Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Stop

When everything on the list must be done, when things get complicated, when life gets overwhelming, when the clock keeps ticking shortening the time in which to do everything on the list, stop. Our tendency when we are drowning in too much to do is to push ourselves, insist on more efficiency, and demand more productivity. Or we freeze. Freezing is not the same as stopping.

When everything gets to be too much, we stop mindfully. We stop for silence and centering. We stop for an energetic shift. When we keep going in a frenzy, everything we do is tainted with chaotic and agitated energy. The results are disorganized, confused, draining and unfulfilling. But when we stop mindfully, our energy changes and that makes a big difference in how we feel, how we do things, and the outcome of what we do.

When we stop mindfully in the midst of all that is going on around us, all that we are doing and all that must be done, we hit a sort of cosmic reset button. To stop mindfully means to see what is, as it is, to recognize how we feel and let what is be. We come to silence with no demands, no requests. We come with a willingness. This is an allowing. We allow guidance and wisdom in. We stop perceiving chaos and start experiencing clarity, understanding, and heightened intuition. Obstacles fall away. Circumstances ease up. In practical matters, this means we see what is before us more clearly, we prioritize better, organize our time and resources more efficiently, and function more congruently.

Today is a good day to not try to change the madness around you. Let it be. Trying to change it will frustrate you. Take a few moments to close your eyes and focus on your breathing. That's it. That's all. Nothing more is required. Just stop and breathe. When thoughts drift away, come back to your breath and focus on it. Tomorrow, do it again. Preferably in the morning. Do it again the day after that. Create a habit of stopping mindfully everyday. Developing a practice of meditation is the stop that can help us manage everything that we must do and change the quality of the energy with which we do it.

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© Millicent Maldonado and www.soulcerer.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

We are on a short holiday. We return to our regular schedule next week. Love & light, The Soulcerer's Path.

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© Millicent Maldonado and www.soulcerer.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Power-Down

A few weekends ago I took a Power-Down weekend. Not as in the power was out, nor as in having an equipment shutdown. This was a personal power-down weekend. The hyphen between those two words is important when they follow personal. It wasn't my personal power that was down. It was my personal choice to do so.

It was almost the middle of the semester. With an eight grader, a doctoral candidate and a master's degree in progress at home, schedules can get pretty hectic. Our environment can get sensitive. Add careers and lifestyle tasks, and it makes it all the more complicated. It can be overwhelming. On this particular weekend, we had school projects to do, mid-terms to study for, essays to write. We also had classes to prepare, chores to do, and errands to run. There was no shortage of important things to take care of. Everything was critical. We were busy. I was busy.

I was busy and excited for all of it. I decided to do none of it. I decided to power-down. I took two days to relax, unwind, and flow. I powered-down to basic functions. On Monday, I powered back up. I was rested, alert, focused and ready.

Sometimes we need to do less in order to do more. As the weekend begins, could this be a good weekend to power-down? What if we took time to relax and recharge before the new week comes around? Today is a good day to start to power-down to then power-up.

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© Millicent Maldonado and www.soulcerer.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

All plans aside

At the end of our last winter vacation, I was a little upset. I had set a writing goal and did not meet it. Vacation was fun. We went to the beach, we visited family, we played boardgames, we rested, we relaxed, caught up with some shows we had on our Netflix queue and caught up with each other. It made for a great start to the new semester. I was feeling good, except for missing my goal. It weighed heavily on me. My original plan included sequestering myself for one week to write during the winter break. It didn't happen. Yet it really didn't matter. As a matter of fact, sequestering myself would have been counterproductive. I can't very well write about the experience of life if I don't engage in it.

Life nourishes our creativity – personally, physically, in business, in art, intellectually, socially, spiritually, and emotionally. We find inspiration in the daily grind. Interaction and connection with our environment does matter. We give, we get, we write, we create, we produce, we make, we compose, we choreograph all within the bounds of life. Once we embrace that, we are fed and supplied with the inspiration and the stamina we need to keep it going.

