dear blog

Dear blog,

I miss you. Do you miss me? I know it's been a while and trust me I've been thinking of you. It's just that I've been feeling tired and not very motivated lately. I know it's not a good excuse and the whole point of creating you was to keep motivated and busy during my free time. But, what can I say - sometimes a girl just needs a break.

Really, it's not you, it's me. And trust me, I'm working on it. This whole "bettering myself" thing can be tiring at times. But I'm learning. I'm learning that taking on too much at once can be overwhelming and in the end just lead to nothing.

I have a ton of things that I've meant to write - and will write - I guess the timing just hasn't been right.

Anyways, I'm working on the balance, and it's coming.

Will write soon :)

ps...when did you learn Korean? It's difficult to navigate through you when all of your tabs are in Hangul. Just sayin'

Love,
Shawna

takin a day...er a.....week

When I was younger I was super busy. And every so often I would totally burn out and need to take a day to reboot. A Shawna Day. The mother totally encouraged these days. A day where I got to stay home from school and skip out on gymnastics that night. I loved these days.

But as I get older, a day sometimes just isn't enough. And what I'm finding is that more than a rest for the body, what I need now is a rest for the mind. * Meditation, I know. I'm working on it. *

I cherish these weeks (yes, I usually take a whole week) where I completely allow myself to zone out. Let go of the things that I should be doing in my spare time and just do whatever the f I want.
This means:
*Playing computer games on my periods off at school, while I should be writing, or planning or doing anything productive.
*Endless knitting while streaming episode after episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, while I should be reading or writing or doing anything productive.
*Surfing fashion and gossip mags on the internet, while I should be reading or writing or...well you get the point.
*Eating cake for breakfast....and maybe dinner. I know this has nothing to do with the mind, but come on, it's cake.

It took me a while to accept these weeks as a part of my existence. I viewed them as a total waste of time and something that I should feel bad about. Not anymore. I realise that just as I needed time in my younger years to re-fuel the bod, I now need time to re-fresh the brain. And you know what, it's okay. It's human. I'm human.

So, there's probably more that I could say about this but Larry David is calling my name and that baby blanket isn't exactly going to knit itself.

~peace :)

the law of least effort

"natures intelligence functions with effortless ease".

Love. Love is the foundation for the Law of Least Effort. Think about a world governed by love, a calm and peaceful place. Now, turn that thought inwards. Think about how your life could be if you let your heart be your guide. Living for love. Following a path carved out of love. Finding balance in the truth of it all.

Deepak says that we can do less and accomplish more if we follow our hearts. When our actions are motivated by love, we find ourselves in greater harmony with nature. It is this harmony that further connects us to the law of least effort.

Nature is effortless in its beauty. Grass does not will itself to grow, it just grows. Leaves do not try to change, they just change. A river does not push itself to flow, it just flows.

In yoga, as in life we are constantly being faced with resistance. What if, rather than trying to force things, we allowed ourselves to breathe and surrender. Breathing into the resistance, surrendering the ego. Allowing ourselves to tap into our soul and find the love to guide us. We would find ourselves stretching deeper, reaching further.

By doing this we would be freeing up energy that may otherwise have been trapped in conflict. We could open up to more creativity and personal growth. By letting go of our need to "be someone" and coming into a place of just being we are connecting to our true nature - harmonizing with the nature of love.

Here are the three things that Deepak suggests in order do less and accomplish more.

*Practise acceptance - accept your past choices and current situation. Accept your surroundings and the people who fill them.

*Take responsibility for the challenges you face - they are opportunities in disguise - places to learn and grow.

*Establish awareness in defenselessness - steer away from trying to defend your point of view or trying to convince others. It's a waste of time and energy!

This week's mantra

Om Daksham Namah
My actions achieve maximal benefit with minimal effort.

"There is rhythm and balance in the natural world". Join in.

karma karma everywhere

For the first time in a while I'm really taking notice of my thoughts and surroundings. The Law of Karma has resonated with me in an unexpected way. I've never thought about karma in the realm of choices. As in every single choice you make can affect you and those around you. I had always thought of karma in a world of deeds. He did this so he has good karma. She did that so she has bad karma.

This idea of conscious choice making has sat with me and is forcing me to think before I speak and act. I dig it.

The other day my co-teacher hit a kid, hard. I'm not going to get into my views on corporal punishment in the school system at this time, another blog maybe. But what I saw really hit home. This kid, after being hit, walked out of class and hit a smaller kid, hard. IN YOUR FACE KARMA. And it made me think - your actions don't just affect you and the next person but they have an affect on a multitude of people that you aren't even directly connected to. My coie hit the kid knowing how it would affect her and the kid. Did she think that another kid would be affected by it. Probably not. But he was.

Ripple effect.

Deepak says, before acting ask yourself "Will the choice I'm making now bring happiness to me and those around me".

Imagine we all asked ourselves that before acting...what a world.

Karma is everywhere. And it works in different ways. Just as we want to avoid negative actions we want to embrace the good and pay it forward. Who knows what something as simple as just being nice could trigger.

What kind of reactions do you want to set in motion?