The Ultimate Resolution

 

“There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new life.” ~ Author Unknown

 

 

 

The holiday season has come and gone and I’m grateful for this quiet moment to sit down and muse.  I’ve been thinking a lot about the New Year and my already laid out plan to live a happier and healthier existence.  It is my belief that the best time to set resolutions for positive change and growth is the present.  The New Year should bring additional inspiration, motivation and a sense of renewal for the steps that are already in motion.

 

For the past few weeks I took time to examine where I am now and dreamed about what’s to come.  This year was full of many changes.  There were a few (needed) shakeups and many unexpected blessings.  Because of this I realized that I needed to do a little more than fine tune my current efforts and that some areas needed a total shift.  In order to foster growth I knew I had to let go of many things, including relationships and some personal beliefs that I had built up over the years that no longer suited my purpose.  At first I thought no problem!  I learned the art of letting go a long time ago so it should be no big deal, right?

 

Reality (always so very timely) hit swift and hard.  It was easier to embrace letting go of things that were blatantly disruptive to my life.  But do I embrace letting go of people that haven’t wronged me, but are just not right for where I need to be?  How do I give up personal beliefs that were comfortable, familiar and just slowed me down just a little bit?  The answer that came up over and over through my moments of prayer and meditation for clarity was step by step, one day at a time.  I took comfort in knowing that it didn’t have to happen all at once and in some cases it would be easier than I thought.

 

Take a moment right now and think about all the positive changes and growth that you want to experience as we enter the next blessed year.  Know that there may be people, habits and even beliefs that you need to let go of in order to truly fulfill your desire.  As the author beautifully says in the opening quote “letting go isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new life.” 

 

Continue to be blessed this year and even more the next.

 

Love and light,

 

 

Ageless Wisdom

 

“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.  Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” ~ Doug Firebaugh

 

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As I listen to the wind move briskly through the trees I wonder what this winter will bring (hopefully a little less snow than earlier this year!).  When I started to write this muse I was inspired to share tips on setting the foundation for a wonderful new year.  Halfway through I got a frantic call from my mother that my father was in the hospital with pneumonia.  All inspiration had drained as I began to worry about my father’s health.  At age 77 years young my father is a seasoned entrepreneur and loves to stay on the move.

 

In speaking with family members we all had the same concern: at such a “wise” age we felt that it was time for my father to take it easy and maybe it was time to look into retirement.  No one should be working past 65 anyway, right?  After some time had passed I was finally able to speak to my father.  I was surprised at how upbeat he sounded!  I was fully expecting to hear a frail voice as it had been less than 24 hours after he was admitted to the hospital.  I asked my father if he was finally convinced to take some time off from working.  After a moment of silence he said that he was going to take a few days off and get back to the business the following week.  I gently reminded him of the severity of his condition and suggested (as my other family members had) that he take an extended leave of absence to get himself back together.

 

Another pause, this time longer, then my father told me in no uncertain terms that he felt fine and was going back to work as that is what he enjoyed doing.  I agreed to support him in whatever way he needed and then hung up.  Feeling helpless and upset I retreated to my meditation room to get a handle on my emotions.  Why was I really upset?  Yes, I was scared that my father went to the hospital but he sounded just fine and was being released in a few days.  What was I reacting to?  Then it hit me, it was his age and me seeing it as a hindrance to his total health.

 

For most of us we are taught that our numerical age sets the standard for different milestones in our life.  At age 16 we can finally drive and become more self sufficient.  When we turn 21 we are finally seen as “real adults.”  Age 30 is the time where we should be set in our careers and family routine.  And finally, at age 65 we are supposed to let go of our careers and get that long deserved break in the form of retirement.

 

So what happens if our timeline is off?  What if we aren’t motivated to get our license until way past the age of 16?  Or what if we are kids at heart and want to ride our childhood out to the very end?  My father maintains that his age is just a fact of life and not something that should hinder him from doing the things that he truly loves.  From his wisdom I was reminded that unhappiness ages you, and living inspired keeps you young for as long as you want.

 

As you continue to grow wiser with each passing year remember, age is just a number and we set our own standards.  So today, and each and every day, live your life joyously, inspirationally and surrounded by love and excitement.

