yOu wERE BORN 2 BE U . . .

I think I probably have a lot of philosopher in me, and I have to admit that the kids in my 8th grade English classes have heard my thoughts about life for years (sorry, . . . I'll send you all Jolly Ranchers! . . . just leave your contact information in the comments below ;) . . .). 

Here are some of my favorite philosophies: 

You are born in this world to . . .

• enjoy yourself, love yourself, and laugh loud and hard (especially at yourself--and your dear old English teacher, Ms. Curry . . . remember the fake teeth & poo?!) . . .
• give yourself permission to use your voice and express your feelings--both good and bad--. . .
• be kind and generous--there is plenty of everything to go around and around and around and around . . .
• make mistakes and learn from them, and continue to love yourself and others, despite your flaws . . .
• live a life of gratitude--for the good stuff and the challenging stuff 
• be in charge of yourself--this includes your happiness! . . .
• be fully and greatly yourself (and not cheap imitations of other people) . . .
• find your passions and use your gifts to serve others . . .

If you were in my class and you can think of any others, leave a comment below!!!! Or, if you have any personal philosophies, please share them!

mILes of hUgS and sMiLes!
;) me 

I Don't Mind (my mind . . .)

Click on the Image Above for a Cool Meditation

Mindful Meditation

Yesterday I shared how much power I give over to my mind. Sometimes I wake up at night and I am racing and racing in my head (or am I dreaming? . . ). It almost feels like my head is all that exists, or like I don't have a body. I know that I am NOT my mind, so why does logic and thought try to take over all the time? It's all so three-dimensional.

I know we are outgrowing this paradigm, which is probably why my mind is, well, hitting me over the head right now. Like, OVER, and OVER, and OVER. I have to somehow let it go.

Meditation helps me stay in the present, and I was listening to a podcast last week about staying at the top of the breath in meditation--even when we are exhaling. 

Guru Singh wrote a blog about staying present by staying present in our breath. Read the link below, and listen to the meditations while you are reading:

Guru Singh: Happy New Year Message

Guru Sing Meditations

Happy meditating and breathing!

Dana

wHo is yoUr trUe seLF?

"Prayer to Heaven(s) on Earth"

Baker Park

hEy ALL! HappY SUNDAY! 

So, after living from the OUT:SIDE IN for a good part of my life, I personally enJOY spending time with mE, now. While I used to be sOsOSoSoSoso scared of being aL(one), now I long to BE, & BE quiet, and listen for what makes mE, mE! Some daily practices that help me get centered in mE are mEditating, BEing out IN nAtUrE, prayINg, and writINg in my joUrnal.  

RAther than jump out of bed into the shower every morning in  a huge rush, I try to lie in bed and breathe, and look to my day with gratitude in advance for the amazing experiences and opportunities the You-niverse has created FOR me! 

I love the meditations from the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, and here's one about listening to and getting to know your true Self (it's kind of groWnUp, but try it if you want...it's amazing sTuFf!). 

"In this week’s meditation, we’ll begin cultivating the inner stillness and silence that allows us to tune into the voice of our true self or soul. While our ego-mind’s dialogue tends to be laden with self-judgment, anxiety, or limiting beliefs, our true self speaks in the language in the language of love, peace, acceptance, possibility, and joy. The meditation is led by Kyla Stinnett, a certified Primordial Sound Meditation instructor, and the Communications Editor for the Chopra Center for Wellbeing."

Chopra Center True Self Meditation

In this meditation, Kyla talks about listening to your true self: ". . . when you listen to its quiet wisdom, you will be led to the fulfillment of your highest purpose and deepest, heartfelt desires."

What is your deepest heartfelt desire? Mine is really simple: to love and belove(d). That's it!
How about you? What is calling you? Are you listening?  

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Love and more love!

;) dana

sPeAk uR tRuTh . . .

Right now I'm rereading MIND OVER MEDICINE by Lissa Rankin, M.D. While I'm not quite done yet, I haven't been able to put it down since I came to the desert. The main message I'm getting from the book so far is that I have the power to heal myself, which I've always known, but we humans tend to forget what we know from time to time, so we need to be nudged or shaken (or encouraged) back into consciousness. (Note: this does not mean traditional medicine is out the door by any means).

Let's just say I've had some big information coming in from the Universe lately that has reminded me to WAKE UP! The way we can heal ourselves is very (NOT) simple: It's by listening to our bodies, choosing our thoughts wisely, speaking our truth, and feeling our feelings. For those of you who follow my blog, you've probably read before that I have been struggling off and on in my life with my thoughts, or my self-talk.

