The greatest comfort comes from within...

It was my first time drawing this lovely card from my Mediation deck this morning and I thought to share it with all of you beautiful readers, please enjoy :)


Sit down comfortably.
As you control your breath,
let your mind watch your body.
Tell yourself,
"It's okay."
At this moment your soul will find peace,
and your body, too,
will follow, finding comfort
and new strength.

Forget everything and remember this...

A beautiful post for you this morning from Elephant Journal contributor Alex Myles.....

Forget about the first love that broke your heart.
And forget about the last break too.
Forget the time a friend you thought was best pushed a knife in your back.
Forget the words and the spite that resound in your head.
Forget the trauma that injured your flesh or your bones.
Forget the rejection you felt when someone failed to recognise your value.
Forget the tears that cleansed your soul.
Forget the mistakes that everyone makes.
Forget what you gave, without return.
Forget the mistrust, the resentment and the jealousy.
Forget about lies, betrayal and deceit.
Forget about the ones that got away—they were not meant.
Forget the time someone tripped you and caused a fall.
Forget the times you gambled but forgot you could lose.
Forget about whispers and gossips and stories—it is all an illusion, the truth only lives in one self.
Forget about rules and regulations—make new.
Forget about thinking—let the mind sit still.
Forget about time—let your heartbeat decide.
Forget about fear, it will paralyse—it is useless.
Forget about perfection, it is unobtainable—imperfection is true beauty.
And forget about forgetting—allow the release to happen. Naturally.
Then try as you can, to remember this…
Everything is already a part of you, the lessons have been learned, the memories etched and the effects have sunk in.
There is no need to hold on—it all already exists, so allow it. Let it just be. Without grasping.
Without pressing repeat.
It all had a purpose, once, long ago. Even if it was yesterday, or a minute ago—it has now passed. Past.
So just breathe…and breathe again. Deeply.
Right here, right now.
You are alive. You survived. In this very moment, this one… here…
You can choose. Choose to live.
Run. Fly. Wildly.
Begin again.
And begin to feel alive.
Feel.
Everything and nothing and all in between—feel it all. Flushing through your veins—let it in, let it sit and then let it go.
Slowly, but very surely, replace all of the forgotten with all of the new.
Add to it, mix to it, blend whoever you were, who you are now with who you are about to become.
Alchemy—turn it to gold. Turn you. It is easy. Try. All of you. Every part.
Stir the storms with the rainbows, the pleasure with the pain. Create.
Forget the old. Sprinkle in new.
Stardust. Magic. Wanderlust. Mystery. Moonlit skies. Forests. Deserts. Sparkle. Dance. Have faith. Go. Find. Don’t look far. It is there. It always was, always has been. Right there, right here. Right now.
Be free.
And each time you are overwhelmed, or hurt, or angry or in pain—go back to the top, read once more, unlearn, forget and begin again.

Life is a gift

Could you imagine leaving every single one of your possessions behind, not knowing whether you would ever see your mother or bestfriend again, with your 9 month pregnant wife and toddler child in tow? That is the reality that thousands of Libyans have been faced with in a pursuit of a future for their family. Sadly, one too many have perished in the fight for life.

This is a situation that I learned more about on a trip to Sicily last year when a boat of 400 refugees sought their future in a small town of just over 4,500 people on the Mediterranean coast where we were staying. Italians cannot single handily find a remedy to this situation and war torn refugees deserve a hope to live the future, I pray that the European Union is able to find a remedy in this very trying situation.

I did not intend to make this a dark post, but as someone who experienced this situation first hand and is a great-grandchild of a man who fought to get his family to Canada 1908 I realize how much each day is a gift.

It is human nature to complain about such trivial details in life such as a traffic jam, the 10th rainy day in a row, the friend who pissed you off, Facebook changing its layout, all this petty sh*t.

If you were lucky enough to wake up this morning with a roof over your head, food in your fridge, a family that you love and a job where you can earn a living, please realize it. There are millions of people in this world who are fighting for every minute of their life. Giving is not the privilege of the rich it the privilege of the sincere.

This life is a gift, I hope you lead each day with love and gratitude. The world owes you nothing, it was here first.

Ahhh....peace and love

Living in the NOW

This is one that is worth revisiting until you have it mastered. As the wise buddha says every morning we are born again. Everyday is an opportunity to live the life of your dreams. The Dalai Lama says there are only two days in the world that do not matter, yesterday and tomorrow.

