Showing posts with label mindfulness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mindfulness. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Slow it down, baby. Witness the Magic.


Some things can only be seen when we slow down enough to see them.

When we are running from place to place, when we are going down our to-do list and completing every task that we had planned to get done without stopping to breathe, without being present with what we are doing because we are thinking about the next thing we have to do, we are missing the magic.

Do you want to miss the miracles?

What if I told you that, right now, miracles are occurring all around you. YOU are a miracle. You are warm, you are safe, you are nourished, your heart is beating, your blood is pumping, your eyes are blinking, and you didn't even have to think about that. Cool, huh? Another amazing thing that is occuring is that you are reading this post that YOU created. Yes you. Without your thirst for this information, without your intent to read this, I wouldn't be here writing it. So, thank you.

Anyway, I digress. My inspiration for this post occured a few weeks ago while I was walking past Madison Square Park. Okay, fine, I was practically running because I thought I was going to be late to my class. I was caught up in the NYC craziness. But, out of the corner of my eye I noticed some lights in the middle of the park. I heard my inner guide telling me to stop and I did, since I have found that my inner guide knows best. I looked at the lights and all I saw were lights hanging from a string. I thought, really?! What's so special about this?? And as my breathing slowed down, as I began to relax, I saw that these lightbulbs were set up in a way that was similar to an LED display. And it created a moving image. It was beautiful. It was magnificent. These beautiful sparkling objects hung next to each other and created a movie. The moving image was of people walking, some fast, some slow. Just like what was happening in real time, people passing me left and right. It was absolutely magnificently beautiful. I was having a moment. I was again reminded that there is beauty everywhere, we just need to slow down and witness it.

[if you want to check out this awesome installment, click here]

So, how can you begin to slow down?
1. Breathe. As often as you can remember, take a deep breath.
2. Intend. Whenever you can remember, intend to witness the beauty in your life. You don't need to do anything else. You will soon see that you will witness things in your daily routine that bring you joy. These things are always there, you just have been overlooking them.
3. Practice. Practice slowing down by sitting and sipping on a cup of tea. Turn off the TV, put away your blackberry, sit. Feel your butt on the chair. Feel your hands on the warm mug, feel the warm liquid move down your throat.

As you begin to bring a few moments of slowness into your daily routine, you will begin to notice that your brain will automatically remind you to slow down in other moments.

Good luck, friends! We are doing this together as I wrote this post to remind myself to slow it down once again.

Next blog post: Slowing Down and Eating. Why this is the most powerful thing you can do for your health.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Jivamuktea Cafe

I am sitting in Jivamuktea Cafe after a lovely meal with my friend Ariela and I am doing some design work for the wonderful www.yourbellalife.com. Although this place is a bit more expensive than I would like, the food is scrumptious and always satisfying. It is also such an easy place to meet groups of people because of the casual vibe.

I woke up this morning, thanked the universe for being alive and also for a restorative night's sleep. I meditated and ate my breakfast of Food for Life's Ezekiel Sprouted Whole Grain- Cinnamon Raisin cereal with almond milk. I usually have some fresh produce when I wake up but wasn't feelin' it today so I ate this. At Jivamuktea, I had the Montana salad: spicy tempeh, quinoa and avocado served over mized greens with tumeric tahini dressing. This bowl was extremely satisfying and I felt energized afterwards. I am sitting in the cafe doing work and an hour after lunch I wanted to get a smoothie because I heard they were deelish. They have "Chakra Smoothies" and there is one that goes with each chakra: enlightened (crown), wisdom (third eye), truth (throat), love (heart), confident (solar plexus), sexy smoothie (sacral) and abundant (root). I got the Enlightened Smoothie which is made with banana, fresh ginger, agave nectar and coconut water. I felt a bit sluggish after finishing this and notice this itchy feeling in my throat. It probably has to do with the temperature of the smoothie and my sensitivity to cold things. I am going to do some research on this and I will share what I learn.

Danielle Boonstra, writer of nourishthyself, posted this quote today and I thought I would leave you with it. Also, check her blog out- it's super inspiring.

"The appearances are that our bodies & our circumstances control our thoughts, but the opposite is true. Our thoughts control our bodies & our circumstances." - Emilie Cady