Love is in the air. Love is everywhere. Especially in the skies of Maui:
How many hearts do you see?
And my favorite one. Look closely. There’s a word in the clouds.
Love is everywhere. Just open your eyes but mostly your heart.
“We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence and it’s only end.” – Benjamin Disraeli
“The human heart feels things the eyes cannot see, and knows what the mind cannot understand.” — Robert Valett
Think. Think. Think. I’ve been thinking too much. Some days my head takes over and leaves my heart to be nothing more than an organ that pumps blood and keeps me alive…. alive cause I’m still breathing, but dull cause I am not feeling. Ok, truth is, I am feeling. Feeling things I don’t want to feel. So I suppress them. The more I suppress them, the more I think. The faint voice in my heart softens into a whisper that I can barely hear. Little did I know that that voice was always a soft whisper…. She never screams. She never yells. She never bullies Her way in. She waits. patiently. She whispers softly… waiting for the moment I am ready to hear Her…
One quiet day, I hear Her. My mind doubts her. But She never does. The conversation continues. It becomes a battle. A struggle. My head tells me one thing and my heart tells me another. This time, before I did anything, I decided… which one is better? My head or my heart?
Today, I chose my heart. I will let her lead. I will begin the day with love in my heart. Peace in my mind. I will stretch and expand Her beyond what She can express, perceive, understand and feel. She will touch not only those to whom she can give it easily, but also to those who need Her love so much.
I am listening… I trust Her.
Lately my tongue (see last post) has gotten me into some trouble… heart breaking trouble with some people I love and care deeply about. I said things that I meant to say but it came out wrong and the other person interpreted it 10 times more further away from what I was trying to say.
The more I sit and wait for time to heal, the more I feel empty. lonely. terrible. Hours have passed. Days gone. Weeks soon will go by. Months will be long gone…
I know deep within me that it doesn’t have to be this way. Someone doesn’t have to give in. appear weak. or be the better person to step up. fess up. or be in the wrong…
because if you really love a person and care deeply about them, the answer will be clear. You’ll know what to do. Love shows us.
It’s fall. I feel it in my bones and change symbolically sweeps through the crisp chilly air. It’s a time for reflection. It’s also a time to fall in love… with change. Over the summer, I blogged about how hearts make lousy followers.
There’s two parts to this. In my practice, simply dropping my shoulders and pulling my scapulae in and down my back is a sure way to pop my heart forward as if it would be the first thing to touch the finish line ribbon of a race. That’s physically leading with my heart. However, that’s not enough… especially when it comes to matters of change, challenges, and those thought provoking life questions.
Drawing the shoulders down and shoulder blades back are just simply a pathway to really opening your heart. You can say it’s a first step. Feel what type of energy arises when you make this physical shift.
Can you use it as a doorway to feel the other part of what it means to lead with your heart?
I am certainly navigating what it truly means to lead with my heart during this time of change… literally in the season and in my life. The pathway that opens when I physically lead with my heart is that every decision is created with intuition rather than hope. When you hope things will work out or when you wait for things to happen, the heart stays closed no matter how far back your shoulders drop.
image credit: http://weheartit.com/entry/15226802
“Fall” in love with an open heart. More importantly, lead with an open heart!
Hello… how I’ve missed you blog. So many things going on… life has engulfed me in Her womb. She has given me every opportunity to feel every possible emotion a human could possibly feel. I am grateful for it all. I can not express into a coherent post what life is currently like…. so random thoughts from the past two weeks.
People come and go. Some are meant to stay. Some are meant to stay long enough to teach you something. Some are meant to stay forever. You don’t know who they are but just look in their eyes long enough and you might know. Be grateful for all of them. Obstacles are blessings. Every challenge you overcome gets you closer to YOU. Love is fleeting. Love is lasting. Love is forever. Is it? What does forever mean? Stability verses freedom. What gives you more joy? It’s risky to not take risks. Make everyday count…. do something that makes you happy on a daily basis.. even if it’s uncomfortable and especially if it’s risky. Talk to as many people as you can. Take it further and make that talk meaningful. Then listen with your heart and not that voice in your head. Truth without compassion is abuse. Compassion without truth is manipulation. Things are never the way they seem. Teach yourself to look at things differently from all possible angles. Set your sights high. Let yourself fall in love everyday with something and with someone. Melt people’s heart and mostly let them melt yours. Create your own life.
