Christine Lewis - 365 Positive Intentions (flipbook version w social back cover)

others because everything we have gone through is giving us the ability to help someone else. Be strong today. Share our wounds, share our pain, and find our purpose. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 76. Mistaken Identity Many people have a case of mistaken identity. Many people believe that they are defined by the clothes they wear, the car they drive, or the home they live in. They believe that they are defined by their job occupation or relationship status. We decide who we are. We decide what we create in the world and the legacy that we will leave behind. We have identification cards to prove who we are, but the picture and statistics on that card do not describe us. We have a birth certificate documenting the fact that we were born, but there is nothing that really describes who we are. We are not defined by what is out there. We are not defined by the external, but we are defined by what we choose to create inside. We decide what our legacy is in the world. We decide the impact that we will have on the people we touch. The way we make people feel defines who we are. The energy we leave behind in this life defines who we are. In this moment, we have the choice to define ourselves, to create an identity, and make certain that who we are is making a positive change in the world. We define our identity in this moment. We decide to be the example of the energy that we wish to see in the world. We create our identity. We decide who we are, so we will never have a case of mistaken identity. We decide who we are in this moment and in this breath with this thought. Decide to leave behind a legacy of love so that who we are is everything we want the world to be. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 77. Everything is Infinite Things that are finite are actually infinite because nothing is just defined by one thing. No circumstance is defined by one thing. We have the option to expand our perception of everything. When we consider why physicists must spend their entire life trying to document the fundamental particles of existence, there must be an infinite number of things to study or document. Even when we are lying still, we feel the energy moving through our body. One perspective is to just look at our physical body and think about the flesh, the bones, and the hair, thinking that is all there is; but when we think deeper, we think of the interplay of blood, cells and oxygen moving through our body. We realize that each cell itself is comprised of atoms, and those atoms are then comprised of protons, electrons, and neutrons that are coming together to create the physical version of ourselves. Our physical body might appear finite, but it is actually infinite. There are an infinite number of things going on in the space of our physical body and things billions of times smaller than even the atom itself. Certainly, we could spend time thinking of a complicated equation or explanation, but it is all just energy—the same energy that moves through everything that exists. Everything is ultimately energy. It is just up to us to decide what energy we want. Instead of thinking that things are just defined and limited, allow for something more and infinite so that the possibilities expand beyond what is presented to us. We have the option to focus on

365 Positive Intentions something more, so instead of allowing things to be finite, realize that everything has an infinite possibility and perspective. We just have to explore it in the kingdom of our minds. Allow everything to be infinite. There are infinite opportunities to experience the magic of every moment because nothing is finite at all. We can make it infinite so explore the infinite possibilities. Enjoy the day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 78. Lighter by Letting Go Ancient yoga philosophy talks about the practice of the Asana—the movement as a means to make the body feel light by moving energy in places of the body where the energy was stagnant before. It makes the body feel light through the big inhale we take in each movement of the posture and the pose, even if it isn’t a vigorous movement. In our Raja practice, we let gravity do the work, but the breath is still so important to move the energy through the body. Even if we are lying still, it is the breath that moves the energy through our body. Think about the movement- the inhale and the exhale. The exhale is releasing and creating space while the inhale is occupying that space. This process cleanses, recycles, and regenerates energy. The work through our yoga practice, our exercise, or our meditation is to get to that place where we are moving energy, creating a space by letting go of the old, and inviting in something that is brand new. We need to make sure that this “something new” is lighter and easier so that we are not carrying a burden or working too hard. Instead, all we are doing is making ourselves light by letting go. Feel a little lightness today. Embrace it. Let go of anything that is heavy and replace it with something that is light. Enjoy the day. Blessings, blessing, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 79. The Sum of Our Actions Start today by thinking about everything we did yesterday—every interaction, every experience, every thought, and every feeling and emotion. Try to assign a positive or negative value to the entire day so that the accumulation of all those emotions, feelings, and interactions altogether is summed up into one emotion or energy— what would it be? The idea of Karma and Samskara is that everything about us, including our energy or aura, is the sum of our actions, our habits, and our tendencies, all defining the energy that we create inside and the energy we leave behind in this world. Instead of thinking only about the accumulation of one day of energy, think about our entire life of energy. With the accumulation of all our emotions, feelings, and all our experiences, what one feeling or emotion will we assign to it? Try to pull that altogether and summarize them in one word. Hopefully, when we look back on our life, that one word is rooted in positive love, compassion, and all the things we want more of in the world now. That accumulation of energy or samskara—that sum of all our actions, habits, tendencies, emotions, and energies—will equal to something amazing, something profound, and something that we have offered to the world. Make certain that every component of our day and every single interaction, emotion, and feeling is contributing to the sum of the whole so that when we look back on life, we feel whole. We feel that we have made the most out of the moments and created everything we want our life to be right now. Make it a magical day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 80. Control Freaks Ironically, most of us who practice yoga are control freaks. We want to be in control of our emotions, our energy, our breath, and our body. Standing on one foot while trying to balance in a hot sweaty room on a four cornered mat is a training ground for the mind. We create this space where we are put under all these confrontational circumstances between the heat, the sweat, the balance, the strength, the struggle, the flexibility, and all things required to steady and stabilize the body. Most of us who practice yoga get into it initially for that feeling of control over every part of the body. When we find that sweet spot in the pose, when we can steady, be still, and control our breath and energy, we feel powerful. We feel like we can create and control anything, and that is what happens. This training that we give ourselves on the mat starts to translate into the way we deal with things in the world so that even in the face of all the crazy circumstances that might exist out there in the physical space, we have the ability to control what we create inside. We can be in tune with the breath, with our energy, and with that level of control that we have over defining our present moment reality. If we can do it in a hot, sweaty room on a four cornered mat, chances are we can also do it in the face of anything that confronts us outside of that room. Take our yoga practice into our life. Take our meditation practice into our life. That calm, steady, stable, secure feeling that happens with that deep inhale and exhale, take that into everything.

