Month: February 2012

Tuesday Spritual Fitness and Nutrition Tip: 2/28/2012

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Here are your Tuesday spiritual fitness and nutrition tips!

 

Fitness:  Breathe.  It might sound easy, but I see many people in a state of waking apnea.  Breath is motion, it is essential to life.  When we take control of the breath and breathe with intention we can move stagnation out of the body.  When we hold our breath it is hard to move.  As a fitness trainer I see many people huffing and puffing through workouts, some even turning bright shades of red by holding the breath.  If you do not breathe during a workout:  The blood pressure rises, your core weakens, and you can’t give 100% to the exercise since you will tire out quickly.  Try running while holding your breath.  It’s almost impossible.  We we become conscious of the breath not only in working out, but in our daily lives we see where stagnation is present, and we take responsibility for moving through it.  When the breath controls us, we end up hyperventilating.  Take a moment today and see where you might be holding your breath.  Exhale through the experience, inhale in new experiences.

Nutrition: Balance.  Sometime in our desire to be mega healthy we forget about balancing out our nutrition.  When we want to build muscle we may focus on trying to get as much protein as possible, but forget it is carbohydrates that fuel the body through those strenuous workouts.  Certain levels of fats must also be taken into the body for vitamin uptake and energy.  I’ve said it before, and I can’t stress enough the use of a diet journal.  It does not need to be complex, but a place where you can scan your intake and see where you might be lacking.  A simple dietary intake for those living an active lifestyle is: 60% of calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein, and 10% from fats.  You take the amount of calories you are planning to intake and multiply that number by the percentage (or use a calculator) and this will give you the amount of C/P/F you are supposed to intake for the day.  Don’t get too hung up on exact numbers, but this is a simple guideline for creating balance in your diet.  I’ve never been a big fan of math, but we can make our high school math teachers proud by using simple numbers to create balance in our diets.

 

Comment, share, and grow!

 

Mahayogi Das CFT CSN MAT PAT

http://www.michaelbrazell.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com

 

PBP2012: “D”- Daily Devotional Work

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The sun breaks through the window first thing in the morning.  We open ourselves up to the day, and we begin with a deep inhale, followed by an even deeper exhale.  Well, in truth… we often dash out of the bed to the sound of a screeching alarm, trip over everything we can on the way out the door to a full work day.  How we start our day can determine how we move through the day.  Starting the day doing a devotional practice can keep us connected to our divine self as we move through the day.  We live in a world that constantly makes demands of us.  We move into those moments, and often times we move unconsciously through these experiences.  We seldom take time to be with spirit unless something forces us to stop and slow down.  Recently I got laryngitis.  I very rarely get sick, but often I find myself rushing through life, giving my energy away constantly.  Having no voice forced me to slow down and take into account where I was giving my energy away.  It also made me take a deeper look at my personal spiritual practice.  They say never run faster than your guardian angel can fly, and in a world full of distractions and temptations this can be valuable advice.

A great way to start the morning can simply be sitting in silence and taking a few deep breaths.  If we have a particular tradition, we can sit in front of our altars, connect to the divine, and open ourselves up to guidance.  There are many ways to connect and ground into the day. Even talking a walk before work connecting to nature, or simply looking up as you make that morning walk to the office.  Consistency is also important in ground ourselves in our divine nature.  When we have a steady practice we have a way to connect into our day and to detox from a stressful day through positive release.  We only need to do a little each day to have a profound effect throughout the day and into our lives.  This allows us to be fully engaged in our spiritual work.  Here are a few ways to do daily devotional work:

  • Yoga
  • Affirmation work
  • Morning tarot or general reading for the day
  • Prayer work
  • Chanting or working with a mantra
  • Singing
  • Dancing around the room while the sun rises
  • Going for a brief walk in the AM/PM and being conscious while you are in that space.
  • Contemplative reading from a sacred text
  • Holding a stone and connecting into its energy
  • Doing a healing practice like Reiki, energy healing, or stretching
  • Breathing.  Focusing on the inhale and the exhale fully.

All of these can be done with just a little bit of time.  Getting up just a little earlier, or coming home and immediately going into your practice can give you a little bit of structure in that spiritual place.  Your daily devotional work can be complex or simple.  It can last 30 seconds or several hours.  Get into a practice of daily divine connection.  You’ll feel more grounded, more connected and more centered.

