Letting Things Go

"Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on."
Eckhart Tolle (from the book - A New Earth)

What other people think of me is truly none of my business.
What other people choose to believe is none of my business either.

It's funny, hilariously funny,  because at the end of the day - it really doesn't matter! It really doesn't. Most of the time people are looking at life through their own beliefs. If you believe people are out to get you, that's what you'll see. If you believe everyone lies, that's what you'll see. If you believe you are unlovable, that's what you'll see....around every corner and in the face of every person you meet.

The natural laws that govern this Universe see everything and maintain balance everywhere. Those who choose to put their energy into dishonorable conduct, dishonesty, degrading others, selfishness and revenge will only attract into their lives more of the same. It's that simple. Those who choose to learn from their mistakes with humility and focus more on loyalty, honesty, love, true partnerships/friendships, support and patience will align themselves with that and draw in more of the same.  In retrospect, the idea of defending oneself and trying to get another to see your true intentions is absolutely ridiculous! We are simply not, nor will we ever be, responsible for what others think or how they behave.That is 100% up to them and their choice. And the choices we make are what shape our lives and our future.

I awoke this morning with an undeniable sense of deep gratitude for my life as I stand, in awe, of the beauty and love that surrounds me and continues to unfold each and every day. Thank you, to everyone and everything, that has brought me to this moment. Especially to those of you who have been dishonorable, angry, dishonest and hurtful. Thank you. You have taught me to see my own beauty and to really understand what I want my life to be.

Inspired

What an incredible weekend.

Not only is it Spring (which I love) but I had the great pleasure, and honor, of teaching this weekend at 2 different Yoga Teacher Trainings in Toronto and Hamilton (which I also love).

It's just so cool to be with a room full of aspiring yoga teachers from so many backgrounds, so many different countries, different cultures. Their excitement and energy is contagious. They all seem so keen with such high hopes and aspirations about the path that's being laid before them. I remember being like that and feeling like I was becoming part of something really sacred and special. When you start to delve into all the history and philosophy of yoga, it's origins and it's true meaning - there's a very palpable energy that enters the room. You can get the sense of just how ancient and amazing this whole practice is. Thousands and thousands of years of people training their bodies, their minds; searching for answers on how to make life meaningful and powerful. I obviously know yoga is not the only way to make life meaningful and powerful, but the richness of it's history is quite remarkable. Quite amazing.

But I have to admit...there was a tiny part of me that thought "Oh boy! These folks have no idea what they're in for!" LOL!! At first when you learn yoga, true yoga beyond just the postures and the workout, you can sometimes feel like your life is now going to become totally blissful, and easy and so much less stressful. When, in actual fact, sometimes the opposite is true for a little while. All the teachings are great...but it's putting them into practice, and remembering them when life starts to squeeze you, that is the challenge. Because the truth is - whether you're a 'yoga teacher' or not, you are not immune to stress. Especially now in our modern world when we're no longer sitting around in caves all day meditating for hours on end.  Challenges will still present themselves. You will still get deeply disappointed, angry, upset, panicked, hurt by other people and by life. That is why the teachings focus so much on Trust. Humility. Patience. Because without all that - it's nearly impossible to truly 'practice Yoga'.

But my heart and my deepest wishes for success and endless joy go out to all the aspiring yogis I met this weekend. May your hearts remain open and may your newfound practices give you strength and more of those moments of indescribable bliss and connection that make it ALL worthwhile! Om Namah Shivayah...

Yoga

Most people view Yoga as a gentle-ish type of workout. It's increased popularity has many people thinking about it in terms of asanas (the various postures), 'hot studios', Lululemon and other trendy yoga wear, etc. And, let's face it, here in Canada it is practiced predominantly for the physical benefits. Just about anyone can begin a yoga practice and get tremendous positive advantages - at any age, with any physical level of ability or level of experience. It is truly accessible to all. Sometimes the real challenge is in finding the "right" fit for a teacher or studio that suits you best and is most in line with what you'd like to experience as a result of your yoga practice.

