How to Breathe Zen from Sheer Spirit

For this week’s Zen Monday, Brittany from Sheer Spirit will be guest blogging. She created an amazing post sharing her techniques to connect to the breath, using each inhale and exhale to find a peaceful meditative place.

One of the simplest yet calming practices of spirituality is to focus on your breath.

Whether we realize it or not, our mood, energy, and overall well being is contributed a lot to our breathing patterns. Think about it, we breathe 24 hours, 7 days a week. There’s not one activity we can do without breathing for extended periods of time.

With all this time spent breathing, why not create breath that counts?

When your breathing is short and heightened, it’s most likely that your physical being is in an adrenalin-based state, which isn’t always a negative thing. Sometimes we need that level of energy to get the creativity flowing.

However, in times of serenity and tranquility a slower, deeper breath is preferred.

Here are some breathing exercises that will give you that zen flow:

· Inhale for 3 seconds, hold for 3, exhale for 3, repeat, (a wonderful way to center I learned from Gabby Bernstein)

· Inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 8 to release extra toxins

· Breath deep and close the back of your throat so you can actually hear your breath, (it almost sounds like the ocean)

· Inhale your belly out, exhale your belly in, (this releases tension by creating more space in between your vertebrates)

· Breathe deeply using affirmations (breathe in: I am wonderful as I am, breathe out: I am complete as I am)

Become conscious of your breathing and you will be able to remain calm amidst the chaos.

Keep smiling,

Brittany

Brittany can be found at Sheer Spirit and Facebook.

Mountain picture taken by Aura Jade.

ॐ * Hoop Bunny Fridays * ॐ

Hoop Bunny Fridays features inspiring pictures & video of lovely hoopers who bliss out in the sacred circle.

Happy hooping, little bunnies!
Namaste.

DIY ~ Feather Earrings

For this DIY, I will show you how to make Feather Earrings!

You will need:
~ Feathers of different colors and shapes
~ seed beads
~ thin .07mm string
~ thin wire
~ earring hooks
~ pliers
~ crimp beads

     First, lay out which feathers and beads you will use. Coordinate colors by using similar shades and complementary tones. Or just go totally random rainbow with the beads. Sometimes it is better when it is totally spontaneous and not planned at all.
     String the beads and tie a knot at both ends. Lay the string next to the feathers you want to use. Lay the feathers on top of each other and shape them. Put the string and the ends of the feather inside the crimp bead and use the pliers to crimp it into place. Then take a piece of thin shapeable wire and begin to wrap it around the feathers above the crimp bead. Wrap the wire around several times and then attach it to the earring hook. Make sure it is secure by trimming the extra wire and using the pliers to shape it into place.

Then you are done! This is my finished project.

Have fun trying this with different feathers & beads.

Pictures by Aura Jade.

Zen Mondays

My blog will feature new posts called Zen Mondays, where I will share a little tip to bring more peace into your daily life. These ideas will be connected to mindfulness, meditation, and yogic practices to help you navigate your day with a serene mindset.

This Monday’s tip is to have tea time. The winter is a beautiful time to enjoy a piping hot cup of your favorite tea and have a moment of quiet reflection in your day. Tea time can be in the morning when you first rise or a break in the middle of the afternoon. I love having tea because it is so healthy and warming. It also serves as an opportunity to practice mindfulness because I can simply focus on what I am doing in the present moment, brewing a pot of tea. I practice immersing myself in the present moment because is nothing I can do to make the water boil faster. I can just be here, Now.

My favorite kinds of tea include:
– Jasmine
– Earl Gray
– Green & White tea
– Lavender
– Chamomile

I hope this Zen Monday you give yourself a lovely morning routine to begin your day.

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Shine and Share.

     How can you be even more awesome, amazing, and radically authentic? It comes down to filling your days with what makes you shine, those things that ignite your creativity and connect you to the infinite Now.

     There are mundane responsibilities we need to attend to, schedules, deadlines. Despite the hectic energy of trying to get ahead and stay ahead, I take the pressure off of myself to meet other’s expectations. I choose to be gentle and honest with myself about my goals and what I want to work toward. My vision becomes super clear when I write it all down. I have lists and lists of audacious dreams, creative projects, and things I want to get better at. Shining my light is one of the main things I am focused on this year. To me it means being who I am at all times and releasing the old thought paradigms of trying to fit into a box based on perceived expectations of others. I realized that the expectations that others hold for me are thoughts that I constructed in my mind. They are not real. I don’t have to live up to what others want or what society tells me I should want. It’s not going to work because it does not feel authentic. When I connect to my intuition, I know the truth, even if my logical mind cannot rationalize it.

