The most valuable possession you have is your HEALTH.
Sustaining your health is a responsibility you do not want to give to another. Make mindful choices towards your health.
What you put in is what you get to use and share with others.
Be mindful of what you are intaking into your system; it has a significant impact on your wellbeing.
I'm not speaking only food; it's environments, the conversations, what you read, watch, listen to, and thoughts you believe.
Be gentle and kind to yourself so you can spread it around. 💜
Normalization
There is a dense feeling of discomfort as choices and options have been removed for the collective to remain healthy, yet in these choices, people are suffering.
I can understand that staying home has not been the norm, yet here we are in retreat with ourselves while protecting each other.
When change and challenges present themselves, it can feel more comfortable to dissociate than to lean in to find the solutions with change. Being self-aware is ensuring you are awake to the choices and actions you take. You have to go within regularly to question if you are informed and not just going with what is told or "the norm."
Are you using the question "Why am I doing this?"
Be aware of the trappings of NORMALIZATION.
Stay awake by questioning what is the healthiest choice and put action to those answers.
At times the action is to do nothing externally while doing plenty internally.
Together we can thrive.
Freedom
Dare to allow curiosity to guide you through uncertainty with play to find the rhythm and frequency you need to thrive.
You hone this skill with continuous practice and remembering that learning means you are going to make mistakes and get hurt, yet you adapt in the process.
REMEMBER: Self-preservation is a dangerous mindset.
Hostage
When Truth hurts, please let it liberate you to no longer numb in denial, let it awaken you to the profound suffering you have been causing yourself by not being willing to see the beauty that is within you. There are gifts you posses that have been in denial and need honesty so the world can benefit from you sharing them.
When facing challenges, honesty is a superpower to assist you in building the resilience needed to adapt and move out of comforts that have been predicated on lies.
Honestly is the bedrock to Truth; however, it is something a majority of us know not how to use.
As children, we adapt very well; by learning quickly, that honesty gets us into trouble; it is painful and has us missing out on what we want to do. We also see the adults saying one thing yet doing the opposite with their actions. We learn at an early age to lie to allow our curiosity, feelings and wants to survive, not realizing we are separating from our power.
It is a skill to keep developing and using honesty in a world that is filled with lies. The thing with lying is we end up in a maze of illusions that we are not even sure who it is we are because we have been lead to believe our truth is too ugly to be seen or trusted. Many of us have been boxed into prototypes that would work well in the world.
When people think of honesty, they think I have to tell everyone everything, which is not the case.
Honestly is a tool for you to use with yourself so you can always have acceptance and have the ability to see when you are making errors to call them out of the imprisoned mental lie.
We all have things we are afraid to share with others in fear of being rejected or ridiculed, and this is where honesty allows acceptance to show you love, and that takes great courage to accept those unaccepted parts. One healthy reason Coaches, Therapists, Psychologists, etc. are sought because if the parent or caregiver did not offer a safe space to develop honesty, then they need that reflection to learn how to reuse it.
SlowDown
Often we want to know how things end to have a sense of certainty because the suspense of a story unfolding is too intense of an experience to enjoy.
A majority of us have been habituated to rush and be impulsive with life due to society having a messaging of going faster, hurry up, and you're to slow, quick speed it up, accumulate, accumulate.
Having a sense of missing out can have you overlook many aspects of life where you require information to gauge your health.
There is an opportunity to discover that inner peace you have been seeking externally. Are you becoming aware that you have everything within that would guide you to what you need externally?
Slow down and spend time with the most valued person in your life, which is you.
Discover what it is that has you react or respond to things, places or people.
Have you ever been curious to see if that uncomfortable feeling may be excitement that you have identified as something dangerous to feel?
As children, when excited by curiosity and enjoying life, we are often told to settle down, we can start to label that feeling as something wrong. Being separated from curiosity will cause dullness and the need to seek for external stimulation.
Uncover if possibly curiosity has been identified as wrong for fear that it will bring danger, which is an experience that impacted your belief system.
Those pages that are stuck have the reflections that others are showing you about yourself.
Honesty
When you allow yourself to stand and own the truth of your story, the accountability of self-responsibility begins to activate. You become aware that no one is coming to save you, which liberates you from a mentality of denial of authority. There is an awareness that you see what you have created thus far and acknowledging the hurt towards yourself and others. Compassion and loving-kindness towards yourself are so crucial for these wounds to be cared for, which begins the process of alchemy in transforming them into wisdom.
