A Place of Divinity
is within you and me,
In the Heart it will be found
A Love so Profound,
A Love that has no words
as feeling as Free as the birds,
Go beyond the drama of the mind
there you will discover this one of a kind,
Let go of your fear
that’s not why you’re Here,
You are this Pure Love
Sent to Earth with a Gift from Above,
Your Purpose is to Share
You are Unique and so Rare,
Find Within you the Divine
For it unites the illusion of yours and mine.
‘Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are.’
A great quote. Yet for beginners, this may seem a bit confusing and mind boggling..
How on earth are you supposed to find out more about yourself through practising some postures and breathing?
Ever been to a yoga class determined to quieten the mind and be in a peaceful space.. then find the person practising next to you has really loud distracting breathing? You can’t really ask them to stop breathing so you have the choice of being agitated and annoyed for the next hour or to change your perspective and just accept it and let it be.
Similarly in life.. we may expect things to go in a certain way but then outside circumstances change it, we either accept them and adjust or we end up suffering and hurting because we resist and let our emotions get the better of us.
Being on the mat allows us to be. A time to come to the present moment, bring awareness to ourselves, watch the mind and listen to the body.
Attempting to be present in the now is something we all manage to do for only a short period of time before we get distracted.. let alone a 90minute class! By watching how present or how easily distracted we are on the mat, we can then see that this may reflect how present we are in the rest of our lives, spending time with loved ones but thinking of work? Spending time in work but thinking about what to cook for dinner? If this is the case then you may be present physically but not as you, this is how you let life slip by because you’re never really there if you’re not really present.
Being on the mat brings this new found awareness into your life.
Watching the mind can prove interesting in yoga, especially when you come to postures that appear difficult. The mind might say ‘I can’t do that’ before even trying. How many times does this then also reflect in your normal life? The mind might be too busy concentrating on how much more flexible your neighbours are compared to you leaving you feeling inferior ; could this also be true that you then spend a lot of time comparing your life with other peoples?
One of my favourite reasons I enjoy practising yoga or meditating is so I can see where my mind is at. Everyone’s state of mind changes from moment to moment depending on what’s happening. I can wake some mornings and be fully present and peaceful, other times my mind will be thinking of past, future, day dreaming and distracted and that then tells me that I need to put some extra work into achieving peace for myself and doing less.
It let’s you come to know yourself in a new way, listening and allowing you to help yourself.
How much do you listen to your body? Do you find that you will attempt the full posture instead of a variation because everyone else is doing that, even though your hamstrings might be yelling for you to stop pushing yourself. Or do you find that you could push yourself further into a posture but you like to relax and play it comfortable? Again, these things can all reflect in how you go about your daily life.
So.. Let the yoga mat be your place of learning, enter with an open-mind and child like curiosity. There is no need to judge any of these things that you may discover about yourself. Observation is simply watching, don’t take it too seriously and put a judgement of it being bad or good. See it as a game and say ‘thank you for that lesson, I can now be aware if I do something similar in daily life.’
‘Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are’
Namaste!
What are you Doing?
This is one question that triggers a whirlwind of thoughts, feelings and emotions for me.
For years I have been growing up with people taking general interest in my life and asking the innocent question – ‘So, What are you doing next?’, ‘What are you doing at the moment?’, ‘What are you doing next week?’
I have heard these four words far more than I’d like to.
The truth is the question creates bouts of anxiety within me. People ask out of interest, good nature, general polite chit chat. Not quite realizing perhaps what they’re asking.
When I hear these 4 words I hear expectation and pressure.. and what I feel when I hear these words are anxiety, guilt, uncertainty and failure. Because the answers usually is I don’t know.
I guess my perception has become warped with my own insecurities on the matter but I am sure that I am not alone as many of us are in the same boat.
When someone asks ‘What are you doing’ – I feel they expect me to know, and I don’t know so there’s uncertainty and I feel like a failure for not knowing. I also feel pressure that I should have a plan, and then I feel guilty again for not having one.
The thing is I don’t have a plan. I have learnt through life experience and travelling that plans don’t always go to plan. Life does it’s thing and we can choose to accept where we are or suffer with non-acceptance and wishing to be somewhere else.
I actually find this topic quite hard even to write about, it creates tension within me. When I was travelling I was able to answer this question much more freely and laid-back, because everyone seems to be on the same wavelength, not knowing where we’re going but trusting it’s ok and allowing things to unfold exactly as and when they’re meant to.
The thing is there’s a lot of freedom in ‘I don’t know’.
I say this from experience – I left my uni course to a year of ‘What are you doing; I don’t know’ scenarios and decided enough was enough and went travelling and working abroad – something I’d never done if I’d stuck to my safe certain uni degree that didn’t make me happy.
