We weren't sent to the earth as a punishment.
We are here to find and spread the light.
And this the freedom we seek
Is in this very moment now.
If your life doesn't have deep creativity in it
It's time to shake it loose
Roll your neck around. Your face, arms, body shake it. Dance.
Shake it until you make it and it's ok to break it!
Find your light, your love, your clarity.
Give it away in charity.
And then people will cry at your funeral
As a soul who touched so many.
And her hand went onto my back heart chakra
And I felt the comfort there. Support.
And I knew that this is what we all need
Light. Love. Laughter. Touch.
The energy is sent in increments from the Divine
When asked for. Begged for.
Please help me God!
All our prayers heard. Miracles are real.
Jesus, Buddha, St. Francis,
Shape-shifters, Stigmatas.
The same soul is in you and me.
You. Far wiser, vaster, and deeper than your burdens or beliefs.
Namaste,
Monique
Sunday, 9 September 2012
Monday, 14 May 2012
My Worst Mistake
I love and approve of myself. This is the teaching from Louise Hay that I have eaten and digested. I love and approve of myself. Finally, thank God. I love and approve of myself.
My mind wants to lament over the rotting potato on the kitchen counter. The knotty, wrinkled, expired, fleshy potato. A missed opportunity. You, my little potato friend, could have been a contender. But no. Here you rot. Then I notice a little bit of life shooting and sprouting up toward the sun. A paradigm shift. You are actually victorious! Regardless of your aged look. You are still full of life and longing and on a great adventure. The lamenting turns to laughter. I actually do love and approve of myself! And I approve of you too little potato head! I rejoice in all of life. Sad and desperate at times, but beautiful and thriving as well. Stopping to judge and then relaxing into acceptance. I am ready. Ready to be molded and shaped by destiny. Thank God. The critical mind moving toward the compassionate heart.
Yesterday I was thinking about what is the worst mistake I ever made? An answer popped up, then another and another. So, I went with the first.
When I was in high school, I wrecked my mom's 280ZX and sustained painful injuries myself. Left largely alone to recuperate after. By myself. I hurt myself. Confused feelings. Mother issues. Unworthiness issues. Self-pitying issues. I ate. It was Halloween and I knocked out every single candy bar in the whole tray. I punished. Though, it felt like I was sucking on a pacifier. Pacifying my pain, loneliness, guilt, and sadness.
Here we go again. Close to the doom...and then the light. So what? So what if I ate and ate for all those years. So what if my cheeks got chubby and my tummy ached. That was the past. My tummy feels good now, most of the time. And so what if I slip and make mistakes? So what if food can still be my favorite pacifier. I love and approve of myself.
My mind wants to lament over the rotting potato on the kitchen counter. The knotty, wrinkled, expired, fleshy potato. A missed opportunity. You, my little potato friend, could have been a contender. But no. Here you rot. Then I notice a little bit of life shooting and sprouting up toward the sun. A paradigm shift. You are actually victorious! Regardless of your aged look. You are still full of life and longing and on a great adventure. The lamenting turns to laughter. I actually do love and approve of myself! And I approve of you too little potato head! I rejoice in all of life. Sad and desperate at times, but beautiful and thriving as well. Stopping to judge and then relaxing into acceptance. I am ready. Ready to be molded and shaped by destiny. Thank God. The critical mind moving toward the compassionate heart.
Yesterday I was thinking about what is the worst mistake I ever made? An answer popped up, then another and another. So, I went with the first.
When I was in high school, I wrecked my mom's 280ZX and sustained painful injuries myself. Left largely alone to recuperate after. By myself. I hurt myself. Confused feelings. Mother issues. Unworthiness issues. Self-pitying issues. I ate. It was Halloween and I knocked out every single candy bar in the whole tray. I punished. Though, it felt like I was sucking on a pacifier. Pacifying my pain, loneliness, guilt, and sadness.
Here we go again. Close to the doom...and then the light. So what? So what if I ate and ate for all those years. So what if my cheeks got chubby and my tummy ached. That was the past. My tummy feels good now, most of the time. And so what if I slip and make mistakes? So what if food can still be my favorite pacifier. I love and approve of myself.
