Tag: lifestyle

How to Find Wonder On Your Daily Walk

Hey guys, hope you’re all well.  I’m really excited to share with you my article that was published in the July 2020 issue of The Inspired Guide magazine (here) enjoy.

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The universe is always revealing and offering amazing gifts, and if we’re willing to be open to it and accepting, we can be the receivers of these gifts.  We can see the magick and the wonders in the simple things of our everyday life.  Walking can be an act of sacred union with the mystery, and fill us with great joy.

I love to go out for a walk, it’s part of my self-care, it gives me the opportunity to slow down and connect with nature.  I love to walk with the awareness to receive the amazing, and although I walk mostly the same path, walking with the intention to see the wonder makes my walks exciting, special and magical.  I’ll hear the sound of a bird that oh, I haven’t since last year.  Or, I’ll suddenly notice the amazing scent in the air as I breathe.  A feather on the ground my angels saying hi.  Gorgeous purple flowers, or I’ll notice the trees are starting to shed their leaves getting ready for the winter months.  Each season brings with it its own special gifts and charm.

walk wonder

I’m not always open to receiving, life gets in the way, emotions arise, I can’t seem to let go of thoughts that are disturbing my inner peace.  But even on days when I’m not all there, just the act of having set an intention opens the door and a little bit of wonder finds its way into my heart.

I started to set an intention for my walks a couple of years ago, an idea I got from an online course I took.  This practice has evolved over time and this is what I do now:

  • Before I go out, I set the intention.  I ask the universe to reveal wonder to me and I invite my angels, spirit guides, animal spirit guides, all beings who are with me to come along.  I ask for their protection, their wisdom, their love and to help me see wonder.
  • I have a rule, no thoughts allowed that will disturb my inner calm, this is a time that I give to myself to stay in mindful union with the mystery.  When unwanted thoughts enter my mind, I refocus back to my intention.
  • I have my cell phone with me for the sole purpose of taking pictures, I keep the sound turned off.
  • I bring happiness to my mind, I say I’m happy happy happy, and I step out with a feeling of happiness and a knowing that wonder will be revealed to me on my walk today.
  • At the end of my walk I always say thank you.

Taking a walk can be inspiring, energizing, joyful, peaceful, it can connect us with nature, it can elevate our spirit.  It gives us the opportunity to slow down and get grounded.  Even just a ten-minute walk can make a world of difference in how we feel.

Turning our walk into an intention for finding wonder is a gift we give to ourselves.  When we open ourselves to notice, to smell the air, to see the details, to hear the sounds…we enter into a magical awareness and a oneness with the universe, honoring ourselves and honoring the universe and her gifts.

Happy walking & blessings.

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2020

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When The Universe Sends You a Word…

Sometimes a word just shows up like out of nowhere and it stays with me, it’s there in my thoughts all the time, and I can feel it in my body. This is the universe letting me know that hey, pay attention, this word is what you need right now, accept it, open up to it, let it guide you.

‘Purpose’ showed up over a week ago and it’s taken a hold of me, so I’m doing just that, I’m accepting it as my guiding word for the rest of this year, and maybe longer.

‘Purpose’ made me realize that more than half the year is gone and mostly I have been procrastinating and I’ve done almost nothing of the intentions I had set for myself at the beginning of this year. 

The first thing I’m doing is, calling out procrastination and calling in purpose.

So, even though more than half the year has gone by, it’s not too late to make some changes, review this past year, decide what I want to keep and what I want to let go of, and what new I want to bring in.

This week I’m doing a review of what I want for the rest of the year, setting a couple of goals and trying to find a way to hold myself accountable. And the best way I know how to do this is, by asking myself questions in my journal.

What am I most grateful for this year.

What can I do to keep myself motivated.

What have I learned so far.

What do I want to change.

What do I want to let go of.

What do I want more of.

What new do I want.

What has filled me with joy.

What accomplishments am I proud of.

I feel re-inspired and for the rest of the year I want to live with ‘purpose’ in the forefront, living intentional and drinking in the deliciousness of what every day holds out. 

How about you, do you have a new word, are you doing a mid-year review? I’d love to hear from you.

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2020

Masha6 Comments

Living Your Best Life

Hello everyone, I’m sharing with you my article from the June issue #12 of The Inspired Guide magazine (here).