365 Positive Intentions Regardless of how confrontational the circumstance might seem out there, we can control everything we create in here. Make it a great day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 81. Mindful of Overthinking Choose to be mindful of overthinking because when we analyze and examine things too much, that overthinking is an exertion of energy. We are investing our energy into everything that we choose to think about, so if we overanalyze, we are spending so much energy on one thing rather than expanding the possibilities into everything. Part of quieting the mind is the ability to channel our thoughts to just one calming thing, one intention, one affirmation, or one vision of what we want. When we invest our thoughts into something, we are investing in what we want more of. Every word we speak is a communication of what we want more of in our life. Instead of overthinking and overtalking, we must be mindful and try to just focus our thoughts on one thing at a time so that we are not over- exerting our energy analyzing, examining, criticizing, or comparing. Instead, we are investing every ounce of our energy in what we want more of. We are mindful about every thought we think. Our thoughts are becoming things, and we know that we cannot have too many things in one space. Similarly, we cannot have too many thoughts in one space and still have enough room to create what we want. Be mindful of overthinking and over-speaking. Instead, allow our mind to settle into the perfect space of balance, stability, and silence because it is in the silence where the solution to everything exists. Make it a magical day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga, Namaste. Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 82. Concentration Limits Distraction Concentration limits the distractions of the mind. The mind can appear like it is hard to control. Some even say it is easier to control the wind than it is to control the mind, but when we concentrate and focus on one thing, that can be all that exists. That is why often in meditation, it is easier to light a candle and focus on the flame or focus on one breath at a time to allow that concentration to keep us present. Concentrate consistently on everything we want— our passions, our desires, our dreams— if we concentrate on one thing, that one thing is all that exists. Set the intention to concentrate on our dreams, our passion, and our connections, realizing that concentration limits the distractions, the doubt, and the insecurity and cuts off the chatter and the clutter so that the concentration on what we want is all that exists. Choose to concentrate on our dreams so that we are never distracted. Concentrate so much on our dreams that they are all that exist. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 83. Allocated Number of Breaths It is said that we are only allocated a certain number of breaths in this lifetime. The longer the breath, the longer our life. Think about how our breath reflects emotions. A slow, steady breath means we are relaxed and content. When the breath is short and rapid, we are anxious, fearful, rushing, and our blood pressure rises. The slow and steadiness of the breath can steady our emotions. Our emotions are intimately connected with our breath, and it creates a physiological response in the body. Stress and tension can be felt when the breath is short and rapid while the release of the muscles happens immediately with a slow and steady exhale. The steadiness of the breath steadies the mind, the emotions, and the energy. The longer each breath, the longer each moment is and the longer the quality of our life exists. Set the intention to focus on long, deep breaths because the length, the quality, and the steadiness of our breath are perfect indications of the steadiness, the stability, and the balance of our breath and our emotions just like how a steady breath steadies the mind. Allow each breath and everything we invite into this breath to be a perfect reflection of everything we want to invite into our life. One breath at a time. Lengthen each breath. Make the most of every moment and allow what we create in this breath to be the beginning of everything we want to create in this life. Take it one breath at a time. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 84. In-Tune With the Five Senses Most of us are very familiar with the five senses. We know that we can smell, hear, taste, touch, and see, but there is actually so much more going on. There are all these energy centers moving through every cell and fiber of our body, and in order to be fully connected with the sensations of any of the five senses, we must allow space for all the senses. The Chakras, the natis, and the gateways to the energy that moves through our body must be clear and open. Anxiety, fear, and negative emotions are congesting these channels and are preventing us from thinking, speaking, and feeling clearly; so in order to really be in tune with these five senses and be totally aware of the energy centers moving through every cell of our body, it is important to clear the channels. The congestion of fear, anxiety, and questioning is clogging our ability to think clearly—like those moments when it is hard to recall someone's name or when it is hard to remember the word choice that we want to use to explain exactly how we are feeling. The clogging of the energy channels is preventing us from accessing our own thoughts, senses, and awareness, which is why when we misplace something, we feel lost or confused, and unable to find that something. Set the intention to take some time to unclog, to decongest, and to get rid of the chatter, clutter, and comparisons. Get rid of the criticisms and the judgments. Get rid of any anxiety, fear, negative emotion, and anything that could be congesting the channels and blocking our senses. Allow ourselves to feel safe, speak, smell, and

