What will you do to affirm yourself ...

God Says Yes to Me

I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said sure it is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don’t paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I’m telling you is
Yes Yes Yes
                            -Kaylin Haught

I love this poem; it reminds me to be kind to myself and to allow myself to be me. We are perfect exactly the way we are, right now at this moment. 

Allow yourself to be who you are, to express yourself in ways that suit you, to do or not do what you decide for you. You are of divine light – who is to say that there is anything less than perfect, wonderful, and beautiful about that? Remember who you are ♥

What will you do to affirm yourself today? How will you give yourself permission to be who you are even if it doesn’t meet the expectations, requirements, and comfort level of others? 

I anticipate my return to the rainforest with excitement and wonder; I am still amazed.

I dream of a tropical paradise. I envision myself standing on an open air platform overlooking the rainforest – green for miles, cool tropical breezes blowing through my hair, cooling my skin. I dream of a quiet walk on the beach, an undeveloped expanse of sand and water that is natural, grainy, and soft. I hear the whisper of the waves calling, “Come, relax, breathe, be …” I stand on the platform, eyes closed, palms together in front of my heart, and answer, “Auuummm …” There are no sounds of cars, trains, or semi-trucks; there is no air pollution to stifle deep breathing. There is only peace and space. Stillness is the background, the foreground, and all grounds in between. Except for the gentle shushing of trees moving with the wind, the steady rhythm of the ocean, and the call of the howler monkeys announcing the beginning of a new day, there is stillness, steadiness, and mindfulness as a way of being.

I remember my first visit to the paradise that is Luna Lodge; we were greeted by Lana herself, visionary/creator/preserver of this amazing place. With a knowing smile, she gently offered tall cool glasses of water, led us to the lodge platform, and presented the rainforest as if it were her child. We stood gazing across miles of lush, green, billowing trees, barely breathing, in awe-struck silence. The expansiveness is breathtaking; the denseness of foliage is indescribable. I could not stop looking, I could not speak; I knew I was blessed with a secret that many will never know. I finally took a breath and felt a full-body exhale, as if it came from the trees themselves, releasing all stress, tension, fears, and inhibitions. I sensed a gentle softening of something very deep within myself. The healing magic of Mother Nature with the incredible nourishment of tropical surrounds us, embraces us and offers us her love and healing as we respectfully honor her domain. I anticipate my return to the rainforest with excitement and wonder; I am still amazed.

Clean, open, uncomplicated - that’s what I am experiencing ...

Thirty-two days ago I decided to eat raw vegan food for one day as an experiment in “clean living”. My diet was already pretty healthy (I thought). I have been vegan for nearly five or so years, vegetarian for about ten or eleven before that. My interest in food keeps me reading, learning, and questioning all I can on the subject. Through my research, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, I began to realize that through cooking I have been destroying most of the nutritional value of my food. As a result, I decided to try it raw, vegan, organic, and whole, to see if I felt a difference. One day at a time.

I set the following parameters:

·        If I wanted to continue for more than one day I would do so, but with the understanding that I was committing to only one day at a time.

·        If I wanted to eat something cooked, I would do that as well, without any negative feelings or judgment.

·        That I would embrace the preparation of food as a sacred act. This means having positive healing intention, often chanting mantra or having it playing in the background, and imbibing my food with love during preparation. Allowing only positive energy in my food.

I felt that in order to truly benefit from a clean diet, I would have to feel clean, not only physically, but emotionally, mentally, and spiritually as well. The past thirty-two days have offered opportunities for me to understand what that really means. As the days went by I noticed that my asana and meditation practices had taken on a new shape; I started practicing a few series’ from the Bihar school which I have found to be very cleansing and awakening. About three weeks in, I became more mindful of my interactions with others and decided consciously to be less involved in or concerned about other people’s opinions and decisions. I felt a natural release of petty concerns toward and about others and their choices – their issues are not my issues, etc. And this too felt very clean, as if I had wiped  away a layer of unnecessary film that hads been clouding my vision. I am feeling less tired and am putting more energy into my time at home, into my close relationships, and working toward being as transparent as possible. By focusing on myself and on things of which I truly have some control I have more energy and more time to do the things I love.

So here I am at day thirty-two; I am starting the day with juice and moving on from there. I have been drinking plenty of water and am feeling very centered and grounded.  Will I continue eating raw? We’ll see. With my new perspective on nourishment I have felt a lifting, a sloughing off, or a finishing of work that has been in progress for a while. It’s as if I needed to step across a line or strip away another layer in order to be in the next space. Eating raw has been that step. Clean, open, uncomplicated - that’s what I am experiencing. By each “letting go”, I have found a huge release and an opening of some sort – much bigger than expected. I am raw today and it feels really good : )