Is Mindfulness Really Law of Attraction?

Is Mindfulness really just a form of the Law Of Attraction?

This is a question I have been pondering quite a bit lately.  First thoughts, of course, are that is probably just my perspective; especially since my coaching certifications are in Law of Attraction (allowing success) and mindfulness.

But, as I continue my path of discovering and accepting who I am within, I believe that a mindful practice is tapping into the “Vortex” as it is referred to by Abraham-Hicks, the ones who wrote the book of the Law of Attraction. The first step to understanding the law of attraction isn’t just about “The Secret”. It is learning or at least acknowledging all 12 of the Universal Laws. I consider these laws the true 12 steps to recovery.  The recovery of who you truly are, the recovery of your spirit.  Within these 12 steps, the law of attraction is actually  Law number 7.

These 12 Laws have become my roadmap. It makes sense to me in a way like no other. I will be delving into these more in the coming weeks,  as I prepare for my upcoming workshop and publication of a few more books.

 

 

Mindful Tip of the Week

As Above, So Below

My Mantra for living life:    As Above, So Below.

For me that means:  The Moon, the Stars, the Sun, the clouds in the sky are here to remind us that life on earth is linked to those constants that we may not always see but we know they are there.  We are part of a larger universe than just our day to day existence.

To learn a bigger understand, the ground work for mindfulness, read the 12 Universal Laws

In the coming weeks, there will be more , on this subject.

Until then….  read them and see how they make you feel……

 

 

 

Practice What You Preach

Have you ever gone in search of “Your Purpose”?

 

I think we all, at some point in our lives, question our purpose, what we are here to do.  I know for a long time, my purpose was to teach.  But not necessarily in the traditional standards of school teacher.

I have been a group facilitator, a vocational instructor, lead workshop and an on the job trainer.  However, all of these things have never been a full-time job for me.  Always something I did – in addition to my full time job.  It has suited me well.   It gives me a balance of security from a regular, steady paycheck and my inner desire to help others.

One thing, that has always been the basis of what I teach, is to “practice what I preach”.  Hence, the start of my current path.  I have dabbled in yoga, meditation, and mindfulness for years.  More stops than starts, actually.  It is hard to admit, sometimes, but my body image often stopped me from teaching this. Of course, I would share my passions and beliefs with those close to me, but putting myself out there to share with those I don’t know, often over rode the passion.

After a year of conscious, deliberate actions to renew my spiritual path, embark on a journey to find happiness, or even just a little less stress, mizmindful was born.  I had to learn to step out of my own way, allow things to unfold with a lot of self-compassion and to practice what I preach.   Deliberate actions ;the context of GOALS that I talked about in my last post.

As I stated on that post, my intentions for January, is to use my own Mindful Movement Intention and Activity Tracker Book and to start a more consistent practice with Curvy Yoga.

The mindful movement tracker is also about setting intentions.   Inside the book is a weekly movement tracker asking for your Moto of the Week.  It is followed by daily pages that ask the questions:

Today I will be mindful of:

Here’s what would make today great:

I am:

Some amazing things that happened today:

What could I have done to make today better:

I intend to share my progress here every week.

I will start the tracker on Monday.  My curvy yoga app is on my phone and this weekend it will be on my Fire Stick and my Roku.  I am in the progress of choosing my yoga practices and setting myself up for success.  Where the mindfulness will come into play is paying attention to my thoughts.

Taken from the back cover:

Movement isn’t just about exercise.  Exercise can sometimes be a dirty word fueling all types of negative self-talk and harsh attitudes. Exercise for some of us directly ties to weight loss.

The overall intention is to learn to be aware of how we feel when we take the weight issues out of exercise and to learn the blessings and benefits of movement.

How do you feel about exercise?   I would love it if you join me as when I practice what I preach I also learn from those that share too…… You don’t have to purchase the book to join in.  Write down the daily questions and make a plan for your daily movements. But I have provided the link if you want…..

See you next week!

 

 

2020 GOALS

Years ago, I came up with this acronym for GOALS.  Little did I know then, how much this fits into my current path of mindfulness.  I gave up on making New Year’s resolutions years ago and starting choosing only a word for the year.  This year was different.  I joked about my word should be FOCUS or VISION because the year was 2020.  But in all honesty, as I am choosing joy, happy, and just the state of being my true self, mindfulness is my foundation.  So my mantra for the year is my acronym GOALS.