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Perfect Body
What is your idea of a perfect body? One of my yoga students said, "Jennifer Aniston!"
Well, that's true...there's no denying it. I get into comparing my body to others sometimes and to messages of the media of a perfect skinny, hipless beauty. When a friend told me about how liposuction finally solved her issue of big hips, I have to admit that I paused. Cogitate, cogitate, cogitate.
But we are talking about a really "perfect" body. And, it seems, a perfect body would be a body that one felt very comfortable, happy, and easy being in. A body that isn't stiff, isn't tired, isn't overly heavy, isn't plagued with pain, suffering, or disease. A body that is relatively relaxed, fit, hydrated, and healthy. The bones, skin, muscles, internal organs, blood flow, and cellular regeneration all working as Nature intended.
So do you have a perfect body?
If not, try some of these:
- Lots of fruits and vegetables
- Lots of water and Herbal Teas
- Beans, Nuts, Yogurt, Whole Grains, and other plant protein
- Balanced blood sugar
- Deep breathing
- Regular Yoga
- Relaxation Exercises
- Meditation
- Positive Thinking
See if you can enjoy a heaven on earth experience right here in this body!
Namaste, Monique
Well, that's true...there's no denying it. I get into comparing my body to others sometimes and to messages of the media of a perfect skinny, hipless beauty. When a friend told me about how liposuction finally solved her issue of big hips, I have to admit that I paused. Cogitate, cogitate, cogitate.
But we are talking about a really "perfect" body. And, it seems, a perfect body would be a body that one felt very comfortable, happy, and easy being in. A body that isn't stiff, isn't tired, isn't overly heavy, isn't plagued with pain, suffering, or disease. A body that is relatively relaxed, fit, hydrated, and healthy. The bones, skin, muscles, internal organs, blood flow, and cellular regeneration all working as Nature intended.
So do you have a perfect body?
If not, try some of these:
- Lots of fruits and vegetables
- Lots of water and Herbal Teas
- Beans, Nuts, Yogurt, Whole Grains, and other plant protein
- Balanced blood sugar
- Deep breathing
- Regular Yoga
- Relaxation Exercises
- Meditation
- Positive Thinking
See if you can enjoy a heaven on earth experience right here in this body!
Namaste, Monique
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Everything Happens for a Reason
Everything happens for a reason. Everything happens for the best. Everything happens for our own upliftment. This is a cornerstone teaching of yoga. But how can that be in a world where so much seems so wrong?
We know the facts: we are born, we learn and grow, we enjoy much and sometimes suffer much, we create worlds and destroy them, we experience life with others and much time alone, we watch as the world seems to fall a part at times and then as it all comes together such as after September 11th. Doors open and they close; people are cherished and hurt. We experience both health and disease. One day these bodies die.
The yogis say that the purpose of life is to know God and to serve. We experience karmic lessons to take us deeper and closer to this purpose. Sometimes these lessons are very painful. Pain can be a very effective tool for our learning. By facing the pain, our hearts can be transformed toward a more loving, giving, responsible, patient, selfless, and compassionate state. No one said it would be easy.
Can you see in your own life that everything did/does happen for a reason? Your life experiences helped to bring you closer to God, to your own healing, to your own heart, to the hearts of others, and to service. Or maybe for now you're a bit stuck in blame. Others, your parents, your spouse or children, your government, the media, your health, the democrats and/or the republicans, or the evil behavior of others have caused your troubles. We learn all that we need to in good time.
May our lessons be learned with grace, inner strength, and understanding.
Namaste,
Monique
Monday, 9 January 2012
Happy New Year 2012!
Happy New Year 2012 to you.
I hope your holidays were filled with blessings and love and that this new year holds great promise and happiness for you and your loved ones.
