My step dad always used to say to me "If you want something, what are you willing to give up to get it?" As a high school kid I thought...nothing! I don't want to give up anything. But those words have always stayed with me. I believe my new question is "If you want something, What are you willing to SHIFT?"
I am in to the idea of shifting my life right now. I have been into that idea for a long time, but didn't see the results happen as quickly, or as I had thought they would happen. This brought me to the conclusion that if I want to see a massive shift in my life, if I truly want things to change, then I have to do some things I have never done. Because, in order to live a life that we have never lived, but would like to, we have to do things we have never done to get there.
There have been many things I have said that I would like to do. One being a cleanse. I have done cleanses before, but never a full blown really get down and dirty cleanse! I have known for a while that I have had an addiction to sugar and probably caffeine. Although I have gotten much wiser about my sugar and caffeine addictions eating (healthier) sugars and drinking Herba Matte instead of coffee, I noticed it was still hindering my ability to just be. If any little issue came up I watched myself race to the kitchen for a cup of Matte, or something sweet. I saw myself reaching for sweet after a meal. I am trained in how to watch my brain and thoughts, I watched all of that happening, knowing it was just some illusive craving of my mind, saying "I am uncomfortable, let's do something about this fast," and every time I did. I have decided to do a cleanse that involves taking out all things that contain sugar, even fruit and potatoes. In case you haven't heard, sugar is a drug, just like nicotine. I was tired of being a victim of my mind. I have also cut out caffeine and cheese and a list of other things. I have been doing that for about a week now and today I am starting my second attempt at a juice fast. Day one and so far so good. The last time I tried this I caved in the evening and ate some crackers, but I think it is important to have a plan as to how you are going to do this and have a lot of liquids just ready to go around you. I am excited to make this commitment to myself and my body, I had been having a lot of digestive problems and was ready for a change.
So the number one thing I am shifting is kicking my sugar and caffeine habit.
The second thing I am shifting is tithing. Byron Katie says "If you want something and you don't have it yet, you don't want it bad enough." If I am truly ready to bring in prosperity like I have never known, then I have to do something I have never done and that is donate 10% of ALL my earnings to a charity, or a place that gives me spiritual nourishment. The concept of tithing is another thing I have been wanting to do, but just kept putting it off. The whole concept of if you give you shall receive is so vital. But it goes beyond just receiving something from what you give. If you are giving 10% of what you earn, even when you are seeing that money go out and thinking, wow I really need some new yoga pants, or I could pay a lot of bills with that money and you do it Anyway and TRUST that the universe has your back, you are making a big shift.
The Ego has a "get" mentality instead of a "give" mentality. Giving gives you the essence of abundance.
I had this sense of trust when I was traveling that I was being taken care of always, but I get back to the hustle of LA and I lost a lot of that. Now I am putting my full trust in the universe and giving 10% of what I make to help someone else. It feels really good, but I must admit that it is not easy, especially when I am wondering at times how I am going to pay my bills.
The other thing I am shifting is to take 10% of what I earn and put it in my savings account. Which is an account that has not heard from me in a while! I am committed to doing this for myself and for my future. So right away 20% of my earnings are taken. I asked the question to a friend who suggested I do this "What if you don't have the money to do either of those things, then what?" She said, then do it anyway. You have to start trusting that all your needs will be met. This really shocked me and I immediately saw how doing these two things will shift my concept of money and deepen my trust that I am always being taken care of. I decided to commit.
The third thing I am still in the process of working on and committing to is getting up at Sadhana hours, 3:30 am and meditating daily. This is a practice that is strongly suggested in Kundalini yoga, because it is the hour when the veil is the most thin. That makes it the best time to meditate. I want to devote more time to my spiritual practice and nurturing my spark! It is of vital importance to stay strong and be a light in this world and the only way to do that is for us all to nurture our spark by meditating. I am still working on this one, but at the very least I want to get up at 6:30 or 7am everyday and do my practice. Making that commitment to myself is important to me and I feel off when I don't do this.
So there you have it! This is my plan to create miracles in my life. I have to make room for miracles to happen. If I want to have a life like I have never experienced before and have abundance beyond my imagination I have to do what I have never done. It is that simple.
I would love to hear what shifts you are wanting to make to create the life you have always imagined.
Much love and light,
Erin