Mahayogi Das CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com

Tuesday Spiritual Fitness and Nutrition Tip: 21 Feb 2012

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Here is your spiritual fitness and nutrition tip!  Enjoy, get moving, and create the best you possible!

Fitness:  The fitness world can be an overwhelming place to step into.  Just like any new addition to your life you’ll want to take some time to educate yourself on what fitness is and how you can best apply it to your life.  Reading books about fitness, other people’s journey into fitness, blogs, and even watching you tube videos on fitness can be a great way to get the ball rolling.  This is a time you want to really activate your discernment.  Trust your intuition when it comes to the things you are reading.  The one true axiom in fitness is: “If it is too good to be true, it probably is.”  Do not trust quick fixes and promises.  Skip over advertisements and read about processes, workouts, and application of techniques.  Even reading a few books on anatomy to learn about how the body works can help you understand the process your body goes through when moving into a greater state of health.  Often we go running into new things without arming ourselves with the information necessary to be effective in our pursuits.  Take a few moments to read and grow.  I’ll post some resources in the next few days, so stay tuned!

Nutrition:  Sugar.  Most of us have a love hate relationship with it.  It creeps in to areas of our lives, and in some ways can be addictive.   We also need to take caution with the fruits we are eating.  Many of us give up cakes and cookies and make a transition to heavy fruits.  This is a good thing, but if you are eating too many fruits that are high in sugar you can also create the same overload effect.  This is especially important if you have sugar issues like diabetes or high blood sugar.   You’ll want to supplement your diet with fruits that are low in sugar.  You can check this on the glycemic index.  Even healthy foods have limitations as to quantity you want to consume.  Having a good mixture of low glycemic foods in the body keeps the insulin levels balanced out, which will also keep you feeling satiated.

Mahayogi Das CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com

PBP2012: “D”- Demons and Demonic Energies

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The demonic take many shapes in the media.  Ghost hunting shows consider “demonic” a rare treasure, movies use them to glorify the battle between good and evil, and we jump from floor to bed to keep them from eating our toes.  As a psychic/medium the demonic is one area I get asked about frequently.  We won’t go into every theory regarding demonic energy as we could fill pages and pages of blog space so I am going to narrow it down to my own personal encounters and workings with this energy.

What I have found are 3 very distinct forms of what I would call “demonic”.

-Divine Demonic

-Thought forms and Negative Energy

-Personal Demons

The divine demonic are the ones that we would consider the fallen.  They are the ones the church prescribe as the legion that follow Satan/Lucifer.  What I have found in my own encounters with dark energy are that these beings are seldom the ones that are present.  These energies have a purpose.  There is a lesson that they are bringing.  Many of the saints were tormented by the divine demonic and it was through that torment that they found their divinity.  Christ was tempted by Satan, etc.  They are the lesson bringer.  We are usually given several chances to make the right decision before we are given the lesson.  You are headed down a road and you feel you should turn around.  You see signs that tell you turn around (a song on the radio,etc), you physically have a reaction that makes you feel like turning around–finally they lesson is brought to you in the form of a car crash.  You were given chances by the divine to step away, and by being willful the lesson landed in your lap.  There is an energy that lines up that “lesson experience”.  These energies are very ancient and very powerful.  They usually do not step into all of our everyday experiences.  This of course is just a very basic touch on the divine demonic.  One of the theories that I particularly like is one the Catholic Church uses, “The devil cannot act upon you without first having permission from God.” So, this plays into the lesson bringer role.  Trust your intuition, listen deeply and trust.  Exorcism can be a way of moving these energies out of a situation, but sometimes just learning the lesson before we get to the point of full manifestation can also be valuable.

Thought forms and Negative Vibrations:  Anger, fear, guilt are examples of negative vibrations.  We can very easily create energy external from our physical bodies.  We can manifest experiences that are not favorable, and when we begin to externalize the blame we can manifest a darker energy.  When we push things outside of us that energy does not just vanish.   It can begin to manifest into “something”.  The danger here is that often we jump straight from the word “energy” to “demon”.  I like to invoke the “Ghostbusters” approach to this.  When the energy is present it needs a form.  When we jump directly to the big bad because that is what WE need to blame, then it will become such.  Here is a loose example.  We are constantly late.  Everything seems to happen to keep us from being on time.  We begin to externalize blame.  It must be something making me late.  Then we begin the process of manifesting an energy to take responsibility for our tardiness.  This energy is more common, and can take many shapes and forms.  The idea is to not allow it to go beyond the initial stages of just energy.  It is easier to cleanse an “energy” than it is to cleanse a “demon”.  We have to use caution with what we assume an energetic form is taking.

