Blessings in unexpected places

Good quote today from Abraham (receive the daily e-mail here). Reminded me of where I'd been that seemed so in despair and horrible at the time and now it's led me to the open house party of Yoga Patch. Without being in the car accident, I probably wouldn't have discovered yoga and fallen in love with it so deeply, now sharing it as an instructor in a brand new studio right by my house.

During a Unity sermon I sat in a few years ago, the reverand once said "horrible" events in our lives are either to bless us in some way later or for us to be a blessing. Maybe both happened in this situation.

If you're in Kansas City, hope you can join us for one of the events this weekend.

"There will be a time, not so far from now, that you will look back on this phase of your life and instead of condemning it or beating up on it... Instead of blaming or guilting, you will feel appreciation for it, because you will understand that a renewed desire for life was born out of this time period that will bring you to physical heights that you could not have achieved without the contrast that gave birth to this desire."
--- Abraham

Celebrate your OWN Independence Day!

"If we were talking to you on your first day here we would say, "Welcome to planet Earth. There is nothing that you cannot be or do or have. And your work here—your lifetime career—is to seek joy.

'"As you think thoughts that feel good to you, you will be in harmony with who-you-really-are. And in doing so you will utilize your profound freedom. Seek joy first, and all of the growth that you could ever imagine will come joyously and abundantly unto you."'

~Abraham-Hicks

As the USA, the land that I love, celebrates its Independence Day tomorrow, it reminds me to celebrate my own personal freedom by choosing to think thoughts that feel good, no matter what's going on in the outside world.

NOTHING is so horrible it's worth feeling bad because it throws you off your connection to higher power, whether you call it God, Source, the Universe, etc.

This week at my "corporate gig," things have been tumultuous; co-workers are scared, sarcastic, angry, mean... all of the above. I admit to letting it get to me, which obviously felt horrible. Yet, I give myself some credit because in the past, before practicing yoga and knowing what I do from teachers like Abraham, I would have let it destroy me completely and attract even more negativity. Now I know that it's my indicator this is what I don't want so now focus on what I do. It is my choice. My independence to choose.

So make this upcoming Independence Day a reminder of your OWN freedom. You have a lot of power in that mind of yours. Choose your thoughts wisely and think on the empowering, joyful, uplifting side of life.

Stop resistant thought through meditation

"That's why so many of us teach meditation. Because when you stop thought, you stop resistant thought. When you stop resistant thought, then you let it in."

~ Abraham-Hicks

This quote was in my daily thought from Abraham-Hicks a few weeks ago and reminded me why meditation is so important and useful. It helps you to stop attracting what you don't want and allows you to quiet your mind so you may be in the vortex and attract all that you want into your life.

"Be still and know that I am God."
~Psalms 46:10

I am where I am, and it's OKAY

"I am where I am, and it's okay. I am where I am, and it's okay. I am where I am, and it's OKAY!" - Abraham-Hicks

I was reminded of this frequent saying by Abraham when writing this blog post. Lately, I haven’t been able to practice yoga as much as I'd like or should, and I definitely feel the lack of it in my body and in my teaching.

My body doesn’t feel as “good” as it did when I was practicing every day; it's more tight and feels like there is stuck energy. In my yoga instruction I feel stale. Yet it’s odd,when I'm feeling really low, then a new student will come in and rave or an old student will let me know how much they still enjoy my classes. I’ve been trying to go to another live class at least once a month, which has helped, but that’s still way less than what I did before. I also did more recorded sessions at home, but who has time for a 90-minute practice when they have a baby?? So I try to squeeze it in when I can to keep me inspired and fresh, but it hasn’t been easy.

But, I am where I am, and it's okay.

Tapas yoga with Jamie Elmer

A few months ago, I attended a two-hour yoga session with Jamie Elmer at a local studio Yoga Gallery. I believe she studied with Max Strom. It was a tapas practice, which means discipline in Sanskirt, but do not make the mistake that it means it's a difficult practice.

Judith Lasater described tapas on YogaJournal.com:

"A better way to understand tapas is to think of it as consistency in striving toward your goals: getting on the yoga mat every day, sitting on the meditation cushion every day—or forgiving your mate or your child for the 10,000th time. If you think of tapas in this vein, it becomes a more subtle but more constant practice, a practice concerned with the quality of life and relationships rather than focused on whether you can grit your teeth through another few seconds in a difficult asana."

