Inspirations - Page 2
This Week's Inspirations - Page 2
Stronger Than You Know
The intense emotional flare-up you experience just before you are set to challenge yourself is often a mixture of both excitement and fear.
Thoughts
During the day, we can monitor our thoughts to see if we're investing our energy where it is useful.
The Places We Go
Often it takes something major to wake us up, as we struggle to maintain an illusion of control.
A Festival of Transition
Lughnasa celebrates the cyclical nature of existence and presents a wonderful opportunity to consider how we have changed.
Parts That Don't Want to Heal
In almost every case, we know what is best for us in our lives, from the relationships we create to the food we eat. Still, somewhat mysteriously, it is often difficult to make the right choices for ourselves. We find ourselves hanging out with someone who leaves us feeling drained or choosing to eat fast food over a salad. We go through phases where we stop doing yoga or taking vitamins, even though we feel so much better when we do. Usually, we have no idea why we continue to make the less enlightened choice, but it is important that we inquire into ourselves to find out.
Embrace Micro Self-Care
In our busy lives, finding time for self-care can seem like an insurmountable challenge. Our schedules are packed with responsibilities, family obligations, and myriad tasks that often leave little room for personal well-being. However, dedicating a few minutes each day to nurture yourself can have a profound impact on your overall health.
Experiences We Don't Understand
Sometimes we have an experience that we don’t understand, but if we look deeply or wait long enough, a reason for that experience will usually reveal itself. All the events in our lives lead to other events, and all that we have manifested in this present moment is the result of past events and experiences. We cannot easily tease apart the many threads that have been woven together to create our current reality. Experiences that don’t make sense, as well as any that we regret, are just as responsible for the good things in our lives as the experiences we do understand or label as “good.”
Being Your Own Village
Simple survival requires us to be in possession of many skills. The pursuit of dreams requires many more. Most individuals rely on the support of a village, whether filled with relatives or community members, to effectively address the numerous ways we need assistance. This can mean anything from asking favors of acquaintances and leaning on loved ones for support to paying a skilled artisan to handle a specialized task. However, each human being is born with the capacity to be their own village. We embody many roles throughout our lifetime, all of which are representative of our capacity for self-sufficiency and self-determination. In different moments in our lives, we are our own counselor, custodian, caregiver, cook, healer, teacher, and student. Our willingness to joyfully take on these roles grants us the power to maintain control over the direction of our life’s journey.
As Good As Your Word
Ever since human beings could speak to one another, they have been making promises. Those who keep their promises are regarded as people of integrity. Those who don’t keep their promises are regarded as people who, at best, can’t be taken seriously and, at worst, can’t be trusted. Sometimes we forget how powerful our words are, and we use them haphazardly or unconsciously, creating expectations that are never fulfilled and leaving disappointment and distrust in our wake.
Walking as a Transformative Practice
Mindful walking invites us to reconnect with our bodies and the ground beneath our feet. This practice isn't just about movement; it's about bringing our full attention to each step we take. As we walk, we are reminded to slow down, breathe deeply, and become present in the moment. This intentional awareness can transform our daily walks into a moving meditation, calming our minds and soothing our spirits.
Soulful Voyages
The journeys we take are often as exhausting as they are exhilarating. The thrill we feel as we travel to a new environment may be undercut by our sensitivity to change, strange surroundings, and forced shifts in our usual habits. Air, road, and sea travel can be extremely taxing, and many people find sleeping soundly in a strange bed difficult. There are, however, numerous ways to take the stress out of both short voyages and lengthy sojourns. Since much of the comfort we feel in our day-to-day lives stems from the fact that we enjoy the regularity of routine, adapting your typical customs to correspond with your travel schedule can alleviate the unease you experience while away from your home. Likewise, when you ground yourself by honoring the rituals that are a part of your daily life, you’ll no longer feel like you’re out of your element.
Discover More - Page 2
Energetic Sweeping
In some of our lives, sweeping has become an activity performed without much thought. In many cases, sweeping is a lost art, replaced by the noisy, efficient vacuum cleaner. But in several cultures and religions, sweeping the front and back porch every morning is regarded as an important cleansing ritual that prepares the ground for new energy on every level -- physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. It is often employed to sanctify a space and prepare it for a ceremony. This seemingly simple action has the power to clear away the old and make space for the new. It stirs up the energy in a place, clearing out the astral buildup that is the natural by-product of the presence of humans.
