Love With Your Whole Heart
Love. Love is the craziest of all feelings. What I find strange about it is that it can be as all consuming as grief and hurt just as much. For those of us who have incredibly open hearts, life can sometimes suck. Loving people and things with your whole heart, with every fiber of our beings, can leave us extremely vulnerable and susceptible to unbelievable pain when this kind of love is not returned… but I wouldn’t live my life any other way. This kind of love has allowed me to help myself, and most of all, help others. I always say, “give of yourself, if and when you can.†Giving to charity is something that is very important to me, but I’m not a Rockefeller, so monetary donations can’t happen as often as I’d like, but what I can give all the time is LOVE.
Mind Over Matter
Any time I was afraid of something or felt my body giving in to illness, I remember my mom saying, “mind of matterâ€. Unfortunately, that statement isn’t very true when it comes to getting sick. I mean, I’ve successfully held off vomiting a few times, but always succumbed to it not matter how hard I thought I wouldn’t let myself get sick. As far as conquering fears though, I think this is definitely true. It all comes back to the mind being incredibly powerful.
Pamper Yourself
Does anyone else tend to feel bad for having “me time� Have you ever been getting your nails done and thought, “why am I spending money on this when I could be donating it to charity� I know there is always part of me that feels guilty for pampering myself, but I work hard and I need to start feeling more comfortable with taking care of myself, as should you.
The Law of Attraction
I’ve talked about the fakers and the doers in another blog. They are people that either talk a lot of game or they’re actually working hard and doing things. When it comes to achieving your goals, it’s important to set intentions by speaking and writing what you want. I’ve watched the documentary The Secret about a dozen times. The Secret addresses the law of attraction. What you put into the world, you get back. Your thoughts are vibrations and have the ability to attract the things, but if you don’t actively work for your goals, will you achieve them?
Icons in Your Life
I know many people who have religious alters in the their homes. I like to have Jesus around looking down on me, especially when I think one of the girls on the third floor of my complex is possessed, but that’s a story for another day. What is it about having icons around that make us feel good? Religiously, it fills us with a sense of security when we feel that the spirit is with us, in our homes, keeping us safe, but what about other icons and altars? Ones that are solely based on good vibes, mojo, juju or whatever you want to call it. How can we surround ourselves with icons that we connect with on a higher level?
Self-Reflection
Self-Reflection Change is always hard, but if you don’t understand why you do certain things, change will become even harder. Self-reflection can be a tedious process if you’re not used to tapping into your own mind, but it’s an important process to go through if you want to move forward in life. Have you ever failed to do something multiple times? Maybe you’ve tried to diet and just can’t seem to stick with it. There may be things in your past, locked inside your self-conscious, keeping you from achieving what you’d hope to. Self-reflection is also great way to learn how better ways of coping and most importantly, loving yourself through all of your trials and tribulations.
Ground Yourself in Nature
Personally, the best therapy for me has been nature. I’ve done the whole “couch time†thing and while it helped me through a really dark time, now there is nothing that helps me ground myself more than stepping outside. Hiking not only helped me lose the majority of my weight, it allowed me to distress, think, and ground myself. Using nature as a grounding element is a form of meditation. You don’t have to be still but it’s best to be quiet. Listen to what is happening around you and listen to what is happening in your head and in your heart. LISTEN. That is what it’s all about. The vibrations of the universe will ease your soul. If you have anxiety, instead of curling in a ball, take your shoes off and go stand in the grass. If you live by water, put your bare feet in earth’s natural water. Your life, like the ocean, has high tides and low tides. Nature has such amazing healing properties if you open yourself up to them.
The Scale is a Liar!
I’ve been obsessed with that number… that little bastard staring up at you making you think that you’re fat. Let me explain to you why that scale is a dirty liar. 4 years ago, at my lightest, I was 108lbs, but I was what you would call “skinny fatâ€. I was thin, had no muscle, and yet still looked a little bloated. I started doing Beachbody’s Insanity about a year later and gained 6lbs. The scale is sitting their telling me “OMG YOU GAINED 6LBS!!!‖but my mirror was telling me I was leaner and more muscular than I had been at 108lbs. The scale doesn’t tell you the whole story. My suggestion? Get a tape measure and a camera. Pictures are worth a thousand words… Inches lost are more important than Lbs lost. No more torturing yourself with the scale.
Little Changes Yield BIG Results
When I first moved to Hollywood, CA and was finally ready and focused on my weightloss, I didn’t know where to start. I was very out of shape. Running was out of the question, I got winded going up and down stairs, and I had a hard time doing bodyweight exercises. So what to do when you feel like the cards are stacked against you? Walk! Get your body used to movement.
The Purge
If you don’t need it, get rid of it. If it doesn’t serve you, let it go. This is easier said than done, but it’s also vital in living a balanced life. I believe that things that don’t serve you build up into negative energy over time. This goes for things and people. There’s a reason you feel good after you’ve cleaned up clutter… it’s a form of cleansing. It’s also a good practice to sit down and thing of how to purge every so often. Are you building up a lot of “things†that you don’t necessarily need? Are you not putting your belongings away? Do you have people in your life that don’t make you feel good?
Book of Intentions
A Book of Intentions, not to be confused with the Book of Shadows from Charmed, may help you unlock your mind and start living to the fullest. You could call it a diary or a journal, but what I like about calling it a “Book of Intentions†is you can literally write down your future. This is a book for you to jot down all of your goals and wildest dreams. It’s also a place for you to write down daily feelings of gratitude and affirmations. I’m a firm believer in if you write it down, you will bring it to fruition.
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