Personal Demons:  These are the personal horrors we create ourselves.  The boxes we lock ourselves in, and I’ve seen these often in persons working through addiction.  These cannot be exorcised or thought away.  These have to be reintegrated into the self.  When we begin to invite substance or distraction into our lives, even those energies can take shape.  Deep attachment begins to grow, and in some cases communication to the higher self is suppressed.  This is a difficult energy to work with.  It requires the individual to be present fully in the experience and to own those aspects.  This is not something that is impossible.  It requires surrender, love and connection.  Attachment to things that harm us are dangerous, and can easily sneak into our lives.  Food addiction, drug addiction, caffeine addiction are a few examples.  When we remove the substance we even become physically ill, which sometimes drives us right back to the substance we are trying to run from.

So, I can go deeper into this fascinating area of  metaphysics, but I just really wanted to give you a brief overview of what my personal encounters have been.   The more we learn, the more we are able to eliminate fear when we are faced with it.

Mahayogi Das CFT CSN MAT PAT

http://www.michaelbrazell.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com

Detoxing From Life: Cleansing From the Inside Out

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Are you a human sponge?

Life hits us from every angle.   Each day we are bombarded with energy from computers, cell phones, television, news, our cats, bosses, partners, spouses, and just about anything else can go here.  It’s a world of rapid motion and change.  We are all empathic to some extent.  What this means is that we are all little sponges that are constantly absorbing the energy around us.  Some of us are more absorbent than others, but we are all on some level internalizing the world around us.  The closer something is to us the more profound an effect it can have on us.  If we have a disagreement with a friend it might not impact us as greatly as an argument with a partner.  We also drink and eat things that affect us on multiple layers.  We also begin to see physical manifestations of this collective build up within the body.  An easy one to point out is eye strain from sitting in front of a computer.  On a deeper level stressful situations can cause ulcers and cancer is even associated with deep traumatic emotion stored in the body.  Our shoulders ache when we carry too much emotional weight and we even store old emotions in the shoulder blades.  We all know that we carry life’s stress as well as any personal stress that floats through our system.  So, this brings us to…

Hitting the Spiritual Flush Button

So, the example I am about to give is a harsh one, but it really illustrates the point.  Imagine the body as a toilet, and all that gunk that we are collecting with out EVER flushing is just building up.  Pretty disgusting image, huh?  Good.  Then is time to learn how to take the body into a state of cleanse and detox.  There are several ways to wring out the body.  We can cleanse through meditation, diet/fasting, and exercise/body movement.  There are of course tons of ways to cleanse, but we are just going to focus a few from each of these catagories.

Meditation as a Cleansing Tool:   The most basic and easiest way to enter into a cleanse is to focus on your breathing.  As we inhale we are bringing in new connection, and as we exhale we are releasing.  Many times a though will catch the inhalation, and people often forget to exhale.  We move through life getting caught off guard, and when our breath is not centered it keeps us from being grounded.  It keeps us from letting it all go.  The are we breath in brings in the oxygen or bodies need to survive, when we exhale all the waste leaves us.  We can attach positive affirmations of letting go and cleansing to each inhale and exhale we take.  Breathing in the affirmation deeply, breathing out any resistance to living it fully.  Depending on our particular meditation modality we can begin to go on a deeper internal journey.  We might even be able to venture deeply into each chakra noticing where imbalances might be.  Even in this space the breath is important in facilitating a release of those blockages.  You can also chant mantras geared for specific energy connection, or you can simply sit and relax.  Most of us rarely get to slow down.  Coming into full presence in an action of rest can do wonders for all levels of the body and it can help you through the detoxification process.

