“My Poses Are My Prayers” – B.K.S. Iyengar

“We Must Be Willing To Let Go…To Have The Life That Is Waiting For Us.” – Joseph Campbell

“A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Begins With A Single Step” — The Way Of Lao-Tzu

“Your Vision Will Become Clear Only When You Look Into Your Heart” – Carl Jung

“Feelings Are Like Fluid Waves Of Energy…Like The Ebb And Flow Of Tides, The Waning And Waxing Of The Moon” – Anita Johnson

“Feelings are like fluid waves of energy. Like the waves we see in the ocean, they come in, peak, and pass, come in, peak, and pass. They have a natural cyclical rhythm like the ebb and flow of tides, the waning and waxing of the moon. The flow of feeling is as natural as the flow of life itself.”

From “Eating In The Light Of The Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationship With Food Through Myths, Metaphors, And Storytelling” by Anita Johnson

“Yoga Is A Friend To Those Who Embrace It Sincerely…Enables Them To Live Fully…” – B.K.S. Iyengar

“Yoga is a friend to those who embrace it sincerely and totally. It lifts its practitioners from the clutches of pain and sorrow, and enables them to live fully, taking a delight in life. The practice of yoga helps the lazy body to become active and vibrant. It transforms the mind, making it harmonious. Yoga helps to keep one’s body and mind in tune with the essence, the soul, so that all three are blended into one.”

From “Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali” bu B.K.S. Iyengar

“When You Are Steadfast In Your Abstention Of Thoughts Of Harm…” – Patanjali

“When you are steadfast in your abstention of thoughts of harm directed toward yourself and others, all living creatures will cease to feel fear in your presence.”

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

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“The Present Moment Is Filled With Joy And Happiness…” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”

Thich Nhat Hanh from “Peace Is Every Step: The Path Of Mindfulness In Everyday Life”

“In An Asana, The Mind Has To Reach Inside The Body To Find A Quiet Space…” – Geeta Iyengar

“In an asana, the mind has to reach inside the body to find a quiet space until a point comes where perfect balance is felt. If the mind is wandering while practicing, then one is not fully present, and there can be no union. Involvement, interpenetration and insight are the required qualities for the practitioner.”

Geeta Iyengar, Eldest Daughter of B.K.S. Iyengar

“Awareness Is Not The Same As Thought…More Like A Vessel Which Can Hold And Contain Our Thinking” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

” Awareness is not the same as thought. It lies beyond thinking, although it makes use of thinking, honoring its value and its power. Awareness is more like a vessel which can hold and contain our thinking, helping us to see and know our thoughts rather than getting caught up in them as reality”

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From “Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life” By Jon Kabat-Zinn

“Lighting Candles, Hanging Lights And Letting Things Be With Words By Paul Ferrini”

By Jennifer Miller

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Fire up the Pavoni.

Morning coffee, so good.

Lighting candles and incense as

I start my morning yoga practice.

Arriving on the mat is like coming home again.

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Beautiful morning walking the dogs, aka “the babies”.

Breathing in the coves of Laguna ahhh!!

Breakfast at the local cafe; cool people, artist types.

Walking out, a homeless woman under a blanket.

All I can see is one foot.

My heart sinks and I want to ask her what she needs?

I know she is probably an addict.

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Back home to make homemade granola.

A yum yum Christmas tradition.

Looking through the mail and

a child support check arrives.

It’s been a while.

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My mind goes to the last 5 years.

No father in these kid’s lives.

No anger… only hope.

Could this man possibly change?

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I let it go to the Spirit and check my heart.

It’s in a good place.

Forgiveness is there.

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My beloved hangs Christmas lights.

So many years without lights.

They symbolize healing for my family.

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I look around….

No lights in the small neighborhood.

We have been judged here.

A single mom and trouble with her son.

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Interesting.

We are the ones with lights.

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A big lesson in my journey: do not judge by the outside.

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Open up a new book.

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A favorite thing to do.

Reading,  deep reflections come to me.

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The poetic words of Paul Ferrini:

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Life is constantly asking us to make adjustments,

to give up our agenda.

It is asking us to give up the conceit that we know the way things are supposed to be.

Letting things be is a way of saying to God

“I’m willing to dance with you.”

From “Dancing With The Beloved”.

