what would it feel like?

Ask and it shall be given. Seek and you will find.

Are you a dreamer...unrealistic...pollyanna...pie in the sky?  What would it feel like to have exactly what you wanted?  What would it feel like to have the house of your dreams, extra money in your pocket, your ideal health, your soulmate, a life that fits you?  And why do we settle for less?  What are we waiting for if it isn't now?  Why do we easily believe that life is a challenge and find it a challenge to believe that it could be easy?  Does this at all shape how we perceive our world?  Albert Einstein said one of the most important questions we have to answer in our lifetime is whether or not we believe this to be a friendly Universe. 

How is it for you? 

As a child, one thing I had looked forever for was a full conch shell on the beach.  Growing up on the Great Lakes, I always thought I would find one...never realizing that it was nearly impossible.  But dreams, even small ones can actualize...it may take time...you have to keep looking.  I found one just a short time ago in Bethany Beach, Delaware while walking with my friend, Susan.  She exclaimed, "See!  It took a hurricane, but you got your whole conch shell!"  It is a treasured item in my room...a reminder to stay focused on my dreams...keep searching for that treasure.  It is there for all of us every single day if we are willing to seek. 

What treasure are you seeking?

One of my favorite YouTube videos on this topic is here:

Abraham Hicks-What Would it Feel Like?



my world in 24 x 72 inches

Stories are the landscape of our lives. 
If the gods can commit acts of frailty,
then humans can have acts of the divine.

Alanna Kaivalya, teacher of yoga

 

This weekend I participated in a yoga seminar with Alanna Kaivalya...of course it was a weekend when I had about fifteen irons in the fire that I would schedule one more thing. 

 

It was absolutely life changing. 

 

It was tough to get there on a busy weekend...I felt moments when my core was being rubbed raw by my own frustrations and limiting thoughts...breathe through the pose...initially there were teardrops on my yoga mat because it was too much all at once. Moving through the postures (asanas) and the sacred teachings (sutras), I realized that despite all the searching and yearning to find the answers...all the time my truth has been within me. Freedom!  Profound! Exhausting! Enlightening!  What a joy to discover such gifts (presence) inside!  Here are some threads of wisdom to share with you...

 

Yoga is an mystical practice that teaches you to go internally and seek the eternal truths.

 

Every fear boils down to a fear of death.  Realize this is the way to release yourself into fearlessness.  There is a piece of us that will never die...it is our spirit or that which animates the body.

 

Suffering occurs in the mind.  Pain is inevitable. 
Suffering is optional.

 

Follow your bliss, go with what speaks to and inspires you
...this is what will free you.

 

What are the myths by which you are living?

 

What is it that inspires you, enlivens you
and connects you to your story?

 

Yoga does not look outside for solutions.  It goes inside where there can be a shift in perception where the problem becomes an opportunity...the revealer of possibilities.

 

Whatever I want to change in the world,
I can do it by changing one person...me.  -Byron Katie

 

The most valuable sources and resources come from within.  How about upgrading yourself to new thoughts instead of replaying those from the past or those of your worry?

 

The Source is in the heart...a little fire in the center or right side of the heart. 
It has been there all along and will not leave you. 
There is no need to go outside of ourselves because everything we need is within us.

 

Our best friends will be able to see without a doubt that we are capable of doing anything...
it is only when we believe in ourselves that we become the hero of our own story.

 

We are here to negotiate the relationships between heaven and earth--feet are on the earth, head is in heaven and the heart is where the negotiation happens.

 

Bad things happen in life...
this is the time to become the warrior.
A yogi explores both the light and the dark...
it is in the dark that we discover who we are.

 

You have to learn to lean into the sharp edges...like the yogi who lays on a bed of nails...by being fully there and balanced, there is no pain.  When we go into it gingerly,
we cannot do it and we feel the great pain.

 

When you do not bring forth the desire of your heart,
it will destroy you.

 

The stretching and bending in yoga tells you where you are tight and restricted in life as all the body has corresponding Chakras or energy centers which brings forth knowledge of our lives.

 

Yoga is the natural state.
There is no where to go, no where to be, and nothing to do. 
There is no graduation.
Yoga is the awareness of the present moment and
that all your power is NOW!

 

 Enlightenment happens for moments at a time and after awhile of practice it is always there.  But it is no big deal--you just finally realize who you are.  You still have to pay the bills and take out the trash.  It is becoming awesomely aware of everything and being okay with it.

 

Rip off all the layers, patterns, habits, guilts and judgments of yourself...
the more you peel off the easier yoga can come forth. 

