CL - 5/4/16 "Rain & Rebirth"

The thunder claps. The rain falls. The old, loose pieces wash away. And so the landscape is reborn. 

In reiki, rain is considered blessed. "Let the blessings rain on us all." The rain brings life. And bounty. Abundance. 

Tears fall, washing away what no longer serves. Leaving behind strength and clarity. 

CL - 5/2/16 #JustTrust

We may never understand all of life, but trusting that each event is as it should be is helpful. And all you can do. Stay strong in your vision of what you want for yourself and live with intention and action to become that. Everything will unfold naturally and easily. Now is all you have. It's all anyone has. The next moment is unpredictable and never promised to us in these bodies.

#justtrust

Excerpt taken from TRLE. 

JK - 5/1

7:48am, Westport, CT.

"I didn't wake up wanting to run out into the world, because I felt I would always be alone wherever I went.  Might as well just lie in bed, take two shits and journal to myself."

In bed, saying thank you for taking shits.  Expelling waste is essential as a human.  If we do not get rid of all the junk we build up on the inside from eating, drinking, traveling, BREATHING, loving, hating, caring...our systems will get clogged and essentially poison us from the inside out.

Thank you for plumbing, waste management experts and clean running water.  Roads, cars and engineering...Thank you for systems.  The system of the body, our finest universal measuring stick, and such a marvel of machinery.  Thank you body.

Fingers, face and lips.  Eyelids so I can go dark and conceal the external, reveal the internal.  Thank you ears, I love music and the sound of someone's voice.  Thanks to whoever discovered coffee, and the Keurig people.

Ugh, such a life.  I ask that my self and the radical music setup I have now be transported to a place, anywhere on Earth, where it will serve the people.  May it inspire them to discover their senses and say thank you for music, learning, taking shits and drinking coffee.  Maybe they already have it in many of the places I imagine going - like NOT America.

(Americans need healing just as much as anyone else.)

Everyone wants to heal.  Everyone has waste to expel.  Who EVER got it perfect and didn't have to "work it out", as we commonly say?  And notice how the phrase "working it out" implies taking what is or has entered into us and applying our will and effort to move it outside of our self; be it body, mind or spirit self which channels the movement.

Deep thoughts.  I tell myself I can avoid thinking deeply and live a simple life.  Then I think deeply about simplicity.

My joints ache a bit today.  It's cold outside and I will do some yoga and movement now to generate heat and feel more alive.  Screens are dull.  Handstands and twists are fun.

Thanks computer, thanks internet.  Thanks reader.

Aho.  Namaste.  Word up!  

CL - 4/26/16 "One Day at a Time"

I was photographing my "inspipic" for the day when one of the notes practically threw itself onto the floor, out of the folder I store them in. I figured this was more than a coincidence.

The note said, "One day at a time." 

Ha. So simple. And just what I needed to hear. Just a moment earlier, I was using my thoughts to dream up what could be for the future. I was questioning the reason behind my life and the situations presenting themselves. I was wondering what was to come in the near future. I've trained myself not to participate in this for the most part but I was indeed letting my imagination play this time. And my fears. 

When we are worrying about the past or future, we are not present. We leave the Now, and enter the world of illusion. 

Worry is resistance. So not only are we missing out on the beauty in the moment, but we are using our energy to create more of what we don't want, to push away what we do want. 

This very simple reminder, one day at a time, is so powerful. Stay in the moment. Live fully in each moment. Package up worry and fear and rest it aside. Use that energy to enhance your experience in the Now. 

Allow yourself to be here. Now. And only Now. Because that's all there ever is. 

Xo

CL - 4/30/16 "Honeymooning"

It can be really difficult to see past what is. Even more difficult may be to shift our focus off of what is. We can get so stuck in our situations we have a hard time seeing out, seeing solutions or different circumstances. We can have difficulty seeing people differently. We often forget the beauty around us, all the miracles, as we get "stuck in the mud" so to speak. End up in a rut. Become overwhelmed. Bored. Feel helpless against challenges. Etc. 

We often forget we are held by the unseen. That we are not limited by what we perceive now. That we are magical creators. 

