Stronger ~ August 2011

Stronger

There's been a theme that keeps repeating itself to me this week so it must be shared. When life presents challenges to us it's so easy to fall into pity-mode and viewing ourselves as the victim. As is probably a pattern for many and something I fought hard against and feel that I am so close to having surpassed that hurdle. It occasionally still pops up. Sometimes I succeed in realizing I am no longer a victim and will not wallow. Other times my self-empowerment is low and I bring it down even lower when I allow myself a little victim party. So I say enough's enough! We are stronger than we think we are! It's all about how we speak to ourselves and what we believe! Truly!

We are not victim's of our circumstances. In fact, we created them. Each and every one of them. 100%! And more than half of that creation is a co-creation with many others in our lives from those in our lives at present and those who planted seeds throughout our life (from parents, teachers, friends, our culture and society as a whole). So we must take ownership of what is happening to us. We cannot possibly know every minute detail of they "Why's" and the "How's" of what is happening in our life. Sometimes we get the message and other times we are not meant to know, and yet again other times it is simply an experience to assist us to continue to grow stronger and more evolved. Better able to face our challenges and move through live with more ease in our center.

When a challenge comes up we can remain optimistic. We must see the reality for what it is and then begin to tap into the mysterious magical creative beings we are. We could wallow, but enough of that. That's boring. Been there. Done that. Instead it's even been proven scientifically that if you are an optimistic person even in the face of adversity you will make it through the challenge smoother, faster and more uplifted on the other side. Instead if you wallow and stay in that lower vibration muddling through the experience with a negative outlook it will be that much harder to get through the challenging experience and you will FEEL bad. Not only that, you will also be attracting more negativity into your life so you can continue to feel this low. Now who wants that!?

Use the Law of Attraction in your favor and be, see and feel the positive outcome. Solutions present themselves more easily to you when you have an open mind. If you are closed off due to negative monkey mind thinking you won't hear the solution. If you are free, open and clear it will just come to you naturally.

Challenges are a blessing in disguise. Sometimes something not-so-great happens and you realize in the end that it was truly exactly what you needed. It might have been a change in circumstance, that at first seemed awful but instead presented a huge opportunity for growth, maybe a move to a better more uplifting place or job, and maybe a new friend or relationship comes of the experience. You will get through it. We always do. Just know that you are always supported, loved and this too shall pass. So why worry. You will only manifest more experiences that will bring more worry to you. Instead get back to your center and know that whatever is happening: It's not good. It's not bad. It just is.

"Thinking isolates a situation or event and calls it good or bad, as if it had a separate existence. Through excessive reliance on thinking, reality becomes fragmented. This fragmentation is an illusion, but seems very real while you are trapped in it." ~ Eckhart Tolle

There are ways we can get into our center that will truly help us in the long run to rise up through the ashes of challenging experiences and remain in our balanced center. Below are seven beautiful and valuable tools to do just that and more:

1. Meditation is huge!: Just by taking a mere 15-20 minutes a day of quiet time you not only gain better balance and center, you also make it more possible to be more productive throughout the day. Your brain works at a more efficient rate and things get done. You are more in tune with your intuition and working in conjunction with your Soul!

2. Yoga: Need I say more. In yoga, you are also meditating as well as moving the body. Our bodies were made to move. Through yoga you are able to work with your mind, body and soul together, integrating these for a healthy and whole being. The health benefits to yoga are insurmountable and magical. I hear stories every day of folks being cured of asthma, arthritis, spinal and bone injuries and more! Just because they began a dedicated yoga practice a few times a week. You will feel better and more uplifted too!

3. Music: A magical cure for your moods. Music can bring you down or lift you up. So choose wisely the music that makes YOU feel GOOD, uplifted and even singing along. Music resonates at frequencies that can get in deep to our core and move blockages at a faster rate. Music can refresh you and leave you better able to make it through the tougher days.

4. Breathe: The power of our breath is key to everything. If you are getting stressed out, take a breather literally. Stop what you are doing and breathe in deeply, exhale slowly. Do this through your nose a few times. Close your eyes and imagine your breath going into every cell of your body, even as white light. Our breath is our prana life force energy, as we breathe we fuel our mind, bodies and soul's.

5. Use a mantra such as: Ommmm. Another good one is: It's not good. It's not bad. It just is. And breathe deeply!

6. Be the Witness: Try not to get caught up in a challenging experience. Take a step back and just observe what is happening around you. Come at it from a neutral state of mind and let the experience be. Then things will almost magically take care of themselves. Solutions will come, actions will be taken and peace can be felt even amidst the chaos.

7. Visualize: Our imagination is our tool of creativity. Since we are creating everything from our thoughts and emotions, it helps to visualize a positive outcome or at least to conjure a feeling of peace or bliss as the outcome to something that may be challenging in the very moment. Olympians and other athletes utilize this tool often as a way to gain momentum in training and ultimately winning the gold (or whatever the end result goal is in mind). I used this technique to shed over 90 pounds! Our brains do not know when we are actually experiencing something or just reliving it in our minds or, in this case, visualizing something new. Creating a new outcome of wonderful resolution with new solutions abound. The brain will still react and act as if it's happening right now and you will feel the same feelings again and by the Law of Attraction attract that which you are remembering or newly envisioning. Tap into this valuable tool for a more peaceful, enriching and happily loving life!