This is as individual as it comes because only we can define what success looks like for ourselves.

I define success most by my favorite quote: Wisdom begins in Wonder.  If I follow that with my orderly actions then I am successful.  I am not one to define success by money, or popularity, or outward rewards. My success, perhaps because of my introvert personality, is truly based on if I can share something that helps others.  That is my reward and yes, a passion.

Most of the books I create, things I share in my workshops, or even here on my blog, are based on my own wonderment.  I explore and follow, most time, where my intuition takes me.  Where my wonderment leads me.  For example:

My actual word for 2020 is SELF.  That was the unfolding in 2019.  My love of words and what I learned years ago, about looking up the true definition of a word I use, rather than my perception of the meaning, lead me back to the journey of words with the prefix SELF.  That unfolded into the recent Define Yourself mindfulness journal.

It is often said, “We teach what we most need to learn” by Richard Bach, but the one that I feel fits for me more is

“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.” ― Phil Collins. 

So my plan, my GOALS mantra, my word SELF and to continue to share and practice what I preach.

Main step for January.

  1.  More consistent yoga practice and accountability using my Mindful Movement tracker and intentions book.   I signed up for  Curvy Yoga after a several year hiatus (the synchronocity of that one, will be in an upcoming post)

How will you show up for yourself this year? Do you make resolutions or choose a WORD for the year?

Reflections

The unexamined life is not worth living – Socrates

I can admit that this quote is a direct reflection of me…. especially at this time of year…that wonderous week between Christmas and the New Year.  For as long as I can remember, this week, every year is one of the most impactful time for me.   It is now a habit, not a planned or forced event.

The reflection of my past year, what I have done, or not done, what my hopes and dreams  and goals are and how I have lived my life so far, ruminate within my waking thoughts.

I could say that this year is no different, but yet it is worlds apart, in many ways, then previous years.

I am looking forward to my week of reflections.  I can honestly admit to myself that this past year has been the year of ME.  Focusing on my self-care and self-compassion has put me on track in ways I could only have dreamed of.  I have faced fears, taking leaps of faith and the best part…..I am honestly and truly at a place where I can trust myself and not worry as much as I use to about what others think.  This is because they all come from a place of love!

Mindfulness is the key component for this feeling.  I reflect on my plans, dreams, actions and past with no judgment.  It is what it is and guess what.  That is okay.

I am excited about the upcoming year 2020.  Not only is it a new year but a new decade.  I can truly trust the flow of my life and where I am headed.

On the outside, most of my accomplishments have occurred within the last 2 months.

My first mindfulness workshop,

My 1st article on Elephant Journal published. You can read it HERE,

4 Mindful Seeing e-books published on Amazon

and today…..My Mindful Eating Journal became available!

(Yes, this is an affiliate link)

There is much more in the works for Miz Mindful and I hope that you will join me!

Namaste and Happy Reflections

 

Tis the Season

 

Tis the season! Hustle, Bustle, and the never ending to do list! It use to take the joy out of the season for me. In years past, I spent most of December, in an overloaded frenzied mind state.  Honestly, I lost the joy in celebrating the holidays.

This year, I have found myself enjoying the season more than ever. I can look at it, again, through the eyes of a child, with all the excitement and giving spirit.   That past frenzied mind, in years past, left me depleted and feeling like I had nothing left to give.

I looked at this blog the other day and realized it had been a bit since I posted.  But the whole purpose of this blog isn’t about a schedule or how many posts I write, how many comments I get, or any of those other of the past “blog success” tips.  It is about sharing how I use mindfulness in my life.

So, how have I been doing that.  I still write in my journals every morning.  I give time to my projects and I have taken some leaps of faith and let the quiet inspirations guide me.  I have cleared space in my busy schedule to make sure I am taking care of me. I have carved out time to address the needs of the season and allowed myself space to check in several times a day.

The end results have given me more time and energy than any past years I can remember.  The flow within my schedule has been amazing to me.  Here it is 2 days before Christmas and the shopping is done, all the presents are wrapped, the baking is complete and I can enjoy this week!  Hallelujah!