Possibilities arise if we are open to them. Changing perspective is fundamental, it’s the only thing we have control over, we have a choice.
Will your ‘I don’t know’ be one of despair, stress and anxiety – (which doesn’t make you know any more 😉
Or can you allow it to be exactly what it is.. at this very moment in time you don’t know. Which gives you the opportunity to explore, discover new things, places. Volunteer, try something different.
There is nothing wrong with not knowing where your life is heading.. in fact nobody knows. There is no certainty for how life will unfold. Isn’t that the magic of it all?
Not knowing what magic is around the corner, what opportunity can arise if you open yourself to the infinite possibilities that the world has to offer?
Go volunteer in Africa, Go raise money for charity, Go explore a new way of living. If you don’t have a next step plan in life – Take it as a sign from the Universe that you’re meant to explore now. You are free.
I know the next time someone asks me ‘What are you doing’ I am hoping I will of changed my perception a little and have the courage to answer from my heart..
‘I don’t know but I know it’s on the way, I am just going with the flow of life and letting it unfold as it is, when I’m supposed to know then I will know. For now exploring, discovering and learning is what I’m doing and I know every piece of the puzzle will finally fit together when the time’s right.’
Trust in yourself. Trust in Life. Recognize your freedom in unlimited possibilities, they are waiting out there for you.
Dear fellow human beings..
We all recognize that we are humans.. but can we say the same for being?
I think the correct term nowadays would be that we are humans doing. We have forgotten what it is to just BE.
This may be quite confusing so I’ll back up. We have evolved into a productive society, we are highly intelligent there is no doubt about that but it seems that we have forgotten the intelligence of BEing – that is to listen to our inner selves (intuition, gut feelings etc)
Why is this? Because we are so busy DOING.
It’s like we are on a non-stop tredmill completely unaware because we think it’s normal. We live as slaves to times, schedules, meetings, routine.
I am saying this from experience – I know that when I’m in tredmill mode and I sit down, I get really agitated and can’t relax for more than 5 minutes, I have to get up to make a tea or read a book or DO something!
Our being is our true essence. If we don’t make time to connect and listen to ourselves and be with ourselves then we are usually very unaware of how we think, feel and act towards ourselves and others. If we are not listening to our inner being, we are neglecting ourselves.
It is so important and fundamental for all aspects of health to switch off from the crazy world we live in and connect to our inner being. How else can you connect with other beings?
Next time you decide to check in on facebook to just pass time. Next time you switch on the telly just to pass time. Why not check in with being? Passing time by is wasting your life away doing pointless things. Being with yourself allows you to begin a journey to your true self, to love, light, peace and truth. It allows you to find connection with yourself, others and the world with depth and meaning.
To go beyond the surface of yourself and tap into your inner being, is to discover your infinite depth as a human being. Instead of existing in a life of constant movement and only experiencing what’s on the surface.
Make time for yourself, lie under the stars, sit with your eyes closed in the sunshine with nowhere to go and no one to see, sit and watch yourself breathe.
Balance is the key to life. Balance your time between doing and Being.. see what difference it brings to you 🙂
Have you felt a lot of fear lately, find it difficult accepting love or cannot focus at all? Can’t find the answers as to why? Perhaps have a look and explore the Chakra system which is our main energetic system that affects our emotions, behaviours, overall mental and physical wellbeing. If you find one of these resonates with you, research on yoga postures or other things you can do to balance a certain chakra, it may help!
Overly fearful about security and survival, ungrounded, flighty, fearful, feeling of not belonging anywhere, weak constitution; or overly practical, lacking dreams and imagination, plodding, habitual, tied down, difficulty letting go; fear; problems with bones, feet, legs, colon, elimination, weight.
Emotionally cold, low-energy, low libido, difficulty changing, difficulty experiencing joy, holds back; or hyper-emotional, overly sexual, overly focused on physical pleasure; guilt; problems with reproductive and urinary systems
Lack of confidence, difficulty manifesting desires, lack of self-esteem; or misuse of power, dominance, over-reliance on will (potentially leading to physical exhaustion); shame; problems with digestion, hypertension, fatigue, adrenals; diabetes, allergies
4th chakra blockage is especially significant because it is in the middle, uniting the upper and lower chakras. Among other things, blockage can manifest as loneliness, lack of emotional fulfillment and difficulty accepting or giving love, lack of compassion; or as unhealthy relationships, “loving too much,” love manifesting at a low vibration, or a lack of sense of connection to the divine or to nature; unresolved sorrow; problems with heart or lungs; asthma
Inability to communicate ideas, problems with self-expression (expression of own truth), problems with creativity; or uncontrolled, low-value, inconsistent communication, manipulative, deceptive of self or others; problems with neck, shoulders, thyroid
Lack of imagination, lack of vision, lack of concentration, blocked or clouded intuition, can’t see “big picture”; or distorted vision, delusional, distorted imagination, misuse of intuition; or overly reliant on logic and intellect; problems with vision, headaches, nightmares
Spacy, ungrounded, impractical, indecisive, difficulty with finishing things, no common sense, depressed, alienated, confused; or cut off from spirituality, plagued by sense of meaninglessness; or delusional, grandiose; problems with brain, cognition, mental illness.
