I walked this beach in Puerto Rico for hundreds of hours. I finally found what I was looking for
Sometimes I look back and retrace the path that led me to where I am today. While I don’t indulge in this behaviour all of the time, there are moments when I find it useful to remember how far I have come.
I used to believe that struggling and working hard were the necessary components to finding success. I now know that struggling and working hard only made me miserable.
When you begin to find clarity and a sense of purpose, it is amazing how things start to flow with a sense of ease. Circumstances beyond your control begin to align themselves to assist you with what you are doing.
Coincidences and synchronicity become a normal part of life.
Yoga means union. By getting out into nature, I remember who I am
I have dreams. I now realize that they’re not my dreams, but the desire of consciousness to create through me. If I stifle these creative impulses then I’m stopping the flow of life through my being.
When not allowed to flow, the creative energy will stagnate. Denying these creative impulses can make you physically ill.
How many people are walking around in the world doing things they don’t want to do?
How many people are brave enough to listen to those inner urgings and to follow them with complete abandon? Can doing something you love ever turn into a bad thing?
The need to create is part of the human experience. Shutting ourselves off from this need is like restricting the flow of air into our bodies. It is mostly unproductive and unnecessary.
Creation doesn’t need to take the form of art, like painting or drawing. It can be dancing, singing, writing, dreaming, and listening. Creation comes forth when we are in the present, not lost in thought.
Dreams are beautiful moments of creation. They are freeing, unexpected, and completely spontaneous. They can be inspirational or frightening, freeing or enlightening. Dreams are the mind’s opportunity to let go and create without a filter.
The goal is to free the mind from the filter during waking moments and allow creation to flow freely. Censoring the creation before it is allowed to blossom is painful and limiting. The inner critic can be so harsh, and so unnecessary.
When a person is judgmental towards others and the world around him, it is a glimpse into the inner workings of his mind. The inner critic is alive and thriving in this person, and his thoughts are tortuous to himself.
Inner criticism is like a poison that pollutes and harms from within.
Thoughts are our own unique representations of reality. They are chosen in each moment, and can be changed immediately. Bad thoughts or good thoughts all come from the same place, and we can learn to choose them more consciously. To constantly torture oneself with bad thoughts is hurtful and unnecessary.
The choice is there in every moment to experience peaceful thoughts, no matter what is going on in the immediate environment. If a situation is dangerous or unwanted, then steps can be taken in the moment to correct it as much as possible.
Every situation we experience is temporary and impermanent. It may be disturbing or painful, but it will not endure.
Making the choice to surround yourself with peacefulness and joy will attract the same energy into your experience. Thinking unpleasant thoughts attracts more negativity and perpetuates the unhappiness.
This incarnation is a mere breath in eternity. It can be a delightful one or a miserable one – that is the choice we make in every moment.
Every day we choose what to focus on. Sometimes we will hear something early in the day that can affect our mood for several hours to come. Often this happens when we’re watching the news.
Although there are a lot of bad things that happen every day, there are also a lot of good. We just don’t hear about them.
There’s something about human nature that makes us gravitate towards watching or listening to news that is disturbing. This morbid curiosity is possibly a way of acknowledging our own mortality from a detached viewpoint, without actually dealing with it head-on.
When you hear about bad things happening to other people, there is a sense of relief that it isn’t happening to you.
There is also a strange desire to watch things that we find gruesome. That’s why horror movies are so titillating. Video games also are becoming increasingly violent and are gaining in popularity. The tamer ones just don’t sell.
We can blame the people that are selling the sensationalism, but the only reason they are doing so is because it sells. The market is there, and people are buying it.
Every time we spend a dollar, we are voicing approval for whatever it is we are buying. If you don’t like the focus on violence but you are buying your kids the latest video games, then your message is divided and you aren’t being clear about what you stand for.
As soon as we start to vote to see a different quality of media with our dollars, then it will begin to change. Until then, the market will supply the demand. It’s that simple.
How are we supposed to do this in a world that seems to have gone crazy?
The only thing we have the power to change is ourselves. If you want to see peace then you have to be peace. You can’t fight against things and expect them not to fight back.
War has never solved anything in the past, nor will it in the future. By nations trying to position themselves as better than others, or more deserving, or holier, they are committing violence on others. It is impossible to choose sides on this planet and not cause our own destruction at the same time.
As individuals, we are guilty of this too. We form groups and segment ourselves by defining what we do as “better” and what they do as “wrong”.
But when something challenges our very existence, we rally together to fight what is endangering us. We are told by governments who we should like and who we should hate based on whatever circumstances are happening at that time in the rest of the world.
And these things are always in flux. Who we are supposed to hate today isn’t who we hated 50 years ago and probably isn’t who we will be told to hate 10 years from now.
What if we stopped hating? What if instead we extended common courtesy to every other being in the world, living the golden rule in reality as opposed to just in theory?
How different would the world look then?
Imagine, for example, if suddenly an alien race from a planet far away decided to come and attack our planet. Would it be possible for all of the citizens of the earth to rally together to fight this external threat? It wouldn’t matter which country you were from, all differences would be set aside instantly to deal with the new enemy.
