Our higher self is a part of us that knows our truth. It is a part of us that connects us to God and our spiritual guides and loved ones that passed on. The Divine Creator and all our spiritual helpers want to have a relationship with us and help us on our path of self discovery and awareness. We can easily form a relationship with these spiritual beings by praying (asking for help) and by meditating (listening for the answer) but we need to participate in both forms of communication. I think we are very good at asking for help but many get frustrated because we think God wasn’t listening to us. We ask for help to get that job we really wanted or to send Mr. Right into our lives but when we didn’t get what we thought we wanted, we think God wasn’t paying attention to us. God is always listening and giving us answers but we can not hear his whispers. We are either too busy, distracted or unwilling to hear the Creator’s advice. To really listen, we must quiet our minds and meditation is the first step to help us silence the chatter and start to build a communicative relationship with the spiritual world.
Many people hear the word meditation and images of sitting for hours in complete stillness and boredom creep into their minds. They think that meditation is only for the Yogis, hippies or the spiritually advanced but I am here to tell you that meditation is for everyone and it does not have to be seen as hard or complicated. Meditation can be extremely interesting and relaxing. In meditation we let go of the daily burdens of our lives, raise our consciousness, feel more relaxed and powerful, receive answers and guidance, increase our intuition and one of the best perks of meditation is becoming aware of your Higher Self. Our Higher Self is communicating daily with us through our intuition. When we listen and follow our intuition, we are following the guidance of our Higher Self. Our Higher Self knows everything about us. It knows why we were put on earth, what makes us happy, why we are in a relationship with someone and even why we didn’t get that job we were so hoping to get. Our intuition gets stronger when we practice meditation. By sitting down and quieting your mind, you are able to build a relationship with your Higher Self and you will begin to notice more easily when your Higher Self is speaking to you through your intuition on a daily basis.
To begin a meditating practice, all you need is a quiet spot for ten minutes. Sit in a comfortable position, preferably in a chair with your back straight and feet on the floor. Close your eyes and take slow deep breaths. Breathe in for four counts, hold for four counts and breath out for four counts. Do this as many times as needed to get your breathing slowed down and you start to feel more relaxed. Continue to breathe quietly for ten minutes. Do not worry about making your mind blank or visualizing anything yet. If thoughts come into your mind, acknowledge them but let them pass. Do not focus your attention on them. This is a great beginner’s exercise. You are beginning to quiet your mind and to deepen your breathing. Once you feel comfortable with ten minutes, you can add another five. You can begin to experiment with visualization meditations and other forms once you fel comfortable with the process.
Meditation takes practice and patience. If you have never meditated before, do not expect to sit down for 30 minutes and reach enlightenment bliss. It takes practice to quiet the mind. If you never ran before, you wouldn’t just jump into running a marathon. You would start by running one or two miles and them slowly increasing your mileage. It is the same for meditating. Do not get discouraged and be forgiving of yourself if you skip a few days but the more consistent you are, the easier and more enjoyable the experience will be.
Why we should forgive
Posted on: December 11, 2012
When we are hurt by someone, forgiveness may be the last thing on our mind. Some think that if we forgive, we are saying that is was okay for that person to hurt us because we are forgiving their action. This is simply not true. When we allow ourselves to forgive another, we are letting go of the negative emotions that consumes us. These feelings do not suit us anymore and they are preventing us to keep our hearts open and our soul growing. Love and hate cannot occupy the same space. When we focus on hate, fear, hurt or other low-level energies, there is no room for love. When we keep thinking about who did us wrong, our energy is also focusing on these feelings and we start to form energetic blockages. These blockages can start to stress the body and sickness may form. Forgiveness is acknowledging to ourselves that we do not want to focus on this low-level vibration anymore. We want to release it so the body’s energy can be fully functional. Forgiveness is an all-encompassing strategy to let your heart be full of love and clearing out all the bad vibes and blockages. When you hold onto these emotions, you are holding back your capacity to be a loving person. You are holding back your potential to be the best person that God intended you to be. Forgiveness lifts your vibrations higher, heals these bad vibes and puts you back on the path of love.
