Embrace Change (paths to abundance)

Embracing (in general) allows you to find your center - you come to a point where you can look within + find that you are relaxed with yourself no matter what changes come. Embrace is a quality of being with awareness + AWARENESS will always reveal the element of change. You also become aware of the things you want to change deliberately.

Embracing those things + habits we want to change begins with an assessment of values. Then we can see if the desired change aligns with these values. (We assess our values in the Freedom phase).

After we assess, we ACCEPT. From this vantage point of acceptance we tap into a solution mindset. We leave lack behind and tap into the abundance that dwells in alignment with our center.

When we are centered we invite abundance in.

You will come to a point where you begin to accept abundance as your birthritght. This is when you know you are returning to the path home.

Living in the NOW (embrace the moment)

Below are a few tips on living in the NOW gleaned from a book  I picked up several years ago, when back in San Francisco.  I visited a friend and she had this little gem on her table, “1,001 ways to live in the Moment” by Barabara Ann Kipfer. 

I was really drawn to the book, so I purchased it and at some point actually read every single suggestion while riding the bus to and from work.  It came to me at a time when I really needed it. It is one of the books I still carry with me as I have moved to another country and into a home on the road.

Here are 5 reminders from the book (as I have interpreted it) that I carry with me in my heart on this journey of Inspired Living + creating Sacred Space:

1. Accept yourself as you are! And keep moving forward.  Appreciate the precious moments and move on without regret. Embrace the process of your life. This is the foundation of self-love, and I am a believer that everything else will thrive on this.

2. “Say yes to the good life” and know when to say “no”. You choose. To make a change you have to change your awareness.  What point of view are you living from? Do you allow yourself to enjoy life and live fully on your own terms? Are you supporting your self by cultivating an environment that supports you? Say yes to living your INSPIRED LIFE.

3. Focus on one task rather than multitasking. Deepen your attention. Embrace small goals and baby steps in the process. I am still working on this one everyday, it is very tempting to try to do many things at once. Although I have a million things running at once, I know that focus brings presence.

4. Be fully engaged in the process...Deepen your awareness. Take what may have become a routine for you, i.e. making the bed, and really be fully engaged in the process.  Consciously smooth out the sheets in a particular direction, notice how it feels, be aware. This is a way to practice mindfulness. How can this be applied to other areas of life?

5. Embrace Self-Care. Give yourself a pat on the back. Enumerate your succeses and do good deeds for yourself. Self care is checking in with yourself and responding to what you hear.

Be Wonderful

♡

LaToya

p.s. i've had this list written up for a while now, and after listening to the meditation below I was inspired to finally post and add the meditation as a resource. As I find other resources I will continue to update this post.

Resources:

Awareness Meditation

MOMENTARY BLINDNESS (witnessing illusion)

MOMENTARY BLINDNESS (witnessing illusion)

moving through lots of emotions lately. moving through these moods with grace will require acceptance + awareness.

Along with reminders that it is not a permanent state. instead it is a process of making space for the truth to flourish. 

revealing an ongoing shift

an uncovering

an unveiling

an emptying

a break through

moving through the funk of illusion together - for we know what LOVE always exists when we are ready to allow it in unconditionally.

remembering i signed up to come through and feel all the feelings without attachement or judgement. I am not my emotions. I AM the OBSERVER + the conscious awareness.

ALWAYS WHOLE. ALWAYS DIVINE.

be wonderful

♡

LaToya

Perspective (Choosing a Point of View)

Looking from angles often overlooked or taken for granted can bring new clarity.

I can choose my point of view under any circumstance.

Choosing my point of view is all about mindset. It is consciously choosing how i want to participate in life. 

To step into this power of choice requires awareness. It asks that i become an observer of my life; my actions + reactions.

It asks that i become aware of my energy at any given point in my day. Because where my energy flows my experience will follow.

To become aware of my energy i tune into my body + my emotions + my thoughts. Energy can manifest as sensations or feelings or thoughts. I become aware of their quality: Do i feel tight in a certain area? Is my selftalk encouraging? Do I feel joyous? Motivated?

Looking at my life through the perspective of where is my energy at this moment can bring new clarity.

This energy perspective can show me where my life is in flow + where i may be holding on (blocking flow). 

This energy perspective brings clarity around where i may want to focus my attention.

If i am feeling unmotivated i can look at where i can open up flow to bring enthusiasm back into my day. I can focus on questions like: Am i including things i truly enjoy in my day? What do i truly love to do + experience? Can I incorporate that into my week? When I begin to incorporate these joys back into my life I can assess if it changes my energy. 

If I am feeling stuck I can assess my beliefs around the area of stuckness. Do i believe in my abilities? Do i truely believe in my innate worthiness? Am i basing my decision making off of my inner truth or based on how others may view me? 

My beliefs direct my thoughts + my thoughts direct my energy + my energy directs my life. 

