Not Now…I’m Searching

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Have you ever turned off your cell phone or another wireless device, and then turned it back on only to tap your fingers as it searched for a signal to connect? While you hastened to make your call, send your text, send that email, upload your video, or your pictures to Instagram or Face Book there was absolutely nothing you could do until a connection was made. A similar scenario is a dead battery. You may have the device, but it’s useless until it recharges. At best you can haul it around and look for ways to charge it. If you’re lucky you’ll just be able to plug it in somewhere nearby until it completely recharges itself. And then, there are those rare occasions where you simply cannot recharge it. It’s dead. It’s time for something new. I had a taste of this yesterday, and was enlightened because of it.

I had time to spare before my next session so I turned off my cell phone and parked underneath a near by tree to re-read the highlights in my study material. When I figured it was time for my next session, I reached for my cell phone to check the time. I forgot that I turned it off. So I turned it back on, some what anxious to know the time, concerned that I may now be late. I swiped the home screen repeatedly, thinking that would speed up the connection. Though the phone had powered on, it was still searching for a connection. So, although I saw that it was exactly 1:00 pm, which was the time of my appointment, I could not text message her to let her know that I was just five minutes away.The home screen was frozen, because it was still “trying to connect.” Just as the connection was made, with only one bar left, it powered off. I arrived five minutes behind our scheduled appointment time, but five minutes early on Spirit’s time, as she was just saying good bye to visitors. I sat at our usual meditation spot and waited for her to join me. Then the thought occurred, there’s nothing you can do but wait while someone is searching for their connection. While this thought derived from my earlier technological experience with my cell phone I could also see how it applied to people and life.

If we take this example and apply it to people or ourselves then we can understand why patience and trust are essential, and why finding our purpose in life will always heighten our awareness with source energy. All of us have had or will have a friend or a loved one that we’ll want to reach out to help or connect with in some way. It may appear that this individual is unreachable. If we can step back and depersonalize our attachment, our agenda, and our expectations, for this individual then we can see that this person is trying to find their connection, and may be dubious about the signals.

A person trying to find their connection–purpose–spiritual calling, may show up as a someone who is unemployed–between jobs–ill–struggling with addiction–mean or crass, forlorn, tempestuous, depressed, anxious, or cumbersome in a plethora of ways. If we can recognize that they are souls unfolding, working out their soul impediments–channels who are uncertain about the signals that they are receiving from source then we are keener in assisting them on their journey as they connect with their purpose.

Some of us will have the privilege to be a benefactor to those around us who are searching; but the reality is their connection will be made on their own time and at their own will. The innate penchant for many of us is to keep tapping the home screen, to keep turning the power on and off, to keep changing the outlets, to keep insisiting and persisting; and what does that do? It runs our batteries up, and eventually they die, and cannot be recharged so easily.

If we want to reserve energy it would be advantageous to give them space to roam, figure things out, and search until they find their connection. Offering them tools such as books, workshops, classes, websites, and other positive affiliates may help them recharge, and reconnect. If our connection is strong enough, temporarily we can act as a “carrier” for and of them while they are on “E,” until they can refuel themselves again. The one thing to remember is that when a person is searching, you must be patient, insisting will prove to be inconsequential until a connection is made.

 

Is it Time to Clean Up?

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Instead of focusing on how you look. Focus on how you feel. I recently revamped my exercise and fitness regimen after asking myself that question. I felt lethargic, and aggravated.The energy in my body felt stagnant. The first quarter of the year had been swallowed up as I committed to meeting deadlines for projects that riddled me sedentary. In my sedentary state, my nutritional choices were poor—reaching for whatever was convenient, and tasty. Being up late night and consuming high carbohydrate meals and snacks packed on the weight in no time.

 

Because I enjoy body-breathing workouts, and healthy eating my body felt the effects of processed foods, and lack of movement rather quickly. So I decided to clean up my diet and intensify my workouts, and in no time I begin to feel like myself again—energetic—flexible—optimistic in tone. The truth is, the things that we put into our bodies affect our attitude and our health. What we put into our bodies also creates a certain energetic vibration. If we eat “junky” we begin to feel “junky”. When we eat good we begin to feel good. This desire to want to feel good is what prompted me to get back on track. The natural process is—what is in, comes out. This is true of both our thoughts and our food. So today I honor my body. I treat it respectfully by giving it the nourishment it requires. Blessed Be.

Because we are all beautiful, instead of focusing on how we look we should check in with our bodies to see how we feel.