hear freely because when we are in tune with each of these emotions—the beauty of the sounds, the flavor and taste, the aroma and the smell, the beauty of the site, and the sensation of the touch—all these emotions are giving us access to our life. Take the time to taste, touch, hear, see, speak, and feel deeper; and be totally in tune with our senses. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 85. Personal Truth and False Each of us has created a personal truth and a personal false. We create an idea of what we believe about ourselves and what we believe our potential is. Those are rooted in either a personal truth or a personal false. The personal truth is giving us access to something more—what we know to be true and what we believe about ourselves. The personal false is often other things that are rooted in doubt, criticism, and judgment of ourselves. It is rooted in that critical analysis of everything we think we can do, in how proficient we believe we are, and in how effective we think we are. The personal false is debilitating while the personal truth is empowering. From this moment forward, focus on our personal truth. Focus on what we know to be true about ourselves, our power, our awareness, and our energy. Never allow that personal false to deny our truth. Doubt is dangerous, and the personal false is rooted in doubt. The personal truth, on the other hand, is rooted in power. Affirm our personal truth and allow what we know to be true to empower and inspire us towards greatness. Spend time developing that personal truth and allow it to define the very essence of who we are. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 86. Glass versus Water Take a moment and think about a glass of water. Picture the glass of water sitting on a table and notice how strong, sturdy, and stable the glass that holds the water is. Meanwhile, the water is fluid; it moves with ease. Consider the properties of the glass and realize that as strong as the glass appears, that strength is making it so very rigid that it can topple over, break, and crumble. Its strength is also its weakness. Think about the water this time. The water has no attachment to the glass at all, and while the glass can fall over and break, the water will just flow easily. It has no attachment to the confines of the glass. In fact, we could change the temperature, freeze the water, and it will turn into ice. It has no attachment to whether it is a block of ice or flowing freely down a river or stream. We could heat the water, turn it into vapor, and let it disappear into the atmosphere. Still, it would have no attachment to the circumstance at all. The water flows freely and effortlessly with ease—no attachment to where it is or what form it is in. It is just in the experience and in being. Consider what we would prefer- to be more like the water flowing freely and easily? Or the glass that is rigid and easily broken? Decide today to flow freely and easily like the water. It does not matter whether the glass breaks or not; we are still flowing freely and easily. Enjoy the day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 87. The Universe Is a University The universe is our university. Every experience is an opportunity to learn a lesson and every person that comes into our path is a potential teacher. When we approach our circumstances as lessons rather than struggles, we gain the opportunity to learn something. If every experience is a test, we must certainly pass that test in order to make progress and move forward to graduate to the next level. Instead of thinking that the circumstances are working against us, realize that everything is a test that will strengthen us and give us more information as to who we are and what we want so that we are able to move forward. Allow the people in our lives to be our teachers so that we can learn something from every single person we interact with. In grade school, our teachers tell us when the test will be and what subject matter will be covered on the test so that we can study and prepare. It is similar to everything in this life. It is also preparing us so that we can offer the best of ourselves to the world, and that is graduation. When we understand our purpose and start to live in that purpose, we can give our full contribution to the world and that is when we graduate and are finally put to work. Allow the universe to prepare us for greatness. Allow every circumstance to be a lesson and allow every experience to help us make progress. Allow every person we meet to be a teacher because in this way, instead of thinking that the circumstances are struggles, we will realize that they are valuable lessons to be