This process of interacting and mastering my monkey-mind has been a lifelong journey, but this I know (from so many sources): Meditation is a great practice for calming your mind.

And that's just what I'm going to do now. Here's an amazing mindfulness meditation to try today:

Check it out and leave a comment to share your experience!

Huggies,

Dana

i lOvE to CoLoR...

hellO fUn & fReE fOo's (jK!)

(super secret information . . .): Have you ever noticed that gRoWnUpS LoOoooove to color with kids? I think I have an idea why. When we color, we are completely present and concentrating on . . . (wait for it . . . wait for it . . . YOU GUESSED IT!) COLORING! 

Have you ever heard of a mandala? It's a Sanskrit word that basically means "circle." Tibetan monks use the meditative practice of creating mandalas out of sand for creating inner peace and for representing unity, and the changing nature of life: here's a quick look at this beautiful art. 

I took a class about meditation once, and I sat in a circle with eleven women. We each "meditated" by coloring a mandala, and for each shape or space, we were supposed to think about something or someone we were thankful or grateful for, and concentrate on that as we colored. It kind of made me focus in the moment and on coloring. It took a long time, and then we shared our colored mandalas. It was pretty cool and they were beautifully awesome. You can find mandala coloring pages on the internet: Mandala Coloring Pages for Kids.

Here is a mandala that my family did together last night! I guarantee that by the time you complete a mandala, you have a nice sense of calm and quiet pEaCe (beware, however . . . you may get a bit stressed if you are a pErFeCtIoniSt and you [OMG] . . . go outside the lines . . . more about perfeCtioniSm to follow . . . ) 

Anyway, hope some of these ideas are cool for you! 

Have a beautiful day; and I DARE you to COLOR 

OUTside the lines! . . . 

LOL ;)

Dana

i heArT U!

"If I create from the heart, nearly everything works;

if from the head, almost nothing." 

- Marc Chagall

gOOd moRning aLL!

You probably already know if you follow my blog that sometimes I get very stuck up in my head (like, as in the night before the first day of school when I couldn't  sleep!). 

One of my bffs has told me over and over: "Don't overthink it." In other words, I should stop thinking so much and follow my gut and my heart.

Which makes me wonder why I tend to overthink so much and why I get stuck up in my brain so often.

Didn't I ever really learn to trust my heart and my gut? I mean, I get that it's really never too late to learn, but jeeeesh! 

Some things, I suppose, take a lifetime of practice . . . and, at least I realize that I do this now. A few years ago, I was usually trapped in my head and I didn't even realize I was a prisoner of my own thoughts sometimes. I guess that's progress, huh?

Meditation really helps me calm my thoughts and focus on my breath--which can almost always bring me back to the PRESENT MOMENT,-- out of my worries about the future and yucky instant replays of my past.

Eckhart Tolle wrote an amazing book called The Power of Now that I listen to on my iPod. He basically tells us that we are not our thoughts and we are not our mind--we are so much greater. And he gives strategies for freeing ourselves of our negative beliefs and thought patterns. And what we need to do is stand beside out thoughts and observe them (without judgement), and not necessarily believe them . . . but just notice them, and then let them go. Kind of like sitting on the side of a river watching the current of the water flow by. Ahhhhhh . . . I feel calmer already! 

Here is a super juicy heart chakra meditation to try. It's only a few minutes--and the benefits are amazing!

I totally know that my most important journey these days is finding the path from my head to my heart. Maybe I will introduce them to each other and we can all have a lovely chat!

I hEaRt U, yO!

Dana bo bayna

aBoUt cOcOOnS . . .

A Time for Everything
	To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
	a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
	a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
	a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
	a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
	a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
	a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
	a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.                                                                                  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 Good Day FreeFunSeekers! AbouT cocoons . . . I personally, like to spend time by myself a lot--out in nature, reading, writing, journaling, and even praying and meditating. Some peeps in my life are bugged by this, and have asked me "WHAT'S WRONG?" when I have wanted quiet time or solitude, or just dAnA time. Like, it sometimes seemed like I should be doing what others wanted me to do . . . when I just wanted to BE (ME) with ME! Personally, I think DOing is totally OVERrated! I am a hu(wo)man BEing, not a hu(wo)man DOing . . . and so aRe yoU! So I've been talking about tImE a lot, and tImInG--it could be around anything! people changing, letting go of stuff like behaviors or relationships that don't work AT ALL! Or, it could also be bringing IN new habits, people, or rituals into our lives--like, for example, exercise, new friends, or even reading or writing in  a journal every day! Sometimes, other people expect us to be on their timelines . . . which can be annoying if we know it's not right for us. We can be pressured into stuff we aren't ready for, and then be mad or do things half-heartedly 'cuz we aren't listening to our hearts and guts! Here is an amazing meditation to try, if Ur open! Transformation Meditation I don't know about you, but I love life! and I love learning! It's a YearNing! We are all in the process of BE-coming our BEst selves! It's all go(o)D, yo! Hearts!  ;) dana

CoLoR OUT(side) the LiNeS!

hellO fUn & fReE fOo's (jK!)