 

Om Shanti,

Enjoying the Journey

  

Namaste’

 

I pray this moment finds your heart filled with love and joy.  This week I’m pleased to present our guest muser, Eric Brewington.  Eric balances out his life as an IT Specialist with music, yoga and meditation.  He believes that quiet moments for self are very necessary to stay creative, happy and inspired.

 

Guest musers will be featured once a month; so if you have something positive to share please contact me at dana@spiritualessenceyoga.com.  Please visit our video muse online at www.theessenceofflow.wordpress.com.

 

Have a blessed and beautiful holiday!

 

Om Shanti,

 

 

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“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ~ Lao-tzu

 

 

Music has always been in my life.  Some of my earliest childhood memories centered around music and almost every important life event that I have experienced is tied to a song or album.  During my years in boys and girls club football, “Street Life” by Randy Crawford was the soundtrack for that experience.  I can hear that song now and instantly find myself transported back to those special days.  To me, music is the one thing that can express what words cannot.  Music is a vibration and it has the ability to elevate us to levels we can’t even begin to imagine.

 

Of all the music that I connected with, jazz is closest to my heart.  To my ears it is always fresh, new, joyful and full of excitement.  I found myself so captivated by Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue that I decided to learn to play trumpet.  You should have seen the looks on my friend’s faces when I told them that I wanted to learn to play an instrument at the tender age of 30.  Comments like “Why would you want to do that now?” and “When will you find the time to practice?” fell on me like rain.  Those comments gave me a moment of pause but my love of music won out.  I purchased a horn and started on my journey with enthusiasm and vigor.

 

Halfway into the process I wondered if I was kidding myself.  The sounds that came from the bell of my trumpet sounded nothing like the music that I listened to daily.  I thought I sounded awful.  I secretly feared being assaulted by the ghosts of trumpet legends Lee Morgan, Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis for sounding so bad and misrepresenting their art.  Jazz musicians study their craft for years, usually starting at a very young age.  I was starting way later.  The words of my friends quickly came back to haunt me and I serious thought about giving up.

 

It was then that I remembered this quote from Lao-tzu:  “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  These profound words kept me from quitting.  I told myself that I was just starting out and I needed to be realistic about what I was trying to do.  Even my heroes on trumpet had to start somewhere and probably sounded much like I did in the beginning.  Instead of focusing on the final result I found pleasure in where I was.  I picked up the trumpet because I loved music and that would be my focus as I went about the task to get better.

 

Now fast forward 12 years later I happily jam with other musicians every chance I get and have played a number of performances in public.  If there is something that you are trying to accomplish and you find yourself discouraged by a lack of “progress” – remember the words of Lao-tzu.  There is no such thing as failure – only lessons to build upon.  Do not get overwhelmed at looking at the entire picture.  Focus on what you’re working on in that moment and enjoy the journey to get where you want to be.  Allow no self judgment for you are always exactly where you should be.  All endeavors are a trip to be cherished for we will never find ourselves in this exact moment again.  The present moment is truly a gift.

 

~ Eric M. Brewington

The Power of One

“You may be only one person in this world, but to one person at one time,
you are the world.” ~ Anonymous  

Namaste’ 

I pray this day finds you feeling balanced and at peace.  Today I’m pleased to present our first guest muser, Arnebya Herndon.  Arnebya has been writing for many years and enjoys blogging about the world through her eyes and seeks the love in light in every life situation. 

Guest musers will be featured once a month; so if you have something positive to share please contact me at dana@spiritualessenceyoga.com.  I’m also happy to announce that I will be doing weekly video inspirational bites.  Please bookmark www.theessenceofflow.wordpress.com, video bites will be uploaded every Friday. 

Have a beautiful, blissed and blessed week – you deserve it! 

Love and light,

, the Yoga Diva

_________________________________________________________________________________________

 
GUEST MUSER: Arnebya Herndon

I like to walk during my lunch hour, usually to one of the nearby parks, oftentimes taking a different route each day. I see many homeless people along the way and sometimes share a bench with them. There was one woman I saw regularly. After a few weeks of seeing each other daily this summer we would say hello and continue on our separate ways. A few weeks ago I was lamenting the economy’s effect on my finances. I was sitting on a bench wringing my hands about the unfairness of it all when I heard, “Could you buy me something to eat, please?” I looked around and saw it was the homeless woman I usually see and speak to.

