LOVE SWEET LOVE

Our Truth - LOVE SWEET LOVE

This week has been OMazing again.  So many blessings hahahappen in my life when I love myself, do the practice and put my whole self in. I attribute these 3 Ingredients to the peace and happiness I hahahave in my life.

Loving myself means that I take care of my ANIMUS first.  What I mean by animUS - the animal within this body that houses my soul.

According to Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer, dogs are first animal, then species then breed.  We humans are too - we are our animal first, then our sex, then our culture/race/religion (although most of us get this equation backwards).

When we serve our animUS first, we have juicy enerchi to play this game of Life.
To serve our animUS, there are some basic needs that must be met in order for us to function optimally.

BASICS:
SLEEP - Personally, I need 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep daily.  Since I am an early riser, I like to take a nap midday so I have enough energy to make it till bedtime.

FOOD -  I need nutritious food/fluid that is easy for my body to digest.  For me, having eaten meat and fish once upon a time, and then transitioning to a vegetarian, I have settled on a vegan Raw Food, plant based lifestyle that helps my body absorb, process and poop easily and efficiently.

MOVEMENT - I need at least 30-45 minutes of running/dancing/piloxi (pilates +boxing).  This helps me raise my heartbeat and sweat and release any toxins out of my body.  It also floods my body with juicy hormones that keep me calm and levelheaded for the rest of the day.

When I have all these three elements in balance, my energy level is off to an OMazing start.  My enthusiasm level is high and I am at peace within.

Doing the practice means that I take care of the EGO/Mind.  For me, my practice has evolved and changed over the years.  My research into different disciplines and methods have given me solid tools to a peaceful and happy lifestyle.  Today, my practice consists of daily MEDITATIONs

MEDITATION - I walk at dawn and dusk to keep connected to Nature. 45 minutes twice a day really clears my mind and helps me appreciate what I have in my life.   I do a chanting meditation daily where I repeat mantras (sacred utterance or numinous sound) while holding my fingers in mudras (ritual gestures).  These meditations give my brain a break and connect me to my meridians.  I laugh at myself daily and do a laughter meditation to keep my perspective fresh and flexible.

SWEEPING - I sweep the floors of our house and our front stoop.   This ritual helps me cleanse my mind of any lingering thoughts that might not serve me.  It helps me focus on gratitude for what I have in my sacred space.  It prepares me to receive all the blessings of the day.

STRETCHING - I have a very diverse yoga practice.  I try to stretch my limbs as well as my brain muscles.  Laughter yoga and yoga asanas (poses) helps me maintain my flexibility.  I love being under a tree and practicing my poses.  Hands on the earth and feet grounded, nothing like being a tree in front of a tree.

BEING -  I slow my mind down so I can truly hear what my soul has to say.  I slow my body down so that I can practice the Art of Doing No Thing.   Just Being.  I go to the park with my dog GingerMama and sit under a tree.  I look up at the clouds and listen to the birds.  I sit on my front lawn and enjoy the grass under my feet.

Putting my whole self in comes from doing laughter yoga daily.  It's actually one of the lyrics of the Hokey Pokey.   "I put my whole self in.  And I shahahake it all about."  PUTTING MY WHOLE SELF IN means I show up every day to do the practice - whether a little or a lot.  Every day, I start with these commitments to myself - this exquisite self care for loving me. Doing these basic things expands my enerchi and gives me more enthusiasm and joy.

This discipline did not hahahappen overnight.  Rather, I showed up, day after day, to do a little, to do a lot.  Over time, doing the practice helped me build a strong muscle memory so that my body could adapt and memorize these new hahahabits. 

This weekend I got to put my whole self in with my nieces.  My LOVE muscle expanded with hahahappiness to hang out with these amazing Goddesses in Real Life.    Loverboy and I love being with the little Ones and seeing the world through their eyes. We had the opportunity to experience Vietnamese cuisine with them -  and play Alphabet games and sing songs.  We got to swim like fish and laugh and just hang out for the pleasure of being together.  As we celebrated Mother's Day, it felt good to be in the MOMent and enjoy the family and have just enough enerchi to get us home safe and sound.

Tomorrow, I put my whole self in and do the practice.  It keeps me juicy and joyful and brings me so many blessings.

It gives me incentive to JUST DO IT.