Category: Uncategorized

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

Are you, perfectly Imperfect too?

April 30, 2019 emyminzel

I write a great deal about life lessons, self-improvement, personal and spiritual growth. Lately though, it has occurred to me that I am always trying to change something about myself. I’m forever quitting sugar, alcohol, meat, dairy, coffee or other habits; depending on my motives. I am currently working through a dedicated 40 straight days of kundalini exercise, that looks down upon taking a day off for life. If I miss a day, I have to restart the count!

All these self-improvement desires and rules I set for myself tend to lead to a lot of ”shoulding” myself. Every day I say: “I should do this or should do that… Don’t do this or don’t do that.” When I eat sugar or have a glass of wine; should I feel bad about it? When I don’t have time or I just plain don’t feel like doing yoga, well, that leads to me feeling like I am letting myself down. Not a great feeling!

This cycle of setting my standards high (and sometimes impractical) has started to make me think. “When is it okay to just love myself exactly as I am?” Yes, I do these things to be healthier and happier, but when I let myself down, I feel bad about it and this does not make me feel happy at all! It has the opposite effect, and this makes me want to eat my feelings and a lot of cake.

This cycle of high expectations turns into failing perfectionism, not self-improvement. It turns into a twisted way to psychologically torture myself into feeling weak for failing at all these self-imposed rules. Gahhhhhhh!

Guess what?! Turns out that I am very much imperfect. How about you?

This got me thinking. When is it okay to accept and love myself just as I am? Imperfectly perfect. So what if I carry a few extra pounds? I still love my curves (my husband does too), my personality, and my smile. I am healthy enough to walk my dog, kayak, camp, and adventure without pain. Is my weight and sugar habit really as big of a problem as I seem to think it is?

What do my subconscious and body feel, when I cannot let myself love me just as I am? This cannot be healthy either, can it? I know that humans have layers of consciousness and deep down we know if we love ourselves or not. Yes, I know that taking care of your body, mind, and spirit is self-love. However, I also am beginning to see that having unrealistic expectations can have the opposite effect.

What if I tried something super drastic like loving myself enough to allow for the imperfections and what makes me, me?! I know that I love others who are not perfect, and I do not expect anybody to be picture-perfect! To me this proves it is very much possible to love someone just as they are. So can I love myself just as I am also? I have decided to give it a shot.

After trying to change some of the habits in my life and failing at some of them, I just started to wonder. “Maybe this is just who I am?” Is it really so awful if I have cake and coffee for breakfast once in a while?! I mean, come on man! That is the best part of being an adult! If I don’t eat cake every day, which of course, I do not. Then what is the problem?

I believe the point of life is to enjoy the way we choose to live it! Why do I ‘should myself’ or feel as if I am letting myself down for enjoying some sweetness in life?! Does a number on the scale and the fact I did not meditate today, change who I am inside? NO! It does not. Does anybody else care that I did not measure up to my own lofty standards? I doubt it.

Today I am choosing to love myself as I am! I am just me; Perfectly imperfect.

Sending you love and blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine!

April 20, 2019April 19, 2019 emyminzel

Do you know that song? I learned it in Sunday School when I was a very young girl. For some reason, this song has always popped into my head on days when life seems a little harder than normal. I think it’s interesting that this song comes to me mostly on my down days. Those are the days I feel like ‘shining’ the least! I trust the Higher Power knows this and that is why it comes to mind in these moments.

There are months that I won’t even remember this joyful little song exist. Then there are times in which I sing it out loud and to myself, for the whole week. When I do, it feels like a simple sweet soothing lullaby for my spirit. I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe that when things happen in a pattern or synchronistic way, that this is a message from the Universe, just for you.

It’s taken me until my forties before I realized how significant this song has been for me. I often pray to the heavens when uncertain about life and ask “Just let me be the light.” I’ve found being the light in the world is not all that hard, and doesn’t have to look large or be a grand gesture. I simply do my best to be kind to everyone I come across; this is how I shine.

I think the best form of light comes from just listening. Like when someone is trying to tell a story, but the rest of the room is talking over them. That’s when I choose to make eye contact and nod in an affirmation that “I hear you and I see you.” Being heard is a powerful confirmation that shows people. “Hey, you matter! I care about how you feel and what you have to say.”

I am beginning to think this short, sweet, song (I learned so long ago) is a divine message sent to remind me, even on my hardest days, God/The Universe still sees me and is listening. I know the Universe responds to my energy and my vibrations and this song is sent to remind me to shine; by being kind and treat others as I want to be treated. I believe this song reminds me to listen closely to those around me.

There is a sign on my wall that says. “Attitudes are contagious, is your’s worth sharing?” I believe this to be true. Lifting others around you will help raise your own spirits as well, that’s just the way it works! This week has been a little rough for me and wouldn’t you know it, this song came to mind just tonight. Spirit is reminding me to be the best me I can be!

As you go about your week, I encourage you to do your best and let your light shine for yourself and others too. Even if you do not feel like shining brightly, remember, even the humble act of listening can be a wonderful way to spark the light in the eyes of your family, friends or community.

Remember, sometimes all it takes is to sincerely show up and say. “I hear you. You matter.”

Go light up the world in the way only you can do! Shine your uniqueness as you go through the adventure of life. Shine so bright that your light changes the world as only you can! I’d love to see how you shine! I believe in you! Let’s do this.

This little light of mine. I’m going to let it shine.

Yes, let it shine! Let it shine! Let it shine!

Love, light and blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

I gotta say, it was a good day!