Eating/Fasting:  The body also responds to what we fuel it with.  I know everyone reading this isn’t vegan/vegetarian.  I also know that many of you that are not might not make the leap right away.  The idea here is to do the best you can with what you can.  The idea is to be aware of what we are putting into our bodies to provide fuel, nutrition and balance to the entire system.  We have to give ourselves foods that will heal us.  Raw fruits and vegetables of all varieties, cooked steamed veggies, nuts, etc.  Creating balance on your place becomes a physical affirmation of balance to what you are about to place into your body.  Make your own food as often as you can.  This connects you energetically to the food from start to finish.  You might not be able to do this every meal, but it is a great way to give the body a flush.   Fasting from foods that cause damage to our bodies is also important.  Clearing out sugars, caffeine, saturated fats, fast foods, etc.  Most people hear the word “fast” and immediately shut down.  Fasting isn’t that bad as long as you use proper structure when starting it off.  The key to a fast is setting your intention for what you are removing from your diet.  Don’t jump too far into the deep end right away.  This can cause the body to go into shock on multiple levels.  Sugars, caffeine, and other addictive food additives can have the same effect on the body as narcotics during the detox phase.  It will be important for you to have a meditation structure in place, as well as a fasting plan.  Fasting helps us to break out connection to addictive food substances.  Fasting also brings control of those aspects of our lives back.  We often reach out to food in emotional crisis, in turn giving away personal power.  Those are the food items that you want to focus on in the fast.  This will help you to regain control over not only your attachment to the food substance, but to the emotions you are reaching out with.  My recommendation is to not set a specific time limit for a fast.  You start it, then you stop the fast.  When we are working through emotional food attachment we do not want to begin attaching guilt to the act of eating.  This can take you down a dangerous road.  If you set your goal at 30000 days of fasting and then you eat the second day in, you may internalize this as failure vs success.  Even fasting for a few hours can be a lot for some.  Give yourself space to let go, to re-balance, and to re-connect to the self.

Movement/Exercise:  Physical movement is something we do daily.  So, here is your tool. Move with intention.  When you are walking to the bus stop in the morning, set and intention.  Give the energy from that walk to some area of your life that might need it.  Give it to some place, some body out in the world that might need a little extra boost.  Let each step you take during the day ground out any attached stress, distress or disease that might be present in the body.  So, you can attach a positive affirmation of release or just be present in each movement fully.  If you want to take this further you can take a yoga class or head to the gym.  Yoga in itself is moving energy towards specific functions. Heart openers open the heart chakra to the sky and often directly into the ground.  This allows us to do a deep release when we connect into that sacred space of breath and movement. Even working out can help to move energy into bettering the body.  Lifting weights fuels the muscles with new blood and growth.  We can attach affirmations of growth, movement and connection to those parts of ourselves that might have been dormant.

Release can take many forms.  These are just a few ways to get the energy moving and to begin the “wringing out” or “flushing” process.  Each of us has to decide what is the best form for us to connect into.  We MUST do this daily.  Over the next couple of weeks I’ll take each of these modes of cleansing a little deeper to show you how to detox fully from the inside out.

Please feel free to post questions you might want me to address in one of the up coming blog posts on dextoxing/cleansing.  Or if there is an area of detox/cleanse you want me to focus on let me know and I’ll add those in as well.

Mahayogi Das CFT CSN MAT PAT

http://www.michaelbrazell.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com

Tuesday Spiritual Fitness and Nutrition Tip: 2/14/2012

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Here is your Tuesday Tips for living a life of fitness on all levels!

Fitness:  Rest.  It’s a word that I typically do not personally invoke enough when it comes to my workouts.   Rest days allow us to reconnect into our bodies, and it also allows us to give the body a break from a structured workout routine.  During your rest days take time to meditate, or if you MUST do something active let it be something that is less impact than your usual workout.  It also allows the body to heal.  The act of working out is breaking down the physical to rebuild it brand new.  Days off, and rotating the body parts you are working is an important way to avoid injury.  Meditation is a workout for the mind, it allows us to be present, but it gives the physical body a bit of a break.  Take time to allow yourself moments to rest, and pencil them into your workout schedule.

Nutrition:  Keep a food journal!  No, not one of those little online applications.  The electronic versions are great and personally use one, but there are other things that you should also log when you are connecting to your food for greater health.  We of course look at calories, fats, carbohydrates, proteins.  You’ll also want to log how you feel when you eat.  If you are reaching out for unhealthy foods due to an emotional upset, this will give you a few moments to detach from the action of reaching for food in a negative way.  It allows you to also see where your emotions are during the day.  You can also write positive affirmations for yourself that are more personalized than something you’d get online.  The action of taking time to physically write something out in itself is an act of spiritual connection.  We are holding something tangible, and its a more “real” connection.  It slows us down.  Which is very important when looking at how we are connecting to not only our food but to the world around us.