To develop wisdom requires using direct experience, to gain knowledge and understanding of what Fear is and the mind's fiercely consistent part in protecting you in what it has interpreted as danger.
By standing and owning the truth of your story, you are allowing yourself to be lifted higher than the Fear, and the energy within starts to expand. By sharing this energy, it can stir up a reaction in others to awaken a curiosity to look within themselves, so they can remove the weights holding them down.
We ALL have some chapters we do not divulge to everyone, yet when you do not even look at them yourself, you create holes inside yourself. It takes you owning and standing in the truth of your story to be whole. Remember, actions are not who you are; they are the impact on what you are creating.
Are you aware if you have holes, have you ever checked in to see?
When I lift myself higher, I show others that they can lift themselves higher.
Opportunity
On May 25, 1946, Einstein words were published for the world to read:
“A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels.”
Here we are in the disruption to allow this new way of thinking to emerge.
Be aware that in the ethers of all our minds, there is a thought system that has us harming ourselves and others, and that is one of survival.
It will require going through the waves of sensation the mind activates to return in a calm space of harmony, aligning with a healthy state where new solutions will emerge.
Your immune system is interconnected with your nervous system, which is interconnected with the mind and any beliefs that spark fear impact the whole system.
Healing is transcending any beliefs that would lure you into being separated from a healthy state.
When you rediscover self-love, transformation occurs.
Use the opportunity to sit and pay attention to yourself to become self-aware and align in a healthy state.
Thrive
As a human species, it takes contrast for us to adapt and allowing change to occur. A disruption occurs when the illusion of comfort must fall for reality to be revelled and seen. Look back in your life to all the challenges you went through and what came out the other side.
Challenges arise for us to learn to find solutions and THRIVE.
The universal language we all share is HEALTH.
The love language to share with everyone is HEALTH.
There are many parts to health, and the most impactful one is our mental health as it influences the other parts of the system as a whole.
Have we been self-responsible for our health and sustaining it while being of service to others in supporting the health of everything on the earth.
Health is not only for humans; it is every lifeforce that is on this biodome of a planet. We are not separate or higher than anything on this earth; we are all interconnected.
Yeah, our service to others is to be in a way that we sustain health.
Why do you think there is so much advocacy to basic needs it is because it is attached to health.
Here are a few examples
Entertainment
Parenting
Education
Medical
Sports
Food
Transportation
Art
Environment
Tourism
Therapy
Coaching
and much much more.
Yeah, were you aware that what was here was supporting health?
Presently are you aware of what role you play to support health?
Having a self-preserved mindset is dangerous to the collective as we are all interconnected, and this disruption is teaching us this.
Our way to thrive is to focus our energies on what is our part with health.
What skills can I bring to be of service for others while earning currency to sustain Life?
How will you THRIVE?
Recognize if you are working somewhere you hate, then that is impacting not only your health also the health of the collective. Life is to enjoy.
We all play our part with energy because that is what we are.
Energy grows with fuel, and the best one for our internal energy is loving-kindness towards ourselves and others.
How will you THRIVE?
Insanity
I hope that you will take these times to peek into your insanity to discover liberation.
We all have some insanity; you need it to navigate this crazy world, yet there is sanity you can rest within.
It is so liberating to call out the insanity.
A majority of the stress or anxiety your sensing is a belief that you have control and more so that you need it.
There is so much freedom from letting go of that neurosis of ruminating thoughts of feeling unsafe or that you do not belong.
Have you peeked at your inner dialogue, are you kind towards yourself?
When doing introspection, there is a discomfort with a sense of panic, which is the turbulent wave of the ego trying to keep you safe from seeing the calm still place it has identified as dangerous.
Take moments to enjoy and be open to what this moment is teaching you, reflect on how you can utilize the skills to create fulfillment in serving others. Life is for all of us.
Becoming aware of the value of health as a whole creates a self-responsibility of being invested in sustaining it.
Courage
Uncertainty Is always amongst us and presently, a new world is beginning to emerge.
What that will it look like will depend on our ability to adapt to change and seeking solutions that will bring harmony.