I am supposed to bring my lunch (that I am often unable to make this a regular routine is a story for another time). On the day in question I hadn’t brought lunch I ended up at Soho where I watched people, one by one, walk by her, ignore her, or outright verbalize their distaste at her audacity to ask for help. I will admit that on most days I pay no attention to panhandlers, even if I do have odd change. I am never rude to them, though. I have always harbored a secret fear that I will one day be penniless and homeless. On this day, I felt compelled to help. As I neared the door to Soho our eyes met and she looked away, seemingly embarrassed or ashamed. I immediately smiled wondering if she thought I didn’t know she was homeless. True, she was never unkempt or loudly speaking to the people inhabiting her head in the middle of K Street like a few of the others, but I knew. I’d seen her earlier than usual one morning asleep on the ground, and there was the telltale gaggle of bags.

I continued smiling until she looked up again, sheepishly. I told her I could buy her something to eat. We went inside and she promptly told me she thought the weighed food was too expensive; she just wanted a sandwich. And a sandwich she got: turkey and provolone on whole grain. I couldn’t have smiled any harder. Did I think she would choose something greasy or bad for her just because she was homeless? She picked up an orange juice and I paid for her lunch, even $.05 for a bag (insert eye roll here for effect because this is something I said I’d never do. But this, of course, is not a plastic bag fee legislation story). I got a small container of salad for myself.

On the walk back to work I literally bumped into a young woman walking a dog. She stopped abruptly with the elderly woman she was with and I didn’t have space enough to go around her. The older woman thanked her and kept walking. The young woman turned and smiled at me and said she saw me take the woman into Soho. She didn’t have enough money to help her but she was touched by my gesture. “I know that’s the reason I instinctively helped that woman with directions and across the street.” Wow. An actual pay it forward moment and I didn’t even know it.

So, the next time your instincts tell you to help someone less fortunate, regardless of how (because believe me, that was nearly my last bit of money for the week), do it. You never know who is watching and what he or she will take from it. You may be only one person in this world, but to one person at one time, you are the world.

~ Arnebya Herndon

Balancing Acts

 

“Be aware of wonder.  Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.” 
~ Robert Fulghum 

 

Namaste’ 

I pray this moment finds you loving life.  It is such a beautiful day and I’m glad that the spring-like weather has blessed us the past few days.  As I began writing today’s muse I found myself gazing out of the window watching the butterflies dance and the squirrels scurry about.  Their carefree presence beckoned me to put away my “to-do” list and take a long walk outdoors.  Fighting the urge, I turned back to today’s action items as I knew that what I put off today would be waiting for me tomorrow, thus creating more work and a busier day.  I knew that if I worked efficiently (limiting my time nature gazing) I would have more than enough time to enjoy this beautiful day, thus balancing work and play. 

It took me some time to learn the art of balance, and I must admit that it is a lesson that I have to sometimes remind myself of.  I first learned the lesson a few years ago when I decided to make it official and put serious effort into building the yoga business.  Initially, the excitement and adrenaline had me so motivated and energized I felt unstoppable.  I would work my 8 hours, drive about 1 hour home in traffic, make sure the family was hugged, kissed and fed and then head off to teach classes.  The wee hours of the night found me doing business research and planning my next step.  And then the next day (or sometimes just a few hours later) the cycle began again.  This went on for about a month and then I started to notice a decline in energy and motivation.

Simple tasks now seemed complex, my energy level waxed and waned and I began to feel a bit hypocritical teaching relaxation and honoring self when I felt like a ball of nerves.  In speaking with an entrepreneurial-spirited friend, she advised that I needed to take better care of myself; I was off balance and nearing burnout.  Though I understood and realized that I was putting too much into work and not enough into myself it seemed impossible to have balance when there was so much going on in one area of my life. 

Determined to find ways to maintain work/life balance, I began to search for practical methods and solutions.  I realized that I first needed to take a step back and reassess where I was and where I wanted to go.  The lines of what was important and what wasn’t had become blurred and due to my lack of sleep, concentration had become a labored chore.  I spent what seemed like hours identifying what mattered the most and compared them to the things I no longer felt connected to.  I then took a hard look at the areas that were lacking: mainly my mental, spiritual and emotional health. I knew that the tools I was teaching to others were the same tools that I needed to implement into my life.  I decided that for every hour I dedicated to work I would in turn dedicate at least 15 minutes to taking care of myself. As time went on I began to again feel energized, connected and motivated. 

