8 Things to Consider as we Ring in The New Year: Clearing Space for 2015

boho daily-Tiny Devotions Blog

I love New Year’s! Not for the parties, the ball dropping, champagne, or the sparkly dresses, but because it marks a time of new beginnings. It is the perfect moment to pause, reflect, let go, and create.

Acknowledge all that transpired over the last year. Look how far you have come! Look at what you have accomplished, where you have struggled, succeeded, and failed. Now accept where you are in this moment and clear space to invite in a powerful future.

Here are 8 tips to create space in your life and welcome the new year…

1. Be still.
Listen. All that you seek is inside of you. Just sit. Let your mind slow down. focus on the body, focus on your breath. Tune in. Clear out the chaos. Return to this place again and again.

2. Forgive.
When we hold on to resentment and anger towards others, we become imprisoned there, held in a loop of doubt, fear, pain and sadness. When we forgive we release. When we release we set ourselves free and live to love on.

3. Let it go.

We tend to ruminate and dwell on the past. We get caught in a loop of recycled thoughts, and this creates a continuation of old patterns that do not serve us. This is a time to ceremoniously let it go!

Make a list of things in your life that are not serving, nourishing, or expanding you. This could include a relationship, an attitude about someone (including yourself), a job, or a way of being that has been keeping you stuck.  Write until you cannot write anymore, until everything pours out onto that piece of paper, then set it on fire. Burn it and release yourself from the confines of the past! The now is all we have.

4. Trust
What will be will be, whether or not we decide to trust. We cannot control much outside of ourselves, but we can control how we react to the mysterious ways of the universe. If we decide not to trust, we remain imprisoned by memories of pain and hurt. We must trust that what comes up, does so in order to deliver us to exactly where we are supposed to be at exactly the right time, and to teach us the lessons in this life that will ultimately set us free.

Surrender! Crack yourself open and relinquish the illusion of control in order to step into the chaos and offer yourself to the unknown.

“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.”-Eckhart Tolle

5. Be joyful.
Gratitude is the pathway to contentment. It is all about being present to the abundance that exists in your life right now. It takes three positives to cancel out one negative.  Look at your day hour by hour, moment by moment, and appreciate the little joys that occur; the really simple things. Such as: a smile from a passerby, a really good cup of coffee in the morning, or a hug from a loved one. At the end of the day reflect on three things that you feel especially grateful for that happened that day. Write it down and repeat. What you focus on expands. Focus on beauty, light, and love. Recognize its abundance in our world.

6. Be open.
Be open to receive the magic and experience the synchronicity. The more we experience, both good and bad, the more we expand. The more we expand, the more we understand what this human experience really is.

“You are not IN the universe, you ARE theuniverse, an intrinsic part of it. Ultimately you are not a persons, but a focal point where the universe is becoming conscious of itself. What an amazing miracle.” -Eckhart Tolle

7. Be the creator.
Be willing to constantly recreate yourself. We choose our path and our destiny with our intentions, words, and actions. We have a choice in every moment. The more present we become, the more spontaneous our choices will be. We can then strip away layers of conditioning and stories about who and what we are, leaving us able to live each day and each moment fully.

What do you wish to create for yourself and the world? THINK BIG! Open your journal and write it down. Write until the ink runs out.

8. Choose love and breathe.
Yup, that simple. Choose to operate out of love. Keep on expanding with each and every breath.

Its time to transcend the illusory roadblocks that hold us back and to get ready for a powerful 2015!

Life's too short to skip dessert...

If you have a sweet tooth like me and have been looking for a guilt-free, dare I say healthy dessert option-look no further than Kippy’s Ice Cream Shop on Lincoln Blvd in Venice.

This is not your regular ice cream shop, Kippy’s Ice Cream is non-dairy, organic, and gluten-free, made with a coconut cream base, local organic produce, and raw honey. She keeps it simple using nothing but the highest quality ingredients. The flavors change seasonally and depending on what is available locally, but there are a few tha that stick around all year long including two of my favorites coconut and honey, and chocolate. Occasionally they will whip up a batch of fan favorite mint chocolate chip made with fresh mint and cacao. Whatever you do always top your scoop off with her Magic Chocolate Shell…it’s ridiculous.

Kippy’s ice cream is not only delicious, but because of it’s coconut cream base also gives you a dose of healthy medium-chain fatty acids. Medium chain fatty acids balance blood sugar levels, have anti-microbial qualities which kill disease-causing bacteria, help prevent brain disorders, boost metabolism, and give you energy. Not bad.

 Kippy’s Ice Cream Shop is located at 326 Lincoln Blvd.  Venice, California  90291. If you’re in the area, most definitely stop by and enjoy some delicious ice cream with a chocolate magic shell, walnuts and bee pollen sprinkled on top!

Connecting with the Divine Feminine

Through the practice of yoga we develop a deeper awareness of the self and our place in the universe through the union of mind, body, and soul.  

As I continue on the path of self-discovery and awareness I feel more connected with myself than ever before. I see myself as a student of life, forever seeking opportunities to dive deeper.

However, when it came to lady business, up until recently, I felt confused and frustrated. In this respect, I saw my body as a labyrinth – and I was dropped into it blind-folded and with a bad case of vertigo.  That is until I discovered holistic health coach Alisa Vitti and her book WomanCode where she removes the blindfold completely, decodes the female experience on a hormonal level and deepens the connection between our mind and body.

Until diving a bit deeper, I thought there were two parts to a woman’s cycle; menstruation and…not. Vitti breaks down the female cycle into four distinct phases based on how our hormonal levels change throughout the month. Based on these phases she explains the ways we must adjust our diet, exercise routines, communication strategies, work focus, problem-solving techniques, and sex life in order to optimize and fully realize our potential.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”, a familiar quote by Hippocrates, and the underlying theme of Vitti’s work.  Much of her protocol is based on matching our food choices to the phases of our cycle in order to maintain hormonal balance. Within balance we find harmony, health, and wellness.

Every woman and every man who has any sort of personal relationship with a woman should read this book. Having both parties on the same page allows for deeper connection and understanding.

Female energy is gorgeous. It flows and illuminates, it is dynamic and sometimes chaotic. WomanCode has made my chaos a bit more organized and allowed me to fully recognize and harness the incredible power of my own unique expression of the divine feminine energy.