It’s Monday. A new day and the start of a new week filled with unknown possibilities, opportunities and chances to get it right. Why not challenge yourself to see what makes you happy? We fall into the same patterns of thinking and behavior constantly. You may have challenges ahead of you this week be it with work, relationships, etc. In the midst of these challenges we sometimes forget what makes us happy or to think positively. It can be helpful to even write down what made you happy each day serving as a reminder for future situations. I know from personal experience sometimes it’s helpful to just take a moment to think about all the things I am grateful for and happy about. I hope you find your happiness this week and become more aware of all the little things in life that make you smile. Enjoy!
Let go. Exchange Power for Love.
Be the Change You Want to See in the World.
It’s 2012. Is there anything you have been thinking about changing? How about hoping to see a change in your community, state or worldwide? Rather than waiting on something to happen or in the words of John Mayer “waiting on the world to change”, what can you do now to help impact or bring forth that change?
Personally I have been reflecting a lot on what I would like to see happen differently. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming thinking about all the changes you want to happen with yourself and with the world. However don’t let that stop you. Life begins when you step outside of your comfort zone and change is all about stepping outside of your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid to do something different. Once you take that step, sure enough you will see the magic of the Universe working with you.
Happy 2012!
“I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.” – Anaïs Nin
Happy New Year! Yes this is a brand new year for us all and in the words of Oprah Winfrey, another year for us to get it right. Often times when the new year rolls around we come up with many resolutions and changes to our lifestyle, relationships and ourselves, i.e healthy dieting, going to the gym more, changing relationship patterns. And then 30 days later, we fall back into the same patterns, routines, etc. and disappointing ourselves because we failed to live up to those resolutions. However, what we forget to focus on is how far we have come from the previous year.
New years are about new opportunities, new possibilities and changes. Sometimes though change takes time and may not happen overnight. Ideally it would be great to change our lives and habits overnight but this is not always the case, hence our resolutions don’t immediately come to light. This blog post is about focusing on yourself and what you want to accomplish in 2012. But more importantly, its about just being happy with how far you have come since the beginning of your existence. We often spend too much time thinking about how far we haven’t come.
I personally didn’t have any major resolutions for this year. I only wanted to continue on my path as a spiritual practitioner and as a medium. I also felt the desire to be more aware of the now, the present moment and enjoy it as much as possible rather than worry about the future.
My encouragement to you is to simply enjoy yourself and take life one day at a time. Focus on what you have accomplished for each day and love yourself for that. Trust that your intention will get you to where you want to be as I will too.
Sending love and light always. Happy New Year friends!
Discovering Your Life Purpose Using Intuition
Have you ever felt confused about what your place in life is? Or asked yourself the question, “What am I doing with my life?” Do you feel as though your intuition may be leading you into a different life path?
Before I discovered my life’s passion I constantly was questioning everything. I knew that I was born to do something important in this life but what exactly?
As a child I had a love for painting and expressing myself creatively. Naturally, I thought that I must have been born to be an artist. It was the one thing I felt very talented in and connected to. However as I got older, I found that creating became more a job and I lacked the passion for it. So the question I was faced with was what is it truly that I am supposed to do with my life? What was I really born to do in this world?
You may be feeling this same way right now. Or perhaps you know of people who are faced with these questions. It can feel difficult when trying to find out what we were meant to do on this planet. What do we do when everything we once thought we were supposed to be isn’t actually it?
The answer to that question for me was to simply trust my intuition. Trusting my intuition led me to gravitate towards the things I felt more interested in (besides art) which was developing my intuitive/psychic abilities.
It can be hard to trust our intuition or instincts. We don’t know how things will happen or why but somehow it just seems to happen perfectly. Have you ever been in a situation where you weren’t sure how something was going to happen but then suddenly its as if the Universe put all the missing pieces together and everything just fell into place?
Even if you aren’t the type of person to trust your intuition, perhaps now is the time to try. Listening to your inner voice may lead you to new opportunities and realizations.
Embrace Change and Go with the Flow
“Let go of how you thought your life should be, and embrace the life that is trying to work its way into your consciousness.” Caroline Myss
A few weeks ago I came across that quote and found it to be so inspiring! At the time I myself was resisting some changes happening in my own life. When I read this quote, I felt an automatic shift in my perspective about everything that was concerning me.
I felt as if the Universe was saying, “Emily, don’t worry!” Life is about embracing the new and the funny thing is, I know this already. But how come I didn’t think of it?
