Miss Muffet

Mother Goose once shared a story with us about Miss Muffet. The gist of the story is that M. Muffet was sitting on some sort of comfortable cushion - we assume she's happy, and enjoying some cottage cheese or yogurt paired with some whey - which I assume would be protein but I'm not sure Goose knew a lot about protein powders. Anyways, along comes this GUY...she freaks out and runs away. End of story. 

Has someone come along and disrupted your joy? "Scared" you right away from being in a happy state of mind? Maybe it's a coworker with a bad attitude - you're trying your best to work and get through the day and someone comes along with their negativity and shoves you off your tuffet. Is a friend bringing you down? Or is someone trying to invade your space. Joy is something we not only have to create and cultivate but protect. This joy is a "space" that we have to hold for ourselves in order to find peace, happiness, calm, release, etc. 

Don't let that nasty old spider scare you from your tuffet - enjoy your curds and whey. 

 

Level Orange

If you've traveled by air in the last decade, you're probably familiar with airports, airlines and their employees referencing a threat level "color," This color or series of colors is an advisory system or scale to help indicate which actions, are necessary to help ensure safety. A Level Green indicates the need for lower security or precautionary measures, where a Level Orange indicates 'high risk of danger,' and being on high alert. Different circumstances, events, actions, words, situations or even people can affect and change the color / level of security necessary.

What about for you? What is your advisory system or scale? For some of us, we operate all day at a Level Red - on guard, defensive and tense. Maybe we're at a Level Blue today, feeling slightly guarded but having no real feeling of threat coming our way - maybe we should be on a higher alert? In order to identify what level you are or should be at, you first need to be aware of your surroundings and happenings. Pay attention to those circumstances, events, actions, words and people and try to identify with how you feel. From there, you can better assess what actions are necessary which will indicate which "level" you should be at to ensure your safety.  

Prepare for safe travels throughout your day today and enjoy the journey.  

eat.breath.live.: 5 No-Fail Steps to Setting & Achieving Your Health...

eat.breath.live.: 5 No-Fail Steps to Setting & Achieving Your Health...: 5 No-Fail Steps to Setting & Achieving Your Health & Wellness Goals As we kick 2015 into full throttle, many of us are making ne...

12 times a charm...

Recently, we read somewhere that it takes 12 hugs a day to truly connect with someone. We also heard that you should have 5 major points of contact with your loved one throughout every day. You should really embrace for 5 minutes at a time twice a day. These findings would definitely be properly cited if we weren't dogs...for now, you'll have to take our bark for it.

How about for just a week, maybe just for a day, you try to do those three things above, 12 hugs, 2 of them lasting 5 minutes, one in the morning and one in the evening and then checking in 3 other times a day?

Instead of doing this with someone else, try it out on yourself. Lie still in the morning and embrace yourself - all of who and what you are for 5 minutes. Give 10 other squeezes throughout the day, then save one for right before you go to bed, to again embrace your "existence." Check in 3 times throughout the day and ask yourself how you are, how's your day, what's your mood? Tell yourself how important you are and that you love you.

It's wonderful to be connected to someone special - let's let that person be YOU! 

Bubble Gum...

 You know when you have that really great piece of chewing gum? The one that only tastes good for a second, then the flavor is gone and your jaw quickly gets sore from chewing it? The best part about chewing that kind of gum is blowing the bubbles - right? Chomp, chomp, chomp - then you begin to blow air and get a nice big round bubble. The more you try, the bigger it will get. The skill is trying to keep the bubble growing, and getting it as big as you can before it pops! If you get a big enough bubble, you get others attention to show them "look at how big my bubble is" only to have it splatter back on our cheeks! Chew, chew, chew and try again.

We put our whole hearts into our work, relationships, homes and so much more. We gain more and more and yet still want more, we want a bigger and better bubble. A better job, more money, a bigger house - this is all fine and good if our intentions are in line with what we're gaining. The ability to enjoy where you're at, being free from any attachment is part of the art of living. It doesn't matter if you have more, it doesn't matter if you have less, the joy is in the work of doing. 

Chew, chew, chew - enjoy making a bubble, regardless of the size and without needing to show it to anyone.

Paws planted...

