Feeling broken: Do you ever wonder how you'll make it through the day?

you were broken but now filled, more beautiful.

How will you do it?

Feeling broken? Too much chaos? Too many obligations that stifle who you are? Do you ever wonder how you'll make it through the day? 

Embrace mystery around you

Before you close your eyes at night, whether success or failure defines the little things in your day, give yourself a break. Just living your life is the way through.

Smile as you judge your productivity through the eyes of someone else.

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Don't pass by me: Who goes slowly goes healthy

wishes that come trueThere is a fine balance between shyness and true expression. As if in a bit of a conundrum, I go back and forth between befriending stillness and the gems inside me that open only when the darkness underneath is stirred to view what's lurking beneath.

The words of a song remind me,

I swear that I can feel you creeping underneath my skin. It feels like heaven to me sometimes.

There is a quality of light within the dark—a yin/yang. 

I can feel a side of me inside reaching out for expression, asking gently to not vaporize the energy of the expression into an emptiness. Don't pass me by, it asks. There is much to be learned in the dark that I so easily hide within the armor I've built like a child building a sand castle.

Sand is a good metaphor for this armor. It is made of rock, symbolizing strength. After many years of weather it can harden to an impenetrable substance, but if air continually moves through the tiny spaces between each grain, the wall can easily be knocked down. A simple symbolic hand can do the trick with one violent strike. Alternatively, I could douse it with my essence in a waterfall, or a slow drip to eat away at it slowly.

A soothing Italian proverb leads the way in my life now: 

Chi va piano va sano va lontano. (Who goes slowly, goes healthy and far.)

Take time with the precious gems that have been in the dark for a long time. Once they see the light, they do not acclimate immediately. They need time to adjust and evolve into their new form, with light shone upon them.

They can become like a dream that I’ve always imagined but could never reach. Not until now at least.

© 2014 R.E.L. Copywriting

Healthy eyesight: Luteins, red wine and computers

I went to the optometrist today for my first time in all my years—having 20/20 vision all my life—because I noticed that in the last year or so, I am no longer able to read the fine print on my iPhone. For that matter, I cannot focus on anything anymore that is within a one-foot distance from my eyes. This is new for me.

Short of getting reading glasses, which I'm actually excited about for the first time in my life, I wanted to get a detailed eye exam to find out the real scoop on my eyes and get an expert opinion on how to proceed.

To make a long story short, I was prescribed luteins. Or should I say, more luteins—in other words, red wine. As a red wine enthusiast (both consumer and wine-tasting tour-vacationer), I am continually happy to hear of the health benefits of my beverage of choice. My only alcoholic beverage, in fact.

red wine grapes

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Learning how to live like a cat

I have wondered lately if it would be possible to live the life of one of my two indoor cats, and if I were to accomplish this endeavor, how relaxed life would be. As I rush around through my days full of schedules and kids, I often remind myself of the solace I will feel when I finally get to relax on the floor—alone in a space to call my own, just big enough for me, for a meditative yoga pose... eyes closed.

But as I break free from my own little world, looking into the universe that my cats call home, I find that they are to be revered as far as wellness is concerned.

I once told a friend of mine that I'm taking a two week vacation, yet to stay at home. My vacation was to be at home and live the life of a cat.

I would wake up when I please, get someone to make me food and change my water, and then look for a warm, sunny spot to chill for awhile. If it got too loud, I would retreat to a cozy, cavelike spot surrounded with all things warm and fluffy. I would sleep for hours, only to wake when I missed the people I love.

I would then make my way to them to cuddle with glee, purr loudly and enjoy my bliss—sometimes by a bonus fireplace—and life would be complete.

Meow.

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Letting go of worries, enjoying your summer days, living your yoga

It's summertime... But just because the beach and sunshine beckon you to follow a free-spirited attitude, you can actually allow yourself to relive your yoga.

Living yoga keeps you focused on your breath all day, getting you through stressful situations, structured responsibilities, which destresses you but also opens you to higher spiritual potentials.

Better said, don't worry if summer schedules take you away from your disciplined yoga practice. You do not have to be doing asanas in a yoga studio to be doing yoga.

Remember, yoga is a way of life. It can help you smile your way through life with a knowing vision in your heart. Living yoga in your life can teach you that no matter what, what you love is always there, will be there tomorrow, and has always been there.

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Embracing illness: Holistic healing process

 

True healing embraces illness and healing as a whole ...

I am happy for the miracles that occur in healing sometimes. Surreal, yet not. For instance, it is known in some cancer patients with x months left to live—as deemed by their doctors—that to embrace their illness by leading a life full of bliss for the last months of life is to allow cancers go into remission.

It brings hope to the open doors of natural healing, when the fight is relinquished. Holding the tension of opposites—the cure and the illness itself—allows for a new emergence, which never would have risen had it not been for its two counterparts. Whether it be pain, chaos, feeling alone (and their opposites), these contrasts are alive together—always coexisting.

Sometimes your only glory is to restore mystery and dignity to the experience of being sick. You can chose to thank Illness for the chance to be aware of all that you once took for granted. Realizing where your heart or mind was shut, now open, can lighten your way to a better you. It is true that when you allow fears to enter your being, you shut down from really engaging with what matters most. In short, you build a psychological barrier; this wall comes down when life sends strife as its weapon against the wall. As hard as it is, struggle does make you stronger.

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Mind-body connections: Physical activity directly influences mental health

Getting physical does make you feel good, as the endorphins released during bodily activities directly influence your mental health. Try spending a day in front of your computer, typing away furiously—using the excuse that you have no time for exercise due to a client deadline. Maybe by evening, you feel like you've accomplished a lot on your computer, but how do you feel emotionally the next morning? Try doing this for a solid week.

Next, try to live a balance day—leading into week—whereby your calendar revolves around you and your physical activites. When you are your high priority business meeting, or social engagement, you certainly feel more mentally, emotionally and psychologically stable as a whole being.

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Are you able to think outside the box?

It's easy to have a grand plan for everything you do in life, along with trying to plot and control the outcome. Although it's important to advocate for yourself and your own destiny, sometimes it's better to let life just happen.

You know you can dramatically change your life by being more creative in the things you strive for? This means thinking outside of the box and while you are still making firm decisions about what you want out of life, you are letting the mystery of life guide you too.

Creativity comes from the mystery. Trust your inner wisdom.

Don't be intimidated that the unknown knows more about your life than you do. Work together with the unknown to learn its messages. Take a second look at synchronicities. Do you run into the same person, or at least see them drive by in a car not noticing you, every day? Don't you think there is a reason for this, and if so, don't you want to find out what you each can share with each other?

I know I do.

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