Twofer

Hello and Happy Tuesday!

This blog post is entitled "Twofer" because today, Twosday, you are getting two blog posts for the price of one my friend.  It is a good day for you.

1.  "ESCAPE."

While writing a travel article today, I found myself using the word "escape" several times to describe a vacation.  I found this so interesting.  My thought was, why do we need to "escape" our normal lives?  In Western society, there is an underlying notion that you should work hard and achieve your goals, and toil in pursuit of these goals is not only acceptable but almost... to be expected.  Well... I don't like this.  But I'm trained by years of studying Law of Attraction principles to talk about what I DO like, not what I don't.  So how about this: new paradigm to replace rat race paradigm is that we create a life for ourselves where every day brings the type of joy you would find on "vacation."  The type of life you don't want to escape.  The type of life that thrills you, so that each morning you wake up happy and excited to live it.  To each person, of course, this kind of life would look different.  But it's my wish that we could all have this, and it is my aim to have this for myself.  Here I must give a ton of gratitude because my life is already pretty close to this, and I am so thankful.  In the ways that it is not yet, I simply have more growth and creation to do, and I am excited for that to happen.

2.  Health and Happiness

All of my adult life, I have been interested in "health and fitness."  Having been a professional athlete, a student, a personal trainer, and a yoga teacher at various stages in my life, I have continually researched and experimented with the subject.  The pattern is this: learn something, apply it to my life, see the results, question where and why results fell short of expectation, then expand my knowledge by learning something new, and then the cycle repeats.  The result?  I have tried so many things... the "watch your caloric intake" thing, the various schools of thought on how one should eat as far as proteins / fats / carbs, etc, and countless other ways.  But, what I keep coming back to over the last few years is this:

WHEN I AM HAPPY IN MY MIND, MY BODY IS HAPPY!

Not how much did I eat, of what type of food, how much did I exercise, or any of that.

IF I AM HAPPY, MY BODY IS HAPPY

Stress!  Stress people.  Finally Western world is understanding that stress has a major impact on the body.  Your body is a vessel that enables you to carry out your purpose of joy and full-living on this Earth, and it seeks only to serve you, and enable you to bring your desires to fruition.  If you have scary bad thoughts, your body just wants to protect you by adding fat layers, or by "falling ill" to force you to take a rest or say HEY! pay attention to what is not going right in your life, in your mind... and attend to your needs!

If I live my life by this principle--by making first priority my happiness in every given moment and every given day, and by paying acute attention to my body's symptoms as a way of telling me to pay attention to some area of my life--then I will exude health and "fitness" in my body.  It happens every time, without fail: the happier I am, the more my body radiates health in all the ways I desire.

Of course, our bodies respond to what we truly believe.  So what works for me may not work for you... I respect and honor that.  But it is always my sincere desire that something I share from my life will bring about some added happiness and enjoyment in your own... in any way, shape or form :)

Why, Hello!

Hey!  You!  I remember you.  You used to read my blog a few months ago.  I took a big blogging vacation, but I'm back.  The reasons why are not interesting, agree to skip them?  OK.  Let's continue on then.

Today I am in Sebastian, FL.  For several weeks now, I have felt an internal "push" to take a little retreat.  Just a good chunk of time to myself where I can THINK and begin to CREATE.  For me, a normal step in the growth process of life.

So far it has been great.  I've had some recent changes in life, and though these changes are extremely positive (a decision to switch "career paths" and an awesome new long-term relationship), I still wanted time and space to regroup and redirect my energy and conscious thought to find balance.  From being a balanced individual, I can more fully and properly enjoy these new gifts I have been given in life.

I found a lot of clarity through journalling my thoughts as they came to me.  I was able to form a starting plan: develop my existing passions and also take time to hone my ability to listen to my intuition for my true desires and the ways in which I should go (through meditation, journaling, studying / reading, etc).  I will begin this starting plan right away upon my return to "normal life," and from there I will know where to go next, when it is time.  I have full faith that my life will proceed just as it always has in the past: the right things will happen when the time is right.

