Tag: Healing

The Power in Being Soft

Taking the time to learn how to be gentle and patient with ourselves cultivates a space for nurturing, healing, and recovery in our daily lives, which also reflects in our relationships with others.

“Gentleness and kindness are like two peas in a pod, they work together unanimously.”

To be kind with ourselves, we must also learn how to be soft and gentle with ourselves, as well as patient, open-minded, and forgiving, which all coincides.

If we approach ourselves with the idea that there is something that has to be changed, that isn’t good enough, then we will remain there, exactly how we perceive ourselves to be in that moment, through that perspective, like a rigid structure, an image of ourselves locked in time, because that is all that we will be able to be, all that we will be able to see, and all that we would make ourselves believe that we are…

There is no changing the unchangeable, unless the unchangeable mustn’t be changed…

Seeing it as something that exists is holding onto the idea that it does. Loving and accepting it as it is is to realize that it was only love all along…

This is not to say that there are not things that we obviously want and intend to change, this is just to say that focusing on those things, through that lens, can harbor it as a limitation.

If there are things that we would like to see change, and to become transmuted into something new, then what does that change look like? What does that change feel like? Can we trust that this change is already coming, as long as we allow it to, and accept whatever is here now as it is?

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

– Lao Tzu

“However it is that we spend our days, we always end it with rest…”

To be soft is to be fluid, flexible, and free… Although being soft with others begins with being soft with ourselves, as they are one in the same, so long as we recognize this.

When we are rigid and hard, whether it be mentally, physically, or spiritually, it can only exist for so long before it returns back to softness. Softness is the source, but it needs tension in order to create. If there was no resistance, then there would be no-thing.

Although even then, the resistance is guided by a softness, guided by itself. Softness must inevitably resist itself in order to expand, in order to create, and even then, it is comfortable knowing that the resistance is only temporary, and will eventually return itself back to its natural order, back to its natural state. (The state of which it actually was all along…)

Even rigidity and hardness are actually no different than softness at its core… They are one in the same, only expressed differently. It is this multifaceted expression that allows softness to experience itself in duality. For a certain amount of time, softness can become hard and perceive and experience itself as another.

Although through time, many of us have unintentionally allowed ourselves to perceive this life experience as an “act” rather than an “experience“, forgetting our true origins. Thinking that we have to “be” and “live up to” these expectations and roles that don’t actually exist, only as we imagine them to be (which counts for a lot!).

This is an “act” when we deny ourselves, clinging onto the roles that we play out of familiarity and a fear of losing what is “known”, even if it’s losing our sense of identities that were embedded in the minds of others. This is an experience when we remember who we are, and recognize that even if there is no point, no purpose, and no “real other”, we have the ability to create anything that we choose.

We are all the Creators, and we can choose to believe that this bodily experience is an illusion, a façade, and a prison, or we can see that this human experience is a unique method of channeling our higher-selves, immersing oneself in a journey of deep exploration, and a blank canvass providing us with the ability to build and create beautiful art through time and space.

Infinity is not only “all that is“, but also “all that never was, all that still is not, and all that will never be”. Soaking in this concurrent concept of “all that is created was always here.” and “all that is here was never created and never was.”

Softness is a breeding ground for new things to emerge…

When we are soft, we can better foster nurturing, healing, and recovery. This where new things can grow. This cultivates a space within where anything is welcome to come through, without judgement and the need to control.

This is to realize then that anything that we would have been trying to control, would only be an effort to control ourselves, because we are the ones experiencing that emotion.

We can only be soft with another when we learn to be open and soft with ourselves, which is not always easy, but I believe is most definitely worth the challenge. Only then, when we have released all control, and all fear of losing who we thought we were, will we be able to be truly free, free from a version of ourselves that never actually existed…

United Being’s writing is not objective truth, but a fresh lens to consider perceiving the world through. There is no “right” or “wrong” way of interpreting this, and I encourage all of my readers to absorb the information that I provide here, and use it as a tool to be integrated into your own unique and individual perspective, as you continue to tread and honor your own path. All my love, and genuine best wishes to you all .❤️

The Healing is Already Done.