HEALTH is a universal language in which a majority of people are misinformed about how to sustain. It is the one common thing we share that is so fragile yet so robust.
Our medical system is dependant on the collective to slow down as they are the immune system helping to protect life.
Let us all do our part in transforming this fear into one that unifies us in being HEALTHIER.
It takes courage to face uncertainty and choosing not to panic.
It takes courage to be kind when you are scared and feeling unsafe.
It takes courage to slow down when you've been habituated to do so much.
It takes courage not to ridicule another when they are crippled in mental fear.
When parts in us want self-preservation, it takes courage to go beyond it and serve others.
Be courageous by transforming your fear into diversity.
Be courageous to allow yourself to rest.
Be courageous in being kind and gentle with your most frightening parts.
If we are learning anything, it is that slowing down and focusing our energy into other areas is possible.
Courage is one of thriving when pain and suffering are present.
Be courageous in thriving in uncertainty.
Liberate
Being your best and finding the things that allow that to flourish are the gifts to be shared in the world.
We are feeling bodies that think.
Let me repeat that.
We are feeling bodies that think.
We rely on our senses, and they give sensations that stimulate thought.
Now depending on how you label these sensations will have an impact on how you view the world.
Our thoughts have created a separation from our internal guidance because of how we define what is safe.
Have you ever had a gut feeling and thought that is crazy, yet you went with it, and everything unfolded in a beautiful way you could not describe, or when did not act, you were made aware that it was a mistake to doubt yourself.
If you have been separate from your innate guiding system, then it takes practice in trusting sensations. You have to remove all the junk of identities and definitions of beliefs that you have accumulated in constructing an ego of feeling.
As children, we were made afraid of trusting ourselves in expressing what we saw as truth because our actions were labelled as wrong, which we internalized a definition that, as a whole, we were wrong.
Test it out by using your memory of experiences.
When you failed a test in school, how were you made to feel?
When you hurt yourself and sought affection, how were you made to feel?
When you broke something expensive, how were you made to feel?
When you spoke something direct and truthful, how were you made to feel?
When you expressed certain emotions, how were you made to feel?
When you wanted something and pestered, how were you made to feel?
When you acted out in anger or frustration, how were you made to feel?
When you asked direct questions that may be considered "inappropriate," how were you made to feel?
Imagine over time having those feeling you would create some form of protection from feeling that again. Now imagine you are defining that as yourself creating it, yes indeed conflict and a way of protection from the self.
Are you honest and aware of the veils of fear that cover your reality?
We all have them.
Liberation in Truth
Suffering
When we experience pain and suffering, the mind searches for an answer to why is this occurring to make it stop. When none can be found, the automatic response is to resist what is and cut off all sensations that are being felt.
The healthy response is acceptance and taking control of how you will perceive it, which requires practice.
To be in pain and have an answer of I do not know and I am okay can be unbearably unsafe for some.
There are no coincidences and Life is always for you.
There are ripple effects that we are not even made aware of.
We can easily forget that this is an impermanent world always changing, that is what makes it so beautiful in its mystery.
We fall asleep by becoming comfortable and complacent with the way things are that we forget we are in a dance that requires constant movement of change. We have these definitions and storylines of the way Life should look and feel, and when they don't, suffering bombards the psyche.
Accountability has you start with reflecting within to search for how am I creating the suffering. It has you aware that if I created it, then that means I can uncreate it, and if I become caught up in blaming anything outside of myself, then I have no power to shift and change.
Perception is a mighty tool we possess in being empowered with how we will enjoy our experiences and persevere with peaceful determination in our challenges.
Reflection in solitude with the self is a practice in reminding us where the power lies.
Healing
The body has an intelligence called the immune system that heals itself, and most time, it requires RRF.
Rest (pausing stressful thoughts to allow the nervous system to rest with sleeping and being in nature),
Recovery (exercising in moving the body, eating earth grown foods for nutrients, meditation with deep breathing)
Fluids (hydration and flushing out the system)
If you contract the Coronavirus, it’s not a death sentence.
There are vulnerable humans that need to be concerned, does the whole world need to be in a panic NO. What we need is factual information, so we are informed on how to protect ourselves as well as others and not be dependant on so many outside sources.
