Monday Mantra: Thinking, Feeling, Breathing, Knowing

A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation".

Every Monday I will post a new thought, idea, or focus for the week. When you need a breather from life, when you need a little inspiration, or when you're about to jump over the conference table and strangle your co-worker, remember the mantra.

Monday Mantra: knowing : adjective
1  :  having or showing special knowledge, information, or intelligence
2  :  shrewdly or keenly alert

Society6
DM Davis

Back in my "learn about all the ways to meditate" days, there was one particular meditation that I absolutely loved.  I called it the Thinking Feeling Breathing Listening meditation. I called it that because that's exactly what you did. You focused on each of those four key items while you tried to shut your brain down. Thinking applied to the mind wandering. Focusing on your grocery list or when the meditation would finally be over- those were all classified as Thinking. Feeling was all about your body. Did your butt go numb while you were sitting there? Feel an itch on your face? That was Feeling. Listening, you've probably already figured out, was paying attention to any noises around. And finally, Breathing. When you noticed your own breath lifting and lowering your chest.

The meditation went something like this: as you're sitting, if you heard something you would internally repeat "hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing" until you noticed you were breathing, at which point you would then switch to "breathing, breathing, breathing." A typical meditation would involved a whole lot of "thinking, thinking, breathing, hearing, breathing, feeling, thinking..." so on and so forth. You'd jump back and fourth between the things you sensed in this fashion until eventually you fell into a meditative state. It didn't happen that easily, of course. There was only one time when I ever truly fell into a meditative state, but it was because of this meditation. And because it was such a remarkable feeling, something so unlike anything else I've ever experienced, I snapped out of it almost immediately. What I took away from that one moment of pure bliss was a message: Freedom from thinking.

Freedom from thinking has come to mean a variety of things to me over the years. Less analyzing, less worry, less unnecessary thoughts in general. What I just recently realized, however, is that it also means trusting in what you feel without having to logically sort it out with thoughts. Having that gut instinct and following through on that feeling. Paying attention when you intrinsically know something is wrong/right. That is also freedom from thinking.

I've been focusing on that piece lately: knowing.

When I can't sort out the thoughts in my head and justify that instinctual feeling, I don't. I simply let myself trust that this feeling, this knowing, will lead me where I'm supposed to go- when and how I'm supposed to get there. Sometimes, it's clear. Sometimes, it's not. Sometimes, it's one step at a time and then waiting, waiting, waiting for the next feeling of knowing to hit me. Regardless, I trust in it and I let it guide me. I embrace the freedom from thinking.

If you feel overwhelmed in thought, I suggest trying this meditation. It's not magic. It won't work overnight, but give it some time and patience, and beautiful things - maybe even your own special message - will come your way. If nothing else, you might get tired and fall asleep and hey, naps are kind of magical, right? Right.

The Reflection of Shadows: Message in a Bottle

The Reflection of Shadows

A collection of moments

Society6

Message in a Bottle

The truth that lies before our eyes,

That’s clouded, covered in disguise.

You’d never know, you cannot guess

The truth of this silent darkness.

You think, you think, you think I’m fine,

I think, I think, I think you’re blind,

You’d never know, you cannot guess

That you alone leave me restless.

Go back, go back- return and pause,

There’s no rewind for what was lost.

My words are uttered under breath

With silent ‘sorrys’ of regret.

I think you know, I think I don’t,

I might be wrong, I think I won’t.

But if I speak my words today

Which words are right to make you stay?

The truth of how I feel, the depth

Of all the things inside my head,

The stirring in my heart you left

Is worth more than the greatest debt.

Are you the one, my light, my sun,

The only place where I belong?

The answer to my question asked;

Are you the thing I think I lack?

In the World of Wellness: Things That Make You Go Yum

Wellness is a term widely used that has multiple meanings around health and positive life style changes leading to well-being. Here we will use the term "wellness" in those ways and also as a means of defining a life free from dis-ease as well as a way to explore alternative medicines, what they offer, and what this could mean for you. Being more informed = better decisions for your own well-being.

In the World of Wellness: Things that make you go oh, oh, oh.

My New Favorite Breakfast
I haven't had a whole lot of time (or desire) to cook lately, which is a-okay because I've found this remarkable rather newish almond milk, Califia. I had pretty much given up entirely on cereals and dairy alternatives because, regardless of the vast quantity of gluten free and healthy options, I just didn't really care for any of them. Baking with some of them- totally fine. Drinking them straight or using them with some form of cereal...egh. Until I ran across this little beauty a while back.

I've tried a few of the flavors, including the unsweetened vanilla almond milk, which is admittedly healthier, however, the sweetened vanilla, in my personal opinion, is the best. In fact, based on how it sells out all the freaking time causing me to have to plan my shopping trips on the day of delivery also tells me that a lot of other people prefer this version.

