Tag: #liveyourbestlife

#lifelessons, #signs, #spiritual

Alchemizing Uncertainty

emyminzel

I am learning to embrace the architectural alchemy of uncertainty. What does that mean? It means I build as I go trusting each step is divinely guided. No one knows what the future holds, yet we still plan as if we can control it. They say the greatest journey begins with a single step, and so does the intentional building of a life.

To step off the cliff into the unknown, to rebuild with broken pieces, both inside and out, is its own form of alchemy. One does not become an expert in anything without first being the dutiful apprentice. To create something that endures, one must rely on firsthand experiences that slowly form the artist’s talent and style from within. So, the Universe gives me courses in life lessons that allow me to practice. Each one crafted to level up my skills, relentlessly.

The divine essence that lives within speaks to us all if we listen. I have learned to move in silence, wisely conserving my energy. Time is all we have and how I spend it shows the Universe where I am invested. It took many laborious lessons and decades before I learned to monitor my own energy bank and build firm boundaries. Intentionally directing my time and energy inward for my own use; instead of scattered willy nilly among those who will greedily siphon it until it is empty.

Trusting my instincts as guideposts is not for the faint of heart. Becoming an Architect of Uncertainty requires trial and error, lessons learned through collapse, and the courage to sift through rubble for treasures of wisdom. Instinct tells me I will need those fragments again.

My instinct for alchemy is not born from reading clever quotes found online. My intuition was forged in the dark, painful fire from which my personal phoenix has risen— so exquisite I know I inevitably risk entrapment again if I am not vigilant. Navigating uncertainty of the future is guided by trusting in my intuition and the divine downloads that lead me toward action.

Since I came into this world, I have been considering how I was born and raised Feral. Clutching wild untamable energy so tightly even the Universe let me live a semi-Feral free-range life. Never truly nurtured and protected set free to roam. Wisdom of time shows me purpose of my past. Youthful innocence seeking love and affection I was easily lured into dangerous underworld of lessons nobody wants to learn.

It was through these experiences and a lifetime of enduring violations of boundaries. And a couple attempts of others doing my best to break my spirit so completely that nearly snuffed me out. I now contain a remarkable, vastly contrasting and poetically beautiful duality that comes with heavy lessons.

I find my life has been a bit relatable to the story of Persephone the Greek Goddess of Spring, and innocence, who eventually became the Queen of the Underworld, transformation, duality, and resilience. Relatable because like many people who walk around looking fine on the outside…  I do not look like what I have been through.

I am simultaneously soft and stern, sweet and sour. Miraculously my heart remains open because I have learned to find beauty even in pain and keep my light safe in the darkness. I am open because now I can trust myself. Instinctive boundaries built from persistent practice of my lifelong apprenticeship means I am now capable of self-defense in many forms. Yet, I just look like me.

Pain has become a familiar companion of being forged and constructed in fire so often that my metaphorical wings themselves are made of powerful flames. The fire in me recognizes and honor the fire in you instantly. It feels comfortable, even safe, and exciting, because the familiar burn is less terrifying than opening the forbidden door to freedom and self-love. It is not how it looks on the outside. Nothing ever is. This is where my truth resides.

Harnessing the energy of the unknown safely is in the transformation of my own vibrations. Transmuting the circumstances where like attracts like. Commanding that I select the company I keep with the ruthless integrity of my spirits inner knowing. Now, more often than not. I prefer to be alone. I will not slow down my growth for anyone. Catch up or fall off.

Alchemizing uncertainty demands deep internal mining. It means trudging through the heavy weight of defeat, searching for nuggets of golden discernment hidden within. It means tapping into the divinely guided architect of my spirit— finding value in even the smallest diamonds, compressed over years of struggle and determination, mined from the deepest darkest depths of my soul.

Compelled by a mystical force inside endlessly searching for a sacred space that honors my duality and my magic. The magician within me, instinctively cementing treasures back together while knowing that no matter how much gold and grit I gather to rebuild my life; nothing is permanent and the tower will eventually fall again.

