What Is The Age Of Aquarius?

You may have heard the term being thrown around quite often these days.

But what exactly is the Age of Aquarius?

Many astrologists agree that Age of Aquarius will begin when the vernal equinox point moves out of constellation Pisces and into Aquarius. Some believe this has already happened, and some believe we will be coming into this age within years or even decades.

To summarize, the Age of Aquarius is a time when people from different walks of life can come together in unison and harmony in the knowing that we are all one species; we are humanity.

We’ve learned about past eras of humanity where the focus was on the ego - the self.

Aquarius as a sign in the Zodiac is one that honors humanitarianism. It zooms out of the picture to reveal something far greater than we could have ever imagined up close. Aquarius sees the overarching storyline of the Universe and life as a whole and for that reason it is often called “the sign of the future.”

So, whereas in the eras of the recent past where the focus was on the self or even on the systems of government and production put in place, the Age of Aquarius will focus on the whole, the big picture.

It may even lead some to consider more frequently the age old question of “are we alone in the Universe?”

This new era of great change and innovation may see the world becoming smaller so that our connection may grow stronger for a better future for the Earth and humanity in its entirety.

Let’s consider this a great time of union and empathy for us all so that no man, woman, child, or animal be left to suffer.

How To Fall In Love With YOU

It may not be Valentine's day anymore, but there's never a wrong time to talk about love.

Society tends to define love through romantic-comedy cliches: boy meets girl, boy courts girl, then they fall in love, some shit happens, but they eventually live happily ever after, blah blah blah, etc. The reality is: love doesn't have to be romantic. It really shouldn't be defined at all. Love is all around us. Love is the vibration and energy of source (a.k.a. God or The Universe).

It's important to love yourself before you can love someone else and it's important to understand your own emotions before tending to the emotions of others. People can only feel for others as deeply as they've felt their own emotions. If you don't let yourself feel your emotions, you wouldn't be able to empathize with someone else. To better explain this concept, imagine you have two cups.

The first cup is filled with your own negative emotions, or general emotions that have yet to be acknowledged. The second cup is your love cup - the one you would use to pour from to give love to other people. Now ideally, the first cup should be empty because you need to acknowledge and clear your own emotions before empathizing and taking on the emotions of anyone else. Clear this daily! The second cup, however, should be full. As they say, "you can't pour from an empty cup." You should be filled with your own self love before you can give love to anyone else.

Self love means taking a break from giving away your time, energy, and resources to other people and giving it to yourself for a change. This can be challenging for people who are natural nurturers and givers, but it's necessary to reclaim your energy or you can be left feeling drained and in extreme cases, even sick. I've listed some practices that have helped me below to get you started.

Self Love Practices

1. Open The Windows! Get Fresh Air and Sunlight

To let the love in, first let the sunshine in! There are countless external benefits to getting some sun rays, but most people don't realize the internal benefits as well. Getting sunlight can help clear and balance your crown chakra which will allow you to have more clarity of thought. It's also important to breath in new air instead of stale air that has been trapped in a room with dense energy. If you're not consistently clearing the energy with other tools, it's helpful to open a door or a window.

2. Make a "Things That Make Me Happy" List

What do you consider to be the best things in life? Do you like the beach? Do puppies make you smile? Figure out what puts you in a great mood and adjust your life accordingly! Keep this list around to refer to if ever you're feeling down.

3. Treat Yo Self

Treat yourself as you would a new born baby. Give yourself all the attention you need. Book that massage you desperately need, get a haircut, light some candles and take a long salt bath, watch your favorite movie, read an amazing book, listen to some high vibe music, and splurge on a cool gift for yourself. Remember to be your own best friend before being one for other people.

4. Declutter Your Spaces

Your personal spaces often reflect whats going on inside your head. Is your room crowded or organized? Do you have trash stashed somewhere in your car or does it look brand new? Evaluate your spaces and reorganize if necessary. Clear out the negative energy, and you'll feel a weight lift from you.

5. Sort Your Needs From Your Wants

We can be so concerned with our responsibilities, that we rarely give ourselves time to stop and think about what we really want out of life. Take some time out and contemplate. Meditate on it and write down what comes to mind. Then sort out what is needed, versus what is wanted at this present moment. You may be surprised when you find that something you put in the want category for years is really something you've been desperately needing. For example, have you been telling yourself for years that you want to start eating healthier and incorporating vegetables in your diet? Well, if you don't put that in the need category, you're most likely not going to do it. And you SHOULD. Be discerning, but remember that if it's good for your health, it's important!

