So I love visualizing people I meet as animals. Maybe that’s strange, but I see someone and in my head I’m going “total turtle over there.” I think I get it from my mom. Today we were chatting before I headed into work and I asked her what animal she thought I was. She said...hmmm...I think you are at least part peacock. She said this is because I am subtle about my gifts and talents, but occasionally I flash my feathers, preening as I strut, and everyone is awed by what I have goin on. It made me smile. Then I decided she is probably a meditating lemur after reading about one in the Huffington Post who was so zoned out in his meditation practice his lemur friends didn’t even know what to do with him!
If you were an animal which would you be? And would you say that what you chose makes sense judging by your lifestyle/job/past times? If not, how can you nudge things or shift them in order to get aligned with your inner-creature?
If you have a meditation practice maybe you can find yourself in the jungle, the woods, or by the ocean leaping on rocks or scaling a tree. If you don’t have one…maybe we can start with that. Plunk down on your floor in a comfortable seated position, grab a pillow to sit on, slide your back against a wall, place your hands on your thighs and tune into your breath. Let it wash over you like a wave and let your thoughts be the loud crashing of water as it breaks into white foam and rolls out towards the shore. See if you can sit for 5 minutes and every time your attention moves away from the object of your breath rolling in and rolling out you can begin again.
Learning to begin again on your meditation pillow and on your yoga mat make it so much easier to begin again in the world. One of my favorite quotes is “I am not giving up; I am simply beginning again.”
How does beginning again allow you to manifest joy? Are you ready for this because once you start on this path I am warning you that the abundance and overwhelming influx of goodness will be scary. Your biggest problems will stem from being in a love stupor, being stoned on good will and loving kindness.
Here is my recipe for manifesting joy:
Be grateful, be eager to grow from every situation, be fully present.
Give of yourself at every moment. Expect less in situations.
Take time to notice the oxygen flooding every cell of your body and nourishing your organs. Take time to notice the cleansing release of carbon dioxide as you sigh out what you no longer need. Take things less personally. SHIELD YOUR CORE. Realize that as a loving being you must have an open heart, but protect everything that roots you, makes you creative, and instinctually strong. This is not selfish; giving to yourself first allows you the energy and personal power to give ten fold to those around you.
And don’t forget to try to be like the lemur as much as possible.
Namaste <3
M