 

Much love and light, and happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Mahayogi Das CFT CSN MAT PAT

http://www.michaelbrazell.com

Michael@michaelbrazell.com

 

 

Pagan Blog Project 2012: “C”– Channeling

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Channeling is a fun and sometimes misunderstood aspect of spiritual connection. Channeling is something that we all do. It is moving energy through us for purpose of utilizing divine connection. There are different forms and levels of channeling, and for this post I am going to focus on what I can direct and indirect channeling. Direct channeling is where you step aside and allow spirit or “entity” to speak directly through you. This style of channeling takes a lot of practice and you have to be fully connected through a place of trust with your guides, guardians and angels. This form is also called trance channeling. Edgar Cayce who channeled his higher self, Jane Roberts of the Seth series and more recently Ester Hicks are some of the more famous channelists that have used trance/direct channeling. Some of you might be thinking “No way am I letting something take over my body to speak through me!”, and that is a totally understandable reaction. I personally have done direct channeling and it does take a lot of work to get settled into being in that high vibration place. We have to use caution when stepping into this energy.  We want to be sure we are grounded in deep protective work.  Any time we are opening ourselves up and handing over control, you want to be sure that your natural system of protection is in place.  This can be affirmations, prayers, or any method your tradition offers for shielding and protecting from low vibration energies.  Direct channeling is not only letting entity move through you.  When we engage in energy healing we are also channeling the energy through us and into the treatment.  We facilitate the connection to the energy and allow it to move through us.  The difference in healing is that we are usually more present during the experience than in letting entity move through you fully.  Here are some examples of channelists at work:

Jane Roberts and Seth:

Ester Hicks and Abraham:

Most often times when the channelist is “in entity” their voices might change, they may take on different characteristics, and their physical appearance might change.  These are just a few examples.  There are a lot of great books, and groups that focus on channeling.  One of my favorites is “Opening to Channel” by Sanaya Roman this was one of the first books that really helped to connect me into this sacred space of connection.

Indirect channeling is more of a telepathic connection.  We allow a connection to our guides, angels, guardians, and even earth-bound spirits.  This is typically the style of connection you will see many mediums use to relay information.  There is more barrier between the person relaying the information and the energy delivering the information.  This is also typically what happens in a reading.  Whether it be tarot cards, guides, or intuition when we are relaying the information we are channeling that aspect in and connecting to a higher dimension of the energy.  This is the most common form of connection, but not many call this “channeling” but in essence this is what indirect relay of information is.  We are opening ourselves to inspiration, insight, and intuition.

Channeling in its many forms is a fun way to connect into divine space. Explore and look into channeling.  I have always found a channelists connection and how they came into contact with their guides fascinating.  Explore the ones I listed above and enjoy your own process of connection.

Mahayogi Das CFT CSN MAT PAT

http://www.michaelbrazell.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com

The Spirituality of Addiction: Work and Food Addiction

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Dynamics of Addiction to Work and Food

Part 1 of a Series on the Spirituality of Addiction

*These are my thoughts, my opinions and many of these come from personal experience with addiction, you might not agree with everything written, and that is okay. I may even be harsh when talking about addiction. That comes from seeing it destroy the lives of those close to me, and even coming close to surrendering parts of myself in dealing with my own addictions. All insights, comments, and sharing is welcomed. It is through discussion that we grow.– Mike”

When you hear or read the word “addict” What is the first image or thought that pops into your mind? Is it of a junkie sitting in an alley shooting up heroin? Is it of an alcoholic unable to control their drinking. Addiction is much more that these images, but these are the images that are most often given to us by media. These images are more extreme versions of what addiction really is. Addiction is the surrender of power to an external source. Many of us move through life without ever really knowing where we are surrendering our sense of control. Loss of power can come through a variety of forms and channels. Drug and alcohol abuse is just one facet of control loss. These can be the most
deadly, so they get more attention as it is important to move the person afflicted with addiction beyond that control sooner than later. For the purpose of this blog I want to focus on two other areas that I have had personal experience with: overwork and food. Within any area of addiction there are also emotions that we also become addicted to. We begin to lock ourselves into dangerous patters that do not let us fully live in our experience.