I'm not a big cereal person, either. Many cereal options out there are full of junk, even some of the ones that are supposed to be healthy. That being said, I stumbled upon a gem, y'all. Qi'a cereals are my new favorite, the original option (chia, hemp, buckwheat) being the one I find most delicioso.

While the hemp and buckwheat have clear benefits, what sold me was the chia seeds. Did you know that chia seeds are crazy good for you, great for energy, and weirdly delicious when soaked in juice, or in almond milk for breakfast? Well, now you do. I won't go into all the details, but if you want a good, easy article on all the healthy benefits, click here. The easiest thing to do when making this cereal in the morning is to allow about 15 minutes for the almond milk to soak into the cereal. You want the chia seeds to get fluffy, for lack of a better word. You'll know what I mean after you've done it once. I also like cutting up a banana and putting some slices in the cereal. It adds a little extra oomph, if you know what I mean. *wink wink* I don't even know what I mean, never mind. It's yummy. There.

If you get hooked on chia seeds in particular, like I have, you can also buy a bag of the seeds and add them to your water or juice. They make for a good mid-day energy pick-me-up!

Basically what I'm saying is you all need to try these two products because I'm selfish and I want them to stay in business forever. Also, kids, don't forget to eat your vegetables. I just wanted to throw that in there for good measure so no one yells at me because I didn't find a way to incorporate spinach into this mix. You're welcome.

Califia almond milk + Qi'a cereal = YUM! 

The Reflection of Shadows: Save You Now

The Reflection of Shadows

A collection of moments

Society6

Save You Now
(Written to a tune)

Come with me,

Take my hand,

I want to show you another plan.

I want to show you

A different life,

A different view of a different night.

In my dreams

I change the past.

In my dreams

I make this last.

If only time could break,

If only time could change.

I’d go back for you,
I’d set you free,

I’d give you what you gave to me.

I’d save you…

I’d save me…

I’ll save you now, in my dreams.

Stay a while.

Let me hold you.

Let me breathe you, let me know you.

Let’s pretend

This isn’t over,

Let’s pretend this is forever.

In my dreams,

I change the past.

I change it all.

I hold you back.

If only time could break.

If only time could change.

I’d go back for you,

I’d set you free,

I’d give you what you gave to me.
I’d save you…

I’d save me…

I’ll save you now, in my dreams.

Hold my hand,

Hold my heart.

One more time from the start.

Let’s rewind,

Let’s try again.

Let’s turn back time on how this ends.

In my dreams

I change the past.

I change the future.

I bring you back.

If only time could break.

If only time could change.

I’d go back for you,

I’d set you free,

I’d give you what you gave to me.

I’d save you…

I’d save me…

I’ll save you now, in my dreams.

I'll save you now, in my dreams.

Monday Mantra: Hell is Empty...

A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation".

Every Monday I will post a new thought, idea, or focus for the week. When you need a breather from life, when you need a little inspiration, or when you're about to jump over the conference table and strangle your co-worker, remember the mantra.

Monday Mantra: ...and all the devils are here (The Tempest)

"I'm not here to tell you if this is heaven or hell."
Society6
Lucas Gondim

I find different beliefs on heaven and hell fascinating. I find religion, all the different religions mixed with all the different cultural beliefs, widely intriguing. What I was raised to believe, what I believe now instead, what makes sense not just in my head, but in my heart- these are the things I think about.

Hell

I went home and visited my mom over the weekend and she requested my presence at church. I haven't been in a very long time. During the sermon my pastor mentioned something that I haven't heard before. He quoted something from the bible about heaven and hell. How, when judgment day comes, it will be a 50/50 equation of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. That half of the earth will be granted passage to the city in the sky and the other half will not. The other half will stay here.

I'm not entirely sure what that means, and I don't really remember reading this or learning about this back in my Vacation Bible School days as a kid, but what he said made me think: Is this supposed to be hell? Eventually? For some people, I think it already is.

Heaven

There's a song by Black Veil Brides called In The End. The founder of the band, Andy Biersack, wrote this after his grandfather died. During his grandfathers funeral people were constantly saying how good his grandfather had been, what a wonderful person he was. Those comments are what led him to think about what heaven might be: not a place, but what everyone is left with after you've gone. That heaven might be your legacy, told time and time again by the people who continue to tell the story of your life after you're gone.

In the end, 
As you fade into the night, 
Who will tell the story of your life,
And who will remember your last goodbye...

I'm not afraid to die.

The Reflection of Shadows: Retrospection

The Reflection of Shadows

A collection of moments

Society6

Retrospection

Watch out,

Watch out.

Take a step back.

Smooth your move and

Let me retract.

Take a moment,

Take a breather,

Back off,

Back off,

Let me leave here.

I can’t take the

Noise, the music-

All the people

Crowding, moving.

Too much drama,

Too much action,

Leave me in my

Retrospection.