Before we moved into the asanas or postures, Elmer led us through a meditation so we could find our own personal affirmations that we would carry and silently say to ourselves throughout the practice. First she had us choose something we were in need of and made us think of the one word every time we inhaled. Then she instructed us to pick a word that encapsulated what we needed to remove from our lives and then say in our mind with every out breath. I ended up choosing "source" on the inhale because I had just "attended" a virtual Abraham-Hicks presentation via Hay House and they are always referencing tuning into "source," which bascially means God and all that is good. On my exhale, I said "fear," which is all around us right now. I did change it sometimes to "worry" since Elmer said we could check in and alter our affirmations if needed and at anytime. She also moved very slowly and had us hold the poses between one to three minutes; she stressed backing off the poses instead of attacking them at 100 percent.

Afterwards I talked with Jamie about her meditation and tapas practice and how it tied so much with what I've been studying in Louise Hay, Abraham-Hicks, etc. It was very simple yet powerful. During my studies on the power of affirmations and thoughts, I’ve been wondering how I can tie yoga and this together, and Jamie did a beautiful job and definitely inspired me to create my own practice utilizing the power of our thoughts and minds.

I’d like to incorporate affirmations and the law of attraction to my yoga classes, but I don’t want to run people away either. Any thoughts?

You can CHOOSE to be HAPPY!

As a Rama Mama, rama meaning "source of joy" in Sanskrit, my ultimate goal is to lead a joy-filled life. Especially in the last few years, I've made a concerted effort to do so, and it's really made an enormous difference in my life.

Isn't happiness the ultimate goal of all of us, yet it seems to be eluding many. What if I told you that you create your own happiness, no matter what is going on in your life? Would that enlighten you, scare you or tick you off? No matter what your answer is, I hope you consider reading the book "How We Choose to be Happy: the Nine Choices of Extremely Happy People."

Last week I had the opportunity, through the Kansas City PRSA chapter, to meet one of the authors of the book, Rick Foster. Before Foster's three-hour session, I finished reading the book, which resonated very highly with other literature I've enjoyed on the topic of happiness, such as books by Louise L. Hay and Abraham-Hicks. For those not wanting quite as much spirituality, this would be a good option for you. Foster and coauthor Greg Hicks interviewed hundreds of people others had pointed out as being the happiest people they know. During their interviews, the authors saw patterns of behavior and thinking that added up to the nine choices they thoroughly covered in their book.

"How We Choose to be Happy" illustrates the nine choices by telling personal stories, quotes and practical ways to apply the nine choices into your daily life, especially through not-so-great times and happenings. I especially enjoyed the fifth choice, recasting, which talked about the way to convert problems into opportunites and make traumas into meaningful events.

So why not try to CHOOSE to be happy. It's worth a shot, right?

Decorating the nursery

Thought you all might like to see a few photos of Brijin's room. It's still a work in progress, but I think it turned out well. Since we didn't know if she was a boy or a girl until delivery, we went with the gender-neutral, animal theme.

My mom, or I guess I better say GRANDMA, bought some cute animal pictures at Target and hung them when she and GRANDPA were up last week to help with Brijin once we returned home from the hospital. Found the bedding on Ebay (Pottery Barn Kids!) and the other room accessories at Babies R' Us - the window treatments, hamper and diaper stacker. Also scored big time at garage sales with a glider chair/ ottoman and a diaper changing table that my hubby painted red to jazz up - I wasn't even intending on going to garage sales. However I randomly drove by two separate ones on different day with items I'd been wanting practically sitting on the side of the road just waiting for me! ASK AND IT IS GIVEN!

Still planning to fill you all in on the big day of delivering Brijin and all the other topics I referred to in the post last week when I finally returned back online from my hospital stay. But there just aren't enough hours in the day nor in my sleep pattern to do so quite yet.

Here's some more photos of Brijin, just because she's so darn cute! Also happy birthday Dad, or shall I say Grandpa!

Bringing Joy

I really should hit the sack for the hour or two I have between Brijin's next feeding... but I couldn't resist sharing a little something tonight. My brother's wife was IMing with my hubby earlier and said my brother thought our new baby's name (Brijin Joy) sounded like "Bringing Joy."

I started to cry when the hub shared this with me... that's exactly what I want this little girl to do, not only for others but for herself because that's how she will achieve her dreams. Check out the following quotes from Abraham-Hicks Web site about joy, and you'll see what I mean.

