Eros V

Gratitude is one thing that I find our culture is lacking and yet is so very important. We live in a society that preaches to be hyper-ambitious and always be looking for the next best thing. Which is great if you want to accomplish things but if you don’t balance it with gratitude you’ll find you’re never satisfied with anything you receive in your life. 

Gratitude allows us to shift our perspective of our lives from a place of lack to a place of abundance. What you think you “have” is relative to those who have more or less. I learned this on a visit to Lima, Peru one day. Walking through the streets outside of the tourist bubble, I had never experienced or seen such poverty before. It caused a huge shift in my consciousness. Living in a country with so much abundance that preaches to keep going after more it was shocking to see how people live outside of the bubble of the United States. 

And yet that shock ties into gratitude. We are all so lucky in ways that we take for granted every day. It’s only when you experience extreme poverty that you realize how rich you were before. But at the time you were maybe comparing yourself to extreme wealth so you felt like you were actually poor. We have to become aware of our perspectives and gratitude shifts us from a place of lack to a place of abundance. 

Just the fact that you’re healthy is something to be grateful for. I’ve seen the shock in people when they become ill and realize they never thought health would be something that would go away. But the point I’m trying to make is not to be pessimistic about the things that could go wrong in our lives. But rather be optimistic and appreciative for all the good we have in our lives. The more gratitude you have, the richer you feel in your life and the more you attract more abundance. 

I challenge you to write a list, even if you only do it once, where you write on one column the things you’re grateful for and on the other the things you wish you had. I guarantee your gratitude list will be much longer. You will realize that though you haven’t achieved whatever goals are yet to come, you are blessed beyond what you think of on a day-to-day basis. Keep this list with you whenever you’re feeling down about your life or feeling like you want to complain about everything. We all have those days! And this list will be a quick pick-me-up reminder that will instantly lift your mood. 

#1 on my gratitude list is you taking the time to read my blog. Hope this helps you become more optimistic when you’re feeling down. 

Eros

Last night I received a spiritual lesson from the most unlikely of places. The higher power always has a way of sending me messages via someone in my life. I’ll just be pondering something, ask for guidance, and out of nowhere I’ll find someone giving me a message that resonates with and answers my question.

I was at a lake house for my company’s retreat just hanging out with a coworker, finding a peaceful balcony up in the trees. And suddenly she started talking about the importance of each individual’s evolution in relationships. For those who seek spiritual development we often find ourselves confused as to why others don’t jump on board with our journey of self-discovery. It can often feel like we’re on another wavelength trying our best to communicate with someone that only gets bits and pieces of our signal. Or they get no signal and it’s as if we’re talking to a brick wall. 

That’s when she threw out a quote that resonated with me. “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” The more you evolve as a person the greater the burden of feeling as if less people will understand you or try to live life on your level. This goes for friendships, family relationships, romantic relationships, all relationships.

And so you have to first understand that every person in your life is on their own unique spiritual journey. We’ve all had different experiences and evolved at different levels from them. But you can’t expect everyone to automatically understand you or want to live their life at your level. You have to respect each person’s individuality and where they are in their life. So when you understand this, you can let go of relationships with people that are not meeting you at the healthy place you’ve worked to be in life. Or you also learn patience. The patience and understanding that even though someone has not reached the level of spiritual growth that you have, you can be a catalyst for them to grow. 

Every person is on their own journey of spiritual development. We all grow from the experiences we’ve had in this life and if you believe in reincarnation (as I do) other lives as well. So we have to respect each other and be patient with where each person is development-wise. And if you happen to be on a higher level and have lessons to share with others then use that as a way to uplift them. Don’t view it from a negative perspective of “Oh no one understands me, I’m so alone in my way of being!” 

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. But one day you will come to view it as less of a burden, and more of a blessing. And all of us will one day wear our own crown of everlasting joy, serenity, and wholeness that is our birthright. 

Sending you much love,
Eros

Kaeli J.W. writes:

“I tend to have intense relationships that move quickly. My conversations also tend to be intense. I really like talking about my passions, experiences, social justice, philosophies… deep subjects. But I think high intensity speeds things up, and maybe I could let things develop more slowly. It’s not something I’m sure that I can or want to change. I always veer towards intensity. Do you have any advice about that?”

