You Have the Power to Choose

When I was 12 years old, I had a bone marrow disease in my left arm. The night before a possible amputation, my father sat by my side and took me through a guided visualization of an army of little soldiers marching into the infection. With picks and shovels, they cleaned it out, and one by one, we watched as they marched the infection out of my body. Except for my left arm being a few inches shorter, it is now in perfect health.

I didn’t remember this story until many years later. I was in a yoga class with my teacher John Friend. One of his assistants kept coming over to me while I was in downward dog and kept trying to adjust my shoulder. In frustration, I plopped on my mat, asking myself “What is it? Why can’t I pull my shoulder back?” I didn’t really expect an answer, but it came to my mind loud and clear: “Your left arm is shorter.” The whole story came back to me and I jumped up with excitement, rushing to John to tell him my left arm was shorter and that was why I couldn’t do the position the way he had been trying to get me to do it. He looked at me and said, “It isn’t likely unless you had some trauma to your arm.” Excitedly, I said, “I did, I did! When I was 12 I had a bone infection.” He said, “OK, use a block under your hand.”

In that moment, it was like so many pieces of my past made sense. I remembered being 12 years old and so much of what my father had taught me about the power of our thinking. I realized that one of the most challenging times had been not only my greatest teacher, but the foundation of the creation of intenSati, the workout I developed that combines positive affirmations and movement so we can exercise our power to choose what we think, say and do. It also reminded me to remember that the guidance from within me is always there, and asking my higher Self for the answer is a practice I could develop.

We have the power to choose what we think, say, and do and the perspective we choose is what will determine our actions and our experience. Training ourselves to choose to look for what is right about our past and our present, and to intend a future that is getting better in every way is our right. Few people develop this ability and, therefore, many walk around in a state of fear, worry and doubt instead of gratitude and appreciation for what was, what is and what will be. The choice is ours every single day and in this way we are always co-creating our reality. As above so is below, this is what I now know.

Affirmative prayer is praying believing it is already done. IntenSati is practice of affirmative prayer. When we add motion to the affirmations, we add emotion, and emotion creates change. We become it, we breathe life into it and we call it forth. Every thought is a prayer and worrying is praying for what we don’t want. It’s our faith that determines the outcome – worrying is preparing for failure; positively affirming is preparing for success. We are blessed with the power to choose. What will you choose today?

Every day in every way
I co-create my reality

As above so is below
This is what I know

Today I choose to see
What is right about me

When I ask it is given
What I believe I receive

I am preparing for success
I am available for guidance
I have the power to choose
What I think, eat and do

Where fear has blocked me
Love now surrounds me
Everything is right about me.
And so it is!

Join me in choosing to believe that we are always right where we need to be. No mistakes have been made, none can be made and none will be made. It’s all happening for our benefit.

Life is good! Go in peace to love and serve the world, and eat your veggies! Owning your power is sexy!

Wearing Your Intention: How To Choose Mala Beads

By Diana Charabin

Years ago when I first heard of Kris Carr, I wondered how could cancer be sexy? I understood the crazy part but I was yet to understand how Kris could take something with such an opposite connotation, “cancer,” (just saying it makes me feel a punch in the stomach) and turn it into inspiration and hope.

I have had a similar experience with mala beads. For those of you who don’t know, mala beads are meditation garlands that have been worn for thousands of years in traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism, yoga and meditation.

From the moment I first laid my eyes on mala beads I was extraordinarily drawn to their uniqueness and energy. It was an unexplainable attraction. I also noticed in watching a few of Kris’ videos that she frequently wears mala beads!

Mala beads are traditionally used for japa meditation – reciting a positive affirmation or mantra along each bead to come into a more calming, connected and spiritual state.

When I started making mala beads I wanted to take the tradition of these esoteric beads and make them accessible and “sexy.” I wanted to link mala beads to setting an intention. Because I am very interested in the healing qualities of crystals we fused mala beads with healing crystals that each have their own energy and intention. There are crystals for love, strength, prosperity, healing, break-ups, focusing, letting go, spirituality, grounding, protection and so on.

Choosing an intention is only half of the process. It is just as important to choose a mala that you are visually and aesthetically drawn to. The things we find beautiful are just as important in our healing as what they are meant for – whether it is art, a beautiful beach or a set of mala beads.

One common blockage I have seen people struggle with when choosing mala beads or in general is figuring out what their dream or intention should be.

Ask yourself :

What do I want?

If you cannot answer this, ask yourself: What do I not want?

