Karmic Seeds Body Mind & Spirit

Mental strength isn't often reflected in what you do. It's usually seen in what you don't do. Developing mental strength is a "three pronged approach." It's about controlling your:  thoughts  behaviors  emotions  1. They don’t waste time feeling sorry for themselves Feeling sorry for yourself is self destructive, indulging in self-pity hinders living a full life. It wastes time, creates negative emotions, and hurts your relationships. The key is to affirm the good in the world, and you will begin to appreciate what you have. The goal is to swap self pity with gratitude. 2. They don’t give away their power. People give away their power when they lack physical and emotional boundaries. You need to stand up for yourself and draw the line when necessary. If other people are in control of your actions, they define your success and self-worth. It's important that you keep track of your goals and work toward them.  3. They do not shy away from cha...

Daily Inspiration 1/17/16 - Accept Yourself "The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet." — Shunryu Suzuki "Our image of perfection is the reason we reject ourselves the way we are, and why we don’t accept others the way they are." — Don Miguel Ruiz Meditation for the Day:  Notice when your mind wanders into perfectionism.

  October 27, 2016 Permission to Be Real Taking the Risk by  Madisyn Taylor   When we present ourselves to the world without a mask and keep it real, we offer the same opportunity for others to do the same. Most of us are familiar with the idea of keeping it real and have an intuitive sense about what that means. People who keep it real don't hide behind a mask to keep themselves safe from their fear of how they might be perceived. They don't present a false self in order to appear more perfect, more powerful, or more independent. People who keep it real present themselves as they truly are, the good parts and the parts most of us would rather hide, sharing their full selves with the people who are lucky enough to know them.  Being real in this way is not an easy thing to do as we live in a culture that often shows us images of physical and material perfection. As a result, we all want to look younger, thinner, wealthier, and more successful. We are rewarded external...

October 11, 2016 Compulsive Apologies The Feeling Underneath by  Madisyn Taylor Apologizing chronically can be a sign that you are not feeling that you have much self worth. Many people suffer with the tendency to apologize all the time, chronically, for everything. On the one hand, apologizing is a social convention that keeps interactions between people polite, and in that way it can be very helpful. On the other hand, if we find ourselves apologizing for everything, it might be time to look at why we feel compelled to say “I’m sorry” so often. Ultimately, saying you’re sorry is saying that you are responsible for something that has gone wrong in the situation. Whether it’s negotiating a parking spot, moving through the aisles of the supermarket, or reaching for what you want, there are times when sorry is the right thing to say. But there are other times when “excuse me” is more accurate.  Sometimes saying you’re sorry is like saying that the other person in the equ...

Shifting from Fear to Love by  Gabrielle Bernstein "All shallow roots must be uprooted, because they are not deep enough to sustain you" - A Course in Miracles Love is where we all begin. When we are born all we know is love. Our ~ing is on! (If you haven’t read my book, Add More ~ing to Your Life, allow me to translate: ~ing is your inner guide, which is the voice of intuition, inspiration and love. Throughout this course I’ll refer to love, spirit and ~ing interchangeably.) At one time our thoughts are aligned with love and our minds are peaceful. Our loving mind believes that all people are equal and that we are part of something larger than ourselves. We believe that we are supported and connected to everything everywhere. We believe that only love is real. We believe in miracles. A Tiny Mad Idea  So we are born into love, and then pretty soon thereafter fear is introduced. We begin to pick up the fear around us and are led to deny love. One tiny mad idea can hijack...

Sitting with Our Sadness The Heart of Humanity by Madisyn Taylor Sitting with our sadness takes the courage to believe that we can bear the pain and we will come out the other side. The last thing most of us want to hear or think about when we are dealing with profound feelings of sadness is that deep learning can be found in this place. In the midst of our pain, we often feel picked on by life, or overwhelmed by the enormity of some loss, or simply too exhausted to try and examine the situation. We may feel far too disappointed and angry to look for anything resembling a bright side to our suffering. Still, somewhere in our hearts, we know that we will eventually emerge from the depths into the light of greater awareness. Remembering this truth, no matter how elusive it seems, can help. The other thing we often would rather not hear when we are dealing with intense sadness is that the only way out of it is through it. Sitting with our sadness takes the courage to believe that we can...