The artistic architect within me seems to have a merciless sense of humor and intense drive to continuously re-create myself. Each death and rebirth of my soul has brought to fruition an inner truth. Always reiterating my life path is about how gracefully I go about the journey of gathering gold and making diamonds rather than arriving at the destination on time. Many times, I don’t reach my destination or my goals. The journey never looks the way I thought it would and while learning to trust in that.

The hardest work as the architect of my life is manifesting my prayers and dreams into reality. It comes when I am forced to step into the unknown. Reminding me that I do not need to know how it ends, where it goes, and who is going to be there. I just need to feel my feelings and trust myself. Fully believing that even when I feel as if I am blindfolded in a trust fall into the arms of the Universe… I am certain I will land on my feet.

Though I feel feral, have been abused, abandoned, betrayed by those who were supposed to love me the most.  It has been exhausting continually seeking to design a life that feels like joyful contentment, safety, and freedom on my own.

The infinite love I somehow have the strength to carry inside needs a place to be set down. Yearning for a sacred safe space for it to be shared. Searching for the kind of wholeness I long to experience at least once in this lifetime.

So, with a deep desire for respite and rest. I know me and inevitably this longing for love will find me rebuilding another tower of confinement cloaked in the illusion of security and stability. Where eventually it becomes painfully clear that after all the time and effort, I spent rebuilding yet another beautiful life. Eventually the same yearning for freedom will ignite my flaming wings of feral fire that will burn it all down.

Intuitively knowing that once again it will be time to set myself free in order to stay authentically me. The apprentice architect of uncertainty that holds no regrets because I have now learned it was always about the journey.

Figuring out how to balance the light and the dark within. Alchemizing through a sacred and soulful reckoning of my own duality. To unconditionally love myself and heal the feral innocence within that seeks safety in cages.

#signs, #spiritual, #teamwork, adventure, Boundary Waters Canoe Area

Canoe Tipping, Loons and the Portage to Nowhere

emyminzel

Lessons Through Joy!

Chapter 4

Authored by Emy Minzel

After our first portage we felt invigorated, and proud of ourselves. Something as simple as crossing an unknown path and coming out to a majestic lake atmosphere reminds me of the true meaning of life. No hustle and bustle of the daily grind, this was what the ‘real world’ supposed to be. Yet, we still had to work to do, to get where we were going.

Team work was a lesson that kept reoccurring in my life. Carrying the supplies together through 3 portages made light work getting to our campsite. We only had to make two trips to cross the portages the first year. Looking back, I believe it was the Universe taking it easy on us. It was the perfect trip to get me hooked and addicted to her beauty and slow flow.

We camped on Bass Lake and true to its name, it was well stocked. I remember dropping breadcrumbs at the shore of the boulder beach in the evenings watching them waiting for morsels, like my pets. I have a fondness for loons, and they were everywhere. Laughing their loony laugh in the morning, singing a lingering lullaby each night. There were loon families passing by our campsite consistently. It felt very synchronistic. At the time I was living on Loon Drive.  

We let the loons guide us to fishing spots. Figuring they were the experts on knowing where the fish were. As I cast my line. Stacy said to me “Be careful honey, you don’t want to catch a loon.”

I had not even thought about that. “Oh, Geeze! … you’re right. Thank you!”

She knew me well, and my animal loving heart would have been beside myself had I snagged a loon by being careless. Not to mention it is very illegal. We love and protect the Minnesota State Bird dontchyaknow! 

During one of these fishing excursions, we were catching fish left and right. We would help each other net the fish. Then take it off the hook for one another so we wouldn’t rock the boat. I caught a fish and while Stacy was leaning over the side of the boat to scoop it in the net. We both leaned a little too much and before we knew what happened the canoe was tipping over.

It felt like slow motion. I was looking at her. She was looking at me. Both of us had eyes wide as owls. There was no time for words. Stacy intuitively did what had to do at the time to keep the boat from sinking. She willingly took a header into the lake to save the boat and everything in it. SPLOOSH!

