Do you remember that feeling as a teenager when your mom would wake you up for school? The feeling like you could sleep forever and it still wouldn’t be long enough? The pain of getting out of your warm bed and into the cold morning was almost unbearable. Showering, drying your hair, deciding what to wear, dressing yourself, eating breakfast, being on time – the work required to get ready for the day seemed almost endless. Similarly, in the religion of Islam, the earliest morning prayer (before dawn) is considered the most sacred. Beyond committing oneself to the communion to a higher force, it requires a specific degree of action, an action of consciously choosing to wake up from a sleep filled comfort and into the duty of devotion. This is often not a painless task. These incidents are similar to what one might experience on the path of awakening and living alive. Waking up from the safety of our numb sleepiness is uncomfortable. Choosing to let life in feels risky because life is full …

The total solar eclipse on Monday was such a special event. It was so unique to witness everyone outside with a sense of awe for this place that we all share.  It felt refreshing to have something that connects us (versus the theme of separation) as the main point of conversation between people, on the news and in our papers. On Monday, and the weeks leading up to it, my social media news feed seemed to be filled with posts, from people all over the world, on ways to harness this astrological event as a means for self reflection, transformation and collective enlightenment. Rituals, ceremonies, meditations, yoga classes, surya namaskars and pranayama techniques were just a few examples of topics that I saw floating around. Don’t get me wrong, I believe wholeheartedly in harnessing the energy that is invoked during times like this but I also believe that most are too quick to give away their power to some external event. It’s kind of like around New Years when everyone is setting intentions and questioning …

Ahhh Thanksgiving…everyones favorite holiday, even before Christmas which proves that yes, food trumps all. I love how we all collectively focus our energy on gratitude. In a culture that is bred on scarcity, fear and worthiness it is so refreshing to practice gratitude nationwide. Brene Brown says: “If the opposite of scarcity is enough, then practicing gratitude is how we acknowledge that there’s enough and that we’re enough.” I say practice gratitude because it really truly is a practice, as with most worthy things. The key is to not be too hard on ourselves when our first reaction isn’t the most gracious. I think it can be incredibly powerful to notice this and then consciously choose differently. If your the type to struggle with worthiness and have thoughts like: “who am I to be joyful” or “what about the starving children in the world?”. Remember that in honoring what you have you honor what others have lost or don’t have access to. I woke up this morning and had the most lovely conversation with Andrew about what we are …