What do I see in her?!?

Have you ever met or seen or heard of someone who led you to say, "Wow. I wish I were as graceful as her," or "I wish I had that kind of creativity" or, I really wish "I wish I were more like her"?

Last night was Day 16 of the Chopra Center's 21-Day Meditation Challenge, and the topic was Archetypes.

This is a fun one that may have you pulling out the collage supplies or a journal.  

We were given a number of attributes and were asked to think of who comes to mind as someone we admire for that attribute. That person would then become our Archetype, or representative for that trait.

I'll give you an example.

Grace.  Let's say you want a little bit more Grace in your life.  Who comes to mind for you as someone who flows with this quality?  For me, it's Audrey Hepburn. 

Audrey Hepburn

We then meditated on this, imagining that some of that Audrey's graceful nature would rub off on us, and we would sense and have more of it in our lives. (And, don't worry - if there are other attributes that this person has that you do not particularly like, you are only drawing in that which you are attracted to and seeking. Just that one attribute.)


Next: Success


For me, the person who comes to mind is professional celebrity makeup artist, Kandee Johnson.  Kandee is a single Mom who started making makeup application tutorial videos on YouTube and has grown her audience to where she now travels the world teaching "Glaminars," her makeup seminar classes.  

I was lucky enough to attend 2 of them last year and meet her in person.  To see how far she's come - her journey has her doing MUCH more than makeup - and how many lives she's touched, it is incredibly inspiring. 

I really want to be successful and live my dreams just as Kandee has done (and continues to do, I hope).  It's about finding your talents and passions, getting creative, and sticking with it.


So, for me, Success is Kandee Johnson.

Kandee Johnson | Image courtesy of Ian Ruhter

I'll share one more (and I hope you'll feel led to share at least one of yours as a response comment!).

Emotional Stability.  The first person that came to mind for me was Oprah Winfrey. She simply mentions something that she likes and everyone runs out to get it. You know why? They trust her.  She's established herself over decades. She's as cool as a cucumber whether she's talking to an audience member or to the next president of the United States. Pretty much always cool, calm, collected, and professional.  I would love the opportunity to just have lunch with her and pick her brain. She truly amazes me.

So for me, Emotional Stability = Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah | Courtesy Harpo Inc.

May you have a fun time identifying and connecting with your Archetypes, and I hope you enjoyed peeking at mine. :)


Namaste,
Debbie aka Sulilo

Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge | Day 6 | Celebrate Your Toes! - Focusing on the Positive

Tonight's meditation had a great effect on me - it made me laugh. It also served to helped me tap into gratitude and to take the focus off of the negative and onto the positive things in my life.

David G. gently urged us to not focus on the one or two things that may keep us answering "Fine" in a monotone voice when asked, "How are you?", but to focus on the things for which we are grateful - to celebrate what is going right in our lives.

The meditation started with a body scan that involved celebrating our toes. I'll leave it at that so that you can enjoy it firsthand, if you'd like.

By the end of the meditation, I ended up feeling very grateful for the support that the Universe always provides - we just have to acknowledge it and send out our thanks and gratitude.

May you find more positives than negatives in your life, and may you be in such a place that the next time you are asked "How are you?", you can genuinely respond, "I am wonderful."


Namaste,
Debbie aka Sulilo

Grace like Audrey Hepburn

When asked which celebrity I admire most...which celebrity I aspire to be most like or feel most akin with, my answer is Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey possessed a state of grace, elegance, and had a regal presence, all while being humble, loving, and caring about others.

While it's not fair to put her on a pedestal or giver her saintly status, I just can't imagine her being someone who would get infuriated by a slow driver in front of her when clearly she had somewhere she needed to be by a certain time and clearly she had a frightened animal in the car and clearly she was trying to offer every signal to the car in front of her that she really needed to be traveling at least at the speed limit.  I can't imagine her getting so angry that she could feel her heart beat faster and her blood pressure rising and her frustration and stress level hitting new heights.

No, I imagine Audrey would have gracefully driven at as fast a speed as she safely could.  She perhaps would have gently waved and smiled to the other driver, trying to nicely get their attention and signal for them to please pull aside.  Perhaps she would have found another route or pulled over to regain her composure had she slightly lost her cool.

I was able to channel my inner Audrey this evening, but not until I had become fully consumed with frustration and even anger toward the driver in front of me who seemed like he had no where to be anytime soon.  Once channeled, I was able to send whispers of "sorry," and "please have compassion," "I am compassionate" and "we are one" to the driver in front of me.

I thought of how embarrassed I felt for having become so consumed. I wished the driver in the car would have been a little bit more thoughtful and would have pulled over to allow me to pass. 

I then repeated the "We are one" mantra. I realized that there have more than likely been times when I have been somewhat oblivious to another vehicle that wanted to drive more quickly than I was allowing.  I know there have been times in the fast when I behaved in a "righteously indignant" way, thinking, "The speed limit is 35, and I will not go a 1/4 of a mile above it. Sorry guy behind me."

This situation made me reach out from the heart to ask forgiveness to the driver in front of me, to forgive myself and show myself compassion (I've been working hard and have become a caretaker to my partner overnight since he suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident), and this blog is the first opportunity in about a WEEK where I've had some time to be alone with myself and my thoughts and express myself fully), and I got to remember to think this:

The next time someone is trying to pass you on the road, if it is safe to do so, consider letting them by.  They may just be acting jerky and rushing for no reason, but you never know. They could be rushing to see a loved one who was just rushed to the emergency room.  They could be transporting an injured and frightened animal. They could be feeling sick.  Let's treat each other with love, respect, compassion, and understanding, truly remembering, internalizing, and knowing that We Are One.

Enjoy these images of Audrey with some beautiful words/music to make us think.

Namaste,

Debbie aka Sulilo

Some poses for invoking Grace:

Parsvottanasana (Intense Side Stretch Pose)

 http://www.yogajournal.com

Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)  http://yoga.lovetoknow.com/Bow_Pose

Grace http://sweatybuddha.com/web_images/yoga_pose11.jpg