Turn on the Light

Over the summer, I picked up this book at the library:

It is a book with daily tidbits of inspiration and suggestions 

that stem from one woman's journey to find peace and happiness in her life.

I didn't read it cover to cover,

but I did find many ideas that were meaningful to me.

 I especially love this excerpt about accessing spiritual light in our lives.

"Making the absolute best of ourselves is not an easy task. It is a pleasurable pursuit, it is the reason we were born, but it requires patience, persistence, and perseverance. For many of us it also requires prayer. That's because we find it far easier to learn to live by our own lights when we access a Higher Source of Power to illuminate our path. The filmmaker and writer Julia Cameron calls this switching on "spiritual electricity" that transcends our own limitations.

"In my own journey I have found this to be very true. Usually I limited the times I requested that the Power be turned on to the occasions when I was appearing in public: giving workshops, lecturing, holding business meetings. Then it occurred to me that this was like living in a house with electricity but turning on the lights only for a couple of hours every few months. And I wondered why I was frequently bumping into obstacles. So I started to ask for the Power to be switched on in my daily life: as a mother, a wife, a writer, and a friend. When I asked, it was turned on. When I didn't, I stayed in the dark. You don't have to be a master electrician to understand what's going on here: someone has to turn on the switch. Asking is the way of activating spiritual electricity. When there is Light we see remarkably well. We see with clarity. And what we can see if we look deep within is that the authentic self is the Soul made visible.

"Do not try to remake yourself into something you're not. Just try making the best of what God made. The sacred art and craft of nurturing our souls and the souls of those we love is Simple Abundance soulcraft. Begin today by turning on the Light.
(February 4: The Authentic Self is the Soul Made Visible)

Sometimes it can be hard to see things clearly. 

Sometimes when we look at others or our experiences or even ourselves,

we are looking in the dark.

We see only the negative things, the failings, the weaknesses.

We see only how things are hurting or inconveniencing us.

We see only our mistakes and disappointments.

I believe that turning on spiritual light in our lives

can help us to see things as they really are.

We can see the good in others and in our experiences,

even if they are painful or challenging.

But most importantly,

we can see who we really are.

We can see and understand the worth in ourselves

and that can give us the power to do both simple and hard things.

Think Positive.

So, my roommate is a psychology major. She also loves to talk about psychology, and today she talked about the psychology of self-control. Whilst spouting off jargon and other stuff I don't really know about (she knows A LOT about psychology), she said a particular something I didn't know before that pertains to the general welfare and healthiness of the body.

Did you know that exerting self-control is physically taxing? Controlling urges and breaking habits not only puts a strain on your mind, oh no. It physically drains your body as if you were doing physical labor. 

So what does this mean? For me, it means that resisting the urge to put another handful of cheese in my chili is much harder than I thought.

I mean, think about. Have you ever thought about why it's so hard to break bad habits? Have you ever thought about why it's so hard to only have one scoop of ice-cream, or indulge in a bowl of fruit instead of a piece of raspberry cheesecake? How about why it's like you feel more tired just thinking about going to the gym?

Everyone in the whole world and their mothers are creatures of habit. Our bodies like to do what they've been doing, and they definitely don't like to change. It's our minds that change that. It's our minds that make our body do what we want.

However, in order to get your body to do what you want, you need more energy.

Sleep, a balanced diet, a healthy routine... once you are in the habit, it's all you want to do. But once you break the habit, it just makes you tired thinking about it. And now you know why.

In order to want to be healthy, you have to actually be healthy. Novel concept, right? Perhaps it will give you that much more motivation knowing that once you start, it's a scientific fact that you won't want to stop.

finding a purpose

It amazes me how the world molds and shapes our minds to believe that we have to look a certain way, dress a certain way, weigh a certain weight, live in a certain kind of home, drive a certain kind of car, and work our way towards a certain career so to speak in order to be somebody. In order to be "ideal".  In order to be of worth. 

I truly believe that in order to be in a healthy, happy state, we need to push aside the worldly views and appreciate who we are as individuals.  We are all different, and all of great worth. There is no "ideal" person.  That is the beauty of this world.  There has never been one individual exactly alike.  Ever.  And I believe that it is not a coincidence.