learned, and the faster we learn those lessons, the faster we move towards our dreams. Enjoy the day. Set the intention to learn from every experience and take advantage of the university of living to prepare us for our dreams. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 88. Suspicious of What We Want Be suspicious of what we want. The act of wanting is an admission that we do not feel as though we have enough. Wanting implies lack; it implies less than. It implies that right now, if we want something, we think that, somehow, that something will make us happier. We realize that it isn't the thing that we want but the feeling of happiness that we think it can bring us. That is why we must be suspicious about what we want. Understand that if there is something we create as a wanting desire, that desire is rooted in a feeling and energy. What better way to create what we want than to bypass the thing altogether and go straight for the feeling? Be suspicious about what we want because that wanting energy is draining and is taking away. If we feel as though we are not enough and that we need something else in order to be enough, then the place we are right now is not good enough. That wanting feeling creates an inherent awareness that we are not enough. Instead of wanting for anything, spend time and energy focusing on what we already have. Focus on the gratitude and everything that is enriching our space right now so that what we want is never a material thing out there. Instead, we create the energy we want in here. Make it a great day. Be suspicious of what we want so that we are more proactive in creating what we deserve. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 89. Attachment and Anger In an interview, the Dalai Lama spoke about the ability to let go of anger. He said that once he released attachment, he was never angry. The attachment to the way other people behave and to the way circumstances should go, letting go of those attachments released him of the feeling of anger. From the moment he let go of attachment, he was never angry. That makes a lot of difference. His perception of the world is that once he let go of the attachment and eliminated the option for anger, all that was left was love. The Dalai Lama is well known for his teachings of unconditional love and peace. One might ask, \"how do we get to a space of unconditional love?” Letting go of anger seems like the easiest way to do it so that all that is left is love. When we are angry, we are unable to think or feel compassion and empathy. Letting go of anger is the gateway to opening us up to every other emotion that we really want to feel. Once the anger leaves, the unconditional love cannot help but come in. It has been said before that attachment is the root of suffering, so if attachment is the root of anger, then we must all have an anger management strategy. Letting go of attachments, letting go of the way other people should behave, of circumstances, of people, and of things and focusing instead on love is the best anger management strategy possible. What better way to release frustration and anger than to let go of the attachment? Free ourselves from the bondage of attachment and allow ourselves to flow freely in the space of love and joy. Enjoy the day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 90. Community Is in Our Nature Community is in our nature. It feels natural for us to congregate around other people and it feels good to be in a space around living things, in nature, and around animals because it is comforting to have a community. If we invest in our neighbor's happiness as much as we invest in our own, if we make certain that everyone else around us is even happier than we are, and if there is a collective consciousness of happiness where every single person walking around in our community is happy, what an energy that would create! It is natural for us to want a community—after all, it took two people to come together to create us. It is inherent in our being to want to be with other people, so we want to make certain that everyone around us is as happy as we want to be. Invest in the happiness of our community by investing in our own happiness. Make certain that we are offering the best of ourselves to everyone around us, so that we create a stronger and deeper connection with our community. Enjoy the day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 91- The Most Intelligent Organ The heart might be the most intelligent organ in the body. The heart immediately knows, while the mind still has to think about it for a little while. The mind wants to contemplate, rationalize, examine, and analyze. It compares things from all sides and angles to see what the best scenario is. Meanwhile, the heart just knows. The heart immediately processes everything that is going on around us and communicates it as a feeling. When we feel fear, our heart races and our breaths shorten. When we are happy and relaxed, our heart is steady with an easy rhythm. When we are in love or when we are connected, the heart immediately knows, and it wants to draw us deeper into that connection. It also knows when something is just not quite right. If we follow the heart, we have a direct path to our truth and to our energy, but if we allow the mind to get in the way, sometimes we can get off course. Getting into conversation with ourselves about what we should do, what we think, or what is possible is almost like consulting a jury of our peers; but they are all in our head. Instead of taking a vote from all the voices in our head thinking that all the rationalizing will somehow lead us to the right decision, just follow the heart. The heart is always guiding us towards our truth. It is guiding us along the path of least resistance and ultimately to where we want to be. Everything we want is always rooted in a feeling that the heart knows. We follow the heart without examining, analyzing, critiquing, or comparing. We follow the heart without questioning or doubting.

365 Positive Intentions We follow the heart and we allow what we feel inside to guide us exactly where we want to be. Follow the heart and let it guide us towards our destiny. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 92. Training of the Mind A swami once compared the training of the mind to the training of a monkey in a cage. When the monkey is first caged, it is anxious. Its only focus is on being released from the cage. When the monkey starts receiving regular meals, the smell and the taste of the first meal just momentarily distracts it,. Once the meal is over, the monkey is then focused on being released from the cage again. The anxiety sets in until the next meal comes, and the monkey is again momentarily distracted by the meal - the smell, the taste, and the texture. The moment the meal is through, the monkey focuses then again on being released from the cage until it receives another meal. Again, the monkey is focused on the taste, the smell, and the texture of the food momentarily forgetting about wanting to be released from the cage. After a few days, the monkey becomes entirely focused on the next meal and not so much on being released from the cage anymore. All it remembers is the last meal, and then all it does is to look forward to the next meal. Instead of living in the present at all, the monkey is constantly dwelling either on the past, the last meal it was given, or constantly focusing on the future, the next meal it will receive. The time in between is lost. Consider how we are living our lives today running from one thing to the next and the time in between is often lost. Instead of allowing life to be measured by one meal at a time or by one experience at a time, why not value every moment and every experience? Instead of feeling like that monkey locked in a cage just

365 Positive Intentions focusing on the last meal and waiting for the next, we can create an exceptional experience now. Maybe that means sitting in traffic and focusing on the rustling leaves as the wind blows through the trees. Take a moment to be in the moment so that we are not stuck and focused on the last thing and anxiously awaiting the next. Instead, we create everything we want in this moment. Make it a great moment right now. One thought at a time. Enjoy the day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 93. Getting Ready to Live Thinking back to my time in school, I always felt like I was preparing for something. School was how I was getting ready to live. Before we graduate, we think that everything we are doing is preparing us for what will happen after graduation; but in the meantime, there is life to be lived, and that life must happen right now. Many people postpone a vacation because they think they cannot take it right now. There are people who postpone their dream because they are so stuck in the routine of working at a job or doing something that they do not really love, waiting for a more convenient time to live their life. I don't want to be one of those people. I want to live in the moment, in this space, and in this breath fully and totally. I don’t want to get ready to live life or to prepare to live—I am already living. It's like preparing for whatever it is that calls our heart and spirit, but we are just waiting to do it. Don't just wait. The time is now. This is the moment we should be living fully, totally, and completely. This is the moment to be feeling a sense of gratitude for everything we already have. Do not wait for some distant point in the future to be happy because if we wait even one more breath to live our fullest existence, to live through our potential, and to feel the way that we want to feel, we will realize at some point that we have waited too long. Make the most of the moment.

