Just 4 ounces of dough, some organic red onion slices, dried rosemary from my garden, a couple of spray shots from an organic olive oil spray can, some organic Himalayan salt with spices and more dried herbs and voila – A teeny vegan onion pizza that took about 5 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to bake.
What do you mean you don’t have time for a healthy snack?
Prioritizing commitments is a skill. Being flexible to include emergencies, delays and unexpected glitches is a PRACTICE. Not even a saint can always react with poise. There will always be a hiccup like illness, transportation problems or a chipped tooth.
I try to make quiet time/space for me just as important as any meeting or responsibility scheduled. This is a perpetual challenge, an ongoing mystery. When I am overwhelmed with commitments and I have way too much on my platter, I desperately need to re-evaluate how much I care about my sanity. Is my ego in the way? Where is the self-love, self-care and self-nurturing fairy in all of this? Is my pride (see ego) more important than my health?
Sometimes, my car and spa music can soothe me and help me decompress. Sometimes it is just taking conscious breaths, in and out, like the tide, re-connecting self to Earth. Sometimes, I just need to be reminded to slow down and do something to renew me.
Determine what can fit into your schedule with a graph. How much time DO you spend on each need, want and must do’s? I like pie graphs. It is great for visual learners and simplifies the whole week/month/year/life for me. How much time is divided up depends on your priorities. Making yourself #1 on the list seems a bit much in our Puritanical mindset still left over from the Pilgrims, Quakers etc, but otherwise you will be drained and serve no one.
What portion of your time is doled out for recreation, meditation, exercise, pleasant/slow/mindful eating, hobbies, entertainment or spiritual development?
I am fairly committed and reliable because I have SLOWLY learned to take care of myself. I am a responsible person who takes her obligations seriously. Scheduling time in the day to re-group, re-energize or even re-think is mandatory if I want to be available or show up (with a smile and graciously) for appointments I must attend.
Make a list of what only you can do – like go to the doctor’s for your annual vs. what you can delegate – like mowing the lawn vs. what you can defer – like re-scheduling a three hour lunch next week to a one hour coffee meeting, a few days later. Use your own judgement and calendar to make it work for you. DO – -Delegate – DEFER
And ask yourself if you are as demanding of others as you are of yourself.
I get to teach the first in a series of four chakra classes tonight at Common Ground in Santa Ana and I couldn’t be more delighted.
Tonight we visit the subtle energetic field inside us and learn in a general way, where the chakras are located, what is their definition and why even learn about them? We will take a chakra quiz to see where we are blocked, imbalanced or overworking our inner energy. In a practical sense, each chakra corresponds to a gland and parts of our physical bodies, as well as personality traits. Defining our weaknesses and strengths, we can balance ourselves internally and see the results on a daily, realistic basis.
If you want to harness every tool for self-improvement and success, there is no better space, than the open mind.
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving and that’s your own self.” – ALDOUS HUXLEY
There’s a great and informative geological store in Lake Arrowhead Village called – Lake Arrowhead Jurassic Fossils. Here you will find geodes, crystals, jewlery, fossils, petrified woods, minerals and rare and unique, one of a kind earthly gifts. Robert and Teresa are the owners and together they make a strong and dynamic team. Robert knows a lot about the scientific, mining and business side and Teresa makes jewlery and explains the metaphysical qualities of it all. They both have traveled extensively to refine their skills and do research. They have settled in our mountain – lake area and visiting their shop is always an education.
The fossil/geode/rock/dinosaur/statue side.
The jewlery and rare gem and stones side.
There are nine basic steps or layers to a level one yoga flow sequence that a trained teacher will take you through so your body is prepared for a peak experience and a sense of completion.
1. Seated Centering
2. Warm-up
3. Sun Salutations
4. Standing and Balance Poses
5. Forward Folds and Back Bends
6. Twists
7. Cool Down Stretching
8. Savasna and Meditation
9. Seated Closure with Gratitude
“Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as bird wings.” ~ Rumi
NAMASTE
Choosing to be happy, no matter what or asking “How can I embrace this moment?” or “What good will come of this?” is cooperating with the Positive Energy in the Universe. Opting to see what is best in all situations and deciding to be happy always is true enlightenment. It is allowing the Universe to mold you. When you conform to this Law, you become pliable and flexible. You realize everything is happening for us. You walk through the day with blessed comfort.
Given any situation, how do you respond OR how do you resist? Do you give the reins to Divine Source or do you grasp on more tightly? When we struggle with the riptide we get pulled under into the depth of the undertow. Suffering is when you want things to go your way or the highway and not allowing things to unfold. We cause our own distress by believing what we have before us is not enough, who we are is not good enough or thinking it all needs to be different.
Entering the stream of life, on the other hand, becomes effortless when you shape your moments as they come. Accommodating into the flow does not mean you are standing on the side lines with your arms crossed. You move through the day with enthusiasm and expectation of finding the best scenarios, instead. It sounds a little Pollyana, but to be fair, she didn’t ignore her reality, she just made the best use of it.
Shakespeare wrote, ” Sweet are the uses of adversity.” And, it is good to have a guide or two along the way who has been there before. Why not? You never want to go sailing with a captain who has never been through a storm before – right?
We are caught in our minds, the web, and we don’t even realize the spaces we even move through. How many times have you driven the same road and checked out? Today, look about and around you. Acknowledge the Universe for our blessings and seamlessly, new events happen.
You know you are in ego when everything is serious, heavy, ‘controlled’ by you. You know you are on your way to enlightenment, when you lighten up and laugh at yourself. Who would you rather hang out with? The stern, rule follower that never cracks a warm smile or the Happy Buddah?
The present moment is the perfect moment.
There is an old Zen saying, “Let go or be dragged.” Letting go, we let life live us and propel us forward. That spirit we each feel and have felt is watching us, is within us.
The following crystals and stones are my new additions. 
The top left obilisque and heart is made of fluorite. Fluorite helps with studies, focus and cleanses negativity. The deep greens, transparent spaces and purple layers make it beautiful and the spike has an inclusion which makes it unique.
In the right corner is aragonite. This spiky, orange sputnik is a star cluster and it balances energy fields, promotes emotional healing and renews strength and confidence.
The blue stones shaped as eggs and a spike are lapis lazuli which aids your inner vision, encourages truthful communication and many ancient and even modern cultures used it only in the royal circles. Buddhists recommend it to bring inner peace and freedom from negative thoughts.
In the lower right is an oblique made of black, shiny obsidian. This silica rich volcanic rock grounds you. It is used often for psychic protection by light healers.
The red stones are red jasper. Jasper is a variety of quartz. It enhances your physical strength and vitality so it is a great crystal to take to the gym.
The round, flat, smooth stones are jet, obsidian and hematite. Jet also grounds and protects. Hematite grounds and is used for manifesting as well.
You can see I felt I needed much grounding and protection with all the spiritual, metaphysical and clearings going on around here.
In the last chakra class, I will give everyone a pouch of seven crystals they get to keep, one for each chakra. I will take them through a meditation, lying down, while we place each corresponding stone on our chakra points. This will aid balance and insight as they follow breathing and relaxation techniques. There is still time to sign up. Class starts Nov. 5 and ends Dec. 3.