It is important to live up to your best self and be happy with it.  Living up to your best self does not include molding yourself to be what the world says you should be.  And as hard as it is to push that aside, the already skewed perspective,  the more you do it,  the more you realize who you are and what your great purpose is. When we have purpose, it is amazing what one individual can accomplish. 

Finding your purpose is the first step to a happier, healthy life.  I found my purpose here.  A divine purpose that has provided me with happiness that has never left me, and I believe never will.  They say to find joy in the journey, but I heard someone else say that the journey is the reward.  

I Will Do It

In a recent church meeting, one of the speakers relayed this quote that really hit home for me:

"Excuses are a lack of stronger desire."

It can be so easy to find an excuse to justify what we do - or do not - do.
 I think this is especially true when it comes to making healthy changes in our lives.
At least it is for me.
I am really good at making excuses.

So maybe a way to move from the "I want to do it" step to the "I will do it" step
has to do with our level of desire.
If our desire isn't strong enough,
we will find every reason not to get where we say we want to be.

How do we increase our desire?
Honestly...I don't really know.
Obviously it's something I am still working on.
 

But I think it has something to do with our priorities. 

If our priority is to be healthy and exercise,
then we will find a way to do it no matter how tired or busy we feel.

 I also think it has to do with our hearts.
In order to make healthy changes, our heart has to be in it.
Our motives for making the changes need to be aligned with our heart.
I believe our desire will be strongest when it comes from

our sense of identity and self worth,

as opposed to trying to please or impress others.

 

Just something to think about...

Healthy Habits: Breakfast

So, I will be honest here. Since I started going back to work about a month ago, 

I have been struggling with my first healthy habit goal.  

But this week is a new week, 

and I've decided to start trying to develop my morning habits once again. 

In addition in my goal to do some "wake-up" exercises, 

I am adding another healthy habit to the mix.

Eating breakfast.

While this might sound like a silly goal to those people 

who can't imagine starting their day without eating breakfast, 

this is something I've struggled with my whole life.

I don't usually have much of an appetite in the morning,

and a few extra minutes of sleep are almost always worth more to me than eating something. 

But there is a lot of research and information about there about why breakfast is important. 

(Just google "why eat breakfast?")

So I've been trying to eat something in the morning, even if it is something small:

green smoothies, yogurt, a banana, or even the traditional bowl of cereal. 

 Just like doing a little bit of exercising,

I have found that eating something gives me a little extra energy boost.

And as a Kindergarten teacher,

that is something I could use every single day.

Like What You Love.

So, I follow Emma Watson on Facebook.
I know, I have fallen into the trap of celebrity stalker, but don't judge me. Emma Watson is so cool.

But I digress.

I follow Emma Watson on Facebook, and she (or one of the many people who work for her) posted this quote:

Don't feel stupid if you don't like what everybody else pretends to love.

We've talked a lot about loving yourself. Well, a big part of loving yourself is liking what you love. 

Let me explain. 

It's so easy to get caught up in trends. We listen to the cool music because it's on the radio. We buy the cool clothes because the models wear them. We want the cool phone because the cool people have it. For some strange reason, we (as human beings) have come to the conclusion that if we act like everyone else we deem as "popular", we will become like those people. Known, liked, imitated. 

People spend their whole lives doing things they hate because they think it makes them cool. 

Can I tell you a not-so-secret? It's not cool to hate yourself. If you're ashamed of something you like because it's a bit nerdy, don't be. Honestly, everyone has their nerdy little secrets. It's also not cool to act like someone else when you don't actually like the things they're doing. 

Smoking? Not cool. 

Drugs? Not cool. 

Obviously. 

But even silly little things like music, TV shows, books, fashion styles... sometimes, we're afraid to say we don't like them because they're so popular. Who cares if you don't like The Hunger Games? Who cares if you don't like The Office? Who cares if you don't wear colored jeans? Who cares if you don't like Mumford & Sons or Inception? I don't.

The best person you can be is you. The best thing you can do is find out who you are. Like what you love, recognize what you don't, and love yourself. There's no healthier way of living.