One way I track my energy is by checking in with myself throughout the day. Usually the check in is triggered by an emotion or feeling (sadness, frustration, pain, extreme happiness). I would like to make this type of check in a daily habit/ritual no matter the feeling so i can continue to reap the benefits of the clarity + connection to intuition it provides.

Another method i use is journaling. It helps me document my feelings + thoughts. When i read back through my entries i can clearly see where my energy is... am i writing from a low vibration? Or a high vibration? Best to assess this without judgement + lots of self-compassion.

I can ask myself questions that help me to see my current perspective. If i am stuck in a perspective journaling allows me to assess + access a different point of view through posing questions to myself:

• I wonder what would happen if i believed life was always working out for me?
• I wonder if all my "struggles" were blessings in disguise?
• What if i could learn to direct my energy for my highest good?

All of that to say when i take responsibility for my energy i take responsibility for my life + I step into the power of choosing my perspective - choosing the story of my life -my inspired point of view.

BE WONDERFUL

♡

LaToya

Thank you for joining me on the journey of INTERIOR ALCHEMY.

Retrospect (The untold story of Magic)

a year of shedding and renewal

I entered the year full of hope. I was full of energy and ready to take life in my own hands. so I chose MAGIC as my guiding light for the year.

Growing up I was always drawn to the art of magic. Something about magic says ease and surprises (ideally good ones), exciting times, dreams coming into fruition. Magic has another aspect that I called in:

YEAR of MAGIC. Calling it in + Embracing it. {Vulnerability + Gratitude + the Beautiful Unknown} 

Magic manifested in all areas of my life, but not in the way I expected it to.  Actually there were times when I thought I had lost the magic, but it required seeing the magic in a new light, from a different perspective.

I learned that my magic looks different from what I have seem portrayed in books, movies, and the lives of others.

Sometimes my magic looks like uncontrollable tears transforming me into my next version of my best self.  Soulwork and shedding skins I didn't even know existed. Sometimes magic looks like 100 days of collaged life. Creating things and not being too attached and letting them out into the world.

Sometimes magic looks like an insight into my past  ways of being and my sense of self. It looks like realisations that allow change and growth. I can be anyone I choose. I am not restricted by the past or who I thought I should be by now.

Magic looks like embracing the things I fear and doing one thing each day that scares me. Magic looks like coordinating everyday things with family, Magic looks like staying at home with my growing son. Magic looks like not forcing things. It looks like having FUN. It looks like growing a garden, and eating the plants that you cultivate and grow. It looks like New Moon Yoga, Reflections , and Circles. It looks like helping amazing souls make their visions a reality through creating custom graphics.

Magic looks like writing and creating art for a magazine focused on uplifting and connecting women. It looks like connecting with old and new friends. It looks like letting others know your care, even if you dot know how to help, you care.

It looks like giving away all my things and moving onto a bus with my family. It looks like TRUST and connection, sharing and living more fully.  Magic was teaching myself to drive on the left, being given a book called Magic that reminded me of the necessity of GRATITUDE. Reading Big Magic and All of Brene Browns books I could get my hands on at the library - Remembering to Rise Strong and be Courageous.

Magic is...

All the knowledge gained and the open expression through writing sharing the magic in my first gallery show at a beautiful friends shop. Magic looks like helping several people declutter. Magic is reaching out and embracing my perfectly imperfect self - embracing what is and knowing that I don't need to fix anything... I just need to ACCEPT my innate wholeness. Magic is setting intentions and recognizing the synchronicity that follows - Witnessing how spirit speaks to me in subtle ways. Magic looks like falling apart and picking up the pieces and letting go of what I know is no longer required.

No one wants to dwell in the past, but this year in review has really helped me to see what I have accomplished (allowing me to be compassionate and give myself a bit more credit than I was before I assessed the year) and how I want to apply last years lessons to the year ahead.

My birthday falls at the end of December so i start my year end reflections then. This year I had a bit of time to myself in the morning. I used that time to do an end of year card spread from Biddy Tarot where I decided to use all my decks. I also used Susanah Conways Unraveling the Year worksheets to gain insights on what lessons came from my experiences. I also

My overall lessons from this year:

1. Leave OVERTHINKING behind.  Learn to use my mental capacity for my good ( I choose my thoughts - start with awareness).
2.  Always choose GRATITUDE - enjoying life is a celebration - a form of gratitude.
3. Communicate with my HEART - speak my truth even if it scares me.

So this is what M A G I C  really looks like in my life. 

Journal Prompts: How does magic show up in your life? Do you do an end of year review to propel you into the next year?

Resources I used for Year End Reviews  Prepping for the New Year:

Biddy Tarot Spread Susannah Conway The Art of Simple

Be Wonderful

xx

LaToya

Thank you for joining me on the journey of INTERIOR ALCHEMY.