Sat Naam

I took a Kundalini Yoga class at Spirit Rising Yoga studio last night. I immediately bought a 10-class package. Here is an exerpt from their website which describes perfectly their purpose and mission: "Spirit Rising" is translated as "Cherdi Kala!". Cherdi Kala is the experience of a self-disciplined person who is self-realized and always has the energy to accomplish their mission in life. "How are you?", you might ask that person, and the answer with a smile is "Cherdi Kala! My spirit is rising!" It is a reference to the vital force of the Kundalini Shakti, active and unfettered by fear, ignorance or laziness and reflecting radiance, grace and nobility. The practice of Kundalini yoga is unlike any yoga I've ever experienced. Kundalini yoga focuses on postures (rather than poses), finger positioning, chanting and meditation. The class was an hour and literally felt like 5 minutes! I left the class feeling calm, peaceful and awake.

a new way to think about creativity

Have you ever felt really uncomfortable or self-conscious when trying exercise your creativity? If so, then watch this. It will force you to rethink and redefine what creativity means to you. Ole!

Visualizing Your Dreams

This is a picture of my vision board. I made it a few months ago and I look at it every day when I leave the house. A vision board is a collage of images, phrases, words of encouragement, really whatever symbolizes what you want or who you want to be. The vision board feeds into the Law of Attraction - the philosophy that we can attract what we want in life by through visualization, meditation and giving attention to those things. For me, the process of making the vision board was just as, if not more, important than the process of looking at it and thinking about it each day. It helped me identify key things that I see in my future, things that I want (own a restaurant, live on the water, travel) and things I want to be (healthy, vibrant, brave, calm and at peace). I also posted a copy of my budget and it's a great reminder. I've been able to save more than I ever really thought was possible since I did this exercise. Happy vision-boarding!

Revise Your Inner Mantras

We all have inner voices. What does your inner voice say to you? What is it saying right now, in this moment? Is there a common theme? These voices are important because they have an incredible impact on the way we experience the world. Your inner voices, your thoughts, create your reality. My inner voice hasn't always been so kind. On a bad day, my unconscious stream of thought can belittle me, tell me I'm lazy and unloveable. If we're not careful, these thoughts can form a mantra, or a group of words that are capable of creating transformation, in our minds. Whatever is playing repeatedly in your mind (I'm stupid, I'm a jerk, I'm a bad friend, I'm awkward) will ultimately be your inner mantra. My question is: is my inner mantra working for me and, if not, what can I do to change it? Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray Love, says, "You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That's the only thing you should be trying to control." Society tells us that, in order to find happiness, we need to control our outer reality (i.e. get a promotion, go to graduate school, buy a condo or a new car, save for retirement). Maybe it's just the opposite? I've been increasingly curious about meditation and affirmation as tools to help revise my inner mantras. Here is an affirmation from Deepak Chopra's The Soul of Healing Affirmations: Today, I will trust the unknown. The known is the prison of the past. Today, I will relinquish the known. Today, I will step into the unknown and in every moment I will lay my trust in the field of infinite possibilities. By the trusting the unknown, I will find creativity, imagination, inspiration, intuition, insight and conscious choice making. Today, I will step into the unknown. Today, I will relinquish the known. I will realize that the known is the prison of my past conditioning. By stepping into the unknown in every moment, I will enter the field of infinite possibilities. Today, I will trust the unknown and enter the field of infinite possibilities.

Word to your mother!

This picture is of my boyfriend's mom, Jan, and his older sister Micki when she was first born. For me, this picture totally embodies motherhood. I love these two women so much! I come from a long line of great women, most of whom are mothers. I'm fortunate to know my own mother who is inspirational to me in every way. Thanks, mom, for showing me what being a strong woman looks like. Word to your mother!

Why a blog?

Hello, friend! Thank you for visiting my blog. Perhaps you, like me, are doing a little bit of soul searching and are curious about what this whole "life" thing is all about? For me, it all began one morning on my way to work. I had recently graduated from college. I had just bought a new couch with my hard-earned money from my first real big girl job. At first, I felt a deep sense of pride that I had arrived - I mean, I was spending a substantial amount of cash on a couch of all things! Just a few short months before, I would have taken that cash and probably spent it as quickly as possible at Target. Obviously, I had become a competent "adult"! Isn't that what adults do? Commute, work, eat, commute again, eat again, sleep and spend that money on things like couches? But quickly my sense of pride turned into an nagging feeling that something wasn't right. I wasn't happy. I wasn't fulfilled. I started questioning everything (what's the point of all of this? what is it all for? why am I here?) which caused an enormous amount of anxiety at first. Eventually, I resolved that a capitalist existence wasn't going to be enough. I needed to do some serious soul searching. Since then, I've been on a mission of sorts. I'm learning (painfully slow most times) how to love the journey and it's turning out to be a great one. Enjoy. Leave a comment (sarcastic humor is always welcome). I'm glad you're here.