This is a good starting point. There are so many ways to get clear on this: yoga, meditation, goal setting and vision boarding.

Or perhaps your intention is to start making clear decisions – that is a good place to start as well.

There is something powerful about wearing your intention. It makes your goal tangible at every moment of the day. Every time you look at your mala or feel it, you are reminded to stay on your chosen path. Distractions that are coming at you from all directions are averted when you have a physical object to touch and gently be taken back. I often hold my mala beads during a conversation or gaze at them in front of my mat during yoga and they remind me why I am here.

Along with being prayer beads, malas are worry beads. People who wear them often touch, rub or hold them. They are a constant reminder that you are not alone, that you are powerful, complete and that everything is possible.

Here are several factors that you should be mindful of when choosing mala beads:

Beauty:

Things that you are attracted to are integral in your healing whether it is a beautiful landscape, a cute animal or a gorgeous mala. Surrounding yourself with beautiful and uplifting things is powerful.

Color:

What is your favourite colour? What colour of clothing do you wear often. You want to choose a mala that you will use and wear often so choose something that you can see being a staple.

Shape:

Find a mala with a shape that you connect with. Ever heard of sacred geometry? Choose something that you are drawn to.

Intention:

What do you want to create in your life? What are you working on? What do you want? What are you struggling with. Ask yourself these questions and see if they guide to what you want to create as your intention.

Energy

Every crystal we use in our mala beads as its own individual energy. Make sure that this energy aligns with your intention! A lot of malas will assist everyone on some level – see if you can find something that you connect with individually.

Intuition:

What was the first mala you were orginally drawn to? – This is most likely the perfect mala for you!

Choosing a mala is a combination of all of these factors – most importantly follow your intuition and follow your heart.

Diana Charabin is a fearless entrepreneur, adventurer and yogi who is passionate about living. She founded Tiny Devotions, a hip, fresh and inspired jewelry company that creates designer mala beads.

15 Tips for Public Speaking

Photo Credit: Anastasia Photography

By Danielle LaPorte

1. Gratitude is always the best place to begin.
Any and every gig is an honour. Thank the host, and thank the audience for the possible mountains they moved to show up and listen to you.

2. Being prepared is an act of love. And intelligence.
Even if you can improv with the best of them, do a complete run through in advance, and a written key points list of your talk. I like to do a verbal run through in the tub the day before (the tub is my second office, really,) and I do a key points list the morning of the event.

3. Lead with your best stuff.
Make an entrance. Put forth your Big Point right away. Start with your best story, your funniest joke, your guiding theory. Don’t make them wait to see you shine. Grab ‘em from the get-go.

4. Know who you’re talking to.
A co-presenter and I gave a talk to a group of underprivileged single moms. My co-presenter talked about shopping at Tiffany’s and Saks. They turned on us. It was ugly. Along this same line…

5. Research your audience.
Guy Kawasaki is great at this. At a presentation in Vancouver last year, he sported a Vancouver Canucks jersey, made some good jokes about the event organizers, and told some personal stories that related to the organization’s mission.

6. Actively respect your audience.
A playwright friend of mine commented on an actor’s performance: “You could tell she didn’t like the character that she was playing. And you’ve always got to find something to love about who you’re playing to make it real.” Same goes for your audience. You won’t always be presenting or pitching to your tribe, to people you “like”—find the common ground and put your love there.

7. Never, ever admit to fatigue.
I heard a very popular author open his talk, to a packed theatre, with “I’m quite tired, I’ve been on the road for a few days.” Instant downer. It made us feel guilty for keeping him up past his bedtime, or ticked that we spent $50 to hear a jet-lagged psychologist. I’ve done gigs on two hours of sleep, in the middle of a professional tragedy, stoned on Sinutab. You get up there and you SMILE, no matter what. You can collapse when you get off stage.

8. Stay in the lead as long as you’re on stage.
A few weeks ago I was speaking to a ballroom of university business students at The Four Seasons Hotel. As I was leaving the stage, a woman at the back of the room raised her hand. I’d just handed back my mic, but I gestured to take her question. She proceeded to tell me that I was dressed like a slob and not setting a good example to the students about personal branding. Not kidding. (And I looked HOT, BTW.) You could have heard a pin drop. Heckled! First time for everything.

“And how have you come to be here tonight?” I asked her. I figured she sneaked in. She mumbled something about being a mentor, and then she made a dash for the door, carrying her various tattered shopping bags. “Well,” I said to the stunned audience. “Now you have an example of what elegant is and what elegant isn’t. And that’s branding.” I didn’t exhale until I got in my car.