Any which way you slice it, the message is the same. Live for the present day, live in the now, treat each breath as if it could be your last.

There will always be "worries" and a to do list, but at the end of your days you won't remember how many loads of laundry you got done but you will remember the belly laughter in the company of your friends.

Make the NOW the primary focus of your life. 

Can I make your day?

Never underestimate your ability to make someone else's day, with words spoken from the heart.

I have been practicing yoga for years and in the last year a form of infrared power core yoga. Through a dedication to the practice my technique and postures have grown class by class. For me, the yoga studio is a space to focus on myself for one hour of the day. To rid the mind of any comparison and and strive to give my personal best each class.

This past week I was in an early morning session getting my yoga groove on and our lovely instructor complemented me on my beautiful form and perfect positioning, a few times. These kinds words from her truly made my day. Yoga is something that I have worked so hard to improve at and to hear the instruction share these beautiful words at 5:45am was the best start to my day.

We are all united, we are all the same, we are one. Share the love and you may just make someones day. Namaste ✌

I will never be a well-behaved woman

Wow, wow, wow....

Today's share comes from an amazing read that I came across on the Elephant Journal courtesy of Sunshine Coast poet, Janne Robinson about being a "well behaved" woman.

Incredibly profound and powerful!

"I would rather pass my days lying in the middle of dirt roads, staring at the full moon with a bottle of summer red in my palms.

I would rather have kids when it suits me, not when society expects or throws shoulds.

I would rather live in a hammock on a beach for six months, and write like my soul means it.
I would rather be horribly broke at times, than married to a job because a mortgage payment has my ass on a hook.
I would rather own moments, than investments.
I would rather eat alone, than sit with women who bore me at “Wives’ Night.”
I would rather swim naked with bioluminescence, have it fall like fireflies from my hair, my breasts, my back.
I would rather do handstands naked in the moonlight when no one’s watching than pick bridesmaid dresses.
I would rather drink seven year old rum from a sandy bottle, smell of smoke and ash than sit in church.
I would rather learn from life than rack up debt, in a desk.
I would rather drink the ocean, again and again—celebrate being madly alive.
I would rather my love be defined by love itself, and nothing more or less.
I don’t need a ring on my finger to prove that I am in love.
I would rather take the chicken bus, than spend useless money in safe gated communities. Sit beside a goat, listen to raggaeton and eat green mango with sugar in a plastic bag sold from the woman who harasses the bus each time it stops.
I do not need a degree to prove that I am intelligent.
I do not need to own a piece of earth with some wood on top of it—to feel successful. No one truly owns the land, anyway—we just think we do.
My savings account has diddly to do with my richness.
I would rather sprawl my single ass out like a lioness each morning and enjoy each corner of my empty bed.
I will take a job I love and freedom over a pension, any day.
I will not work and work and work to live when my body is old and I am tired.
Stocks are for people who get boners from money.
Not everyone should have kids, and my eggs aren’t expiring.
I will not drink the societal Kool-Aid on a bus, nor will I drink it on a train.
Not on a plane, with a goat, in the rain, in the dark, in a tree, with a fox, in a box!
I will not jump through societies’ hoops and red tape, the treasure hunt in the rat race we chase.
If we must have milestones—mine will be measured by how much joy I have collected at the end of each day and how often in this life I have truly, deeply, opened.
Seek, see, love, do."


~

 

Don't get on the train

Each day we make thousands of choices related to all different aspects of our lives. By guiding our minds to think more loving and compassionate thoughts we are contributing to the world in a more positive way.

Here is a mind blowing metaphor from Matthieu Ricard.

I imagine sitting at a train station, watching the trains arrive and depart. My pure awareness is the station and my thoughts, feelings, sensations, etc. are the trains. If I am not mindful, I will hop on a train and take it to who knows where. But the moment I realize I am on the train, I am magically off of it, back at the station, just watching without judgment, with compassion.

We truly are our thoughts, keep your station clean.

 

Take your seat

Hey there beauty.

I hope that you had a chance to take some time for yourself today.

It feels so great to sit still with an open ear to your inner voice. To fully engage in what wisdom the world is trying to share with you.

All it takes is the time that you have, and it is always worth it.