I want to share with you an account of some of our blessings of 2011:
1. We started our new year on a junk boat on a river near Hanoi, Vietnam. It was pretty amazing. However, January 2011 also surprised me with some health issue. Fortunately, I was able to heal with vitamin supplements, a more balanced diet, and positive thinking. Louise Hay says that the emotional root of anemia is a "yes, but" attitude, lack of joy, fear of life, and not feeling good enough. So, I repeated her affirmation, "It is safe for me to experience joy in every area of my life. I love life." I repeated this as a gardener sowing seed after seed into the fertile earth of my beliefs. Now, I am well.
2. In February 2011, my yogi friend Tomasz and I held our first Yogic Diet Retreat in Bali. It was blessed, perfect, powerful, and delicious. Every participant experienced life changes...from the reduced size of their waistlines to the improved quality of their marriages and beyond. Our next retreat in Bali is April 9-14, 2012. We still have room for more and we really hope you can make it. A yoga retreat is much more than a vacation. It is a true turning point in your life. Check www.yogicdiet.com for details.
3. During the rest of the spring, we had a beautiful Chinese themed birthday party for my daughter who turned seven. So many cherished friends helped make it fancy and special. My son turned ten and his whole class slept over on his birthday. It was a total blast. Our family also experienced so much love as we were bade farewell by our dear community in Indonesia.
4. We traveled back to the US for the summer. We caught up with friends and family and also took a yoga family retreat together. This retreat has become one of the highlights of our summer.
5. At the end of August, our family had a smooth move to Kuwait for my husband's job. It is a different world here in many ways. Camels, desert, ultra conservative clothing, the wild west highways, and an interesting first world veneer on a mostly third world country. And though it is natural to see, feel, and at times resist the differences, I believe our family has settled down now and that we will begin to feel more at ease and find more in common with the people here.
I would love to hear back from you about some of YOUR 2011 blessings. I would even love to post them for all of those who follow the yogic diet posts to read.
I believe that when we count our blessings, that we make more space in our lives for greater abundance. Again, we are shifting our focus from what we may not feel is right in our lives to what we do actually want.
And what I want is for you to have a very happy, a very blessed, and a very soothing new year.
Love,
Monique
I hope your holidays were filled with blessings and love and that this new year holds great promise and happiness for you and your loved ones.
I want to share with you an account of some of our blessings of 2011:
1. We started our new year on a junk boat on a river near Hanoi, Vietnam. It was pretty amazing. However, January 2011 also surprised me with some health issue. Fortunately, I was able to heal with vitamin supplements, a more balanced diet, and positive thinking. Louise Hay says that the emotional root of anemia is a "yes, but" attitude, lack of joy, fear of life, and not feeling good enough. So, I repeated her affirmation, "It is safe for me to experience joy in every area of my life. I love life." I repeated this as a gardener sowing seed after seed into the fertile earth of my beliefs. Now, I am well.
2. In February 2011, my yogi friend Tomasz and I held our first Yogic Diet Retreat in Bali. It was blessed, perfect, powerful, and delicious. Every participant experienced life changes...from the reduced size of their waistlines to the improved quality of their marriages and beyond. Our next retreat in Bali is April 9-14, 2012. We still have room for more and we really hope you can make it. A yoga retreat is much more than a vacation. It is a true turning point in your life. Check www.yogicdiet.com for details.
3. During the rest of the spring, we had a beautiful Chinese themed birthday party for my daughter who turned seven. So many cherished friends helped make it fancy and special. My son turned ten and his whole class slept over on his birthday. It was a total blast. Our family also experienced so much love as we were bade farewell by our dear community in Indonesia.
4. We traveled back to the US for the summer. We caught up with friends and family and also took a yoga family retreat together. This retreat has become one of the highlights of our summer.
5. At the end of August, our family had a smooth move to Kuwait for my husband's job. It is a different world here in many ways. Camels, desert, ultra conservative clothing, the wild west highways, and an interesting first world veneer on a mostly third world country. And though it is natural to see, feel, and at times resist the differences, I believe our family has settled down now and that we will begin to feel more at ease and find more in common with the people here.
I would love to hear back from you about some of YOUR 2011 blessings. I would even love to post them for all of those who follow the yogic diet posts to read.
I believe that when we count our blessings, that we make more space in our lives for greater abundance. Again, we are shifting our focus from what we may not feel is right in our lives to what we do actually want.
