The Experiment That Is Your Life

“Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions.

All life is an experiment.

The more experiments you make the better.

What if they are a little coarse, and you may get your coat soiled or torn?

What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice.

Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

So Much Love To You

Meagan ♥

♥ Rumi Love Quote ♥

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“Love came, and became like blood in my body.

It rushed through my veins and

encircled my heart.

Everywhere I looked,

I saw one thing.

Love’s name written

on my limbs,

on my left palm,

on my forehead,

on the back of my neck,

on my right big toe…

Oh, my friend,

all that you see of me

is just a shell,

and the rest belongs to love.”

~Rumi

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So Much Love To You,

Meagan ♥

TRUE FREEDOM

“Clamoring around and trying to get other people to change so that you can feel better is the epitome of the absence of freedom… And figuring out how to feel good regardless of the condition, by focusing the brilliance of your mind, little by little, into vibrational habits that hold you more consistently in vibrational alignment with who you are… THAT is the epitome of freedom. That is the only place that freedom ever exists…

“…The freedom to feel good, is the freedom you were born with. The freedom to expand. The basis of your life is freedom… you’re so free you can choose bondage…”

~ Abraham

So Much Love  To You ♥

Meagan ♥

World Peace, You Say? *Reblog*

Health In Equilibrium is soon to transform into a website format (which I am very excited about! ), and along with that process I decided to revisit my old blog Healthy Travels: The Ultimate Raw Experiment. I am currently merging, or consolidating if you will, the old blog with this one, and will be sharing some of those older posts in the upcoming weeks.

Healthy Travels was originally based in my work as a Raw Food Chef. But even then I found myself much more interested in exploring emotional health and well-being, rather than just the physical aspects of health.

As Health In Equilibrium moves forward in its development, I hope to share more of my work and services as a Raw Food Chef. However, I have come to recognize my writings - and that which I wish to share with others in writing - desires to remain generally inspirational and uplifting, not specific to any one facet or avenue of health.

My experience has shown me that true health, true equilibrium of body, mind, spirit, and therefore true thriving, begins within, in Spirit, before it can manifest or take shape on the outside – which to me includes our physical aparatus.

At its core, Health In Equilibrium stands for balance in all things. And as such, it is my hope to expand it further to encompass more resources, services, tools, and writings/sharings so as to enable you, the reader and follower of this site, to explore and find that which speaks to you and that which may help you along your own journey towards personal thriving.

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I have to say, at first I was shocked to revisit my older writings, not feeling that it was possible that I had been as connected with myself during that time in my life, as was shining through in the words I had written. After reading, I was filled with a sense of awe and delight, realizing I had been closer to the revelations and the answers to inner peace and happiness and health, than I would have previously recognized. What I can appreciate now in hind sight, is that I had started a process then, that I am just now beginning to solidify within myself. The message that came through in all of this is, often, we are much harder or critical of ourselves than is really necessary or deserving in any given situation.

We would all do well to remember for ourselves, that we are doing SO much better than we give ourselves credit for. Let us give ourselves more of a break in our moments of struggle, or other life hiccups that cause us to stumble. There will always be a starting point that is the necessary step that begins all growth and evolution. Practicing kindness and gentleness with ourselves during all steps of our individual evolution, encourages healing and recovery along our occasionally bumpy path.

All different life circumstances require all different time requirements for the process of maintaining or re-attaining our equilibrium. Therefore, we would only help ourselves by accepting where we are, right here and now, as perfect for ourselves. Now is just where we are meant to be, exactly perfect for our own personal journey in life.

In-Joy this post from Healthy Travels: The Ultimate Raw Experiment…

I’m wanting to experiment with shorter posts as there is so much I want to write in every moment and not enough brain hard drive to tuck it all away in. It’s stifling to try to mentally note all the bits of information I wish to share. So I’m letting creativity have its reign.

This last week has been a strong lesson in maintaining balance and standing true in one’s integrity. I feel like these are never-ending lessons as I’m sure they are for everyone, but it has seriously driven me nuts more than once in the past few days. I feel like I got it already, right? But, no… no, no… you missed a spot! Go back to square one and try again! It’s aggravating when you recognize a pattern within yourself which you know you want to change and do something about, but haven’t quite rewired the hard drive for success just yet. Blegh!!!!