We all get hurt. It sucks and I am not saying those feelings are not validated. We do need the grieving process that accompanies with being hurt but after the grieving, we need to heal. Forgiveness is the first step to healing. We are saying to ourselves that this person or situation has no more control over my health, happiness or well-being. It is okay to be sad, hurt and even pissed off but after we dealt and felt those emotions, we need to release them from our life because those feelings no longer suit our growth or well-being. Have you forgave anyone lately? Are you holding onto to negative feelings because you think you may feel weak if you forgave someone? You are not weak if you forgive someone. In fact, you are a stronger person when you do. You realize that this person did hurt you but their actions will no longer control you. When you forgive, you are releasing that energetic tie that was binding you to that person and keeping you from moving forward in your life. When we are holding onto past events, we are not moving forward. Forgiveness allows us to keep growing, learning, loving and reaching our fullest potential.
Believe in your dreams
Posted on: December 3, 2012
Do you want to change your life and constantly fantasize how you wish your life could be? Do you work a 9 to 5 office job but in your heart, you really want to be a singer, teacher, writer or maybe own a catering business? Those snippets of day dreaming episodes are actually possible future scenarios of what your life can be. Do not shake off those inner feelings or desire as just your imagination or silly fantasies. These “fantasies” are a way for your soul to speak to you as to what truly is your heart desire. Your soul longs for you to have the life you were meant to have. You have to listen to these deep desires and believe that this way of living is possible. Your mind is an amazing energy field made up of neutrons, protons and electrons that conduct on energy impulses. When your mind sets it sight on something, it sends out this energy impulse to the universe what it wants. This world is a cause and effect place. Whatever we think, causes the effect to set in motion by attracting to us what we think about. It is an amazing to know that you can have whatever you wish when you set the intention and send this signal out to the world. Intentions are very important because they are like energetic confirmations to your mind that what you want is already yours. It also starts the believing process in manifesting your dreams. Believing is knowing you are going to get what you desire and feeling the emotion of having it. I really want to be a writer. I want to write books that empower, help and inspire people. I want to write for children and for adults. I set my intention that I am a writer every morning in my meditation. When I sit down at my computer to write for a few hours, I affirm that I am writing a book that others will enjoy. I affirm that I am a writer and my creative ideas come to me effortlessly and freely. The affirmations keep my focus on my intention to become a writer. Before I go to sleep, I visualize myself with my book finished. I see the actual hard copy book with a title, picture and my name on it. The emotions I feel when I visualize this are happiness, joy, gratitude and excitement. These feelings confirm that this is what my heart truly wants and that my life is on the right path. When I visualize my book completed, my mind sends out the energy I have a finished book and this will result in the universe bringing me the opportunities to make my completed book a reality. You have to take part of the creative process as well. I can go all day wishes to write a book but if I do not actually sit down and type, no consistent visualizations will make it magically appear. It also important not to lose faith. Many of us think that if we follow these steps, our dreams will manifest very quickly. In some instances they will but other times it could take months, years or maybe decades! The universe has its own timing but it WILL manifest. We have to believe that when the time is right, it will happen. Leave the timing for the universe, all you have to do is believe that what you really want is already yours. Have a great week!
I am thankful..