9. Plan your finish.
Wrapping up can be the hardest part of a talk because you’ve either used up all of your good stuff, you’ve gone over time, or you have space to fill. Hold on to your closing gold nugget so you can leave on a high note either way.

10. Believe that people are rooting for you.
It’s vastly true that every single person watching and listening to you wants you to be amazing. They want a great experience. No one likes to see someone bomb. They really do want you to win.

11. Go easy on the apologies.
This is a tricky one, because elegance is the numero uno concerno. But things like, “Sorry to keep you waiting,” “My apologies for the technical snafu,” can create more snags in your fabric. Sometimes, most of the time, it’s better to just keep going. An ice skater doesn’t apologize for slipping. She keeps skating, distracting you with the next great move.

12. Dress up.
When you’re on stage being well dressed says, “I cared about you enough to polish it up.” Sunday best.

13. Affirm, pray, focus, ommm.
Whether it’s a staff meeting you’re leading or a concerto performance, a short pre-show ritual pulls your energy into your center. Before I take the stage I say this quickie prayer, “Help us shine.” That’s it. That covers me, the audience, and the world in one fell swoop.

14. Ask questions.
Frame your stories into questions and you’ve created a conversation.

15. Know how you want to feel when you’re done your presentation.
Ultimately, you can’t really control what the audience does and if try to, you’re likely to fumble. I’ve had what I thought were hilarious stories that didn’t get so much as a giggle. And I’ve had low-engagement audiences that swarmed me after I got off stage. You just don’t know.

What you can aim for is how you want to feel. And when you anchor into that feeling, your energy gathers a momentum and you get into the magical flow. When I leave the auditorium, I want to feel like I connected, like I was divinely feminine, and innovative–on my personal edge. And if I did my best to be those things, than I can sleep well, even if I forgot to say thank you, or I tripped over a speaker, or got heckled by a bag lady.

PS…
All-important style tips:

Ladies:
: Wear a good bra. You know, 80% of women are wearing the wrong fit of bra, right? Well, when that happens on stage, it’s tragic. While we’re on the topic…
: Tits up. You heard me. Lift your girls up and your entire posture changes.
: False eyelashes. Don’t be afraid of them. When you’re being photographed, the small touch of glam can give you just the right amount of voom voom.
: Always have a back up outfit.
: High heels are a must. Because, it’s not how you feel, it’s how you tower.

Gentlemen:
: Shave. A 5 o’clock shadow looks great when you roll over in the morning, but in the spotlight or on camera, you do not look suave, you look like a bum. Or like George Michael in 1991.
: The pants. It’s all about excellent fitting pants. Get a tailor.

Danielle LaPorte is the creator of WhiteHotTruth.com, which has been called “the best place on-line for kick-ass spirituality.” A former think tank exec, news show commentator, motivational speaker, and lead author of Style Statement, she has been featured in Elle, Vogue, Entertainment Tonight, and the Huffington Post. Her latest online book is The Fire Starter Sessions: A Digital Experience for Entrepreneurs.

Part 2: Seven Tips to a Blissful Birth

Photo credit: Timothi Graham

If you are pregnant or want to support someone who is please take these 7 tips to a blissful birth journey and add them to your arsenal. Remember to practice what you preach and that will make you even more effective in assisting the mother-to-be.

Ways to Support the pregnant goddess:

1. Holding sacred space- a woman must feel safe in order to give birth, if the conditions are such that she is anxious or afraid, the labor will be stalled. This is often the case in hospital settings where the medical providers do not allow time, space, and ancestral ritual journey in birth to take place. If you are hooked up to monitors and getting poked and prodded under florescent light in a cool and sterile room every 5 minutes, it’s not likely you would feel safe. Create a setting whether you are birthing at home, in the birth center, or in a hospital where the mother can relax and feel safe and carry out her birth ritual.

Ways to create sacred space include: lighting candles, burning incense, playing soothing slow music, run a warm bath, chanting, kissing your partner, putting a sign on the door- knock before entering.