As we proceed on our healing journeys, we must not forget to acknowledge all of the healing that we’ve already done.

Embrace it, my love.

“It’s a part of the healing process…” I told myself.

With all the hurt I felt, my automatic response was to tell myself, “It will heal, it’s just a process.”

On this path, there was always something else to heal.

Which is not entirely false, although through this process, I found most of my energy being drawn towards the hurt rather than the healing itself.

“Healing” then became the mask that was worn by the “hurt“.

“This is healing.” became an excuse to focus on the hurt, which was painful, yet comforting in it’s familiarity.

“Yes this will heal, and look at what already has.“

While I was sitting in meditation one day, this dropped on my head.

“I am healing… I am healing… I am healing…”

“…wait… look at how much healing I have already done…”

An immediate shift in perspective.

Yes, I am healing, and I am also healed.

“I acknowledge this process, and I appreciate where I am now.“

Acknowledging this process, and allowing it to run it’s course, does not require constantly checking in on it.

It is the constant checking in on it that keeps it active. (The Quantum Zeno effect.)

This happens naturally, on it’s own time.

Rather than focusing on what was being healed, and telling myself, “This is healing,” I began to focus on, and appreciate, how much healing I had already done, as this healing process was still going to occur whether I checked in on it or not.

There will always be room for reflection, this is not meant to deny the hurt.

Rather, this encourages one to experience it fully, to accept it, and to come to terms with it.

When we avoid it, we trap ourselves in it, for the act of trying to escape from something enhances the illusion that there is something to escape from.

When we deny it, we shove it into our unconscious, our shadow, and it shall subtly reveal itself in other areas of our lives.

When we allow ourselves to rest in the center of our hurt, simply being, without fear, without fighting, and place our attention on the peace that resides within us, as a result of what has already healed, the peace that was once the same kind of hurt, we are choosing to see the glass as half full, which then attracts more positive experiences into our lives.

At the end of the day, we choose the lens through which we perceive all of our human experiences, we choose what we attract into our lives by choosing what we allow into our lives, and we decide the direction we go in on this journey, which is also the destination in and of itself. ❤

Using Social Media for Healing

Unfortunately, it is not difficult for anyone to see how divided our world currently is. We as a species have become so identified with our own individual views of “what is” against “what is not” that we have forgotten the underlying similarities that connect us all as human beings, we have forgotten how to unite, as a human race.

I personally have come to notice that one of the biggest (if not the biggest) influences that continuously encourages this division is that of Social Media. Not only do I believe Social Media is a method for fueling fires, but I would go as far as to say it is a crucial tool for starting them.

But, although I do consider this statement to be true, I also believe that these platforms have the potential to serve as a method for uniting people, and healing the divide.

Below I list some of the ways in which I believe this way of healing is possible:

(One of my greatest influences, Anita Moorjani, also elaborates upon this in her most recent YouTube video, Piercing Through The Veil. I love the way she explains this in her own words. It was very moving to listen to, and hearing this in her words was actually the reason I chose this topic for my post in the first place. You can click here for a link to her video, which I highly recommend listening to.)

1. Setting the Initial Intent

Usually, we as a collective tend to wander aimlessly on social media, without any thought. Whether it be to pass time, to remain updated on the status of friends, news, or loved ones, to share our own thoughts and perspectives, or simply out of habit, we usually do so unconsciously.

This is why I believe that it is important to be aware whenever we go on social media. When we are present when doing so, and aware of the emotions that arise within us as we scroll through post after post (in addition to why these emotions arise in the first place), we begin to wake up and see how much of it is actually connecting people, versus how much is bring people apart.

When we set the intention to only share and create messages that heal, we are then intentionally becoming an active participant in the collective healing process. To be a part of the healing process is to also know our role within it. To know whether we are contributing to that process, or contributing to the all-pervasive fire. We can’t put out the fire if we are one of those who are burning in it.

