|
Join us for Vision Boarding 1/11!
What a year it's been! So many ups and downs, twists and turns, happen during our annual story – which really begins on your birthday, but we collectively turn of course a new year every year at this time. So what will you do to start a fresh slate? What is your 2023 word? What goals are on your heart for this year? If you're still unclear in your vision, join us for a fun workshop on January 11th and create a Vision Board with us to anchor your goals into the 3rd Dimension so you can launch them into the 5th! This isn't just your normal run-of-the-mill workshop where we gather, talk, and maybe do an activity or two. This will be a get-your-hand-sticky kind of workshop, and we've already started posting preparations here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1964728060564478 One of those preparations is your 200 goals brain dump! Start now to be fully unloaded by the workshop, and listen to our short training on this in the Facebook group's feed. Join us if live on January 11th, or watch the recording in the group! If this sounds like a hoot, share it with friends, and invite your family to do this fun activity with you! The more accountability buddies you can have during the year, holding space for your big dreams and goals, the better! Here's to a New Me in 2023! P.S., if one of your goals is getting your physical health on track, join us for our first Shred10 of the year! Learn more here: www.shred10.com and then schedule a free session with me to unpack what that looks like for you!
0 Comments
The gift of staying centered in the NOW.
Last week I recapped my cruise to Jamaica, but one of the most recurring conversations we had was around staying present in the now moment. The yoga teacher, Nadine, who was our guru on the cruise with us (check her out, she's JAAHHHmazing – @universalempress / www.universalempress.com) really brought this home for me while in Warrior Two pose. If we are leaning too far forward, we are grasping at the future, if we are leaning too far backward, we are holding on to something in the past. If we are centered, and present, we can live fully in the NOW. Wayne Dyer also talks about the Present Moment and Now reality quite a bit. There is only NOW. Now. Now. Now. Now. The future is a construct, and the past is gone. Stay centered in the now, and receive all the gifts of today's reality. Here. And Now. He also calls this "Getting in the Gap," the gap between thoughts, the gap between breaths, the gap between the chaos. If you focus on the gap, you'll be focused on the now. To add to that, here are five tools I use to stay present: 1. Focus on your own mat In yoga, this means don't compare yourself to others. Just stay focused on what you're doing, and the right things will fall into place. The minute we focus elsewhere, we lose our balance, wobble, maybe even fall. Keep your eyes on your own mat, and stay present. 2. Flip the script You know I use this in every instance I can! So of course it's valuable here as well – the minute I catch myself worrying about how something is going to fall into place, working out the details on something I can't control, or ruminating on the past with regret or what if, I remind myself to flip the script, find the value in it, let it go, have gratitude, and bring the joy back to the present. 3. Gratitude Gratitude keeps you present. By focusing on what you're grateful for, you can be present on the here and now. Having a practice of gratitude every morning to start your day reminds your heart and mind to stay present with yourself and the gifts all around you that life has given you. 4. Grounding I use many techniques for grounding – from yoga to crystals to earthing, it doesn't matter what technique it is, so long as it roots you into the present moment. When I'm feeling uncentered by the pace of life, I find that walking barefoot on the earth and feeling her solid presence beneath my feet is what brings me back to my body the best. 5. Breathwork Just like with grounding, Breathwork is a practice that is both simple and effective. Bringing your awareness back to the constant of your breath, in and out, in and out, expanding it, counting it, witnessing it, always always makes the rest of the world melt away, leaving only the here and now. Be present this holiday season, for yourself. There is only NOW. Musings from the Jamrock Reggae Cruise. . . Hellooo my sweet one! I'm fresh off JamRock Reggae Cruise and feeling the love – so much love! Without a doubt, the best thing about reggae music is the focus on love – universal love, acceptance, peace, equality and unity. It doesn't matter who's singing it – it's all about the love. Baking in 5 days of that love and kindness brought me back to center, and to a peaceful place of existence – a slower pace, a gentler presence with myself, and a renewal of connection to an old version of myself I had forgotten about. The little rasta from Oregon, and how does she fit into my latest reality? I'm still processing that, but it feels like a golden nugget of awareness for certain – I think she's here to remind me to let go and let God (Jah). So many synchronicities on this cruise – as always with life, but perhaps more so than usual because we had to disconnect from the matrix out at sea—no cell service, and we opted out of the wifi package. This disconnect gave me time to breathe, practice my yoga, eat good food, and rock out to the reggae. The first and most powerful synchronicity we experienced was on day one, exploring the top deck, not even out of the port yet, and up rolls a couple that the husband is in a wheelchair. Turns out they're from Belgium, and have so many similarities with us. They invited us to their excursion to Bob Marley's home when we docked in Ocho Rios and we wound up sticking with them all cruise. I ALWAYS trust this kind of connection, knowing it will always lead me somewhere magical. Because after all, we are all connected, and with love and good intentions at the center of it, there's always a reason. My favorite souvenir is this t-shirt, reminding me that no matter what name you use for source energy, it all comes down to love and connection. If you're not familiar with reggae, give my Harper's Mix a whirl. It's recreated from a mixtape that my dreadlocked rasta friend Harper made for me in Oregon, with a few additions of my own. If the music doesn't move you, maybe the words will. Jah! Rastafari!  12 synchronous values we can all
live by. . . As you know by now, we've packed up our life in Colorado and moved to Tennessee to start an intentional permaculture community and education center on 40 acres that we've named "Shambhala." Some days it's harder than others for many reasons... we've had to be patient, meet new people, try new things, solve problems, reevaluate, pivot, and breathe. In those hard days, I am grateful I have the 12 Insights of the Celestine Prophesy to support me, but I have also gone back to the 12 Principles of Permaculture to see if I can apply these to whatever I'm going through, too. Because I'm starting to see, they are (OMG) very synchronously similar. Permaculture was originated in Australia in the 1980s and the concept comes from the combination of two words: Permanens – to persist through time in everything we do, and Culture – an activity that supports humans. Permaculture was birthed at the intersection of Ecology, Agriculture, and Landscape Design, and LIFE is in the center triangle of the three. These 12 Principles that the co-originator of the concept of Permaculture, David Holmgren, designed to unpack the movement itself. And I've found, they can be applied to everything we do.
I was first introduced to these concepts 30+ years ago, and when I worked for the Sustainability Council or took one or two-day workshops with Permy experts, I was reminded of the principles, but I hadn't actually started applying them into my life. This summer I have been steeping in them, and taking them into every one of my senses like an aromatic tea, and what I've taken away from this re-introduction and re-pairing with a long-slumbering version of myself is this: Be slow and deliberate, don't jump to conclusions, have patience for the process and release expectations, make sure everything has a purpose and a practicality – multi-function is best; be a better listener than speaker, and appreciate the value of even the most seemingly insignificant. This entry would be another 10 pages long if I unpacked all that sufficiently, but suffice it to say, we're just at the very beginning of our journey with Shambhala. The concept stems from the 11th Insight of the Celestine Prophesy, and we have a long way to go before it looks anything like that "mythical" community in the mountains of Nepal, but we know we're on the right path because all signs are guiding us there. Permaculture and synchronicity are one in the same, and that just gives me goosebumps. |
Andy KennedyThese are samples of our emails and podcasts – and you can subscribe to both! Subscribe to our podcasts at this RSS or search "Innerself Lightworks" in your podcast platform to find us!
Join our email list to get these weekly conversations and free content lists delivered right to your inbox! Catalog
December 2023
Categories
All
|
Andy Kennedy CO
RSS Feed