Posted on: November 26, 2012
Hi all! Sorry, I have been away for the last couple weeks but I needed some time to reflect, regroup and refocus on a few things. It is nice to take small breaks from time to time but I am back and feeling better than ever! This past week was Thanksgiving and I had a great time with my family. We began a new tradition to go around the dinner table and say one thing we are thankful for before we got to dig into sweet potatoes, turkey, stuffing and all the other amazing dishes that were there waiting to be eaten. It was nice to hear everyone’s answer and it felt good for me to express what I am thankful for. It was such a small gesture but it made a big impact. The mood shifted and it seemed to bring everyone closer together. This one small act of kindness made a family gathering even more memorable and full of meaning. We should all be thankful for this time we have with our love ones. It is a blessing to participate in this journey of life and we forget how truly fortunate we all are to be living and experiencing it. Why does it take one day out of a whole year to make us realize this? Our hectic lives may not make it possible to get together with our extended family everyday or make a lavish dinner but we can take a few minutes out of our busy day to give thanks. Even the things we take for granted, like clean water and the sun shining, give you a whole new awareness when you give gratitude. I am thankful for waking up in a comfy bed with a roof over my head. I am thankful for my husband, our two dogs, my family, my friends, and all the people who have made an impact in my life. I am thankful for the clean air we breathe and the food in our fridge. I am most thankful for be able to wake up every morning to learn more and fear less and become closer to the person I know I was meant to be. Just noticing these seemingly ordinary things and giving thanks for them is another way to nourish my soul:)
Have Faith & Go with the Flow
Posted on: November 5, 2012
Have you ever felt stuck in some area of your life? It may be in your relationship, career, health or any other area where you feel a sense that something is missing. This is a feeling that only you can identify with or acknowledge that something deep inside feels unsatisfied or unfulfilled. This empty feeling will never be filled with material things, food, alcohol, sex or any other addiction that gives us the feeling of happiness for a short time. This inner feeling waiting for you to take notice is your inner side kick, it is your soul. The soul is nothing new. Pick up any self help or inspiration book and the soul or the soul’s purpose is the main topic. Soul and spirituality books are found in the New York Times best seller list repeatedly because millions of people want to find out what their soul purpose is. These readers have this feeling that there must be something more to their life but they do not know how to move toward it, they feel stuck in a current situation that is not bringing them joy or fulfillment. These people want to get “unstuck” and I was one of them.
I am a spiritual person and I believe that God (the creator, the Source, Buddha or whatever name you associate with this higher power) wants us to be happy, healthy and have abundance. Our souls have the answer to help us have all these things if we just tune in and listen to this inner advice. I did not listen for years. I did what I thought would make me happy and was in a career for most of my twenties that brought me disappointment and frustrations. I finally “woke” up in my thirties and decided to give this Soul thing a try. I began to really listen to my inner guide and I did this through meditation. I have discovered through these meditations that God has a plan for everyone and our Soul helps us follow God’s plan. When we are not following this plan, we know it because we experience feelings of frustration, fear, anxiety, nervousness, lack or other fear based feelings. It is only when we are on the path to our purpose, that we feel joy, grace, abundance, compassion, generosity and other love based feelings. We have a sense that everything is going to be okay because we have faith in the Divine’s plan and we let ourselves go with the universal flow. When we go with the flow, we are not trying to control situations or be judgmental and critical with the process. We are letting things happen as they are. Being in the flow is when opportunities present themselves and the next step to take becomes more clear to us. We all have a divine plan that is uniquely ours so have faith in your purpose and go with the flow!
Quinoa – the protein powerhouse
Posted on: October 29, 2012
Being a vegetarian, one of the most common questions I get asked is “where do you get your protein?” Many people have the misconception that we only get protein from animal meats and while yes, this is a source of protein, animal protein is not the only source. Protein is actually made up of amino acids and these “building blocks” of protein are found in almost everything. Beans, nuts, whole grain, dairy and even vegetables all contain traces of amino acids. It is true that animal meat has the most concentrated amount of amino acids but with animal meat, you also get saturated fat, high cholesterol, zero fiber and many toxins and hormones that are given to the animals to make them fatter and more profitable. I am not here to preach the benefits of eating vegetarian but since I made the choice five years ago, I have felt healthier, happier and developed a deeper spiritual connection.
