Garden Great Reads: The Untethered Soul

"The only permanent solution to your problems is to go inside and let go of the part of you that seems to have so many problems with reality." ~ Michael A. Singer

In The Untethered Soul, Michael A. Singer introduces the concept that we are not the voice in our heads, but we are in fact the "observer" of that voice. He explains the importance of examining how this constant inner chatter influences the way we experience our thoughts and emotions and their eventual manifestations in our behavioral choices.

Here, Singer proposes that the key to staying happy begins with understanding our inner energies. Once we learn to observe inwardly, we can start to grow into a truer version of self and operate with increasing clarity in our daily lives. With continued awareness, we can live with an open heart and become freer than we have ever been.

"So there are two ways you can live: you can devote your life to staying in your comfort zone, or you can work on your freedom. You can devote your whole life to the process of making sure everything fits within your limited model, or you can devote your life to freeing yourself from the limits of your model."  ~ Michael A. Singer

This reading might encourage exploration of the following:

What are the messages the voice inside my head has been sending?
Have the results of my inner chatter manifested peace or chaos in my daily life?
Am I willing to work towards living as a truer version of self?


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What Gives You Life

"All we lack is the willingness to imagine that we already have everything we need. The only thing missing is our consent to be where we are." ~ Barbara Brown Taylor

The nature of the Creator is alive inside each of us in every moment. 

Often when we find ourselves in a hot pocket of pain-filled circumstances we forget that we exist within His power to overcome. It is during these episodes, in that space where we are alone with our breath, that the mirror of self reflects clearest. 

"For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain." ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Experiencing setbacks be it through material loss or an emotional ripping is a call to commit to peeling back the layers of distraction. In that space of vulnerability, we can discover what speaks peace to our inner being and with patience we can begin to discern what gives us life. 

"Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organize your life around it." ~ Brian Tracy

Out of my quiet audience with self, I have found that when all else is stripped away from my experience, having my children near and frequent visits to the coast to rest in the cool mist of the ocean grounds me and increases my joy. As a result of this knowing, my retirement plans now include an oceanfront cottage where I can regularly commune with the sea. As Alan Watts writes, "you didn't come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave in the ocean. You are not a stranger here." 

And when my children come to visit we can sit, listen, and take peace in the sound of the waves together.

Yemaya Assessu

Assessu Yemaya

Yemaya olodo

Olodo, Yemaya

Are there people or circumstances currently drawing you away from peace?

How would releasing those people and circumstances change the state of your inner being?

In your most profound moments of reflection, what have you learned gives you life?

"Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought of which the sea would not be part." ~Hermann Broch

Available now on Amazon!
The BreakUp Call
Learn To Be Your Own Bae
www.amazon.com/dp/B079RWN286

Now Available on Amazon!
Unfolding With Joy
Recover Yourself
www.amazon.com/dp/B078LZ8PC5

Coming soon to Amazon!
Rediscover Yourself
and
Getting to Know You

Join the journey and experience the joy of unfolding!
FREE EBOOK DOWNLOAD
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Place it Upon the Altar

"By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything." 
~ I John 3:19-20

Easter season is upon us. It is a time of self-reflection, renewal, resurrection, and rebirth. Many are engaged in spring cleaning, simplifying their lives by rounding up all the outdated items past serving a purpose in their homes clearing a space for evidence of things hoped for though yet unseen. 

As we lighten our closets, dresser drawers, attics and garages, what of our hearts, our minds, and our spirits. This time of year provides an opportunity to confront and confess the disturbers of our peace, the blessings blockers we have submitted our will to as the habit of remaining in our comfort zones. 

"I have learned that the person I have to ask for forgiveness from the most is myself. You must love yourself. You have to forgive yourself." ~ C. JoyBell C.

Of course the beginning of this lightening, confronting, and confessing starts in the full acceptance and forgiveness of the self. It is impossible to clear the heart, the mind, and the spirit without taking this step. Showing compassion toward ourselves aids us in shedding our old garment heavy laden with self condemnation. Self love is ripe with the energy of freedom.

