Saturday, December 21, 2013

Happy Holidays!

We will be back January 2nd with some new posts on all things wisdom, inspiration, and even some new recipes!

Have an incredible holiday season and a Happy Happy New Year - we are looking forward to seeing you all again in the New Year!

May 2014 be the year that you spread your wings and FLY :)


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Freedom


Be Not Afraid of Failure... Welcome It!

'Nuff said

Let's Talk About... Kadampa Buddhism

(Almost) every Monday night for the past couple of weeks, my sister, my husband, and myself have been attending Kadampa Buddhist teachings at the Akshobya Kadampa Buddhist Centre here in Calgary.
Life-changing.
You can check out more about the centre, and Kadampa Buddhism, here: http://www.meditationalberta.org/kadampa-buddhism/

Kadampa Buddhism is a Mahayana Buddhist school founded by the great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha (AD 982-1054).
In the word, ‘Kadampa’, ‘Ka’ refers to Buddha’s teachings, and ‘dam’ to Atisha’s special Lamrim instructions. Kadampas, then, are practitioners who regard Buddha’s teachings as personal instructions and put them into practice by following the instructions of Lamrim.
By integrating their understanding of all Buddha’s teachings into their practice of Lamrim, and by integrating their experience of Lamrim into their everyday lives, Kadampas use Buddha’s teachings as practical methods for transforming daily activities into the path to enlightenment.
(from http://www.meditationalberta.org/kadampa-buddhism/)

Get Cultured... Take A Magical Adventure

I've blogged a bit on the importance of education and my views on the matter: we need to create an unbiased curriculum for the people in "Third World" or "low-income" countries to learn how to use the supplies that "First World" countries send to them, how to become sustainable, conflict resolution, and allow these people to form their own, unbiased, opinions on how they want to help the world grow! Can you imagine the benefit that we would see - environmentally, economically, and spiritually? Can you imagine a world with little to no need for weapons, a world where smog and air quality was not a concern? 
The Western World can learn much from the rest of the world, too. The Western ideology is that we make the technology, we make the money, we distribute goods, we can only learn from ourselves.... well, no. The Western World needs to take off the "know-it-all hat" and put on the "open-minded" glasses. How can we advance if we are no longer willing to learn? How can we become tolerant and balanced if we are not willing to see past our own issues, our own wrong views?

Take an adventure! Get out there- talk to people! If you're feeling down because of someone, if you're feeling like someone has wronged you- talk to that person! Guaranteed you'll feel better, the other person will feel better (because, although we can't read minds, we can read signals... sometimes its pretty obvious), and you will be closer to reaching a sense of inner peace.

Isn't that what we all strive for - peace? Peace comes from an open mind, a soul that is open to new experiences (travelling, trying something new, etc.), and a heart with the utmost compassion and good intentions, intent on ending suffering.
Be not afraid to be who you really are
This does not happen overnight - it is a work in progress! But I have faith that it will be worth it and I strive to change for the better. 
Join me!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Come From A Place Of I CAN!

Man... spin class kicked my ASS today but it was so worth it!Afterwards, I felt like I had accomplished something and it felt GREAT :)
Instead of coming from I place of "I can't" and start thinking "I can"! 
So many people dread working out (I am one of these people), but it feels so good and even better when you finally see the results.
So, my new mantra for this is:

I am grateful for this opportunity to be healthy.
I am grateful for this opportunity for me to improve myself.