 

Ignorance is believing that
we are anything other than divine.

 

We all have a thought train racing in our brain.  Yoga practice allows you to see the spaces in between the cargo, then to remove the cargo, and to slow down the train so you can see the world beyond your thoughts.

 

All animals are intrinsically afraid of fire and run away from it...it was when man ran toward the fire and harnessed it to make something useful that the world evolved.  Don't run away from the fear; go into the dark places...you will see who you are.  You cannot be destroyed. 
Matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

 

Breathe in even patterns and bring yourself to balance.

 

Enlightenment isn't pulling yourself away from the challenges of life...you just stop letting things bother you and by doing this, you attract that which you dream and desire.

 

Enlightenment isn't special or exclusive but about the way you address the things that happen to you.  Change the patterns of your thoughts and change your world.

 

When disturbed by disturbing thoughts, think the opposite. 
When the event is done, it is done. 
Stop thinking of it and be free!

 

The answer is already there for you when you
come with the question.

 

To know and not to do is really not yet to know.--Buddha

 

And my million dollar question...did any of the enlightened masters have children?  The answer was very few...so if you have children like me, there is our work and  there are our teachers!!  Like Alanna's dog Roxie, they will speak to keep us on the path! Namaste!!

P.S. 24 x 72 is the size of an average yoga mat!

how do you know it's time to move on?

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

Walt Disney, American creator of Mickey Mouse

I was sitting at one of my favorite coffee houses this morning getting geared up for the week, when I was visited by an acquaintance who asked--how do you know it is time to move on and go someplace else? 

 

For me, it was time to move when the call to return to the country was so intense, where I longed to see an unobstructed sunrise and sunset, have room to breathe and a house with space for the imagination.  We had been dipping a toe in the water for years, until one day it hit me like a ton of bricks...it was time to go, and I felt it to my core. Our house was ready because we had been maintaining it all along, and it sold immediately.  It was relatively easy. Buying our next home was a different story, but I discovered when the timing is right, things just slide into place.

 

With selling your house, you have to be ready to go and not "kind of want to go someplace else."  It won't work unless you are fully in and committed to the journey--in your mind can you see your new house? in your heart are you ready to let go of the attachment? and in your body are you ready to move your life?  Of course there is a bit of physical work to be done--have the house in good condition so that someone else would want to buy it.  But by being ready in a holistic way, you make the process so much easier on yourself.  

 

So if you are wishfully looking to move and aren't sure about when, start looking and listening for the signs within yourself that it is time to move on to your next adventure.  Then take a deep breath,  set your intention, take a leap of faith and give me a call! :)   Then start packing because it sets the right energy in your home that you are leaving.

a vision for a little house

The question is not what you look at,

but what you see.

Henry David Thoreau, one of my favorite American Authors

We have this cottage house listed on 250 Old Kennett Road just outside of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania that is surrounded by beautiful country estates...it is all potential.  Over the last several years, it has been neglected like Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House (one of my favorite childhood stories).  It would be easy to see what is on the surface and be afraid to take a chance.  However, this is a house that will love you for every little improvement you make upon it.  It is has been standing for over a 100 years and is not going anywhere.  With a bit of imagination and of course an investment of patience and some money will yield a great home.  I wish I could adopt all the homes such as this...for I see their charm, warmth and beauty just waiting for the right person to uncover it.  Want to take a tour?

lights are on but nobody's home

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas Alva Edison, American Inventor

Over the last months, I have been immersing myself in the works of great inventors and dreamers of the past 100 years.  Theirs are the tales of trial and error and looking for the opportunity in the present moment despite their circumstances.  Risk taking to reap the rewards, they were able to make great strides for humanity. We look back and say those were the "good old days" but I am convinced that we are in a similar time...when things are ready to change and advance...and yet we are focused on the pain of that growth. 

In my work as a Realtor, it is easy to get in step with the drumbeat of "it's a challenging market" but flipping that coin, I can get excited for my clients because it is a time of fabulous opportunity...interest rates are low, housing prices are low, and it is a great time to move.  "Well, that's fine and dandy if you don't have to sell your house" I am told.  However, look at it this way...we are all on sale and the house you want to buy is lower too.  Add to that the increased purchasing power resulting from low interest rates...the lightbulb should turn on.  So if you think big picture, and you know you would like to send your kids to college or have money invested for your future, purchasing a house makes incredible sense...buy low, rent it if you need, and sell later on when the market recovers.  This is just one idea, but imagine what else you could do by investing in the opportunity of today.  This could be the key to making your dreams come true.

Photo: Source