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Namaste, Jennifer Miller

Contact Jennifer Miller at yogagoddesslaguna@yahoo.com

The Importance Of Always Listening For The Inner Voice Of Guidance Within Ourselves

By Jennifer Miller

Its seems so simple to always listen to Divine Guidance. We hear it as a small whisper, and it sounds different from our normal brain chatter. But, in truth, this voice is always with us, as Caroline Myss states below:

“Do not assume that divine guidance flows only when you are in need of help. Guidance continues to flow whether or not you have problems…Whether guidance comes during times of tranquility or trauma, however, it is up to you to have the courage to acknowledge it”

It could be just a word, for example, while grocery shopping, as to what I need. I will often ignore it and when I get home, sure enough, that is something I needed. It’s happened so often that I know it’s “TRUE”.

Before getting married, there were warning signs, all of which I ignored. When we are young and innocent, we don’t listen much to anyone. I remember, as a small girl, hearing the voice that I now know as guidance. Entering the teen years, I no longer listened to its counsel. Now, as a mother and wiser woman, I not only hear, but feel this guidance with my body. When something is truly right, my body sings with joy. I breathe freely and my heart feels alive while my spirit sores.

I now listen to my heart, which is like having your best friend inside of you. It knows me like no one else, offering unconditional love while wanting the best for me and my family. As I navigate life, I am now constantly listening for that small voice within. Like a soft caress, it has a smooth and loving feeling.

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A great way to complete this connection is through controlled breathing, which helps to circulate the positive benefits throughout our body. Breathing in, I feel a soothing calm that is pulled upward from my feet until it reaches my head. Tensions melt as I close my eyes. Breathing out, negative thoughts and worries are expelled, leaving a feeling of contentment that comes with releasing, letting go, and not remaining attached to things and events.

So many good things happen when we maintain a healthy mind-body-spirit connection…

Namaste, Jennifer Miller

“…Events That Happen In The Moment Belong To The Moment…You Must Stop Defining Yourself In Relationship To Them, And Just Let Them Come And Go…” — Michael Singer

“The Deepest Desire Within Each Of Us Is To Be Liberated From…Our Own Psychic Madness Or Patterns Of Fear” – Caroline Myss

Full Quote:  “I am convinced that the deepest desire within each of us is to be liberated from the controlling influences of our own psychic madness or patterns of fear. All other things—the disdain of ordinary life, the need to control others rather than be controlled, the craving for material goods as a means of security and protection against the winds of chaos—are external props that serve as substitutes for the real battle, which is the one waged within the individual soul.”

“Adopt The Pace Of Nature. Her Secret Is Patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Honoring Ourselves By “Seeing” That The Most Beautiful Things Must Be “Felt With The Heart”

By Jennifer Miller 

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“There is never an easy way to escape pain and trauma in life. You have to feel to heal…” Jennifer Miller

“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart.”

Helen Keller (1880-1968)

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What are the best ways to honor ourselves each day? I have learned to start each day by acknowledging the beauty that is all around me, starting with the beauty that comes from within. It allows us to see who we really are.

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I love the connection that is possible when I walk past someone and after a quick look in each others eyes, there is a mutual “I SEE YOU”.  I can see and sense that person’s soul’s essence. This is one of life’s most wonderful moments, and confirms a sense of being alive and in the moment.

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My own life’s experiences have established a mind-body-spirit connection for which I am grateful. I have grown as a woman through the pain and it has resulted in an appreciation for beauty that I experience with my heart.  I learned that the only way through very difficult periods in life is to genuinely feel it and be transmuted to a higher plane.

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There is never an easy way to escape pain and trauma in life. You have to feel to heal…

Thank you life for bringing me here.  Namaste

“Worrying…Empties Today Of Its Strength” – Corrie Ten Boom, German Death Camp Survivor

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

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Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom, Dutch woman who survived the German Ravensbruck concentration camp in World War II

“Countless Words Count Less Than The Silent Balance Between Yin And Yang” – Lao Tzu

“In The End These Things Matter Most: How Well Did You Love?…How Deeply Did You Let Go?” Siddhartha Gautama

“Flow With Whatever May Happen, And Let Your Mind Be Free…” – Zhuangzi

Zhūangzi (c. 369 BC – c. 286 BC)