Battling the Self

Written by Elyrah on February 6th, 2012

In chapter 33, the Tao Te Ching says:

 

Those who overcome others have strength

Those who overcome themselves are powerful

 

What this is describing is authentic power. Overcoming another person through physical means or force is not remarkable. It happens quite frequently and most people can find someone weaker to dominate. What is truly awesome and worth noting is overcoming oneself.

 

Within yourself you may battle addiction, bad habits, inertia, procrastination, temper, desires and lust, distorted beliefs, things we are holding onto that need to be released, fears, and self-doubt. Everyone faces these hidden opponents at least in some point in their lifetime. To overcome them takes great strength. Some people may never overcome these challenges. It can be easy to make up excuses, put things off for another day, and hold onto things in fear. Against yourself, there is no defense. To overcome these challenges against your own self is the most meaningful victory of all.

 

What are you battling against within yourself? If you are able to recognize a challenge within yourself that you would like to overcome, this is half the battle. Many people never realize many of their own issues… Or will repeat the same lessons many times over before realizing that something needs to change. The next step to success is just simply to take it one step at a time. Do not worry about the future, or fret about your past mistakes. Be in the present moment and be mindful of your thoughts and behavior. Relax and enjoy a playful mindset. If you mess up, forgive yourself and learn what you can from it. You can do it :) .

 

Check out The Tao of Joy Every Day: 365 Days of Tao Living by Derek Lin for Daily Taoist inspiration and ideas from and based on the Tao Te Ching

 

 

 

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Manifesting in a Nutshell

Written by Elyrah on February 5th, 2012

“The Law of Attraction” is becoming a household phrase thanks to “The Secret” and “The Teachings of Abraham Hicks.” More and more people are beginning to realize that the thoughts you have really do influence your reality, and that by changing what you chose to think, focus on, and believe, you can change your reality.

Manifesting is a skill, so don’t be disappointed or assume it doesn’t work when you don’t get what you want right away. It takes practice. The Power of Belief is a much bigger player in this than simply the thoughts that pass through your mind. If you are thinking to yourself “I’m receiving a $1,000 check” and repeating this affirmation to yourself all day, but deep down you don’t believe that this could ever happen, or that you don’t deserve it, it’s not going to happen.

Also keep in mind that it’s important to leave your options open because the universe might have something even better in mind for you than whatever you thought of. Try to imagine how what you want could manifest in as many awesome ways as possible. Don’t hold back- think of all the possibilities are they’re infinite.

The best manifesting mindset is one of excitement. Excitement is a very high-vibrational energy that comes right from the heart. Another key mindset for manifesting is gratitude. Be grateful for the things that are already manifest in your life! Every little thing and person good or bad is deserving of your gratitude. Even the bad is good because it gives you the opportunity to experience more of creation and the chance to learn. The universe wants to support you and give you its best, so show it how grateful you are for the gifts you’ve already received and how excited you are about experiencing more. Think about it this way: Would you want to give a gift to an ungrateful person? You might not expect anything in return, but some gratitude would be awesome.

Another important key of manifesting is behaving as if you already have it. Whatever you want already exists. Want to travel the world? Great, travel your hometown, travel your state, travel your backyard. Travel the internet and print out pictures of all the awesome places you’d like to visit and tape them up in places you’ll see them every day. Want to eat healthy? Don’t think about tomorrow, just simply focus and pretend that you are a healthy eater for this meal. Then pretend at the next meal. Don’t be so serious! Just play and pretend. If you don’t think you even know how to eat healthy, imagine that you are someone who would. Want to be a writer? Write every day and write about anything and everything. Stop waiting around for that great idea of a story to come to you first… Get into that creative mindset now so that it may flow to you and through in.

One of my most favorite and first (intentional) manifesting moments was about a year or two ago. I was at work in a restaurant and decided I wanted to manifest a new friend. They would come right through drive-thru- no effort required on my part to go out searching for them or anything. I felt excited thinking of how this person would be one of the most awesome people I ever met, a male close to my age, someone who I would have a good amount of stuff in common with, but also someone who would show me a lot of new stuff in life. I thought about this and got my excitement up for a good five or so minutes, then released. Didn’t think about it again. Ten to twenty minutes later I saw a really cool looking guy. Normally I’m a bit shy, but I couldn’t resist saying hello to this person! I asked where he was from and got his number. Soon after we went on an awesome adventure on our motorcycles up north through Pinkham Notch and have been friends ever since.

 Writing down your intentions and what you would like to manifest is a good way to bring your ideas into the “physical” world. It puts them right in front of you and is a good center-point for focus. Whenever you start to lose sight or feel bored or don’t know what to do with yourself- just look at your list of what you want to manifest. Do whatever you can in that moment to bring yourself closer to a goal or act as if you already have one of those things.