Sometimes we catch ourselves in patterns of thought, behavior, expectations of ourselves and of others, and most importantly the way we think our lives should be. Its hard sometimes to understand what is happening when things start to change. Life is shifting and guess what? So are you!
When you start to feel or see these changes and are feeling uneasy, just simply remember to embrace it with all of your feelings! Go with the flow. Don’t resist it and see where the Universe and life is trying to take you. You may even notice the more you resist the changes the more stressful life can be. Don’t do that to yourself! I know its easier said than done, but consider it a challenge for yourself! Try it and see what happens.
Life is a like a river and we are just a part of that natural energy. We can choose to go with the flow or go against it. In the words of Lao Tzu, “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” Trust that these changes are going to take you to where you are supposed to be.
How to Create the Life You Want and Manifest your Dreams (Pt. One)
Have you ever daydreamed about your future? Or visualized yourself getting everything you have ever dreamed of? Can you remember how it felt once you actually accomplished a significant goal? Or how it felt when you finally made one of your dreams come true?
These are a few ways people visualize and manifest their ideal life. Dreams are what motivates us and gives us hope that we can have what we truly want for ourselves and our loved ones. But maybe you lost hope or feel out of touch with that part of yourself that wants the best. Have you ever admired someone great for being able to make their dreams come true? Think about that person for a minute. Notice what strengths they had that may have helped them to accomplish their goals. Now, visualize yourself manifesting everything you have always wanted. Notice what strengths you have and what may be stopping you from having what you want.
This visualization exercise is simple way to help yourself overcome any fears or negative thinking. Visualizing is an important part of the process to creating the life you want. Focus on what you want rather than what you don’t have.
This comes down to the Law of Attraction. People come to me and ask what is the law of attraction? The most simplest way to put is what you give out to the world is what you will attract. If you have negative thoughts about creating the life you want, then you are hindering yourself from making that dream happen. Instead you end up attracting the same, negative situations filled with negative people and places. Its okay and understandable to have negative thoughts as we are all human. Although, don’t give those negative thoughts too much power. Focus on positive thinking.
The power of positive thinking isn’t anything new. This idea is something that has been innately in us. You have probably noticed several books about it, i.e. The Secret, Ask and It is Given. I know of days when I would wake up and be so negative and then right after like the domino effect, everything around me was negative. The people who would speak to me were negative, the subway car was filled with angry people, and I being one of them. I realized these string of events occurred because not only was I giving out angry energy, I was also attracting it.
Now some people may say, ‘Well, I wake up in the morning and am very positive but there are still negative people around me’. This is true, you can avoid certain people but you can change how you react to it. You can change your perspective and once you do, life may seem easier to deal with. You may actually start to see how the power of positive thinking really helps.
So what is the next step after positive thinking? Positive thinking is amazing once you practice it enough. Think of it like a skill. There are many ways to practice positive thinking. One is by asking yourself what you find challenging to accomplish. Once you find the answer, if the thought is negative change it to a positive one. For example, the thought about losing weight is, “I can’t lose weight because I lack motivation.” Now change that thought to, “I am actively losing weight because I have the motivation.” Make sure to put an action verb in the sentence, so that you train your mind to put it in action.
This exercise of changing your negative thoughts to positive thoughts can be very helpful if you allow it. These positive thoughts become your affirmations. An affirmation is basically affirming this statement is true. Practice writing out your positive thought affirmations 20 times twice a day.
These affirmations will help train your mind to think differently when you are thinking of what you want to accomplish and what the challenges are. Even if you haven’t manifested what you want, these affirmations serve as a reminder that you can do it and why.
So take 10 minutes out of your day to sit down and write a few goals or dreams you want to manifest. Think of what may be stopping you from making that happen and change those thoughts to positive thoughts. Ask yourself even if you don’t have the means or money to make it happen right now, what could you do to get closer to manifesting your dream? Write those thoughts down and turn them into affirmations. Practice writing them down 20 times twice a day. There isn’t any gain from thinking negatively, so why not try thinking positively? Positive thinking will attract more positive experiences in your life and lead you to the path of your life purpose. Most importantly, it will assist you in helping you create the life you want. And that is something amazing! Good luck!
Day 2 & 3 of Detox: Take some quiet time for yourself.
Congratulations on getting through your first couple of days of detox! Personally, I can already start to feel the effects of my body/mind cleansing themselves. Its an amazing feeling!
Today’s post is going to be short and sweet. To encourage you to continue with your detox, perhaps consider taking a 10-20 minutes out from your busy day to just relax. Relax can be anything that simply calms you in a good way. Try catching up on that novel you haven’t been reading lately or meditating. If you aren’t the kind of person to meditate but you are religious than try to pray. Or take a walk to clear your mind and get some exercise. Or relaxing in a warm bubble bath. These are all great ways to relax and calm your body and mind.