Is your life in harmonious balance or are you on autopilot being driven by countless responsibilities, obligations and/or never-ending deadlines?  Know that your most important task in life is to take care of YOU.  If you are not in harmony with yourself then nothing else in your life will be in harmony.  Take a step back and assess where you are.  Are you where you want to be?  Where do you want to go?  If there is anything in your life right now throwing you off balance either seek ways to work around it or eliminate it.  Balance in life is true bliss and within your reach, right now. 

May the rest of the week find you in a balanced dance of work and play

Love and light,

, the Yoga Diva

Mastering the Art of Love

“Life is nothing but a dream, and if we are artists, then we can create our life with Love, and our dream becomes a masterpiece of art.” ~ Don Miguel Ruiz

Namaste’
 
I pray this day finds you feeling balanced and at peace.  The summer weather has been very intense, but every time I think to complain about the heat I remember the hours I spent shoveling snow during the winter months!  It’s been a little while since my last muse and wonderful things have been coming together during my short break.  Recently a friend and I had a long heart-to-heart about love and relationships.  Quite a few people around us were transitioning out of relationships due to unhappiness and some reported that their partner had not given or demonstrated the same level of love.
 
As a lover of all things to do with love I wondered if the issue was a lack of self-love.  My friend commented that his view of love has changed drastically over the years.  In past relationships he expected a certain level of love and respect and was disappointed often.  So instead of continuing on the path of broken relationships he began a self-study of sorts.  In time he realized that no one could ever live up to the standard of love that he required and that in order to have a sustaining relationship he had to fulfill all that he needed.  During his self-exploration he read The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz and insisted that I read it as well as it helped to change his views.
 
As I read the book I was amazed at the principles written by the author.  It helped to dispel many of the love myths that I held – about myself and others.  I thought back to my own trail of broken relationships and found the same common denominator – disappointment in not being shown the same love that I was displaying.  The reality was that if I showed myself that same love I was giving I would have been perfectly content.  In the chapter Healing the Emotional Body the author states:
 
“Love coming out of you is the only way to be happy.  Unconditional love for yourself.  Complete surrender to that love for yourself.  You no longer resist life.  You no longer reject yourself.  You no longer carry all that blame and guilt.  You just accept who you are, and accept everyone else the way he or she is.”
 
Do you have high standards for love and find yourself disappointed or lacking the love you seek?  Know that we can all be Masters of Love, but that love must be given and received by self.  We are all deserving of love, happiness, joy and peace in our lives…and we have the power to give it to ourselves. 
 
May this day continue to find you blessed and mastering the art of self-love.

Om Shanti,
, the Yoga Diva

Life’s Lessons

“Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.” ~ Doug Firebaugh

Namaste’ 

I pray this very moment finds you feeling energized and alive.  As I write today’s muse I’m so grateful for this moment to sit down.  I spent most of the morning chasing our cat, the ever so curious Carol Lolita, around the house.  I’m often amazed at how she can tear through the house at lightening speed one minute and in the next minute be peacefully curled up underneath the window.  Following her lead I took a quick break before getting back to business. 

A sense of peace and stillness came over me as I sat quietly gathering my thoughts.  Recently I made it through a challenging personal transition.  Each day leading up to the ultimate decision presented me with an inspired reminder or new thought that helped me get through.  Some days I took the direction right away while other days found me needing to dig a little deeper.  Despite the emotional fluctuations, in the end I found a new appreciation for life and all its challenges.  There were three inspired thoughts that were very helpful on my journey.  The wisdom behind them kept me focused and served as timely reminders. 

Every day is another opportunity to __________________ (fill in the blank).  As I went through the transition I wanted to explore my feelings honestly and honor them in a positive way.  Some days this was very easy to do and others, not so much.  Instead of feeling disappointed I felt encouraged and reaffirmed my desire and tried again the next day. 

As some of us go through change and transition we tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves.  There are things that need to get done, and certain steps to take each and every day to ensure that they do.  But what happens when we have an off day?  Do we give up our goal to eat healthier because we went a little crazy with the Halloween candy?  Or do we resolve our finances will forever be in shambles because an unexpected (or forgotten) bill throws the budget off?  No, we don’t!  Things happen for a reason and tomorrow is another opportunity to move closer to your goals. 