I do hope you all enjoy the last few weeks of summer!

Blessings to you on your path,
~Spiritual Cheerleader
www.SpiritualCompassConnection.com

June Yoga Pose of the Month: DownDog

Downward-Facing Dog (aka Down Dog)
Sanskrit: Adho Mukha Svanasana
Photo courtesy of my Husband:
Me at WWI Park in Plainville, MA next to a bridge over a teeny river :)

Okay, so usually you are on a flat surface, not working your way over a little river. :) But I loved doing it and the pose is so awesome! What nice it this still illustrates the perfect pose for Down Dog. You'll find this pose in most yoga classes and always in Sun Salutations and vinyasa sequences.

This is an amazing pose that over time works out to be your resting pose. You will enjoy more challenging postures and then come into this pose and stretch your *whole* body in the process. Not only that, but Down Dog calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression; it helps relieve the symptoms of menopause; it relieves menstrual discomfort when done with the head supported; it helps prevent osteoporosis; it improves digestion; it relieves headaches, insomnia, back pain, and fatigue; and it is therapeutic for high blood pressure, asthma, flat feet, sciatica, and sinusitis. It's just all-around excellent for your health. Why would you *not* do this pose during your yoga practice. :) Enjoy!!!

Directions on how to come into the pose:
Begin in Tadasana/Mountain pose, feet can be hip distance apart or close together.From here inhale arms all the way up, and hinging at the hips with a straight back, swan dive arms down towards the mat for a forward fold. Place your hands on the mat and step both feet back into a plank position. Body is straight, good straight line of energy from your head all the way down to your heels (no hips up to the sky in plank pose), then push your hands into the mat as you life your hips up high, press your body back into an inverted V position. Push up up up through the tailbone. Press your chest down as it reaching towards the mat or floor. Shoulders are wide and back and away from the ears. No air bubbles in those hands and your heels are reaching towards the mat. They don't need to touch just have the action of reaching. Elongate the spine here. Allow your head to hang loose and drink your breath.

Hold for five deep breaths. To come out, perhaps you can drop your knees down onto the mat from Down Dog and slide your hips back to your heels, coming into Child's pose. Rest here. This is a pose you can do when Down-Dog becomes a bit much. But as you strengthen your body, you will be able to hold Down-Dog longer and enjoy it more fully and deeply. Slide your hands up to your knees sitting up and roll out your wrists. Down Dog works a lot in the wrists, so it's helpful to loosing them up.

When not to do this pose or to modify/Contraindications:
Carpal tunnel syndrome; Diarrhea; it's not recommended to practice this pose during the last term of Pregnancy; High blood pressure or headache: Support your head on a bolster or block, ears level between the arms.

~ Maggie
www.SpiritualCompassConnection.com

Ignite the Fire ~ June 2011

Ignite the Fire

Ignite the fire within. It's never too late to feel the passion we are so naturally given in life. We can be drawn into melancholy as a goal to find inner peace and stillness. But there is a difference. Inner peace can be misconstrued and turn into melancholy. There are ebbs and flows in life. And we ride that wave. However, if we begin to grow lazy or complacent in one area, thinking that is how we are meant to be in order to steer clear of ups and downs we never enjoy the fire innate within us.

No matter what age we are, we have a purpose and we are constantly changing and evolving. The fire within us can always be ignited for a purpose, a goal to live life happily in joy rather than something that the same old same old.

In my "prior life" I was overweight and very lazy with not much by way of pursuing my passion. I didn't know what that meant. I didn't think life was more than working as an administrative assistant, food and the occasional personal connection. But there was something deep inside me and it was stirring. It finally burst when I was pushed even more into situations and relationships that were unhealthy and emotionally abusive. I just knew that there was something more for me. And I craved it!

And that's when I finally decided on a lifestyle change. I began eating better and exercising - finally! I chased after what drove me to my happy place and became an even more spiritually connected person. This spiritual connection was missing from my life and for most of the beginning stages of my life. But once I found this, I felt complete for the first time in my life and I wasn't about to lose that connection ever again.

Those around me still resonating at that destructive frequency were not happy with my uplifting change that stirred inside me. Eventually, these people got out of my life, either by my choice or there's. It was time. I changed.

This particular change began seven years ago! And now I am passionate about awakening that fire within others! To empower others to find that within themselves! Because it's there; always. Even today I will get complacent. So I have to be mindful and totally conscious to ask myself if this is a "rest" period in my life or ask myself: Am I going back into "unconsciousness land" and moving away from being truly totally ALIVE! Because there are rest periods, as we need balance in our lives.

However, we must watch these rest periods and not wallow too long because that can turn into a static state of being and become an unhealthy pattern. We might miss a window of opportunity because we fell into the pattern of rest rather than flowing with life like ocean waves! So yes, rest; maintain balance; recharge your system; and then flow, live, empower yourself to strive for a new version of yourself always.