2. Oh No, Don’t Fall Into the Trap!

Social media is literally created to provide everyone only with the content that they know the user will want to see, only with content that is aligned with the users view. As Anita Moorjani touches upon in her video that I mentioned above, this also provides everyone with their own individual bubble to live in, their own individual realities.

Although we may all be connecting on the same platform, these platforms are feeding all of us different information based on our likes, dislikes, what we claim to be for, what we claim to be against, what we agree with, what we disagree with, and so on.

(If you’re interested in learning more about the facts and details behind all of this, I highly recommend the documentaries “The Social Dilemma” and “The Great Hack”.)

Basically, these social media corporations make a living off of us using their platforms to support our own perspectives, as well as us going against the views that do not align with our own. They benefit from hate, they benefit from division, but at the end of the day, they benefit from us. The real power is in our hands, we’re just too caught up in the game to notice.

3. Are You Spreading a Message of Love, or Fear?

As I have also mentioned in previous posts, we all have the choice of whether we want to bring healing or suffering into this world, and I believe that we as a collective have gone through more than enough suffering.

This is a crucial turning point for us as a collective, but the important thing to realize is that we, the people, are the ones who make up the collective. There would be no collective if it weren’t for us. Instead of falling into the patterns of merely spreading and relaying messages (to be frank, the messages that those in power want us to spread), I believe that it is time for all of us to step into our power and start creating new messages, messages that heal and unite us.

One of the mantras that I use most consistently is “choose love over fear, and you will never regret.” Even if we believe that our action, or non-action, has no impact, it always does. We as human beings often underestimate how much power we truly have to create change. Not only are we the people who initiate change, we literally are the change, we are the ones embody this change. We are the ones who face these hardships, now we are the ones who will end it, together.

All my love, thank you!

The Power of Gratitude

To live in a constant state of gratitude is to be content with all-that-is.

Only when we make peace with all-that-is are we able to rise above, or overcome all that we consider to be negative in our lives. The situations within our own personal lives that we consider to be negative are only negative because we choose to perceive our circumstances through that lens. When we create a shift and recognize the reasons to be grateful for all that we have, we then begin to realize that where we are is actually pretty good!

Give to receive. That is law.

Whatever we give is what we shall receive. Whether it be love, judgement, fear, or gratitude; Whatever goes around comes around.

The power of living in a state of gratitude typically tends to be pretty underestimated. I’ve found this aspect of my life to be so important now that the last thing I say before I go to sleep and the first thing I say as soon as I wake up in the morning is “Thank you.”

When we teach ourselves how to be thankful for all that we have, we also open ourselves up to allowing and receiving that same type of positive energy. If we only focus on the things that are “wrong” in our lives, then that focus will allow those types of experiences to continue. 

I know how easy it is to slip into the ego’s tendencies of complaining about all the things we claim to dislike in our lives. I know how easy it is to slip into thinking about how good our lives would be “If we just had…“, and I know how easy it is to slip into negative ways of thinking when things don’t go our way; But it is still our choice whether we want to focus on the positive or the negative.

It is, and always is, that simple of a decision.

Some ways that one can practice living in a constant state of gratitude are:

Starting a Gratitude Journal

This can vary from writing a list of at least 5 things you are grateful for every day, to keeping a journal dedicated to gratitude.

Saying “Thank You“

This can be saying “Thank you,” right before you go to sleep and as soon as you wake up in the morning, to simply becoming aware of saying “Thank you,” to people in general.

For Every Complaint, Find Gratitude

Every time you catch yourself focusing on complaints, become aware of at least one thing that you are thankful for. Make the shift.

 

These are just a few examples that work for me, but like always, the list can go on forever and it is important to follow whatever path works for you personally. All my love and best wishes, thank you.

 

The Art of Being

There is no trying, only doing.

The moment one “tries” to be a certain way is the moment they get lost in the process. 