6. Prioritize Your Goals And Take Action

Do you have a business or career goal that's always been on the back of your mind, but you just never had time to get to it? Now's the time to start planning out your steps! Remember Rome wasn't built in a day. It's all in the baby steps. When I bought this website over a year ago, I had no idea what it was even going to be for - I just knew I wanted to have a website! Now it's grown into something even greater and more fulfilling than I could've imagined. If you have a goal, get started on it! Take the first step. Even if it's a lil baby step. The rest will fall into place if you work on it slowly and consistently.

7. Try New Things On Your Bucket List

Try new things that excite you! Even if you have to do them alone. Because if you always wait for someone else to join you, you may not make it through that list of yours. I get it, it can be daunting at first to be pushed out of your comfort zone, but once you overcome any initial challenges you'll feel the reward of taking a risk. You may even meet some interesting new people and make friends. Some of my best friends were met at events that I went into feeling out of place and awkward as hell, but it always worked out. Remember, if you're authentically yourself, you're always on the right path.

8. Embrace Gratitude

Always remember that you're blessed. If you have a roof over you head, you're blessed. If you're alive and healthy, you're blessed. Don't forget all the little ways that you are so lucky! Pick at least one thing to be grateful for everyday and think about it for a minute or two. Feel the immense gratitude you have for it. It's huge mood booster that's quick, simple, and free!

Once you fill up that cup of yours and you're feeling amazing, you can start to fill up other people. Or better yet, teach them how to fill themselves with love. If everyone in the world truly loved themselves, there would be no reason to hate. This is an important truth.

Wishing you all many blessings,

Feeling Hollow? How To Fill Yourself Up

I came across the idea for this article when I was listening to music. I was listening to the song "Hollow Life" by Coast Modern and realized there is something I need to address.

I've always been the type of girl that's in a long-term relationship. It was one relationship after the other for me. Looking back, I thought it was because I didn't have a particular "type" of person I was looking for, and I'm pretty laid back when it comes to relationships most of the time. Basically, I thought myself to be a low-maintenance girlfriend.

It's not that these sentiments weren't true, but there was another factor lying beneath the surface: I was afraid to be alone.

This is an idea I've struggled for a long time to admit. I still have a hard time admitting it. But it's a simple fact of the human condition. We all have a fear of being alone. That's why we instinctively create societies, clubs, cultures, and strong family ties. This fear of loneliness or abandonment is inherent in all of us, whether we are conscious of it or not. However, the ways we choose to cope with it may differ.

As much as I like to identify with being an independent woman, I, like many people, enjoy having someone to spend time with. Which I will stress, isn't an unhealthy desire. It only becomes healthy when we form attachments to these people. It becomes unhealthy when we start to feel like we need to have them around.

This is where we tend to go wrong - myself included.

Attachment happens when we use something or someone to fill an emotional void (cue "Void" by The Neighbourhood, I'm musical today). This void could stem from our childhood, a traumatic experience, or our relationship with our parents/guardians in our youth. When untreated, people often choose to self-soothe with addictions to shopping, overeating, tv/videogames/entertainment, or more harmful addictions such as use of drugs, alcohol, and self-harming. Essentially these are ways people fill the void, especially when no one is around to distract them. Filling our schedule with plans and events that involve having people constantly around us is a an easy way to fill the void and it's the most common way.

You may not notice when you start to get attached to something or someone, but you'll notice if and when you're forced to detach for any reason, i.e. if you're rejected or dumped.

What happens when we detach from the void-filling habit, don't self-soothe, and finally embrace alone time and silence? Thoughts! Over my brief study of humans, I've discovered in many people a fear of their own thoughts. Happy thoughts, sad thoughts, destructive thoughts, productive thoughts! Thoughts! Some that will drive us mad. Some that will make us crave a way to run away from our problems.

It's natural to be afraid of falling into the black hole of negative thinking, but if you never acknowledge the thoughts, they're just going to sit in your subconscious; dormant, and waiting to unleash in your next moment of weakness. If you face your thoughts head-on and embrace them, they'll start to disappear like magic.

The Solution

When that negative voice in your head starts talking you, talk back! And be rude if you have too. Recognize that not all of your thoughts are your own. You could actually be picking up on someone's projections onto you. Separate yourself from what is and isn't yours. Only claim the thoughts that make you feel good or are neutral. Anything that is negative, denounce. It's as easy as saying: "That's not me, cancel, clear, delete." This is a tactic I used when I was in a negative head space and it trained me to be aware of my thoughts.