What do I want?
How often do we truly ask ourselves that question, or how honestly do we really answer it?
It may appear to be a simple question but actually a lot of us know what we don’t want, or we will answer the basics of health, happiness, family and friends etc.
When it comes down to it we all want the same fundamental things.
But going beyond the mind, beyond the limitations and boundaries..
If I change the question to.. If anything and everything was possible, what would you want?
So often we don’t even allow ourselves to ask what we really want, we are a society that fear their dreams, because we are afraid to even acknowledge them.
In reality, beyond the minds limitations and boundaries that are only illusions, everything and anything is possible.
You see, unless we think or even acknowledge something in our minds then it’s not possible to manifest it. We have to ask ourselves these fundamental questions so that actually yes we can work towards our dreams, we can put energy into making the thoughts a reality.
So be courageous, take time to yourself. Ask yourself ‘What do I really want?’
If you find that to be too difficult – ‘If everything and anything was possible, what would I want?’.. you can ask yourself out loud, in your mind, through meditation, write it on paper. You are free to do anything.
Step outside of the walls your mind has built up, discover the secret garden of infinite possibilities within you.
Once you acknowledge what you want, work towards making it happen. Do you think Obama was a 18 year old guy thinking he was going to become the president? I’m guessing not but he obviously was working towards big things and had the thought in his mind at some point. Patience and small steps. Believe in yourself, we are all made of the same stuff, no one is superior or inferior to another.
If you answer your question, be careful to observe your mind. It may say you’re not good enough in some way,’ it’s not possible, don’t be silly.’ Just be aware of these thoughts and know they’re just thoughts, illusions, not reality unless you let them be.
Thoughts are very important, they play a huge role in our lives and most people have no idea what an impact they have. Thoughts really do create your reality so it’s important that you listen to them, observe. Let go of any negative thoughts that hold you back, just don’t attach.
There’s a saying ‘Where the mind goes, energy flows’ – be careful what you put your energy into. Positive outcomes or negative? You really are powerful beyond measure, you have the choice to choose.
So.. What do you really want?
Scrolling down my newsfeed on Facebook I have been surprised by how many people now post about anxiety/depression/OCD.. Some form of mental illness. The first thing that pops into my mind is why? Yes mental health is less of a taboo subject now but why is there such a high percentage of people suffering?
If you are suffering, have you questioned its purpose? Because everything has one.im recognising a huge shift in society that begins with suffering.. We are restless, bored.. We don’t have a purpose or we’re not fulfilling it. The purpose of suffering is to bring change, and if you are suffering from any of the above right now, have you brought awareness to how you have changed? Perhaps not drastically, but are you more compassionate and understanding of human beings? Perhaps you have learnt more about yourself, what you do and don’t like.
I’m sharing this for you to know that actually your suffering has purpose, it’s there for you to change whatever’s making you unhappy. So welcome that suffering, it’s a grey teacher, it’s not forever. Happiness comes and goes as you well know, remember the same can ony be for suffering.
Dot resist change, I know it’s difficult to go past ‘wanting things to go back to how they where’, but this suffering has come about because you weren’t happy before, perhaps something in your unconscious mind triggered it. Welcome suffering and welcome change.. Sometimes there’s far better things on the other side if we let go.
It’s not easy, we all have periods of suffering, some short some long, varying in intensities. We are all human, we are all the same.
Happy New Year to each and every one of you beautiful souls.
I haven’t written a blog post in months… and yup I feel it. It feels great to be starting the New Year with a post!
I love writing and sharing with the world, if my post helps, inspires or plants a seed in one persons life.. that’s what makes me feel fulfilled.
So beginning the New Year in 2016, let’s take a look at how we can make sure we create a beneficial year for ourselves.
I watched a video the other day and It really hit home with me, a ring of truth. In the past I always assumed that rituals where a religious act and performed only by religious people etc.
In the video it exclaimed how actually, every single one of us have rituals, we just either aren’t aware of them or we brush them off as a habit (good or bad). We have rituals of the order we get up, read the newspaper in the morning, check Facebook first thing when we wake up, have a morning coffee and biscuit, have a cigarette break.. and so on.