Kaeli,

Getting to know someone is so exciting especially when we’re really intrigued by them! There’s nothing wrong with getting to know someone or sharing about each other. The trick is to just pay attention to and respect what the other person is reciprocating. If you find that you want to go really deep into someone’s psyche but they’re not ready or willing to let you in then that is a boundary that you’re crossing unfortunately. We always have to ask ourselves is the other person going at the same pace as us? And if you want a faster pace and the other person doesn’t then maybe it’s time to find someone else who’s more ready and willing to delve into intense discussions early on. But if you’re willing to be patient and slow down the pace the other person may eventually open up and meet you at the level you’re excited by.

We always have to ask ourselves whether or not the other person in a relationship is giving an equal amount as us. We also have to know at what point we stop being patient and just try to find someone who’s more ready to meet our needs. I recommend looking for people who are also excited by discussing deep conversations but always keep in mind other people’s comfort levels and boundaries may not be like yours. 

I’ve seen all too often the wanting to jump into someone’s head with good intentions but not realizing that they may not want you in their head just yet. Or maybe at the level you’re seeking. So my advice is seek those that enjoy intense intellectual discussion and just learn to be patient with allowing them to open up. But also know at what point you’re willing to walk away if they won’t open up so that you don’t find yourself frustratingly waiting forever. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that are waiting and wishing to meet someone that wants to connect on a deep intellectual level so don’t even think about changing that about yourself 🙂 

Sending you good vibes!
Eros

Today I was watching yet another round of negative news coverage and I got to thinking… My initial reaction to an election that happened two years ago was to be completely jaded. I felt (like most around me) like the world was collapsing before me. It took me about a year to process that anger and try to understand what was happening…

I feel now like I have a much better understanding that grew within me. We see things outside of ourselves that we can’t control and think we’re powerless. We think our efforts and our lives are so tiny compared to all of the chaos in this giant world we live in. And in a way you’d be right to think you’re so small in this vast world. And yet that’s also where the answer to your power lies.

To change the macrocosm you have to change the microcosm. If you want to change the country you have to change its citizens. If you want to change poverty you have to be a channel to help the poor – regardless of how small you think your efforts are. If you want love when your surroundings are hateful you have to deliberately choose to spread love and not turn into the hate around you. If you want to be rich you have to look at your day to day habits that will one day get you there. If you want to be healthy you make one small healthy change at a time until you get there.

You have more power than you know. Because changing your own life changes the lives of those around you. And those people then change those around them. One candle can start a wildfire. One idea can change the minds of all of humanity.

So next time you feel powerless to your surroundings… Next time you feel like everything “out there” is so bad that you’re hopeless… Look at your own life and your own self and take responsibility.  If you change your life, you can change your world. 

Sending you positive vibes,
Eros

I have an interesting topic today that I think many can relate to. We often find ourselves asking others for advice on what we should do in situations without asking our own selves.

But there’s power in making your own choices and decisions and owning those. We all have an inner intuition that guides us throughout life like an instinct. But unfortunately that gets hijacked by our own internal dialogue and those of others. 

When confronted with a problem we often start thinking about it left and right. We then ask others for their opinions which adds to the voices in our heads. Before you know it we have the voices/thoughts of others swimming in our minds with our own. You can see how that leads to some poorly made decisions. 

I challenge you to look inward when you’re trying to decide what to do. And own the choices you make. If you make a mistake, own it and grow from it. You’ll then fine-tune your intuition. If you’re trying to figure out the best way to silence the chatter of your mind and tap into your intuition I offer this exercise: 

Go to a quiet, calm, relaxed place. Sit there with your spine upright and close your eyes. Start to then focus on what you hear. Move on to what you feel physically. Just focus on your senses and what they are telling you. Then move on to your breath. Just put all your attention on how your breath flows. After awhile you’ll find yourself relaxing a bit and thoughts will be zapping in and our of your head. Just observe them without any judgement…

After a little bit of time in this state of just observing and breathing you’ll be in a meditative state. This is where you have a clear channel to your soul’s guidance aka your intuition. When you’re in this quiet, relaxed state and have less thoughts you can then focus on your question. Think about what your problem is or what you want guidance on. Then just observe the thoughts that start arising without judgment. Whatever thoughts come up just make a mental note without judging them. 

When you awake, write down whatever thoughts came up when you thought about the guidance you wished to receive. Do this exercise everyday for a couple of days to a week and then look at your notes. What keeps coming up? Is there a pattern? 

You will find there will be a little pattern each day that seems to be cohesive. This is your intuition. This is the voice inside of you that keeps on saying the same thing and trying to point you in the best direction. Try this out next time you really want to know what is the best answer to your problem or when you’re in need of guidance. 

Sending you positive wavelengths,
Eros