Be Blessed: And Take a Moment to Meditate - Part Three

“Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it.”
~ Anonymous

On most days, when I look at myself in the mirror, I am pleased and content with who is staring back at me. I see a woman who is growing older, and wiser and more sure of herself, and that's dope! There are those days, though, where Gollum is staring back at me (in my own head) - the most hideous thing imaginable. It's my goal to get rid of the Gollum days, between you and me.

Some of you may have your own version of Gollum days, and if by chance you're trying to dramatically lessen those days, this week's meditation is a good one. Entitled, "I Am", it serves as a affirmation of all of the beauty we have inside of us. So when Gollum is staring back at you, tell it to burn the road up with a reminder of all that you are!!!



This week, I will remember everything I am.

Be Blessed: Conscious Creation (Courtesy of The Daily Om)

"Each morning sees some task begin, Each evening sees it close; Something attempted, something done, Has earned a night's repose.”
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction.”
~ George Lorimer

"The sun is but a morning star."
~ Henry David Thoreau

I've never been much of a morning person. One of my greatest pleasures in life is to sleep until noon. Having a job makes that experience limited only to weekends and holidays, but I will take it when I can! LOL

I am learning to appreciate mornings as I am getting older, I must admit to this. I like the pleasure of quiet city streets on the few occasions I get to work to early morning shift - time spent alone with my own thoughts, or with the music playing through my headphones as I make the commute to work, before the hustle and bustle of rush hour.

I've also learned that the first few moments spent waking up can really start a beautiful day, or a miserable one... it's our choice. Here are some words of wisdom and food for thought on this subject from The Daily Om.

Conscious Creation
The First Moments Of The Day

The moment during the day when we very first open our eyes and come into consciousness is a precious opportunity. It sets the tone for all that comes after it, like the opening scene in a film or novel. At this moment, our ability to create the day is at its most powerful, and we can offer ourselves fully to the creative process by filling this moment with whatever inspires us most. It may be that we want to be more generous, or it may be that we want to be more open to beauty in our daily lives. Whatever the case, if we bring this vision into our minds at this very fertile moment, we empower it to be the guiding principle of our day.

Sometimes we wake up with a mood already seemingly in place, and it’s important to give this feeling its due. It can inform us and deepen our awareness to what’s going on inside us, as well as around us. As long as we are conscious, we can honor this feeling and also introduce our new affirmation or vision, our conscious offering to the day. We may want to decide before we go to sleep what we want to bring to the next day of our lives. It could be that we simply want to be more open to whatever comes our way. Or we may want to summon a particular quality such as confidence. Then again, we may simply call up a feeling that perfectly captures the texture we want our day to have.

We can reaffirm our vision or affirmation as we shower and eat breakfast, as well as recalling it at various times throughout the day. We can write it down and carry it with us on a little slip of paper if this helps. Simply by being aware of those first moments, we set the stage for a more conscious, enlivened experience, and we become active participants in the creation of our lives.



Today, I will start to make each morning a blessed one!

Be Blessed: And KNOW You're Getting Better & Better!

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~ Anais Nin

For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.
~ Author Unknown



The following is an excerpt from one of my (many!) old journals, dated Wednesday, November 1, 2006:

"Today was a quiet sort of day. I made no success in job searching, but I remain optimistic. As time progresses I know that I am one step closer to obtaining all of my dreams. And this allows me to not live each day in quiet desperation, and allow me to do what must be done, manage to have as much fun as possible... all with the knowledge that my future is on the horizon."

If the woman I am today could sit down and have tea with the woman I was back then, I bet the me from the past would be astonished about where and who I am now. And today, reading these words of optimism and self-assurance is an inspiration for me. It serves as a reminder of where I've been along this journey called life, and it makes me very excited about the woman I'll be, five years from now, reading this blog entry.