All the self-reflection is tiring ;)  I took a nap earlier, and somehow woke up "on the wrong side of the bed."  I could find no reason for this so I decided the reason why was not important.

To escape this funk, I did two things:

1. I sat on my balcony at Captain Hiram's and watched the kids playing in the pool.  I am fascinated by the art of Play, and derived a fair bit of second-hand joy from watching the kids, both in solo play and group play alike.  Very interesting.  Not a lot of frowning going on in a splashy pool.
2. I wrote a big list of people who inspire me and why.  At the same time, it made me feel SO GRATEFUL for these people!!  I quickly detected a pattern in this list.  

Top 5 Qualities My Friends Have That Inspire Me

1. Thorough Enjoyment of Life / Continual Pursuit of FUN!
2. Joyfulness
3. Openness
4. Teachable / Humble
5. Creative

That's all I got for now.  Have a wonderful Wednesday and have some FUN today.  If you're in a bad mood, watch some kids playing, really WATCH them and perhaps you'll become infected by a little reckless joy :)

Better Way to Approach It

I checked my emails this morning, as usual.

I wasn't happy with a couple work emails I had... I felt I was having a bit of trouble communicating creative ideas back and forth with some people I am working with.

Unusual for me to feel anything but excited with my work, because I really love my job.

Thankfully, I have the luxury to set things aside for a later time, so without much thought about it, I decided to let these emails lie for a while.

Taught yoga, had a fun lunch with a couple great girls, saw the dentist. SAW THE DENTIST! The first three-quarters of said visit consisted of me thinking I needed a root canal, after my hygienist examined a small lump above my teeth. I am holistic-minded, and root canals are definitely NOT something holistic people like to participate in (I won't get into the whys here, if you're interested, please do google it). Needless to say, I was pretty bummed.

So, I hoped for a miracle--why not? Miracles happen all the time. Last quarter of my visit: the dentist (whom I love) strolled in, asked me a few questions, and determined I did NOT, in fact, have a tooth abscess. I had a gum abscess that would clear up on its own, with no intervention needed--this is exactly what a holistic-minded individual wants to hear. In my mind, I had just been served the miracle I asked for!

I was SO happy and thankful!!!

Now I re-open my emails, and see them through different eyes. I understand why the miscommunication happened, and am excited to work together to accomplish the projects I have going.

I am so glad I waited to tackle these things when I had a really positive mindset going. What a difference a few hours can make. I feel very thankful.

Connectivity

Lately I'm having tons of those moments when my close friends do something I knew they were going to do, or they say something I was thinking about at that same instant.

Our tendency is to say "that is so weird! I was JUST thinking about that!" or "I knew you were going to do that." Or one I said yesterday, "I knew you already knew that."

It's not weird of course... I think it's the way it should be when you're really aware and connected to that good, pure energy of life. Some call it GOD, some call it THE UNIVERSE. You know what I'm talking about.

I'm taking it as a good sign that I'm really tuned in right now.

This "being tuned in" occurs when you've seriously sought out and achieved your happiness, the steps of which are:

1. Figuring out what it is you TRULY want. Not what you should want, not what someone of the image you would like to have would want, but what the true essence of YOU, the unique expression of God, with your unique desires, really wants.

2. Having faith that the Universe operates from the foundation of well-being for all, and what you want will come to you if you keep focused positive thoughts towards the objects of your pure desires. Happiness, Joy, Health, and Well-Being are all our natural state of being. Suffering is NOT what we are designed for.

[Of course, we all do suffer in some way at some point, but this is a message to us to pay attention to why it is we've gone awry--and correct our course]

So connectivity is one side effect of the happiness I have right now that I created through faith in #2. It's not always "easy" to maintain a positive, faithful attitude, because, in general, our society does not operate with this mindset. Personally, it took a lot of deprogramming for me to get my head around these concepts. It also takes practice. I have over 5 years of practice and with each subsequent year, it is getting easier and easier to maintain a happy state, because it becomes habit. But trust me, it works. Every good thing I have in my life right now has come to me through conscious decisions to be aware of my thoughts on these subjects, and keep them positive. I have had to make a very conscious effort to maintain faith and rid myself of worry and stress (change in attitude precedes the things that come to you, and not the other way around--you DO have the power to change your thoughts even before your situation has changed). I have seen so many more people apply these principles and meet with tremendous successes as well :)

