Lessons and Reflections from 2018

Hello, hello beautiful, magical being!

As we take in this last day of 2018, I thought it would be a great time to share some of the lessons that have been coming up for me lately. Those that I plan to bring with me into the New Year to help create an even more expansive, transformative, and inspiring year.

*PRESENCE

Recently I’ve really been working on being more fully present in every moment. I’ve come to realize that if you focus on being truly present, there is so much more to gain from each moment. When I am present and fully in the NOW, I am more patient, more focused, more accepting, and more attentive. It’s easier to connect more deeply with the people around me at any moment. It’s easier to enjoy each moment because I’m not thinking about what happened before or what I need to do next -- I’m just enjoying each moment that is presented to me. I’ve found that it is helping me be more accepting and more joyful; even in the face of drama or frustration. Just be present with what is happening so that you can respond to each situation with more clarity, patience and acceptance.

*GOAL SETTING

A new way of thinking about goals (don’t be attached to them) - If you continue to grow on a regular, or even daily basis, (which I intend to), then your goals should be constantly evolving as well. So in this way, goals can actually be a hindrance. If your goals aren’t lofty enough, then they prevent you from growing to your highest potential, and it could actually keep you thinking in more limited ways. If you’re goals are too lofty, then you set yourself up for failure, resulting in frustration and self-doubt.

The wise Sadhguru, one of my favorite teachers, says that rather than setting goals for the future, focus on the NOW. Focus on doing the best you can in each and every moment. Be fully dedicated to each task and each thing you do. If you can do this, then you will continue to grow at rapid speed, and the Universe will continue to provide you with ways to keep growing. It will lead you to reaching goals that you could not have even once imagined. Just be dedicated to doing the best you can do with each task you take on.

Which leads to the next point...

*BE FULLY DEVOTED TO EACH TASK & MOMENT

Whatever you do, do it fully - We tend to multi-task a lot, thinking that we’re getting more accomplished when we do so. But recently I’ve realized that multi-tasking is more often a hinderance. Whatever you are doing, at any given moment, you should give your full attention and your full devotion to. Whatever you’re doing, do the best you can do at that thing. (Be fully Present in that action!)

For example, in the past few days I’ve been feeling a little low on energy. I’ve given myself permission to lay low this past week, take some time off of work, and just let myself rest and recover into the new year. However, I haven’t been allowing myself to FULLY rest. Even when I’m reading a book or watching a movie, in the back of my mind I find that I’m thinking about what I “should” be doing. Thinking about a post I should be writing, or an event to create, etc. Which results in me not enjoying my rest and recover as much as I could be. Which results in me not gaining the full benefits of resting. If instead, I just let myself FULLY relax into doing nothing, I could rejuvenate my energy sources more quickly and more fully and return to action mode faster.
So again, WHATEVER you’re doing, be fully dedicated to THAT THING.

*STAY OPEN

Whatever experiences and situations life presents you with, learn to stay open to it. Good, bad, difficult, or joyful, learn to stay in touch with your heart and keep your heart open to the experience. Don’t put conditions on your happiness (“this” or “that” must happen for me to be happy, and if “this” happens I will be upset), instead, be unconditionally happy. Be unconditionally open. Don’t try to change the Universe; instead, work on changing your REACTION. Remember that the Universe is unfolding exactly as it should be. There are lessons to be learned from every moment and every interaction.

*KARMA - The Law of Giving and Receiving

Universal Energy operates in the flow of dynamic exchange. The law of give and take. You cannot have one without the other. If you want to receive more from life, then you must give more to life. If you want to receive more money, then you need to spend more money. If you keep all your money locked away in a safe, you stop the natural flow of the Universe, and you prevent more from flowing in. But when you give, you must be aware of your intention. If you are ONLY giving so that you can recieve, it will not work. You must give with the intention of creating more happiness and joy. Choose actions that will create more happiness and joy for others. Only then will you receive more happiness and joy in return.

*SILENCE

This year I also re-learned the power of silence and stillness. I sat in silence at my first Vipassana retreat and in the silence found so many answers. When we spend our days surrounded by noise and chaos (even just inner noise and inner chaos), our intentions and desires aren’t fully heard or received by the Universe. And it is much harder to hear Universal wisdom coming to you. Only in silence and stillness can we fully manifest our desires. If your intention is a pebble being thrown into a body of water, your pebble will have a MUCH bigger effect if you toss it into a still and quiet pond, rather than throwing it into the rolling, roaring, moving waves of an ocean. It is similar in your mind. Your desires and your intentions cannot be heard or received if you are creating them in a rolling, roaring, chaotic mind. First, learn to find stillness. Learn to find silence. And then, be open to new desires, new thoughts, new intentions and new pearls of wisdom to come through.
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It has been quite the year. I have experienced a lot of personal growth, joy and happiness, but also a lot of hardships, turmoil, and big life decisions. I’m learning to uncover and work with my shadows more. Learning to identify my triggers and work with them instead of avoiding them. Learning how to honor my own needs and desires more while still loving and honoring those around me. Learning how communicate my wants, needs, fears and disappointments with grace and clarity.

But most of all, I’m learning how to stay open to life and to just take life as it comes. To take each moment as it presents itself. To be PRESENT in each moment. I’m learning to ask myself: How can I best serve this moment? How can I do this thing to my best ability? How can I create more joy and happiness for others without taking my own needs for granted?... This, of course, is a continued journey. I look forward to many more lessons in 2019. More growth, more connection, more expansion, more friends, more dancing, more laughs, more tears, more lessons, more awareness, and more hugs!!

_{Photo by: Rakicevic Nenad}

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. We are each on our path, and have so much to share and learn from each other. I hope you were able to find something in this post to help you, inspire your, or make you question something in your own life. If you have any questions, or feel called to start up a conversation about any of these, please feel free to reach out. I don’t bite!

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And I will leave you with this…. Starting last year, I decided to do away with New Year’s Resolutions, and instead, choose a WORD or a THEME to guide me through the year. For 2018, I chose the word GROWTH, and with this in mind all year, it helped me to push myself further and keep growing little by little each day.

This year, I’m choosing the word PRESENCE (no surprise there :-P) to guide me through 2019. I hope this will help me to take in each moment fully. To stay in the NOW, and to do the best I can with each moment that comes my way.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!!! What word, or theme, will you choose to lead you into the new year? I would LOVE to hear from! If you haven’t taken the time to think about it, I invite you to do so now! Take a moment or two and ask yourself, what would you love to get out of this next year? When you look back on the year, 365 days from now, what will you want to be able to say about it?

If anything comes up for you, I would be delighted to hear what it is in the comments below!

Wishing you all the very best end to 2018, and a beautiful ringing in of 2019. I hope you have a safe, beautiful, and heart-warming evening, wherever you are. Sending you lots of love and light, and looking forward to hearing from you!

Happy New Year!!
✨ 💕 ✨ 💕