Michelle Margaret Fajkus

28 amazing pieces of wisdom

108 Ways to Heal Your Chakras. | elephant journal

“When all the knots of the heart are unloosened, then even here, in this human birth, the mortal becomes immortal. This is the whole teaching of the scriptures.” ~ Katha Upanishad
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How to unloosen the knots of the heart and mind?
How to realize the knots are already undone?
How to live from the heart, ever expanding, ever opening?
How to flow with grace, openness, a smile, gratitude?
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The foundation of happiness is gratitude. The foundation of gratitude is love—loving lif...

“Soft-belly is a trigger for our letting go. Softening melts the armoring over the heart, experienced as hardness in the belly. Each time we remember to be present, to be mindful, we soften into the moment. Softening becomes a call to the heart that it is safe to be alive in the body once again. Soft-belly brings an end to our fear of fear.” ~ Stephen Levine
For whatever reasons (cultural, personal, genetic, societal, physiological, emotional), I have had a lot of issues with my belly and bod...

“The existence, the physical universe is basically playful. There is no necessity for it whatsoever. It isn’t going anywhere. That is to say, it doesn’t have some destination that it ought to arrive at.” ~ Alan Watts
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This video is a gift.
The imagery may be a little over-the-top, but the wise words, adorable British accent and candid tone of Zen teacher Alan Watts are well worth four-and-a-half minutes of your day.
His basic message is that our cultural conditioning and standardized system ...

Inhale. Exhale. Pause.
Notice where on Earth you are.
Feel where your body connects to the planet. Feel how gravity is grounding you to Mother Earth. Breathe in a sense of belonging and of being completely right where you are.
Our chakras, according to Swami Saradananda‘s wonderful guidebook, Chakra Meditation, are “seven focal points of radiant power, or vital energy, within the subtle body.” Translated from Sanskrit as “wheel,” these seven energy centers can be visualized as gears, constant...

“There is a form of narcissism that seems to affect men more than women…it stems from a very close and unhealthy mother-son attachment relationship.” ~ Berit Brogaard
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As with anything, there are varying degrees of narcissism.
There is a spectrum from healthy (with a balanced dose of self-love and esteem) to pathological, all-encompassing narcissistic tendencies.
Narcissism is troublesome for society as a whole, as well as for each individual narcissist who is plagued by incessant and rampan...

“Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish. If you are not capable of generating that kind of energy toward yourself, it is very difficult to take care of another person. In the Buddhist teaching, it’s clear that to love oneself is the foundation of the love of other people. Love is a practice. Love is truly a practice.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
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I am practicing love. I am opening my heart.
I love my partner, and it has dawned on me that he’s really difficult to live with, a lot of ...

In the morning
Or anytime,
Wake up
Stretch!
And then—
Just sit
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Or stand,
But be still and quiet.
Notice the now,
Notice how the mind wanders, and where.
All the time. All over the place. Everywhere and nowhere.
Empty and full at once.
A silly monkey, a bumbling puppy, a mirror, the ocean.
This is the mind.
To the back then or the what if.
The past and the future. Any time but the present. Memories, plans. Nostalgia, aspirations. Regrets, expectations.
Judgment.
Sit and no...

Swadhisthana chakra is the Sanskrit name for our second energy center and translates to “sweetness” or “sacred home of the self.”
Imagine your mind as still as water in a vast lake.
Breathe in a long, deep breath of inspiration, then let the exhalation go naturally, easily. Repeat this technique for a few moments. Notice how your breath sounds like the ocean waves that are forever crashing upon the seashore. Feel how your body moves. Let your energy take on the physical qualities of water, fl...

There are a lot of diseases that can result from lazy or poor culinary choices and consumption behaviors, including toxic, infectious diseases, which may be microbial (salmonella, listeria monocytogenes, e coli, and clostridium); parasites (taenias, flatworms, nematodes, and toxoplasmosis); or viruses (norovirus, hepatitis A, and rotavirus).

I met the Buddha in Mountain View, California, in the autumn of 2003.
I had achieved my dream of moving from the Lone Star State to the Golden State. I’d been practicing yoga on and off for a decade but had never really delved into meditation outside of my yoga practice.
Shortly after relocating to the Bay Area (also known as the land of endless holistic health opportunities), a simple flyer prompted me to show up to the Mountain View Zen Center group sit one evening with an authentic beginne...

A yogi measures his or her life in terms of breaths, not days.

Prana means breath, wind, life, vitality, energy, or strength. Ayama means length, expansion, stretching, or restraint. Thus, pranayama is the extension and control of the breath. Pranayama is both a powerful tool and an end in itself. Through the proper use of the breath, a yogi can rid the physical body of toxins, increase vital energy, relax and control the body, relieve or prevent cramps, conquer desire, and even bring emotion...

5 Books I Wish Everyone on Earth Would Read. | elep...

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