Another way to control your thinking is to do what I call a "brain dump" daily. A brain dump is when you let all of your thoughts out in a way that's therapeutic for you. This could be through writing, creating art, filming or recording yourself, or even talking to someone helpful like a therapist or trusted adviser.

Once you feel like you're in a more positive or even just a level space, treat yo self! Use some self-love practices to help you when you're feeling lonely. Make a list of things that make you happy and do some of them. Here are some ways to self-care:

• Get some sunlight for at least five minutes.

• Make yourself laugh.

• Listen to music that makes you feel good (positive lyrics please).

• Eat fruit.

• Read a good book.

• Have a relaxing bath.

• Meditate.

• Or just take a damn nap. Sometimes that all we need.

When we're taking care of ourselves, we're loving ourselves and we're healing that void. I'll be writing an article about more self-love practices soon.

Thinking Outside The Ego

Shifting Perspectives

Have you ever been so caught up in your emotions that you've failed to see the bigger picture? There have been a number of times that I've been in a situation where I felt like everyone was against me. It's not because everyone in my life actually decided to team up to make my life hell (although I could've sworn at the time this was the case), but in fact it was just few different circumstances that I didn't see coming all happening around the same time.

These circumstances were not inherently positive or negative, but from my viewpoint at the time they were "bad" based on how I associated them. For example, say I got into an argument with my significant other which caused plans with them to be cancelled and the same day my friend goes to see the movie she promised we'd watch together without me. I'm left feeling angry from the argument, sad that my friend went to the movie without me, and lonely from not having other plans.

So who's to blame here? My significant other? My friend? Me?

Ah well you see, that was a trick question. No one is to blame.

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

William Shakespeare, hAmlet

Nothing in this scenario is actually wrong. If I took myself out of the equation and broke down all the actions of everyone involved, the list would look something like this:

• Significant other voiced his truth on a subject

• Friend went to the movies

No one had ill intentions. It wasn't that both of them just decided together that they didn't like me and wanted me to suffer and be alone. Sometimes that's the explanation my ego wants to give me – that everyone is somehow "out to get me" or "not to be trusted." Now don't get me wrong, there are some hurt people in the world with malicious intent, but the people I've chosen to trust I believe should be trusted until they are proven guilty of something. I call them my friends, so I should treat them as such. If I can't do that, I might as well call them strangers.

What I've discovered about the ego is that it's kind of like a box with your name on it. The box is big enough for you to live in, and quite comfortable. It's portable and travels with you wherever you go. You've had this box since birth so you feel attached to it. It's like a second layer of skin. Over the years, you've decorated the box with titles and labels that have defined it, such as: honors student, graduate, artist, writer, lawyer, teacher, coordinator, director, CEO, etc. You felt good doing this because it set your box apart from other peoples'. It made it special. And yet, you had a tendency to seek out people with similar boxes to feel safe and comfortable. You and the other similar boxes formed a kinship only based on the appearances of your boxes. Now you're older and you've grown up with the box. You feel so attached to it that you'd feel naked without it. The box has become a part of you and you've allowed it take the reigns on how you approach situations. Everything that happens in your life is viewed from the perspective of the box. You say that things are happening "to you."

What you don't know is: the box is keeping you trapped. It's weighing you down. You could be faster, more efficient, happier, and feel free if you let it go. The box is your ego. Without it, you could realize that nothing is happening "to you." And anything that happens is neither good nor bad, it just is.

The thought of losing your ego may freak you out. It's understandable when for years you thought it was you. But that's just what it wanted you to believe. You have a whole other person inside waiting for you to see beyond the ego. I like to call this the higher self. It's you without labels, without fear, without judgement, and without limits. It is boundless love and knowledge. The higher self sees that things do not happen "to you" but instead "for you": for you to learn important lessons and grow. When you shift into the perspective of your higher self, you will stop being hurt by other people's actions, because you will stop judging them. You will see things as they are.

You see, if you actually broke out of your ego every now and then, you would recognize that you are infinite energy. You are infinitely intelligent, powerful, wise, and connected. Your energy is cut short when kept in the ego. When the ego is released, you begin to understand that we are all connected in one human consciousness. Every stream of human consciousness (one person's thoughts and feelings) flows into an ocean of human consciousness (everyone's thoughts and feelings). Therefore, no one is ever really alone. When you feel alone, it means you are not tapped in to the connection. It means you have shut yourself in your ego box.

There are infinite possibilities for you in life. Shifting your perspective is the key to getting out of your own way, getting out of your head, and seeing things as they really are. You are limitless.

How To Be In Alignment

If you consciously practice the Law Of Attraction, you probably have heard of the term "alignment" - especially if you subscribe to Abraham Hicks methodology.

