"If a strong emotion suddenly lights all the candles we carry inside ourselves, it creates a brightness that shines far beyond our normal vision and then a splendid tunnel appears that shows us the way that we forgot when we were born and call us to recover our lost divine origin. The soul longs to return to the place it came from, leaving the body lifeless" ~Like Water for Chocolate

Confused...

Santorum drops out, and Facebook's purchase of Instagram is still the top story?

14 Things to Give Up

Give up your need to always be right. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer.

Give up your need for control. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are.

Give up on blame. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility

Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.

Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do. Spread your wings and fly!

Give up complaining. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

Give up the luxury of criticism. We are all different, yet we are all the same.

Give up your need to impress others. When you embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.

Give up your resistance to change. Change is good.

Give up labels. Minds only work when open.

Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it.

Give up the past. Be present in everything you do. Life is a journey not a destination.

Give up attachment. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (attachment comes from a place of fear, while love is pure, kind, and self less) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. A state beyond words.

Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Don’t ignore your inner voice, that inner calling. Don’t forget what makes you happy, what you want, what you need. You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it.

Spring Equinox

In yoga studios across the world, tomorrow is a special day. The spring equinox represents a change in seasons, and in the yoga world is celebrated by doing 108 Sun Salutations.

Typically this ritual is performed 4 times a year, with the start of each season, to acknowledge the changing world around us.

The 108 Sun Salutation practice is named Mala, representing the 108 mala prayer beads used in meditation.

There are many reasons for the Hindu and Buddhist belief in the sacredness of the number 108.

• There were initially 54 sounds in the Sanskrit alphabet: 2 X 54 = 108
• There are 108 Upanishads, which are part of the oldest scriptural textsof Hinduism. They primarily focus on philosophy, meditation, and the nature of God.
• There are 108 names for Hindu deities.
• The distance between the earth and sun is 108 times the diameter of the sun, therefore, the number 108 is taken to represent the "distance" from the devotee to the divine.
• Some say there are 108 feelings: 36 related to the past, 36 related to the present, and 36 related to the future.
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Doing 108 Sun Salutations is a way of breaking out of the darkness that accumulated from the long winter. It's a way of "spring cleaning" your body and mind, and is used as an offering to Peace and Unity.

Just a Wednesday

I've been a bit lazy with my blog this semester. Don't give up on me yet, only 2 weeks until spring break!

The music department, ever so kindly, has decided to have itself evaluated next week. This means that a bunch of men in suits will be dropping in and out of our classes and any given moment to make sure they're actually teaching us something (ha, what a joke). The repercussions of this, however, means that all my midterms have been moved to this week, with no notice what-so-freaking-ever! Just so you don't think I'm slacking for no good reason.

If you're really dying for something, read this, and then turn off your phone.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/silence-your-phone/

Valentine's Day

Here's the card I made for all the loves of my life today. Complete with the following lovely pick up lines:

I'm glad you recognize how terrible your life would be without me.

Your body is a wonderland, and I want to be Alice.

Let's make like fabric softener and snuggle.

I can't believe how much I'm not sick of you.

If you were a booger, I'd pick you first.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mini-Resolution

Make Something Monday (crafts or projects)

Time to Read Tuesday (weekly trip to the library)

What's Cooking Wednesday (baking or cooking)

Be Thoughtful Thursday (write letters, make cookies, do a service)

Somewhere Fun Friday (get out of the dorms!)

Day #1's project was putting together this shelf. I did it all by myself, without even looking at the directions! (my father would be proud)

It's currently holding my knitting and the books for my Politics of Food Literature class.