Always do the best you can.  Over the years I’ve heard this saying many times and it took some time to fully understand what it meant.  In the past I thought that doing my best meant that I had to excel over my previous efforts on any given task.  If I didn’t do measurably better disappointment and doubt crept in.  Was I being lazy?  Am I losing touch?  Is this really the best I can do?  After some years of doing healing work I finally understood that my best today may differ from my best tomorrow or even my best yesterday.  

In The Four Agreements author Don Miguel Ruiz wrote “Always do your best.  Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick.  Under any circumstance, simply do your best and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.”  I believe that true success cannot be measured in numbers, but in our hearts.  As long as we are making a true effort and putting our all into whatever we do, progress is being made. 

Change is the only constant.  We’ve all heard the saying “the only thing guaranteed is change.”  I believe that life is movement and that movement is growth.  Change is necessary in order to grow.  If we aren’t totally happy with our lives something has to change.  If we want to be happy, we have to cease being unhappy.  If we want to be healthy we have to cease being unhealthy.  If we want to live abundantly we have to cease living in scarcity. 

Life can be seen as a literary work in progress.  We write each chapter as we live it and as one ends, the next begins.  Learn from the last chapter, be mindful as you write this chapter and see the magic happen in the next. 

May this week find you embracing moments of mental and physical stillness to assist in your journey to Self. 

Om Shanti,

, the Yoga Diva

Love and Acceptance

“Real love is accepting people how they are without trying to change them.”
~ Don Miguel Ruiz from The Four Agreements

Namaste’ 

I pray this very moment finds you looking forward to a peaceful weekend.  I’m enjoying every minute of this beautiful weather and find myself meditating as the leaves transform from green to warm fall colors.  The holiday season is right at our fingertips and I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving.  I enjoy spending quality time with my family and cooking old favorite recipes and exploring new ones.  As the only vegan in the family I used to be faced with dietary challenges at gatherings.  Surrounded by a variety of familiar Southern comfort foods (while trying to make eating salad “interesting”) I found myself questioning why I decided to make the transition.  It never took long for me to reaffirm that what I was doing was good for my health and enhanced my lifestyle.

As time went on it got easier and easier to handle as my total health greatly improved.  I would talk to my family about the wonderful benefits that I was experiencing and suggested that they too look into changing their lifestyle.  They humored me as I stood on my soapbox but stated that they felt just fine and everything isn’t for everyone.  One year I had the pleasure of hosting a holiday event.  I spent a lot of time creating the most fantastic vegan meal one could imagine.  In my mind I thought that if they experienced a variety of great tasting foods that they would be inspired, as I was, to change their dietary habits.  I love my family dearly. But I feared that if they didn’t change the way they ate they would eventually succumb to some of the manageable (or worse, unmanageable) illnesses that had affected other family members.  Everything went down without a hitch and there were empty plates all around.  Soon after dinner I revisited my campaign to get everyone to take the big leap.  To my dismay everyone thanked me for the meal but once again affirmed that the vegan life wasn’t for them. 

In some small way I felt that I had failed.  I couldn’t understand why they refused to even consider making the transition.  It was out of love that I wanted them to change and live what I perceived as a better life.  My mother calmly reminded me that no one was in failing health and that for years she tried to get me to eat a medley of vegetables but I wasn’t having it.  She accepted that there were things that I liked and things that I didn’t.  Instead of trying to force me to change she continued to surround me with healthy things and allowed me to make my own choices.  Now fast forward many years later. I’m on the path of total health and wellness and she is happy with just being an example who rubbed off on me. I finally understood that we can want change for others but true love comes out of accepting them as they are. We have to trust that ultimately they know what’s right for their lives.  

Have you ever cared for someone deeply and wanted them to change for the better?  Or do you try endlessly to help someone see the light and all of your efforts go unnoticed or unappreciated?  Know that true love stems from acceptance.  It is very human to want someone you love to live in what you perceive as happiness.  But know their perception may not align with what you think is best. 

The only person who we can truly change is ourselves.  Live life happy, healthy, surrounded by love and to the fullest.   You never know; it may just rub off on someone in a positive way. 

