Keeping up the Resolutions

My teacher once said that in this day and age it is easy to give up our resolutions when something becomes challenging...not very challenging, just challenging.

What are some resolutions we may have made?
- Stop snacking between meals
- Give the kids/spouse/dog more attention
- Jog/Practice Yoga/Lift Weights X days per week
- Read scriptures
- Meditate daily
- Cut carbs
- See the good in everyone
- Reduce gossip
- Just say no to diet cokes
- Release the past and forgive everyone

What are some challenges we may face in keeping them?
- Time
- Faith
- Fear
- Success
- Emotions
- Hormones
- Working, eating, sleeping, drinking, talking, doing too much
- Fatigue
- Carelessness
- Boredom

So, how can we follow ever through? After he arrived in India in 1959, a Buddhist lama was asked, "How did you manage to escape from Tibet and cross the high and snowy Himalayas by foot?" He replied, "One step at a time." And so it is with our resolutions.

Each time we take a step in the direction of fulfilling our resolutions, we add to the momentum of change, of fulfillment, of heightened self-esteem. And so what if we take a few steps back? We owe it to ourselves and our families to find our resolutions, dust them off, and begin anew. Doing so helps us live an inspired and inspiring life.

Also, beginning over and over again and sticking with our resolutions does bring lasting change. One step at a time, we find ourselves more and more lit up from the inside and surrounded by abundance on the outside.

May we all release the hold that we have on our obstacles and the hold that our obstacles have on us. May we feel successful and attract abundance into our lives.

Namaste,
Monique

Turning Into a Sugar Monster

It all started so innocently. I had been studying about the amazing health benefits of coconut oil, coconut milk, and coconut meat. I had been using coconut oil to cook all my veggies and using the coconut milk as a base to soups and smoothies for several months. I even found a lady here in Sumatra who presses the coconut oil fresh from coconuts for me to buy! I had been noticing higher energy levels, less food cravings, and much smoother skin. It was all good. Then came the coconut ice cream.

I started making coconut milk ice cream for my kids as a healthier alternative to dairy ice cream. And they loved it. I made maple walnut, strawberry, orange cream, and the undeniable best (beast), chocolate. I was making a new batch everyday almost as a religious ritual. The problem is that I was eating it too.

I convinced myself that it was fine because it was coconut after all. It was just a bit of sugar. I became an after dinner dessert eater and sometimes an afternoon cream tea person. I also started craving artificially sweetened chewing gum to sweeten my mouth in the mornings and then the afternoons. My veggies and fruits were seeming a bit more boring than before. The sugar monster had crept in undetected and I was blissfully unaware.

The first crash came with my emotions. I started being short, impatient, and grumpy with my family. My husband inquired if it was "that time." No, it was not thank you. My face broke out with lovely little pimples. Then, the dreaded moment for many women...the jeans were much, much tighter. That just makes a person mad! And for me, it can make me feel a little panicked as those old body image patterns resurface.

Well, of course I cut out the ice cream and the gum cold turkey once I realized what was going on. But that is not the real miracle of the story. The miracle is where the yoga came in. After doing some yoga practices one morning, I had a powerful experience. These words arose within me so clearly as a prayer of gratitude, "Thank you God for this experience and for allowing me to learn more about myself and go deeper into the yogic diet." I felt a tangible, positive shift and my body softened. My mind relaxed.

Releasing fear and anger and embracing love for who I am and acceptance for how I may still struggle is the true gift of all of those yoga practices.