One of the main staples I tried to include in my weekly eating plan is quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah). Quinoa is one of the most nutritious grain recognized today and has twice the protein of other grains, fewer carbohydrates and more healthful fats. It is also a complete protein just like meat, eggs and dairy products. A complete protein is one that contains all eight essential acids. I also like this grain because it is gluten-free and rich in iron, calcium, potassium, fiber and high in antioxidant activity.
Quinoa is very simple to make and you can pretty much throw anything with it and it makes a fast and nutrition meal. Just boil two cups of water, add the quinoa , reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes or until tender and most of water is absorbed. Drain and transfer to large bowl and add your mixings. This time of year, I have been on a kale and sweet potatoes binge, so I add kale (already slightly sautéed with garlic), boiled sweet potatoes chopped into pieces, walnuts and Craisens for sweetness. This has been my go to lunch for the last few weeks because it is fast, easy and contains plenty of vitamins and proteins to keep me going for hours.
The chakra connection
Posted on: October 22, 2012
Chakras are the energy centers in our bodies that push vital life force energy through the body to ensure vitality. The word Chakra means “wheel” and comes from the ancient Eastern language of Sanskrit. We have many chakras in our bodies but we are most familiar with the seven major ones. These seven energy centers are found next to hormonal glands in the body and each give off a different color due to how fast or slow they spin. These colors look like spinning wheels to people who have the clairvoyant ability to see them. The slowest spinning chakra is red and located at the base of the spine and the fastest spinning chakra is royal purple and located inside the top of your head. In fact, the chakra system resembles a rainbow because the colors seen radiating upward outside the body are red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, indigo and royal purple. Our bodies and thoughts are made of energy and the different energy centers within and around your body are influenced by your thinking habits. Your chakras radiate and receive energy constantly. If you hold negative thoughts, your chakras become dirty and with dense dark energy. Dirty chakras can not push vital energy sufficiently and you feel sluggish and unbalanced. We have a chakra for each issue that we commonly think about. We have a chakra for security and money (1st chakra). Food, sex, pleasure, creativity and lifestyle (2nd chakra). Career, power, control, self-esteem issues (3rd chakra). Love, relationships and forgiveness (4th chakra). Communication, truth, faith, choice, self-knowledge (5th chakra). Imagination, perception, dreams, insight and visualization (6th chakra). Divine purpose, soul, spirituality, universal truth and highest self (7th chakra). Everyone is prone to worrying or obsessing about one or more of these life’s issues occasionally. Fearful thoughts affect the chakra that corresponds to the issue you are thinking about and this causes the chakra to get dirty, shrink or swell in size. If this is not corrected, this negative energy begins to manifest in the body as physical symptoms and ailments. If our thoughts were completely on love and faith, then these chakras would operate at a perfectly healthy rate. Since we are all human, we know that this can be very hard to do all the time but there are many things you can do to clean your chakras regularly. You can eat certain foods that give off the same vibrational energy as the chakra that is unbalanced. There are many books out there stating that to balance weak chakras, eat more of that chakras corresponding color. So if you have a weak second chakra, you would be advised to eat more oranges, sweet potatoes, cantaloupes, mangos, peaches and salmon to help strengthen and give more energy to that chakra. You can do a chakra balancing meditation and visualization. I do one daily where I picture a bright white light entering in the top of my head and it changes color as it passes through each chakra. I really focus on each chakra and visualize its color radiating bright and free of clogged energy. This can be done very quickly, I spend about five minutes doing this. It is quick but efficient but it may require more time, if your chakras haven’t been cleaned in a long time. Acupuncture and Reiki are also used in unblocking clogged chakras and restoring balance so the energy flows freely throughout the body. Many people are unaware that their energy centers are not working optimally and it is only when they get sick that they look outside themselves to feel better. We can stop many illness and diseases if we pay attention to our thoughts more consciously because that will ensure our chakras are kept clean and healthy! Until next time, remember that you are an amazing human being that can do anything that your heart desires. Don’t let fear, doubt and negative self-talk keep your from living your best life filled with health, wealth, love and joy!