Focus On The Source

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” What’s on your mind is probably on God’s Mind too.” ~Nadirah A. Shakir~

I was having a conversation with my father the other day. I asked him why it seems like just when things are going great there seems to be one obstacle after another. He smiled so calmly and said, “Iblis (the devil) promised Allah (God) that he would come for the righteous doers from every direction. You are righteous doer, and Iblis is after you.” He shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to pit his dates. Okay, I’m thinking. So what am I to do? Before I could ask the question my father had already responded. Keep your mind focused on Allah (God) and the vision that he placed in your heart. Your focus on him, with continued forward motion will eradicate the ill will of Iblis (the devil). So I move forward, hoping that what I am doing is right.

 

I thought about what my father said. Although our spiritual beliefs may differ, I focused on the essence of his advice, and what I know to be true. The truth is, there is only one mind, and when our minds become fragmented and divided that is when Iblis—the devil—shayton—erroneous thoughts and beliefs have their power. Okay, so how do our minds become fragmented?  Our minds become fragmented when we take our focus off of God as the source of our supply and start depending on channels—people—places—and “opportunities” as the way to come up when we have already been risen to begin with! We fall down when we forget who and what the source is, and that we have unlimited assess to God at all times.

Taking our focus off God, and putting our faith in people, places, and “come up opportunities” is where we trip ourselves up, falling down, and hitting our heads so hard until if feels shattered. We become scattered and frustrated, because our mental energy is all over the place…invested in the wrong things. The remedy for this is simple, but it is not easy (because there is so much BS vying for our mental energy at any given moment)—FOCUS ON GOD as the source of your supply and stay steady in THAT mental vibration. The things, people, places, and “comeups” that you require to do what you have to do in this world will be there, and they will be evident to you if your mind is focused on God. And, because your mind is not divided Iblis (the devil—shayton—erroneous thoughts and beliefs) will not be able to enter. After all the devil is a mind divided against itself, and if it (whatever IT is) is on your mind then it’s probably on God’s mind too, so God will work it out for you to do what you need to do.

I AM one with my Father God. My mind is his mind. My thoughts are aligned. I think right. Blessed Be.

Stop Running From Shadows

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Yesterday on my run I noticed my shadow. I always notice my shadow when I run, but yesterday it came with a special message. That message was that you can’t outrun your shadows. No matter how fast you run, you can’t out run them. So, you might as well stand in harmony with them. Standing in harmony with shadows means accepting those parts of yourself that you would rather keep hidden.
shadow
As I watched my shadow move to the left and the right of me, to the front and then behind me, there came another message. Your shadows are harmonious. They are obedient too. They move how you move. They do what you do. They do not come to embarrass you or put you under. Instead they come to shed light on where you just might be in life at any given moment. Our darkness is our light. It gives us insight, into the deeper aspects of self. For our emotional health, mental sanity, and even our spiritual development it would be wise to pay attention to our shadows so that we can gain a greater awareness of self. So ask yourself, what am I trying to hide. Ask yourself, what would I like to keep a secret. And while I do respect privacy, I understand how keeping secrets can function as piracy—stealing away precious hours, days, weeks, months, and even years of the treasure of life, toiling to keep secrets buried. Nothing stays buried forever. It either rises up to hunt you, or emerges as energy around you. Stop running from shadows, and find a way to stand in harmony with them. Breathe deep, and ask your shadows to work with you…to prosper you.

I AM harmonious. I stand in harmony with my shadows, and I AM prospered. Blessed Be.

 

Permission to Unfold & Open

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I’m all for planning. I really am, but lately plans seem to be of less importance to me. What has been important to me has been opening and unfolding, letting everything that’s inside of me rise to the surface and come out. It’s scary, but when I gave it deeper thought then the real question was, what are you afraid of—who are you afraid of. When I asked myself those questions I got two answers. The first answer was: I’m afraid of looking stupid, then I’m afraid of looking stupid in front of people. Is that all? That was basically it. I was afraid that if I opened and allowed myself to unfold organically that I might look a fool in some way. I was also afraid of what my personal process of unfolding just might do to those around me. You know everyone wants us to be someone that they are comfortable around? God forbid your personal unfolding creates massive waves and shakes a stranded–stand still boat into movement!

