“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness”
-The Yoga Sutras By Patanjali
The Yoga Sutras are a reading requirement for my 200 hour certification and this one has been by far my favorite. Any moment that I feel anxiousness or irritability towards another human being this sutra comes to mind and bring me the tools I need to carry out the interaction.
Sometimes cultivating these emotions when our ego wants us to feel something else is hard. But in the long term shutting the ego down is what helps us live the life we want and deserve.
Be happy for those happy people instead of trying to bring them down.
Feel compassion for the unhappy and hope that they find happiness again.
Feel delight in the virtuous, they are a reflection of what you can achieve, they are the ones who give you the fire to achieve it.
And my personal favorite, disregard the wicked.
I invite you to write this down, keep it in your back pocket, and remember it when you encounter one of the four of these people.
After a frazzled and stressful Tuesday I decided to take a personal day on Wednesday. This sounded strange to some and I found myself internally defending why personal days are so important for our psyche.
In Existential psychology one personal need that they look at to be fulfilled is your ability to experience freedom. Do you have a balance between your organized schedule and your freedom? Most of us don’t. It reminds me of the extremes that I spoke about in my last article for Elephant Journal. We don’t know how to live in balanced harmony.
I know that it can be hard to call into work and tell them you need a personal day. You may feel like they will laugh in your face. So think about your situation. If you have something major going on in your life you would be showing yourself tremendous self love to say “you know what, I need a day to gather myself.” If you feel like a personal day can wait then cancel your plans on a Saturday or Sunday and let the day lead you. Do the things that you love. Read, sleep, visit family, exercise, spend time outside, have a delicious lunch. Make the day about you and your happiness. Personal days are meant to help re-charge our batteries.
I understand that this can be hard when you have children. But consider your options before you call it a loss. You could call in a babysitter for the day or make your kids a part of the personal day. Take them to the park with you, watch a movie together, play in the yard, or go out for a fun lunch. No schedule (besides family nap time :), all spontaneous.
A tight, rigorous schedule can cause order amid chaos but it can also become such a habit that whatever you do is scheduled and planned. When we do this we are projecting our need for control which causes the body stress. Our psyche needs some spontaneity, it excites your nervous system, in a good way. Even if its the little things. Saying no just once to the simplest act can be spontaneous enough. By doing this you are showing yourself support.
After my personal day yesterday I feel charged and more alive. And now I am ready to tackle the rest of the week and the rest of my semester.
What would you do on a personal day? How can you create personal moments throughout your day?
“It doesn’t matter who you used to be. What matters is who you become.”
These are my notes for my latest post on Elephant Journal (Read it Here). I wasn’t aware that I was a “used to be” smoker until I wrote it and saw it. I immediately sent this photo to my boyfriend and said “I just realized that I don’t do this anymore.”
It felt really good
To think that a year ago I was choking myself, smoking a pack a day without even wanting to. Of course I thought I loved to smoke. But the more I thought about it and the more embarrassed I became around non-smokers when I would have to light up, I realized I hated myself for it.
It had to go.
I wish I could say that I haven’t touched one since last May, but that would be a lie. It has been a struggle. But instead of judging myself for that I look at that statement and think “Wow, I’m not a slave to them anymore.”
The thing that I was afraid to let go of was the thought that they defined me, even when I didn’t want them to anymore. Now they don’t and because of that I have evolved as a person.
I am a happier person and know that nothing defines me but myself.
“To increase balance within, surround yourself with all possibility; mentally, physically, and spiritually.
You are a Divine Goddess, empower yourself!”
Surround yourself with those who love and support you.
Believe in yourself and all of the strength you possess.
Remain open to learning new things, but still knowing that you are intelligent.
Take care of your body and most importantly LOVE your body. Women tend to fall victim to “fat talk” among each other. Stop it. Your body is beautiful and you aren’t doing it any favors by putting it down.
Connect to something spiritually. Even if that is being inspired by the courageous women of the past. Believe in something bigger than you. Not something that is “out to get you” but something that has your back. You can believe in anything you like and none of them are wrong. Just remember that they are always smiling upon you, supporting you and protecting you.
I have never been much of a feminist but I saw this the other day and it felt so good to read and repeat to myself.
I am a Divine Goddess.
How beautiful does that make you feel?
Take it with you today and recognize it in your fellow Goddesses.
We are all the same. Which as women we have been brought up not to see that, but we are.
The more you shine light on the good of others, the more light will be shined upon you.
You can recognize it in men too.