365 Positive Intentions Day 93. Getting Ready to Live Instead of getting ready to live, decide to live fully, totally and completely right now. Make it a great day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 94. Unity Consciousness The fact that we can choose our perception of our circumstances gives us options on how we perceive everything that exists in our lives. Most of us have this space where we are stuck in polarity consciousness. We think that everything has to be labeled as one thing or the other. It’s either good or bad, positive or negative, right or wrong, or rooted in love or hate as if there is no in-between, no balance in everything, and no alternative to making a choice in labeling our experience as one thing or the other. Everything is changing, evolving, and shifting over time. Nothing is really ever one thing all the time and very few things are constant. Our experiences and emotions are not constant, so why do we feel the need to label where things are often assigned to an extreme good or bad, or the opposite ends of the spectrum? Happy versus depression—the opposite ends of the spectrum; love versus hate— opposite ends of the spectrum. Why does anything need to be on the opposite ends? We call this the polarity consciousness. If we start to merge into a unity consciousness where everything just is, and there is oneness in the way we perceive things, there will be no reason to differentiate between one thing or the other. There is no need to categorize things into one extreme or the other and nothing needs to be any one way all the time. We have the option to just feel, let it evolve, and let the experience be whatever it is in the moment of now. It is liberating to let go of the labels. The labels force us to stay in one frame of reference, and that one frame of reference is limiting

365 Positive Intentions our access to everything else. Think more in the space of the unity consciousness where everything can be anything that we choose it to be right now. One thought at a time, we are changing our perception of our circumstances. We get to choose to allow that thought and perception to be rooted more in unity than in division that inherently comes by labeling. Let go of the labels and live in liberation, in freedom, and in the magic of now. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 95. Possessions Are Possessing Us There is a strange irony in our accumulation of material possessions. The time and energy we spend focused on material things wind up taking our attention away from the things that are truly important. Ultimately, the things that we try to possess wind up possessing us. We create this feeling that we need to accumulate more stuff and hold on to it because we think that there will not be enough stuff, but the truth is there is plenty of stuff—too much, in fact. We need to create space by letting go of some of our stuff in order to make room for something better. It is very easy to be consumed in the consumption and be possessed by our possessions. It is almost a co-dependent relationship we have with material things. There is freedom in letting go of the need to purchase more and of the need to hoard and accumulate more of what we already have. Letting go is making room for something else, and we certainly do not want to be possessed by our material possessions. We do not want to be consumed with our need for consumption. Start to live with no attachment to things at all. Start to liberate ourselves from the need to accumulate and possess other things, knowing that ultimately, the things we are trying to possess could somehow wind up possessing us. Feel free from the material world. Close our eyes, look within, and feel the value of everything we already have. Make it a great day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 96. Let Our Mind Be Our Medicine Let our mind be our medicine so that everything we think is healing us from within. We know our minds can either be our medicine or our poison. Toxic thoughts are as detrimental to our health as eating toxic food. Most of us have consciously decided to stay away from chemicals. Some have decided not to smoke, not to eat or drink too much, or even not to consume processed and toxic food; but somehow, we allow toxic thoughts into our minds. Anytime we think of something negative about our body, that negative thought is like acid on the soul. It eats away that feeling of wholeness, completeness, and the feeling that we are in perfect health. That feeling that we create with toxic thoughts causes disease in the body. We have the power to heal ourselves with our mind. We can make a conscious shift to consume things that are healthy and of value, not just with our food and thoughts, but also with the people we surround ourselves and the places we choose to go. Everything that we consciously create for ourselves should be nutritionally substantial and energetically nutritious. In that way, we will always feel that our mind is our medicine. What we are allowing in the kingdom of our mind, what we are creating with our thoughts, and what we are consciously creating in our lives is feeding our soul, our spirit, and our body, so make certain that the mind is our medicine. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 97. Make Things Happen Some people make things happen, and there are others who just watch what is happening. There are also those who are just still, and those who just stand by and wonder what happened. The people who are making things happen are the ones who identify an issue and resolve it. They are part of the solution as they always think about what they want to create and do actively. Then there are those people who are just watching what happens. They watch and observe—they are probably creating a commentary about it in their minds—but they are not doing anything about it; so how is it helping or affecting change? There are those who just wondered what happened. They question everything, and they often have a commentary about what was going on, but everything that they are focused on had already happened. They are powerless in creating anything new. They do not have the ability to contribute because all they do is talk about what had already happened. We have a choice to be proactive and be one of those people who are making things happen. Instead of just letting life pass us by and just watching what everyone else is doing, wondering how they did it, critiquing, comparing or examining what already has happened, we can actively create what we want right now. Watching other people achieve their goals certainly can be inspiring, but how is that going to help us achieve our goals? When we spend time focused on what is happening out there, our energy is lost.