Embrace this season of inner spring cleansing and awaken the spirit of renewal from within.

Place yourself upon the altar.

Are your heart, mind, and spirit in need of spring cleaning?
What do you need to clear a space for in your life?
Can you leave what is no longer a necessity upon the altar?

Available Now on Amazon!
The BreakUp Call
Learn To Be Your Own Bae
www.amazon.com/dp/B079RWN286

Available Now on Amazon!
Unfolding With Joy
Recover Yourself
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LZ8PC5

Available Soon on Amazon!
Unfolding With Joy
Rediscover Yourself
and
Getting To Know You

Join the journey and experience the joy of unfolding!
FREE EBOOK DOWNLOAD
Reawaken To Joy!
http://newjoyzbooks.weebly.com/join-nya.html

Always A Pearl

"There is a kind of strength that is almost frightening in a black woman. It's as if a steel rod runs right through the head down to the feet." ~ Dr. Maya Angelou

The Black woman is the manifestation of the Creator's Divine Mother energy. We are crafted according to His Original vision, the vessels through which He birthed civilization. Somehow we have lost sight of this Truth.

"Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined." 
~ Toni Morrison

The Word of God says, "My people perish for lack of knowledge." As a Divine manifestation, let us return to the lessons of old and represent well the energy of our truest selves seeking to be reborn in us. 

As the fortunate Daughters of Genesis dust we are entitled to call upon our inherited legacy, the royal lineage of the great Ancestor Queens of Kemet. Cleopatra, the stateswoman and master of many languages and Nzingha, the great strategist and conqueror. Nandi, proud and resilient mother of Shaka and Tiye, wife of King Amenhotep whose inner strength and wisdom was of invaluable support to her husband. 

"A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear that results from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been injured then we will not produce the pearl." ~ Stephan Hoeller

It is time to draw upon the strength of character in the women whose lives provide the blueprint for survival without rights and resources. Yes, our slave mothers whose stories we must never be made ashamed to share continue to fortify our courage. Their essence is yet alive in our veins. 

Sojourner Truth reminds us of our womanhood that commands the respect due us, Harriet Tubman, who journeyed tirelessly to give us back our stolen freedom. Mary McCleod Bethune made in roads so we could redevelop the brilliance of our minds through educational opportunity, and Sister Betty and Mrs. Coretta, shining examples of how to be a supportive help mate to our men when they heed the call of God to be a Moses for our people.

"The pearl is the queen of gems and the gem of queens." ~ Unknown

So what are we teaching our daughters?

Are we raising them in the awareness that the Breath of Life was first breathed into them and telling them of the glory perpetually coursing through our Being. Or have we become examples of degradation, teaching them to function in the anger and self loathing that threatens to destroy us from within and cause the great Mothers of our past to weep from the Zion shore that yet awaits us all. 

Let us Awaken. 

Let us return to honor and self love. Embracing the wholeness offered when we pursue a spiritual relationship with God above the blind heated chasing after unevolved men and other false ideals we think will complete us. Let us see our bodies as vessels of Healing Light not playgrounds committed to folly and foolishness. Let us begin to study to show ourselves approved, rededicating our minds to higher learning and creative development that will empower our children and elevate our people once more.

Never forget we are that coveted black pearl, the Sacred sun kissed Mothers of the Earth. Recall that we nourish our children twice, first from the womb of our loins and then from the womb of our minds. Let us commit once again to our Becoming. A collective positive elevation as we transform in mind, body, and spirit.

Black Woman, heal thyself and reclaim your place. The daughters of the world are watching. Be a pearl. 

Always a pearl.

"Dipped in chocolate, bronzed in elegance, enameled with grace, toasted with beauty. My lord, she's a black woman." ~ Yosef A.A. Ben-Jochannan