So, Happy Friday, and I'm wishing you each and every piece of happiness you desire :)

IF

If you had complete faith in the Universe/God/however you personally call it, to deliver you all good things that you desire because you are SO loved and treasured, would you have any reason for fear or doubt at any time? Of course not. Your current circumstances, if undesired, are simply a result of a lack of faith in the past, for we draw to us what we think about, what we expect, and what we believe... because we are powerful creators of our own experience.

This is what I can remind myself of at anytime I feel negative emotion... fearful, sad, anxious, etc. There's no reason for it in my life because I truly believe in the utter friendliness and generosity--incredible LOVE--of God / the Universe.

Rain-Frolic w/ Dog and Appreciating Others' Differences

1. I was in such a damn good mood all day. Woke up early and took yoga class, had breakfast with my two of my bestest guy-friends Tom and Clay, then worked at a job I love all day (my web design/social media/graphic design/promotions business). Such a good mood that not even the rain could put a damper on it. I'd just gotten home from an errand--picking up party supplies for the Indoor Beach Party I'm throwing this Saturday--and had to walk through the rain from my parking lot to get to my place. It was 6pm, but still warm enough that the rain felt delightful on my skin, and I had such a strong urge to play in the rain! I've always loved playing in the rain from the time I was little and have many wonderful memories of it. I cannot resist a good rain frolic!

I set my stuff down inside and quickly changed into boardshorts and a bikini top. As I turned to rush back out into the rain, I noticed my little Jack Russell Terrier giving me that look that says, "hey, I want to be included on this adventure!" So I told her she could come along if she wanted. This is the dog who normally hates putting her paws on soggy grass... so I was surprised when she eagerly followed me through the backyard and out into the street. Together we loped, ran and skipped all around the block and through people's yards, through puddles and over curbside rivers, simply exuberant over the random rain-frolic. I thought to myself, how cool is Leah-Dog that she just runs right along with me, off-leash with little verbal direction, through the rain, at AGE 13? My dog is an inspiring example of youthfulness at any age :)

That's us skating together.

2. It's good to know who you are and where you stand, right? Yes, I think so, but often in the past, I would come across people who had very different viewpoints than me that I didn't agree with and simply tune them out of my perception. Now when I come across someone who is radically different from me, I really listen to what they have to say. I try to imagine the linking rationales I would need to have in my own brain to hold the same opinions as this differing individual. As long as their viewpoint is not extremely negative or damaging, I listen and am now enjoying the chance to broaden my perspective in ways I wouldn't have thought possible. Even if I don't agree with someone's viewpoint, contemplating it can cause some other epiphany to rumble to the surface in my brain.

On more of a micro level, this applies to my close friends as well. Instead of wishing people close to me shared my same viewpoints on things that are important to me, I am learning to appreciate their profound differences. I say profound because, I think I always appreciated differences so long as they didn't directly challenge beliefs that were important to me. Now I am beginning to appreciate even the powerful differences. Why this change? I really cannot say. I think it is just a culmination of learning and growth over the last 29 years. I can take pleasure in imagining the fervor that my friends have for their beliefs, and feel happy that we are NOT all the same, because that is how we learn from one another. Plus, at the end of the day, you can always choose to "take what you like and leave what you don't." :)

Taking Advice

Thought for the day:

Someone once told me, "never take advice from someone whose outcomes in life you don't like." I always thought this was brilliant advice, and almost always follow it.

The one exception: sometimes a person can be good at instructing on something they are not actually successful at in real life. But I find this to be the exception, not the rule. I guess if something really resonates with you, the source is not necessarily important...

The main thing I've learned is that while it is good to remain humble and teachable, sometimes I have to trust my own opinion and wisdom over anyone else's--even if it differs from the wisest advise of my best advisor. Sometimes I alone know the best answer for me :)