But the true meaning of the word yoga, the actual definition, is: Union.
With that in mind, it is traditionally a philosophy, a practice and a way of living that encourages Unity - within the individual (body, mind, breath, essence), within one's community (living compassionately and without violence or aggression directed to other living things) and within the Universe as a whole. At the central core practice of Yoga is the notion and the teaching that - All Is One. Everything is connected. Absolutely everyone and everything is linked and part of a great intricate mysterious web, designed to attract and reflect back to us our internal state and internal beliefs at all times.

With that being said, Yogic teachings encourage us to take greater responsibility for our thoughts, words and deeds. 'Ahimsa' is one of the foundational moral observances on which the Yogic philosophy is built. It means, literally, non-violence. And until one really gets Ahimsa, none of the other teachings will be successful. You see, this practice of non-violence - first within oneself, then in one's relationships, one's business dealings/work, one's lifestyle - is absolutely the core of what "Yoga" truly is. Knowing that everything is connected it becomes irresponsible to act or live with harmful attitudes/emotions like anger, judgement, hatred, revenge or aversion. Because what we do to one, we to do all.

Interestingly, asanas - the postures that have made Yoga popular - are just a tiny part of the actual philosophy itself. However, the practice of asana gives us a rich and immeasurably fascinating tool to work with the most important and influential person in our lives - us. We use the breathwork, poses, sequences and challenges on the yoga mat to train us for life. We work first with ourselves - mastering our fear of being turned upside down, embracing our rigidity in the form of our tight hamstrings and clenched jaws and cultivating an attitude of inner observation, inner listening, so that we may show up in all other areas of our lives - open, patient, watchful. We try to be ready, in all ways, for the twists and turns and ups and downs that will inevitably keep coming at us.

Let's face it...Life is messy. If you've ever been to the birth of a child you know exactly what I mean. It. Is. Messy. Right from Day#1! And the nature of the human condition is that we are all floundering; blundering through life searching for love and comfort and trying to make sense of it all while we attempt to create something meaningful for ourselves. When I first started delving deeper into Yoga and eventually took my first teacher training I somehow had the naive notion that doing so would make my life "easier". That somehow I would be less affected by the messiness of it all. That I'd somehow be immune to it. Bbbfff! What a joke! If anything - it has made my life more difficult. Fascinating, incredibly magical and very very interesting, but certainly not easier. Why?! Because Yoga teaches us that we are ultimately responsible for everything, absolutely everything, that comes into our lives. What is going on within us is always reflected back in the world around us.

In the Classical Period of Yoga's history, around the turn of the millennium 200 BC (no one knows exactly) the teachings tend to lean towards reaching for the Divine by "escaping" the physical body with rigorous austere practices. There's an innate dualism in the early teachings with implications that the Divine is somehow separate or outside of us and that in order to truly know God, a purging and cleansing had to take place. Practices were almost exclusively meditation only with the belief that the spirit was superior and the body was inferior and through Yoga one was trying to liberate oneself from the limitations of the body.

Postclassical Yoga (aka Tantra) taught that the body was not in fact separate from the spirit and that we could experience ultimate bliss in the body, and in our lives. The duality of the earlier teachings started to dissolve. It taught that the ultimate practice of Yoga was to totally accept reality, as it is, and live in the present moment embracing everything.

Modern Yoga arrived in the US in the late 1800's with the well known Swami Vivekananda who came at the request of his teacher to spread the word about this thing we call Yoga. By the 1930's it was being studied as a movement advocating health and vegetarianism. By the 60's there were tons of teachers expanding the teachings into the western world and bringing such things as Transcendental Meditation and the highly summarized and beautifully simplified Five Principles of Yoga (from Swami Sivananda) which are:
1. Savasana (proper / right relaxation)
2. Asana (proper / right exercise)
3. Pranayama (proper / right breathing)
4. Proper / right diet
5. Dyana or positive / right thinking and meditation



So we don't need to "escape" our human existence. There's nothing to get out of or away from. This is it. And it is my belief that our ultimate destiny is Joy. My wish is that eventually we will all recognize that we are free. That we are powerful beyond measure. That we can create our lives as we desire them to be. That being said, we are also not meant (in my opinion) to be other people's doormat or punching bag. There is a time and a place to stand up for oneself. Being "spiritual" or "yogic" certainly doesn't mean you allow yourself to be walked all over. Far from it.