(more super secret information . . .): 

Have you ever noticed that gRoWnUpS LoOooOove to color with kids? I think I have an idea why. When we color, we are completely present and concentrating on . . . (wait for it . . . wait for it . . . YOU GUESSED IT!) COLORING! 

Have you ever heard of a mandala? It's a Sanskrit word that basically means "circle." Tibetan monks use the meditative practice of creating mandalas out of sand for creating inner peace and for representing unity, and the changing nature of life: here's a quick look at this beautiful art. 

I took a class about meditation once, and I sat in a circle with eleven women. We each "meditated" by coloring a mandala, and for each shape or space, we were supposed to think about something or someone we were thankful or grateful for, and concentrate on that as we colored. It kind of made me focus in the moment and on coloring. It took a long time, and then we shared our colored mandalas. It was pretty cool and they were beautifully awesome. You can find mandala coloring pages on the internet: Mandala Coloring Pages for Kids.

Here is a mandala that my family did together last night! I guarantee that by the time you complete a mandala, you have a nice sense of calm and quiet pEaCe (beware, however . . . you may get a bit stressed if you are a pErFeCtIoniSt and you [OMG] . . . go outside the lines . . . more about perfeCtioniSm to follow . . . ) 

Anyway, hope some of these ideas are cool for you! 

Have a beautiful day; and I DARE you to COLOR 

OUTside the lines! . . . 

LOL ;)

Dana

pEaCe iN !

hAPpY mOnDaY ffpps!

The last few days have been talking a lot about peAce, and how to calm ourselves  and become present enough to get quiet and clear . . . so we can JuSt Be . . . 

So we can get quiet and get present in a lot of ways . . . I think I've described meditating (here's another short meditation if you liked the earlier bubble one: it's a turtle meditation about getting quiet within yourself . . . like a turtle goes into it's shell!:)  

Sometimes, going inside (like a turtle) is so necessary . . . either to protect yourself  from people or situations with gross, icky energy; just to check in with yourself to refuel and get your "stuff" back together; to calm down, or to just rest. Isn't it nice to know that you can do this FOR YOURSELF whenever you want? Whew! and YAY!

I totally believe in breathing deeply, laughing, doing your passion, and spending time with children and pets! There are many ways to experience peace (and it ain't outSIDe of yOu!); PEACE is an INside job! 

Sometimes going out into nature is the best remedy for finding peace; when I want peace, I can go for a walk, look a the trees, smell the flowers, and feel the wind. Check out these amazing images from nature and super meaningful words.

Take a few minutes today to find a little piece of peace . . . 

Have an amazing, fun-filled day (and liFe!)...

pEaCe iN!

;) dana

gOt pEaCe? . . . (cont'd)

"To experience peace does not mean that 

your life is always

blissful. 

It means that you
are capable

of tapping into a blissful state of mind 

amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life."

~J.B. Taylor

Hey ffpps!

Here's a cool mantra by Snatam Kaur called Ong Namo; you can listen to it while you read my blog today, if you want! 

Hope your week was amazing! So about the whole peace thing . . . I can remember when I was a kid constantly waiting for stuff on the outside (like, for example, how mean kids were, parents fighting, too much homework, girl drama, etc. . . . the list goes on forever!!!! . . . or does it? . . .) to quiet down or get easier SO THAT I COULD START TO FEEL BETTER.

Yikes . . . I was doing a lot of waiting, and stuff usually didn't settle down for long until 

BAM!

Stuff got crazy again, and then I felt like crap, again . . .

The problem with living like this is that it's really exhausting for a lot of reasons, but here's a few off the top of my head:

One, I was constantly waiting to feel better . . . to find peace.

Two, I was depending on stuff on the outside (instead of my insides) for my happiness . . . and GUESS WHAT? I can't control what happens on the outside . . .

Three, during the times when I actually felt okay, I knew it wasn't going to last, so I worried about when the drama would happen again that would make me feel worse!

TO SUMMARIZE (and this is the crazy circle): When I felt okay, I was waiting to feel un-okay again, and when I felt not-okay, I was waiting to feel okay again. . . sounds pretty dumb, huh?

I was not in the moment, not present, not enjoying the NOW (remember when I blogged about being present, like with animals or kids? . . .). 

