"You can be fully satisfied with where you are, understanding that you’re eternally evolving. When you get into that place of feeling appreciation of where you are and of who you are, and appreciation of what you are, and you accept that you are a never-ending, always unfolding Being, then you can stand in that delicate balance of being optimistic about what is to come, without being unhappy about where you stand. Find a way of eagerly anticipating future changes, while at the same time you are in love and satisfied with who, what, where and how you be."
Abraham-Hicks
It’s all about right now. Always find an angle to appreciate about the present moment because that’s all you have. That’s all you’ll ever have…whatever’s happening right this very second. If you get into the habit of appreciating where you are (even or especially when things are tough), you can be reasonably sure you’ll create the same feelings for yourself in the future. That’s a nice life to anticipate! <3 mom
"The only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."
Albert Schweitzer
RE: Hannah’s post titled 10 Breaths, 1/27/12
Oh boy! I don’t like to hear about you stressing out & feeling anxious! But, Eckhart Tolle sez something about not taking away all of our children’s suffering because suffering gives us depth and teaches us about life. What I do like about your story is that you get practice with a relatively benign set of stressors which means you can develop effective tools now and draw on them when the shit really hits the fan. And what I LOVE about the story is that you were mindful. You tuned into the sensations in your body, thought about their origin, contemplated the positive effects of making yourself feel better & then drew on a tool to do so.
AWESOME!!!
I have some other tools that you can use…
· Remember, life is not a race. You have already established that you are engaged in life which is really healthy. You do things. Sometimes, you’re going to have too many commitments at one time and you will feel overwhelmed. Oh well. Really, it ain’t no thing. Do what you can. Skip what you can. Life goes on.
· Listen to a Tara Brach lecture or meditation. She calms my ass right down. Her teaching makes me realize how wired I am to feel anxiety. There’s something very comforting about being able to say “Oh, it’s not just me. It’s millions of years of evolution.” We have will and have the power to change the way we feel. Anxiety is a choice which means peace is a choice. Remembering that always makes me feel better.
· Smile a little. Relax your forehead and bring the corners of your lips up a bit. Feel as if your entire body is in the curve of a smile. This changes your physiology and is one of the absolute easiest ways to make yourself feel a little better.
· List some things about your life at this very moment that you appreciate. In no time, you can get to a place of feeling genuine gratitude. Strengthen that vibration so it becomes your dominant emotion.
· Connect this practice to a larger purpose. One thing that has always motivated me is being a good example for you. I know how powerful a teacher I am by being your parent. I am motivated to live a genuinely happy life so you can pick up on how to do this either directly (like this post) or indirectly (just by watching me go about my life). I also know that my ability to deal effectively with the challenges in life ripples out to other people I come in contact with…my friends, my students, people in the grocery store, etc. Caring about a community larger than ourselves is part of feeling balance & wholeness. And this is one way to participate in creating a better world. Peace in, peace out I always say.
Love you!
10 Breaths
The other morning I was lying in bed listening to my heart racing because I was so stressed out by everything I had to accomplish in the oncoming day. This stress has been with me a lot lately for many reasons (being busy… trying to figure out what to do with my life… transitioning from late adolescence into early adulthood) but on this particular morning I decided that it was unnecessary. So I took 10 breaths. I still felt anxious so I took 10 more. I kept doing this until I was relaxed again.
The funny thing is that stress (the fretful, makes-me-seize-up-with-panic type) doesn’t ever help me accomplish anything. It’s only when I calm myself down that I can go about my daily tasks. On a larger scale, how could I ever be aligned with my life’s purpose when I’m coming from a place of negative feeling? As Abraham Hicks would say, happiness can only come when you’re aligned with you’re source energy— coming from a perspective of allowance instead of resistance. I’m deciding to allow.
There it is: Hannah’s 10 Breaths to Source Energy
<3 H
Wishing Tree
For my 21st Birthday, my mom and our dear friend Charlotte teamed up to create a Wishing Tree for me— branches found locally, propped up by rocks, all in little a pot wrapped with pink tissue paper.
When my first of two birthday gatherings happened, this tree served as a place for my closest friends & family to express their advice, wishes and intentions for me during my 21st year of existence.
Some are silly & some are serious— most are a combination of both…
All of them make me super duper happy!
<3 Hannah
Check out the wishes below.
Wishing Tree Wishes!
