good morning familia...
i wanted to share a quick story bout some blue shoes that taught me an invaluable lesson this week.
i went into my favorite shoe store in nyc (shoegasm on 23rd and 6th) a few weeks ago and it was love at first site. i saw them the minute i walked it: they were a pair of electric blue peep toe pumps with a huge blue bow in the front. i was in love but my bank account wasn't. i couldn't afford them at the moment (i 'could' because i had money in the bank but as you get older you start separating your funds into 'bill' money, 'eating' money and disposable income, as opposed to when i was a bit younger: it was all disposable income) so i was smart and walked out of there with a broken heart and no shoes.
i kept thinking about these shoes and how i would rock them, what scarf they would go well with, the perfect jeans, etc. but i wasn't going to do it to myself and start living outside of my means.
i forgot about the shoes for a few weeks but on sunday evening as i was getting ready for my day on monday i thought of the shoes again and i don't know where this came from but i affirmed: miguelina, you are going to get those shoes tomorrow and you aren't going to pay full price. that's all i said and i went to bed. the next day came and i marched into shoegasm and there they were: my babies!
i asked for my regular size but they didn't fit, weird!! so the guy brings me a half a size lower and the only pair they have left includes the sample on the floor...ding ding ding! here was my affirmation manifesting itself. i tried them on and it was like a glove, perfect in every way. i put on my R face (retail face) and asked him for a discount because it was a sample and that i've worked in retail and i know how this works...and he agreed and took a percentage off the shoe!
i am a 7, have been since i was about 19, i don't remember the last time i bought a 6.5 but on Monday I did.
i affirmed something, didn't think twice about it, and i got exactly what i wanted and for the price i wanted.
this may seem like another 'i'm addicted to retail' tale, but trust me it's bigger than the shoes!!
this taught me the power of our minds and what we can do if only we watch our thoughts and our words (thanks Id) and channel positive energy into our minds, as opposed to all the self limiting, self defeating beliefs that human beings have been trained to entertain.
at times we want something and as soon as the thought of the want comes into our minds we tend to dismiss it because we start to think about the HOW, how will i start that business? how will i get that degree? how can i change this relationship around? i've learned that in life, the HOW is none of our dam business!! we leave that up to our creator and they figure it out. our role as co-creators is to ask for and affirm our good, pray on it, and surrender it into the universe. if we believe in what we want with all our hearts (whether a pair of blue peep toe shoes, a house, or a healthy relationship with our partners) we will get it, the only thing standing in between you and what you want is...YOU!
as i ALWAYS remind you all, trust me as i write to you i am speaking to me. these blue shoes were the tip of the iceberg for me because i have a long ways to go. i get in my own way soo much! i make excuses for why i didn't do this, why this relationship didn't work, why i haven't taken those salsa dance classes i've always wanted to or why i haven't worked on my yoga certification, but at the end of it all it's simply not believing that A: i deserve all these good and B: that i can have them.
a couple of years ago i read the Celestine Prophecy (changed my life!) and i wanted to visit some ancient ruins, and my heart led me to Guatemala. i knew i wanted to go to Guatemala and have an experience of a lifetime, but i didn't know how. i know some of my friends remember how i used to tell them 'i'm going to Guatemala' and they would ask: 'really? when?' and i would simply reply ' i don;t know but i know i am going'. they would laugh as if i were crazy, but i meant it and believed it! but that was an honest answer i didn't know, all i know was that the desire was there and i chose to believe that i deserved this trip, again, leaving the HOW up to my creator(s). i knew i wanted a grassroots experience, no electricity, no running water, just mama nature and i, and i def needed to see the ancient ruins of Tikal!!: and i got it!! one 'random' day at work a 'not so random' email came in from my school's listserve announcing a 10 day trip to Guatemala for $1,000..whhhhhat? that was the answer to my prayers/affirmations.
as india.arie says, it's that simple although at times it looks complicated. we are what we think and if you're anything like me you are plagued with thoughts of lack and negativity and fears of the what ifs, when will it happen, why me, etc. but we have to watch our thoughts and consciously shift our perception. watch our thoughts and try to be gentle with ourselves when 'negative' thoughts come up, try not to judge but coach ourselves through that and consciously change our perspective and think about positive things. i hear that it starts to change your life in ways you would've never imagined...i'm not quite there yet myself but at least me and my blue shoes are on that yellow brick road, on my way!
all of this ain;t nothing new. this is written in books, we've seen it in movies like 'the secret' and 'what the bleep do we know?', but i guess i was trying to bring all of the material in these books/movies a bit closer to home and share my excitement because i am starting to see all this stuff we read and talk about begin to manifest in my life.
so now not only do i have a pair of electric blue f#$# me shoes, but now my outlook on life has shifted a teeny bit and sometimes that's all we need. my mom taught me that all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed (if ya aren't familiar with the seed it is TINY!!!) in order to move mountains in our lives and to start to live a life of constant peace!! not glimpses of it but constant peace.