So I sat with the thought and the feeling which was the fear that I might look stupid in front of people and that some people may be uncomfortable. Then oddly enough, I burst into laughter in the midst of my inner reflection, because I remembered how stupid I looked in the past when I decided to open, unfold, be bold, about something in my life. I also remembered the successes. Every time I decided to boldly unfold, success followed, and I also felt more free—truly healthy inside and out. It was true, some people raised their eyebrows and pointed fingers at the eccentric fashion of my opening. True, there were people who were uncomfortable but then it was over. And, as a result of my authentic opening—unfolding, I felt liberated, and guess what else happened? I was able to inspire another to feel okay about opening, and being themselves, and allowing all that beautiful light inside of them to shine.

Now, a get real note about unfolding—opening. It’s not always pretty. Sometimes it can down right ugly, messy, dark even. Sometimes, your personal opening—unfolding can, and will make others uncomfortable. So should you stayed curled up? Should you remain locked in yourself. No. You should unfold—and open anyway. My recommendation, would be (if you know what’s inside of you may not be considered pretty) to find a way to open anyway that is safe for you and those around you. Things like art help us to express just what’s locked down deep. Painting, writing, sculpting, spoken word, speaking out, dancing, drumming, humming, speaking to a professional–a spiritual advisor, praying, starting a fire and writing it all down and burning it up. It’s all good. It really is all good to open and unfold. The things that we hold inside magnify, and draw to us more things that will keep us bottled up. That’s so NOT what’s up! What’s up is our understanding the process of unfolding and the importance of finding more ways to open, and express our best and most authentic self. It would do our souls some good if we understood that we are not helping ourselves or anyone else by closing ourselves off, and locking ourselves in. Commit to the process of graceful unfolding, and then plan around that…I would say.

Graceful unfolding is giving yourself permission to open, and honoring what’s inside. I AM unfolding gracefully. I honor what’s inside. Blessed Be.

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Physical & Metaphysical Benefits of The Yoga Wheel Pose

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“The wheel of life keeps turning. Your consciousness contributes to the flow.”

Do you feel stuck? Do you feel like you have so much energy wailing up inside of you until you don’t know what to do with it? Do you feel like yourheart is closed, or that your solar plexus chakra is lacking vitality and energy? Have you just recently broken up with a lover, and are saddened by it? If you answered yes to any of those questions then you should consider adding the wheel pose to your yoga or traditional stretching regimen. The wheel pose is a great way to get your energy moving and flowing.

wheel pose

 

On a spiritual or metaphysical level the wheel pose opens the heart, ignites all 7 chakras, strengthens the solar plexus chakra, and begins to circulate the creative energy in the second chakra. Physically the wheel pose strengthens the vertebre, increases flexibility of the spine, and decreases compression of the vertebre. It opens the rib cage, losens tight hips, and decreases fat around the obliques and abs. Consciousness is key while relaxing into these poses, so think harmonious thoughts and breath deep. Peace…and Blessings too.

Fat Burning Zone

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Thirty minutes of cardio typically taps into carbohydrate stores only. That is unless you’re doing prints, plyos, or some other high intensity cardiovascular training. On average 45 minutes to one hour of cardiovascular training with in 65-75 percent of your target heart rate zone of steady state cardio will put your body in it’s fat burning zone. Choose your favorite machine, or take it out doors! The point is to get moving! Peace!

The Right Order, For The Wrong Answer

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“You can’t replace the wrong answer, until you’ve got the right one!” ~Nadirah A. Shakir~

I tutor second and third graders on Thursdays nights, and it’s true when they say you can learn a lot from a child. So I’m going over some basic arithmetic with one of the students who is sharp as a blade; but there’s always that one equation that makes us feel “not-so-smart,” right? So the young lady is working the problem out on paper, working the problem out in her head, counting her fingers on her chin, and writing in the answers that she calculates to be correct.

Looking at the answer key, I shake my head each time she fills in the wrong answer to let her know that she has to try again. She’s a little perfectionist. Each time she got the answer incorrect I could see her angst. But she kept trying, and trying, and trying, and erasing, and erasing, and erasing until finally…she got the right answer. I gave her an affirmative head nod as she looked up at me with her hopeful big brown eyes gleaming. She was so excited that she could finally move on to the next problem. After giving her a big high five, and a hand full of peanut M&Ms to celebrate her victory, I asked her why she didn’t just skip over that particular problem and go to the next one. I asked her this question because it is not only advised, it is encouraged for scholastic exams which are often timed—do the ones that you are sure of and come back to the ones that you were stuck on. Her reply was simple, “I don’t like to do that. I like to go in order,” was all she said, with a mouth full of milk chocolate and peanuts.  I had to laugh. So much wisdom, so simple, so young.