In the wise words of one American Yoga Teacher, John Friend:
"We see the world not "as it is" but as we would like to see it, and want to see it.
This doesn't mean we can do anything we want. We must pay respect and align ourselves with Nature; or pay the consequences when we go against Nature. There is always an invitation to come back to Nature; an unconditional welcome mat that Grace leaves out for us to step onto, and return to our true home."

Be Happy. Do Yoga.

Feng Shui

Feng Shu-what?!

I have amazing friends. I really do. I know the most fascinating people.
One day I'd like to rent a big huge room and just invite all the amazing people I know to come and have dinner. It would be the most vibrant and colorful dinner party EVER....filled with tons of laughter and the most astonishing conversations, I'm sure.

One such person who ranks highly on my list of favorite people is my friend Ginette Hunter. She happens to be a professional Feng Shui expert and consultant. Her business is called Harmony By Design.She has helped me many times in the past as I've sought her advice and expertise on several occasions.I can honestly say that Ginette is a true angel in this world. (Even though her assistance, at times, has created pretty wild waves of change in my life - it ultimately always ends up for the better.) ;)

Feng Shui is the ancient oriental art and science of balancing Chi, or energy flow, by arranging your home, your furniture, your belongings to create optimal flow of Chi in your environment. (That is probably the simplest and most Feng Shui For Dummies explanation ever given, but this stuff is pretty fascinating and seriously totally amazing!!)

The premise behind this whole practice is that you arrange your home/room/office with respect to certain Feng Shui rules including - the compass directions, the elements, and some of your personal details that the Feng Shui expert can help you uncover. I know I'm not really doing this any justice by trying to explain such a deep and immeasurably fascinating thing but this may be something you just might want to research more deeply....

I once brought Ginette to a friend's home who was  having a very difficult time trying to sell his house and was attempting to move forward with his career with absolutely no success no matter what he tried or how much energy he attempted to put out there in promoting himself. Ginette worked with him, which isn't easy and sometimes requires a bit of effort as things often need to be organized, de-cluttered, thrown away and rearranged. Within a few short months of the Feng Shui being applied to his home his house sold, he got a new job, a new girlfriend and his health and reputation soared to new heights, almost effortlessly. It was pretty wild to witness actually.

Ginette has worked with me in my office and helped to create a beautiful serene place in the middle of the city that actually seems to embrace you when you walk through the door, it's that peaceful. So - I decided recently to have her come into my home and help me re-arrange, re-align and re-energize my living space for Spring. With the busyness of my new schedule and the impending possibility of a big move in my very near future, I thought it would be a perfect time to get organized.

Little did I know how intense this would be.

I mean, this is like a full-on cleansing. I always thought my home was pretty organized. WRONG! As I started to sort through my closets and my home office  I'm discovering there is waaaaaay too much clutter lying around and hidden underneath and in between places I never even realized! And I'm uncovering strange things that I've "saved" for some odd reason. Like - old love letters, to-do lists, files from years ago that serve absolutely no purpose. According to Ginette, and the laws of Feng Shui, all these things act like stagnant heavy energy that inhibit proper circulation of healthy 'chi'. And it's so interesting how each part of your home represents a part of your life. When she began explaining to me how even certain art that was hanging in certain areas of the room were affecting the corresponding areas of my life - it was astounding. According to Ginette - she can tell exactly what's happening in a person's life just by walking into their home. This stuff literally boggles my mind.

An interesting side note - Donald Trump has personal Feng Shui consultants too. He takes this stuff VERY seriously and apparently doesn't build, buy or work anywhere that hasn't been properly 'feng shui-ed'.

At the moment I'm staring at a mound of clutter that needs to be purged. So far, this is not fun.
But - I've been assured it's all for the best and that the rewards at the end of all this will far outweigh the burdens of the task of sorting and clearing and re-arranging. Ugh. I hope so....

Off I go to shop for shelving units and closet organizers.....

I Love You.

The official name of my business is Planet Love Creations.