Stacy went in the drink… still the canoe was taking on water quickly. Sinking a rented canoe and our only way back to civilization is just not a good idea. I quickly leaned to the right doing my best to get the canoe level. Before we knew it, Stacy was in the water, and the canoe had about a foot of water in it.

Stacy is a Pisces; I tease her about being part mermaid because she loves to be in the water. That is one of my favorite things about our friendship. Having fun friends to play in the water with is a blessing I cherish. Thank goodness for her natural ability to swim and fortunately the water was warm that year.

I looked at her with a face full of worry. “Oh Sh**! Are you ok?!”

Still processing the surprise of being in the water she replied. “Yep, I’m good!”

The sudden aftershock of it got her giggling. As she held on to the side of the canoe and I paddled to the jagged shoreline. She was laughing the whole way. Once I knew she was ok, I started laughing too, and then we just couldn’t stop. Both giggling and laughing uncontrollably.  

We had to try several times and in different locations to empty the canoe. We really did a number. Pulling the waterlogged canoe up on the steep, woody, rocky shoreline wasn’t easy. We’d try to lift the front of the canoe, then the back of it wanted to sink and take on more water…it was so darn heavy. With teamwork, we finally accomplished it; while laughing! Thankfully, we can still chuckle about this event.

Being the spiritual women we are. We are continuously looking for meaning and signs in our everyday lives. I believe Spirit doesn’t always use words to communicate. It can utilize people, places, animals, music, signs, events, etc. to get my attention. This belief has helped us grow more in tune with ourselves, each other and our connection to the Universe/Spirit.

I believe the giggling reaction was a divinely guided instinctive response… a therapeutic laugh! Our souls knew we must release the tension of that starling experience. The laughter vibrationally dispersed the energy of anxiety instead of allowing it to stay with us. I believe it was a celestial intervention so we could continue to adventure together again and with trust.

Loons are water birds. Water is connected to intuition, emotions and divine feminine energy. The message from the beautiful birds was to begin going deeper within myself. It was also a sign to start analyzing my dreams and decipher triggers that stir up big feelings.

We believe dreams we have while sleeping are our subconscious communicating with us. To this day Stacy and I will share poignant dreams texting one another to help us process the meaning of them. Acknowledging these subliminal messages has connected us deeply to trust our higher consciousness.  

The prominent presence of the loon our first year was a significant sign. Guiding me to the beginning of my spiritual awakening. It was the year I was able to start doing the inner work of releasing fears, and self-limiting patterns. I took the loons advice and started diving deep into the mysteries of my soul. Learning to acknowledge my intuition and trust the guidance of my instincts deeply over the years.

Speaking of receiving signs from above… They say you get what you ask for. This rang true for me on our first BWCA Adventure. On the day we tipped the canoe; I was starting to get a little overconfident. I figured we portaged no problem, set up camp like champs, and made a fire with damp wood. We were rocking this adventure!  

For some reason after completing a task I kept saying… “Does anyone know any hard games?!”

That day I got what I asked for. Yet, because I had asked a few times… the Universe kept giving.

It was still our first trip to the BWCA and the second day. We decide we wanted to adventure to the next lake over. We packed a day pack, with water and granola bars and headed south on the canoe until we saw a clear path. We paddle the canoe to shore; Stacy hiked the canoe up on her shoulders and we began hiking.

We must have walked a mile or more in portage mode. Passing a few hikers on the way. Some of them did look at us with concern and somewhat confused. But we did not know we were not on the intended trail. After a while I was starting to get suspicious that we may not be going where we thought we were headed? Stacy lowered the canoe, and we left it on the side of the path while we hiked up the trail further.

After a trek we consulted the map again, discovering we must have read it wrong. This time we saw the trail we were on was only leading to more trails. If we wanted to get to another lake, we would be hiking/portaging for quite a few more miles. We had just embarked on a long “portage to nowhere.”

