The Truth Always Wins

"Truth" is another term that has become overused and diluted by Ego. If we think we know the "truth", then we (Ego) feels the need to convince everyone around us that they must agree with our version, or they are wrong. This baffles me, time and time again: Why is your version of the truth the only one? What level of arrogance pulls you to this conclusion, that you are the end of the line on any information? We don't need to make everyone else wrong in order for us to be right. 

Every Perception is Valid 

I prefer to look at it like this: MY version of the truth is valid.......as is yours, his, hers, and theirs. Perception is the name of the game in this scenario. If you can truly realize that everyone's perception is 100% valid, you can let go of that part of your Ego which traps you every time. If you are a teacher, speaker, or other kind of information dispenser, you will find yourself in situations where many people want to hear what you have to say, and you may get a lot of people to agree with your perception. However, there is always going to be at least one person who raises questions, and challenges your beliefs and information. This is such a great opportunity for you to grow and shift, if you choose to take it that way. 

Your Beliefs Are Your Own

You are allowed to believe and think whatever you choose for your reality. Let's not confuse your opinion as fact, however. The cool thing about this concept is that is frees you, and everyone else, of needing others to validate your inner truth. You are the only one who can validate this for yourself, and even of you do get a few people (usually your friends) to agree with you, it isn't really true until YOU believe it. What if you had a belief that a group of people were "out to get you"? You might choose to go around and tell your friends how you are being targeted energetically, and these people are terrible, and so on. Pretty soon, you have spread this belief all over the place, and even though this group may or may not be "after you", you have created a vibe of mistrust and even the expectation that you are a target. This is energetic suicide, and all you have to do to change it, is to change your filter, and shift your belief. What if you went all over town with the belief that everyone loves you and accepts you just as you are? What kind of vibe do you think you would create with that? 

You choose your own reality, and if you can truly embrace that concept, you are limitless in your power to create the life that you desire! Today, create awareness around a limiting belief that you may have, and experiment with a new thought pattern, in the name of changing your Truth. It may be painful at first, as all new patterns tend to have an uncomfortable air about them at first, but you will get the hang of it, in due time. 

For more information and to learn energetic tools that will help you shift your limiting beliefs, email me or check out the video on my Home page. 

Are you reaping what you have sown?

Chances are, in the past, you have done some things that you are not too proud of.  You may not want to admit it, but if you are human, you have made mistakes, and made choices which have hurt others, intentionally OR unintentionally. "Karma" has become a cliche, mostly in thanks to shows like "My Name is Earl," and the phraseology which has emerged.  You may have heard things like, "Karma's gonna get you," and "You are creating some bad karma!" I have tried to use it in a positive way, as I think you may be missing the point if you are wishing "bad karma" on someone else.  Are you not, by wishing harm to another person, creating some bad karma for yourself? My interpretation of karma is that you "reap what you sow." This particular phrase has been around long before yoga was trendy, and milk came from nuts and beans. Growing up, I heard it a lot, but I never truly knew the meaning until recently. Many of you know that I have a checkered (to say the least) past. I have struggled a lot to find my inner peace and spiritual center. From pain and adversity comes progress, and I am living proof of that! Anyway, as I was going through my party phase, I was not living consciously, and I made many bad decisions. Most of them were fairly innocuos, but a couple have come back to haunt me, and I have lost a dear friend due to one particularly fateful choice.  As I reflected on this, and heard her pain, I realized that this is my karma.  Even though I did not do what I did to harm her, or intentionally cause her pain, all these years later, she is as hurt as if it happened yesterday, and will never look at me the same way again. It is my karmic debt to her, and the price is steep.  I have to acknowledge that I used to be a different person, in order to fully embrace who I am NOW.

Next time you make a decision, think about where you are in your consciousness.  Are you aware and awake? Are you in fear? The energy that goes into your choices is the energy that will come back to you, eventually. Plant buds of love and kindness and you will soon reap the rewards.

Wishing you all the best KARMA in the universe! xoxo

Are you the egg, or the chicken?

*******I just got done with a fabulous visit from my parents, and that is why I am a few days late with this:) A very good friend and mentor of mine once told me, "Think of yourself like an egg.  You have all you need to grow inside you already." I have been noticing all the people around me who have been searching for the meaning of life, happiness, or whatever they think they need for fulfillment.  When you reach outside of yourself, you break your inner strength, in essence, you "crack" your shell, and then you have to start all over.  What information do you have inside yourself today?

I see this manifested in many ways, and, especially in the spiritual community, people are consantly seeking information from others.  In my work, I have done many readings in which the person wants an answer.  But, like I tell them, I don't have YOUR answers, and if you don't know, I can't reflect it back to you.  MY answers won't work for you.  A lot of us have other people's information telling us to do something a certain way. This ultimately ends up looking like "obligation," or "responsbility." We arrive at "resentment," and often have a "mid life crisis." When you don't really know what YOU want, no amount of workshops and seminars can tell you.  In order to truly find YOUR truth, you need to learn to go within.

Learning to listen to your inner voice requires ALONE time.  Most of us are so wrapped up in our distractions, and keeping "busy," that we do not even know what this feels like.  Many of us are uncomfortable with being alone with ourselves.  Practicing meditation or yoga, something that requires you to focus within, will help you to find that quiet place.  Although, you can certainly practice these things with others, and still not be quiet.  I used to go to yoga with a friend who wanted to talk through the whole class.  Filling the quiet spaces with chatter is simply allowing your fear to take over, and it will keep you going in circles.  As my meditation teacher explains, "Gossip and chatter is a really good way to keep from resolving your inner issues."