365 Positive Intentions But when we create what we want in ourselves and our space, we feel powerful. We are proactive in creating everything we want our lives to be. Set the intention to be one of those people who are making things happen now. Make something happen today and make it a great day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 98. Understand Their Emotion Instead of judging someone's actions, make an effort to understand their emotion. It is always an emotion that is driving the words we speak and the actions we take; so instead of thinking that someone's actions are directed towards us and taking what someone says or does personally, try to understand their emotions. We all have a common connection, and that connection is rooted in the emotion. Set the intention to understand the emotions of others so that what is on the surface is never as relevant as the energy and emotion behind it. Once we connect on a deeper level through our emotions and energy, we can create more of a sense of community. Instead of imposing judgment or criticism, we create connection that is rooted in our ability to understand the emotion that underlies the action. Make it a great day. Focus on understanding the emotions that are driving the actions, not just of others, but especially of ourselves. Feeling before speaking allows us to connect deeper with our emotions to make certain that our actions are creating the energy we want to see in the world. Blessings. Blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 99. How Deep Do We Love How deep do we love? What is the quality and depth of the connections that we make with the people in our life? How open are we with our energy and with our emotions? How deep do we love? It is easy to love the people we are intimate with. Our relatives, our friends, and our lovers are easy to love, but even with the people closest to us, we often impose conditions on the love we give. How deep are we willing to love? The depth with which we share the love we hold inside is equal to the depth of the connection that we will ultimately feel with the people we love. It is only through opening our hearts and expanding the space that love can occupy and that we can truly feel the depth of the connections that we make with each other. Instead of holding back emotions or feelings, we give them freely. Offer them generously. Allow ourselves to love deeper. How deep are we willing to love today? How unconditional will we be with the love we give? The biggest tests are in our ability to love people even when we do not like them very much. Even when our friends or lovers frustrate us. Remaining in that space of deep love is truly the test of the love we can give. If there is a moment when we notice that it is slightly more challenging to love the people in our life, ask ourselves- how deeply do we love? How willing are we to express more of ourselves? How willing are we to allow ourselves to be comfortable in the vulnerability of loving totally, completely, and unconditionally?

Allow the depth of our love to deepen our connections, to enhance our experiences, and to allow this space of unconditional love to be the framework within which every connection we make expands, evolves, and grows into something beautiful. How deep will we love today? Hopefully, deep enough that it touches us at the very depths of our soul. Enjoy the day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 100. Connect to Combat Loneliness Loneliness is really playing tricks on us. When we find ourselves in a space where we feel lonely, it is often because we have somehow separated or isolated ourselves. Separation is isolation, and nothing prospers in isolation. Oneness, however, is power. When we feel that we are connected with everything around us, that our actions are affecting and impacting the energy outside, and that we have some control over what we are creating, that is power. That is energy. The loneliness and that feeling of separation cause us to isolate ourselves more, but when we get out of that space of isolation and shed the baggage of loneliness, we are able to step into our power and create change in the world. Separation is isolation, and nothing prospers in isolation because we feed off our impact and effect on other people and we gain energy from giving energy to others. Next time we feel a little sense of loneliness coming, put ourselves in a space of connection. Reach out to someone we haven't spoken to in a while—maybe just talk to a stranger on the street or in the store or give an offering to someone who needs it. In order to get out of that space of isolation and let go of that idea that we are separate from one another, all we need is that feeling of connection and oneness to eliminate the loneliness.

