Awareness – Thought Changer

The dampness seeps through my cotton joggers. I don’t realize it’s raining until I sit on the patio chair, its cushion cool and moist. It’s not rain, but a soft mist so fine it looks like fluctuating pixels on a grainy live photograph. Constantly moving, shifting, changing. There must be fifty shades of green in the thicket of woods behind my house. Those early Spring greens. Fresh, young, budding baby leaves, lapping the nourishment of the dew. Wondering if it’s the appetizer or the dessert. Finding strength in the anticipation. The wild daisies and lacy purple tansies carpet the yard’s floor nearby. They appear to stand on their tiptoes with their faces prone as they capture the tiny moist droplets in their mouths. They seem at ease like there’s enough to go around. Seems a fitting personality trait for wildflowers. The mist hits my face. I breathe it in. Best… Read more →

Early this year science news was abuzz with talk about a rare 5-planet alignment that was visible to the naked eye for the first time in over a decade. In a cloudless sky you could gaze toward the east to see Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars & Jupiter all lined up. I think a lot about alignment. Being in a state of alignment, more to the point. In fact, I expend a lot of thought, time and energy on this — living in alignment with my purpose & core values, and continually adjusting my choices, in thought and action, to maintain my homestead in the state of alignment. You know when things are off, right? Maybe you feel a little unhinged by stress or indecision; or you’re engaged in a job or activity that just doesn’t feel right; or you know somewhere deep down that you’re not centered in where you… Read more →

Some thoughts, and perhaps thought changers, on one my least favorite places to be: Indecision. Indecision is the enemy of spontaneity. Indecision is the enemy of the artist. Indecision is the downfall of the parent. Indecision is the downfall of fruition. Indecision is a self-imposed prison. Indecision is the enemy of invention. In fact, indecision cripples invention. It cripples marriage proposals, cripples IPO’s, cripples education, cripples war. And, peace. The very nature of indecisiveness stunts the very nature. Where would we be if Mother Nature couldn’t make up her mind? Would an apple tree become a river? Would an ant be dissatisfied with being an ant? Would an albatross wish it were a hummingbird? Would a sunflower decide to stay in bed? If Mother Nature waffled and just couldn’t make the definitive decision that everything in nature has its predetermined role to play, where would we be? Where would we… Read more →

I’ve been spending a couple of days at the ocean, in a place that takes a few u-turns to find. There’s not much here, but oh how I love it. After being in a space of disconnect of late, I could not have picked a more apropos location to reconnect. There’s something about the sound frequency of ocean waves that reignite my engine. In fact, research shows that the frequency of ocean waves connects with your brain waves to create a restorative sense of calm. And, we hear ocean waves via ultrasound waves, but we actually feel the vibrations in our bodies via infrasound frequencies generated by the ocean, vibrations that connect to the body’s chakras or energy points. My solar plexus hums, creating the base for my body’s symphony. There’s something very foundational about it. Ah, a plethora of melodies, chords and dissonance that when fully tuned and in… Read more →

Do you ever feel like you’re walking through molasses – or worse yet quicksand – as you progress toward a goal? I know I have. Things never seem, at the time, to be happening fast enough. For me, it’s been a steady, at times stop-and-start, mind bending (or blowing), deepening, maddening, gratifying and continual path toward making a full-time living as a writer. When I allow the frustration that it’s not happening yet to creep into my work and consciousness, it always stops the flow, even if it’s just for a moment. I saw this quote the other day and it filled me with peace. “Profound commitment to a dream does not confine or constrain: it liberates. Even a difficult, winding path can lead to your goal if you follow it to the end.” – Paulo Coelho The winding path reveals more truth. It hit me that I’ve always followed… Read more →

By Cindy Yantis Real isn’t always nice. I saw a friend recently and she told me she saw a change in me, that I was more grounded. “You’re more real, not so nice.” And, I got it. When I was about nine, growing up in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, there was a neighborhood club called, “The Nice Club,” run by a group of girls my age. And, no matter how hard I tried they wouldn’t let me in the club. I was my nicest nice, but it clearly wasn’t good or nice enough. Turns out the nice club wasn’t so nice. And, I’ve spent the good part of my life trying to get into that damn Nice Club. Ha! No more. Letting go of nice leaves room for more real. Niceness many times covers up a fear of the truth, which in turn hides fears of being rejected, or not being… Read more →

“Stop editing.” It’s what I tell myself constantly as I write, or speak. I have such an internal editor. I’m an editor, a slicer, a cutter. It stops the stream of consciousness. I stop myself. I stop. The invisible door slams in front of my words or thoughts. I slam the door. I slam. No chance of a stream that flows. What does a free stream of consciousness look like? Feel like? It’s a river full of everything. At its mouth, it’s a cold dam bursting over with trash and fabric and sand, jumbled questions and scrubbing bubble answers, gasoline and olive oil, body parts and brain matter, war and peace, warm peaches and pomegranates, silk and lambswool, and diamonds. But, it’s not until the stream is steady and crystal clear that the diamonds appear, tumbling over the rapids of genius. Through the clear flow, valuable gems appear on the… Read more →

Who Am I? This is one of the big questions I pose every morning as part of my meditation and journaling ritual. Some days the question is the only thing I write down and the only query on which I meditate. It’s a lot to contemplate. Or not. This week as I asked the question, my pen poised over the page, nothing came. It’s not that my mind was blank, it’s that my mind was racing, as happens most days when I start to meditate or gather my thoughts. Can you relate? Mind chatter is non-stop. If it’s not about our to-do list, it’s about a conversation we had or want to have. If it’s not about the email we need to answer, it’s about how we’re judging ourselves. About everything. If it’s not about the ache in our back or knee or shoulder, it’s about the movie we watched… Read more →

Gratitude is an everyday ‘tude. But, today we especially remember the depth of meaning behind giving thanks. I ran across this great infographic on Finer Minds. May your gratitude fill you up today and always! If you enjoyed this Thought Changer, please click the little green button below this post and thank you for sharing! And, please visit us on our Facebook Page: Facebook.com/ThoughtChanger Cindy Yantis is the Thought Changer Blog creator & curator. She is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles. For more info: CindyYantis.com Related articles Epiphany of a New Thought – Now What? It’s the Good Stuff That Matters Read more →

I recently got an email from a reader asking me to send her a post I’d written three years ago about dissolving fear, stating “I think it would be very helpful to me right now.” I happily sent it to her and decided updating and revisiting the subject might be helpful to all of us. “The key to change…is to let go of fear.” ~ Rosanne Cash The very word can stop us in our tracks sometimes. FEAR. It can keep us from making a decision, or from taking advantage of an opportunity, or from stepping into any situation that puts us out of our comfort zone. The very notion of fear can cause inertia. Let’s take a moment to re-define or reframe this word, to think about it in a new way. Some define fear as False Evidence Appearing Real, in other words fear isn’t real. And, there is… Read more →

It could be rather cliche that I would post an article about freedom on Independence Day. But, what can I say? The holiday got me thinking about all of the various connotations of freedom and independence. Yes, the holiday is about the literal freedom and independence of a nation and its people. But, there’s so much delicious metaphor and meaning surrounding the notion of being free and independent. To truly set yourself free from all that shackles you so as to live in a individual state of freedom, it starts in the mind. It’s the only environment over which we have total control. Once you allow yourself to clean out your mind environment, you’ll feel free in many new and expansive ways. What currently binds you into a certain way of thinking? It usually comes down to habitual thought patterns. Dr. Martha Beck says habitual thoughts are “like ruts in… Read more →