April 17, 2019April 16, 2019 emyminzel

Do you ever have an unexpected change of plans that turn out to produce a really great day? I like to think every day I get, is a blessing, but some of them are better than others. Recently I was planning on spending a Saturday taking clients and working around the house. It was going to be a very regular day with nothing particularly exhilarating about it. That soon changed.

The Friday night before; I got a text from a friend telling me their plans had changed and wanted to know if I could accompany them to a pancake breakfast event on Saturday morning. We had discussed this before, but my friend had plans, so I decided to work. On a whim, I texted my client to see if they could come in at a slightly earlier time, and they said: “Yes, that works great for me!” Yay! It worked out and we made plans to attend the event.

Saturday morning, I woke up early, looking forward to my new plans. I had a Reiki session scheduled and energy work is always a great way to start the day! You simply cannot offer energy healing without feeling healed yourself. It raised my vibes and my spirit which helped set my mood for the day. My friend picked me up and we got to the DFL breakfast event in time to see another candidate friend speaking. I also had the chance to catch up with friends I had not seen in months. I love that!

The food was good, the company was great and, for the first time in a long time, I got in front of a crowd and spoke without shaking in my shoes. I spoke from my heart with confidence about my experience running as a Candidate and if I would run for State Representative again. In all honesty, I disclosed that I was not sure if I wanted too. So, the answer was a firm. “I don’t know. But if I do, I will take what I learned and not hold back one bit. I would do my best to leave it all out on the field.”

Simple as sounds, I felt like I had my full confidence back and it was nice to just be me. Growing faith in myself and my voice was a byproduct of running in an election that was scary and completely out of my comfort zone. Looking back, it was a wonderful life lesson and growing opportunity that was good for me. I am enjoying the feeling of truly believing in myself.

After the brunch, I got home to find my husband had cleaned the house! What a wonderful surprise! We were expecting our good friends Stacy and Marty for a visit that evening, so I was thankful for his help. This left me time to rest a little bit, eat lunch, and do my Nabhi Kriya Kundalini Yoga set before they got here.

When Stacy arrived, I had forgotten that she and Marty had decided to donate their old car to me that afternoon! She pulled up in my ‘new to me’ car and gave me the keys. How exciting! We had been running as a one car family, after I crashed my truck this past winter. I am super thankful for the generosity of my friends. I just needed to put some new tires on it and do some other maintenance. And now I have my freedom back and a way to get my kayak to the water this summer!

The evening continued with yummy dinner and lively conversations with our dear friends. Simply happy days like these do not come around as often as we’d like. Lately it seems that there is always something... so I wanted to write about this experience, to remember and cherish the day. Or maybe I feel moved to remind you to notice the small blessings in our every day regular lives? I feel blessed and thankful for this day of unexpected joyful experiences.

I wish for you to have lots of these ordinary yet extraordinarily great days full of blessings and joy too.

Sending love and luck your way,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

Have you heard of Binaural beats?

April 15, 2019 emyminzel

I was introduced to binaural beats, several years ago from my friend Bobby, who is a spiritual teacher. It was a wonderfully relaxing experience, but for some reason, I never kept it as a spiritual tool in my toolbox until lately. One-night last week, I noticed my headphones dangling from their spot before bed and I thought to myself. “I am going to listen to a guided meditation before sleep.” I joked to myself “This must be how tired and busy people cram in self-care. They do it while sleeping!”

From what I knew, binaural music was safe, and I really was not concerned about side effects. (I did read one caution. It said do not use binaural beats if you are prone to seizures.) That does not pertain to me, so I felt safe. What is the worst that could happen?! I mean, who doesn’t want to have a spiritual experience when sleeping or is that just me? Truthfully, I was not expecting to have an awakening during slumber, I was just hoping for a good night’s rest while letting the peaceful sounds relax my mind.

When you pull up YouTube, they have literally thousands of beat choices to choose from and it took me a bit to settle on one that sounded right to my ears. I experimented with a few and let my intuition tell me which one I needed that night. There are several ranges that are said to help you sleep, reduce anxiety, help with depression and negativity as well as increase creativity.

According to Medical News Today some research findings have even proven a 70-80% decrease in cortisol, the stress hormone that keeps us from losing weight, when using the correct range. The recommended frequency for weight loss is 295.8Hz. I tried it, and while it wasn’t my favorite tone, I listened anyway as I drifted to sleep. I will try it for a week and see if it has any effect on my weight or my thoughts about my diet.

I’ve also tried other tones that are quite pleasing to my ear. While listening to this music, it seemed to have the same effect on the body as meditation, and all you must do is lay there. I have also been wearing my headphones and listening while I write, work or sleep, letting my brain do the rest. I like the flexibility of not having to pay complete attention yet knowing that at a cellular level I am encouraging self-healing.

This experiment has led to some good sleep, and at first, some crazy dreams. One night I used one tone at 741Hz to clear toxins and release negativity, a spiritual detox of sorts. Maybe it pulled those innermost negative thoughts to the surface of my dream world for me to be aware of? But wow! I believe our dreams are full of messages from our higher-self, doing its best to communicate with the waking our version that does not like to pay attention to our inner world. But our dream world is another conversation for another blog!

This has been a fascinating experiment that genuinely does seem to be relaxing my mind. That is why I wanted to share my findings with you. If you feel called to try, make sure you wear headphones because it works better sending slightly different tones to each ear. I am including some links below but feel free to experiment with the sounds that your intuition pulls you too!

I’d love to hear about your experiments and experiences. Wishing you love, light, and healing!

Love and blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister