by Connie Habash | Oct 1, 2018 | Acceptance, Anxiety, Control, Let Go
Trying to control creates anxiety – but letting go brings me ease.
A half hour before writing this blog, I fixed myself some lunch. I was making a salad, and needed to peel some cucumbers. Wanting the peels to be easy to clean up, I had a compost box in front of me and set out to peel over it, so the skins would land right into the box and there’d be no clean up.
After 3 whips of my veggie peeler, I had flung 2 of the peels onto the floor.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t present enough. I was relaxed, breathing, and focused on my task. It’s simply the fact that you can’t control everything (or maybe that I suck at peeling cucumbers).
by Connie Habash | Sep 12, 2018 | Awareness, Fear, Perspective, Thoughts
My daughter is a Harry Potter fan. One of the most powerful spells in that series of magical books calls forth your Patronus. What is that, you say?
A Patronus is (from J.K. Rowling’s description) “a kind of positive force, a projection of hope, happiness, the desire to survive”. The Patronus can’t feel despair like humans can. Its function is to protect you from forces that want to suck all that positive energy out of you (called the Dementors in Harry Potter land).
Guess what – you have a Patronus, too! It’s that part inside of you that believes in you, that holds your memories of joy and happiness, that sees the magical possibilities of life. When you’re tuned into your Patronus, you can ward off negativity.
by Connie Habash | Sep 6, 2018 | Acceptance, Attachment, Nonattachment, Surrender
A little surrender and a lot of non-attachment allowed me to receive what was given and open to new possibilities.
Recently, I looked back on the birth of my daughter. The struggles I am currently facing in writing my first book have mirrored some of my experiences in labor. I sat down and wrote a long piece about it, but didn’t feel I could share all those gory details. Going through the birthing process was not what I had expected, yet it gave me an important gift.
It was the end of September of 2004. My labor started around 5pm, and by 4am the next morning I headed to the hospital with my husband an doula. My plan – a natural birth, without anesthesia. I had prepared myself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually for this experience. A yoga practitioner and teacher for over 10 years at the time, I believed that my reasonably supple body would handle this just fine.
by Connie Habash | Jul 31, 2018 | Animals, Gentleness, Openness, Patience, Persistence, Presence
On a pilgrimage to Mount Shasta, butterflies became my spiritual teachers.
One of my favorite places in the world is Mount Shasta, and of all the sacred and beautiful locales around this mountain, I love a particular meadow about half-way up the slope. The source of its beauty – that nourishes the abundant life there – is a pristine spring.
This is where I like to sit when I visit, right next to the spring. Not only am I able to hear its sweet trickling sound and dip my feet in the freshly-melted-from-the-glacier water, but I’m able to look over the many wildflowers blooming around the tiny stream. And along with the flowers come the butterflies.
I’ve only been to a couple places that had more butterflies (I have seen Monarchs on their migration). There’s a lovely variety of them, too – orange and brown, white, periwinkle. They tend to linger nearby on the warm step stones, not just on the flowers. And this is when I get excited, because I love to coax them onto my fingers.
by Connie Habash | Jun 15, 2018 | Depression, Healing, Transformation
Two celebrity suicides prompt me to share my own story of depression, and how I journeyed from being suicidal to wholeness and happiness within.
I have struggled this week with what to write in this month’s blog. I can’t say that this is a unique experience; I often have challenges with the looming question of “what to write?”
But this week it was a bit different. The recent suicides in the news – Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain – made me stop to reflect on things.
I hardly knew who Kate Spade was, other than seeing her name on merchandise in local department stores. Anthony Bourdain, however, I was very familiar with. Our family enjoyed watching Parts Unknown as a bit of education about other cultures around the world – how they lived, ate, celebrated, and even mourned the tragedies that their nations had been through. It felt important for us to know these foreign lands and peoples who lived very differently than we do.
Though I have no idea why they ended their lives, one thing was very clear to me: fame and fortune didn’t make them happy. At least not in a lasting, sustainable way. Although I can’t say I have had fame and fortune, I have had many lessons in the pain of depression, and in discovering what made me truly happy, or at least content with my life. It didn’t come from making money or appearing successful, or even from a wonderful relationship. I had to find it inside myself.
by Connie Habash | May 2, 2018 | Equanimity, Even-mindedness, Yoga Philosophy
When we believe we’re faced with evil-doers, the spiritual attitude we need most to maintain our inner peace is Upeksha – even-mindedness.