i pray we all find our source of peace down this path called life so that when the winds of change blow our way that peace keeps us grounded enough so that we aren't swayed to and fro during the 'storm'.
who'd a thunk it?...i guess i did!!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
ROYGBIV
The more amicably you greet trouble, the sooner he will go away. – Artemus Ward...
good evening familia. happy monday to everyone. it's been a while since i blessed my soul with a little 'writing therapy'; i've allowed academic work to take hold for a while but i still can't live without my 'prose'.the quote above came to me this past week as part of my 'word of the week' from unity of new york (the spiritual center i am a part of now, and one experience that has changed my life...but that's a whole other post). this quote spoke volumes to me for many reasons; i've witnessed, first handedly, human beings can complicate our own lives. we huff and puff and hem and haw when 'life' is happening, we b#%# so much about change that all of a sudden we find ourselves with an Erlenmeyer flask in one hand and a bunson burner in another- we've become the mad scientist, converting simple, healthy, UNAVOIDABLE change into drama! we make a mountain out of a small little anthill. i assure ya, i was one of those. i suffered from what i called 'the VCR syndrome', i would replay drama in my mind over and over and over; i would share my drama with anyone who was ready to listen, i wrote about it in my journal, i replayed the event(s) in my head and even added extra actors, and outfits and scenarios. sometimes i was the protagonist, but most of the time i was a mere victim of circumstance! during that time in my life, i felt as if life was happening TO ME as opposed to THROUGH ME.
although i am not a pink floyd fan ( i can't tell you what they sing, or who they are, all i know is that supposedly their 'Darker Side of the Moon' album and The Wizard of Oz correspond with each other; if you play the album as the movie starts, it will play in synch with the movie: coooll right?) i LOVE their album cover with the prism on it; it's just so powerful to see how a tiny spec of light, when filtered through a prism, can reflect the beautiful rainbow god blessed us with. the same can go for us: we can choose to be beautiful, clear, DRAMA FREE prisms, reflecting light and ROYGBIV, or you can be opaque, dull and clouded with what so and so did to you, how the late train effed your day up, how 'life is not fair' , WHY is it raining on a Wednesday god?!?etc. etc. etc.
i've learned that 'SURRENDER' is the name of the game. i've been practicing yoga for close to three years now, i've done many styles, on many colored-mats, in hot smelly rooms, quiet ones and in the privacy of my own home; i've stretched my body in ways i didn't even know i could-one time I even balanced my entire body on one toe (the right big-toe to be exact), and although these were challenging positions i pushed through the pain and the limiting beliefs and did it (yyeahh migue!) BUT when it came to Savasana, i couldn't hang. at first glance it seems super easy: savasana is the pose where you simply lay down face up on your mat, palms up and breathing normally. they usually ask you not to fidget and to try and be still: yeah right!! that is the moment when my ego goes buck wild: first my nose itches-so i scratch, then the itch transfers to my right brow, i take care of that, I get annoyed at this itch that has 'taken over my body' but it soon goes away-thank god. i go back to center, breathe in and as i am about to exhale the waist line of my yoga pants starts rolling down my hip, exposing my tiny pot belly i had masked so well! ladies (and some gentleman) you KNOW what i'm talking about: there is a certain 'place' where our pants feel comfortable and serve as a Monet- in the mirror it looks as if my waist shrunk 2 inches: cool! but if it rolls down about half an inch too low, that coco-cola bottle figure starts to feel more like a frozen two liter, oozing chunks of frozen soda out onto the sides of the bottle once opened...yeah that's how it can feel, and i ain't crazy i KNOW i'm not the only one ;).
i role my pants back up and take care of my 'frozen coca-cola' syndrome- now it's back to savasna: oommmmmmmmmm! i rearrange the towel under me, face my palms up again and come back to center only to be greeted by the same itch but now it's moved to my left collar bone...aaayyyiiii!!
ALL this just to show you how HARD the SIMPLE act of Savasna = Surrender truly is! our control issues take hold and we let the itch, the yoga pant, the mat, the job, the inconsiderate friend, the late train, the rude waiter, etc...get the best of us instead of surrendering! we feel like it's our job to do do do, to 'fix' things (sometimes it ain't even our own ish we wanna fix but that of our mama's, our partners, or when we feel the need to 'check' someone )...why can't we just be?
at times i find myself writing about the same 'stuff':change, life, love, surrender, etc, but i can't help it folks. i see children of god getting in the way of their own good: why? why can't we just trust god and surrender to her/his/their/its will? (i'm tryna be politically correct ya'll! bear with me lol)they know what they are doing, why they are doing it, with whom and more importantly WHEN! todo a su devido tiempo, everything has its season and happens exactly when it's supposed to, in divine order.
my mom taught me that life is not about simply living it, but about KNOWING how to live it. and i never got what she meant when she used to tell me that at the tender age of 7, lol (dominicans have no filter for age, they school you on life at an early age) but at 28 i get it - eureka!! knowing how to live it, is knowing when to gracefully bow out, let go and let God!!