As we say here in Minnesota… OPE!

Darn! We had to turn around and head back to where we came from. I was annoyed at first, thinking I could/should do better. I have been the map reader for most of the time on our trips. It’s something I enjoy and usually do well. This was our first adventure and at the time I considered it unacceptable that I let this happen.

I wasn’t perturbed because we went on a ‘portage to nowhere”. I was upset because I know how important it is to read a map correctly. It is the only way to get where you are going and back to the entry/exit points in the Boundary Waters. Google Maps won’t save you in the wilderness. Even though we always do our best to make our adventures fun, there are still very real dangers we must be aware of.

Navigating is a skill all BWCA Adventurers absolutely need to learn. I am often harder on me than anyone else would be. And I had just proven to myself that thoughts become things. I found out that was not a great idea to be asking for harder games! After that, I didn’t feel so confident taunting the Universe. It was yet another reminder the Universe is truly listening.

I learned the outcomes are better when I change my thoughts and vibe my best intentions. It has made me be more purposeful when communicating my intentions to the Universe. I can choose to change my energy by doing yoga, meditating, walking the dog, call a friend, nap… I must do absolutely everything I can to get low vibin’ energy shifted before the Universe responds in kind.

The Universe was reiterating for me to ask for what I want. Not what I don’t want. Although, the silver lining was this ‘harder game’ has made me a very conscious and cautious route planner since! Same goes for my navigating my thoughts. What you think is how you feel! How you “feel” is the vibrational energy you are tuning into the Universe with. True story.

These are great memories and hilarious experiences, thankfully. We were lucky and safe. I don’t take that protection for granted. I am grateful it was Stacy with me during these adventures and tests offered in the BWCA. We balance each other almost as steadily as the scales of justice most of the time. Working together to get through these challenges; choosing not to dwell on these mishaps, is a key ingredient in sustaining the joy of all our BWCA adventures.

Year after year, we learned we were able to trust and depend on each other. Each of us putting in our best efforts to fully support a safe and joyful journey together. We learned that we appreciated the unique skills we both brought. I can’t help but think this philosophy must ring true in my daily life.

I do my best to appreciate differences. Keep my chin up. Laugh at my blunders. If I stumble down the wrong path doesn’t mean it won’t be a good story to tell later. By choosing to be with great company and finding people who know how to be a team, and willing to carry part of the load, it was easy to enjoy the journey.

I can recognize that those bloopers we endured together helped us develop the wisdom and trust we deeply appreciate in each other now. These are the types of relationships that feed my soul and support leveling up of my spirit. I love and value my best friend and Adventure Sister Stacy very much. Which leads me to tell the Universe what I want… Yes. Thank you! More please!

Sending blessing and much love,

Emy Minzel

Heart Centered, Nature Lover, Writer, Advocate, Adventurer, Yogi, and so much more…

EmyMinzel.com

#lifelessons, #spiritual, #yoga

How Kundalini Yoga and Mantra Meditation benefit mental health

emyminzel

Most of us understand that mental health is hugely important and it’s finally getting the recognition it deserves. Because it seems to have taken so long for mainstream doctors to accept this fact it seems the general population is taking time to catch up as well. My goal is to bring an easy-to-understand explanation of how taking responsibility for the mind, body, spirit connection with purposeful action can help mental health and their whole being.

It’s already proven that moving the body increases endorphins, serotonin, oxytocin and all the feel-good hormones! I understand those with depression often find it hard to exercise or do yoga. Even the words can be triggering. Many people convince themselves they can’t do yoga. “I’m not flexible enough to do yoga.” To me that’s like saying. “I’m just too dirty to take a bath.” It doesn’t make any sense! You do yoga to increase flexibility, mobility, and balance.

I believe that everybody has a yoga body. The type of yoga I love the most is Kundalini yoga because it is accessible to most everyone. It focuses on spinal health and flexibility in the spine. If you think about it, all the most important functions we need to live run through the spinal column. Vital nerves, arteries and spinal fluid need to flow freely to have the brain and body function at their best.

