Tips and Tricks of Journaling

I have been considering the importance of keeping a journal and after much contemplation have decided to journal again. Many questions come up for me when I think about the significance of journaling such as, “What is the difference between a diary and journal? Should I write in blue ink or colour? What kind of a journal should I buy? Leather bound, spirals etc? Should I type or handwrite? Should I draw pictures or write words?

After some research, here is what I discovered:

~ You journal how you want to journal – words, pictures, magazine cut outs, drawing etc. It is your personal legacy. Do what makes you happy.

~ Having sections in your journal could be handy. Some recommended sections are: Gratitude, Thoughts, Ideas, “Before I Kick the Bucket” list, Action Items, Future Plan, Past/Present/Future.

~ There could be many purposes for writing a journal: free flow thoughts, idea generation, emotional support (anger, guilt etc.), business related topics, reflections on books that you are reading, life lessons, etc.

~ Higher recommendations for writing a journal verses typing one for the personal touch yet typing is faster and easily searchable.

~ Here is an interesting article that I found very helpful: http://www.ryanwhiteside.com/how-to-write-a-journal.html.

~ You can also purchase journaling software’s on line such as http://writers.lifejournal.com/index.php?src=gendocs&link=Tour&category=LifeJournal.

~ Go with leather bound if you plan leaving it for many years to come otherwise a simple coil book will do the trick.

~ The hardest part is getting started. Perhaps start with a basic question – How am I feeling today or what am I thinking today?

 I will keep you posted as continue my journaling journey! Wish me a Bon Voyage!

Religion vs. Spirituality

Last night, I was contemplating why I have drifted so far from religion since journeying towards spirituality. The question that came up again and again was, “Do I really need to be a part of a religion if I am comfortable and at peace within myself in my spiritual journey?” I realized I need to fully understand my motivators for both religion and spirituality before I could come to any cognitive summary of my thoughts! There must be a place where they cross paths!

My motivators for being a part of Religion are:

1. Feeling a sense of belonging to something larger than myself

2. The comfort of knowing there is community support if in devastation or trauma

3. Having some foundational guidelines to live my life by

4. Legacy teachings that have been passed down many generations

My motivators for being a part of Spirituality are:

1. Discovery of who I am as a person and what my purpose is

2. Finding contentment within myself to celebrate my gifts that I bring to the world

3. Understanding what my intentions are and then articulating them in an authentic way

4. Exploration of various means of finding self through various spiritual mediums

After amalgamating my “ah ha!” moments, my overall thought was, “Wow... very different motivators for both!”

~ Spirituality is more about self and how I will represent myself in the world and Religion gives me the sense of belonging to something larger than myself

~ Spirituality is creating definition of what it looks like for me and Religion provides me with some guidelines to reflect on (one is creation and one is following)

~ The two are very critical components to who I am as a whole being

Eyes are a Window to the Soul

In conversation, a friend once said, “Your eyes are a window to the soul”. So, of course I have continued to think about this statement as I have heard it many times before. I keep looking into people’s eyes and I think they are getting a bit uncomfortable to be honest! lol...just joking.  Seriously, I have been in search of what this statement means. Is this why when we are sad, happy, or angry it is difficult to look someone that you love in the eye?

I met someone today that I can truly say; her eyes were the evidence of her soul integrity. I understood a little about what the above meant. Her name is Heather White. She is the most charismatic, full of energy, and business savvy person I have met so far. She breathes life into our business and I walked away today for the first time not feeling like I was being taken advantage of. She truly and genuinely wanted to help support our show! 

So, as the meeting started, she pulled out a few graph pieces of paper and asked me to tell her what I do. As I continued to speak, she continued to make patterns and associations to business opportunities and the graph paper became alive in front of us. I walked in with my current reality and left with a future plan and feeling rejuvenated with hope and faith! Who can do that in one hour! Okay, okay, maybe a life coach, but really!  Oh, did I mention her gift of being able to talk someone through what she was doing at the same time! I was not only giving her information but she was training me as well! Like seriously, who does that?! Talk about working through the lens of abundance!

So, what did my “take out box” contain from our meeting:

·         When you are working in a place of passion and core essence, information just flows and you make pattern associations objectively and quickly

·         Leave certain work to the pros - don’t try to be all things for your business. Do what you do best and allow others to do what they do best!

·         I left feeling uplifted and with hope that there are ways to live your passion and make it financially lucrative

Isn’t it intriguing why certain people come into your life at certain times and sometimes at a very pivotal time in your life when you need to make some tough decisions? Just when I was feeling like I was being buried alive with “to do” lists....pops...Heather White!  The first person I can attach to the above soul statement.

Well, Universe, you certainly are sending me the right people and for this, I am thankful.

Answer to the Ultimate Question (A Birthday Blog)

As my birthday celebrations and well wishes stroll in, they remind me of the wonderful people (family and friends) that surround me and why I feel this immense gratitude towards the universe. As I begin a new chapter of my life, I woke up this morning and asked myself, “Who am I?”

The answer was simple, “You are a single voice that expresses the curiosity of many.”

Hhmmm… A single voice that expresses the curiosity of many? I was so very interested in this answer to myself because it no longer started with, “I am a mother, wife, daughter, worker etc.” Am I finally making head way on my question of who am I? I hope so because it feels like a new beginning. I am reminded of a question I asked of my Masterji “what are your views on Death? And his response “I die every day because each day after is a new beginning” Tulshi Sen.

Now I understand his response.

This answer today gave me a sense of identity and a sense that I am much more than just a relationship but rather have a larger purpose as well. In a weird sense of a way, I feel reborn. There is a new path for me this year, a path less traveled and probably not exactly easy but I am ready for the world. I am ready to continue asking myself who am I and listening for the answer that comes from my heart.

Tonight I will write what my ideal day would look like that would keep me at contentment and peace. From this day on, I will strive to make each ideal day a reality.

Yearly "Spiritual Journey Words"

As many of you know, every year I select one word that I concentrate on understanding each year. I look at the book definition and then as I go through life that year, I think about the relevance of that word. For the last five years the words have been mortality, forgiveness, gratitude, resilience, happiness. This year it is contentment. Funny enough, each year as I search for the meaning of the word for myself, it stimulates the word for next year as it seems to come up again and again in my journey. For example contentment came up a lot in my search for the definition of happiness.

This year as I discover what contentment means to me, the word peace has come many times. So, it looks I am heading towards peace for next year.

So, you ask what I have learned so far about contentment:

· Contentment for me must be internal. No one holds the power to make me content other than myself.

· No external wealth or fame can make me content. I must accept my flaws and learn to utilize them as my strengths.

· It means being at peace with myself.

· Contentment is very different from happiness. Happiness comes and goes just like sadness and yet contentment is the foundation that allows us to be happy or sad.

· I have to make day to day choices to ensure I am content. Sometimes that means making choices that may not be financial lucrative (At times, I have not accepted contracts because I know that they will not leave me at peace or content)