With my paws planted firmly I stand tall on my mat. I can center myself, feel a sense of balance. I can close my eyes, make a strong connection with my heart beat and come to my breath. The world slows down automatically and I am instantly calm, free from stress and anxiety. 
So often, we are knocked off of our feet (paws), knocked off of our mat, shoved and pushed into something that creates stress, panic, fear, a feeling of being unsettled. We stand tall ON our mat so that we can stand tall OFF of our mat. That's when our real work begins - the moment we step OFF of that mat and into the world. To keep ourselves grounded, centered and most importantly, to keep us inhaling and exhaling. This is the challenge, our yoga practice, in each and everything, everyone we encounter. 
Today keep your paws planted firmly whatever the experience, whomever the person, the conversation, the email - and breath deeply. 

Spaghetti night...

 

Last night was spaghetti night...

 

At first when we took the noodles out of the box, they were straight and hard, a few dropped on the floor and when we tried to eat them, they tasted gross, like cardboard - and although we enjoy chomping and tearing into some good cardboard every now and again, even a pup has his standards. Water was in the pot, on the stove, warming up to a boiling point. Only when the water was hot enough would the dry, hard, brittle noodles go in.

Then something magical happened in that pot, we're not tall enough to see exactly, but the noodles seemed to start to take shape, or almost lose their shape - in a wonderful way, they became soft, squishy and every so tasty. It took a while for the water to get hot enough and even longer for the noodles to become magical - but definitely worth the wait.

We need to use the warmth in our hearts to help find a softness and a magic in anything. When faced with something rigid, hard and cold, turn on the heat from within and watch everything around you melt into a magical form.
  

The smell from the sauce was delicious, the chef, bopping about the kitchen happily cooking, and the noodles, well once dinner was on, they were-a-flyin'.

We really love spaghetti night.  

Lovely day...

In 1977, Bill Withers published a song titled "Lovely Day" in which at its core talks about having a positive outlook toward facing a new day. What could be considered a love song, or a tribute dedicated to feeling like you could take on the world when you look at the one you love - he sings about looking at 'someone' and then knowing it's just going to be a lovely day, no matter what. 

The world is always changing - people, circumstances, weather, situations, that's really the ONLY thing we can count on. And life is hard - so we need to have motivation and a positive attitude to take on every day, no matter what. But, by looking at or to someone to be able to stay positive and know it's going to be a lovely day, no matter what in this changing hard world? That's a tall order. Sorry Bill.

Let's sing together about having a lovely day, each and every day, each and every moment. But, how about we take a look in the mirror. How about when we look at ourselves "when the day lies ahead of us, seems impossible to face..." or " something without warning, bears heavy on our mind" we take a look at ourselves and we know it's gonna be a lovely day. 

Go ahead...Sing along! 

When I wake up in the morning, love
And the sunlight hurts my eyes
And something without warning, love
Bears heavy on my mind

Then I look at you
And the world's alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be
A lovely day
... lovely day, lovely day, lovely day ...

When the day that lies ahead of me
Seems impossible to face
When someone else instead of me
Always seems to know the way

Then I look at you
And the world's alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be
A lovely day.....

When the day that lies ahead of me
Seems impossible to face
When someone else instead of me
Always seems to know the way

Then I look at you
And the world's alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be
A lovely day......

Chapped - all over...

Winter is here and it's cold, windy, barren. The ground is frozen and the trees are naked. The sky is grey, the world is dry and the wind is cutting. 

Physically, all of this makes for dry, rougher, itchy, cracked and painful skin and even a second with chapped lips is pure torture. Everything feels chapped and sometimes we need to bring the warmth and moisture back into our skin. Chappstick is great for our lips, lotion is great for our hands, but what about when our insides start to feel like our outsides? How do we protect ourselves from the elements - internally?

It's so important to remember always, but especially during this time of year - when the cold and dark days affects so many people internally, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, to do what we can to make sure that we have heat, love, light and warmth around us and within us at all times. 

Get a hold of some spiritual Chapstick for the soul and keep it near you, use it as frequently and as much as you need to keep your light on and your love warm.

Happy New Day!

The clock strikes midnight and the new year has begun… 

Have you taken time to take a look back to appreciate all that had happened in the year before? All that came, all that went - the good, the bad, the ugly and most importantly, the beautiful. Have you taken time to sketch out what you hope the next 365 days will bring for you? 

So many of us think that with the new year comes promise, new hope and renewal for this life that we're in. We embrace the closing of a year as a closing of bad experiences – 'thank god that year is over.' We make resolutions as a fresh start, like it's an opportunity to start over…

Let's remember that each breath, each moment, each event, each experience, every relationship that we have, is a new opportunity to live out our intention and 'resolution.' Let's reflect while being IN the present, let's resolve to stay present and connected to every word we speak, action we take and the true beauty within us. 

Happy New Year...live your intention always.