Overworking ourselves to death is not something you will hear played up in any media outlet, and you wont be seeing it anytime soon on A&E’s show “Intervention”, but many of us will take on more than we can chew, and this can in fact have un healthy repercussions in our lives. Stress is a big killer. Stress can cause high blood pressure, stroke, and in leads into a variety of other unhealthy habits (including other addictions). A lot of people consider certain drugs to be gateways into addictive experiences, but our lifestyle choices can also play a big part in this. After a long day at work, many will head out to
“happy hour” to unwind with friends and a drink (or many drinks depending on the severity of the work week). These are just quick ways to alleviate stress, and at times there is a sense of “peer pressure” to attend functions if they are work related–“I had to go, everyone else in the department was going”. Even the word “happy hour” carries with it a particular weight, it becomes an affirmation as to what is expected from the experience of drinking cheap drinks as a stress relief.

We can become addicted to emotions, sensations and overworking is a way of filling a void that might be present. It allows us to ignore other things that might be going on in our lives. We begin to reach out for substances that will fill the void, or give us cause to turn away from what is most needed. We can even create “victim dynamics” which allow us to use our addiction to justify situations. “The reason s/he left me was because they do not understand or appreciate the work that I do, or the hours that I have to put in, etc.” These kinds of statements deflect personal responsibility for connecting into a place of growth within the relationship or other things that are avoided/ignored/or put off because work becomes that “thing” that fills every corner of our lives. We have to balance our lives fully and create positive outlets of connection to the world around us. Our lives are not just defined by work or community achievements, they are defined by how we treat those closest to us. We have to allow others into this space, we have to create the balance that will allow for interpersonal growth. We have to look around us and see where we need
to show up in our lives fully beyond work. If you are overworking or using work to avoid situations in your personal life, you have to ask yourself the underlying reasons for this deflection? Is there fear in stepping into your life fully? Is there fear in connecting fully to a loved one? Are you more comfortable as a victim than a participant? Asking these questions through a meditation might give you some guidance on what/who and why you
may be playing into avoidance.

Food addiction is another area that gets a little more focus than work addiction, but it can be even more deadly as it has direct impact on our physical bodies. Most people assume that illness such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes are primarily genetic. These illnesses have a greater chance of forming due to our dietary choices, so it is our eating habits that tend to be passed down from generation to generation. As we grow up we build a relationship with food, and there are extremes within that dynamic. Some of us learn to reach out to food to fill a void, others learn to restrict food choices as a place to regain control. Food can bring pleasure and pain, health or sickness, well-being or distress. We have to begin to define our relationship to food in a healthier vibration. When we are reaching out to fill a void we eat more than we need to. In turn we attract guilt, resentment, and the underlying thing creating the void remains present. It doesn’t just disappear because we decided to eat the entire bag of chips. Certain foods can also excite addictions within us. Sugar, caffeine, chocolate, fats all have properties that can affect certain areas of the brain that are also associated with other chemical dependency. I wont discuss all of the dynamics in this post. Think about this, have you ever said “I can’t live without… cheese, chocolate, cupcakes, etc…” that is an affirmation of an addiction. Many will
argue that this is said jokingly, but others will agree that if they are forced to give up their morning coffee they would suffer throughout the day. We create an energetic dynamic and connection to the things we put into our bodies. We have to take accountability for our health. When we eat because someone made us angry/upset/sad we are giving power over to someone who is more than likely NOT spending and equal amount of time in the same space. Not only are you giving away personal power you are reaching causing self harm by
filling that emotion with food. I am not saying that having a cupcake or a candy bar is bad, it is what we attach to that food item that becomes the crutch of the addiction. Cupcakes take on the role as saviour vs a delicious treat to enjoy after dinner or on special occasions. This is also giving away power, we become a victim, and many give up. Food addiction requires us to wake up to different choices that allow us to build a positive connection to ourselves and what we attach to food.  Affirmations are powerful ways to grow out of a food addiction. Reaching out for healthier choices, allow ourselves the occasional treat and overall taking care of the body gives us greater sense of connection to the physical self. This brings the spiritual and physical self into greater alignment.
I’ll be going into this deeper in future posts, and I don’t want to make it sound like it is as easy as saying one affirmation to change the food relationship dynamic. It takes a while to go into an addiction and it will take time to step out of one.

Each day we are given opportunities to grow, to be part of this experience and to live this life fully. Understanding where you are allows you the freedom to grow, and it give you the tools to detach from into greater states of being. Take a look at where you currently are and breathe your life in.