Why?

Because it is my belief that Love is the most powerful force in the Universe and the highest and purest energy there is.  It is also my belief that my life is a gift and that I am here to align myself with the energy of Love and live and work from that place – somehow creating something noble, something beautiful out of my time here.

It’s been said that there are really only 2 basic human emotions, and that all other emotions stem from one of these 2 things – either Love or Fear. When you really think about that – it makes sense.  And when you consider that underneath anger, depression, resentment, guilt, shame, envy, anxiety, rage, loneliness and sadness there is Fear; it makes practicing compassion for others so much easier.  Think of the last really intense argument you had with someone, especially one where you were the recipient of someone else’s anger,judgement or frustration. Remember how it made you feel.  It’s upsetting right?  Hell, yes! Now – think of that same incident again but try to imagine that other person like an innocent child – scared, uncertain, desperately wanting to be loved and accepted.

Kinda changes things doesn’t it?

It is my opinion that no one is innately just angry. Or just depressed. Or just jealous. We are not born into this world as such. I think all of those things are more like the tip of the iceberg.  Underneath the surface there’s a whole ocean of a deep and underlying Fear.  We become these things as a result of allowing our Fear to get the better of us.  What’s fascinating about Fear is that we all have it.  It is simply another thing that we all have in common and we all share.  It is one more thing that connects us to each other. So why, then, are we sometimes so quick to judge others? What is it that stops us from recognizing our unity with one another and taking a more objective stance when we see someone else’s Fear bursting out from inside of them?

I think our society sometimes has us on this quest for “positivity” and “inner peace” that we are taught to despise anything that remotely resembles our humanness. We are taught that any time we feel uncomfortable in the slightest, whether physically or emotionally, we somehow need to do what we can as soon as possible to get out of that place.  Like it’s somehow incorrect or improper to be anything other than what we are in that moment. At times I feel as if it’s almost unacceptable to be upset, or to express sadness, or even anxiety.  And because people often seem soooo uncomfortable with some of the more shadowy aspects of the human psyche, if one does happen to have a “bad day” there is often a feeling, for many, of shame and isolation. A sense that we somehow have to lock ourselves away until we’ figure it out’ because heaven forbid we show any kind of vulnerability!

 Fear is very humbling. I think that’s actually the point. It reminds us of our fragility, our mortality. It’s meant to keep our ego in check and help us maintain balance.  I think, handled correctly, it can be a great motivating source of power and strength.  But it’s learning first to accept it, and then act from that point of acceptance and humility. Pema Chodron a wonderful Buddhist teacher who has written some incredible books (When Things Fall Apart, Comfortable With Uncertainty, The Fearless Heart and many others) says – “This moment is the perfect teacher.” Much like the practice of Yoga – a lot of her teachings encourage us to ‘lean into’ the difficult or uncomfortable places.  To dive right into the middle of our own pain and fear, stare it square in the face, and then remain as present and as alert and receptive as possible as we watch it transform and change before our very eyes.  Our own awareness acts like a flashlight illuminating the darkness.

Unfortunately not all people think like Pema or have any inclination to practice such things.  It seems easier for some people to simply remain unconscious and continue to go through life burying their pain until it begins to consume them. Or, worse, they push their rage out into the world and into the lives of unsuspecting bystanders.  It’s horrible but we all have, or will have, encounters with such people.  Heck, we may even become such people!! This is life.  Discernment is obviously in order as there are times when remaining in a dangerous situation trying to see the ‘inner child’ and ‘inner pain’ of someone while they rant and rave and hurl obscenities at you just becomes ridiculous and totally unnecessary. Some people just want to remain angry and that is ultimately their prerogative.

I have one such person in my life.  For the sake of privacy I will refer to him here as Mr DarkCloud, because that’s exactly what his presence feels like – a cold, dark, heavy storm cloud filled with all things unpleasant. Sadly, despite my best and noblest attempts Mr DC has been, and continues to be on occasion, a source of much hurt and great pain in my life.  Although I have taken all the necessary measures to remove myself from any and all contact, Mr DC’s influence is still felt when my mind recalls some of the hurtful and distressing situations that have occurred.  And because negativity is contagious, I have to work pretty hard sometimes not to get drawn in to the magnetic power of the Dark Cloud.  One thing I find incredibly helpful is my I Love You meditation practice.  It’s sooo simple, and yet so unbelievabley freeing and healing I can’t even begin to explain it’s power.