Ok, today’s recipe is pretty easy!
Green Smoothie
1 cup of kale or collard greens (chopped with no stems)
1/4 cup of spinach
1/4 cup of lettuce
1 cup of mixed berries
2 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups of water
Blend it all until smooth! Serves two! Enjoy! Remember to eat 5/6 small meals a day. Eat mainly veggies, fruits and complex carbs!
Happy 2011! Join me in starting fresh with a 2-week detox!
Photo not by me.
Happy New Year! As with every new year, we all desire to do something different with ourselves. It can be from joining a gym, eating better or simply taking more time to relax.
For this new year, I have been feeling a strong urge to detox. Knowing that would be best for me, I searched long and hard for a detox that would be best for me. I wanted to do something that felt natural and basically going back to the basics of life before fast food and quick fixes appeared. I found out about the Master Cleanse, different drinks and pills I could take but none of these options felt right. Finally, while shopping I stumbled upon Whole Living Magazine’s for January 2011 and the issue was dedicated to detoxing your body for the new year. Detox meaning drinking more smoothies, eating more leafy greens and cutting out caffeine, dairy and wheat products. Detox also means cutting back from tv/online, getting more sleep and basically detoxing your body and mind.
I found Whole Living’s January Issue to be best way to start off my new year detoxing as a beginner. I invite you to also join me! For the next two weeks, every day I will post one recipe to get you started. And some gentle reminders or tips on how you can continue your detox strong. So please check back everyday for ideas on what you can eat or do to detox your life more.
Today is the 1st day! Detox is about eating, drinking and being more simple.
Do’s & Don’t's for this week’s detox:
Do’s: Eat 5-6 small meals a day filled with fruits, veggies and other complex carbs. You may want to eat a small-sized portion of meat but try to eating a meat that is organic and hormone-free. Whole Living suggests a typical size of a meal would be 3 oz. of protein (size of a smart phone), 1/4-1/2 cup of carbs (whole grains, sweet potatoes or fruit) and unlimited non-starch veggies. You can also eat apples with almond butter or drink a smoothie.
Don’t's: Cut out any wheat, dairy and caffeine products. By cutting these out, you are able to increase your nutritional intake and support your digestive tract according to Brooke Kalanick, author of Ultimate You.
Recipe for Today: Antioxidant Smoothie
Serves 2
2 cups of mixed frozen berries
1 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice
1 cup water
Combine ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.
To help your body detox, also detox your mind by not spending too much time online or watching tv. Try light exercise, by walking for 10 minutes or doing some stretching.
If you want more ideas on what else you could do to detox, visit wholeliving.com/action-plan. I got most of all these ideas from them. I will also include some of my own as well in the future days. Congratulations and good luck with your detox! Happy New Year!
Happy Holidays! Share, Love and Be.
Photo not taken by me.
The leaves are changing and autumn has arrived. Gracing us with its splendor and beauty everywhere. I have always felt so connected to this amazing season. The sounds of leaves crunching under my feet, hot cocoa and well-spent time with close friends and family.
It is also a time of the year for some of the most significant holidays in many religions. A time to connect with one another on a deep level, mainly spiritually or religiously. Or just share your personal beliefs and ideas with each other.
Often times, people have told me during the autumn and winter season they have discovered some profound truths about themselves or had an epiphany about something in life. I always thought that somehow mother nature grounded them more so they may have more time to reflect, evolve and share with others.
For me I have always felt more grounded during this time of the year. More inspired and compelled to create. Whatever it is, I feel that we are much like the story of the butterfly. During this time of the year, we enter our “cocoon” of introspection and as spring approaches, we come out as “butterflies”. Seeing the world in a different light or more evolved perspective.
The holidays are unique for many reasons. One of those is the opportunity to give to someone or to an animal. Giving doesn’t always mean money. Giving could simply being a shoulder someone needs to cry on. Or volunteering to help an organization or an animal. And you may think, you don’t have the time to give or volunteer but believe it or not, life is an exchange of gifts. Every day you wake up, you exchange a part of you with the world and that is a beautiful present in itself. Even if you are down, you are a beautiful soul who has shared something special with this world. Don’t forget that.
This season, share the gift of yourself with the world. Love yourself. And simply accept who you are without self-criticism. Don’t be afraid to express the love you have inside. Someone out there will be thankful to you forever for it.
Happy Holidays!