We are multidimensional beings and our earthly aspects are a very small part of who we are. Many of us are familiar with the experience of waking up to the fact that our lives are no longer working the way we have set them up. Sometimes this is due to a shift occurring inside ourselves over time, and sometimes it is part of the larger shift that is currently affecting all humanity. Change is happening at such an increased rate that it is difficult to predict what the future holds. As a result, many of the old ways of planning out a life are no longer applicable, and if we cling to them we feel strangely out of tune with reality. If we are in tune with the energies around us, we will begin to question ideas that just a few years ago seemed sensible. In the simplest terms, the shift we are undergoing right now has to do with recognizing ourselves as being more than human, remembering that our earthly aspects are a very small part of who we are. In truth, we are multidimensional being...

Change What Isn’t Working Steps To Freedom by   Madisyn Taylor If we don't change what isn't working in our lives, we will continually have the same day over and over again. We have all had the experience of realizing that something in our lives is not working. This knowledge can come as a sudden realization or a nagging feeling of doubt that grows stronger, waking us up to the fact that something needs to change. Some people have a tendency to act rashly and make sweeping changes before even understanding what the problem is. Other people fear change, so they live with the uncomfortable awareness that something needs to shift but won’t do anything about it. Between these two extreme responses lies a middle way that can help us powerfully and gracefully change what isn’t working in our lives. The first step is remembering that your life is made up of parts that belong to an interconnected whole. Changing one thing can change everything. Because of this, small changes o...

Wisdom Of The Owl Penetrating The Darkness by Madisyn Taylor Owls are patient messengers, bringers of information and the holders of wisdom and capable of seeing the unseen. For as long as humankind has recognized animals as teachers, wise men and women have recognized traits worthy of respect in both wild and domestic creatures. The cultural and spiritual significance of certain animals transcends geographical boundaries, unifying disparate peoples. Not so the majestic and mysterious owl, which has over many millennial served as the focal point of numerous contradictory beliefs. Though owls have been regarded with awe and fascination, they have also inadvertently served as agents of fear. Since owls are nocturnal, human-owl encounters tended to occur at night and likely when the bird was swooping silently down to earth to grapple with prey. Yet even as some shied away from the owl, calling it an agent of darkness, others recognized the depths of awareness in beautiful owl...

"Do not try to become anything." Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a mediator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. What you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing. -Ajahn Chah Meditation for the Day:  Sit in meditation and just be.

The Paradox of Spirit Language of the Soul by  Madisyn Taylor The self is not small or big but is both at the same time. Our spirit is like a drop in the ocean of spiritual energy. Each of us has a spiritual self that animates our bodies and infuses our thoughts and feelings. Our language is limited to the world we know for descriptions of something that perhaps cannot be fully comprehended by the human mind. Therefore, only metaphors approach the expressions that give us a true sense of our spiritual nature. The paradox lies in opposing concepts, all of which are true at the same time. And in harmonizing the opposites, we begin to know the wonders of the spirit. The self is not small or big but is both at the same time. Our spirit is like a drop in the ocean of spiritual energy. Although our spirit seems like a small, disconnected part of a larger whole, it is still made of the same things and can become part of the vast ocean once again. Our individual spirit seems t...

When external factors shift we have an opportunity to rediscover our core which is the only truly safe place to call home. There are times when our whole world seems to be falling apart around us, and we are not sure what to hold onto anymore. Sometimes our relationships crumble and sometimes it’s our physical environment. At other times, we can’t put our finger on it, but we feel as if all the walls have fallen down around us and we are standing with nothing to lean on, exposed and vulnerable. These are the times in our lives when we are given an opportunity to see where we have established our sense of identity, safety, and well-being. And while it is perfectly natural and part of our process to locate our sense of self in externals, any time those external factors shift, we have an opportunity to rediscover and move closer to our core, which is the only truly safe place to call home. The core of our being is not affected by the shifting winds of circumstance or subject to the cycles...