And I don’t know about you, but what often added to my hustle bustle was my mindset also getting ready for the new year.  This has always been the time frame of making goals, making plans, and reflecting on the year past.  Mindfulness has helped me tremendously with that.  Yes, that still all occurred but it didn’t bring me down or amp me up.  It just is.

While I looked at that I can see just how much I have really accomplished in my personal goals during the holiday season.  Yes…. that feels good.

I had my first mindfulness workshop with plans for a few more in 2020.  I took a risk and did something I have wanted to do for over 5 years.  I had my first article published on Elephant Journal.  Elephant Journal has been around since 2002 as an online forum for the Mindful Life.

I published 4 e-books for mindful seeing and I am working on 2 in print journals that I will keep you posted about.

But most of all, mindfulness infused my spirit of the season and left me with the space of gratitude and giving.  Now it’s your turn…… Tell me about your ” tis the season”

 

Feeling like a Square Peg?

 

 

Do you ever feeling like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole?

As I travel through my mindfulness journey, I am gaining immeasurable insights about my life and how I use to try and fit in.  But honestly, don’t we all try to do that at some point or another.

I spent a few years, after reading Susan Cain’s book, Quiet, I was on a learning path about being introverted or extroverted.  Tons of information from that book resonated with me.  Mainly, introverts are trying to go against their own grain, their own personality, to fit into a work or school environment geared toward extroverts.

Mindful living is showing me, naturally, what is a better “label” for me.   I am simply an informal person. In doing my research recently, I discovered just how much informal practices are part of my natural nature.  Mindfulness is informal while Meditation is more formal.  Mudras are informal while Yoga is more formal. My writing style has always been more informal than formal. Even my learning style is informal.  That  “Wisdom begins in Wonder” quote I love so much is simply informal learning.

My Gifts of Gratitude post touched on walking an unbeaten path but I am seeing more clearly that is simply about an informal personality.  Falling into my own perspective and definition of what being responsible and “adulting” meant did not coincide with who I am.  Simply stated, I spent most of my life in an argument with myself about how I was suppose to act versus who I am at my core.

It’s been a freeing change of thought to realize that it is nothing more than feeling most at ease in my informal state of being.  I no longer feel like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.  Each has a place and time in my everyday life.

Let me know if you are more formal or informal

Old School or New Age

 

This post has been ruminating around in my thoughts for quite awhile.  The use of mindfulness begins to expand your thoughts and lead you to discoveries about yourself that can give you the feeling of ding1 ding! ding! all light bulbs on!

One of my biggest passions is history.  Not the dates and events kind of history but the stories behind how things came to be. The people, the traditions, the basis of how it started.  Things as simple (or complicated) as word definitions and how they evolved or changed over time.  Stories behind our history, our traditions, our values and how the changes of each generation come into play.

Old School and New Age is one of those stories for me.  I set out, many years ago, looking at all those things considered new age.  Being an Aquarian, I thought I might look at the “age of Aquarius stuff – but that’s another story.  My , my inner being, is a mixed bag of old traditional values combined with an often insatiable curiosity of new, sometimes considered woo-woo, non traditional thinking.  

What I have discovered is it really isn’t as much old school versus new age but an inner passion of wanting to bridge the Eastern versus Western cultural and societal beliefs.  It all started with what has become one of my favorite all time quotes. 

Wisdom begins in Wonder. ~Socrates~

Socrates never wrote any of his teachings.  They were shared by others, especially Plato.  Socrates mantra, so to speak, was “Know Thyself” and it is more about allowing the student to come to their own learning by their questions, not their answers. But I digress.

Recently, I discovered Earl Nightingale and the Strangest Secret. (published in 1957)  I have followed the Law of Attraction, primarily Abraham Hicks versions and have always considered this “New Age”. However, after discovering a You Tube videos of Earl Nightingale and Napoleon Hill (of Think and Grow Rich fame- published in 1937) I had to question just how much New Age is it really?!

History does repeat itself, in the context of changes to fit the perspective of the time, place and social constructs of the present time.  Without the knowledge of the history, it just seems new.  Whether it is considered old school or new age or something in between, it has all followed a path of philosophy.

