Give Affirmations a Chance

If you haven’t already tried it, give affirmations a chance and reap the benefits they can bring.  An affirmation, or a positive short phrase or sentence that we say to ourselves and then repeat throughout the day as needed, is reassuring. It provides reassurance to us that we have some control over our realities and that by repeating the affirmation, we can affect a very real outcome.

Affirmations help to change the wiring of our brain’s pathways so that we can begin thinking in a more positive way. Affirmations break the pattern of negative thinking that we may be stuck in, and the too often accompanying words and phrases that go along with it. 

You will also find affirmations helpful to keep important things in perspective which may otherwise get lost in your daily shuffle. Whether you are working to bring about a specific goal or looking to have more positivity and gratitude in your life overall, affirmations can be an important tool in your spiritual toolbox. 

You can google for affirmations to use or you can write your own. I would suggest a simple basic meditation technique be practised first for a few minutes to balance yourself and get in the right “head space”. Then write 5 or 10 affirmations that you can use daily. Don’t judge or edit, just write the first things that come to mind.  Pick your favourites and then you are all set.

Each day repeat your affirmation slowly and mindfully. If you can try a few minutes of meditation first that is great, otherwise just take a few deep slow breaths first. Don’t rush your affirmations, say them mindfully and slowly and try to “feel” them with your whole being as you say them.

It takes time to begin a new habit, especially one that involves changing the way that we think about something. Don’t lose heart if you don’t take to the daily affirmations right away. Just keep on with your new affirmations practice and over time it will become something that you miss if you skip it in your daily routine.  You may wish to sit down and write new affirmations regularly as your needs and thought patterns or events in your life change.  It is important to find what works for you. And most importantly, enjoy yourself.

Below are a few simple affirmations to get you started:

1.    Today is a new day with new opportunities.

2.    I am a being of light and happiness, I will hold that throughout the day.

3.    I am in control of my own choices and the words that I speak.

4.    I am grateful for my family and loved ones and the time that I have with them today.

Journal Exercise: Write 5 or 10 affirmations that you can use daily. Don’t judge or edit, just write the first things that come to mind.  Pick your favourites and then you are all set.

Spring Renewal and Spiritual Transformation - Taking Care of Our Goddess Selves

Spring is a time of renewal and rejuvenation for all of earth. Not only the trees, plants and nature, but us as well. We feel the miracle of spiritual transformation even if we do nothing, the simple fact that it is spring gives our souls nourishment and renews us. We can help the process along by taking some simple actions.

1)      Begin our spiritual mindfulness practice again if we let it slide over the winter months. No guilt and no admonishing ourselves, just begin.

2)      Increase the amount of raw whole healthy foods we eat, whether we are simply eating more fresh raw vegetables or using our juicers or making delicious nourishing recipes.

3)      Nourish our spiritual goddess within by enjoying ourselves and having fun. Whatever you find feeds that energy within you, find something and do it. Going for a walk in nature and simply looking at the renewal around you, smelling the fresh air, dancing, writing, art, using aromatherapy by going for a spa session….anything that works for you. The importance is in nourishing your spiritual goddess energy within, so that it grows stronger and you feel more YOU!

Spring Affirmation

I feel that I am rooted in the Earth and growing.

There are buds on my branches that are new beginnings.

I know that I am connected to the Earth.

I am a part of the trees, water and soil.

Ancient and elemental, I am also new and young.

Breathing in, I know it is a new beginning.

Notice Your Thinking

When meditating it is best not to judge or feel discouraged if your thoughts come into your focus. Notice them, acknowledge them, and let them pass. Here is a short video on this for you.

5 Ways To Take Exquisite Care of Yourself During the Holiday Season

The festive season is such a busy time of year. Now when there are only a few days left until Christmas, I thought I’d share with you 5 Ways to Take Exquisite Care of Yourself During the Holiday Season

1.       Sit down and enjoy a cup of tea or your favourite soothing hot drink. Yes this may seem obvious but some of us begin skipping it during the day at this time of year when we can really use a few minutes rest.

2.       Have a bath and in the running water put a few drops of your favourite essential oils. I love using a combination of spearmint and lavender.

3.       If busy you doesn’t have time for or doesn’t want a bath, try just soaking your feet after a hectic day. Sitting on the side of the tub and soaking your feet in water with your favourite essential oils even for just 5 or 10 minutes can do wonders.

4.       Write a gratitude list of 5 things you are most grateful for this holiday season. This can be combined quite nicely with the first item on the list, sitting down and enjoying a cup of tea or soothing hot drink.

5.       Write an affirmation for the day that will help you to get through what can be a hectic rush. Write it in your journal and or then where you can see it throughout your day such as on your phone, or on a post it note that you stick somewhere really visible to you. It can be something as simple as a reminder to yourself of what Christmas and the holiday season is really about. Or that you are in control of the food that you eat. Choose whatever works for you.