The beauty of simply being is that one doesn’t have to try or do anything. This is what some would call, “going with the flow”. It is the art of intentionally transitioning into a state of allowing and acceptance.

When we try to act, or even think a certain way, we are also unconsciously establishing the implication that we have to do in order to be. But we are already complete as we are.

Although it is important to recognize that through this natural process, awareness is powerful. Being is not simply giving up and falling into a state of unconsciousness, in fact, when we are in a state of being we are becoming more aligned with our higher consciousness. When we allow things to flow naturally, it is important to do so with the presence of awareness so we also become conscious of the things that were once running behind the scenes as unconscious patterns.

So being is not simply a doing in order to gain a temporary sense of relief from our lives, it is a way of living. Once we begin to live life in this constant state of flow, it creates the shift into becoming our natural state. There is no more trying, there is no more “If I could just achieve this, I will finally be complete,” there just is, and that is a beautiful thing.

Practicing Unconditional Self-Love

When one begins to practice unconditionally loving them self, they are also nurturing a positive relationship between their mind, their body, and their being.

Unconditional love is not something that can be obtained, or a goal that is to be reached. Unconditional love is something that we as human-beings are constantly learning how to practice and cultivate within our own lives. 

So many of us often create limitations for ourselves by reinforcing self-constructed negative belief-systems, like patterns of self-doubt and self-judgement. In my personal experience, it feels much better to work towards letting go of such a mentality, and to give yourself a break.

One thing I have learned is the importance of making myself aware of the fact that it is okay to make mistakes, as long as I am able to perceive these mistakes as a lesson to learn from instead of a grievance with the power to hold me back from growing.

Instead of holding such high exceptions for ourselves, as if we’re not human-beings with imperfections, we should work towards being more compassionate and understanding towards ourselves, as we can then more genuinely express compassion and understanding towards others.

It is not selfish to prioritize yourself; if anything, once one practices loving them self unconditionally, they can then radiate that love to others,  and share it with whomever they decide to share it with.

You are already complete as you are, you don’t need any external validation to determine your self-worth, and that is truth. ♥

Patience, forgiveness, nourishment, making peace with being alone, a nice warm bath; self-love takes many forms, but at the end of the day, it simply comes down to what works best for one personally, based on their own personal life-experiences.

Trust in whatever feels right for you, and everything else will begin to fall into place.

Supported Headstand (Salamba Sirsasana)

IN THIS POSE: Gravity is working to increase blood flow throughout the body as well as draining the lymphatic system. This pose also helps to strengthen the core and triceps.

Parts of the body to focus on as you practice this pose: 

  • Neck – While doing this pose you want to make sure to not apply pressure to your neck, you should not be feeling any pain or tension. This is where the support from the hands and arms comes in; cup your hands around the back of your head for support, keeping your forearms resting firmly on the ground. Your weight should mainly be resting on your arms; at no point should the weight of your body be resting on your neck or spine, as this can result in pain or injury.
  • Triceps – In this pose, the triceps are mainly used to stabilize oneself, and as a means of control as you transition from the ground into the air. Along with the core, the triceps are also used to maintain balance and prevent oneself from falling backwards.
  • Core – The core is very much at work in this pose, the stronger your core is the easier it will be to stay balanced while in the air.
  • Spine – The spine is what controls the alignment in this pose. When the spine is kept vertically aligned, it will prevent one from falling while in the air.
  • Hamstrings and Glutes – The hamstrings and glutes are also at work when one is transitioning from the ground into the air. They are also at work when one is adjusting their legs in order to become in alignment with the spine as a means of balance.

The goal is to eventually be able to lift yourself up into this pose without jumping, by walking your legs up towards your torso and extending them up slowly.

If you are just starting out, it would be helpful to place a pillow or something soft on the ground behind you as you lift yourself up into this pose as a precaution in case you fall backwards.

It would also help to have someone else present to assist in lifting you up, and to be there to hold your legs in the air in case you lose your balance.