We need to be kind towards each other and not dominate or ostracize in fear.
If you are activating your nervous system with fearful thoughts of death, and not moving the body with intensity, then you will weaken your immune system by flooding the body with cortisol.
The Coronavirus was discovered in the 60s; what is present now is a new strain.
Inform yourself what the Coronavirus is and what the concerns are about this strain.
Be curious why the media is speaking only about death rates.
What about the recovery rates?
Some are estimating 68,000 worldwide have recovered from the Coronavirus.
Laughing improves your immunity against fear.
Be informed not spoon fed fear.
Uncertainty
Uncertainty is amongst all the time, yet the mind will create these illusions of false control.
The reason there is such a panic is that most were not aware of how uncertain everything is, and they need a sense of control.
Are there steps of precaution to take yes and one of them has been to seek solitude to ensure the spread of the virus reduces.
Most are afraid of spending time alone as they aren't sure who it is they will be spending time with.
This is a great time where we pause and cherish our loved ones in quality time.
If you are afraid of contracting the virus and of death, do you not want your last days to be spent with those you love and prioritize what matters to you?
Meditation assists us in entering into the anxiety and fear so we may go beyond it.
Be cautious of where you take refuge.
Be sure to enquire within to ensure fear is not leading you astray from self.
Compassion
Compassion towards ourselves is critical when experiencing uncertainty.
When having a sense of feeling under attack, fear can bring forth parts in us that are not kind and very defensive.
When fearful thoughts keep rushing in waves, it is essential to ensure you remain connected with being gentle and kind towards yourself.
Mental health is your main priority to ride the wave of these uncertain times.
You may start being aware of the deep conditioning pressure of doing that is being removed. With nothing "to do," boredom starts to set in, and that can feel very uncomfortable; therefore, the mind creates a significant amount of anxiety to have you go back to the programming of the previous conditions.
Being playful and honest assists with the ease through that anxiety into stillness.
To remain healthy requires being mindful and honest about your experience.
If you are willing to be open, you will see the gift in these times.
Uncertainty is always around us; it takes a constant remembering the anchor of calm in the storm is inside of you.
Curiosity
Curiosity allows us to flourish in uncertainty; it is a skill that continuously has us thriving.
One reason parenting can bring up anxiety is that children are tethered to their curiosity while the parent has become untethered.
As a species, this is one of the skills that has allowed us to evolve and innovate for centuries. Please recognize you have always been in uncertainty each moment, yet the construct has programmed you into believing if I follow if I listen to all the things outside of me, I will be safe and in control.
As a child, a majority of us become detached from our curiosity because we begin to believe using it will lead to harmful or dangerous experiences.
In a method of protection, we start to create a label and identify curiosity as harmful and dangerous, unknowingly by not listening to this innate guiding system; we become imprisoned in fear crippled by the thought that uncertainty will kill us.
Allow curiosity to come out and dare to believe that life is for you by allowing it to play.
Guide it with questions like;
"What would it look like if I enjoyed my time instead of force my way through?"
"What would it look like to created a rhythm that works for me to be open?"
Curiosity does not mean to be complacent and not responsible; that is inertia.
It is to use it in being accountable by continually asking
"How can I enjoyably utilize the skills that will bring fulfilment while serving others?"
Remember, when you speak of others, be included in that group.
Dare to allow curiosity to guide you through uncertainty with play to find the rhythm and frequency you need to thrive.
You hone this skill with continuous practice and remembering that learning means you are going to make mistakes and get hurt, yet you adapt in the process.
REMEMBER: Self-preservation is a dangerous mindset.
Reflection
I was hit with a traumatic experience yesterday, and at the moment, I had to keep asking what is this here to teach. Why is this here?
Today I ensured I made space for much-needed reflection to ensure it is being processed and embodied rather than suppressed and bypassed.
Allowing yourself to sit in silence with all those heavy feelings to see beyond the conditioned mind is WORK.
Self-care is in these practices of sitting to process the experience in learning, ensures that you do not separate from yourself in reactivity.
Parenting is a role where you are giving many experiences to re-learn for yourself while guiding another human-being in teaching themselves. It takes strength to not react with punishment or control and rather sit with the discomfort of accepting so that curiosity can lead you to the missing piece. By doing this, you are able to see it differently, and there is clarity of understanding so you can move forward in learning.