The Status Quo
When our lives are going well, and sometimes even when they aren’t, we may find ourselves feeling very attached to the status quo of our existence -- life as we know it. It is a very human tendency to resist change as though it were possible to simply decide not to do it, or have it in our lives. But change will come and the status quo will go, sooner or later, with our consent or without it. We may find at the end of the day that we feel considerably more empowered when we find the courage to ally ourselves with the universal force of change, rather than working against it.
Doing Our Best Work
In the great symphony of life, we all have important parts to play. While some people are best suited to be conductors or soloists, their contributions would be diminished considerably without the individual musicians that lend their artistry to the fullness of an orchestra. The magical accents of the percussion section might sound random and out of place without the music they accompany. But any one member of an orchestra, doing less than their best at their particular part, can destroy the harmony of the whole piece, such is their importance. So although we may not receive the same amount or quality of attention as another, all of our contributions are valuable and integral to the success of the whole.
Saying Yes to the Universe
The hardest thing about saying yes to the universe is that it means accepting everything life puts in front of us. Most of us have a habit of going through our days saying no to the things we don’t like and yes to the things we do, and yet, everything we encounter is our life. We may be afraid that if we say yes to the things we don’t like, we will be stuck with them forever, but really, it is only through acknowledging the existence of what’s not working for us that we can begin the process of change. So saying yes doesn’t mean indiscriminately accepting things that don’t work for us. It means conversing with the universe, and starting the conversation with a very powerful word -- yes.
Creating Community
Since the modern Western lifestyle can isolate us from one another, it is often difficult to forge meaningful connections. Self-protection and mistrust prevent us from reaching out to neighbors and peers, and we consequently feel like we don’t truly belong anywhere. Yet creating community can be as simple as reaching out within our own neighborhoods. To form the bonds that eventually solidify into long-lasting friendships, we must first be willing to rise above the walls of suspicion and doubt dividing us from the individuals who inhabit our neighborhood, block, or our building. We are taught from childhood to fear those we do not know, but community is as much a part of survival as safety. When we take a proactive approach, we can harmoniously unite our neighbors and build a network of support that contributes to the well-being of all involved.Let It Roll off Our Back
One of the most difficult challenges in life is learning not to take things to heart and hold on to it. Especially when we’re younger, or if we’re very sensitive, we take so much of what comes our way to heart. This can be overwhelming and unproductive if it throws us off balance on a regular basis. When we are feeling criticized or attacked from all directions, it becomes very difficult for us to recover ourselves so that we can continue to speak and act our truth. This is when we would do well to remember the old saying about letting certain things roll off us, like water off a duck’s back.
No Going Back
There are times when we feel that we are spinning our wheels in the mud in terms of our spiritual progress. This can be especially true following a period of major growth in which we feel as if we’ve gained a lot of ground. In fact, this is the way growth goes -- periods of intense forward movement give way to periods of what seems like stagnation. In those moments when we feel discouraged, it’s helpful to remember that we don’t ever really go backward. It may be that we are at a standstill because there is a new obstacle in our paths, or a new layer to get through, but the hard work we have done cannot be undone.
Featured Courses
Ego Death: Restore Your True Self-Identity
By Sadhvi Bhagawati SaraswatiTaken by 3,400 people
Wall Workout to Reshape the Body at Any Age
By Stefanie WildTaken by 6,158 people
c80a.jpg?w=1920&q=100)
Holistic Vagus Nerve Stretches for Immediate Relief
By Sadie NardiniTaken by 49,297 people
Taken by 34,550 people
Shedding Your Menopausal Middle in 10 Days
By Jacqui JusticeTaken by 170,865 people
21-Day Plant-Based Plan for a Lighter, Happier YOU!
By Scott and Beth PutnamTaken by 76,041 people
Narcissistic Relationships: From Surviving to Thriving
By Jean AtmanTaken by 34,099 people
Taken by 89,613 people
NEWSLETTER
Get Your DailyOM Inspiration
Join our community of 1.6 million subscribers and receive free daily inspirational messages.By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
