Lavender and Rose Bath Salts handmade by me.

Although these are the final three of the twelve, they are not any less necessary or important.

Ten – Patience/Perserverance – Steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity, able and willing to bear, to persist and to pursue an undertaking in spite of counter influences.

Eleven – Awareness – alive and alert, vigilance in observing.

Twelve – Service – a helpful act, contribution to the welfare of others, useful labor that does not produce a tangible commodity

Seven – Humility – not proud or haughty, not arrogant or assertive, a clear and concise understanding of what we are, followed by a sincere desire to become what we can be.

Eight – Love – Unselfish concern that freely accepts another in loyalty and seeks the other’s  best and highest good, to hold dear.

Nine – Discipline – Training that corrects, molds or perfects the mental faculties or moral character, to bring under control, to train or develop by instruction.

We all have talents that we explore and then gift to others. The humility for me lies in the acknowledgement of our abilities, the refining of them and in the surety that they were bestowed upon us as our purpose.  There is a saying, “attraction not promotion.” Humility does not mean poo-pahing our power, but rather knowing they are endowments given to us and that we have respected enough to research, fine tune and then use to help others. 

Love is unconditional and has no need for a definition.  But love does take on many different guises such as forgiveness, compassion and gratitude.  Love makes us whole and it is always the place to come back to. Love is our truth and also never needs defending or promotion. It just is and it is everywhere if you look.

Disciplining your mind, body and spirit is a balancing act. Occasionally, I am 100% with my food choices but haven’t really focused on my workouts – or, I am meditating every day but feel too spiritual too bother to go walking. Structure, direction and reminders keep me on the straight, steady course.  That is why every enlightened being has had mentors (sometimes for each) to be accountable to.

Tomorrow: The Final Three

A long time ago, maybe a decade, I read something on a wall up in the mountains and was so impressed by it, I wrote it down.  After going through some paperwork, I found this wise counsel written on sticky notes inside a notebook. Basically, it is 12 words with their definitions, yet each word is a law of spirituality. I would like to share them with you, three at a time, in order to fully digest the significance of each principle.

One – Honesty –  fairness and straight forwardness of conduct, adherence to facts.

Two – Hope – to expect with desire, something on which yearnings are centered.

Three – Faith – complete confidence, belief and trust.

And so I ponder, there is nothing without honest appraisal of our actions and in respect to our relationships. Without honesty, your truth, there is no authenticity.

Hope is part of survival.  Without hope, we might as well crumble and who hasn’t?  But with hope, all things are possible.

Having faith in something, whatever form it takes, builds on itself. Skepticism is the opposite and leads to a cynical view of everything.  I have faith the sun will rise in the morning and it will set in the evening.  Sometimes you just have to start small.

These gorgeous creamy white petaled roses, a hint of pale yellow, edged in dark pink in an ombre fashion are a variety called Farfalla.  The variegation is exquisite and the scent (if only we had smellavision), intensely sweet but understated,  is reminiscent of of the ambrosial  purity of childhood.

Princess Cindi awaits her chariot before Friday night out.  I have officially become one of those people.

She enjoyed dining al fresco at Tu Tu Tango, a tapas bar restaurant at the Outlets, formerly the Block (which I still call it) and strolling through the outdoor mall.  I think Cindi needs Twitter so she can be followed.  What do you think?

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 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