Sunday, September 10, 2017



Concepts of the “Ego”

Those who know me well know that I talk a lot about Ego because it is a concept that I have grown to understand in such a real way over the past year.  I have read many books that helped me gain an understanding of the Ego, but one book in particular that I highly recommend is “Your Sacred Self” by Wayne Dyer. He talks a lot about past false beliefs. I did some work last year in identifying those false beliefs and how strongly they had influenced my life and my behaviors. These false beliefs are often things we are taught by well-meaning family and people in authority over us, but it does not make them TRUTH. I did this work by making an extensive list of all the things I was taught in my life that I “should do” and then a list of all the things that I “should not do”….When you put some of these things on paper is becomes so incredibly clear what false beliefs these are – and yet they completely guide and control the direction of our lives if we continue to let them. (I will not share my list here as it is specific to me and my own upbringing, but I do encourage you to take the time to do this exercise as it really is powerful for making change.) I will share with you, though, some of the things I have learned about the Ego.


Lessons I have learned about the Ego:

1.       Ego presents as the false self – Belief that I am my physical body; Ego pushes one to despise the outward appearance and fights constantly against acceptance. While I know this is true, it is still an area that I struggle with because I still hold onto some of those false beliefs which lead me to judge myself. I am continuing to work on reminding myself that “I am not my body”.
2.       Ego teaches separateness – viewing life as a competitive exercise, always seeking our place in the world, seeking greatness or to be better than everyone else. This separateness also allows for judgement.
3.       Ego convinces you of your “specialness” – believing we are special or more deserving than the next person, which also leads to fear and anxiety that we may NOT be special enough.
4.       Ego is ready to be offended – in living in the ego state I was always offended and felt a constant need to defend myself and my actions. When you are living in Spirit, you do not have an “offend-able” nature.
5.       Ego is cowardly – the Ego beats us down robbing us of our divine nature, constantly causing us to see ourselves as lowly sinners rather than the freed and forgiven soul in which God dwells.
6.       Ego thrives on consumption – trying to fill a void that the ego creates, I often filled my life with meaningless things. The Ego pushes you toward external validation. The Ego tries to keep you facing “outside yourself” for peace and joy. *This was a big one for me when I came to this realization. I had been seeking fulfillment and peace outside myself and it always led to sadness and disappointment. Turning inward and seeking after the higher self which is the Holy Spirit within me changed so much for me.
7.       Ego is insane – it believes it is something it is not and tries to convince others of the same. Sanity, therefore knows that you are one with God and united to all.
Of course, having said all of this, one of the biggest displays of “Ego” is when someone believes they are better than others because they are on a spiritual quest or they have some wisdom greater than others….This is not my belief. I do not believe that having learned about this concept makes me any better than anyone else, I simply share with you what has made such an impact on my life. In humility I recognize that we each have our own path, our own trials, and our own beliefs…neither is better than the other, we are all unified by the Holy Spirit in each of us. ~ Namaste




Saturday, September 9, 2017

Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga

As I return to this blog after two years of absense, I am acutely aware of how much has changed in my life. I am also so very grateful for every moment and every lesson that I have learned along the way. About a year ago now I began an intense personal journey of self-discovery. I took a break from work and life commitments and began really soul-searching myself and beginning to develop the person who I really wanted to become. During this time I began a daily yoga practice and began to embrace new aspects of meditation, the use of essential oils, and use of a regular massage therapist. I also worked hard to establish a healthy diet and maintain a regular exercise routine. During this time my life has truly been transformed. I cannot atribute this change to any one particular thing, as I believe it is really a combination of healthy lifestyle choices. However, I wanted to share today one of the major contributing factors in my yoga practice that has made such a tremendous difference for me.

I read many books during my journey and there were so many beautiful messages that really hit home for me. The book that has really made the most impact for me though, was Deepak Chopra's book "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga". I began last October doing a quick little daily journal using this system of spiritual laws, and each day I would focus on the law of the day, create a mantra to focus my mind on when my mind became stressed or unfocused, and I also linked this law with the chakras they are associated with and meditated on these and then brought all of this together during my daily yoga practice. I also have linked in specific bible verses to each of these as well. This integration of various systems has brought me so much joy and understanding of how it works together, and has truly become a lifestyle for me. I thought I would very briefly share these laws with you now.

*Please note that this is my own personal take on Deepak's message, so I do highly recommend you read the book.


Sunday - Law of Pure Potentiality, related to the crown chakra, "Live in the Present Moment" Proverbs 19:14, Ephesians 2:10 and Psalm 84:11-12. - We are created to bring glory to God.

Monday - Law of Giving and Receiving, related to the heart chakra, "Love is Divine Power" Proverbs 31:20, James1:27 - Service to others is our gift back to God.

Tuesday - Law of Karma, related to the root chakra "All is One" Galatians 6:8 - Cause and effect is a universal law.

Wednesday - Law of Least Effort, related to the sacral chakra, "Honor One Another" Proverbs 3:5-6 - Practicing karma yoga where you are doing actions for actions sake, not to "achieve" anything. Bring your focus to the task at hand.

Thursday - Law of Intention and Desire, related to the naval chakra, "Honor One-Self" Matthew 11:29 - Focus on humility and grace and to follow Christ's example of love.

Friday - Law of Detachment, related to the throat chakra, "Surrender Personal Will to Divine Will" Proverbs 27:1 - Let go of all that no longer serves you, making room in your heart for Jesus.

Saturday - Law of Dharma, related to the third eye chakra, "Seek Only The Truth" Romans 8:28, John 13:15, James 1:27 - Knowing that your purpose is to serve and bring glory to God.


And so it goes...Each day I base my entire thought processes for the day on whatever the law is that relates. This adds so much intention and focus on staying present in the moment and doing things intentionally with passion. It has been a great blessing to me personally, so I do encourage you to give it a try as well. While this may seem like a lot, after you create a habit of it, it really is very quick and easy. I spend about 10 minutes each morning setting my intention and doing my journal writing while I have a cup of tea and prepare for the day, so it really isn't that complicated.


"Let whatever you chose to do today involve some act of kindness and compassion." - Namaste