     This is a call to you to shine and to share your love with the Universe. It is an endeavor of awareness, growth, and metamorphosis. It is not easy. It will not be without challenges. But it will be worth it. Stepping into your power and taking responsibility for your evolution is difficult but rewarding beyond comprehension. It is an ongoing process that continues infinitely, so be infinite. I believe in you.

Picture taken by Aura Jade in Japantown, San Francisco, California.

You belong where you feel free.

     I adore discovering the flow of creative ideas in art, in nature, and in my relationships with others. A few moons ago, I sent my intention to the Universe to connect with like-minded spirits and an active community of beautiful souls that I could be a part of. My manifesting process included visualizing what I wanted to bring into my physical reality. I focused on the feelings that I wanted to evoke within my friendships, namely, creativity, self-expression, bliss, love, and harmony. I set my intention by writing it down and I surrendered the outcome to the Universe. Set it and forget it, and let the magic unfold its in own time. The ultimate secret is having full trust in one’s inner guide and the loving forces of universal consciousness to manifest one’s dream reality. 

     During my recent manifestation process, my relationships with others are blossoming, nurturing, and characterized by peace, harmony, joy, sharing, and creative exchange. At last, I put myself out there with complete faith that my dreams would be manifested in divine time. A quote from a Course in Miracles accurately describes this process,

“Those who are certain of the outcome can afford to wait and wait without anxiety.“

     When I trust that I am divinely guided, I can relax and surrender my will to my higher self. It feels amazing to not worry about the details of how everything will ultimately turn out. If I try to control and manipulate things, I am effectively blocking the manifestation process. Instead, I allow myself to be supported and to be guided to the perfect people and situations I need to evolve and practice infinite love and compassion. Each and every relationship is an opportunity to be fully present, awake, and aware. Our relationships are the greatest places to practice non-judgement, unconditional acceptance, and loving kindness. The Universe is asking you to show up and be present. Also, the Universe will never give you anything you cannot handle. Ask yourself how you can be more present in all of the experiences in each moment. Allow yourself to be guided by your intuition and inner wisdom.

     Believe and trust that the Universe will give you everything you need, including the experiences and challenges required for growth and expansion. Above all, actively seek those experiences you need to evolve. The Universe rewards those who take action and risks in order to grow. It requires stepping out on a limb with perfect trust in yourself and in the loving, guiding forces all around you. Everything is an oppurtunity to love more and to shine more and to share more.

Where in your life can you love more, shine more, share more? 

Picture from BLDG 25, the Free People blog.

Play, dream, receive.

     Play is a state of effortless grace, ease, joy, and present moment awareness. When we are fully immersed in the Now, the passage of time cannot be discerned and its rigid boundaries begin to melt away. To play is to not take oneself so seriously. When I was little, I spent hours upon hours in my room, playing with dolls, coloring, reading, and dreaming of magical lands. I would go outside and play with my neighbors in the sunshine. We could jump, shout and explore the trees in the backyard. We would run, draw all over the ground with chalk, play tag, pick flowers, and find little creatures in the forest. Laying on the lush grass, we stared at the expanse of the sky and watched the clouds drift along, finding shapes and animals in their soft edges. 

     It is necessary and important to give ourselves the time and space to play. It’s about nurturing and loving our inner child that wishes to be acknowledged instead of suppressed  Let yourself be silly. Let yourself dream. Go out into a wide open field and spin in circles until you get dizzy and fall down. Roll down a hill. Hug a tree. Connect to the greater earth that surrounds you, loves you, sustains you. 

     Allow yourself to play. Allow yourself to dream audacious dreams. And allow yourself to receive the infinite love and abundance that is forever present if we choose to turn our awareness toward it. 

Namaste. 

Pictures taken by Aura Jade.

Be Inspired.

“What if our religion was each other,
If our practice was our life,
if prayer our words?
What if the temple was the Earth,
if forests were our church,
if holy waters—the rivers, lakes, and oceans.
What if meditation was our relationships,
if the teacher was life,
if wisdom was self-knowledge,
if love was the center of our being.“

– Ganga White