5 Tips to be Happier

The most important relationship we have is with ourselves.  Yet, how often do we consciously sit alone with ourselves, that is, recall what it is to be fully present?  This is tuning into what is really going on for us mentally, emotionally and otherwise, and actually acting on that.  Restlessness is not what we think, not what we are taught to believe or consume. Consider probing 10 questions to begin to work out what is really going on for you:

1. Are you happy?

2. Who am I?

3. Why am I here?

4. Who is bored?

4. Why am I repeatedly uncomfortable?

If discomfort just won't go away, then its time to wake up and evolve.  This is about finding the courage to make different choices. At a pivotal moment, it dawns we are using the external to create and reinforce an identity that is not real.  As it dawns we set ourselves up to be a certain person, dress and look a certain way to meet expectations, this is a stage in awakening to who we are not. Only with awareness are we empowered to change, and only if it resonates with soul.

The moment arises when it dawns how we live our life is the example we set for our children, pets, peers, loved ones, students, clients.  If we feel disturbed about our own behaviour, we are not doing the right thing in that moment.  We are not listening close enough to what truly matters to our sacred heart. This is a wake-up call to go deeper, really listen to be the best course.

In essence, the contemplation processs is the way we neurologically rewire the brain.  Different wake up calls present like stepping stones to behave differently, shift perception of what is possible and more aligned with our core vibration.  The key is to get back on track.

Sometimes we hit our hand on the doorknob while passing through. Sometimes external examples of people who awaken in their own ways can inspire and motivate us to make different choices.  Come what may, ultimately, we are the creators, orchestrators and destroyers (g.o.d.) of each stage of our own initiatic path.  We decide when to awaken to levels of truth and at what pace we let go of the unreal. We decide when to be fully authentic and reveal our true colours.

Be the light unto yourself

Notice everyone has the innate ability to create something precious, meaningful. Deep down, Soul knows this and also perfect timing. So, when a cement block appears in our lives, we may initially assume its ugly rock or a metaphor for what prevents us from moving ahead, realizing potential. We may think Higher Self misunderstood our secret wish for freedom, joy, aliveness. Yet, sometimes an idea is too big to move or manifest instantly. The process is what unleashes us.

When we least expect it, the voice of a sculptor emerges from within us. This co- creator will not permit us to destroy what he says we asked for. We're about to have something valuable, wonderful in our midst. What part of us sees as a frustrating mental or physical block, the visionary sees very differently.

Turns out, as the confused mind patiently tolerates the sculptor, the mind slowly begins to understand. The sculptor didn't see a block of cement at all. He saw art! He proceeded to remove all of the cement that didn't belong around the art. The sculptor "saw" inside the rock. Something beautiful emerges in the block. With a flash of light, the sculptor transforms. He becames part of us, taking his place within attributes that make us whole. He is like a soul mate, a spiritual twin-flame, and a wise advisor to help us see the light within ourselves.

Curiously, we never ask the "separate" sculptor's name. It dawns, that is an aspect of true being. Not only do we receive the manifestation we wish for, but we also get an active wisdom guide. This is about expanding perception. Perhaps what is unseen is essential for true seeing, and what gets subtracted or let go from distorted reality is what allows for miracles. We are the light unto ourselves.

5 Reasons to Practice Yoga

As a yoga instructor and practitioner, my experience is clients generally come to yoga for 5 main reasons:

1)  Physical self-improvement

They are motivated by the prospect of toning the physical body in a gentle way. This may be an unconscious effort to appease or appeal to others or desire to meet the expectations of others.

2) Health

They are told practising yoga will bring them more energy, balance and overall well-being

3) Rehabilitation

They may have an injury and are working to regain range of motion, more mobility or stretch.

4) Personal growth

They may be on a spiritual journey, turning inward, sensing vibration, raising awareness, engaging in practices like mindfulness and meditation.  Yoga serves as a stepping stone to live life more consciously from universal principles.

5) Intuition

They come guided by something they cannot explain, a deep urge to let go of fear and inhibitions, or as a stepping stone to other things.

Astonish Yourself

Notice the deeper we go within into the nature of our pain and suffering, the more astonished we are to find nothing but Love. To find no-thing, is to see fear is illusion. Our intrinsic value is felt in nothingness. This is not a vacuum or a void. Turns out, the black hole is the portal or gateway to recall and unleash our limitless potential. The loudest voice arises in the natural state of silence.

Every emotion arising in us points to our own projected reality, not to anything independent of our own mind. The most startling revelations empower us to activate and live in higher awareness.

Everything that seems to be happening to us is only appearing on the screen of our own consciousness. To know this is to fear nothing, know we are in essence, untouchable. As reality is observed through this lens, it dawns that suffering is a catalyst to deepen our own humility, compassion, quiet grace and dignity.

Freedom arises as external acceptance no longer matters. We find relief from the mind as we see through our pain, stop making choices to make others comfortable. Transmutation evokes feeling uneasy, but falling apart is a stage of awakening to our own beauty. Pain is physical and suffering is mental. Each is a teacher guiding us to find comfort in our vulnerabilty and live wholeheartedly.

The secret is to love ourselves fully as we are right now, instead of loving the idea of other people loving a different version of us. Come what may, truth is, we deserve self-love, the understanding we are worthy of our own self-respect. Inner strength and resilience grow as we consciously realize the truth for ourselves in practice. Let go.

Attein stillness

(Image: Soul portrait by Lon Art)

Notice our organizing principle was originally caring fpr the Soul. Collective awakening is remembering the nature of the journey. To change a reality not in resonance with awake consciousness, we must first grasp how this reality came to be. There was a point in the continuum where the dominant energy of the planet was guided by the the ultimate soul purpose which is to reach the highest level of consciousness (liberation, unity with the divine, bliss-love). In every era, the dominant energy determines the moral compass of consciousness and how energy plays out.

So, as hegemonic reality took over (religion) the quest for divine love within became externalized, and aristrocracy divided this into romantic love. Then things shifted and love lost importance. Capitalist forms of social order took over. Communism, socialism other politics built on conquests, colonialism, materialism, and scientism. Capitalists became globalists in an attempt to keep control. The focus has been on dumbing down, destruction of love and traditional order to replace it with centralized order. We moved from nobility to corruption ruling the world. Ego taking control defined what it wanted to get out of life and the collective followed.

As we come to come to tune into specific frequencies in the spectrum of consciousness, truths of soul consciousness arise again. As we attain and sustain the stillness, it opens portals beyond ego to the inconceivable reality of Pure Spirit. It is felt as vibration, like sacred geometry that bypasses the subconscious mind.