Ask yourself today: What Sparks you today!? Then find a way to make it happen and be in that uplifting energy! The energy this month and this entire year is especially strong for our desires and manifesting those results! So take advantage!

May you know the peace that dwells within.

Blessings to you on your path,
~Spiritual Cheerleader
www.SpiritualCompassConnection.com

Don't Know. Don't Care.

During this Holiday season it is so easy to get caught up the hustle and bustle of obtaining gifts and running errands for the next holiday party. There are so many who have more stress and anxiety around this season that is supposed to be happy, peaceful and in celebration for our Source Connection. So now more than ever it is so important to come back to your center. To live in the present moment of stillness and love. It is so very important because it can be so easily lost when we are constantly worrying about what we will get for whom, what we can afford, who will be hurt if you don't get the "perfect" gift, how we will make the kids happy while still including others in on the fun, if we will have a job to sustain us, if we will get a job for some, who has crossed over and will no longer be with us in this reality, and this holiday bustle compounds the "usual" stress to a higher level.

It's imperative to get out of the past and stop worry about the future. Start living for right now. Right now, in this very moment there is peace. The stillness is with you if you only allow it to be. Take a deep breath right now and close your eyes. Inhale and exhale. What do you feel? Stillness? Peace? Love? It is this space within you that is always within you that no one and no thing can ever touch nor take away. It is your connection to the Divine/God/Universe. It is you.

In order to assist you this Holiday season, I want to share the gift of presence through meditation. I would like to share a meditation method that was shown to me by a Zen Master at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island during a one day retreat. This retreat was a six hour Zen meditation. This was the longest meditation I’ve experienced in one sitting thus far.

We would sit in the lotus position or with legs crossed for 20 minutes in meditation and then do a walking meditation for 10-20 minutes. Then sit for 20 minutes and do a walking meditation for 10-20 minutes. And the cycle continued until complete. At sporadic times during the sitting meditation the meditation leader would walk around with a stick and ask that you lower your head to the floor exposing your back if you would like to receive a tap on your back. It is the idea that this will adjust your mind when needed as well as your body to stay present during the meditation. I’m sure there are other subtle benefits as well.

A short time into the meditation we started to take turns going in to the Zen Master to have a discussion with him or to simply sit with him for however long we felt necessary. Some folks had long debates about spiritual or life issues. Others chose not to go in. When I went in it was about three hours into the meditation. All the questions I had thought I might ask the Zen Master went away. I no longer required answers. So I didn’t have much to talk about. He gave me a great meditation tip to keep me going through the last half of my meditation retreat. He said to simply chant a mantra in my mind coordinated with my breath. Breathe in, “Don’t Know”, Breathe out, “Don’t Care”. Inhale-Don't Know. Exhale-Don't Care. Don’t know, don’t care, don’t know, don’t care, don’t know, don’t care.

This is a wise mantra. The idea is that you are not in the yin and yang of life; the ups and downs; but rather view the experiences from a calm neutral place. It's not bad. It's not good. It just is. The more I learn the more I realize I know nothing. The Divine is all-knowing. So leave it up to the Divine. Freedom. Not caring about what’s going on around you does not say you do not have compassion for others experiences or the issues happening in your life. Instead it is more of a way of accepting what is going on as Divine. Because everything truly is Divine and happens for a reason. You are simply observing in a neutral but peaceful place of being. Don’t know. Don’t care.

"There is no waiting for something to happen, no point in the future to get to. All you have ever longed for is here in this moment, right now." ~ Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I've been on the meditation path for a decade now and the more I meditate the more I connect with the Divine/God. Meditation is my connection and brings me back to presence. I remember that I am now in a more constant state of meditation aka Presence/Stillness/Magic/Now. Today the sky was my meditation. the blue star-filled sky that changed to dusk and a beautiful sunrise with pinks and blues to yellow and blue. So magical. A stillness now always felt comes back to me during these moments. Sometimes my state of being wavers but the meditation practice brings me back to magical awareness...to "myself", the stillness within...to my connection to the Divine. Whatever your method the more you can dedicate a daily practice to connecting to Source the more you will feel that you have always been and always will be connected. It is the gift of presence. When you share this with yourself it is felt by all those around you.

So for this Holiday season. Give this meditation a try. Or simply sit in quiet peace for even five minutes a day and you will feel the benefits a thousand fold. The immediate benefits are clarity and relaxation. There are striking long-term health benefits from meditation as well. Breath awareness is another great meditation that you can do anywhere. Just notice and be aware of your breath, the inhale and the exhale. Your breath is always in the present moment so becoming aware of your breath pulls you in the Now. And if you're in a winter season, you can also enjoy the benefits of a beautiful snowfall. Get outside, breathe in the crisp air, and watch, and listen. If there is serene snow where you live, enjoy the snow as each unique beautiful snowflake falls. There is a unique stillness in the air when you can get outside and be with a fresh snowfall. Nature takes you back to your true essence. Each drop of nature brings me back to center and peace. It is my wish that each of you receive the gift of stillness and peace this holiday season.

Enjoy, live, laugh and love always!

Peace and Bliss be with you ,
~Spiritual Cheerleader