And what I want is for you to have a very happy, a very blessed, and a very soothing new year.
Love,
Monique
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Other People Are a Mirror of Ourselves
The following is a response to one of my clients about a situation in which a colleague hurt her feelings. She had asked him for some advice and he ended up helping her to feel really badly about herself. She reached out to me as she was still reeling from these feelings. This was my response.
Hi Susan,
Thanks for reaching out. Remember that other people are sometimes a mirror of ourselves. If someone takes a strike at us from what seems like from out of nowhere, it is usually because something inside of us is feeling unworthy, unloved, and deserving to be beaten up a little. We feel small, insecure, or unhappy on some level and we draw others to affirm that we are indeed small and unworthy.
I experienced a similar situation recently. It took me several days to get over it and I was so upset. Later, I realized that I was really asking for it (on a law of attraction level) because of the ways I was not in harmony with my life.
I was missing my old life, community, and friends. I was hung up on the past and not ready to get out there and make more effort in the present. I was being comparative, critical, and closed.
And now I am grateful for what happened as it propelled me to do better. It propelled me to get into harmony with my life.
Pain can be a great motivator for change.
And just like in your case, this kind of interaction helps you to assess your progress. Look, I'm fabulous Susan and I'm doing great with a, b, c, and d! I still need to work on e and f. For example, perhaps you should not ask someone for their advice randomly when you're feeling a bit low and unsure? If you do go seeking someone, make sure it's a person who really has your back like a trusted friend.
And you can always do a session with me, for example. Anytime.
Meditation practice SAVES us! Meditation quiets the mind and it so soothed me when I was feeling troubled. I highly recommend it. When I'm feeling low, it is the best tonic. When I'm happy, it propels me into deeper sweetness. Meditation can be the most powerful tool in a spiritual person's toolbox.
I feel sure this whole episode will have a positive impact on you...just let it unfold. Sometimes when we grow, we have to endure the discomfort of shedding our old skin.
On another note, the registration page for the Yogic Diet retreat in Bali is now up!!! And the dates are April 9-14, 2012. www.yogicdiet.com (This is for my other readers too! If you are reading this, consider yourself specifically invited to the retreat. Welcome!)
I so hope you can make it! Let me know what questions you have and if it looks like this is still a possibility for you.
So much love to you!
Monique
Hi Susan,
Thanks for reaching out. Remember that other people are sometimes a mirror of ourselves. If someone takes a strike at us from what seems like from out of nowhere, it is usually because something inside of us is feeling unworthy, unloved, and deserving to be beaten up a little. We feel small, insecure, or unhappy on some level and we draw others to affirm that we are indeed small and unworthy.
I experienced a similar situation recently. It took me several days to get over it and I was so upset. Later, I realized that I was really asking for it (on a law of attraction level) because of the ways I was not in harmony with my life.
I was missing my old life, community, and friends. I was hung up on the past and not ready to get out there and make more effort in the present. I was being comparative, critical, and closed.
And now I am grateful for what happened as it propelled me to do better. It propelled me to get into harmony with my life.
Pain can be a great motivator for change.
And just like in your case, this kind of interaction helps you to assess your progress. Look, I'm fabulous Susan and I'm doing great with a, b, c, and d! I still need to work on e and f. For example, perhaps you should not ask someone for their advice randomly when you're feeling a bit low and unsure? If you do go seeking someone, make sure it's a person who really has your back like a trusted friend.
And you can always do a session with me, for example. Anytime.
Meditation practice SAVES us! Meditation quiets the mind and it so soothed me when I was feeling troubled. I highly recommend it. When I'm feeling low, it is the best tonic. When I'm happy, it propels me into deeper sweetness. Meditation can be the most powerful tool in a spiritual person's toolbox.
I feel sure this whole episode will have a positive impact on you...just let it unfold. Sometimes when we grow, we have to endure the discomfort of shedding our old skin.
On another note, the registration page for the Yogic Diet retreat in Bali is now up!!! And the dates are April 9-14, 2012. www.yogicdiet.com (This is for my other readers too! If you are reading this, consider yourself specifically invited to the retreat. Welcome!)
