February 7, 2014

BACK TO BAYSICS

Amazingly this post will mark my 420th in the one year since launching the site! I appreciate (more than I can articulate) all of the support and love you’ve shared…and continue to share! You inspire me :)

As I reflect on this amazing journey, I’m in yet another hotel room…this time in the Bay (hence the title ;) I’m so fortunate to have brilliant friends in this area who help remind me of who I am and what I love to do!  While I love to think creatively and live outside of the “box” — questioning the status quo and searching for opportunities to do things differently comes naturally — I find that to have an opportunity to inspire someone to live their dreams or live life with less stress feels like purpose.  Though I may not always have the right answer (I know…I can’t believe I just typed that either! ha!), coming up with the ideas to get there is a wonderful process for me. The challenge for the person on the receiving end is always to just do it! Nike nailed the slogan…but I think the only way to do it is to truly trust/believe/understand that Heaven lies within (I had to give the Selena Sage slogan and logo press too! ;) With this understanding comes the courage needed to forge ahead.

So, with that thought in mind, I decided to look back ha! I browsed through my first month of posts from 2013 (you can click here to view those too!), and Wow am I impressed with myself haha! In fact my very first post was to start anywhere…clearly I already all of the answers :)

Therefore, this year I’m going to challenge myself to continue on with this blog and start on new methods to inspire :) I’ll be working on some creative ideas and share those too! As always, your feedback is welcome and appreciated. Hopefully you will also take a step or two in the direction of your dreams and share that too! :)

 

xo! ;)

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January 31, 2014

YEAR OF THE HORSE

Happy Chinese New Year of the Horse! In this new year, I hope that you will be like the majestic horse…and charge ahead and not waste time looking back! :)

Cheers to a wonderful year ahead!

 

Photo source: To Win by Edwin Leung

January 26, 2014

LIVE YOUR TRUTH

This topic has been bouncing around my mind for a few days, so I am going to put off distractions (i.e. all forms of writing resistance haha) to try to share these ideas :)

The thought of “living your truth” came about as I was commenting on the disappointing (long lasting) trend in media that seems to be much more centered around women’s bodies than our minds (or spirit!). I remarked, perhaps incorrectly, that the women who participate understand the rules of the media game and play to their financial advantage. But maybe, on some level, they are simply living their truth and doing what they want to do.

It led me to think about the concept of judging others and the folly of trying to get everyone to agree with your opinion of what is right or wrong. It is impossible…there will always be people on both sides of the fence. That is just the way it goes. Therefore, when we take the middle ground, and recognize that we simply must accept people as they are without defining “right” or “wrong”, we unconsciously give ourselves permission to live our own truth.

Indeed, accepting others allows us to understand our truth more clearly. If, for example, I have a concern that there is too much attention on women’s bodies rather than their minds, I can see the media void without judgement of the women showing their bodies. Instead, I can ask myself how can I live my truth?  This could involve breaking the cultural mode of being a woman in media who focuses on mind over body…or not supporting marketing that treats women as a sexual object…or mentoring young children and celebrating accomplishments over looks (how often are young girls told how pretty they are instead of how smart they are?).

This post is very in the world. It speaks more to having the courage to live your truth instead of accepting the status quo. If I was going full Taoist, I would say WHO CARES?! haha However, my goal here is to get more to the authentic Self and help us to live our purpose and share our unique gifts. Sometimes this can be done by seeing the duality (when one thing is defined as ‘right’, the ‘wrong’ state is automatically created)…and recognizing barriers to that oneness. Particularly for me is the value of equality, which is often manifested in persons being treated differently as a result of their gender, skin color, age, socioeconomic status, or physical or mental capabilities (to name a few).  In honoring the Oneness, I personally appreciate those with the courage to bring these inequalities to light and help to provide balance. I try to do the same.

As with all things, I could be totally wrong :) [or totally right to others ha!] But the point is that courage is required to be who you were truly meant to be. Unfortunately, so much social programming and training occurs over a lifetime that it can be hard to break free and live your truth. However, I am reminded of this quote I love:

“How does one become a butterfly?” she asked pensively.

“You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.”

 

I hope you choose to fly ;)

 

Photo source: Butterfly by Pennamore

January 19, 2014

HUMILITY AND FREEDOM

This morning I read a remarkable perspective of how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ended the terror of living as a black person in the United States. The article discusses how he taught the black community to face their worst fears and, as a community, accept abuse with a non-violent reaction. In the ways of Gandhi, Dr. King encouraged the black community to not be afraid to go to jail or ‘take the beating they had been trying to avoid their whole lives.’ Once the beating was over, we were free. This part of the article stopped me in my tracks:

“That, my friends, is what ended the terrorism of the south.  Confronting your worst fears, living through it, and breaking out in a deep throated freedom song.  The jailers knew they had lost when they beat the crap out of these young Negroes and the jailed, beaten young people began to sing joyously, first in one town then in another.

Please let this sink in.  It wasn’t marches or speeches.  It was taking a severe beating, surviving and realizing that our fears were mostly illusory and that we were free.

Once the beating was over, we were free.

It wasn’t the Civil Rights Act, or the Voting Rights Act or the Fair Housing Act that freed us.  It was taking the beating and thereafter not being afraid.”

—

And then, of course, because nothing is an accident, I was inspired to reach for an Osho book sitting beside my bed [that I haven’t read in ages!] and randomly opened to this entry on Humiliation:

Be humble, then nobody can humiliate you.

Be egoless, then nobody can hurt you.

Sometimes it happens that others just find excuses to throw out their anger, but that’s no reason for you to get disturbed. There are only two possibilities: Either the other person is right, then you feel humiliated; or the other is wrong, then they are being ridiculous, so the whole situation is humorous and one can enjoy it.