As humans we are known to be creatures of habit.. its natural. But do we ever question our habits? These habits are our rituals. Yet what does smoking, scrolling on Facebook, watching the news; what does any of that really benefit us? The truth is our rituals in modern society don’t benefit us, the news only highlights negativity, smoking kills us and social media amplifies the ego and has us wishing we lived someone else’s life.
I used to read Facebook any time I was bored, needed time to pass.. sometimes i still fall into that trap. It’s addictive. The same as we can fall into the trap of eating at a certain time because its a ritual. The thing is we don’t connect with ourselves with our modern day rituals, we actually do the opposite. We don’t question if we are hungry, we just look at the time and say it’s time to eat, we don’t listen to our bodies. We don’t question if we really need that coffee today because its a ritual.
So here I am sharing with you small quick rituals for you to do, that will benefit your life instead of wasting time and spending it doing something unworthy or damaging for your health
1.Wake up and instead of going on your phone, actually make an effort to stay off it for the first hour. Technology takes up energy from you (not what you want waking up). Instead, think of 5 things you are grateful for. You can think in your head or say out loud.
2. Dedicate 10-15 minutes of your morning to meditating. Once you begin a practise and stick to the same time it gets easier, like every habit. It’s a great way to begin the day in peace, tuning in to how you feel. For example some days you may find it difficult to focus on meditating, this tells you that you’re mind is busy and agitated so you may need to have more time to calm. Other days you may fall asleep, this tells you you are to go to bed early. The body will always give us signs to show us what to do, but we have to make the effort to listen.
3. Go for a walk on your lunch break. Go experience the outdoors, use your sense of smell, touch, hearing and be grateful that you have those senses.
4. Stop for a minute or when you’re on the toilet each time take 3 deep breaths and concentrate simple on your breath.
5. Write in a journal about your day. This gives you a time to reflect on what happened, what made you feel happy, angry, sad, emotional. It gives you and idea of the things that trigger these feelings and perhaps how you can deal with them. Also it’s always good to know what makes you laugh. diaries can hold great memories too.
And there you go.. 5 rituals that benefit you. Rituals need some self-discipline to begin with, especially to replace old rituals. Habits/rituals are forms of addictions but once we replace them, we soon forget about the old ones. You will slowly see your life start to transform for the better.
We are responsible for the lives we create, if we put in the effort we can manifest our dreams into realities.
Lots of love
Sian
As a teenager i used to yearn for love..I felt if only I had a partner, then I would be complete. I would have someone to be mine. Someone to accept me as I am, and to then love me.. what an incredible feeling to just have someone to share your life with..
I know i’m not the only one who had these thoughts, dreams, illusions..
I still have those thoughts some days.. I wonder to myself, wouldnt it be nice to share my adventures and stories with someone. The truth is I am a hopeless romantic, I think perhaps I love the idea of love, more than love itself.
Now when I have those days, I realize I am exactly what I need and if I’m yearning for love then its yearning for more from myself, from within.
I dont need anyone to be mine, I have myself. I dont need to belong to anyone else, I belong to myself.
Someone told me once – We’re always longing for someone to hold our hand when we have another one right in front of us. God made us perfect, complete, whole.. he gave us two hands for us to hold our own.
When I have thoughts recurring over love and seeking it outside, I question what do I want from those thoughts.. what are they telling me that I need to give to myself.
Sometimes its a hug.. sometimes its a foot massage.. sometimes its a few compassionate kind words.
Whatever it is, that aching, that craving and wanting.. its coming from you, for you.
It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to be desired, accepted, loved.. it makes us feel valued. But what happens when that gets taken away from us.. do we suddenly become worthless?
If we value ourselves, we no longer feel the need for other to value us.
Love is a beautiful thing, to experience in all its glory and truth, we must first love ourselves.. Otherwise we simply desire to be desired. love to be valued. Love to be made to feel better about ourselves.. that’s not what love is.
Loving and valuing ourselves takes effort, patience, compassion, kindness. It takes dedication and work, it takes unveiling all the masks, undoing, getting to know whats underneath.. confronting.
People say love yourself first before you can love another. I get it. Its all beginning to make sense to me. Now I’m simply on that path to really feeling.. and yes it takes a whole lotta patience, compassion and kindness. But I feel my heart slowly cracking open, its not happening overnight but i slowly feel my walls breaking down. I know it in my mind and I am beginning to feel it in my heart but I am working on feeling it fiercly, passionately and lovingly.. like the person that I am.
I hope this post makes you think about your desires.. what you long for.. what love means to you.. what you want from others that you could give yourself?
It all starts from within.. people say that all the time. now lets all go on a journey together and explore what that means..
wherethesunisalwayshining 