It was first introduced to me by a close friend who encouraged me to research something called Ho Oponopono.  It’s Hawaiian and part of the ancient culture of the Hawaiian people. It’s a meditation practice for reconciliation, cleansing and forgiveness. In most Polynesian cultures it is believed that if you hang on to anger for more than 3 days, sickness will consume you. Like a poison – unresolved negative emotions can rob the body of health and vitality. A well known Hawaiian therapist Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len has documented proof of healing an entire ward of mentally ill criminals without even seeing them, using this technique.

Stay with me here...

The premise behind this technique is that you use 4 simple phrases, done silently in the privacy of your own mind, to align yourself with the energy of Love and forgiveness which can be so powerful as to illicit deep healing and wonderful changes.  The meditation is this:

Please forgive me. I forgive you. I love you. Thank you.

That’s it.

Repeated over and over.

If the object of your meditation, like Mr DC, is difficult to love – you simply imagine them in your mind and direct your meditation to the Divine or out to the Universe.

I know this sounds so incredibly flakey.  Believe me, I know.

But thoughts are powerful. And sometimes they’re all we have.  Sometimes it’s simply not possible or appropriate to talk to, or even be near, those people with whom we have negativity to clear.  I’ve also heard of this technique being shortened to one simple phrase, the most powerful one of all -  I love you.

Repeated over and over.

 I love you.

 Like a mantra.

 I love you.

 Directed out to the Universe, or to God, or to whomever/whatever you view as that power greater than you. 

I love you. 
To the people who have hurt you.
I love you.

Integrity

'Integrity comes when character is tested. Keep true, and never be ashamed of doing what is right.'

Hypnotic Suggestions

I am deeply fascinated by people. Always have been.

I am forever intrigued by the resiliency of the human body, and spirit, and our innate ability to heal ourselves.

And, over the last few years, I have been even more interested in the mind and the latent powers that lie within it.

I guess that’s what ultimately lead me to study Clinical Hypnosis.

After working with people for over a decade through the practices of yoga, meditation and the therapeutic applications of both, I started to wonder about a few things:

-How can an athlete train his whole life to compete in his sport and then when he finally gets the chance to prove himself, he bonks??...Gets in a terrible accident and totally loses any chance he’ll ever have to race for the National Team.  All his hard work, the constant sacrifices, his confidence, his hopes and dreams – done.  Over.  In an instant.

-Whereas another athlete trains the same way for his sport of choice, follows much of the same protocol, and goes on to become employed by the national team, win nearly every match decade after decade – making him a virtual legend and keeping him playing professionally well into middle age...??

-Or how about the cancer patient who is told the prognosis “doesn’t look good” and she simply believes it...accepts that this is her fate and quickly passes away within a few short months.

-Or the other cancer patient who is told the same exact thing, for nearly the exact same type of cancer, and instead throws herself into research, implementing diet changes, taking supplements, undergoing surgery and chemo treatments, while also undertaking practices that help her to calm down, de-stress, alkalize her body and visualize herself healed and healthy. Then – within a few months is suddenly “cancer free”...?!

-Or how about that really great guy/girl who is super smart, really attractive, sooo nice, interesting, kind and really fun to be around and yet they consistently seem to be in relationships with total a**holes who treat them horribly?!  No one can figure out why someone so great would stand for such utter nonsense. Yet they do – over and over again.

-Or – how about why some people seem to have no problems with money; it seems to flow freely and easily into their lives. Whereas others seem to work and work and work and yet never seem to have any money and always seem to be struggling/saving/scrimping/tightening their purse strings??

-Or how about the guy with the really smokin’ hot girlfriend who can’t stop obsessing about the fact that she is, or will, cheat on him? He obsesses about this so much that finally he ends the relationship because of the stories he’s concocted in his head. The girl is left bewildered and Mr KnowItAll won’t speak to her even though she has sworn on her life nothing of the sort has ever happened...