So, just remember these key ingredients in your recipe for manifestation:  Infinite belief, right thought, open mind (about how it will come to you)  excitement, gratitude, remember and behave as if you already have it, play!, and it really helps to write down your intentions.

Have fun!

 

 

 

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Shine On Your Community: 10 Ways to Support Local Businesses at Home and in Travel

Written by Elyrah on February 2nd, 2012

1. Buy Groceries From Farmers and Locally-Owned Markets

Enjoy some real fresh veggies grown with love by your neighbors or maybe try out one of the healthy and organic food-stores in your area

2.  Furnish and Decorate Your Home With Items From Locally-Owned Businesses.

This helps your community and gives you a more unique and beautiful abode

3. Buy Gas at Locally-Owned Stations

Most of us use these quite frequently, so make the best of it by helping to keep the smaller stations in business

4.  Buy Your Clothing Local

Check out the thrift stores for nice second-hand finds and peruse the local shops to find unique and quality threads

5. Eat at Locally-Owned Restaurants

Often just as good if not better than chain restaurants and a good way to mix things up while supporting your community

6. Write Positive Reviews Online

Show your love in words for your favorite businesses by expressing your satisfaction online so that others will be more likely to shop there as well

7. Shop Online

Shopping local doesn’t mean just shopping in your hometown, support local businesses nation-wide by finding unique small businesses on the web as well

8. Enjoy Some Arts and Entertainment

Relax once in a while by hitting up a musical performance, craft fair or studio, bake sale, fair, or whatever to help support other members in your community and have a good time

9. Volunteer

Nothing shows love for your community like donating your skills and valuable time for free!

10. Gift Local

When buying gifts for the holidays or birthdays, consider buying your loved one a gift card for a memorable experience at a local spa, class, or other service

 

Check back soon for more ways to show your love and support for your community!

 

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Let the Wealth Rain on Down: 10 Reasons to Support Your Local Businesses

Written by Elyrah on February 1st, 2012

We all realize that there is an economic crisis going on right now. But, do you ever wonder how you could help to change this? You have more power than you think.

Yes, it is the top 1% who controls 42% of the financial wealth in the United States… But you have nearly 100% control of where the money in your pocket goes. Your actions matter. And your actions might even inspire someone else to change their actions, and then lead to another person or two changing theirs… Imagine what could happen if more people decided to become mindful of their spending and keep the well-being of their own neighbors and people just like themselves in mind. Spend your money with love for your community instead of out of the convenience of a Walmart or McDonalds.

When you support the smaller, local, one-of-a-kind, and family-owned businesses, you are helping in more ways than you can imagine. It really has a domino effect. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits.

1. Local Economic Stimulus

When you buy your goods at locally owned businesses rather than nationally-owned, more money is kept in the community because locally-owned businesses often purchase from other local businesses, service providers and farms, enriching the whole community. Buying local helps grow other businesses in the area as well as the local tax base.

2. Simultaneously Helping Out Non-profit Organizations

Local business owners donate 250% more to local charities than big businesses

3. Community Character  and Prosperity

Your community is defined largely by the unique businesses residing there. This impacts the satisfaction of living in your community as well as the value of your home and property. Tourism also flourishes in communities with a unique flavor.

4. Jobs and Wages

Local businesses create more jobs and often times have better wages than chain stores. Helping to keep local businesses running also cuts back on people needed to travel farther for work, thus cutting down on traffic, pollution, and making it easier for teens or others without cars to find work.

5. Better for the Environment

Local businesses often centralize in communities thus creating unique and walkable town-centers. This helps to cut down on habitat loss and water and air pollution.

6. Competition

A marketplace of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.

7.  Entrepreneurship

Entepreneurship serves to help families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class and stimulate America’s economic innovation and prosperity.

8. Better Service

Local businesses are more apt to hiring people who have a better understanding of their products and more likely to get to know their staff and customers

9. Product Diversity

With a variety of small businesses, the products and services are being sold with the needs of the customers in mind and in their own unique way.

10. Local Decision-making

Local ownership ensures that important decisions are made by people who live in the community and will feel the impact of decisions made

 

 

 

Sources: http://www.mybudget360.com/top-1-percent-control-42-percent-of-financial-wealth-in-the-us-how-average-americans-are-lured-into-debt-servitude-by-promises-of-mega-wealth/

http://www.newrules.org/retail/why-support-locally-owned-businesses

http://greenupgrader.com/8539/10-reasons-to-shop-local/

http://sustainableconnections.org/thinklocal/why

 

 

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Clarity for Success

Written by Elyrah on January 31st, 2012

 “The best way to succeed is to have a specific Intent, a clear Vision, a plan of Action, and the ability to maintain Clarity. Those are the Four Pillars of Success. It never fails!”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Do you feel lost in life? Do you ever just stop and wonder where you’re going, if you’re even going anywhere at all? Do you believe in yourself?