We are all miracles made out of love.
There isn’t much that needs to be said after this quote. It’s one of my favorites.
The past doesn’t matter. There’s no use in holding on to things that went ‘wrong’ because they are exactly as they should be.
Tomorrow doesn’t matter. Tomorrow is something you have no control over yet. And tomorrow will be exactly as it should be.
What can you do today? To inspire others. To show that you are full of love. To show why you are here. Even if something doesn’t go ‘right’ how can you change your reaction to it?
Trust that we don’t know the big picture of our lives and that it will all make sense in the end. Don’t fight it. Flow and trust.
Happy Good Friday 🙂
Sleep is the best meditation
-Dalai Lama
As we say goodbye to the strongest point of the full moon I wanted to touch on the importance of sleep, especially during full and new moons. Sleep is essential for your body. I know you know this, but how many of us get our full 8 hours?
Sleep is our body’s time to repair itself, to process everything that has gone in during the day, and detox. Even though we are sleeping our bodies are working hard and so are our brains. Without sleep we are tired, depressed, and most likely overweight.
If you are not feeling well, sleep. How often do we feel something coming on and can just ‘sleep it off’? I did this yesterday. Yesterday was a busy day for me. I spent the entire day in the city, trying yoga studios for yoga training. On my way home I began to feel ill and began to pale. I ate dinner, grabbed some ginger and lemon tea, and went straight to bed. This morning I woke up at 6 and felt like a new woman. It made me think of how beautiful sleep is an how much we need it.
If you can’t get 8 hours, get 7 at the least. And if you have problems going to sleep try some relaxation techniques. Such as breathing exercises, drinking chamomile tea, smelling some lavender, or repeating a quiet mantra as you lay with your eyes closed.
How many hours do you get a night?
When God gives good times, He wants you to forget him and sleep. When God gives you bad times, He wants you to wake up and face him.
-Yogi Bhajan
<div style="text-align:center;" Tonight is a full moon and we can already feel the effects. Full Moons can be a beautiful disaster area. They are meant to help you release the old, to dream big, and embrace the new. But letting go can also be hard.
Depending on where this full moon is it can also bring hardship. It can bring out things that you have been ignoring, things that need to be dealt with and then tossed away.
I had an interesting experience yesterday, without even knowing it was a full moon. It began with a dream I had on Monday night, where it was dark and the bridge I was supposed to cross was flooded. I spent the rest of the dream attempting to swim to the other side (a lot of representation here). As I woke I pushed the dream out of my mind and went about my day. But I didn’t feel like myself, I felt disconnected and couldn’t bring myself back. As I thought about this later in astrological terms I realized that I am a Pisces and my moon, which governs my emotions, is Aquarius. Pisces is a water sign and although an Aquarius is an air sign, they are known as the water bearers. This could explain why I was more affected by this moon than others. I couldn’t figure out how to shake this funk I was in. I was hoping some aromatherapy would help. I had just bought 4 new candles at a local new age type store. The 4 I bought were Inspiration, Protection, Blessing, and Water. I was drawn to the Water candle and thought if I lit it would help me “go with the flow” and be more fluid, just like water. A shift occurred after I lit this candle and a difficult experience was thrown into my lap. At first I was upset, I thought there was just no hope for today and I should just go to bed and wait for tomorrow. But the more I thought about it and thought of where the day had taken me, I realize I had been guided to that moment. It was actually a lesson and I was so lucky to have discovered it. So in true Full Moon fashion, I let go.
As the puzzle came together, it was such a relief. I felt protected by the universe and I can still feel that protection now. I practiced a short meditation this morning that I wanted to share. You could do this for 5-10 minutes or longer. It would be great to do at any stressful moment in your life or during full moons.
The mantra is “I am protected by love”
-Sit in a comfortable position
-Close your eyes
-Begin to become aware of your breath
-Inhale through your nose to the count of 3
-Hold for 3
-Exhale the breath for 3
-Repeat that 2 more times
-Let your body relax starting from your feet, to your legs, to your bottom, to your torso, then your shoulders, then your head.
-Imagine that a forcefield is around you. It can be any color and any shape. But negativity cannot come through. Only Love.
-Begin to repeat the mantra “I am protected by love”
-Sit, breath, and if your thoughts wander come back to the mantra
-When the time has passed (keep an alarm on your phone or something), let go of the mantra
-Come back to your breath
-Open your eyes to the count of 6
-And Smile 🙂
How has the full moon effected you this month?
Irish&Scandi 