As adults when we get stuck on a problem we often find a way around it. We cut a corner, or we even ignore it all together, and leave it blank. We bank on our intellect, and our wits, to give us just enough “cool points” to pass us to the next level. The thing is, even if we get promoted we still have to go back. No lesson goes unlearned. If we leave it blank there’s always that inkling, that void that we know we must fill.

When I used to work as a substitute teacher I witness high school children who could barely read from a elementary school book. Some one had passed them on. They skipped problems, and left answers blank I’m sure.

“I don’t like to do that. I like to go in ORDER,” she replied. There is an order to our life test, and there are steps in our spiritual development. When we don’t follow those steps, when we grow impatient and try to skip those steps we always fall back—fail, and that is how we waste precious time. The fact that most scholastic exams are timed made me pay special attention to her flow after her big “problem”. Funny, how she breezed through the rest of her practice test. Plus she had time to take a break stretch her legs, and snack on peanut M&Ms and still finish before her time was up. You save time when you go in order, and you can’t replace the wrong answer until you’ve got the right one. That was the lesson that the seven year old taught me.

Our big problems, and big ordeals that appear to stop our flow will really give us the power we need to move forward with precision, if we just take the time to figure them out, face them with courage and the intention to understand.

I’m wishing you Divine Order, patience, and understanding with those difficult life equations. Nadirah A. Shakir

Finding Happiness Everywhere

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If someone were to ask me what it is that I’m good at, I would have to say that I am good at being happy—finding reasons and things that promote the feeling of happiness. I can only say that because I have been in situations that were unfavorable, but somehow or another and very quickly I might add I’ve gotten happy. The one thing that I can rely on, to pull me up and out of a funk just as fast as I fall into one, is remembering my connection with the Divine. In remembering my connection with the Divine, my spirit and my thoughts are uplifted and they instantaneously turn to a place that is holy and true. Those things are usually in nature—the sunrise, the moon, wild life, people, and the ocean.

I remember one day in particular I was in a really funky mood about something. I can’t remember at the moment, probably because whatever it was, was washed away by the sight of an infant. I was in line at the grocery store and this infant in the check out line just started giggling and reaching out for me. She was so hysterical that her parents had to turn around to see what the happy fuss was all about. When they saw their infant child giggling and reaching for a sweaty woman in a sports cap and muddy sneakers, they burst into questionable laughter as well. It was a happy moment for all four of us. A good belly laugh we all had. I remember taking the thought of the giggling infant with me all day long. But that’s something I’ve gotten good at—living in the moments and opening to the things that make me smile. What makes you smile? What warms your heart? Take time out to think about it, and write them down, and then find a way to do what makes you happy as much as possible.

I’m wishing you more moments that make you happy, people who make you laugh, and a life saturated in joyous experiences! Nadirah A. Shakir

Divine Movement In Stillness

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During a morning walk with my client, the river offered me the perfect opportunity to illustrate how the Divine continues to work even when there appears to be no action on our parts.

We’ve all experienced it—those periods of inactivity after so much activity has been disbursed. Either we simply lack the energy to make dashing strides, or we just may be unsure of which direction to take. Perhaps, we feel inundated, and we’ve silently declared that we’ve done all that we can do. Like the song says, “after you’ve done all you can, you just stand.”

Funny how this morning I really didn’t feel up to running with my client so I strolled along side of her, and when she felt the need to dash into a sprint I encouraged her by cheering her on and keeping her time as I stood by the river. When she had run out of my sight, I had taken sight of the beautiful still river on the side of me. I heard God say, “It’s okay to be still. I am still working.” As my client ran back to me. I shared with her these words, and she laughed at me, telling me that, that was an excuse for me not sprinting along side of her. Perhaps she was right. Who knows? What I do know is that as I looked carefully at the river it was as still and peaceful as the morning itself. However there were still ripples traveling quietly south the stream. There was still life, and there was still movement. The water was still traveling where it needed to go, by just remaining in the flow—not being resistant to the energy moving it peacefully along.

In life, there are times when it appears that nothing is happening at all. I’ve heard older people say, that’s when everything is happening. What I know to be true as an energy therapist, is this–energy is always being transferred, purified, and recycled. Whatever thoughts, deeds, prayers, or intentions that we put out as spiritual-human beings will go into the great flow of divine energy (race consciousness) and move things along. So let us do our best to be in harmony with ourselves and those amongst us.

I’m wishing you peace that cannot be comprehended by human understanding, as well as a free-flow of abundance that brings you more peace. Nadirah A. Shakir