Today is a good day to be an active part of the life around us. Let us generously participate and generously receive. Solitude is a healing balm, yet, setting all plans aside, interplay with others becomes necessary to the full realization of our goals, dreams, and purpose.
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© Millicent Maldonado and www.soulcerer.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Where we dwell

Our dwelling is where we live. It is also what we are obsessed by, what preoccupies us, what we delay in.

It is what and where we wallow in, a physical and an emotional space that can be a blessing or a burden. We dwell.

Today is a good day to contemplate our dwelling. What are our recurring thoughts? What are we making our home? Is it pleasant, nurturing, inspiring, supportive? Or do we dwell on what has passed, keeps us down, frustrates us, or what we have no control over? Let us inhabit something new, encouraging, hopeful, constructive, creative, positive, honoring and fun. Let us actually not dwell, but move with a new energy.

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© Millicent Maldonado and www.soulcerer.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Adding injury to insult

It was no big deal, in the grand scheme of things, but this guy was really angry. He felt insulted, disrespected and wronged. He mulled over the incident long after it was over. And then his day got worse. He forgot his pen drive at home, which left him without his PowerPoint presentation. He spilled his midmorning coffee on his right shoe, which left him with no coffee and a mucky foot. His mood was so awful that he was unable to enjoy anything that day, including lunch with his best friend from college. And then, he closed the car door on his hand, leaving him with two swollen and bruised fingers. The injury was bad enough that he had to seek first aid and have his hand bandaged to prevent further damage. He added injury to his insult.

Being angry is ok. The problem is when we stay angry. We focus on whatever makes us angry and become unable to see what is in front of us. We become clumsy, forgetful, incoherent, graceless. We also become paralyzed, unable to emotionally move from whatever got us angry in the first place. We aggravate the matter by injuring ourselves physically because our mind is somewhere else. This is all too common.

Today is a good day to make a conscious effort to bring ourselves back to the present moment when we become angry. Acknowledge your anger. Give yourself a moment or two and then release it. Bring yourself to the task at hand. Focus on how your body feels. Breathe. Watch your breath. Feel your breath. Be aware of your limbs and your body. By bringing the mind to the present moment, we are less likely to injure ourselves out of absentmindedness. Being mindful will not only help bring your body and your mind back to harmony, it will open you up to feeling good, connect you to what matters, bring about calm and the stillness of Being, find something to be grateful for, and the opportunity to enjoy and do something positive with your day.

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© Millicent Maldonado and www.soulcerer.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

The courage to care

It takes courage to care. If we care about our families, we must have the courage to connect to our family disregarding other interests that take the time we need in order to listen, to accompany, to be affectionate, to be present, and to grow closer. If we care about our communities, we must have the courage to buy local, to participate in groups and committees involved in its protection and progress, to attend local government meetings and while there listen and speak up, to wake up early for clean-up efforts, to vote, to behave in more generous and humanitarian ways, to be active in whatever way we are talented, knowledgeable, purposeful, efficient, capable, and joyful in. If we care about the state of our world, we must have the courage to ask questions–of ourselves and others, to know our part and our contribution to the way things are and to possible solutions and continued efforts for a better world.

If we care about a happier life for ourselves, we must have the courage to examine our circumstances and the choices we make, to declare what it is we want and go for it, to choose differently, to listen to our intuition. For a better life experience, we must have the courage to express ourselves, communicate honestly, and demand higher standards. We must have the courage to upset the status quo, go against convention, remain true to our dreams, move forward through the fog, and explore new ways of thinking and feeling.

Today is a good day to have the courage to care that we may find on the other side of courage a better disposition of ourselves, better relationships, better circumstances, better experiences at school, work or in any other environment we are a part of, a better way of seeing, a better way of feeling, and a better life all around.
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© Millicent Maldonado and www.soulcerer.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.