I can honestly say that recently I've been at a point where I've felt very stuck in my life: content, but not very thrilled about the world around me. And in reflecting on this feeling, I found myself all wrapped up in the "could-a, would-a, should-a"s, which is NEVER a motivating thought to have. I took me going back and reading through my journal pages from the past ten years to truly see the picture: I have come a tremendously long way!!! It took that zealously optimistic 28 year old to become the 33 year old woman I am today. Older, yes. Wiser, I think so. Happier? Honestly? Yes!

Below are powerful words from Iyanla Vanzant that I feel really bring to light the energy that was surrounding my 28 year old self back then. At 33, I feel like a new blossoming in in store for me, and I am so happy and grateful to see what will develop for yours truly:

Guess what? You are not the worst person in the world! Sure, you've made some bad judgment calls, taken some pretty foolish chances, created some awful situations, but you give yourself too much credit. Others have done far worse. Then there are those people who haven't done anything to anyone -- ever. They are quiet. Go unnoticed. They have flawless characters and records. But you know what? They haven't done anything for themselves either.

They are probably just as, if not more, miserable and confused as you. Think about it this way: The future will be what you make it today. Whether you are the doer or a nondoer, you must work on the future. If you've made a mess, clean it up. If you are afraid to take a chance, take one anyway. If you've done things that didn't work, do something else. If you have done nothing, do something. What you don't do can create the same regrets as the mistakes you make. In the long run, either you must happen to life, or it will never happen for you.

Step by step, I am getting better and better.

From Acts of Faith
by Iyanla Vanzant

Be Blessed: And Fall in Love... With Yourself!!!

“ The greatest magnifying glasses in the world are a man's own eyes when they look upon his own person.”
~ Alexander Pope

" Self-love is the foundation of our loving practice. Without it our other efforts to love fail. Giving ourselves love we provide our inner being with the opportunity to have the unconditional love we may have always longed to receive from someone else."
~ bell hooks



Many of you who know me, and those that read my blog know that I have a deep love and admiration for Cree Summer. I've considered her a HUGE shero of mine since I was very young, and as an adult... I continue to look up to her tremendously.

One thing that Chris said to me when we first started dating, when discussing my affection for Cree was that there's a part of her inside of me. At the time, I thought that it was the most preposterous thing he could've said to me (I also most likely thought he was trying to get some! LOL). But in reading Shakti Gawain's Reflections in the Light: Daily Thoughts and Affirmations  and in doing this exercise, I could really see the Cree... in me! That really brought home the truth of this, which is why I share this with you today -

When we fall in love with someone, we are also falling in love with aspects of ourselves that we see reflected in that person. We may feel that our loved one has qualities that we don't have, but those qualities exist in us too and are as yet undiscovered or undeveloped.

Today, think of each person you love and imagine him or her as a mirror reflecting your own beauty and lovability. The more you can love yourself through these reflections, the more you can truly love and appreciate others.

I am falling in love with myself

Be Blessed: And CHOOSE to feel GOOD

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live." ~ Flora Whittemore

"To decide is to walk facing forward with nary a crick in your neck from looking back at the crossroads." ~ Betsy Cañas Garmon

"Your attitude is everything. What you came intending to focus upon in this life was your level of joy. When you click upon and set your tuner to wanting joy, everything else falls into alignment."
~ Abraham-Hicks



One of my favorite lines from the movie "Cousins" (with Ted Danson and Isabella Rossellini) is from Lloyd Bridges' character, Vince: "You've got only one life to live. You can either make it chicken sh*t or chicken salad. ". I don't know about y'all, but I'd much rather have me a chicken salad! LOL

Every morning, when we wake up and start a new day, we're presented with a choice: Will my day be a good one, or a crappy one?

We often ignore the opportunities that can come for making the choice to feel good, simply because we think that the choice is not ours to make. That's not the case!

No one has the power to make your day unhappy if you've made the choice to feel good: not that dude knocked you out of the way to get a seat in the subway, not your boss, not your landlord, not that gum-poppin' teller at the bank, no one. Just you.