i sign off of this post with this one request:
the next time change happens in your life (whether small scale like a late train, or bigger like a job loss), instead of being a VCR, why not be a Prism?
light!
good evening familia. happy monday to everyone. it's been a while since i blessed my soul with a little 'writing therapy'; i've allowed academic work to take hold for a while but i still can't live without my 'prose'.the quote above came to me this past week as part of my 'word of the week' from unity of new york (the spiritual center i am a part of now, and one experience that has changed my life...but that's a whole other post). this quote spoke volumes to me for many reasons; i've witnessed, first handedly, human beings can complicate our own lives. we huff and puff and hem and haw when 'life' is happening, we b#%# so much about change that all of a sudden we find ourselves with an Erlenmeyer flask in one hand and a bunson burner in another- we've become the mad scientist, converting simple, healthy, UNAVOIDABLE change into drama! we make a mountain out of a small little anthill. i assure ya, i was one of those. i suffered from what i called 'the VCR syndrome', i would replay drama in my mind over and over and over; i would share my drama with anyone who was ready to listen, i wrote about it in my journal, i replayed the event(s) in my head and even added extra actors, and outfits and scenarios. sometimes i was the protagonist, but most of the time i was a mere victim of circumstance! during that time in my life, i felt as if life was happening TO ME as opposed to THROUGH ME.
although i am not a pink floyd fan ( i can't tell you what they sing, or who they are, all i know is that supposedly their 'Darker Side of the Moon' album and The Wizard of Oz correspond with each other; if you play the album as the movie starts, it will play in synch with the movie: coooll right?) i LOVE their album cover with the prism on it; it's just so powerful to see how a tiny spec of light, when filtered through a prism, can reflect the beautiful rainbow god blessed us with. the same can go for us: we can choose to be beautiful, clear, DRAMA FREE prisms, reflecting light and ROYGBIV, or you can be opaque, dull and clouded with what so and so did to you, how the late train effed your day up, how 'life is not fair' , WHY is it raining on a Wednesday god?!?etc. etc. etc.
i've learned that 'SURRENDER' is the name of the game. i've been practicing yoga for close to three years now, i've done many styles, on many colored-mats, in hot smelly rooms, quiet ones and in the privacy of my own home; i've stretched my body in ways i didn't even know i could-one time I even balanced my entire body on one toe (the right big-toe to be exact), and although these were challenging positions i pushed through the pain and the limiting beliefs and did it (yyeahh migue!) BUT when it came to Savasana, i couldn't hang. at first glance it seems super easy: savasana is the pose where you simply lay down face up on your mat, palms up and breathing normally. they usually ask you not to fidget and to try and be still: yeah right!! that is the moment when my ego goes buck wild: first my nose itches-so i scratch, then the itch transfers to my right brow, i take care of that, I get annoyed at this itch that has 'taken over my body' but it soon goes away-thank god. i go back to center, breathe in and as i am about to exhale the waist line of my yoga pants starts rolling down my hip, exposing my tiny pot belly i had masked so well! ladies (and some gentleman) you KNOW what i'm talking about: there is a certain 'place' where our pants feel comfortable and serve as a Monet- in the mirror it looks as if my waist shrunk 2 inches: cool! but if it rolls down about half an inch too low, that coco-cola bottle figure starts to feel more like a frozen two liter, oozing chunks of frozen soda out onto the sides of the bottle once opened...yeah that's how it can feel, and i ain't crazy i KNOW i'm not the only one ;).
i role my pants back up and take care of my 'frozen coca-cola' syndrome- now it's back to savasna: oommmmmmmmmm! i rearrange the towel under me, face my palms up again and come back to center only to be greeted by the same itch but now it's moved to my left collar bone...aaayyyiiii!!
ALL this just to show you how HARD the SIMPLE act of Savasna = Surrender truly is! our control issues take hold and we let the itch, the yoga pant, the mat, the job, the inconsiderate friend, the late train, the rude waiter, etc...get the best of us instead of surrendering! we feel like it's our job to do do do, to 'fix' things (sometimes it ain't even our own ish we wanna fix but that of our mama's, our partners, or when we feel the need to 'check' someone )...why can't we just be?
at times i find myself writing about the same 'stuff':change, life, love, surrender, etc, but i can't help it folks. i see children of god getting in the way of their own good: why? why can't we just trust god and surrender to her/his/their/its will? (i'm tryna be politically correct ya'll! bear with me lol)they know what they are doing, why they are doing it, with whom and more importantly WHEN! todo a su devido tiempo, everything has its season and happens exactly when it's supposed to, in divine order.
my mom taught me that life is not about simply living it, but about KNOWING how to live it. and i never got what she meant when she used to tell me that at the tender age of 7, lol (dominicans have no filter for age, they school you on life at an early age) but at 28 i get it - eureka!! knowing how to live it, is knowing when to gracefully bow out, let go and let God!!
i sign off of this post with this one request:
the next time change happens in your life (whether small scale like a late train, or bigger like a job loss), instead of being a VCR, why not be a Prism?
light!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)