Create an Inspiring Workspace

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Creating an inspiring workspace is about creating a space for yourself. For yourself! You will be prioritizing your needs and putting yourself first. Create a magical place that brings out your inner artist and speaks to your core, or a calm place that helps you to calculate numbers and access your inner accountant, or both. Whatever you need, just create it. It is so important to accomplishing your goals and getting your work done.  

Even if you don’t have a lot of room available to you, it can still be done. It can be a corner of your bedroom or living room, if you don't have a separate room for a home office. You can choose a nook or a cranny and post up inspirational items to do with your projects, your career/business, your goals and values.

It can even be as simple as buying a plastic bin with a lid (or a laundry basket) and storing your laptop and books in there, along with some office supplies and then bringing it out and using your dining table for your work when your kids are asleep, if you have children. But either way, you need the space, or the laundry basket. That way you are not scattered all over the place, wasting precious time looking for items.

If you are able to, add in a touch of nature like a plant or maybe you are even able to locate your inspiring workspace near a window with natural light. A beeswax candle, which can also be used for meditation, or a photo of a loved one, an inspiring place or quote, are also added touches that can turn your chosen location into a workspace that motivates you.

The most important thing is that the space is inspiring to you and works for you. Some people are not able to work in the same place as they sleep as they find that they have trouble sleeping at night. Figure out your own needs and priorities and work with the space at hand. Finally, enjoy your inspiring workspace and may you have many productive and joyful moments there.

Being Open to the Opportunities the Universe Sends Our Way

Photo Credit: Aaron Burden

Today is a new day with new opportunities. Practice cultivating a sense of gratitude for that. Be grateful that we have these new opportunities that come our way each day. By starting with a sense of gratitude, we are more likely to be open to these opportunities.

Big or small, seemingly obvious or more subtle, these possibilities are there for us and we can learn to be more open to them and to allowing them into our lives. And to see where they take us and what adventures await us, if we embark down a path that one of these new opportunities may bring to us.

We can also be more open to these possibilities by seeing them as a gift. An incredible gift from the universe. And by celebrating this. We create more opportunities by being open to them and recognizing them for what they are. And we must work hard ourselves, in our own way, to be ready, so that when we are “lucky” or facing an opportunity from the universe, we are ready to make use of it and to journey down that path.

Welcome the new opportunities the universe sends your way. Be open and accepting of them, and visualize your heart opening up to the energy of the universe. Feel a sense of trust in the universe, and allow the calmness and balance that this will bring to you.

By being in touch with your inner intuition and core essence through mindfulness and daily meditation, then when the time comes, you will know what is truly right for you and your loved ones, and be able to make decisions about which possibilities to take and to allow into your life, and which paths to journey down.

Spring Renewal and Spiritual Transformation – Taking Care of our Goddess Selves

Photo Credit: Alexandru Zdrobau at unsplash.com

Spring is a time of renewal and rejuvenation for all of earth. Not only the trees plants and nature but us as well. We feel the miracle of spiritual transformation even if we do nothing, the simple fact that it is spring gives our souls nourishment and renews us. We can help the process along by taking some simple actions.

1)      Begin our spiritual mindfulness practice again if we let it slide over the winter months. No guilt and no admonishing ourselves, just begin.

2)      Increase the amount of raw whole healthy foods we eat, whether we are simply eating more fresh raw vegetables or using our juicers or making delicious nourishing recipes. I love looking at the delicious recipes on the website www.earthempress.com , Shakaya Leone’s website. The ones that I have made are phenomenal.  In addition to her store she also has free recipes on her site at: http://earthempress.com/recipes/

3)      Nourish our spiritual goddess within by enjoying ourselves and having fun. Whatever you find feeds that energy within you, find something and do it. Going for a walk in nature and simply looking at the renewal around you, smelling the fresh air, dancing, writing, art, using aromatherapy by going for a spa session….anything that works for you. The importance is in nourishing your spiritual goddess energy within, so that it grows stronger and you feel more "you"!

Spring Affirmation

I feel that I am rooted in the Earth and growing.

There are buds on my branches that are new beginnings.

I know that I am connected to the Earth.

I am a part of the trees, water and soil.

Ancient and elemental, I am also new and young.

Breathing in, I know it is a new beginning.

Overcoming Fear of Success

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Sometimes our fear of failure goes hand in hand with our own deep down fear of success. We are afraid to acknowledge our unique talents and gifts and what we could become. Acknowledging our magical abilities and qualities would suggest that we need to then take action, make choices, set goals and achieve results. Sometimes it is easier to just turn our backs on all these things and continue in our middling way. Afraid to fail at somethings on a certain level, but also afraid to succeed.

Whether you are afraid of the work involved, the way your life would look afterwards, losing friends if you change, or afraid of what you will be like if you succeed at something, our fear of success holds us back and is a limiting belief. Who are we to turn our backs on the talents and gifts gifted to us by the divine universe when we were born? Who are we to turn our backs on the people we could become or the lives we could lead by having worked or beginning to work to hone and develop the abilities and qualities that could lead to our success in some area of our lives and business?