Government scandals, #MeToo, and Black Lives Matter – oh my! Civil war in Syria. Russian interference in our elections – true or false? Building the Wall. Rolling back environmental protections. The distance and tension between the conservatives and the liberals – let alone the United States and the rest of the world – has never been so great, and it’s more difficult to find common ground and work together. Here where I live in the US, and around the world, we are living in challenging times.
Granted, you could probably argue that just about any time in history is challenging, but we certainly are getting an earful in the media these days. And I have noticed that it has been stressful and disturbing not only for myself, but for my clients and students as well.
Especially when we’re having a lot of judgment about it. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Who’s good? Who’s bad? It has been all too easy lately to point fingers… that person, that position, that behavior is simply bad. Wrong. Even evil. If we aren’t careful, we can fall into righteous, polarizing attitudes.
Fortunately, yoga philosophy has an answer – not to “fixing” it all, but how to maintain some inner peace through tumultuous times. Even when we believe we’re faced with no-good scoundrels.
by Connie Habash | Apr 15, 2018 | Angels, awakening, Dreams, Encouragement, Goals, Guidance, Inspiration, Motivation, Perception, Possibilities
You probably don’t need venture capitalists to realize your dreams – you need to awaken your own inner angels.
Calling in your Angel Investors!
I know someone who is an Angel Investor – she loves to find people and projects she believes in and provide the expertise and capital to help them realize their vision.
We were chatting with one of her friends in the foyer of her Eichler-style home. She talked about having a guest on her podcast that was a bit woo-woo. Naturally, I perked up, ‘cause you know I love woo-woo.
She enjoyed this guest, who had a slightly spiritual bent to her work, but felt a little nervous about the prayer that she offered to the listeners in the beginning of her show. Given that her audience is geared towards business and success – a bit more mainstream than those of us spiritual folks – she worried that it would make people uncomfortable.
by Connie Habash | Mar 15, 2018 | Animals, Beauty, Hiking, journey, Joy, Life, Nature, Openness, Seasons, Trust
A couple weeks ago, I had planned to hike on a Thursday morning with a friend I hadn’t seen in months. We were looking forward to being together and venturing into one of my favorite forests at nearby Huddart Park. The forecast was for rain – not just a little drizzle. Did we want to venture beyond our comfort zone, even if it was pouring?
I was game, and so was she – what an adventure! Going outdoors brings me great joy, but there’s always an element of being uncomfortable. Will I get muddy? Will my new rain pants truly hold up? What if I slip and fall? How about the cold? Being in nature mirrors to us the fact that life is unpredictable and uncomfortable sometimes.
We met up and drove together through the windy road to the park entrance, then on to the grassy field near the trailhead. On with the jackets, hiking books, and mittens (yep, it was chilly!), and off we went into the redwood forest.
by Connie Habash | Feb 13, 2018 | Love, Nature, Source, Valentine's Day
Yeah, I know. Valentine’s day is this week. How do you feel about it?
Do you feel loved? Do you have someone that you love? Do you appreciate this day to express that love, or does this day trigger painful emotions?
I think there are as many reactions to Valentine’s day as there are the spectrum of emotions. I personally appreciate the opportunity to express love and care for others. But I also don’t like the expectations and commercial aspect of “Valentine’s Day”.
And I don’t think this is about someone else – I think this day could be turned towards finding love wherever you are, inside of you. Because love isn’t limited to a person, a place, or a thing. Love is infinite, unlimited, and ever present. Love is the Divine, and it’s already within you.
by Connie Habash | Jan 16, 2018 | Challenges, Empowerment, Healing, journey, Transformation
I’ve been on a path of personal healing for a long time (probably like you). Physically, I have had acid reflux for over 3 years now, which has launched me into new and unprecedented explorations of healing. Mentally and emotionally, my healing journey has been much longer, dating back to my days of depression in my teens and 20’s.
I’ve come a long way, but often I find myself hopeful of a cure. We all look for the quickest, easiest way to feel better, on any level. Of course we would prefer instant well-being – who wouldn’t?
But I have also reflected on the difference between what it is to heal vs. what it is to cure. It’s a big difference, and worth considering as you follow your own path of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
