No More Crazy! Meditate!

It is imperative for me to meditate.

If I don't, I'm crazy. That's all there is to it.

If I don't sit daily, for at LEAST 10 minutes, quiet my body, relax my mind, ask Spirit to guide me, I'm straight up nuts.

Carol Carnes said in a talk, "If you aren't meditating, you are trying too hard."

And I've found that to be ABSOLUTELY true for me.

It feels like I'm pushing hard against the world when I don't meditate. And when I do, when I really PRACTICE it, daily, my world is COMPLETELY altered. I mean, COMPLETELY.

Please, don't take it from me. TRY IT YOURSELF!

Here's a link to my favorite meditation. Try it. Just sit down, and try it.

BLISS!

MEDIATE AND FIND BALANCE HERE

Love is EVERYWHERE

Just for a moment. 

Think of someone who loves you.

Really ADORES you. 

Feel the love in your heart space. 

Now, think of someone you love. Intensely. Feel that feeling. 

Let it grow inside of you. 

Now go out into the world and cultivate! 

That's my plan for the day.

BE HERE.

Breathe through it. Just breathe. When we focus on our breath we can stay present. And in the present moment there is little fear and little worry. These things are usually connected to anxiety about the future, or regret about the past. But truly, all we have is this moment.

So right here, feel the air on your skin. Feel your feet on the floor. Become aware of the room you are in, the light that surrounds you, and the beat of your heart.

So grateful to be practicing the presence of just being here. This is where serenity for me lies. Right here, right now.

BE STILL AND KNOW.

And sometimes I just want to stay still for awhile. I just want to lie down and check out for awhile. And so I let myself do this. I let myself be with the quiet and the the not-knowing. Sometimes I'm not sure of the next move or the next 'right thing.' And so, I do nothing. I just try to stay present, aware, and at peace. Peace is where the answers lie. Namaste.

Feeling Beautiful

I feel beautiful.

I don't feel skinny or young or in shape. But I feel beautiful.

I know I am beautiful. I look in the mirror and I say "I am glad to be you today." This, of course, implies that I am more than this body and it is a privilege to inhabit these bones and muscles and to get to view this magical world through these eyes and this brain.

I'm writing about this because a post on fb I read this morning reminded me of how I used to believe whatever YOU believed about me to be true. The post said something like " my friend told me I was a six and I think he's right." I am paraphrasing, but the essence was that she was 'rated' on a scale of one to ten and basically agreed of her 'imperfect' number, etc...

So many things about this got me thinking.

Of course, it is hard to be told something obviously hurtful and not be hurt. But if you told me I was a bird or a plane, it would be easy for me to prove to myself I am not a bird or a plane. I know in the depth of my being I am not a bird or a plane. I am human. Duh.

But call me a 'Six'  and you hit every nerve of low self-worth and low self-esteem, every time I have compared myself to magazine beauty. It might be a bit tougher to remember the truth of who I am. I am a perfect ME. Right now. Right here. At this weight, age, height, wisdom.

It truly is an inside job. Today, I felt suddenly aware that while I love you, I don't really give a shit if you think I am beautiful or smart or good enough. Because I am sure of these things about myself today. Maybe it is something that happens as i've gotten older. Life becomes more precious, and there is less time to waste on your opinion of me.

You are beautiful, but don't take it from me because it doesn't matter what I think.

Inward ho,

Amy

Sweet Freedom!

Well it has been quite an interesting month.

Decided NOT to go to Chicago after all, following a profound conversation with my would-be boss, the delightful Lola Wright. She offered me the opportunity to consider what it might feel like NOT to go. And , quite honestly, I hadn't even conSIDered that!

When I did, I found myself overwhelmed with relief and a feeling of peace and freedom. I realized that my life in Charlotte is perfection, my Spiritual Center in Charlotte is my heart, my friends here are remarkable, the travel time to family is easy, and it is BEAUTIFUL in Charlotte most of the year.

Sweeet Freeeeeedom!

To back out, walk away, say NO, tune in to what I truly desire! What bliss!

Perfect for this time of year.

It is Passover and Easter and Spring! Time to get free!

I did some intense meditation around my life purpose recently and came up with the notion that I am no longer in any way okay with the feeling of desperation. However, I can see where desperation has served me quite well in the past. It was, you see, the gift of desperation that brought me to my spitritual path which has ultimately led me to joy, peace and freedom.

But I am growing into a place of self-trust. This means really listening to those gut feelings, which I really have never trusted before. I can now. I am ready to be true to myself. For a very long time I have had to seek outside help and I still do at times, but for the BIG decisions, All I need is to tune in to my Higher Self and listen.

And so I say, free yourslf from bondage. Rise up. Break out. What is it that you really want to do? It may hurt others. It may disappoint. Perhaps it will feel really weird. Just do it. You have THIS MOMENT. It is divine, precious, and not to be wasted.

Happy holidays!

To freedom, resurrection, and blooming,

Amy

Unblocking

Almost every day I do a 15 minute 'chakra aligning' mediation. I found it a while back when I was searching for a simple meditation that I could do daily, to enlarge my peace and serenity. Reverend Carol Carnes, who I greatly respect, said that "if you aren't mediating, you are trying too hard." She speaks my language. I dig ease.

I recently came upon Teal Swan. Her videos are wonderful! One of them I watched last night was about allowing the energy around you, while you are mediating, to move you gently. She spoke of the resistance that occurs naturally in our bodies as we have trained ourselves to be somewhat ignorant of the energy and forces around us. This is why we 'sit still.' This video opened my eyes. Sometimes when I'm mediating, I feel my body moving and I'm not moving it! So this video explained why.

Anyway, today, I listened to my 15 minute chakra video while keeping in mind the tips that Teal gives about letting the energy move me. In this video, the tone for each chakra is played on a singing bowl and with an electronic music sound. I found myself listening to my body and moving when I felt an openness in that 'area.' For instance, in my 2nd chakra, which is the chakra of creativity, my body went nearly wild. It was by far the most movement the whole meditation. The two chakras where I had barely any movement kind of trouble me.

When we got to the heart chakra, I was almost completely still. And I began thinking of all the heartbreak I have endured in my lifetime. Most recently, the death of my father, by heart attack. I am also in the middle of a really intense decision concerning my heart space and my love relationship. So it was quite interesting how 'blocked' I felt in this area.

The other area I felt stuck in was my 3rd eye chakra. This to me represents the ease with knowing what the 'right' thing to do is. Again, I'm in a really interesting spot right now where a big decision is being made. This chakra being blocked made complete sense.

Just thought I'd share this journey with you and give you the opportunity to try it for yourself. Each chakra represents another part of your life, so maybe you can see where you are blocked and try to open it up with this meditation. I do feel very peaceful and serene right now, which is lovely.

Making Dreams Come True

Today I had a recording session with my friend Linda who KICKSTARTED me. With her rewards, she got a session writing a song with me and we made a demo in my little home studio. WHAT A BLAST. To see her eyes light up as I layered her vocal and played piano to her words. Truly, my deepest bliss.

Now, I'm no recording genius, but I'm getting better and better each time I work with someone. And it is really fulfilling. I use LOGIC and I have a decent mic set up, using a pretty simple interface. These are things I figured out on my own a year ago, after my last breakup. I can't tell you how exciting it is to learn a new skill that is really just a hobby.

And now, I'm going to watch an episode of SPARTACUS, eat lunch, and get ready to teach musical theater this evening. We have our showcases next week, and then I'm off for two weeks before I move to Chicago. So a lot going on right now!

I love making dreams come true. My own included.

Thank God for coffee. Helps keep me goin!