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In the infinity of life where I am,
all is perfect, whole, and complete.My life is ever new.
Each moment of my life is new and fresh and vital.
I use my affirmative thinking to create exactly what I want.
This is a new day. I am a new me.
I think differently. I speak differently. I act differently.
Others treat me differently.
My new world is a reflection of my new thinking.
It is a joy and a delight to plant new seeds,
for I know these seeds will become my new experiences.
All is well in my world.

-Louise Hay

Thanks Evelyn for this quote! 

When we find ourselves holding negative thoughts and energy, many times our first reaction is to try and ignore it. We try to send those feelings to the back of our minds and focus on something else. I know for me personally, I do this because I start to worry that if I continue thinking those thoughts…not only will I drive myself crazy, but by the law of attraction I’ll create something I don’t want. The only problem with this is that if you continue to ignore your thoughts, you’re only burying them…they don’t just go away. Consequently, you may find that one day you’ll just blow up at someone for seemingly no reason at all. You can even make yourself sick, literally.

So, how do we give attention to these thoughts without driving ourselves crazy and in turn creating something we don’t want? How do we take note of the thoughts without overwhelming ourselves and becoming depressed and non-productive? I’ve found that three things help me:

1. Acknowledge the thought…accept yourself lovingly, then replace it with a positive intention. For example,

“Even though I feel like I will never find a job (acknowledging the thought),

I love myself (having compassion for yourself, unconditionally loving yourself, placing no judgements)

and I intend to have a peaceful day (positive intention).

I know that my perfect job is waiting for me right now (additional positve affirmation).”

For those of you that are familiar with EFT (emotional freedom techniques), this is a great time to practice this while you acknowledge your thoughts and state your positive intentions. Taking a nice 10 minute break from your day to peacefully acknowledge your thoughts, while taking nice, deep cleansing breaths, can really make a difference in how you feel.

2. Do something creative. When I have a lot of stirred up energy and I don’t know what to do with it…I find that channeling it into something creative really helps. This is the perfect time for me to write. Not only am I letting out my energy, but it’s producing something that’s positive and will bring joy to someone else (if I so choose to share it). What is it that you like to create? Believe it or not, we are ALL creative beings. What you create doesn’t have to be perfect, just something you enjoy. If something in your life is really bothering you…this could be a good time to take an art class, learn how to make pottery, dust off the notebook and get back into poetry, visit your local arts and crafts store for ideas, or simply redecorate a room.

3. Exercise. My exercise of choice is yoga. But, whatever gets your blood pumping and helps you break a good sweat is perfect. When you engage in a physical activity, you’re literally purging yourself of a lot of negative energy. Plus, you’re releasing many feel good endorphins. It’s a great win-win situation.

Having negative thoughts is something that we all deal with. But, from time to time, we have our moments where they become overwhelming and immobilizing. These are three tips that I’ve found to work very well in my life. Give them a try and see how they work for you…:)

  Image by OakleyOriginals

"Spring, the very word conjures up images of rebirth, rapidly lengthening days, emerging blossoms and greenery, and the smell of freshness. In the spring season of the human life cycle, we undertake new beginnings, a time when we change the I will statements of our winter planning to I am action statements. We may begin a new job, career, pastime, or relationship. We may start a new lifestyle or alter the old one. Spring is a time for overcoming the inertia of winter rest and springing into action, to sow the seeds of our winter planning which, with careful husbandry, will provide a rewarding harvest come autumn."

-Keith C. Heidorn
Living Gently Quarterly

I'm addicted…

So, I survived the past 3 weeks.  I had a non-stop schedule with hardly any downtime…and I was worried about whether I would get overwhelmed and get off track with new positive habits I'm trying to implement in my daily life.  I'm glad to say that I didn't get off track…in fact, my new habits really helped me to stay focused, relaxed, and feel rested. 