I discover more every day how important the practice of mindfulness is. Our frenzied minds distract us from the everyday moments that can show us who we truly are.  Mindfulness helps us to come out from behind our masks and to learn to live authentically.  Learning to live in the moment, with non-judgement, seems like a daunting task but it starts to come easily the more you practice.  It teaches us to honor the truly important things in life.  

These words of Maya Angelou (another favorite of mine) describe what mindfulness helps me to do:

Like the oxygen mask story, As I take care of myself, which includes knowing myself and trying to have my actions follow my inner beliefs, then people will remember me because of  how I made them feel, simply because I came from the perspective of doing that for myself. 

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~Maya Angelou~

 

It’s not what you say to yourself or how you have previously did, but how you make yourself feel in this moment!

What do you think about Old School versus New Age?

 

Continue reading “Old School or New Age”

Gift of Gratitude

Most of my life, I have felt that I have walked on an unbeaten path. While those on the outside may not have seen that, I felt it on the inside. It felt, as if, I traveled the careful and calculated road of responsibility and “adulting”, while on the inside was the stirring of constant childlike wonder and the passionate pursuit to discover just what makes the imagination soar. Living in the clouds, they would say. Somewhere over the rainbow, others saw. But simply an inner longing for ways to bridge the connection to my authentic self, that inner voice of art and blowing bubbles and dancing on a whim, the freedom of not wanting to care what others thought of me with who I thought I was suppose to be.

Walking my unbeaten path involved metaphysical forms, eastern religious practices, and an undying curiosity of all the things from tarot cards, astrology, numerology, essential oils, mindfulness, meditation, the moon’s energy, and much, much more. The pursuit of finding a connection to that undefined source, the one that puts you in a flow that creates great things, the one that you believe in your heart but others think are a little “off”. Not rational, Not realistic. But for me, the belief so strong, it couldn’t be stopped. It was put aside because others would think you were crazy. At the same time the overwhelming inner thoughts were driving you crazy more.

Today I am grateful to that unbeaten path and the steps I take along that road. I want to share my gratitude and for today and tomorrow (11-24-19 and 11-25-19) one of the mindful seeing e-books, “Off the Beaten Path” is my gift to you. Simply click on the book image and it will take you to Amazon. (BTW it is an affiliate link) If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download the Kindle Reader app on to any device!

I Just Want to be Happy

How many times in life, often in desperation, have you said, “I just want to be happy!”. That, honestly, is one of the most loaded statements we can say. Happiness is a choice is a common response from others but happiness comes from what we attach to our meaning of happiness. Mindfulness can be a key component to the foundation of “just being happy”.

Where we, as humans, believe that happiness is based on the externals like money, relationships, & honestly, a million other things, TRUE happiness is about the connection with have with our inner selves. Some call that intuition or authenticity, but it is simply is the connection of our state of mind, our intended focus, and our actions.

Harvard researcher, Matt Killingsworth, did a study of what makes us happy. 15,000 people from every different economic, ethnic, and education were used in the study. The research showed, beyond a doubt, that we are happiest when we are in the moment and least happy when our mind is wandering or . In other words, to be in the zone and go with its flow!

Using mindfulness is the easiest and fastest way to get in the zone.

  1. Pause. Take 3 full deep breaths.
  2. Focus all your attention on the present moment
  3. Slowly, with deliberate intention and movement., engage in your activity.
  4. Stay in the moment.  If your mind begins to wander or goes into autopilot, gently bring yourself back to what you were doing

One of the exercises I use in my workshop uses a piece of chocolate. Using all of your 5 senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight, you slowly savor the piece of chocolate.  That is the zone, when your entire focus is simply on a piece of chocolate.  No other thoughts, just full attention on the task at hand..

Say you have an overwhelming deadline to accomplish something.  Your mind wanders to how the hell can I get this done in such a short amount of time.  Instead of focusing on all the reasons you can’t, go to the simple four steps and get in the zone, go with the flow and surprise yourself .

With practice, you can accomplish this in any moment, in any circumstance.  It is about seeing that there are NO ORDINARY MOMENTS.  If you follow the four steps for any task, you will discover the zone and happiness in even the most mundane or uncomfortable moments.  Try it and let me know how it goes.

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