It's one thing to know information. It's another to execute and practice that which you "know" in theory. 

Using the honeymoon period of a relationship as an example, we are so focused upon what's good about our partner and the connection that we are overjoyed. It isn't until we shift our focus onto the unwanted that our experience changes. Arguments begin. And the color and tone changes dramatically on both ends. Remember, “The people in your life will always give you exactly what you expect. No exceptions.” (Esther Hicks, Abraham)

As humans, we forget how powerful we really are. We have amnesia and totally miss what's really happening right in front of us. As our story changes, and our beliefs about our thoughts, our experiences change. 

Continuing with the example I used, if we could go back to that mindframe of appreciation and discovery and excitement and love, we can rebirth and renew our relationships and our experiences. You were not blinded by love during the honeymoon phase. You were actually able to see.  You were allowing yourself to create and share a beautiful experience that was aligned and felt good. It wasnt until fear and the ego kicked in and you started to judge and create stories that something changed. Maybe you fell back into old patterns or self limiting beliefs.  Regardless of what occurred and was real for you, at the time, all that really changed was a shift in your perception and focus and language.

We have the ability in every moment to choose to focus on the good and to feel good and to create a honeymoon for ourselves and experience that in all areas of our life every day.

Pull your focus, not your love. 

Let this be a reminder for you today that you can shift your focus onto the "bright side" and experience that instead of focusing on what you feel is right in front of you or limiting you. 

Remember you are a magnet. Focus on the good. Feel good. Bring in more good. Repeat.  

Happy Saturday, friends. 

Xo

CL - 4/29/16 "Death"

I used to contemplate death often. The closest I ever came to a panic attack in my lifetime was one night when I questioned what it would feel like being in the moment of my death. My legs started to tingle and breathing became heavy. My stomach tickled with nausea and my chest felt like it weighed a ton as it labored up and down. 

Since having my daughters, I haven't driven myself crazy with the nuances of what death may look or feel like. But it's no surprise I used to often use the phrase, "tomorrow is never a promise. Live full today." I carried it with me all these years. 

We can still embody that principle without sending ourselves into fight or flight. We can live full today. Everyday. 

And what does that mean exactly? 

Very simply, living fully means being present in every moment. That's the best we can ever do. Experience each moment. Appreciate each moment. As though it's our first. Or last. Take full advantage of all the tastes, smells, feelings, sights and sounds. Slow down enough to savor it all. 

Complete mindfulness. Total gratitude. Unconditional love for all that is. And isn't. 

I encourage you. Be mindful. And...Live full today. Everyday. 

JK - 4/23

Softness.

It's a been a theme in yoga classes and in my emotional sphere of awareness; to soften into changes.  To soften into poses.  To soften around what is.

What is...softness?  Like, when we ask "What is freedom?", there are qualities or attributes we use to identify and define things.  We categorize and classify them so we know how to identify them when they show up for us.  Because identity is pretty huge for human beings, at least right now.

So what is softness to me?  What is freedom to me?  I do not know who you are, so I can only speak for myself and hope some of what I feel resonates or aligns with you.  These are not generalizations, they are statements of my own experience.

Softness is gentle, calm and slow.  It is tender, forgiving and very humble.  It sees but does not glare, and it holds but does not grip.  It is space, content with being empty; not needing to be "full" of any thing.  It is the thing it is full of and therefore, authentic and content.

Freedom is the space and boundaries.  It is a state where limits are not constricting, and eternal universes of endless, beginningless possibilities are neither overwhelming or elusive...like too much space can often be.  Freedom is not the absence of direction, but all direction and no direction.  It is the painting, and the canvas.  The painter is free to paint what he wishes, and accepts the painting has borders and exists within a set space.

Ponder this, whoever you are.  What does softness mean to you?  What does freedom mean, to you?

How soft is your freedom?  How free is your softness?  What qualities do you embody when you feel soft and free?  What pulls you out of that embodiment, consciously or unconsciously, and what centers you back, consciously or unconsciously?

Exploration.  It's what's in fashion here at the Free4Four!!!!


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