Ok, that was the venting part. And here’s the moral: We choose in all moments the reality we wish to create. We are the driver as well as the passenger. Taking 100% responsibility for every detail of my life has been a lesson I’ve come to understand and grow into. It’s rough, having to admit you’ve co-created your worse experiences: accidents, mistakes, ills, problems, etc. That’s a lot of responsibility, and sometimes it’s just easier to believe someone else is to blame. I finally had to realize, I choose. And with this realization I am able to acknowledge the power to change the vein of my experience. If I’m not enjoying the experience, I change it. It’s actually far more liberating and enjoyable than the blame game.

 Us human beings have infinite power, yet we fail to utilize it on a regular basis. We blame, we hurt, we rant, we complain, we bottle, and we internalize. We give over our power to others and expect them to shape our reality, to shape our experience. And when they don’t deliver exactly what we want, exactly how we want it. Exactly. Every single moment. Well, we tend to morph into toddlers and throw a tantrum at the situation. Herein lies my frustration. It doesn’t seem to matter how enlightened you are as a being, how conscious you are of yourself and others, or how even-tempered you are. We all slip into the blame game from time to time. And the hardest part is re-centering. Rediscovering one’s calm. Bringing one’s self back into the moment. Letting go of the ego who wants to rage on, and making peace with those you perceive at fault and, of course, making peace with yourself.

It’s a never-ending cycle of release and renew. Today I realized it only feels exhausting because we tend to fight the process. We don’t easily let go of old patterns, old resentments, or any of the other items in the ‘olds’ category. We are presented with the opportunity in every moment to choose how we will create ourselves and our life’s experience. It is in those split moments of conversation where we can choose between the old and the hardwired, or something better. A healthier reaction, a kinder choice of words, a deeper level of understanding or connection. We all push each others buttons, whether it’s family, friends, co-workers, or even our mentors and teachers. I remember reading a quote once which stated something along the lines of, “Be kind to others for we are all doing battle with ourselves.” We are usually our own worst enemies, so don’t be an enemy to someone else in turn. They’re hard enough on themselves.

What it all boils down to is this: Each one of us taking responsibility for our own experience, our own lives, and our behaviors and choices. We are co-creating a world together, and if we want to stop spreading the grimy parts of it all, we all have to stand up and create with intention and foresight. We have to choose to stay conscious with ourselves, our lives, our decisions, our actions. That’s where the responsibility bit kicks in.

We all hear this from time to time from our great gurus and teachers. But it is in the moments, the split second decisions that we are experiencing this concept in action. I suppose this is what they mean when they stress being present in every moment. A little crazy to think about but so very true folks…

There was this awesome segment in my e-mail from Angela Stokes-Monarch. I greatly admire this woman for her ability to stay so grounded and connected. This is what her newsletter had to say. Enjoy

Going Easy

Go easy. You may have to push forward, but you don’t have to push so hard. Go in gentleness, go in peace.

Do not be in so much of a hurry. At no day, no hour, no time are you required to do more than you can do in peace. Frantic behaviors and urgency are not the foundation for our new way of life.

Do not be in too much of a hurry to begin. Begin, but do not force the beginning if it is not time. Beginnings will arrive soon enough.

Enjoy and relish middles, the heart of the matter.

Do not be in too much of a hurry to finish. You may be almost done, but enjoy the final moments. Give yourself fully to those moments so that you may give and get all there is.

Let the pace flow naturally. Move forward. Start. Keep moving forward. Do it gently, though. Do it in peace. Cherish each moment.

Loving you all out there

Blessings

So Much Love To You,

Meagan ♥

Finding Your Voice Once More

One day, I woke up feeling lost. My surroundings were the same: same clothes, same body, same people, same career. Nothing had changed. Everything was as it had been. But things were very wrong, and it was a feeling that registered in the pit of my stomach. Despite the reassurance of familiar surroundings and routines, nothing felt familiar or comforting.

Eventually, I came to realize what was wrong. I was boxed in. I had allowed myself to be defined into a little box which I had labeled in big red ink: PERFECT. In it, I had placed all things, aspects, and ideas I had deemed ideal. My reasoning being that it would fulfill a set criteria that would yield the perfect formula for “Happily Ever After”.

The real problem was that this box lacked a significant amount of things I actually wanted or desired. Unfortunately, most of the things I had a true passion for, did not fulfill the “perfect” criteria, and did not make the cut. And one day, suddenly, this box which was to be my comfort and security, felt like a trap and a cage, not the safe heaven I had envisioned.

