Arrival

This past week my grandparents are here to visit from Turkey. It is the first time I have seen them since I was 17 so was kind of cool to have seen them grow since the last time I saw them. And in my family when someone is visiting from Turkey everyone comes to see them. So since late January I have had event after event at the house. There was my Dad’s Birthday ….my grandparents arrived on his birthday, and my aunt  got engaged. So we have had family and friends come over to the house for dinner since the beginning of February and the atmosphere is  warm, hospitable, and full of food. I have never seen the fridge so full with dishes made from the oven. Even if we send leftovers home with everyone we still have leftovers. But all in all its been great to spend time with family and have dinners over the past weeks. So its been difficult to be mindful of my eating because there is so much good food but we have also had cakes for desert and end the night with tea or coffee. I am really enjoying the family dinners, bonding with my family and having awareness of the aroma from the food and my sweet tooth. It's all good! 

Mindful moment

This past Sunday I drove home to spend time with my family because it was my Moms birthday! I had a great time there but the story I want to tell comes after I left home on Monday afternoon to drive back to my house in Burke.  As I drove down the familiar roads I didn’t really realize how much brain chatter I had going on.  I thought about my plans for the week, my sister, my homework, things that happened in the past, I thought about so many things.  It took something absolutely breathtaking to snap me back to reality and realize the gifts of the present moment that I am able to ignore so effectively sometimes.  The sunset directly behind my car had the entire half of the sky vibrant oranges and pinks, while the sky directly in front of me was all blue and clouds.  I was so moved by the beauty of the sky behind me that I couldn’t keep my eyes off the rear-view mirror, except to look out the side mirror and see the orange reflection covering my black car.  I ended up pulling into a parking lot so that I could pause to have a mindful moment.  I had been in such a hurry to get home yet 10 minutes of stillness with the beauty that would have been behind me the entire time I drove changed my entire mood.  It was inspiring and quieted my mental chatter.  The sunset didn’t last long and soon I was driving home in the dark.  I am so glad I stopped to enjoy that moment though and I think I have become a lot more aware of these opportunities for mindful moments throughout my days.

Creative Hooping

Hooping 5 days a week as my practice has been an awesome experience and I have really seen improvement in myself since the begining of the semester! It is so exiting to me to make progress and I find myself showing off my new tricks to anyone whos interested! haha I am taking Beats Rhythm and Culture, the Hip-Hop culture class in NCLC and we have focused a lot of attention on b-boying, or break dancing.  My homework of watching crews and individuals dance their hearts out.  I have been really interested in and even inspired by b-boying style, the standing 'Top-rock' moves like popping, locking and tap dancing; the 'down-rock' acrobatic moves; the impressive and fast power moves; and the freezes the emphasize parts or give a dramatic ending to a dance.  I have found that the learning that I have done in the class and the dramatic and influential dances we have watched has made space for me to get a lot more creative with my hooping! This desire to try new things and bring a new edge to hula hooping combined with my dedication to practice almost every day has really changed me as an artist(or I guess hooper)... and I am working on many new tricks that have a unique style that I think will make this hobby one that is even more influential to my life.

Nothing like a good ole affirmation

I was going to write about how great my hula hooping has been going, but I decided that I would focus on one of my other practices since I did that one last! I have been doing morning affirmations for myself every day when I wake up.  After I feed my cat and am in the stillness of my house in the morning, I sit on my floor or even my bed and go through my affirmation.  It usually sounds something like lovingkindness meditation as I reflect on the on the good in my life.  I am strong. I am fun. I am happy. I am motivated. I am conscious. I am good. May I stay and also be more of all of these things and let these qualities be known throughout my day.  I have found that this really starts my day off right.  If I am tired or something is going on, after the affirmation I have been more positive.  I think its effects are trickling into other parts of my life as well, and I find myself being a lot more aware of what are the good qualities apparent in myself and how I can better use them to improve my life.  Every day since the class has ended I have been doing morning affirmations and I am so glad that I chose it to be one of my practices! I think it will benefit me greatly and keep me focused this hectic semester.

Hoopity Doop

5 out of 7 days of this past week I managed to devote 1 hour every day to hula hooping! It has been so awesome. I love to hoop so much but for some reason I have not been doing it alot lately... It could be the cold weather but I am able to hoop in my basement so I really have no excuses and I should NEVER be bored. haha In only 5 hours of hooping I have mastered a new trick where I hoop to the right (which is the opposite direction that I am used to) down to my knees, take my left leg out, and then use it to switch the hula hoop the other direction so that I am able to gain control and bring it back up to my hips! I am so proud! Ive shown everyone that comes to my house and all my roomates! Its so rewarding to spend time with something and have that time really prosper and give back to you! Last week I could barely hoop the opposite direction, and now I have an awesome trick that requires it! Its also nice to be able to do something that I really enjoy without worrying about all of the schoolwork I have to do... Thats why I have enjoyed these classes so much I think, they require me to focus on myself and do what makes me happy! Its crazy to me that it is so hard for me to do that sometimes, when it feels like that should be the most important thing... I miss you all! When can we do our first dinner?! =)

My plan for the semester

My plan for the semester:

At least five days a week, I will read the Bible and pray.

At least two days a week I will exercise.
     - 120~150minutes/week
At least one day a week, I will give myself a reward.
     - Ex. watching movie, going to a concert, etc.

Ten points for Gryffindor!

Before taking this course, I was not really sure what to expect. After completing the five days, I would honestly have to say that it really changed my life. I got to meet an exceptional group of students as well as professors.

                In all honesty, I did not believe that there was anything wrong with me and that I had a good understanding of myself. After doing the activities such as the “asking for forgiveness,” it opened up another part inside of me spiritually that I was not aware of before. After forgiving myself and the people in my past, I felt a sense of relief and genuine happiness. I can’t really describe it but it definitely feels different.  It’s not that I was not a happy person before. It wasn’t genuine because even though I may have seemed happy, I walked around with a negative energy field. I was not aware of the negative energy but friends and family definitely noticed it. Once I let go of the past and forgave, I was able to release the change the negative energy to a more positive one. As a result of this change, I started to see results immediately. I can express myself more genuinely to people and feel connected to everyone on a spiritual level.

……………..okay. Now back to reality.

The past two weeks have been amazing. I incorporated dancing as a normal part of my meditation routine. Every time I hear music, it makes me want to dance. I’ve danced while driving on a couple of occasions….. (Not a good idea if you are on the road during rush hour). I’ve danced while working out at the gym...… (Very subtly though…not to attract a lot of attention). I’ve been doing morning and evening self affirmations and daily breathing meditations.

Other meditations I’ve tried:

-Smiling more often.
- Yoga (stretching after workouts).
-Chakra breathing

I hope everyone else is doing well with their own meditation practices. Hope to see everyone soon!
***When are we having dinner???