When you are reactive, your greatest weapon is BREATHING and keeping your mouth shut!
I think I may have gotten a 7/10
Suicide
In my opinion, the vast majority of humans will have suicide thoughts/ideations once or twice in their lifetime and some just do not know how to be honest or talk about this. Recognize this season can bring up a lot of pressure on the psyche to stimulate these thoughts.
Being aware is the first step, then speaking about the honest pressures your experiencing is the second, which will then create another step and another which you are worth taking.
We all experience challenges, and that's why talking with others that have non-judgement allows acceptance to release the pressure and for you to see it differently.
Meditation allows stress to dissolve.
Introspection creates awakening.
Exercise allows the energy to build.
Eating food as fuel allows clarity.
Being in nature brings connections in peace.
I can relate to the statement, "no one understands how HARD this is," yet one person does, and that is you. Yes, you understand, and by being honest about it, you discover the solutions you can create for yourself. There are so many out there that can relate to you allow yourself to open up the suffering.
We all have our breaking points, and before you break that glass for in case of emergency, ensure you have a plan for support.
Your human living a human experience, please take moments to be kind towards yourself.
YOU MATTER!
Take a deep breath.
Acceptance
When a choice is made that will touch the beliefs of others ' the snares, separation, condemnation comes out.
As soon as differences emerge, a belief appears that one must take a stance and choose a side, forgetting that Truth stands in the middle of it all. Blinded in our belief, we become entangled and enmesh in what I believe to be right with what you believe to be accurate and rarely will see our connection in Truth.
I was speaking to a friend, and he was sharing some challenges he was experiencing, and I said, "Michael, you are doing great!"
He replied, " I don't understand what your saying."
"Michael, you are doing great."
"I don't understand what your trying to tell me."
"Michael, you are doing great."
"I need substance for me to understand this.'
"Isn't it amazing how you cannot receive the words "you are doing great" without having it be attached to something specific? That your mind needs to reference it to something so you can get feedback on what you are doing right. That you cannot see that within you that you are great."
He was silent for a long while and said: "Ha, thank you. I accept that, thank you."
I replied, "Michael, you do not have to be doing something for me to think your great."
The challenges we go through in our personal lives is where we learn and grow. Compassion and understanding are embodied when there is acceptance in the experience. See to say something intellectual is easy, and it is in the application of applying the practice in the direct experience where wisdom emerges.
Before you push away or condemn another for their choices, take time to listen to their story to have a better understanding of the challenges experienced in their life while allowing yourself to explain your perspective.
When we can both listen despite what might be boiling up inside of us, this is where we find the peace that creates transformation and a new world begins to emerge.
Needs vs Wants
In 2015, I went a whole year of not buying anything outside of essential needs for myself. That meant no clothing, no shoes, no cosmetics, no perfumes, no jewelry, you get the point, I only bought the basic needs.
The intention was to understand my needs vs my wants and the impact that consumerism had on my life.
The steps I took when I would go to buy something for myself was that I would stop and ask
"Do I need this?" which lead to the next question
"Why am I buying this" to the next
"What is bothering me?"
By doing this process, it allowed me to do some significant introspection and find the root of things. See, purchasing something new gives a sensation of satisfaction. Yet if you go further into this feeling that has you wanting to buy, you can uncover what is impacting your decision making.
In the beginning, I required a lot of time to process these intense feelings that would come up. I had to slow things down to create patience with accepting what I was feeling so I could listen and expand understanding. I saw that previously when I would purchase something, it would give a numbing to these intense feeling that was coming up creating a suppression which became the addiction to buying to avoid feeling. Let me tell you sales were a significant challenge for me as I have a definition of being frugal and justifying why it was okay to buy it. Those experiences of sales allowed me to have a better understanding of consumerism and the different aspects it uses emotions to spark buying.
In this whole process, I discovered I had several inner wounds that needed attention. These wounds had created a type of malignancy in how I interpreted myself and the world that created a misidentification for myself. This detox brought some intense moment as feelings needed to be released and let go; I became aware of how easy it was to numb rather than feel in honesty.
That year allowed me to see how little I needed and how many things I had defined as needs were mere wants. I also came to understand consumerism and the way it impacts my life as well as society.