Did you get your hug quota met today?
Sometimes I want to hug every student after class. I normally don’t care if they are sweaty but some would prefer not to hug me back because they feel they are stinky and sweaty. So the solution? A hand hug!
A hand hug is a unique expression of love. Prepare for a high five, but as soon as your palms touch, wrap your thumb around the other hand and give a squeeze. One rule: no loosey goosey hugs!
Have a fantastic weekend… Hug your mom!
Today I got my life back. For the past several weeks I’ve been consumed with Thing 1′s 8th Angry Birds-day party. I survived two hours of 17 kids, green pigs, red, blue, black, yellow, and white angry birds. It seemed like I was preparing to sacrifice my life to defend the country.
So that’s what it seems like. All I heard was “wow! that’s a lot of time to sacrifice for a birthday party.” Or “yea, I remember all the sacrifices we made for our kids.” Or “My hubby and I just got our lives back. The kids just moved out for college.” Or “I’m not sure I’m ready for kids…. that’s a lot of sacrifice.”
I see it differently. When you really come from Love, there is no need to sacrifice anything. You don’t need to sacrifice your time or your life or your freedom or yourself for anyone or anything or any cause. If your intentions are purely from Love, there is no feeling of surrendering or giving up of something for something else.
I see my yoga practice the same. I don’t need to sacrifice the way I live my life to do yoga. Some students (note: especially students who want to teach) perceive they need to give up their way of life to do yoga. For example, they have to become a vegetarian before they can be “good” yogis. They have to give up coffee. They have to chant. They have to speak sanskrit. They have to get the perfect pose… have to have to have to…
I say yoga helps me live my life. Yes, when you start to practice yoga and become keenly aware of your actions, your body, and how you connect with others, there are things you start to consider to let go of.
Being the force behind other’s happiness helps me find happiness within myself. Spending my time offering Love to others challenges me to find more Love within myself.
“The sacrifice which causes sorrow to the doer of the sacrifice is no sacrifice. Real sacrifice lightens the mind of the doer and gives him a sense of peace and joy. The Buddha gave up the pleasures of life because they had become painful to him.” — Ghandi
Offer it all up! All your LOVE!
It took 7 hours to sew these plush toys
blue angry birds chocolate truffles for cupcake toppers
Red angry birds for cupcake toppers
And a chocolate slingshot is a must!
Cake will be flying in the air fairly soon
Birds waiting for their guests
We're angry!!!
The leader of the flock
The enemies
Pinata... he was a tough pig to defeat... look at that helmet
NOTE: NO pigs were actually harmed during the celebration 
So good to be back in blog land again… read you soon!
I’m not one to get myself caught up in the world’s current affairs, but I just have to say that the people in Wisconsin are the kindest people I’ve met.
When I flew there several weeks ago, I was so consumed by getting things done before I left that I overlooked one little detail: how I was going to get from the airport to the hotel. It never occurred to me that I hadn’t made arrangements until we landed and my seat neighbor asked me how I was getting to the hotel. “Ughhhhh I said… I dunno! I never booked my shuttle. I guess I’ll just take a cab.” “Don’t be silly! I’ll give you a ride,” she said (I don’t even remember her name.. that kind lady… I think it was Karen?).
We chatted the whole entire flight from Chicago to Appleton. We talked about our kids, life when we were kids, yoga, and I couldn’t believe this one: we talked about Laotian people. Turns out she knows a bunch of my kind. So naturally, when she said she was going to give me a ride, I accepted. Never thought about it. She was like an old friend.