(I could honestly go on forever I think but here’s just one more...)

-And, finally, how about the fat homely girl who wakes up one day and decides she’s tired of being fat and homely and starts dedicating herself to a healthy eating and exercise program to ultimately drop most of her weight and become an elite level athlete in less than 2 years!? Compared to the fat girl who wakes up filled with self loathing about her weight and appearance and tries and tries to lose the weight, stick to an exercise program, eat healthier – only to bounce around like a yo-yo and ultimately fail – trapping herself in a prison of negativity and disgust...?!

I think you’re starting to get the point.

You know what all these people have in common?

Their beliefs.

With the release of such popular books and movies like The Secret and What The Bleep Do We Know? Many people have started to examine themselves a bit more closely.  And this is a good thing. Really good! The teachings and ideas in some of these popular self-help books are things that Yogis have known and been practicing for centuries. But it’s people like Milton Erickson, Franz Anton Mesmer, and other famous hypnotists in history who have really brought to light the idea that it’s not just our beliefs that are possibly shaping our reality, but also what we may believe at the deepest unconscious levels of our minds. Things that we may not even be consciously aware of!

 I recently came across some work by Joe Vitale that suggests the very same thing. That we can convince ourselves through “positive thinking” and “visualization” and the creation of “vision boards” that we are worthy of love and wealth, but if the deeper recesses of our mind contain unconscious beliefs that suggest otherwise, we will ultimately fail. We will ultimately sabotage our efforts or attract into our lives the very thing(s) we are desperately wishing to avoid.

Every day, in so many ways, people are constantly being hypnotized. We do it to ourselves with the perpetual repetition of our recurring thoughts.  Plus – advertisers, commercials, and images that marketing executives inundate us with every day, continually shape the way we view ourselves and our world.  It’s all planting “suggestions” into our minds that will ultimately affect what we believe to be real and true. 

The human mind is very suggestive.  This is true for everyone.  Whether you believe it or not.

Hypnosis is designed to lull you into a relaxed and thus highly receptive and concentrated state. A state that makes it easier to suggest things that will ultimately have a lasting and permanent effect on the way we think and what we believe.  It helps to guide the mind into an objective and creative place whereby the client can observe and begin to change some of those core internal beliefs that may be sabotaging the intention(s) to change, heal and/or improve themself or their life.

When I first started studying Hypnosis it was for sheer fascination and personal curiosity. Now, as my practice develops and I get busier with more clients, I am starting to notice just what a total powerhouse this is! It’s the missing link. The body and the mind both need to be on the same track for things to really get better.  My ultimate dream is that Yoga Therapy and Hypnosis become a more integrated part of our health care system. There are times when our doctors are needed to help support, and heal our internal physiology and our body’s chemistry to help bring us back into balance. But there is also something to be said for our own untapped internal healing capabilities. Medicine is not always the only answer.

So with the recent changes in my life and some of the stresses and patterns that I have recognized in my own self as of late, I have decided to take myself on as a client.  While I’m always working on my own yoga practice and continue to exercise and meditate daily, I am actually going to schedule time for myself at my office and enter into a self hypnosis program to start delving into the recesses of my own inner beliefs.  As a highly kinaesthetic person, I learn best through experience.  So – here we go.  I’m off into the deep unknown to see just what is lurking there that keeps me on my own lil’ merry go round of weirdness. 

Wish me luck. ;)  

The Coffee Fairy

So I’m driving home from spin class this morning – feelin’ powerful, feelin’ pumped, feelin’ positive. And I pass by a local coffee house on my way home and suddenly I fancy myself a tasty warm beverage.

So – i pull into the drive-thru . 

In my rearview I see a guy pull up behind me.  I can hear the bass of his loud stereo pumping. Slowly, the line-up inches along....and I patiently wait my turn to order.  I can sense something behind me and when I glance again into the rearview, I see that the guy behind me is seriously agitated. I mean – he’s looking pretty impatient – huffing and squirming and shaking his head in disgust.  It’s pretty obvious he’s definitely not having the kind of morning I am. 