Many of us can relate to feeling this way at some point in our lives. The lesson being that life is not a formula to be calculated and controlled but an experiment to be experienced, tasted, touched, and felt. Life cannot be some definable concept, or even a set of concepts, categorized and carefully evaluated as right/wrong, black/white, good/bad, wanted/unwanted. Life is tangible and real, meant to be explored and enjoyed. There are no rules in this game called Life. No limits. And the only criteria that makes any sense is the criteria that YOU, personally, are able to find joy within every moment of your journey.

If you are not enjoying your life, you are not truly living.

On that “strange” day, I realized it was all bogus. And what struck me as truth was that this day was going to be the first of many NORMAL or real days ahead for myself. I was starting a process that would pave ahead a new, better-feeling, more fulfilling, life-giving, and life-enhancing path.

Again, there is no magic formula. Kind of cool if you think about it – you can never be defined as “wrong”. There is a unique niche out there for you personally that is meant to be slowly defined over the course of a lifetime – decades of time available to you and unlimited subjects to play with. You are meant to play, make mistakes, discover, re-define, re-evaluate, but most of all enjoy, enjoy, enjoy… Awesome right?

Now it is up to you… Only you hold the power to make these choices for yourself and for your life… No one else can make this decision… Are you gonna step out of your box or remain within? My best advice on moving forward from this point on:

Does the thought of it (whatever it may be) bring you joy?

My Comfort Zone

I use to have a Comfort Zone

Where I knew I could not fail

The same four walls of busy work

Were really more like jail.

I longed so much to do the things I’d never done before,

But I stayed inside my Comfort Zone

And paced the same old floor

I claimed to be so busy

With the things inside my zone,

But deep inside I longed for

Something special of my own.

I couldn’t let my life go by,

Just watching others win.

I held my breath and stepped outside

And let the change begin.

I took a step and with new strength I’d never felt before,

I kissed my Comfort Zone ‘goodbye’

And closed and locked the door.

If you are in a Comfort Zone,

Afraid to venture out,

Remember that all winners were

At one time filled with doubt.

A step or two and words of praise,

Can make your dreams come true.

Greet your future with a smile,

Success is there for you!

~ Author Unknown

♥ So Much Love To You ♥

Meagan

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“Follow Your Dreams” Quote by Jackson Kiddard

Thank you Freedom From Ashes Blogger JENNIF3R for sharing this wonderful quote:

“The Universe is desperate for you to follow your dreams. You will be surrounded by all the support you need if you choose to see life that way. So many live their life in fear. It’s such a rare moment when one of us wakes up and decides to plunge into the abyss of the unknown that the Universe will rejoice and provide everything you need for a successful journey. There will be obstacles, so it’s your job to decide how to react to each challenge. I promise you if you keep pressing on you will be presently surprised to find out what lies just on the other side of every perceived “failure”.”

- Jackson Kiddard

So Much Love To You,

Meagan ♥

A Beautiful Quote To End A Beautiful Day

“What does it mean to love ourselves? You’ve heard me say that all love flows from self love and we will never find someone to love us more than we love ourselves, but what does it mean to love ourselves and how do we know that we’re not loving ourselves? If it is so important why is it so complicated? It depends on how we define love, how we define ourselves, and the measure we use to gauge wheth…er we have love in our lives because although loving ourselves has nothing to do with these things, it is through them that we decide whether we are worthy of love and can or should love ourselves or not.

Do we ever ask ourselves what love means to us? Our conversations about love are really conversations about relationships, where we have someone to love who loves us in return, or doesn’t. And we tend to confuse love, the noun, with love, the verb. Instead of a state of being, love becomes an action that can be given and taken away at will. And this is where we feel we aren’t in control of love because rather than ‘being’ love, we focus on ‘having’ love. And so often when we talk about love we bring another person into the discussion. We have love when we are in a relationship with someone who has said they love us. And if we don’t, then we think we are without love.

But our greatest challenge in loving ourselves is the ‘self’ that we love. While we see ourselves as a physical being and may even include our spiritual aspect, there are many different aspects to who we are. We have wounded and whole aspects, potential and realized aspects, we have past and present aspects. The ones we don’t love are the ones we are ashamed of, that are painful or represent bad memories. The ones we can love are the ones we are happy about. Our ability to love ourselves then depends on whether the number of ‘good’ aspects outnumbers the ‘bad’ and yet when we truly love ourselves, we love the one aspects of ourselves that matter,  all of them.