If you feel that the other person is right, accept whatever is being said and be humble. If you are humble you can never be humiliated; that is the point. You are already standing in the last row; you cannot be thrown backward. You are not trying to become the first, so nobody can obstruct you. That is the whole Taoist attitude toward life. Be humble, then nobody can humiliate you. Be egoless, then nobody can hurt you.

—

These two concepts fit together so perfectly and begged to be shared :) From my perspective, while I doubt anyone who endured abuse in the South ever enjoyed it, they were able to show the world how ridiculous the situation was…and they were able to pass through the fire and sing joyously at the freedom they found on the other side.

Facing their fears together made them free. Their willingness to put themselves last made them first. [In the words of Jesus, Mark 9:35, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”]

These courageous individuals lived this truth. They sacrificed themselves to make us all free. And as we celebrate Martin Luther King Day in the States (through this extended weekend), we do so in gratitude for his sacrifice…and the sacrifices made by all [of all gender, nation, and color] who walked with him.

More than that, I hope it causes us all to take another look at our fears and recognize that if we can take the worst, we can take the risk :)

Photo source: Last to First :)

Author note: “If you can take the worst, take the risk” were words from a fortune cookie I received while living in Indiana. I loved the words so much that I taped them below my light switch to be reminded. Now, fourteen years later, it appears my technique was successful ;)

January 15, 2014

PRAY AND PRACTICE

The Buddha taught: “If you are standing on one shore and want to cross over to the other shore, you have to use a boat or swim across. You cannot just pray, ‘Oh, other shore, please come over here for me to step across!'” To a Buddhist, praying without also practicing is not real prayer.           -Thich Nhat Hanh

This is a beautiful quote…and the message is so complete that it stands on its own… However, I’d like to take it a step further and ask what are you praying for? 

If, for example, you are praying for peace, you must become peace. By not reacting to a situation that is not to your liking, you can breathe through those moments and realize it’s not that serious. By not believing everything you think and being truly present in each moment, you can live in the now instead of dwelling in the yesterdays and tomorrows. Then you will find that you have peace.

If,  by chance, you are praying for love, you must become love. It is only through giving love that you are able to receive it. So instead of praying and/or waiting for someone to love you, go share your love with someone else and you will find it multiplied.

Or if praying for happiness or abundance, know that you can make the decision at any moment to be happy….or you can take action and go do what you know you must to achieve abundance. There’s no real secret…behind the scenes of any success story is a lot of hard work.

In other words, the prayer must become the practice. Afterall, the work is the Buddha ;)

 

Photo source: Walking on Water by Stoleac Cosmin (super cool!)

January 12, 2014

CELEBRATE LIFE

Today I had the privilege and pleasure to interview some remarkable and truly impressive future students for my alma mater (Northwestern University).

I was floored by these amazing students and the contributions they are already making to the world!

And I could not stop myself from injecting “sage advice” into the discussions ;) I encouraged them to be true to themselves, be kind to others, maintain perspective, and follow their passions fiercely. Best of all, they were listening and I could see the wheels turning…

I am looking forward to really good things from these future leaders!

Combined with lovely recent times with my nephew and nieces, they gave me extra cause to celebrate life!  :)

 

Photo source: Outstanding by Margaret Morgan

Photo note: Since I encouraged these outstanding students to stand out from the crowd and be true to themselves, this image really spoke to me! This is especially because Northwestern’s colors are purple and white… ;)

January 10, 2014

DEALING WITH LOSS

After going to sleep a bit too early, I was up at 3am this morning browsing the internet…in yet another hotel room (oh the travel life!). Around 4am, I was guided to this Byron Katie video of a mother trying to Work through the loss of her daughter. For a moment, I thought it might be too depressing for me to try to watch at all…much less at 4am…but I stuck with it because it’s Byron and I knew she would find the light. I was right ;)

In many ways, we can live in present fear of future loss (imagining how we might feel when a certain loss might occur) or in present sadness from past loss (reliving the horror of the past in our minds). Sadness is a war with what is…it is a war with what we believe to be true.

We can lose ourselves in the pain we experience from the images of the mind…the thoughts that we create about a certain event (one that may not have even happened!). This grieving mother lost her love and connectedness to her daughter when she chose to live in the pain instead of the love. And in doing so, Byron gently reminds her that she was losing herself.

When things don’t go according to our plan, we don’t believe we’re living in a friendly universe. We want the world to bend to our will. We stop living in the reality of what is. Byron reminds us that death is not the problem, what we are believing is the problem. We must chose not to live in the horrific images of the mind…but rather chose to see that love is unlimited.

Re-living the pain and grief of the past can prevent us from truly living. In questioning what we think or believe to be true, we open our minds and hearts to a different reality that allows us to live our life in the present moment. For that is all we have.

This may sound too simple, but being mindful and being present really frees us from the past and allows us to have a future with ourselves.

 

Photo source: Heaven on Earth by David Ayash

 

Author note:  As always, I remain thankful for spirits like Byron Katie who share their gifts. She is truly a healer. Through relentlessly, and patiently, challenging our thoughts, Byron kindly brings us back to what is and helps us navigate painful moments.

Also, I am thankful for artists like David Ayash who share their work to allow us to view the world through a different lens. When I considered the subject of loss, I had instant images of stars….perhaps as a reminder of the bigger picture, or the Taoist belief that every person has a star to represent their other spiritual half. And perhaps in the transition from life to “death”, we are reunited with ourselves.

We have an opportunity to believe whatever story we want, and that is how we can create Heaven on Earth (a truly appropriate title for this beautiful photo). 

 

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