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Are you living your best life?  Are you being true to yourself?  Are you opening up to Spirit and letting life flow through you?   Or, are you holding back for fear of failure and doubts that swallow you up?  When life presents us with the opportunity to as Joseph Campbell said, “follow your bliss” we have a choice we either pick it up and run with it, or we fold and lock ourselves inside fear and doubt.

in every moment

In every moment we have the opportunity to become consciously awake to our own self, to remove the layers of fear that we’ve covered ourselves up with.  To change habits and thoughts and beliefs that no longer are for the highest good of us and let life move us, grow us. 

We’re having a life to feel all the emotions, to live and create, to open up and allow life to live through us.  We have choice and freedom to create what we want to experience. To create ourselves and to recreate ourselves.  To expand and grow into higher dimensions of consciousness.  We get to choose and decide how we want to experience ourselves.  But we cannot experience anything if we stand still because fear and doubt overshadow our desires.

So, there it was, my dream come true, totally unexpected and out of the blue, my publisher asking if I’d like to be a regular contributor to the magazine.  OMG!!!  WOW!!!  This has been my dream, my vision, what I’ve been asking the universe for, and here it is, the offer, and just like that as I’m jumping up and down for joy (in my head) fear and doubt showed up and I became overwhelmed with – oh no I don’t know if I can do it, this is a huge commitment…fear and doubt overtook my thoughts and squashed my joy.

Keeping myself small and hiding from my greatness is not following my bliss.  I had a choice to make, do I let fear rule me, or do I empower myself and allow life to grow me, and the best way I know how to get passed fear and doubt is to face it.  The answer came writing in my journal – Yes! I’m following my bliss.  I’m stepping into my new path with love, passion and gratitude.  I wholeheartedly accept the invitation and I’m ready to live my next highest best life.

Here are 4 powerful tips that have worked for me:

  • Write down your fearful thoughts. Ask yourself how much value do they have?  They only have the value you assign them.
  • Fear is a natural energy, we all have it and fear doesn’t want growth. Decide what you want more, to stay inside fear or to live the greatest version of you.
  • Remind yourself of an accomplishment that scared you at first but you did it anyway.
  • Start giving thanks as if you already have achieved. Being grateful, keeping in mind the outcome of your vision, seeing yourself already a success, will move you through fear.

Life is an exploration of who we are, a journey for spiritual and emotional fulfillment.  Life invites us to follow our own calling, seek new ways explore new ideas, become consciously awake to our own self.  To grow, expand, reach for the stars and live our highest best life.

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2020

Masha8 Comments

Hello July! Energies for Celebration and Joy

Hello July,

We’re halfway through 2020 and WOW!!! What a year this has been so far.  Like a lot of us, I’ve been caught up in a roller-coaster of emotions and looking back, I see that it has drained me of my energy, of creativity, of inspiration, of being able to function in every day activities.  It’s drained me of my inner power and  I didn’t realize it until now.

But, for the first time, July is here, and I feel hope and an opening for new beginnings, I’m feeling a shift in the energies, and an invitation to celebration and joy.

hello july

I feel July is bringing me back to myself, here’s what I’m doing:

1 – I need to celebrate ME.  Celebrate my accomplishments so far.  How I’ve held myself up, how through it all I’m still OK.  By making conscious choices, and even though at times it wasn’t easy, I’ve been taking care of my health.  I’m exercising, and I haven’t broken my rule of no eating at night since the middle of February.  Yeah!!!  I’m celebrating that through it all I still wrote articles every month for The Inspired Guide magazine (here) no matter how hard it was to be creative and write.  I’m celebrating me for being resilient, strong, and determined.  Yes, I’m celebrating.

2 – I forgot that my word for this year is – EMPOWERED – and I’m bringing it back into the forefront every day, leaning on it, embracing it, and it’s already making me feel empowered.   Yeah!!!

3 – Our energy can be zapped out of us, especially when we’re with people that have negative energy or, places and situations that are full with negative energy, even through TV or cell phone, our energy can be zapped leaving us, drained.  A practice that I used to do, and I don’t know why I ever stopped, is something I learned from the wonderful Danielle LaPorte (here).  She said that at the end of the day when she gets home before she gets out of her car she calls her power back into her.  She declares – I call all of my power back to me now.  I am whole and complete –

And the wonderful Sarah Jensen (here) just recently shared this, – For my highest good may all parts of me left in other people, places, dimensions, times and events return to me to energize, revitalize, and make me whole –

I’m loving this, so along with smudging myself to remove negative energies every morning, I am also returning to doing this ritual of taking my power back into me.

