Swatting away negativity flies

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I recently read Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It by Kamal Ravikant, and wanted to share a learning that I gained from it. The book talks about the absolute power of self love, of looking at yourself with the same loving eyes you would a dear friend or family member. I've been working on upping my self-love quotient for some time now, and Kamal's process really struck a chord with me. He suggests that by changing our mental loop to one of positivity and self-love, we can in essence change our lives for the positive through the law of attraction. This idea isn't new. I've read it in pretty much every book I've sought out of late. But his suggestion is fairly radical in its simplicity. Kamal simply repeated the phrase "I love myself" over and over and over. He started a new mental loop, and though at times he struggled to believe the words he was saying, eventually his mantra began to work its magic. This week, I decided to put Kamal's tool into practice for myself. For me, it seemed like a particularly interesting idea to help battle the negative thoughts that fly into my brain, often multiple times per day. I've started to think of these thoughts as flies that need to be shooed out (or, aggressively swatted. Negativity is nothing but damaging). Many teachers suggest that consciousness is the first step to beating thoughts that don't serve us, and I absolutely agree. So, this week I focused on being mindful when a negative thought entered my brain. Instead of dwelling on the thought or trying to dissect it, this time, I leaned on the new mantra. I silently swatted the fly away, repeating "I love myself" mentally a few times until I felt focused and present.

And let me tell you - it worked! In just a few cycles of the mantra, I was able to feel more at ease. The more I practiced, the easier it became.

This is the most conscious effort I've made to observe my thoughts and adjust my mental frame of mind, and it's astounding how frequently thoughts that just aren't helpful come into my mind. SO much more than they should, thanks mostly in part to fear and anxiety. But I'm starting to feel like I have the power to change my thought patterns. And I think it can really, really stick.

Because when it comes down to it- why spend so much time in worry? Why beat myself up for things big and small?

My most important job is to love myself. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to work at it. Hard.

It's time to break free. It's time to roll up the biggest, fattest magazine I have and whack the shit out of some flies.

Here goes nothing. xx

flyswatter

 

 

Gratitudes #8

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I haven't expressed my gratitudes in a bit, and I definitely am beginning to notice how easy it is to slip out of bliss mode without a gratitude practice. So, back on the gratitude train we go! Here are my gratitudes for this week, so far.

1. Today was a beautiful day- the sun was shining, and I got out of the city for a few hours and spent some time sitting in my parents' backyard. I'm not typically incredibly attuned to nature, but since starting my meditation practice, have been more mindful of our surroundings. My parents' backyard looked so gorgeous today- lush, green, and budding. It was beautiful to see.

2. So many great new songs and sets this week! A few of my favorites:

  • New Epic Radio
  • Porter Robinson's new song Sad Machine is anything but- euphoric and gorgeous. I can't WAIT for his new album.
  • NERO is back - and still dark, sultry, and heavy on the bass. Loving Satisfy.

3. My friends had a wonderful engagement party / housewarming last night, and there was so much love all around the room. I love being part of special moments like that. + we had a blast.

4. I did something today that I never thought I'd do - yoga in my apartment. Doesn't sound too revolutionary, but there is something about the idea of doing yoga in your own apartment that always felt like it wouldn't possibly feel like a good workout. It takes a lot for me to break my exercise "rules," one of which is that exercise time has to be heavy on cardio and in a gym environment. So, I was proud to give myself permission to try something different. And it was great! The video that I did was rigorous and I really enjoyed it. And it helped me mix it up (I'd spent the past few days running on the treadmill and could feel my body needed a break) without having to plan around a class time. I've obviously only tried one service, but since I've been to their studios in real life, I feel like I can confidently vouch for My Yoga Works online.

5. NEW MAD MEN TONIGHT. Enough said.

6. Dating has been getting to be a lot more fun and a lot less stressful. My life coach put it best - approach dating like you just want to see [who the other person is] and be seen yourself. It's really opened up my perspective and helped me to shut off the need to worry about "pleasing/perfecting" and whether or not he is interested in me. It's much more about mutually understanding who the other person is and deciding if there could be something there.

7. I had a great week away for work last week, but it was also EXHAUSTING and I was really craving alone time by the end. I got to catch up on a lot of sleep this weekend, and also get some necessary 'me time' in.

 

On that note, it's time for Mad Men!

Wishing you a blissful start to your week.