As I mentioned in my last post, the new habits I've been incorporating are a daily yoga practice, morning meditation, nightly journaling, and only sleeping in my bed (no eating or working in bed).  Oh my goodness…yoga is so great!  I'm able to release all the negativity I may be holding onto, I build strength and focus, and I still my mind.  I feel so good afterward…it's definitely something I want to keep doing for a long time.  I can't imagine how I lived without it!  I began with Vinyasa Yoga, and as of this week, I've started doing Ashtanga Yoga.  So far, I've learned the Sun Salutation A.  I did it this morning when I woke up…it was nice…:)

One thing I've learned over the past few weeks is the importance of finding balance…maintaining a beautiful harmony in my life.  Whenever I learn something new, and try to practice it in my life…I find that my first attempt is to be completely rigid and extreme.  Then, I get overwhelmed and relax a bit, and find a way to incorporate new concepts in a way that don't exhaust me and still honors my other intentions and desires.  I've had to find a balance with my diet (originally wanted to be vegan), my sleep schedule (wanted to get those 8 hours everyone talks about), my hair (wanted to go natural), being health conscious, and being earth friendly.  There are many extremes in each of these subjects, but I've had to find ways where I can take what I've learned in each and compare them to my current goals, needs, wants, and desires…then, find a balance.

So, for now (meaning, later on I can still change my mind)…I'm not gonna be vegan.  I will go vegan on occasion when I feel I need to cleanse or give my body a rest.  But, this is not a lifestyle that I want to take on.  I've tried it, but it just doesn't work for me.  It's too much of a struggle, and right now it just doesn't resonate with me.  I've given up pork and beef years ago…so, I mostly just eat chicken, fish, and turkey.  What I will focus on though, is making sure that the meat I do eat is organic.  That is an improvement in and of itself.  It's healthier and it's kinder.

As far as my hair goes…I've been growing my relaxer out since June '08.  My reason was that I really wanted to get away from exposing myself to the chemicals involved in the process.  But, after much, much thought and deliberation…I've decided that a relaxer is the best thing for me AT THIS TIME.  I'm really not ready to sport a tiny weeny afro…my head is big (lol!) and a short hairstyle doesn't look the best on me.  That leaves the option of transitioning.  If I'm honest with myself, I know that with working out everyday…I'm NOT going to wash, blow-dry, press and flat iron my hair everyday.  I can barely keep up with once a week.  That would mean sporting a ponytail everyday with gel and leaving sweat in my hair.  Disgusting and a great recipe for breakage!  Plus, I don't like wearing a ponytail everyday, I enjoy wearing my hair down.  And, I'd hardly get to do that, especially with the summer months coming up.  Lastly, I really just had to be honest with myself, and I really don't care if I catch flack for it, but…I just really like my straight hair!  There, I said it.  I don't care if some say I'm brainwashed…but, I just really like my hair straight and I like the options I have with it.  I like that I can wash and go if I choose to.  I just like how I look with straight hair.  So, that's my decision, and I'm sticking to it.  To go back to my original intent, not to expose myself to those chemicals…I've decided that I won't get a relaxer as often.  I've learned through this experience that I can go a long time without a relaxer and my hair is just fine, no breakage.  So, I will get a relaxer every 3-4 months instead of every 2.  That reduces my exposure quite a bit.  I think that's a great balance! 

So…this has been my experience with finding balance in my life over the past three weeks.  The bottom line with everything is to learn to just relax and do my best!  I'm not taking myself so seriously anymore.  That's all we can do anyway.  No one on this earth is perfect…everyone has SOMETHING they're trying to improve upon.  Life is to be enjoyed.  It's not meant for us to be SLAVES to rigid concepts and theories with no room for FREEDOM.  And freedom looks and feels different for everyone.  We have to get to a point where we let other people live their lives too…and not judge.  Everyone is doing their best, really.

I must say that I feel good!  I'm really excited about things I have lined up to begin over the spring and summer months.  I'll keep you posted on those.  Let's just say, I'm getting back into my music, I'll be in the beginning stages of school to become a spiritual life coach, and I'll be incorporating more environmental work into my current career.  I can't wait for spring!!