I hope this serves you, love to hear from you.

July Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2020

Masha12 Comments

5 Simple Ways to Bring Joy into Your Every Day

Hello everyone hope you’re well,  I wrote this article back in March 2020 for the May issue #11, of The Inspired Guide magazine, here, pg 64 – Whether we realize it or not, we need joy in our life every day for our well-being.  I’m delighted to share this article here and I hope it inspires you.

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I believe that now more than ever, we need to feel anchored, grounded and hold onto a sense of balance in our daily lives.

For me, like many of us, one minute I feel great and the next I’m stressed, anxious, fearful or on edge.  It’s a roller coaster ride of emotions and I need to return to my daily rituals of self-love, and self-care.  I need to bring into my day those regular things that support and nourish my well-being. I need to regain my sense of calm.  I need to create balance and have positive uplifting things in my day so I can cope with the rest.  I need to bring sunshine into my heart, I need – JOY!!!

Joy is what illuminates the darkness, joy is what heals our mind and body.  Joy is what brings moments of bliss and fills us with love.  Joy lights us up, and opens our spirit to shine.  When we’re full of joy, we emanate that energy out into the universe, and the universe needs all the joy we can muster.

joy-2Joy is my daily sanctuary, it’s not always possible, life happens, but when you can I invite you to join me, get creative and gift yourself a little time each day to do something uplifting and joyous.  It’s those few moments of creativity, of being immersed in something that makes you feel good that will uplift and brighten your days.

Here are 5 easy, feel good ways to bring joy into your day:

Take a photo – Challenge yourself to take a photo every day of something that makes you feel happy when you look at it.  Doesn’t have to be big, or complicated, you can use the camera in your phone and just snap.

Kindness.  Do something kind from your heart for someone, it will raise your vibration and fill you with joy.

Learn something new.  Learn a language, how to knit, how to draw, Yoga, how to fix a cabinet.  There are endless possibilities.  Just involve yourself and give yourself a new experience.

Connect with nature.  Walk barefoot on the grass.  Hug a tree. Listen to the birds chirping.  Bring flowers into your home.  Go for a nature walk around your neighborhood.  Watch a show on TV about nature.  Just admire nature, if you’re open to it, nature will open itself to you.

Love yourself.  Cultivate the habit of loving and nurturing yourself.  Make time for you.  Give yourself what you need, rest, jump, read articles on how to love yourself.  Find one thing you love about yourself every day and give gratitude for it.

Joy is not indulgence, it’s a necessity and it’s our choice and responsibility.  It’s our empowerment.  There’s magick in feeling joy, it lights us up, makes us feel good, fills us with energy.  Joy can help us combat stress reenergize us and boost our resilience.  Joy keeps us healthy and sane.  It strengthens our immune system, and we can rely on it to pull us through difficult times.

Joy is an essential part of our daily life; we need joy for our well-being. Even if we spend just fifteen minutes a day doing something that makes our heart smile, we will raise our vibration level, uplift our mood, elevate our mindset, and just plain feel joy-filled.

Joy-full Blessings.

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2020

 

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Make a Wish and other Things

Hello everyone! Happy today –  I’m so excited to share with you that I am now a regular contributor for The Inspired Guide magazine – a wish come true, YEAH!!!!! If you’re not familiar with the magazine I invite you to check it out here, it’s free and every month it’s filled with inspiring and informative articles, beautiful picture, a feast for your soul.

I will be posting my articles every month from the previous month here on my blog, but I encourage you to subscribe to the magazine, it’s free, and read my articles as they are published every month, and nourish your soul with all the other amazing content.

make a wish

flower7

flower2In other news:

I’m at home, I only go out for a walk around my development, the pictures in this post I took while on my walks.  I love going out for a walk, I love to find wonder and when I set the intention to, I find it most of the time.  I wrote an article about this for the July issue, can’t wait for it to come out.

Like a lot of us, I’m trying to find balance, inspiration and get motivated to write or read or clean.  I have good days, creative days, no energy days, don’t want to do a thing days.  Stay in my PJ’s days.  Don’t want to cook days, and a good thing that on those days I have something in the freezer already cooked, just need to heat up.

I’m also posting on Instagram here and on FB here, come on over and join in.

What are you doing, love to hear from you.

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2020

Masha10 Comments