The Art of Non-Attachment

This year I really had the space to grow spiritually. And what Ive realized is that by taking the time to look within through reflection, and practicing yoga and meditation, we are challenged to face our true selves.

In times of practicing mindfulness (focusing our awareness on the present moment), we are challenged to explore ourselves. To check in with how we really feel and acknowledge what we find by doing this.

And this is good.

Through practicing mindfulness in class (yoga, meditation) as well as throughout my daily experience, by connecting with my breath, I realized what non-attachement means. It was through my experience that the preconceived notions I had dissipated and I found true meaning.

I opened my mind.

When we hear non-attachment, we may think uncaring or disconnected, but in fact, it is quite the opposite. 

Non-attachment is about allowing our truth to be expressed, without creating a story about what we are experiencing. It means being aware of the present moment without judgement. There is no right way to be, simply who we are.

We let go of labels and what other people think to give ourselves permission to express ourselves fully and authentically. We simply create space for what is.

We free ourselves.

Blessings,

Julie

What is your Mindset?

Today, I found myself engaged in two different conversations- one was very inspiring, and the other limiting. What contrast! It also showed me that at the end of the day, we as individuals each have a choice.

We can choose what kind of mindset we hold. And our whole reality will be a reflection of this.

We can either choose the possibility mindset, one where we live life fully, letting go of the limiting stories we have created in our heads to allow ourselves to live through our heart instead- or we can choose to stay stuck in the stories.

I say let's free ourselves.

The true freedom is found when we realize that the limiting stories are not true, they are simply rooted in fear. When we face our fears, we realize that fear had nothing to do with whats possible- it is simply a feeling. That is all. And we can choose to either let it limit us and believe the stories it tells, or we can choose to feel and fear and do what we want anyways because we know that the only truth is found in what we are actually experiencing in the moment.

We have the power to not only choose our own mindset, but who we spend our time with. When we choose to spend our time with others who live daringly and through a possibility mindset, we are further propelled to live more fully, authentically and freely.

Blessings,

Julie

Why Breakups are Hard.

I think we can all agree that breakups are never easy. There is nothing easy about learning to let go of someone we love and care about. Even if there were a million things that didn't work in the relationship, breaking up means letting go of the good things and letting go of the person being an active part of our lives.

And this is hard.

Part of being human means that we have a heart and we feel. If we stop this, we stop the flow- we shut down our freedom and sense of aliveness. We are not present.

We can do everything to escape the emotion. Fill our schedules up to the top, giving ourselves no time to breathe and reflect. Being engaged, active and connected is important, but for the sake of balance, we all need time to rest and reflect.

We can hook up with other people in hopes that it will help us move on more quickly. We can temporarily rationalize away the feelings. But at the end of the day, we find ourselves more exhausted because we simply haven't given ourselves the permission to feel.

There is no easy or quick fix to healing from a loss of a relationship. We must allow ourselves to be human. To feel. To cry. To open our hearts to emotion, without judgement.

Even when it literally feels like our heart is aching against our chest as the tears come up.

So we say, let them come. 

We must allow ourselves to feel the pain, because believe it or not, it is through this journey that we open our hearts to experience joy, gratitude, compassion and love.

To simply cannot say "I'm only going to let myself feel the good stuff and ignore the uncomfortable and painful things". Emotion doesn't work that way. Because if we shut out one part of our emotion, we shut out the rest. Embracing all of who we are with compassion is how we open our world to possibility. It's how we grow.

Perhaps at the end of the day, its about being authentic. Having the courage to free ourselves to be who we are with compassion, love and with the vision to see that beyond our fears, all that lies in and around us is a limitless field of light and possibility.

Blessings,

Julie

Making Self Care a Priority

"When was the last time you were gentle with yourself?"

This is a question I was asked last week and it really made me think. We are sometimes so hard on ourselves and forget to be gentle and treat ourselves with kindness and compassion.

It's okay to make mistakes. Its okay to breakdown. Its okay to ask for help. Its okay to not be on top of things all the time. 

Being ambitious doesn't mean we have to be serious or overly critical of ourselves. In fact, being self-compassionate is the way to stay balanced when we have a lot going on in our lives.

Taking the time to ask ourselves, "What do I need right now?" "Not what others want of me, not what I think I "should" do, but what I need."  

When we have the compassion to take care of ourselves first, we are in the best position to help others.

Self care includes a huge range of practices from engaging in physically activity and eating wholesome meals to creating a support network and knowing when to reach out and ask for help.

Self care means knowing what we need at a given time.

At different times, we need different things. 

That is why it is so important that we know ourselves and really listen to our body and intuition. Our body will tell us what we need.

Nobody knows our body the way we each know our own. After all, we are the one living in it!

"Know thyself." (Socrates)

There is time to rest and time to engage, time for ourselves and times to connect with ourselves. At the end of the day, we realize that life is a balancing act.

I have found through my own experience that yoga and meditation are great ways to create balance in our lives- they are practices that force us to go inwards, using our breath to bring us to the present moment. They are ways to become aware and connect with our needs, as we learn to become our own best friend in the process.

There are so many ways we can take care of ourselves and each one of us is different. Different things work for different people. So again, knowing ourselves is really the key. I find that the better I know myself through time and experience, the better I am able to define what I want and need.

Through experience and awareness we learn. And while we do, let us also learn to treat ourselves with gentle compassion.

Blessings,

Julie

Resilience: Bouncing Back from Struggle

Have you ever heard the proverb "fall seven times, get up eight?"

If we only knew how strong we really are, our ability to move mountains. It is sometimes when being strong is our only choice that we realize how strong we really are.

As simple as that. I have been through my own ups and downs, and I've really realized that it is "not about never falling, but rising every time we fall"- quoted by the one and only Confucius.

I've talked to many successful people and hear the stories of these people as well- each and every one us has challenges on our journey to success, this is part of the path.

The path is not straight. And if it were, it wouldn't be an adventure, that's for sure!

If it were easy, it wouldn't be as meaningful- we wouldn't have the opportunity to build on our strength and wisdom. And most importantly, to realize how strong and capable we really are.

From my personal experience with struggle, I know how easy it is to hide how we really feel. But let me tell you one thing I've learned. Hiding how we really feel stops us from rising up. Until we acknowledge our truth (and often this means being courageous and asking for help), we cannot free ourselves to move forward. To experience joy, to grow.

I have asked for help many times and still do. Many times I have hesitated, but then I realize that by suffocating my truth, I am also suffocating my freedom. And this I say with utmost truth and sincerity.

We all need help at some point. Even though asking for it may seem like a marathon, its worth it- believe me. We are not put on this earth alone for a reason.

We are meant to support each other, love each other and experience deep connection.

Many blessings,

Julie