Loving ourselves does not involve emotions, memory or relationships. It is a state of being that involves seeing ourselves as whole and complete, perfect in everything we do in each moment and moving from judgment to acceptance. We are love, from love and in love at all times. Love is the energy that makes our heart beat, so we can never be without love. It is the spark of divine light that gives us life and that is with and within us at every moment. It is impossible for us to not love ourselves, but it is possible for us to be in judgment and criticism of who we are, ashamed of or shamed by our actions, limited by our beliefs and thoughts. When we can set those aside we know that we are worthy of love and it is by reflecting the light of God that is within each of us, back to ourselves, that makes us worthy of love, lovable and loved.”

– Jennifer Hoffman

Dr. Brené Brown & The Topic Of Vulnerability

I’ve been on a sharing spree these past few weeks! Something I’ve been inspired to do is sign up for Vodpod.com, a video catalogue website. Health In Equilibrium now has its own channel you can follow via Vodpod, which can be accessed by clicking here. Come check out some of the inspirational videos and documentaries we’ve collected! You can also view latest video updates displayed in the righthand sidebar on the homepage of the Health In Equilibrium site.

Brené Brown came into my awareness about a month back when I was sent a link by a friend to one of her TEDTalk videos. I instantly fell in love with her work and honest, open presentation style. An excerpt from Brown’s website gives us a good descirption of what her work entails…

Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past ten years studying vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame. Brené spent the first five years of her decade-long study focusing on shame and empathy, and is now using that work to explore a concept that she calls Wholeheartedness. She poses the questions:

“How do we learn to embrace our vulnerabilities and imperfections so that we can engage in our lives from a place of authenticity and worthiness? How do we cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection that we need to recognize that we are enough – that we are worthy of love, belonging, and joy?”

Her TEDTalk videos have become viral hits online and have been truly inspirational for both myself and many others I have spoken to. Please enjoy her TEDTalks posted below and in the words of Dr. Brown…

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.”

LISTENING TO SHAME

TEDx HOUSTON

You can find out more about Dr. Brown and her work at her website: www.brenebrown.com.

I hope you are all having a fantastic day out there!

Much Love To You,

Meagan  ♥

The Spiritual Journey

“Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back in our hearts. Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life. Meaning does not lie in the things. Meaning lies in us. ‘”

- Marianne Williamson

Much Love To You,

Meagan ♥

Nothing Left to Fight Against By Zenkei Blanche Hartman

I had the pleasure of reading an article this morning that rang true. I’d love to share it here with you all. The original article can be found at ServiceSpace.com where you can also view the comments and insights posted by other readers. Enjoy!

 

“During the Vietnam War, I was a political activist. I fought for peace. There was some contradiction. There wasn’t any peace [with]in me. I hated the people who disagreed with me. Th[is] was a kind of war within myself. In 1968, I was just beginning to look at the way in which I was vigorously clinging to my opinions about things, and denigrating others who had different opinions, when there was a strike at [the] San Francisco State University.

The police came with their masks and clubs, [and] started poking people… without thinking, I ducked under the hands of [the] people to get between the police and [the] students. I met this riot squad police[man] face-to-face, with his mask on and everything. He was close enough to touch. I met th[e] policeman’s eyes straight on, and I had this overwhelming experience of identification, of shared identity.

This was the most transformative moment of my life – having this experience of shared identity with the riot squad policeman. It was a gift. Nothing had prepared me for it. I didn’t have any conceptual basis for understanding it. The total experience was real and incontrovertible.

My life as a political activist ended with that encounter, because there was no longer anything to fight against. The way I described it to my friends was the policeman was trying to protect what he thought was right and good from all of the other people who were trying to destroy it – and I was doing the same thing.

Since I had no basis for understanding the experience of shared identity with someone whom I had considered complete “other”, and because the experience had been so real and so powerful, I began to search for someone who would understand it. How could a riot squad policemen and I be identical? In my search, I met Suzuki Roshi. The way he looked at me, I knew he understood. That’s how I got here…”

 

Zenkei Blanche Hartman

Former abbess of the San Francisco Zen Center

I hope you are all having a beautiful day out there!

Much Love To You,

Meagan ♥