When you've made a conscious choice to feel good and respond only to energy that makes you feel good... encounters with people who aren't joyful will be few and far between. And if any grumplestiltskins should try to venture onto your path, you can just shake, shake, shake, shake...shake them off (Like Mariah Carey! LOL).

Try it tomorrow! Monday is the perfect day to start a pattern of feeling good (I also promise to provide you with a Music Therapy Song to help accomplish this goal, so visit tomorrow morning!) Wake up in the morning and think to yourself, "Today.. I am choosing to have a good day!"

Be Blessed: Finding Our Own Paths (Courtesy of the Daily Om)

Finding Our Own Paths
Entering Awareness

Entering into our own spirituality is a private journey. Each of us will be drawn to a different gateway to begin on our personal path to awakening to a greater experience of ourselves. Even though we may be taught certain philosophies or beliefs as children, we still need to find our own way of understanding and applying them in our lives. For those who are raised without a spiritual framework, they may not even know their process as a form of spirituality. But at some stage in their lives, whether in youth or adulthood, they are likely to recognize the resonance of their beliefs, the ring of truth in their philosophy, and their dedication to their chosen purpose.

Our inner guidance will lead us, so that we will be drawn to the right doorway for us--a doorway that only we can recognize by the way it makes us feel inside. It could be a picture of an angel or the gift of a crystal. We may meet someone special who shares their experiences with us in a way that we find intriguing. While visiting the home of an admired friend, we may notice a book or statue of a diety, and ask why they chose those tools. Or a word or phrase may catch our attention in a song, or a lecture. For some they may find their way by walking through the experience of illness before they begin the search for what will help them to truly heal, while others may seek physical improvement and stumble across yoga or meditation--only to find that it leads them to an unexpected place beyond the body.

As we awaken to ourselves and to life, we will become more attuned to what is right for us. The universe speaks to all of us through infinite channels, but we each have our own frequency. Others may share what worked for them, but only we can decide what truly makes us feel inspired, awakened, connected, fully conscious, aware and alive. Whatever our path, it is perfect and is meant especially for us.

The Daily Om is a great website that (in their own words) nurtures the body, mind and spirit. For more information, click here or visit http://www.dailyom.com/

Be Blessed: Positive Thinking is Easy (Really!)

Everyday as we go about our daily tasks, we are constantly having inner dialogs - Some good ("Girl, you are working that outfit today!")and some bad ("Why even bother... that's never going to happen!".

I have realized a long time ago that there is no way to perfectly remove the negative chatter... it's job is to distract and steer you from your path, and it diligently goes about it's job. What we can do... is ensure that we don't steer, that we don't bend, that we don't pause and doubt ourselves.

One method that has worked for me is a mantra I created when I was a teenager. "Whatevah, money..." It's my particular Brooklyn-girl way of saying "Talk to the hand, man... You have no power here!" Another method is the weekly incorporation of a specific affirmation, one that is specific to what you are currently wanting to work on (love, success, wisdom, growth, peace of mind, etc.).

Either print the words out, or write it down, and place it somewhere you will be able to look at it every single day (Bathroom/Bedroom Mirror, the Fridge, etc.). Each time you glance and read these words, you will be making it a part of the inner chatter in your mind. You will be giving yourself a terrific opportunity to change your life, by simply starting within. With every sunrise, we are blessed with a new day and a new opportunity to love, strengthen and heal ourselves.

I'd like to share with y'all an excerpt from a book that I have found immensely helpful. Shakti Gawain's Reflections in the Light: Daily Thoughts and Affirmations is a book that has 365 affirmations, one for every day of the year. When I first bought it, I would diligently read the day's message every morning when I woke up and every evening before retiring to bed. As the years progressed, I made an almost divination game out of it: I would hold the book to me and ask my higher self to guide me to the affirmation I need to work on in a particular week. And I would turn the pages until one jumped out at me.

The below affirmation is the first one in the book (January 1st). May it inspire you to take a fresh new start and strengthen you with positivity.