Learn to Bend
So You Do Not Break
Self Reflection
I endured over a decade of career-driven burnout before coming to the realization that I was not living. As a result, I stayed stuck in a pattern of making it through each day, looking forward to my next vacation, my next career success, my next big thing, my next meal, etc… In fact, I lived for the future. I forgot that my life was right here, at this moment too. Future accomplishments motivated me, the present distracted me, and the past kept me trapped.
“There is a good Zen story of a student who went to a roshi (a teacher) demanding to be taught the secret of enlightenment.
Instead of saying something, the roshi began to pour the student a cup of tea. The cup became full, yet the maser kept on pouring and the tea spilled over onto the floor.
“My cup is full, Master. Why do you keep on pouring more and more into the cup?” The student asked.
“Like this cup of tea, your mind is already filled with something. If I pour my knowledge into your cup, it will just go onto the floor because there is no room in your mind for it. You will interpret my instructions according to what you already think, your own beliefs. Your mind will not be able to accept the truth I provide you.”
-The Living Gita, by Sri Swami Satchidananda
You can find the balance that you seek, you only need to open your mind to the unknown and allow new information to guide you. – Brooke Coleman
Be Grateful
What a huge opportunity it is each day for me to live this life.
For example, everything has seasons. Everything that goes up must come down, it is the law of physics.
However, by no means has my life been easy, but I am privileged to be here with me for every moment.
My journey with myself is an ever-evolving one. I brought babies into this world and how cool is it that I get to watch my energy flow through them? Beautiful.
Life is about choices and the best thing I have ever done is to surrender to detachment. No more control shackles.
Be Intentional
There are so many that are lost in their own thinking. So many seek relief from their anxieties and stresses.
The thing is, once you surrender to the false sense of control that you believe you have over this life and allow the universe to move you, you will find the peace you seek.
For over 10 years, I lived a life of business and capitalism. During that time, I conformed to society and the false sense of control to chase a dollar, I existed. I was living a life of “suffering”.
I chose to leave that lifestyle to be free of the matrix. I chose happiness.
The human mind is programmed to protect itself from harm. It is not programmed to be happy. I look forward to guiding others to reprogram their thinking into living a life of intent.
Be Flexible
So many of us get trapped in our own beliefs that have been instilled in us generationally and locationally since birth.
Why did we have an imagination as an adolescent and then lose it as an adult?
I believe one reason to be that we cared less about what others thought and were not aware of conformity. We embraced our own thinking and our own creative calling. We were living in the “NOW”, not in the past or the future. Stay flexible in your beliefs and perceptions.
Good Reads
Fiction
I am not much into fiction novels, but here is my current shortlist
The Return
Nicholas Sparks
The Living Gita
Sri Swami Satchidananda
Where the Crawdads Sing
Delia Owens
Non Fiction
There are so many!! These ones listed here changed my life…
The Power of Now
Eckhart Tolle
The Tipping Point
Malcolm Gladwell
Peak Performance
Alan Sullivan