This type of yoga also does a great job incorporating mindfulness into each practice. This will help clients be more in their body and less in the headspace. I love to add mindful guided meditation directed towards bringing awareness to the energy and feelings of the body. When you are aware of how you feel you take your power back to transform lower emotions into better feeling ones.

My teaching style explains why we are doing what we are doing so that the students understand the benefits of each movement. I often speak about the science of chakra system which are the energy centers in the body connected to organs, functions, meridians, feelings, and emotions. The Kundalini Kriyas are often designed to open the energetic flow of the chakras.

For example, a client with depression may have a difficult time with the lower chakra system.  The root chakra is connected to feelings of safety and security. It is where the fight or flight instincts for survival are stored. Right above that is the sacral Chakra where we hold our willpower, ambition, creativity, sexuality, and ability to persist. The next chakra is the solar plexus in the area above the belly button and that is where self-esteem and personality live.

If these chakras are out of balance a person can become lethargic and sometimes even connected to overeating because they are trying to ground themselves with the feeling of being full. A Kundalini set for depression will focus on a gentle practice that is able to bring mindfulness into their bodies while increasing energy flow. I teach folks how to activate the energy in the body by stimulating the chakras and the systems connected to them with movement most everyone can do.

Even if you have limited mobility, closing your eyes and visualizing yourself doing the posture/practice will give your brain some of the same benefits as if you were doing them physically! The mind, body, spirit connection is quite magical!

We will address the whole body and use pranayama breathing to increase the heart rate and energy flow. One of the best ways to get out of the head and into the body is to focus on the breath. Another way to address the intimidation of ‘meditation’ is to offer mantra meditation songs with hand mudras designed for specific topic we are working on. In these mantra meditations we use a variety of specific instructions for the body and the mind to keep focused.

This takes the pressure off just lying there and not thinking! I don’t know about you but lying there trying not to think has the opposite effect for me. That’s perfect conditions for a whole lot of monkey mind to get going!

Which is why the instructions for mantra meditation help me get in the zone and out of my head. It also has health benefits such as applying Root lock/Muladhara Bonda which means we squeeze the perineum, sex organs and pelvic bowl muscles pulling them up and in holding the root lock! This is very healthy to do with both women and men as we age.

Next, we do hand mudras designed to stimulate meridians connected to the body’s internal systems. We then close the eyes and bring our gaze to the third eye, the space where the intuition lives. Not only does the third eye gaze connect to intuition, but it also puts pressure on the optic nerve connected to the pituitary gland.

The pituitary is the master gland that stimulates the feel-good hormones! We do all these things at the same time we chant and sing mantra songs. Singing stimulates the vagus nerve, one of the biggest nerves in the body and the only one that connects the gut to the brain.  We all know by now how gut health greatly affects brain function. Singing, chanting, humming are all wonderful ways to stimulate the vagus nerve!

Most of the practices will focus on bringing the chakras into alignment and increasing energy inside the body in different ways. It is designed to increase flow and flexibility in the spinal column where all the nerves and spinal fluid need to flow freely for optimal brain health. The more flow you have going to the brain the better the brain is going to function and the better you feel. My yoga teacher Jeanie O’Neill often reiterated that you are only as young as your spine is supple. Makes a lot of sense if you think about it!

The practice for anxiety may be a little more physical and pull in the breath of fire to burn off some of the excess energy in the chakras causing anxiousness. The practice of guided meditation or Yoga Nidra will help bring the consciousness of the mind inside the body. This practice truly helps a person feel their energy inside the body and teaches them how to check in with what’s going on inside. Allowing each yogi to better understand how to help themselves feel better in their body. Yoga Nidra is proven to calm the nervous system while affecting the theta and beta waves of the brain.

Pulling this all together means when the body feels good, the brain feels better, and that can bring you to a peaceful state of being. Mind, body, spirit connection is not just a popular phrase. It is a real and true part of living your best life. If one of these areas is out of balance so are the rest of them. It is why I love Kundalini Yoga and Kriya meditations so much. It truly addresses all the areas we need to feel good about ourselves.

