Tag Archives: Videos

consciousness

Do you believe in magic?

The question itself sounds silly.  Magic is a label for the inexplicable.  Yet, magic not being real, we know that there is an explanation for that which we do not understand even if we cannot figure it out.

Tonight, as I watched clips from David Blaine’s Real or Magic, I began to see magic from a different perspective.  Magic is a word used to make something unreal. Magic just means that something is illusory, or a trick, or momentarily without a good explanation.

What would happen if you perceived an event without mentally labeling it?  What if the word magic is a disguise for true wonders that exist in reality?

A mind unable to concoct a logical explanation for an event does not make the event untrue.  It is merely very difficult for thoughts to perceive beyond the barriers, rules, and limitations it has firmly set in place for itself.  When those barriers become less important, and perception takes over from thinking, the world can transform beyond dreams, imaginings, and even things we call “magic.”

What I truly love about the following “magic trick” is the deeper truth of the interconnectedness of all beings that it demonstrates.  Our five senses and thought forms may have strict limitations by their very nature, but consciousness, which allows it all to arise, has none.  Consciousness is the space in which our reality manifests, and is the bond that connects us all.  I hope you enjoy this video in which David Blaine offers another perspective on magic and how truly connected we are:

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Inspiration

The Best Day Of Your Life

 

MY 21ST BIRTHDAY SURPRISE AT THE SATCHIDANANDA ASHRAM

MY 21ST BIRTHDAY SURPRISE AT THE SATCHIDANANDA ASHRAM

What happened on the best day of your life? What did it feel like?

One of my more recent memorable days happened while I was in the midst of the first experiment from Pam Grout’s E-Squared: Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.  I won a raffle that included 30 days of unlimited Yoga classes at studio steps away from the new apartment I was just about to move into.

There is nothing in the world like the experience of pure joy, which in extraordinary circumstances overwhelms all of the thoughts and feelings that had since been covering it up.  Recalling that state and feeling is a powerful tool, and essential aspect, to perpetuating that joy.  Michael Beckwith explains how to use this “WHAT!” moment beautifully in this video.

This morning I came across this series of videos posted on The Huffington Post that made me so happy I cried.  If you can’t recall the feeling of a “best day” in your own life, or you just want to rev up your joy, have an awesome time perusing these ridiculously uplifting videos by clicking here.

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Inspiration

One Domino In Front Of The Other

The SinkThere are a million tiny things we do each day.  Some actions are so small and routine we hardly even notice them.  Things like taking a breath before drinking a glass of water, blinking our eyes to adjust to daylight after waking up, brushing hair out of our eyes, turning the lights on and off, nodding at a passing stranger, saying “bless you” after someone sneezes.  The entire day is composed of minuscule, seemingly insignificant actions.

The following video of an impossible and beautiful display of dominos reminded me that each of us is only seeing from the perspective of one small domino.  In each moment we witness a single domino, the present.  All amazing feats of humanity, like landing on the moon, the creation of vaccines that cure diseases, and the building of the Sears Tower, are beautiful images like those shown in this video of what happened after all of the dominos had fallen.  But their creation was made up of one domino at a time, one small moment, one tiny insignificant action after tiny insignificant action.

When life becomes tedious, and nothing seems to be getting accomplished, think of the domino effect.  You are currently witnessing the slow fall of one small domino, which holds the power of the outcome, the vision, the entire purpose of your being here.  Even though it seems small and insignificant, you need only take one step, for as the old adage truly states, contained in the one step is the entirety of the journey itself.

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consciousness

A Silent Surprise

The following video of Marina Abramović’s performance for her 2010 MoMA retrospective speaks for itself entirely through silence.  The most dramatic part of the video is Marina’s encounter with a former great love from the 70’s whom she used to create art with. What truly captivated me about this video were the shared moments of silent staring contents with strangers.

I find the act of staring into the eyes of another human being in silence to be revolutionary in a world consumed with conversation.  Have you ever stared into someone’s eyes without speaking?  Silence provides the opportunity to experience the reality, the fullness, the beingness of another human.  Two humans staring into each other’s eyes in silence is consciousness gazing into a mirror.

Click here to read more about this story.

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You

“Be yourself- not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.” ― Henry David Thoreau

Joey and KatieThe most vital component to your life’s purpose is being yourself.  I don’t say this to be kind or encouraging, but as a matter of urgent importance.  While you many never see it, you being yourself is changing someone else’s life.  Without you being who you truly are, the world is missing its only chance of you.

So who are you?  It is easier to start with who you are not.  You are not a bundle of thoughts.  You are not who you think you are, or who anyone else thinks you are.  You are not the name, weight, and hair color on your driver’s license.  Now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way, what is left?

You will know who you are by witnessing yourself free from these thought-made selves it is so easy to get attached to.  You don’t have to try to be who you are, and you definitely don’t have to “figure it out.”  Who you are emerges when you untangle your identity from your thoughts and circumstances.  Allowing yourself just to be in the world, experiencing life as it is, and following your own joy in whatever way it expresses itself, will show you yourself more truly and miraculously than your mind could have ever thought up.