I was in the waiting space . . . waiting . . . and waiting . . .

Top Secret Information: If you are in the now, worry, and waiting, and tImE all drop away . . . and you are left with the 

raw experience in front of you . . . the NOW.

Today, I challenge you to make

s...............p..............a...............c...............e...............

for the present. 

Go to your place of peace, or I invite you to click on the quiet place:

  

Shhhhhh . . . tHe qUiEt pLaCe

Hope you all have a beautiful day!

Love and pEaCe . . .

;) dana

gOt bReaTh? jUsT bReAtHe . . .

Dear Ones;

As I was picking up my son from school yesterday, I glanced ahead of me and saw this bumper sticker and took a picture of it. It reminded me of another one I saw last year in Wisconsin while I was on a run. Remember this?

A couple of days ago, I blogged about PEACE, and how signs of peace seem to be showing up for me constantly lately. It reminds me that peace always has to begin with me as an inner state, and it's up to me to have ritual and routine in my life so I can maintain or return to a state of peace when needed rather than react to life. 

It's like I want to respond with intention (choice & power . . . yay!) instead of recklessly reacting (no choice and no power . . . boo!) In other words, . . . it's living from the INSIDE:OUT.  

I've noticed that there are some practices that can almost instantly help me find a state of peace; one is just returning my attention to the very thing that gives me life: my breath! 

Which brings me to my very first:

YoGa LoVebOmb!

A yogic practice for calming and cooling is sitali pranayam, or sitali breath. To practice, curl the tongue and stick it out of the mouth, like a little tube. Inhale slowly and deeply over the tube tongue, and exhale out the nose. If you can't curl your tongue, inhale slowly and deeply through the circle-shaped mouth.

  

Practice 3--31 minutes for relaxation, calm, and soothing. 

Loads of YoGa LovE,

Dana

Be yOu . . . & leT oTherS, tOO!

Hey funfreeMe LoVe(ly) PpS!

So if we want others to accept us for all of our crap and hUman-ness (not a word, but oh well . . . ) that means that we should pay it forward and allow everyone to be free to be (the best version of) themselves, and not necessarily what WE want them to be. Which means, a couple of different things:

• we can't expect others to change for us
• we can (maybe) accept others for who they are (even if we don't care for them or them personally)

So, maybe--- we can trust that everyone and everything is exactly as it should be . . .(including ourselves, which is kind of hard to believe, especially when things get tough and we feel like we and others totally suck the big one!).

In my blog from last summer, I was writing that sunflowers and roses are meant to be sunflowers and roses---they aren't supposed to be anything else. . . . which leads me to the question: Why do we sometimes think people should be anything different than who they are?

Takes me back to TrUsT in something biGGer and GREATER than what we know! . . .  (and trust is hard, . . . cuz alot of times, we only believe in what we can see, touch, smell, taste, etc...).

So, be gr8ful for all-
hearts!
Dana

wOrdS to LivE by . . .

Go(o)d dAy, aMaZiNg yOU!

Have you thought a little bit about your mantras? You may have even written them down! When I was teaching 8th grade last year, we were talking about cool sayings that have been passed down in our families. SO many of my students told awesome and amazing stories about where they had first heard their special words to live by.

First, I showed them this amazing 

SoulPancake (OprahWinfreyNetwork)

video called Big Think:

Check it out!

Then, I had each of my kids write down a mantra or special saying that speaks to their heart

or that they try to live by.

Here's what it ended up looking like by the end of the day!

Here's a couple of close ups . . . 

By the end of the day, look at what we had--over 200 !! 

Even teachers came to add their special sayings to our board!

Some words to live by from my fAbuliscious 8th grade kiddos!

• Chocolate makes you happy!
• Everyone smiles in the same language.
• Be the person you want to be.
• Freedom is not free.
• Let your wings soar to the sky!
• Be yourself; don’t change for anyone. 
• Live life strong, or when you are old you will regret it.
• Breathe!
• Choose the life you want to live.
• The only responsibility you have is to be the fullest expression of yourself.
• Immature love is I love you cause I need you; mature love is I love you cause I love you.
• Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, be a trail. If you can't be the sun, be a star. For it is not by size you win or fail; be the best at whatever you are.
• Yesterday was the past, tomorrow is the future, today is a gift--that’s why they call it the present.
• Keep calm and carry on.
• There are 7 billion people in the world why are you letting one ruin your life?
• Working hard is smart in the end.
• Pick flowers instead of fights!

Do you have a favorite inspiring phrase? Would love to hear it below in our comments!

So mUcH LoVe!

;) dana