It's not your work to make anything happen. It's your work to dream it and let it happen. Law of Attraction will make it happen. In your joy, you create something, and then you maintain your vibrational harmony with it, and the Universe must find a way to bring it about. That's the promise of Law of Attraction. --- Abraham
Excerpted from the workshop in Larkspur, CA on Sunday, August 16th, 1998


Here's some more from Abraham-Hicks teachings about using your joy to create the life of your dreams, which is exactly my hope for our little Brijin Joy:

You are here in this body because you chose to be here. You wanted the opportunity to experience this delicious contrast in time and space, and with great anticipation you came to co-create with other joy-seeking beings, to fine-tune the process of deliberate thought. (What, where, when and with whom are your choices, too.)

The basis of your life is Freedom; the purpose of your life is Joy. You are free to choose to discover new avenues for your joy. In your joy you will grow; and in your growth you will add to the growth of All-That-Is. (However, you are also free to choose bondage or pain... but everything anyone chooses is only because they believe it will help them feel better.)

You are a creator of thoughtways on your unique path of joy. No one can limit where you can direct your thought. There are no limits to your joyous journeys to experience. On the path to your happiness you will discover all that you want to be or do or have. (Allowing others their experiences allows you yours.)

Actions to be taken and money to be exchanged are by-products of your focus on joy. On your deliberately joyous journey your actions will be inspired, your resources will be abundant and you will know by the way you feel that you are fulfilling your reason for life. (Most have this one backwards, therefore most feel little joy in their actions or their possessions.)

Reach for your joy

"When you feel enthusiasm to do something, it means you've lined up the Energy, and you are being inspired to take action from that point of alignment. When you don't feel like doing it, don't push yourself, because your effort is not worth it. But, when you line up the Energy, the feeling of procrastination goes away."

"You have been oriented that you must pay a price in order to get somewhere, and in the process, you’ve come to believe that getting there must be really important, therefore, it must be your purpose. And we say, but if you’re not getting to joy, then you’ve gotten nowhere. Joy is really where you’re going."

~ Abraham-Hicks

Lately I've been inspired to concentrate on writing beyond my blog and submit articles to various publications, mainly about yoga. One morning I woke up and just began free-flow writing with such passion and enjoyment - it was exhilarating. With the baby coming though, I feel like I should be solely concentrating on our baby's arrival. Yet, when I think about writing on my love of yoga, I have such joy and energy I feel like it is the direction I am supposed to be moving towards, as Abraham speaks about above.

Prenatal yoga pose: hip circles (1:37)

What's your vibe?

"The child is thinking and receiving vibrational thought from you on the day that he enters your environment. That is the reason that beliefs are transmitted so easily from parent to child, from parent to child, from parent to child. The child is vibrationally receiving your fears, your beliefs, even without your spoken word... If you want to do that which is of greatest value for your child, give thought only to that which you want, and your child will receive only those wanted thoughts."

~Excerpted from a workshop in “The Law of Attraction, The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham” on July 1, 2006

Daily I receive e-mails from Abraham - you can sign up too. I've been saving the quote above, and today seems ideal to post it because I have been feeling a lot of fear about the future. About being a new mother, my husband finding a job (he lost his after Christmas), our ability to afford and take care of our new baby, and any other related stress. Throughout my pregnancy and since my husband's layoff, I've stayed fairly calm (doing yoga definitely helps), but today I woke up with an overwhelming amount of fear. Then I reread Abraham's quote above, which reminded me not only is my F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real) hindering my growth but my unborn child's. What good is my fear going to do for either one of us but create more negativity?

If you read the teachings of Abraham, you see that "life is supposed to be fun." We're supposed to reach for a higher feeling thought and "the purpose of life is joy." We "create our reality with our thoughts" and what we focus on is what comes into our life, intentional or not. So if I'm focusing on fear and all the negatives, I will create just that. Therefore, I need to focus on the positives in my life: a healthy baby, a wonderful marriage, my supportive family and friends, my great job, etc. And also concentrate on a form of income for my husband that pays him well and appreciates his talents and creative ability.

As Abraham says, "Relax into your natural Well-being. All is well. The essence of all that you appreciate is constantly flowing into your reality. As you find more things to appreciate, your state of appreciation opens more avenues to more to feel appreciation for. (As you think you vibrate. As you vibrate you attract.)"