I love this video.  This little girl is so inspiring, not because of a particular skill, but because she is being herself.  And what happens when you are who you are, without trying to be what you think you should be in the eyes of others?  People notice you!  People think you are doing something amazing!  You bring people joy!  You don’t have to be the best at this or that.  You only need let your true self act, and it will be better at whatever it does than any amount of practice could produce:

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Inspiration

You Are Changing The World, Whether You Know It Or Not

Humans are promoters, givers, energy mathematicians.  We are always adding the energy behind our actions to a pool of like energy.  This can be recognized in negative emotions, which add their “low” energy to negative energy created by painful experiences from the past.  Has anyone ever tried to make you laugh when you were upset or angry?  In my experience, there is a part of the self in that situation that wants to stay upset.  It only wants to feel worse, to add to itself.

Your actions and intentions cast a vote in the energy and experience of the world around you.  The energy that creates war multiplies through more war.  To diminish the energy of separation and pain, we need to cultivate a higher frequency of energy that creates different outcomes.  It is inspiring to hear it so simply put, and well received, in this video that I couldn’t wait to share:

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consciousness

How do you know if you’re being yourself?

Me as a child with my older brother.

Me as a child with my older brother.

When I was a little kid I longed to know who I really was.  I remember wishing someone could just tell me.  I envied my friends from foreign countries who had a strong national identity.  I thought they really knew who they were.  I tried finding my identity in things, like being a writer, an actress, a musician.  But nothing ever stuck.

Now I am grateful for that.  I didn’t yet realize that the self attached to thoughts and things was the ego, the parasitic mind that can only survive through attachment to forms.  It wasn’t until the summer I turned 23 that I suddenly realized what a gift it was to experience the self without definitions and attachments.  It was then, when I realized what I was not, that I became open to finding out who my true self was, how it expressed itself, and how the true self was more expansive and inclusive than I could have ever thought up with my mind.

At first, not buying into your own thought created identity can feel like a black hole with no end in sight.  There is another side.  You will know it through inexplicable feelings of joy, love, and the state of peace.  For me, it still becomes obscured by the ego at various points throughout the day.  The good news is, that once you’ve experienced your true self it continues to grow in presence and power, no matter how the ego may try to reassert itself.  So who are you?  Try asking yourself without answering with words, and let your self show you.

I love this short video with Eckhart Tolle because it can give you an experience of your true nature as pure consciousness, as the watcher:

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Inspiration

Lighten Up!

As I stood in the line at the grocery store today I felt the tug of worry on my attention saying, “I wonder how much this is all going to cost.  What if it is more than I expected?  Will I be able to afford it?”  I smiled at the thoughts; they jockey so diligently for their position in my attention.

Smiling at yourself helps take away the seriousness of the constant stream of mind, which often turns to negative scenarios when left to its own devices.  I decided to choose a different reaction, rather than falling back on the comfortable pattern of worry.  I chose to be grateful that I was taking place in the exchange.

The more you give the more you receive; every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  So as I paid for my groceries I smiled.  Not only did the smile lead to a nice exchange with the man checking out the groceries, but it made me feel lighthearted and grateful to take part in the cycle of giving and receiving.  Lightening up leads to more joy, more reasons to smile.  I hope this video gives you as much joy and lightheartedness as it gave me!

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Inspiration

“This is how you manifest!” – Michael Beckwith

Flowers in WinterI am ridiculously excited to share this video with you tonight.  Many thanks to the brilliant author Pam Grout, who posted this video on her blog http://www.pamgrout.com.  I know her from reading E-Squared: Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality, which I have previously written about, and her travel blog http://www.georgeclooneyslepthere.com.  I asked if I could pass this video along, because it is so poignant, funny, ringing with truth, and inspiring!  Michael Beckwith will lift you up, and leave you laughing:

What is your “what?!?!?”  As I watched this video I was brought right back to the day I received a voicemail saying I had won a raffle.  The raffle prize happened to include a month of free Yoga on the same street as the new apartment I’m moving into.  I had been in the midst of Pam Grout’s first experiment from E-Squared.  Per the experiment, I asked the universe for a sign or gift, within forty-eight hours, as a clear message of its presence.  It showed up in a big way!  I will never forget that leaping feeling, the inability to contain my laughter and excitement.  That is my “what!?!?!” moment.

Evoking that feeling aligns you with its energy and everything that comes with it.  It’s like you and that feeling are on the same page, the same wavelength.  Then all you have to do is “ride the wave,” as Oprah puts it.  Get aligned with that feeling and watch all beauty it contains come to you.  Although none of us know what the consequences of evoking that blissful, “anything can happen” feeling, will look like, it will be quite a ride finding out.

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spirituality

“C’mon Get Happy!” – Ted Koehler

My Family Dancing on NYE 2010Thank you SoulPancake for dishing out the happiness with these two awesome pick-me-ups:

 

 

 

“Bus Stop Disco Surprise!” by SoulPancake

 


“Dancewalk!” by SoulPancake

 

Keep the fun going by challenging yourself to do a little freestyle dancing of your own today.  No rules, you can dance alone in your bathroom if it suits you.  Will it make you feel more joyful? Will be it super weird?  Only time will tell!

Letting go, and being “silly” is a sure ticket to changing your mood and changing your experience. I break into ridiculous dances pretty often. Eventually you can’t even tell if you’re happy because you’re dancing or you’re dancing because you’re happy.

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