Isn’t it possible, then, since hate can be transferred at will from one group to another, that we could inflict peace instead of the more destructive emotions of hate? Is it not possible for us to be living in a heaven on earth where everyone works together for the common good of all?
It seems like such a complicated undertaking, but in reality if each of us were to be the peace that we are looking for in the world, the world would be a place of peace. There would be no exceptions to this.
You are only one person. But if every one person changed himself, the world would be a different place in an instant.
Costa Rica – the ultimate place to lose and then find yourself again
Relief – switch the ‘f’ and the ‘e’ around at the end of the word and you get re-life. Have you ever wished that you could have a do-over, the ultimate mulligan as it were and go back and change a few things? Or maybe change everything?
Youth is wasted on the young. I’m sure that you have heard that one before, but there is some truth that our perspectives change as we grow older, and hopefully wiser. Things that once appealed to us don’t seem like such great choices anymore.
Let’s face it – we have all done things we regret! Whether it was something that now affects your current state of health, or a mistake that altered the path of your life forever, you can linger on thoughts of, “What if…?” or “If only I had (hadn’t)…”.
Nothing productive comes from dwelling in the past. But in this moment, you have the power to alter the course of your life forever.
Look around you. If you aren’t happy with the current state of your life situation, and you are about to live today exactly like you did yesterday and the day before, then your tomorrows are going to be filled with much of the same.
Fear of change can keep us rooted exactly where we are, unhappy but unwilling to take steps to move towards living a new normal.
I found for myself that when I changed the way I looked at things, everything around me began to change. In reality everything was probably still the same at first but it was what I was noticing that changed.
I started to see beauty everywhere, from a magnificent sunset to the flowers in bloom. I stopped being too busy to take the time to really see what was going on around me.
The most important thing to remember is that happiness comes from within. Just changing jobs, or careers, or relationships doesn’t guarantee happiness on the other side.
Remember , wherever you go, there you are. If you have a misery consciousness, outside circumstances will support that.
Through the gift of being more present and mindful, I found little ways every day to feel happy. It was addictive too – the happier I felt the more I wanted to feel that way all of the time.
Then I found out that it was contagious! As I became happier, I shared that with the people around me and discovered that when I was pleasant, everyone I encountered seemed more pleasant as well.
Is it as simple as being a “Pollyanna” and just walking around happy all of the time?
If the alternative is to walk around being miserable, then it doesn’t seem like a bad thing to try.
If you know that you need to change something, then change it. But first find the peace inside of you and live from that space. From there you will know exactly what you need to do.
Is it even possible to be content anymore? It seems that as soon as we achieve one goal in life, we instantly move on to the next one.
The question is, is that a good thing or a bad one?
It all depends on your point of view. If the constant striving is driven by a feeling of not having or being enough, then it can be a problem.
If you aren’t able to enjoy what you already have and are constantly envious of what others possess, then the striving will never be enough.
You will always feel empty inside.
If, on the other hand, you chase after goals because you enjoy the process and do it because it challenges you, then that is perfect! Life isn’t meant to ever stop, and by moving in the direction of the things we want we can find enjoyment in every day.
Write down five things you would like to have. It could be more money, a new house or car, a relationship, whatever you think would make your life happier or more complete.
Now look at the list and decide what emotion drives each of the desires. If you want more money, is it because you want to buy things, or you want the security that money can bring? Or is it because you think it will make you happy?
Find out what motivates you. Now find out if you can have the feeling without the thing you are chasing after.
Can you be happy without the money? Can you be satisfied without a new relationship? The key is to find the emotion without needing something outside of yourself to fulfill it.
When you can do that, you are truly free in this world and there is nothing you can’t do, be, or have!
Some days are more challenging than others. Some lives are more challenging than others. Everyone has a story, something that makes their life experience unique to them.
Make the most of your story. Choose to make the most of your life.
Five Things to Do Every Morning to Increase Joy
Wake up early Allow yourself time to accomplish goals by going to bed early and getting the sleep you need. You can’t win the morning if you are running on empty.
Express gratitude Sitting in meditation is one way to access a state of gratitude, but you can also take 5-10 minutes and just think about all of the things you are grateful for. This practice will change your life quickly.
Exercise Do something to connect with your body and get it going first thing. This could be yoga, going to the gym, jogging, or going for a walk. Appreciate the body as the vehicle that moves you through life and don’t neglect it.
Prioritize the day Know what important tasks lie ahead, and figure out which ones you need to do and what you can delegate or dismiss. You are one person – attend to the things that only you can do. Run your life as your business and be the boss of yourself.
Smile Stop taking yourself so seriously! Remember that nothing and no one you see will matter in 100 years. Live your life as though you won’t be here forever – because you won’t. It doesn’t have to be a struggle.
Even if you have challenges, appreciate that you are alive and be grateful for the air you breathe and the opportunity to be the captain of your own ship. Make decisions in every moment that propel you towards your goals, and don’t waste time on things that don’t matter. And remember, most of the things we spend our time thinking about and worrying over don’t matter.
Be healthy, be happy, and be whole. Be the kind of person who everyone wants to be around, not the person who no one can stand.