"When it feels like there's something missing, it is always alignment, no matter what."

Abraham Hicks

So let's talk about alignment. Well, for starters, what is does it mean? In terms of Law Of Attraction, alignment is when your thoughts, words, and actions all coincide or align. It's a pretty simple concept that can turn complicated when you realize how society can influence your state of alignment.

Lets say, for example, I hate my job. I have constant thoughts about hating my job. When I get up in the morning I groan and tell my roommates how much I don't want to go. BUT, society tells me I need to have a job to pay the bills, so I go anyway. I put on a fake smile and continue on pretending that everything is fine at work. My actions here aren't aligning with my thoughts and my words.

In this example, I'm not in alignment working this job. That misalignment makes me feel uncomfortable at first, but lets say I continue working this job for 10 years. By the end of the decade, my discomfort has turned into a full-fledged rage that has been suppressed inside of me. The rage seeps out in the form of a deep depression. From this misaligned state, it's near to impossible to manifest anything because I am constantly feeling low-vibrational and negative. I'm not being true to my authentic self who doesn't want to work the dead-end job, but wants to be a writer, or a painter, or a dancer (all of the above sounds great actually). My actions aren't aligned with my thoughts and words.

I feel comfortable giving an example like this because I actually lived it. I did work the dead-end jobs, PLURAL. I had this deeply instilled belief that I needed to cover all of my bases and have a certain amount of money saved up, but if you asked me for what, I swear I couldn't tell you. I just strictly followed the rules that were laid before me: go to college, find a decent paying job, work, pay your bills, and save money. I'm still scratching my head about what I was saving up for to be honest. I guess retirement? Anyway. My point is I was SO unhappy and I didn't even have a real reason for why I was putting myself through it. Was it maybe because when I was a kid someone told me thats just how life works? Seems legit. It wasn't until I finally broke the cycle and stopped working jobs I'm not passionate about that I was able to get myself back into alignment.

Getting into alignment starts with realizing where you are misaligned in your life. It could be in the areas of money, work, friendships, relationships, health, etc. Once you see how you are not being true to what you want, you can redirect yourself onto the path of least resistance and start manifesting quicker than you ever have before. That is being in alignment. So if this is what you want but don't know where to start, I have a few suggestions.

• Write down what you want. Write down what you ACTUALLY want, and not what you think would make you look good to other people. Think about what makes you excited and write a list.

• Make a vision board. Having a visual around is great reminder to raise your vibrations and stay in alignment. This is a good idea when you're feeling good and not feeling the need or the lack of what you want.

• Do things that make you feel good. To be in alignment with what you want, you must first raise to the vibration of what you want. This is possible when you do what makes you happy or feel good such as: exercising, laughing, watching a favorite movie, journaling, taking a walk, listening to upbeat music, traveling, getting sunlight, meditating, creating/crafting, singing, taking up a new hobby etc.

• Think about what you want in a positive light. When you're thinking about what you want, how do you feel? Are you happy and excited that it's coming or do you feel down and heavy because it's not here yet and you're unsure if you'll ever have it? Be aware of how you're feeling and try to keep positive feelings associated with the things you are trying to attract in your life. You will block it if you're thinking negatively about it.

• Say no to what you don't want. Learning to say no can be tough, but agreeing to do things you don't actually want to do will keep you out of alignment. Your thoughts need to align with your actions. This can be difficult when you have obligations, but in those cases think about the possible benefits of the obligated tasks. Remind yourself of the "why," and if it's worth it to you, proceed.

• Detach from negative thinking. Stop being so hard on yourself! Detach from the urgency of having everything right now and just breathe. Be grateful for everything you have already. Be grateful you're healthy, fed, and have a roof over your head (if you do). Not everyone has that. Cherish the little things. Be proud of all you have accomplished in life so far. When you're in a negative headspace, make a quick list of at least 10 things you're grateful for.

• Live in your authenticity. Always be true to yourself. Don't lie for the sake of others or try to make yourself fit in where it seems like you don't. Just be you. Let them laugh at you, let them gossip, let them eat cake, I don't care, but damn it be yourself! It may be hard, but it's so important. When you do this, everything will fall into place.

The Art Of Detachment

Letting go seems like a pretty simple concept. So why do so many people feel like it's the most complicated thing in the world? Like they might die if they lose a certain object, amount of money, or person? I've been trying to explore this pattern of human nature, and I've come to a few realizations.

We as humans tend to attach ourselves to people, places, and objects easily.