"A man must learn to understand the motives of human beings, their illusions, and their sufferings. — Albert Einstein "Be kind to yourself and others. Come from love every moment you can." — Deepak Chopra "Make finding the good in others a priority." — Zig Ziglar

by   Madisyn Taylor When anger has no outlet it can morph into resentment and carries the potential to cause great turmoil. Anger, when channeled into the pursuit of change, can be a useful tool in our emotional palette. Anger is experienced by most people, some more than others. It is when anger has no outlet and morphs into resentment that it carries with it the potential to cause great turmoil. Allowing us to assign blame for the pain we are feeling, thereby easing it, resentment tends to smolder relentlessly just below the surface of our awareness, eroding our peace of mind. The target of our resentment grows ever more wicked in our minds and we rue the day we first encountered them. But resentment is merely another hue on the emotional palette and therefore within the realm of our conscious control. We can choose to let go of our resentment and to move on with our lives, no matter how painful the event that incited it.  Hanging onto resentment in our hearts does not serve...

by   Madisyn Taylor When we affirm that we are fulfilled rather than deficient, we are asserting that contentment is a natural way of being. The creative power of the universe is infinite. A single molecule's destiny is as important as the consequences of the largest supernova. Human potential is subject to this power, but because we are sentient beings, each of us is permitted to choose whether we will struggle against it or work in tandem with it. When we give voice to our desires through focused meditation or solicit the help of spirit guides, we draw upon the universe's creative power to achieve certain ends. However, because our words are not all the universe hears, the response we receive may surprise us. The discourse we establish through our appeals is a blend of speech, thought, intention, and subconscious reflection. When we ask the universe for something, the unspoken message is that what we want does not exist, and the universe accepts this as truth. Conversely...

We forget how powerful our words are and when we make promises it is up to us to make sure we keep our words sacred. Ever since human beings could speak to one another, they have been making promises and keeping them or not keeping them. Those who keep their promises are regarded as people of integrity, while 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, leaving disappointment and distrust in our wake. On an even deeper level, there are promises we may have made to ourselves that we don’t remember because they have slipped into our unconscious. An early heartache may have been followed by a promise never to trust love again. Without realizing it, we may be fulfilling that promise and wondering why our love life looks so grim. At an even deeper level, many people w...

We all know about the importance of believing in yourself. But did you know that there is one aspect of this which is more important than anything else? That aspect is your mindset. There are two ways of thinking about talent and ability: 1) That it is somehow innate, that you are born with a talent, or not, and nothing you can do can change that. This is called a fixed mindset. 2) That you can develop any talent, if you work hard enough. This is called a growth mindset. Research shows that the most important element of success is believing that you can learn and improve. Working hard and being persistent are also important, but not as crucial as having that belief that you can change – a growth mindset. People with a fixed mindset respond more to information about what levels of performance they achieved, such as exam results. Those with a growth mindset respond to information about how they can improve. Why is it that some people seem to shine in any sphere in which they choo...

BY   #DAILYCUPOFYOGA   Silvia Mordini , E-RYT,  Happiness is a direct experience of enthusiasm. Remember, it is not how or when we accomplish something that matters most, it is the sense of enthusiasm during the process that demonstrates our quality of life. As Bo Bennett puts it, “Enthusiasm is not the same as just being excited. One gets excited about going on a roller coaster. One becomes enthusiastic about creating and building a roller coaster.” What are you enthusiastic about? If you wake up dreading the day, worried about the hours ahead and already wishing you could be done with it and back in bed, well, that’s just not cool. The first thing we reach for in the morning shouldn’t be our i-device or Droid; it should be  consciously choosing the most positive thought that stokes our energy to excel for the entire day . Since our conscious brain can only hold one thought at a time, this singular thought can inspire the quality of the rest of our day thr...

I am peaceful and calm. I always deserve love. I trust myself. I attract amazing people. I love and approve of myself. I am happy in my own skin. The past has no power over me anymore. I feel good about myself. I am open to receiving love. I attract loving, beautiful people into my life. I accept myself exactly as I am. I am grounded in acceptance. I am grateful. Others love me easily and joyfully. I am never alone. I express love freely. I create my life and no else makes it for me. I am a radiant being filled with light and love. I attract loving relationships into my life. I am healthy and strong. I turn my dreams into reality.