Courage is not the lack of being afraid, it is the courage to act in spite of having fear. At the end of your life when you are 100 years old sitting in your rocking chair, you don’t want to regret not having realized your own unique talents, abilities, and gifts that you may have started to develop and hone but then let fear of success stop you from fully becoming the person you could have been.

In your journal or on a piece of paper answer the following questions:

1.       What is an area of my life or business that I have an inkling I could take further but have been holding back on?

2.       What am I most afraid of?

3.       What is the worst that could actually happen?

4.       What is the best that could actually happen? (just try to imagine the best you can, you likely will underestimate this one scenario)

5.       Why I am worthy of the best that could happen:

Now here is a meditation to say to yourself in your heart as you take deep slow breaths that begin and end in your stomach. You can use it anytime you have fear of success, as you are about to set or take action on goals big or small, or you have an opportunity that you would like to take but are afraid of.

Breathing in, I see the light in me

Breathing out, it is shining out to the world

Breathing in, I am getting stronger

Breathing out, I am one with the universe

Breathing in, I am my full self

Breathing out, I am not afraid

Thank You Letter To Your Body

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I think we could all write a thank you letter to our bodies. I know that I feel I ought to thank mine. A letter to thank it for all that it has endured, supported, and maintained me, for all that it does for me, through sometimes less than ideal conditions. And some of these conditions are our own choices which are not the best choices for our bodies.

Imagine the poor food choices we sometimes make, or our decisions to prioritize other things over getting enough sleep, rest, exercise, and healing. Now imagine writing a letter thanking your body for continuing to work and strive for you regardless of these poor choices that you have sometimes been making.

Imagine writing thanks for the amazing journey your feet are taking you on, and all the incredible places they have carried you to, through, and away from.  If you have children you will want to thank your reproductive system for the miraculous gift it has helped give you. Your hands for the ability to reach out and touch. Think of the hands you have held, little and big, young and old. Your eyes and ears and taste buds for the experience of the beauty in the arts, beholding nature, listening to music and the sound of your loved ones talking to you, and the taste of wondrous foods. Your sense of scent for being able to appreciate the way it smells after it has rained.

You can thank any and all parts of your body and your senses. Write from the soul, and the heart. You can write the letter in your journal. It can be a longer letter or just a few simple “thank you” phrases. Let’s acknowledge our bodies for the tremendous gift that they give us each and every moment.

Finding Your Voice

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Imagine you are giving a speech or a presentation. Nerves make you speak very quickly. Uncomfortable, you stand frozen in one spot, arms down and hands at your side. You are not sure what to do with your hands, and you feel disconnected from yourself. You rush through the material to the end. Or imagine that you are writing an article or working on your book project. You sit staring at the page but the words won’t come. You feel frozen.

Finding our sense of balance and connecting with our inner essence can help us to find our voice. If we take the time to balance and connect with ourselves before we begin writing or public speaking, we will attune to our authentic selves, express ourselves more easily, and be more readily prepared for our challenge. We will come unstuck and unfrozen. The ideas for writing or speaking will flow. Our body language becomes more relaxed and natural, making this a useful practice for just before public speaking activities.

5 Ways to Find Your Voice, Before Expressing Yourself Publicly

1.       Journaling. Sometime before your public speaking event, writing activity, or other self-expression activity, but on the same day, take a few minutes to bust out your journal. Write in it how you are feeling, and what’s on your mind. Take time to freely express whatever comes into your mind, just let it free flow without censoring yourself. If you need a suggestion, you could always just try writing about the day before and what your successes were, what you learnt, and what you are grateful for. You could write about what your wishes are for the day ahead.

2.       Meditation. Sometime before your event but on the same day, and preferably even right before you go on stage or begin writing, have a meditation session. You can follow a guided meditation or just try a simple meditation technique on your own such as THIS ONE.

3.       Go for a Walk. Try going for a walk in nature or even just in the hallways of the building you are in. As you walk, walk in mindfulness, being aware of your breathing. You can try a walking meditation such as breathing slowly and saying to yourself: Breathing in, I am walking. Breathing out, I am calm. Breathing in, I am centred. Breathing out, I am connected.

4.       Centering Visualization. In the moments you are waiting to be introduced to speak or before you pick up your pen or open your laptop to begin writing, you can do a brief visualization to centre yourself. Take deep slow breaths. Feel your centre of gravity and imagine yourself rooted to the ground and a connection right to the core of the Earth. Visualize the connection flowing through you up through your head and out to the sky. Visualize yourself as a deeply balanced, connected, part of the Earth. Feel the root of your power. Continue with the deep slow breaths until it is time to begin your event.

5.        Believe in Your Message. If you believe in your message you will be able to better connect with your audience and your body language will be more natural. If you believe in your message your audience or readers will notice.

And even better, if you are able to do these things most days, you will find that the ability to find your sense of balance and to connect with your inner essence will be even easier on a day when you especially want to tap into that flow and find your voice.  By taking the time to balance and attune to our authentic selves before we begin writing or speaking, we will be better able to express ourselves more easily, and naturally, and our challenge will not seem as overwhelming. Our self-expression will experience a state of flow, and we will have found our authentic voice.