2. Encourage Sound- we spend so much of our lives focused on being quiet, in school, in church, at work, in transit. We are constantly being told to shut up. When are we ever given permission to make noise- during sex and birth. It is every important for a pregnant woman to make sounds to connect with what is happening in her pelvic bowl. Sound amplifies sensation and really helps during labor. The hardwiring for our mouth and throat is directly connected to our pelvic floor and sacred passageway (birth canal). When you open and relax the muscles in the mouth and throat and make low and deep bellowing sounds, you also relax the muscles of the pelvic floor and make birth easier for both mom and baby. Conversely, if mommy tightens her jaws, scrunches up her face and closes her throat, the pelvic floor muscles will follow. Sound is a gift so use it.

Ways to incorporate sound include: taking deep breaths and sighing long on the exhale, deep Ahhh sounds, Oohhh sounds, the birth sound- Om can be chanted as well.

3. Practice Deep Breathing- your breath is an amazing bridge between the conscious and unconscious because the respiratory system is both voluntary and involuntary. You don’t have to remind yourself to breathe, it just happens. But when we are mindful of our breathing we can tap into an energy in the unconscious realm. What ever state you are in, your breath will follow. If you are anxious your breath will be quick and shallow, if you are calm and relaxed your breath will be long deep. You can also breathe to encourage different states. If you want the breath to take you to a relaxed state you can start breathing long deep full breaths and it will send signals to the brain to calming you down. This is so helpful for birthing women because the deep breath along with the sound enhances the trance state during labor. Women can not journey into their labor in a Beta brain wave state, or regular consciousness. They must enter an altered state of consciousness for the cascade of hormones to descend and the primal state to turn on.

Ways to incorporate deep breathing include- bringing soothing familiar scents into the room and taking long slow deep full inhales through the nose and exhaling through the mouth(as it releases some of the internal heat energy)

4. Get Moving- Staying in a static position is a sure way to slow down the labor process. Moving around during labor is primal. Its part of how we manage the intense surges of energy in the body. Finding ways to move the body to promote comfort and and opening is key during labor. All of those prenatal yoga hip opening exercises, spinal flexions, rolls. Movement not only encourages the baby to move down it feels good for mommy too. Walking and hip swaying are especially helpful as women create more wiggle room in their pelvis and squatting increases the pelvic opening by 30%, which doesn’t sound like a lot but when you are pushing out a baby, it’s tremendous.

Helpful ways to get moving include: slow dancing, walking, hip rolls, cat/cow, squatting, showering,

5. Practice Visualization Exercises- Visualization exercises are a part of every major spiritual practice as a tool to support entry into an altered state. I mentioned that women can not give birth in a normal state of consciousness- when thinking about their dry cleaning, their phone bill, or whether or not they look fat, etc. This sort of jumpy linear thinking is our brain operating on beta waves and when we are in that state we are not producing the cocktail of hormones that we need to progress in labor. The mundane has to be transcended for a mother to begin the ancestral ritual journey that takes her into her birth trance. This also includes fear. Fearful thoughts will shut labor down, so powerful visualizations are key. The shift from Beta waves to Alpha waves where the mother enters an altered state is much like when we enter into meditation, or a good daydream, that’s the place where labor begins and from there the brain waves can lead to deeper altered states. Why this is important to know is because there is so much distraction around women these days no matter where they are birthing. Having a set of tools to transcend the mundane and the fear will help labor progress naturally.

Tools for visualization exercises- practice envisioning the baby moving down the birth canal at each contraction, find a few symbols that can help anchor you into the space ie, lotus blossoms, the ocean, candle light

6. Offer TLC through Touch- Touch transmits feeling and intention. If you can place loving hands on a woman and also know when to not touch her it is a huge asset. At certain stages of labor touch is very helpful. Caressing while sharing calming and affirmative words of support are very helpful at certain stages of labor. Be observant and see what the moment calls for: foot rub, sacral massage, caressing the forehead, etc. Our emotional energy field will transmit what we are experiencing onto others. Pregnant women are so sensitive in labor and can pick up on any frenetic, or ungrounded energy around them. Make sure to calm yourself and be prepared to learn and serve.

7. Practice Affirmations- Courage is feeling the fear and rising to the occasion anyway. When we encourage with loving words we help others move beyond fear, inspire them to keep the faith, and keep on moving. Affirmations are positive phrases. Speak in this love language of encouragement to help support the mommy-to-be.

Some affirmations include: Your body is wise and can birth your baby. You are beautiful and strong.