Connect with someone today, make it a great day, and find power in that sense of oneness and connection, knowing that all we need is to share our energy with others to create a feeling of energy and connection for ourselves. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 101. Noise and Silence Noise is a funny thing. In the silence, the noise seems loud. Obtrusive. As though it is forcing its way into a silent space. The more noise we hear, the more often we hear it, it eventually becomes normal until at some point, we do not even hear the noise at all. We start to focus on the silence between the noise. Sometimes, in the midst of all the noise around, that silence feels awkward. When we sit in silence, the noise is overwhelming, and when we sit in the noise, the silence almost feels isolating. Noise is certainly a distraction, but as we feed into the noise, we become the source of it. We contribute to it. The more distracted we are by the noise, the more likely we are to be the source of it. The more we focus on the silence and stillness, the more likely we are to be the source of that silence and that sanctuary from the noise. Noise might be disruptive, and it might even intrude into our relaxed and silent space, but the moment we feed into that noise, we become a part of it. Find the balance between the noise and the silence and try not to let either of these external circumstances dictate how we feel inside. Find balance between the noise and silence, knowing that balance is now. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 102. Explore Inner Space We hear several exciting talks about space exploration—exploring outer space, checking out new planets, and seeing what regions of what galaxies might have the potential for life, but how much time do we spend exploring inner space? There is a vast realm of infinite possibilities in the outer space, and that same vast realm of infinite possibilities exists in the inner space- in our minds, thoughts, and dreams. Instead of spending so much time exploring the outer space and wondering what is going on in various planets, different galaxies, or alternate universes and dimensions; spend time exploring the inner space—that time we spend in silence and stillness when we start to uncover the deepest parts of ourselves and tune in to what we want most, to our deepest desires, to our passions and our dreams. There is much more to find in the inner space than there could ever exist in the outer space. Take a moment today to explore inner space—the space between the thoughts, the breaths, and the infinite space of now. In the exploration of inner space, we will always find ourselves the most perfect version of everything we want more of. We will find our hopes, our dreams, and our passions and desires. There is so much to discover in inner space. The access to inner space gives us access to ourselves. Enjoy the day. Explore inner space one thought at a time. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga, Namaste. Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 103. Doubt is Dangerous Doubt is dangerous. It undermines any belief, any intention, and any assertion that we make. The moment we doubt our ability to do something, that doubt sabotages our ability to make it happen. Doubt is disbelief. If we doubt our power, our vision, and our dreams, we will end up undermining the power that we could ultimately put towards creating those things. Doubt is dangerous. It is the most dangerous thing that we could possibly invite into our space. Release doubt and leave no room for it. In this moment, we have the power to create everything. The only thing that can possibly discourage or defeat us is doubt. Understand how dangerous doubt is and eliminate it from our mindset and from the space around us. Eliminate doubt and realize its dangerous ability to sabotage the dream. Leave no room for doubt. Instead, encourage, empower, and inspire, not just the people around us, but make certain we start with ourselves. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 104. Robbing Our Soul of Time As I was sitting in traffic yesterday, I started thinking about all the other things I could be doing instead of sitting in traffic and I feel like it was almost robbing my soul of time. I started to think about the other things that I might be doing on a regular basis—things that could also be robbing my soul of valuable time that might otherwise be spent focused on the things I really want to do. I thought about the times that I complained, the time I was critical or judgmental, and the time I felt regret, guilt, and insecurity. I realized that those times are even worse than sitting in traffic because I am robbing myself of valuable time. The time that I spend complaining, feeling regret, guilt, and insecurity is robbing me. The time I spend being critical and judgmental is robbing my soul of time. Our emotions, feelings, and energy are reminders of what we want to create more of, so we must be very particular about where we invest our time. We need to make certain that we are getting a return on our investment. We want to gain energy and feel more alive with time. We want to feel more engaged and more inspired with time. That is why we should not let time just pass us by or just wait to get to the destination to take action. Instead, we must create something right now. Set the intention to value our time as if we are paying ourselves for our work and effort; Value our time as if we are our own employer who pays ourselves to be diligent with time and to make the most of it. Make certain that we walk away feeling like we are getting a return on the investment of our time. Next time we are sitting in

365 Positive Intentions traffic, remind ourselves to make the most of that time. Our time is valuable, so we don't want to give it up, invest it, or put it towards something that is not giving us something spectacular in return. Enjoy the day, value the time, and make the most of it. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 105. Turn off the Lights Every so often, we feel out of balance. We feel that we are pushing too much, struggling too hard, are too stressed and too tense. It is only in the moments of relaxation that we start to let go of that tension, that stress, and that feeling that we have been pushed too hard or struggled too much. We have designed technology so that we can work longer hours and pack more into one day. The fact that we keep the lights on after dark means that we are trying to push and fit more into one 24-hour period than we are meant to. Turn off the lights and shut off the machines—no noise, no light, no distraction. Just allow ourselves to center and balance within so that we are not pushing so far and so hard or working so long that there is no time to rest. If we think about early humans, the moment it got dark and the sun went down, everything slowed down. It is alright to slow down. The cycles of the sun and the moon and of light and dark are encouraging us to slow down. We should have a significant portion of the day that is devoted to stillness and silence, so the lights do not always have to be on. The television, radio, or computer does not always have to be on. Certainly, cell phones do not always need to be on. Give ourselves a day, maybe a few hours of the day, to find time where we just shut down everything else and slow down. Take advantage of the cycles of light and dark and allow nighttime to be a time to slow down, to center, to ground, and to come back into beautiful balance so that when the sun rises and the light shines across the earth, we have the energy to make the most of the time in the light.