Finally it’s my turn to pull up and as I do the lady inside the speaker says “just a moment please...”. So I wait, and I wait. And the dude behind me is getting seriously ticked off.  He actually honks his horn!! When I glance back he’s motioning with his hand - a gesture that seems to say “Come on! Speed it up.” For an instant I feel a bit of fire rise within me.  A few thoughts flash through my head... “What is this guy’s problem?! Geez, doesn’t he know that I can’t make this go any faster!? What a jerk.”  For that instant I felt really annoyed by his obvious anger. Talk about a buzz kill!

And it was in that instant that this lil’ situation could have gone one of two ways...

Negativity is contagious.  I mean, you can actually feel it transferring into you if you let it.  I should know, these last few weeks I’ve been the unlucky recipient of quite a lot of negative projections.  But this time – I thought “Hmmm...wonder what his problem really is? It sucks for him that he is so upset on such a beautiful day.”  And in THAT instant my annoyance turned to compassion and a vision of orange juice flashed into my mind (see earlier posts...).

So when I pulled up to pay – I told the woman inside that I would also be paying for the guy behind me. She looked a little stunned at first.  But – added his 2 XL Triple-Triples to my order (whoa....maybe that’s what his problem was! Too much sugar and caffeine!!) When I drove away I silently blessed him

Cheers angry dude in the black truck....Hope your day gets better!

Turned upside down

I woke up this morning with fire in my belly!

As someone with a strong interest and a deep commitment to Truth and Justice, I am truly confused about what to do when both of those things are being challenged!?

It’s funny how easy it is to practice “surrender” and “acceptance” when things are going well. But it’s in the not-so-good moments, the moments when life is turned upside down, that this becomes a really challenging practice. I’m writing about it because I know, at some point, this may also pertain to you.

Let me give you some examples…

 What do you do when your ex boyfriend publically starts calling his new girlfriend by your nickname?!

Or when someone accuses you of something that you know simply isn’t true?

Or when you go out of your way to put yourself out there – open, honest, vulnerable – and you get squashed, betrayed or humiliated?

Or when someone begins to profit and benefit from something that is actually your idea, your hard work?

Or when you see others lying, you know they’re lying and being deceptive, and yet you’re stuck about whether to get involved or ignore the injustice of it all and simply let nature run it’s course?

Every one of these examples are highly charged emotional situations that definitely have the potential to cause pretty significant discomfort.  So - ?

Here are some of the answers I uncovered:

-A very dear friend of mine says (as she often does) - “If you don’t know what to do…don’t do anything.”

-My Teacher (and friend) says: “You must send Love and Light. You must. Otherwise it will make you sick, literally.”

-Dr Wayne Dyer has this to say:

“First, you have to get past blame. Then you have to learn to send love to all, rather than anger and resentment. Just as no one can define you, neither do you have the privilege of defining others. When you stop judging and simply become an observer, you will know inner peace. With that sense of inner peace, you’ll find yourself free of the negative energy of resentment, and you’ll be able to live a life of contentment. A bonus is that you’ll find that others are much more attracted to you. A peaceful person attracts peaceful energy. You won’t know God unless you’re at peace, because God is peace. Your resentments literally send God out of your life while you’re busy being offended.

At the root of virtually all spiritual practice is the notion of forgiveness. Think about every single person who has ever harmed you, cheated you, defrauded you, or said unkind things about you. Your experience of them is nothing more that a thought that you carry around with you. These thoughts of resentment, anger, and hatred represent slow, debilitating energies that will disempower you. If you could release them, you would know more peace.

You practice forgiveness for two reasons: to let others know that you no longer wish to be in a state of hostility with them and to free yourself from the self-defeating energy of resentment. Send love in some form to those you feel have wronged you and notice how much better you feel.”

-My Vedic Astrologer says: “You just have to let go. Just let go.”

-In the words of another friend: “Just make yourself really strong. Be successful, be beautiful, be strong.”

-The tiny voice inside my head is saying: “Do more yoga and go ride your bike!”

Ugh. That’s exactly what I am going to do….all of it.