It is okay to jump off of the ground in order to extend your legs into the air, but it would be beneficial to work towards walking your legs up towards your torso and slowly lifting them up into a bent position before extension, as well as bringing them down slowly when coming out of the pose instead of allowing them to drop down abruptly.

Don’t forget to breathe and release tension through each step.

It is important though to not push oneself too far, as this can result in an injury such as compression. Only ever go as far as is comfortable for you, you should not feel any pain when doing these poses.  

And as always, try not to make perfection the enemy of progress.

Breaking the Karmic Chain of Action and Reaction

UB Karmic Chain

The ongoing cycle of suffering and violence can never be broken with more suffering and violence.

It is no surprise that violence brings nothing but suffering into this world; whether it be through war and abuse of power, or violence within our own homes. My mom always used to tell me, “hurt people hurt people,” a line which has stuck with me to this day.

When someone hurts us, our immediate reaction is usually to hurt the other person back in defense (although really one is just defending a mental construct that they identify with within their own mind, but that’s besides the point). This relates closely to the principle of the Law of Retaliation, or “an eye for an eye.” But like Mahatma Gandhi said, “an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”

Now this is not to say that we should take violence from others, but rather learn how to become nonreactive towards it. When we come from a place of non-reactivity, from a place of inner peace, we then hold the power to break the cycle of violence and suffering instead of contributing to it.  We then become the impact for positive change just by living in that state of mind.

If we all came from a place of peace and love, to promote progress instead of the “us” versus “them” mentality, we could achieve great things in this world, beautiful things. If we focused on building and bringing each other up instead of attacking and pulling each other down, so much unnecessary suffering could be avoided, and there would be no limit to the things that we could create in this world, as well as the experiences we could  create in our own lives.

So from the words of Yoko Ono and John Lennon, “All we are saying is give peace a chance.” (click here to view the video)

Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)

During these chaotic and unpredictable times occurring in our world right now, it would be beneficial for anyone to have some kind of practice or routine to ground oneself, instead of allowing oneself to gravitate towards and feed into fear and negativity.

Every individual has the power to make a difference in this world simply by living from a state of higher consciousness, and being a conduit for peace, love, and positivity for all of humanity. We all have the choice of whether we want to bring healing or suffering into this world, but in order to radiate positive, loving, and healing energy towards others, we must first love and heal ourselves.

Yoga is a simple and efficient grounding technique that has been around for ages.

I do a series of simple stretches every night before I go to sleep to ground and align myself, and because it helps me to release any tension being held in my physical body.  One of my favorite poses that I do every night is Standing Forward Bend, as well as West Stretch Pose (or what some would call Seated Forward Bend) which has made doing a full Standing Forward Bend much easier for me.

STRETCHES: Hamstrings, Spine, Calves, and Glutes

WEST STRETCH POSE (Paschimottanasana): West Stretch Pose is basically the same pose as Standing Forward Bend, except one is sitting down, so gravity is not the main focus as it is in Standing Forward Bend. Practicing this pose every night will help to stretch out one’s hamstrings and glutes, which can often be a tight area for most people. Stretching these areas will also help to make it easier and work towards doing a full Standing Forward Bend.

STANDING FORWARD BEND: Like most poses, Standing Forward Bend has variations so anyone can practice this pose and receive the benefits. With daily practice, one can eventually master doing a full Standing Forward Bend, which is not always an easy pose to do for people who are just starting out.

But mastering a pose is not the goal here, the goal is to feel good and take care of one’s body. Mastering of poses is just something that you obtain through the process.

In Standing Forward Bend, gravity is doing most of the work; lengthening and releasing tension in one’s neck and spine while simultaneously stretching the glutes, calves, and hamstrings. Although you probably most often see people in this pose with their hands on the ground or pressed against the calves with their legs straightened, there are also variations where the legs are bent, or where one just allows their head, torso, and arms to hang down while  extending their spine and keeping their legs straight.

Continue reading Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)