Yoga is not a religion. It is personal mind, body, and spirit practice. When I speak of connecting to spirit. I mean we are connecting to our own higher energy. If you choose to bring your preferred religion into your practice that is okay too. However, when I teach, we usually talk about connecting to our own higher self. Which is basically the part of you that knows better. The part of your spirit that is the inner voice of love, the pure soul inside of you.

Talking with a trained mental health practitioner can help guide you in the direction of where you need to heal. It can shine a light on the area you most need to focus on to feel better. Yet deep down we know that nobody can heal you but you.

Getting to know yourself better means quieting the mind, checking in with the spirit to see what it is you truly need. Then trust yourself to be able to make those changes by taking action towards healing.

The daily practice of Kundalini yoga helps facilitate self-awareness, physical movement, and connection to yourself that truly benefits mental health. It has been a life changing experience for me, and I had to share with you!

Much love and many blessings,

Emy Minzel

CMT – 500RYT

Spirit River Yoga and Massage LLC

SpiritRiverYoga.com

On-Line Classes available!

https://www.schedulicity.com/scheduling/SRYJTY7/classes

Emyminzel.com

Uncategorized

The work is the prayer

emyminzel

“I pray every single moment of my life; not on my knees but with my work.”  Susan B. Anthony

This quote always makes my heart smile and my soul sing. One of my favorite things about my grandmother was that even though she was a good Catholic woman, she did not preach her faith to others, she lived it. She just lived her life as an excellent nurse, wife, mother, grandmother and wonderful caring friend whose life seemed to be her living prayer. She had a wonderful effect on her small town of 600 people over the 60+ years she lived there. She was even out delivering meals on wheels the day she passed away.

 

I admire others who change the world by just being themselves by following their hearts and offering compassion. I believe that even small acts of kindness can make a huge difference to everyone. The person who gives and the one who receives the kindness; are both blessed by the feeling of caring. In a world so big, we must not forget it is the little everyday actions that make up our lives and legacy. My goal is to live my faith; by exhibiting compassion, kindness, and inspiration so others will feel free to share their light as well.

If we all take a moment to share the light inside ourselves with others, it tends to have a chain reaction. It’s as if we take turns relighting the spirit we all hold inside. This is important because there are times in our lives that some candles burn brighter than others and we all need a little motivation (or fuel) to get your pilot lights glowing again.

My friend Stacy and I take turns firing each other up all the time! We hold space and love for each other on our hardest days because we know that life has its ups and downs. During the downs, we do our best to uplift and inspire each other with ideas and suggestions on how to pull ourselves out of these lower vibes.

This doesn’t have to be miraculous or extravagant action, simple things tend to work best. Stacy often will suggest a book, or a Kundalini Yoga set that helps me in just the way I need. We take turns fueling the creative light in each other and then go out and share it. We do this by sharing ourselves with the world through our stories of growth; writing of our life-lessons, the gatherings we hold, coming soon retreats and even in our careers!

I shortened the original quote “The work is the prayer” to inspire myself to keep moving forward with our goals. Our ‘work’ as the Adventure Sisters does not really feel like work at all! I can truthfully say that it feels more like a living prayer. It is what I have to offer the world. The higher power did not give us these skills or desires for without reason. We have them because they are our gifts to the world.

Stacy and I are very different in many ways, yet so perfectly in sync that we complement each other’s strengths and even benefit each other’s weak spots. It is no accident that we came together in this lifetime; we have work to do and we know it. This inner knowing, listening to our guidance and desires to help other women grow and become their best selves, is our way of sharing our light. We believe lighting up even just one person can indeed change the world for the better.

We know this is true because we’ve practiced with each other, our families and our communities with positive results! Sometimes this doesn’t always look like light or sunshine on a beautiful day. Somedays it’s quietly listening and caring through tough times. Such is life though, it is not all sunshine, glitter and rainbows.

