Tag Archives: surrender

Your Center of Truth

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Have you ever noticed that whenever you focus on something, somehow the universe mirrors it back to you?  We spoke Monday about knowing your truth.  The next evening at my power yoga class, the flow was focused on the “throat chakra” or the center of  truth.  Chakra is the Sanskrit word for “wheel”, and it is part of the energy force that lives within our bodies and spirit.  There are seven chakras, or channels that affect the body functions through our consciousness and awareness.  They are like pumps or valves that transmit energy throughout our body.

We feed our energy channels and, as a result, all of our vital organs by our thoughts and reactions to the stimuli in our environment.  The energy channel that correlates with our innate truth, exists in the throat.  It is through the throat and mouth that we express to the world who we are.  Only when we can be honest about who we are on a deeper level, can we express ourselves authentically.  Dishonesty, or even repressing our emotions and pushing them away into our subconscious, could manifest into various throat ailments.  It is through the pathway of our throat and mouth that we can create sounds, allowing us to vocalize freely the depth of who we are and who we hope to be.   Here are some associations to the the throat chakra courtesy of about.com:

  • Color– blue
  • Sanskrit Name – vishuddha
  • Physical Location– throat, neck region
  • Purposes– learning to take responsibility for one’s own needs
  • Spiritual Lesson– confession, surrender personal will over to divine will, faith, truthfulness over deceit
  • Physical Dysfunctions– sore throat, mouth ulcers, scoliosis, swollen glands, thyroid dysfunctions, laryngitis, voice problems, gum or tooth problems, TMJ
  • Mental and Emotional Issues– personal expression, creativity, addiction, criticism, faith, decision making (choices), will, lack of authority
  • Information Stored Inside Throat Chakra– self-knowledge, truth, attitudes, hearing, taste, smell
  • Area of Body Governed – throat, thyroid, trachea, neck vertebrae, mouth, teeth, gums, esophagus, parathyroid, hypothalamus

How can you express your truth today?

 

7 Ways to Embrace Change

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If you’ve ever resisted change in your life (I know that I have!), you’ve likely chosen to as a result of fear – fear of uncertainty.  Change is scary, even if it’s change that you’ve been seeking.  It’s even scarier when you haven’t expected it and your life is turned upside down.  There are many of us who let our fear of change trap us into a life that is unfulfilling and unhappy.   As a result, we are not really living, but rather staying tight in our buds. 

Arina Nikitina, in her blog, talks about an acronym for F.E.A.R. which really spoke to me.  It stands for False Evidence Appearing Real.  We create this “evidence” in our minds to keep ourselves from going with the flow.  We lose sight of our goals and, thus become immobile.  If you want to overcome your fears and learn to embrace change, Arina gives a few great tips.  I’ve added hers, along with some of my own from experience.

1) Stop and take a Moment

When change is unexpected, it is oftentimes traumatizing.  Take the time to breathe and nurture yourself as you process through what is going on.  Nothing has to be done right away, and actually sometimes it’s best to sit with it for a while.  That little bit of time can allow you to create an action plan for next steps.

2) Take small steps 

Create short-term goals first.  They should be attainable and specific to you.  Write them out and review them daily, so they become a part of your subconcious.  You have to be willing to create shifts from the inside before they can arrive on the outside.

 3) You are your own worst critic. 

Remember, no one judges you with the intensity that you judge yourself.  Often, you fear this false judgment as you seek approval or wonder how you will be perceived.  No matter what change is happening in your life, you have to be true to yourself.

 4) Stay positive and focused.

Envision positive changes and expect them to show up.  You must continue to do the work and be focused on the direction you want to go.   If you’re not sure, keep asking yourself until you get the answer.  It will eventually come.

5) Accept failure as part of change

Things do not always go our way. We will fail. It is not the failure that we should focus on but what we learned from the experience. Change your mindset to look at failure as an opportunity to grow and to learn.  The most successful people have used their failures as expected stepping stones to climbing their ladder.

6) Allow change to happen.

After you have done all that you can within your control, you have to surrender. Sometimes, there’s no other way but to step aside and allow things to happen.

7)  Know in your heart that change WILL move you forward.

There is a lot that is unseen, unknown, and uncertain in this world.  It doesn’t always make sense.  But in the grand scheme of your life, there’s no doubt that change will always transform you in some way.

Top 20 Letting Go Quotes

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I came across a great list of quotes to live by.  I know that I will think of these as I move forward in my journey.  My hope is that they will provide you freedom and peace!

Top 20 Letting Go Quotes, as per Edward K Hoo

1. “When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell

2. “We can never turn back the pages of time, though we may wish to relive a happy moment, or say goodbye just one last time, we never can, because the sands of time continue to fall, and we can’t turn the hourglass over.” – Unknown

3. “Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.” — Herman Hesse

4. “One problem with gazing too frequently into the past is that we may turn around to find the future has run out on us.” – Michael Cibenko

5. All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.” – Havelock Ellis

6. “In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” – Albert Schweitzer

7. “Change is never easy, you fight to hold on, and you fight to let go.” – The Wonder Years

8. “There’s no need to miss someone from your past- There’s a reason they didn’t make it to your future” – Unknown

9. “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” – Headstone

10. “Every exit is an entry somewhere.” –Tom Stoppard

11. “True love doesn’t have a happy ending, because true love never ends. Letting go is one way of saying I love you.” – Unknown

12. “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.” – Unknown

13. “Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head.” – Ann Landers

14. “We need in love to practice only this: letting each other go. For holding on comes easily–we do not need to learn it.” – Rainer Maria Rilke

15. “Every breath is an opportunity to receive and let go. I receive love and I let go of pain.” – Brenda MacIntyre

16. “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” – Lao Tzu

17. “Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding on to.” – Anonymous

18. “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss

19. “We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell

20. “The Tao Te Ching says, When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need. Have you ever struggled to find work or love, only to find them after you have given up? This is the paradox of letting go. Let go, in order to achieve. Letting go is God’s law.” – Mary Manin Morrissey

Sweet Surrender

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Sometimes, a “sweet surrender is all I have to give”, as per Sarah McLachlan’s hit song.  It is oftentimes, the best gift to offer the universe.  For some reason, we all have this sense that if we hold on to an idea, a person, an emotion,  we will continue to move forward.  I’ve found that actually the reverse is true.  We have to ask ourselves, “what are we really holding onto anyway?”  Often, it is something that has occurred in the past that doesn’t serve us in the present. It is an anchor that holds us back.  I think it is one of the most difficult kriyas that we must implement in our lives in order to fuel our happiness and peace.

I struggle with this concept a lot myself.  It’s a need for control and avoidance of pain.  It’s so much easier to just hold on tightly to something, pretend that the circumstances have not changed, and continue to live in the past.  But the result is that you suck the life out of what you grip onto so tightly, and in that process, end up holding onto something that is long gone.  You say to yourself that you miss the potential of what was and what could have been in your life.  But truthfully, the “potential” of something is different than the “reality” of it.  In order to open yourself to the beauty that awaits you in your life, you must let go of the concepts and people that do not serve you.  There is a gift in remaining present in the moment.  There is a freedom there to go in any direction.  And only then, can all the good in life  come to you and through you.  Dr. Lawrence Wilson of the Center of Development states, “Your future will find you, if you let go of your past”.

Deepali’s piece of wellness: We may have control over our sails, but no control over the direction the wind blows.  Let go and see where it takes you.