Photo and check out this page on how to escape from a trunk if you're ever in one: http://www.closecombattraining.com/blog/self-defense/trapped-escaping-from-the-trunk-of-a-car
Her husband pulls the car up, pops the trunk, and I got a bit nervous. “What the heck am I doing?!” I’m gonna get into a car of a woman I just met an hour ago in Appleton, WI. There was a black trash bag in the trunk and a horror movie flashed thru my mind… A kidnapped person tied up in a black trash bag in the trunk of a Cadillac. So I laughed and blurted out, “Was that the last person you offered a ride from the airport to their hotel?” It was the funniest thing in a twisted kinda’ way.
Obviously I was not a victim of a horror movie. She and her hubby were so kind… as we drove, they gave me a bit of history about the town and what was where and the places to eat, etc.
On the return back, my experience at the airport was first class! Never have I met such kind and generous airport security. They actually can smile. I told one of the security people that I really appreciated his smile and kindness and told him my story about a local giving me a ride to my hotel. He smiled and said, “I’ve done that before.”
The world really isn’t a big shit hole. There is love and kindness out there. And I’m being a part of that this week and paying it forward. Watch out.. if you’re in my way, you might get steam rolled with love and kindness.
Side note: I’m so glad my mom is so old-school and doesn’t have internet to read my blogs… she would’ve killed me! 
I hate vegetarians!
You’re stupid!
You’re fat!
You’re ugly!
You Bitch!
Are you feeling like where’s the unsubscribe button?
Why?
Why are you reacting?
How about this: You’re beautiful. I’m so proud of you. You’re such a rockstar.
What if the same person said all these phrases to you? Can you still love them just the same? Maybe even more?
The answer is YES. This is one of the ah-has that really stirred me up. Many of us claim we have big love to share, but in the back of our thoughts there are an exceptions list. I’ll love him or her only if they do this or say that. We keep a mental checklist of when we will love a person if they meet our criteria lists.
How can you love someone who tells you “you’re a bitch!”?
Watch your reaction. If that same person called you “you’re micky mouse!” would you react the same?
What if we could stop reacting and stop listening to the thoughts that other people throw on us? We wouldn’t care what they said and all we would see behind those thoughts are the real person. The person who is of a higher being.
When we react, we are reacting to their human being. As human beings, we are fear, judgement, doubt, shame, guilt, etc. As higher beings, there is instant forgiveness, no imperfections, no wrong doings or understandings, we see joy, happiness, and love.
More posts to come on this human being vs higher being business. It’s incredible.
I am so full of L-O-V-E and it feels like this:
photo credit: http://weheartit.com/entry/7158017
To love is to risk not being loved in return. How you love others is a reflection of how you love yourself. Is your love for others true? Is it a “I love you because you love me? or “I love you because I have no where else to go? or “I love you because it’s convenient for me?” You must love yourself before you love another. You can’t give away what you don’t have.
As you delve into your practice and begin to peel away layers, you start to tap into your inner most being where true love resides. This doesn’t happen by chance or luck, you have to create it. How can you create self-love?
1. “You know who you are, but know not who you could be.” (Shakesphere)
Honor who you are, exactly the way you are right now. This is your true self. You may not like it right now, but be present to it. Also honor who you are becoming. You are constantly reinventing yourself and finding your true power and growing into a loving being.
2. Universal love is all around.
There is an abundant amount of love everywhere. The universe is made out of love even when things and people don’t seem that way. We are open vessels of energy. Just open yourself up to receive. Your spirit is naturally of love and sometimes our feelings are shadowed by our experience. “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” (Teilhard de Chardin)
3. Forgive. Forgive. Forgive.
As the layers peel away, you will uncover past failures and wrong-doings. These experiences what hold us back from true love. You are afraid of repeating the same mistake over and dance around the periphery like walking on egg shells. Self forgiveness is not only the highest form of self-love, but also the nectar of true power. When you own your failures and mistakes, you gain wisdom and growth. These failures can no longer control you and we can experience to our hearts desire. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are, your simple presence will exude love, joy, and happiness.
Take the risk and love big! If you fail, you’ll fall within the arms of universal love.
Me poem by 8 yr old from http://www.funny-poems.co.uk/valentines
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