We know in those moments of darkness or difficulties, that we tend to grow the most and in the most valuable ways. These times are just as precious as the good days. So, as you go about life, remember that every action can indeed be a light in the world. Even little things like smiling at a stranger in your way at the grocery store, instead of an exhausted sigh and eye roll as an example.

We all have the power to change our world by changing ourselves, our attitude and this also changes our lives. When I am much older and look back at my life, I would love to say I spent my days living my prayer. By following my inner guidance to make the world around me a little kinder and brighter, because of my efforts to spark the light of others.

The work is the prayer!

I’d love to hear what inspires you?! Please feel free to share!

Wishing you love and blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

Uncategorized

Promises, promises…

emyminzel

Have you ever started a diet or exercise routine, vowing to buckle down and get in shape? Then, only a week or two later, you’ve had enough and just throw in the towel altogether. I am willing to bet most people have done such a thing once or twice in their lifetime. Why is it that some of us just have the willpower to make these changes stick and others don’t?! Sure, some of it has to do with habits, addictions, laziness and genetics, but what I believe it all boils down to is… self-love.

Recently I started another 40-day Kundalini Kriya practice. I got to day 4 and decided I really didn’t want to do it today. Then came day 5 and 6, with no effort to begin again and this got me thinking. “Why is it so easy to break promises to myself? Why is okay to let myself down when I would not do that to someone else?” It was as if I heard my angels talking to me; because after asking these questions the answer seemed so simple yet jarring. I heard. “Love yourself.”

It doesn’t even have to be health related. It can be that you are sick of your job. Everyday you come home burnt out, frustrated and angrily telling yourself. “I need a new job!”  You truly want to look for another one but are just not able to get yourself to make the move you desire. So, you keep suffering, because the devil you know is better than the unknown right?

Again, I think this self-sabotaging behavior is just about the lack of self-love. Because you don’t know how to love yourself, or care deeply about your own wellbeing and all that entails, you can’t foster your own happiness. Like they say, the struggle is real. Maybe it’s based on the way I was raised. The biggest role models in my life have always been care-takers who have followed this same pattern.

My grandmother and mother worked very hard daily, taking care of others, with little time for themselves. Always putting other’s needs before their own. It was what they were taught to do and expected of them. Now that I am older and willing to look within, I see myself doing the very same thing. I believe this lack of knowledge, or examples on how to love myself fully, is what subconciously lays beneath the surface of my failures.

It’s time to break this cycle and keep promises made to myself. Some of us are better at self-care than others. When I say self-love, I mean all that encompasses caring for yourself; mind, body and spirit. Even financial wellness habits are included in what’s for, or not for our greatest and highest good. It is a lot to deal with everyday when you look at it all entails while still tending to lifes demands.

Yet, it all comes down to Self-love. Period. I feel this self-awareness is coming to me for a reason. When it feels as if life is consistently kicking me in the face, it’s because I’m just not listening to the whispers of wisdom, I know I hold deep down inside. It is divine guidance demanding me to ‘level-up’ for my own good. Yesterday I restarted a 40-day practice of Nabhi Kriya, along with other dietary and behavior changes as a promise to me.

I promise to prove my love to myself as consistantly as I try to prove my love for others. I promise to love myself enough to say no to what insults my inner wisdom. I promise to grab my self-care habits by the lapel and remind them I am not F’ng around with this gift of life I’ve been blessed with. I am worthy of my own love and care. I know I’m good at it!

It’s up to me and only me to keep these promises to myself. I hold the power, the passion and the determination to keep these promises. I must not rely on others for my own accountability or understanding. Even though it is nice to feel supported; when it comes down to it… it’s still all up to me. Every promise to change can only come from within and the resolve to love myself fully for my greatest good.

I promise to remind myself of all of this, when I want to quit.

To everyone struggling to practice self-love, break habits and make hard changes, I see you. I love you. You are not alone. We got this.

Wishing you love and blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com