I think nearly everyone has these moments of questioning. But how can we stay on track? How can we even know if we’re really getting anywhere? Sometimes the days just feel the same. Sometimes it just seems like a never-ending routine with minor interruptions for the better or worse. In our busy lifestyles it can be hard to even have the time to think of a new next step to take!

So keep it simple.

Steve Maraboli in the quote above words it perfectly. Write down your Intent, Vision, and plan of Action. Read these things to yourself every day  when you wake up to help maintain Clarity. Or every other day. Or however often you need to remind yourself. Especially when you’re feeling down or unconfident in yourself. Your life was no mistake- you are here for a reason. You are a beautiful and awesome person who has come here to love, learn and experience life. You are loved by many and you touch lives.

Intention. What do you intend to do in your life? (In your spiritual pursuit, your career, how you will spend your free time, how you interact with family, friends, and others around you, your diet, anything)

Vision. What do you envision for yourself and for the world?

Action. How are you going to incorporate the former into your life and bring them into reality?

With these three things always in mind, Clarity comes quite naturally. Following through with your plan of Action will undoubtedly propel you into living the life you dream of.

If you feel your life is too busy to do this small exercise for yourself, or maybe you forget about it later on… These eternal words of wisdom from Bashar are always good to follow and so simple to remember and do:

“Follow your highest excitement!”

Just simply do whatever makes you feel the most excited at any given moment.

“Follow your excitement to the best of your ability
because the sensation that you call joy,
the sensation that you call excitement,
the sensation that you call unconditional love
is the frequency of the energy that represents
your natural… true… core… original self .
So when you are acting
on circumstances and opportunities
that bring with them the highest level of joy…
the highest level of excitement…
you are saying you have the faith
to take the steps to act upon your true self
and in so doing your physical reality… the mirror…
will support you
because it has no choice but to do so.”

-          Bashar (http://bashar.org/transcriptcreatingreality.html)

 

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Hello Beautiful Souls!

Written by Elyrah on January 31st, 2012

Daisy photograph by ElyrahMy name is Elyrah (said eh-leer-ah) and I am currently a college student at University of New Hampshire majoring in anthropology. I have decided to start my own blog because I think it would be an awesome way to express myself and the things that I am interested in. This being my first post, please allow me to introduce myself and tell you a bit about who I am and what I believe in.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been interested in spirituality and where we came from and what our purpose is here on planet earth. What is our part in the whole grand scheme of things in this beautiful and intelligent universe?  One of my earliest memories is asking my parents how we got here, and being told the story of Adam and Eve. Even at the age of five or so, I knew this sounded more like fairy-tale than truth and that there is way more to learn. I did attend church a good number of times with an open-mind, but always felt like there was something missing. I felt like a lot of the sermons were a bit fearful and tended to belittle human-kind. I also wondered why “God” seemed so active in society a couple thousand years ago and not so much today. I wondered how people couple put so much trust into the Bible when soo many books were left out of the cannon and obviously there’s so much more to know… “why aren’t these people seeking the whole truth?” I would think to myself. I also couldn’t really understand the idea that God was some separate entity; the same with Lucifer. Where are they if we are taught to believe there are no separate levels of reality and how could they possible affect us? I was determined from a young age to be a truth-seeker, knowing that it would be a life-long process that would never end. I refused to be left in the dark and decided that I would be a candle so that I may show others the way.

I spend a great majority of my time reading/studying spiritual and metaphysical subjects. I am always working at finding ways to improve my health, well-being, and bringing myself to a more constant state of happiness and increasing/expanding consciousness. I love being in and nature and going on adventures- even if it’s just a short walk in the woods out behind my house. I enjoy riding my motorcycle (Kawasaki Ninja) attending spiritual classes and discussions, and creating art in the form of jewelry and sometimes paintings. My favorite music genres are mostly electronic, ranging from IDM, trip-hop, goa, ambient, experimental, and chill-out, to dubstep and dub.

In this blog I will share with you my knowledge of subjects relating to spirituality, consciousness, ascension, anthropological musings, sacred geometry, UFOs and ETs, meditation, consciousness, health and well-being, the power of belief and the heart, among other things.

Peace, Love, and many Blessings to you all! <3

 

 

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