Wishing you all a wonderful day, and, as always, feel free to comment, share, and email me!

Are you wearing your unhappiness?

I live in a beautiful beach community, and I try to take advantage of the beach as often as I can.  Yesterday, having just recovered from the flu, I decided to go down and just breathe in the fresh air, taking as long of a walk as I felt I could enjoy.  As I walked along, just breathing and smiling at people, I noticed a group of women jogging towards me on the strand path.  Now, these women were very noticeable because, in this community, you

rarely see obese people.  I think this is a combination of simply "the LA mentality" in which women in particular are shamed into thinking that they have to be thin in order to be beautiful, but I choose to embrace the positive part of that mentality, which is that we live where it is sunny and 70 most of the year, and outside exercise is possible almost every day.  Additional impetus being, at any given time you could be asked to attend a pool or jacuzzi party and if you are not wearing a bikini, you may as well be sporting a burka for all the strange looks you will receive.  Your choices are to remain antisocial, or live somewhere else.  So, this group of significantly overweight women struggled towards me, some at a slow jog, some at a brisker walk, but all with the same expression:  misery.  The woman who was clearly their "leader" was 100 pounds soaking wet, and as they passed me, I heard her spouting a bunch of nutritional facts, using words like "bad" and "crap" to describe choices someone might make.  With her every peppy word, it seemed that the energy of the group spiraled down further.  As I continued down the path, I saw more of these women, who were the "stragglers", and finally, one, sitting on the side of the path, almost in tears, clearly not "having fun."  I almost stopped to ask her if she was ok, but I  did not want to add to her palpable humiliation.  I was overcome with sadness at the shame we inflict on others for simply using food as a coping tool in order to deal with the difficult issue of self hatred.  Their addiction is no worse than the drug user, the alcoholic, the sex addict, or the shopping addict, to name a few.

I have been reading Collette Baron-Reid's book, "Weight Loss for those who Feel too Much," and this has opened my eyes, not only to some of my issues, but to many others on the same path.  How are we helping food addicts by making them feel even worse about themselves?  The Biggest Loser is so painful for me to watch that I have yet to watch one entire episode.  Is our value really all in the number on the scale?  And, if we gain 5 pounds, we are "bad" and "in trouble."  This is only compounding the problem.  I am reasonably sure that if, instead of boot camps and fat free foods, we gave each other positive compliments, aka positive reinforcement, the tides would turn much more quickly. We can encourage others to be healthy and love themselves, and this, in turn, will help them to make different choices to care for their bodies.  I know many trainers who think

posting photoshopped images of "perfect" bodies is inspirational, but this is the opposite for most people.  This really makes me angry!  The message is:  if you can't be perfect, you may as well stay home and eat chips.  I saw an ad for "Plus size yoga" the other day....YES!  Great idea!  As a society, we have placed the emphasis on the wrong things for too long. Unhappiness makes you want to soothe yourself, and for many, food is that balm.  As a recovered anorexic, I can tell you that NOT eating comes from the same place.  It is all about self punishment and misery in that space.  Until we teach people to really love themselves, they way they are, we can not really help them to care for their bodies in a healthy way.

I am deeply saddened by the trainers and coaches who think they are helping people by reinforcing the guilt and shame pattern.  The fact is, this is so prevalent in today's society because fat is the last accepted prejudice.  It can be used as a cop out for many things, and it makes thinner people feel superior.  "At least I am not THAT fat!"  is something I have heard from others.  I encourage you to have compassion for those who are struggling, and offer loving support, instead of using it to make yourself feel better.  Perhaps you can learn something about yourself in the journey.  Fat is simply wearing your emotions on the outside.  Cancer is wearing them on the inside.  How about if we actually DEAL with our emotions?  That's a novel concept.

Blessings to your and yours today!

Growth and other things that hurt

My life's path is shifting, and this is painful. Today was a pivotal day for that change. It seems as though setting boundaries really pushes things along quickly. When a person speaks to me in an abusive way, and I stand up and say "Please stop! I don't deserve this!" whatever the result of that interaction is what is right. If you stay in an abusive situation because you are scared of what awaits you outside of that, you are not being true to yourself. Speaking up and saying no is showing yourself the respect that you deserve. If the abuser reacts angrily, you know you are really onto something! Loss is always painful, even if you know it is the right thing. I have loved and lost many times, and I am sure I will do it again at least a few more times. I will not stop loving, as a wise friend told me, "You can not really get hurt unless you take things personally." If I love myself and really know that I have value, no one can tell me otherwise. If you think you are stupid, and someone else tells you that they think you are, too, that is going to hurt. If you don't have a problem with your intelligence, and someone calls you stupid, you will laugh because it just seems silly. In that way, you are responsible for your own feelings and thoughts. No one can "make" you feel any way that doesn't already exist within you.

As I go about my day, I can make choices which blame others and avoid some of the pain. But in the end, I will just prolong the agony, as it will more than likely keep coming up until I deal with it myself. Your pain, or unhappiness is within you, and you will not find a permanent resolution outside of yourself. I'll take that pain now so that I can grow and evolve and welcome my next experience. I make mistakes daily, and laugh at myself as much as possible. Sure, there are moments of pain and sadness, but they are always replaced with something else, and I have even learned to welcome them, in a strange way. I trust the process and I trust myself.

To quote my favorite yoga teacher, "Don't be a human "doing," be a human "being." Wise words. Namaste.