the laws of the universe, and you will be rewarded!