Health Challenges: Ten Tips for Happiness

By Maria Mooney

Over the past five years, my illness evolution has unfolded exactly the way it was meant to unfold, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the process, admittedly becoming impatient at times. My diagnosis of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD/CRPS) has been my greatest gift, my teacher, and my master, bringing me closer to my core self, others, and a higher power. I received the message loud and clear in the form of incessant, burning, widespread neurological pain, but I am on the road to health and healing with the help of a spiritual counselor, who can be likened to a therapist, psychic/intuitive, and best friend all wrapped into one. She guides me on my spiritual journey by accessing my spirit guides and creating an individualized plan just for me.

I am often asked how I “do it”—how do I achieve happiness with what should be a debilitating illness while pursuing a Master’s degree, nurturing fulfilling relationships, and believing I am healing from an “incurable disease?” It has taken five years of self-reflection—breaking down my old, limiting belief systems and replacing them with new, life-affirming principles—to get me where I am today. As a result, I want to share with you my “Ten Tips for Happiness.” I hope you enjoy them!

1. Be Grateful: Being grateful for the abundance in your life and focusing on the positives can raise your vibrational energy, which always aids in healing. ALWAYS being positive can create a shallowness in relationships with others and yourself. Instead, honor your feelings of sadness and frustration when they arise, and then remember to move on. You receive what you focus on, so focus on healing rather than pain, disease, frustration, etc.

2. Set Healthy Goals: Setting healthy goals can aid in feelings of self-confidence and self-worth when an illness threatens the very core of who you know yourself to be. You don’t have to be in a Master’s program to achieve a goal. Learn how to draw, speak a new language, write some poetry, etc. These goals are all just as, if not more, important and offer distractions, especially if you are in pain.

3. Change Your Mindset: Learn to view your illness or any setback as an opportunity for growth and personal development. See what society has taught us are negatives and view them as positives by finding the lessons. Fighting your illness suggests that it is separate from you and is your adversary; healing cannot take place when you are waging a war against your own body. Relax into the discomfort and find the lessons. They are there! TRUST ME!

4. Go Inward: In our materialistic, dualistic, ego-centered society, we are taught that if a problem arises, look OUTSIDE for the cause. Did someone’s negative attitude make me sick? Is my environment toxic? Is my food polluted? Are my genes flawed? We are so quick to attribute the cause of our suffering to some outside phenomenon, but in many cases, the cause and cure for our ills—personal and social—can be found inside of us. Start looking!

5. Be in Mindful Awe: With the hustle and bustle of today’s world, we tend to forget to stop and smell the proverbial and real roses. Take a moment to allow yourself to be in awe of the wonders of the world and that divine intelligence that helps those ordinary miracles unfold. Be mindful of the present moment, because the past is over and the future doesn’t exist. Accept where and who you are in this moment and enjoy the process of life.

6. Be a Child: Look at any small child before society has forced its belief systems upon him/her. The child, if from a loving family, does not have a care in the world and only lives for the pleasures of the present moment. The child does not need to control every single detail of his/her life, does not judge, desires to spread love, and always has FUN. You will not sacrifice your maturity by taking some notes from a child.

7. Let Go of Ego: You know ego—that little voice inside of you that judges (you and others), fears the unknown, is attached to the material world, and desires to control every little detail. The first step to overcoming your ego mind is to become aware of its presence, so listen closely as you go through your day. Once you recognize it, you are more likely to let it go. Replacing the negative chatter of the ego mind with positive, life-affirming thoughts will help raise your vibrational frequency and heal your body.

8. Listen to Intuition and Others: *Let me preface this by affirming my love for each and every one of you.* We don’t have all the answers. If we did, we would be healed already. Put your ego aside and listen to the teachings of those who are wise in their fields. If you tap into your intuition, which is the voice of God, you will know the right direction to go. Have faith that your intuition will guide you.

9. REST: Over its development, our society has decided that if you aren’t constantly achieving in the specific ways that society deems admirable, you aren’t a worthwhile human being. This is not true! Rebel! Decide to take care of yourself, to go outside of the box and REST. Find that balance between work and play; if you don’t, your body will force you to stop, whether or not you are prepared.

10. Read: I have found that reading self-help/spiritual/alternative medicine books has been a great supplement to my past and present therapeutic experiences. While you read, take what concepts appeal to you and integrate them into your belief system. I have read approximately thirty books outside of the texts necessary for my Master’s program in the last year, and they have been an integral piece of my healing. The same books that appeal to me may not appeal to you, so explore a little.

Maria is a 25 year old, raw vegan graduate student living with a progressive neurological disease, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD/CRPS). Follow along as Maria reflects on lessons learned through her health challenges, shares her experiences with alternative and traditional treatments, enjoys life to its fullest, and heals herself at her blog!