365 Positive Intentions Use the time in the darkness to rejuvenate, to reinvigorate, to restore, and to renew so that when we wake up in the morning, we are brand new. Take time, turn off the lights, and allow that stillness and silence of the darkness to rejuvenate and prepare us in making the most out of our moments in the light. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 106. The Access to Everything The practice of Tantra Yoga is perceived by most of the mainstream as just a pursuit of pleasure. Some think that Tantra is just some secretive cult where people get together and have these, for lack of a better word, underground pleasure-filled orgies. Understand that Tantra Yoga is the awareness that the human body should be used to get the most out of the moments and that the human body is a vehicle for our experiences. Being totally aware of the energy and experiences in the moment is the best use of our physical body. There are several spiritual gurus who talk about the practice of Tantra Yoga as an awareness of the access that this physical body is giving us to spiritual enlightenment and the realization that this physical body is finite. At best, we might have a hundred years in this physical body, but most of us can only really access half of the time spent in our body. We spend half of our time sleeping. The first 20 years are lost to playing as a child, evolving, and growing in our intelligence and awareness of the earth, the world, and our role in it. We are trying to figure out who we are and what our identity is. The last 20 years of life is spent in old age and being aware of how the body is failing. There is a small window with which we can really take advantage of what this body can give us access to. The entire concept of Tantra Yoga is to be cognizant and present in what we are doing right now for us to make the most of our time in this body, the vehicle that is giving access to the experiences. Once we leave this physical body, we can deliberate about what goes on, but while we are here, we must have a certain awareness that we ought to take advantage of.

365 Positive Intentions Be mindful that this body is giving us access to everything. Cherish it. Celebrate it. Look at ourselves in the mirror and compliment ourselves because right now, this body is getting us to where we need to go. Our mind is consciously giving us the opportunity to set a destination that is rooted in our dreams. Take advantage of the moments, use this body while we still have it, and make the most of everything we can create while we are in it. Explore, experience, and with enthusiasm, celebrate this breath, this moment, this feeling, this sensation—everything. Without this body, we would not have access to anything at all. Enjoy the day. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 107. Replace Expectation Expectation implies that we already know what will happen as we have predicted it. Most of the actual experience ends up being spent comparing the present moment to the initial expectation, and in that moment of comparison, we almost lose the experience itself. We analyze if the experience is living up to the expectation and we spend so much time comparing the expectation with the actual experience that we do not have time to enjoy the experience itself. By replacing the expectation with an intention, we become intimately involved in creating the experience in the moment. For instance, if there is something I really do not want to do, I can either spend all my time thinking about how difficult, stressful, or inconvenient it will be to devote my time to a task that I don't want to do, or I can choose to create an intention and find joy and pleasure in the experience. I can change the energy of the event completely. It is just a choice to shift my perception of the experience to create something that I want to do. Regardless of whether I really and truly want to do it or not, I can convince myself that I do want to do it. It makes it more enjoyable this way. It is like sitting in traffic or standing in line; we do not necessarily want to do these things, but since we want to get to the destination anyway, why not just make the journey along the way a little more enjoyable? Try to replace the expectation with intention so that in the intention, we can create a positive perception of everything—every experience, every task, and every interaction—especially those that we do not necessarily want to do.

365 Positive Intentions It makes a difference, not so much in the actual task itself, but in our experience in the midst of it all. Isn't that what our lives should be? We can create a little magic in each moment, regardless of what the physical circumstances are. Make certain that we are enjoying the journey along the way. Replace expectation with intention and make everything and every experience a little more enjoyable. Blessings, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

Day 108. Constraints and Expectations When we take an objective look at our lives, we realize that most of the problems that exist for us we have created for ourselves. We have created some ideals of who we should be, what we should be doing, and what we should have; and all these create a space of stress and expectation, which ultimately creates a space of anxiety. Most of the problems we have, we have only created for ourselves; so release the constraints and expectations we impose on ourselves. Focus more on reinforcing the emotions, the energy, and the feeling that we want to create. Instead of allowing ourselves to fall victim to these self-imposed expectations, give ourselves an infinite realm of possibility in which to create everything and anything we have ever wanted. Now becomes our opportunity for greatness. In this moment, we can spend more time living the solution than we do creating a problem. Once we acknowledge that we have the power to create something different and something better, we start to take control of our lives. We make every moment count. This is the time and space to create something better—right now. Be open to the infinite and allow everything we think to encourage and inspire us to create something better—one breath, one thought, and one action at a time. Blessing, blessings, blessings, Spoken Word Yoga. Namaste! Click to play audio

365 Positive Intentions Day 109. Name Recognition I am always impressed by the ability of some people to remember someone's name after just the first time meeting them. My grandmother is one of those people. She is almost ninety-eight years old but she remembers the first and last name of every person she has ever met. Not just their name. She also remembers where they were born, where they grew up, what school they went to, what their job occupation is—she remembers all these details about everyone she meets. Then I realize how she remembers their name. She remembered so many details about the person that she creates a story about who they are and automatically recalls their name. Not only does the name recognition allow us to identify the person that we are speaking with, but it also makes us feel connected to them. We actually connect ourselves to the strangers we meet that they are no longer strangers to us. We build a connection in our community by learning about each other and hearing each other's stories. We realize that once we start to talk to a stranger, we can always find a common connection. There are always some similarities and something that can connect us with the people that we do not know, and in that connection, we create a sense of community. Make an effort today and try to create a story about every new person we meet. Maybe it starts with a visual cue or something about them that reminds us of something else. Use that to start to remember their name. Ask them a few questions about who they