Om Shanti,

, the Yoga Diva

Freedom of Mind

“Limits exist only in the mind.” - Author Unknown

Namaste’

 

I pray this day finds you surrounded by endless blessings.  Today’s muse arrives earlier than our normal 2 week cycle as I was inspired to write this muse for you to ponder as you begin a wonderful weekend.  I am an avid reader of all things motivational/inspirational and those close to me support this wonderful habit by blessing me with countless books to read.  A friend sent me Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now over a year ago and I find myself referring back to it every now and again.  Though a wonderful read, it wasn’t something that one could digest cover to cover in one sitting.  I often wished for a shorter version or bite sized versions of the topics discussed.
 
As if my wish were heard and answered I recently received a copy of Practicing the Power of Now, which offers simple techniques to put the principles from the book into practice.  My inspiration today comes from the section on freeing your mind.  The author states that “all the things that truly matter – beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace – arise from beyond the mind…you can free yourself from your mind.  This is the only true liberation.”  Our minds are a complex system of manifestation and are where our life truly begins.”  That said, we may spend so much time in our minds that we don’t truly live our lives freely.  In order to live freely we must seek freedom of mind and do so in the present moment.
 
In the book the author states that the first step to freeing the mind is to “start listening to the voice in your head as often as you can.”  For some of us, our minds run a mile a minute and the thought of tuning in may seem to be an exhausting and tiring feat.  In reading further I found that the voice we are tuning into is that (sometimes) loud, repetitive voice that keeps us in a constant cycle of negativity, fear, judgment and seemingly up against endless roadblocks.  For some of us this voice is like a record that has been on repeat for years and years.  It’s the voice that tells us we can’t, causes us to second guess our best efforts and keeps us from seeing outside our box. 
 
When we tune in we should do so with an air of neutrality.  If we judge, get upset or condemn our thoughts we are in essence giving more power to this voice.  By listening without attachment we will learn more about ourselves and raise our level of self-awareness and in time no longer associate ourselves with this voice.  We decide what thoughts are relevant to our lives and what thoughts are not.
 
Through patience, persistence and dedication we can all free our minds and take the power away from the limiting voice in our heads.  In turn our life will bear the beautiful, blessed fruits of our efforts.
 
May this weekend find you free of worry, free of doubt, free of f.e.a.r., free of anger and free of anything that no longer suits you.

Om Shanti,

, the Yoga Diva

Defining Self

“People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates.”
- Thomas Szasz

Namaste’

 

I pray this moment finds you with a huge smile on your face.  I’m enjoying the beautifully mild weather and am looking forward to a (crossing my fingers) very mild winter.  One day while I was cleaning the house I had random music playing on my laptop to keep me inspired.  During the shuffle an unfamiliar song began to play.  I half listened as I chased away the dust bunnies and then suddenly a verse from the song caught my attention; it went “Who do you think you are? It’s the life you made.  Don’t be afraid of the hands you played.”  The song was written by Brent Dennen and is appropriately entitled “Who Do You Think You Are?”  
 
I remembered being asked that question at several points during my life.  As a child it usually came after I spoke out of line or as my grandmother would say “getting too big for my britches.”  In this case the question wasn’t meant to be answered, but to remind me that adulthood was a long way off.  In the past, when asked that question in adulthood I thought less of who I thought I was and moreso who I thought others thought I should be.  At the time I couldn’t imagine being able to define or create who I wanted to be.  I felt as if we are born and then our situations, whether in our control or not, shape who we truly are.
 
Upon hearing the song verse I realized I haven’t asked myself that question in quite a long time.  At this stage in my life I find myself focusing a lot on what I do rather than who I am.  And, in essence what I do doesn’t clearly define who I am.  As I thought about who I am right now I found comfort in knowing that I can be who I want to be and that it can change as I continue to grow and journey through this blessed life.
 
When was the last time you took a moment and asked yourself “who am I?”  Do you define who you are based on what you do?  Have you gotten so far away from self that you have no idea who you are anymore?  Some of us have gotten away from our true sense of self but the journey back to self, which is home, can be achieved by us all.
 
We create ourselves and have the power to dis-create anything in our lives holding us back from becoming who we want to be.  Taking quiet time to meditate, reconnect and reflect works wonders in putting us back on the right track.
 
I pray the rest of your week and your weekend finds you taking that journey back to self and answering the question “who do I know I am?” 

Om Shanti,

, the Yoga Diva