I so hope you can make it! Let me know what questions you have and if it looks like this is still a possibility for you.
So much love to you!
Monique
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Meditation
As a young child, I walked several blocks alone each Sunday to go to church. I went to my grandmother’s denomination, Church of Christ. Later, I ran into a Methodist group I liked and joined that denomination. I did become disillusioned with that group because of some of the things some people said and did and because I was entering my teenage rebellious years.
My next big spiritual experience was when I studied abroad in Italy. Our professor was challenging religious doctrines and pushing us to think independently outside of our comfort zone and upbringing. I was also searching and seeking answers as I looked upon another and another Virgin and Jesus painting. I wrote in my journal at that time: “God doesn’t belong to any one faith. God belongs to everyone. God IS love.”
Traveling in Amsterdam after that program, I had one of my first big spiritual experiences. I ran into a homeless man on the street who was selling poetry. Though I normally don’t linger around the homeless, he caught my attention. He told me that he had lived with monks in Tibet. He had very clear blue sparking eyes. He knew my whole life story and encouraged me to forgive some very specific things about my father. How he read my life, I had no idea. He told me that I would meet my spiritual teacher in Asia, probably Japan.
After this experience, I had to wash my feet constantly. I mean constantly…in restaurant sinks and in fountains in Europe. I was having a cleansing that lasted for about two weeks. I later read that in India, the feet are the second heart. Something had awakened in me and was being kindled. I felt an inner shift.
About three years after this experience, I met my spiritual teacher, a yogi from India, when I was teaching in China. I have been with my teacher for 15 years now and have been blessed with an abundance of spiritual experiences as well as personal transformation…though I still have a ways to go.
I believe that one can really know and experience God by spending some time alone, quietly alone with God. Prayer, contemplation, self-inquiry, gratitude practice, scriptural study, yoga practice, and chanting can allow for this kind of sacred time. And meditation especially directly facilitates this kind of quality time.
If you are keen to try a little meditation, just sit quietly after your prayer time. Breathe deeply. Then allow your mind to quiet and relax. Sit for 5-10 minutes to start with. You may find yourself getting filled up from the inside. You may find that you enter into a whole new kind of relationship with you know who. Blessings!
My next big spiritual experience was when I studied abroad in Italy. Our professor was challenging religious doctrines and pushing us to think independently outside of our comfort zone and upbringing. I was also searching and seeking answers as I looked upon another and another Virgin and Jesus painting. I wrote in my journal at that time: “God doesn’t belong to any one faith. God belongs to everyone. God IS love.”
Traveling in Amsterdam after that program, I had one of my first big spiritual experiences. I ran into a homeless man on the street who was selling poetry. Though I normally don’t linger around the homeless, he caught my attention. He told me that he had lived with monks in Tibet. He had very clear blue sparking eyes. He knew my whole life story and encouraged me to forgive some very specific things about my father. How he read my life, I had no idea. He told me that I would meet my spiritual teacher in Asia, probably Japan.
After this experience, I had to wash my feet constantly. I mean constantly…in restaurant sinks and in fountains in Europe. I was having a cleansing that lasted for about two weeks. I later read that in India, the feet are the second heart. Something had awakened in me and was being kindled. I felt an inner shift.
About three years after this experience, I met my spiritual teacher, a yogi from India, when I was teaching in China. I have been with my teacher for 15 years now and have been blessed with an abundance of spiritual experiences as well as personal transformation…though I still have a ways to go.
I believe that one can really know and experience God by spending some time alone, quietly alone with God. Prayer, contemplation, self-inquiry, gratitude practice, scriptural study, yoga practice, and chanting can allow for this kind of sacred time. And meditation especially directly facilitates this kind of quality time.
If you are keen to try a little meditation, just sit quietly after your prayer time. Breathe deeply. Then allow your mind to quiet and relax. Sit for 5-10 minutes to start with. You may find yourself getting filled up from the inside. You may find that you enter into a whole new kind of relationship with you know who. Blessings!
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