what do you want?

you are the Creator

The message boldly blazoned across the heavens at the moment of birth is not meant to emphasize fate – the result of past good and evil – but to arouse man’s will to escape from his universal thralldom. What he has done, he can undo. None other than himself was the instigator of the causes of whatever effects are now prevalent in his life. He can overcome any limitation, because he created it by his own actions in the first place, and because he has spiritual resources which are not subject to planetary pressure… The wise man defeats his planets – which is to say, his past – by transferring his allegiance from the creation to the Creator. The more he realizes his unity with Spirit, the less he can be dominated by matter. The soul is ever free; it is deathless because birthless. It cannot be regimented by stars.

-Paramahansa Yogananda’s guru, from Autobiography of a Yogi

Clearly what I currently want is to concoct the healthiest and most delicious food to share with you, because I have been having a blast in my kitchen lately [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][click here to see for yourself]. Other times, however, all I want to do is sit on my couch, eat ice cream out of the carton and peruse Netflix.

What do you want?

Kind of a loaded question, but seriously, what is it that your heart [not your ego] truly desires in this moment, in this life?

Too often we give the power to what someone else wants, whether it’s our partner, boss or coworker, sibling or parent. Yes, what they want is valid and it is natural for us to want to please them if we care about them. This only becomes a problem when we continually prioritize what someone else wants over what our own heart wants.

What we want may also shift throughout our life, or take shape in unexpected ways. I didn’t grow up thinking I would one day teach yoga or coach clients on lifestyle and wellness in Brooklyn – I didn’t even want to live in Brooklyn when I first got to NYC. My heart was, however, very connected to the wellbeing of people and the planet at a young age. I stuck with my childhood intentions, and watching it manifest has been overwhelmingly fulfilling [sometimes challenging and confusing, but mostly amazing].

I love the quote above from Autobiography of a Yogi because it inspires us to stop believing that we are bound by fate or other physical/mental limitations. Does your horoscope 100% confirm that you’re doomed to have a terrible month? How can you spin it, think about what you DO want, see it in a new light, and create something you want instead?

Although we have to take some action to create the life we want, this doesn’t mean we can’t also leave some of it for the universe to take care of. I constantly have to remind myself that it’s just as important to surrender to the moment, to create space and allow life to unfold.

In today’s world, however, we may find ourselves subject to pressure from family, jobs, finance, health and so on. That said, when we are able to surrender to the moment or to a situation we find we can’t control, we relinquish the grasp we have on it and the heart starts to soften as a result.

When the heart is soft and open, it communicates more effectively with the universe, and then guess what happens? What your heart wants energetically will evolve to take physical shape.

I want to empower you to recognize yourself as the Creator, whatever that means to you, because we are all made of the Creator him/her/itself. We have the Creator within us and we “cannot be dominated by matter.” So from here on out:

Listen and talk to your heart. Let your heart communicate openly, shamelessly with you.

Acknowledge that which you can take into your own hands and what you can release for the universe to take care of, even if it’s scary at first.

Know that you are unlimited in potential.

As Paulo Coelho says in one of my favorite books, The Alchemist: … when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

My philosophy of how this process works based on ways in which it has played out in my life is simple:

• Feel it. What does it feel like in your heart, body, mind, spirit to want whatever it is you want? What does it feel like, as if you already have it, achieved it, accessed it?
• Say it. Speak it out loud, as if it’s already happening. My boyfriend once told a now famous pop singer that I was a yoga teacher before I had even signed up for teacher training. After that I created a daily mantra for myself which included I am a yoga teacher and I am a health coach. Because my heart really wanted those things, I eventually began teaching and coaching.
• Create it. Stay true to your heart and what you want will create itself – when you find yourself trying too hard, it’s time to take a step back. It is a balance between being active about pursuing desires alongside surrendering to the things we can’t control. I work on this every single day.
• Live it. Watch it develop before your eyes. Thank the universe and anyone/anything in your life that supported the path.
• Repeat.

In what ways have the things you wanted in your life manifested into reality?

How can you continue to listen to your heart and create what you want?

Read the newsletter for the things I personally want: to share delicious healthy recipes with you, inspire you via yoga classes and yoga in Cayman Islands, get you pumped up with great music, and of course to encourage you all to spread the health.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]