Mahayogi Das CFT CSN MAT PAT
http://www.michaelbrazell.com
michael@michaelbrazell.com

Tuesday Spiritual Fitness and Nutrition Tip 2/7/2012

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Finding time to integrate fitness in our day can be a challenge.  Here are a few tips to get the process going!

 

Fitness:  Consistency is important when it comes to integrating a fitness plan into action.  Try and workout at the same time every day.  Once you get yourself on a solid routine it will be easier for you to maintain it, and it will be also be something you can look forward to doing.  Early morning workouts can be a great way to start the day, and evening workouts can be a great way to release stress from a hectic day.  Choose a time that works best for you, and commit to sticking with it for a week.  It might mean that you have to get up a little earlier, or cut out a happy hour here or there, but you’ll be glad you did!

 

Nutrition:  Eating with consistency can also help us bring our metabolism into greater alignment.   First be sure that you are drinking plenty of water throughout the day.  This will keep toxins flushed out of the body, and it helps to keep you balanced.  If you work out in the mornings you first meal should be no later than 30 min after the workout.  The day should then be divided into 6-8 smaller meals and snack throughout the day.  This keeps your metabolism constantly fueled.  Too often we eat snacks or drink juices that are high in sugar.  This causes your insulin to spike making you feel more hungry.  Having a consistent diet also gives you something to look forward to every couple of hours.  You’ll be less likely to binge at the sushi bar, or eat an extra dessert.  If you are someone that has trouble breaking free from your computer you might need to buy a countdown timer to remind you that it’s time to fuel up the body.   Write out your diet plan, journal it, and keep with it.  There are also a lot of great apps that you can download to your phone for easy tracking of calories, foods, and exercise.

If you have any questions, want to see tips on specific topics, or just have comments—feel free to leave them below!

 

Mahayogi Das CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com

 

PBP2012: “C”- Compassion In Our Spiritual Practice

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Most would assume that spiritual people are also compassionate people.  Most in many ways are.  Through our divine work, we do our best to create positive energy in the world around us.  We look for where energy is needed and we give freely when we are able.  One aspect of compassion that is often times overlooked or taken for granted is “compassion to self”.   Turning compassion inward is usually something that is taken for granted.  We live in a world that moves faster than ever before, and this year life seems to be moving even faster.  We have to take time for ourselves and truly LIVE our great work.  I see so many spiritual people running themselves into the ground trying to be everywhere at all times.  This in turn causes harm to the self, the physical body takes on excess stress, chaos, and at times sickness.   We have to look at where we can love ourselves as fully and fiercely as we love our paths and those we are of service to.  “Healer heal thyself”, is a phrase that comes to mind.  If you are in leadership within our spiritual communities and you take on too much you are not living in the deepest aspect of what community is.  Delegation of responsibility enables trust to be shared within a group, and it lets you breathe.  We have to take time to connect to a sense of what we need to create greater growth for our path.  Compassion for the self is not being selfish, but it is something that is necessary to create space for us to heal, to grow, and to foster deeper connections within our communities.

Walking a spiritual path means more that reaching out, we have to reach in.  Being kind to ourselves, not holding on to judgement, and just allowing ourselves to be is necessary for growth.  If you are connected to a healing modality take time to use it on yourself.  We all have the capacity to generate and create healing for ourselves.  We must not overwhelm ourselves with more that we can handle.

Here are a few quick steps to bring compassionate connection into your heart:

1) Take a look at how much you are taking on, and delegate where necessary.  Our spiritual paths and lives are usually busy ones, but we can not be effective leaders if we are chronically overworked.

2) Take time to “heal thyself”.  Take time to breath and to center yourself daily.  Turn off the TV, shut off Facebook, and turn off the cell phone.  Give yourself a few moments each day to “disconnect” from all of life’s distractions.

3) Appreciate your body by moving into healthier lifestyles.  When we are running ourselves into the ground with unhealthy eating choices we are not being kind to our bodies.  We only have body, and we must take care of it.  We must be kind and compassionate to the flesh and bone structure that houses our soul.  Go for a walk, set realistic fitness goals, take a yoga class, make positive dietary changes and give yourself time to relax.

4) Practice presence and show up to your life.

These are just a few steps in extending kindness to the self.  What are some ways that you extend kindness to yourself?

Mahayogi Das CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com