Firstly, we attach ourselves to our identities. My name is JoAnne, for example. Let me go a bit further with it. My name is JoAnne and I'm a writer. My name is JoAnne and I'm a female writer. My name is JoAnne and I'm a female Puerto Rican writer on the topics of personal growth and spirituality. All the words I mentioned in that sentence are typically things that I could attach myself to: femininity, writing, Puerto Rican heritage, personal growth, spirituality, and of course my name.

I could use those words to describe myself because they could give people a sense of my identity. They tell people a little bit about what I do, my family's heritage, and what my interests may be. But do those interests make up all that I am? Are those the only topics I enjoy? Of course not. Those aren't even the topics I enjoy the most. It's impossible to describe to you any human's entire essence in one sentence - though many do try. We are not meant to be labeled, put in boxes, or defined. We are meant to transcend definitions. (Have I finally cracked the meaning of life? Haha)

Our identities or "ego" are what make us believe we need to attach ourselves to things. They want us to define ourselves by what we have, what we do, and who we interact with. The harm comes when we truly believe in these definitions. We believe that because we are so-and-so's "girlfriend or boyfriend" or "a partner in a prominent law firm" that it is now a part of our identity. These labels may make you feel secure and give you a sense of value for a time. But what happens when you can no longer be defined by them? Say you get broken up with or laid off from your job. What does that make you now?

"How can you get very far, if you don't know who you are?"

Benjamin Hoff, The Tao Of Pooh

The harm comes when we don't know who we are. And I'm not talking about all these materialistic labels society loves to force on us.

Depression can occur when someone is confused about who they truly are. They can then question the meaning of life, and the purpose of it. It becomes unhealthy when they begin to lose hope. However, there is a beauty in the process of rediscovering yourself, or even discovering yourself for the first time. That's when you begin to understand what you truly desire versus what your parents, relatives, siblings, friends, society etc. have been telling you that should want. That's when you take back your power.

Figuring out what we really want out of life can actually be challenging. For a lot of people, it can be daunting. In most cases, people decide what their life is going to be like in their twenties because they're pressured by society to do so. They're told at a certain age they should have their life together, get married, and possibly start a family, with a sturdy foundation for a successful career already built. Now imagine, they wake up one day in their forties and realize they are very unhappy, depressed, and now also unhealthy from the years of suppressing their true desires for happiness. They have lived someone elses' dream. The idea of starting over and beginning a whole new life based on what they actually want can be terrifying! But it's never too late.

A good first start is to think about what you love and write it down. Write about what you desire. Let the pen flow.

When you have a deep understanding of who you are, it cannot be swayed by the opinions of others. It cannot be defined by your attachments.

If someone scratched your new car that took you 10 years of savings to buy, how would you feel? If someone scratched your new car that was given to you that you also have 10 exact replicas of, how would you feel? Same car, same situation, different feeling. It's all about perspective. In the same sense, when you don't know yourself deeply, and don't see all the talent and potential you have inside, you will easily believe that you are only a combination of what is on the surface: the things you own, the places you're comfortable in, and the people you interact with. When you're attached and believe that these things are what makes up "you", that's when letting go of them is painful.

Who are you without all the things you own, your career, your money, your friends, your family, your gf/bf, wife/husband, children, house, apartment, hometown, country, continent, body, etc. Strip all of that down. Who are you without all of that? Who are you in your soul?

There's something there - a beautiful unique essence with a purpose, an essence that is so unconditionally loved.

Tap into this essence from time to time when you feel you are straying too much into material matters. When you lose something, tap into yourself. When you feel rejected or alone, tap into yourself. When you need to detach from ANYTHING, know that you can! Just remember that who you are is more than a body that owns a few things. When you truly know this, detaching will be effortless.

5 Simple Tips For Meditation Beginners

If you've heard of all the benefits of meditation and are curious, but don't know where to start, don't worry! I've listed 5 simple solutions below to common problems I encountered myself as a beginner.

1. It Doesn't Have To Take Long

It's often assumed that meditation has to be a formal and dedicated practice. I personally don't think it needs to last more than 5 minutes. I would even say it could take as long as a few seconds. Whatever amount of time you have to spare for meditation, that's as long as it needs to be. If you're busy and can only commit to 2 minutes, than that is all the time you need. But if you think you're too busy to meditate, that's probably when you need meditation the most.

2. Use A Guide

When you're just trying out meditation for the first couple of times, it can be easy to question if you're even doing it right. You sit there in silence, distracted as ever, wondering, "Am I supposed to feel something?" Don't worry, I've been there. When you think you need a little direction in your practice, feel free to use a guide. If there are meditation studios in your area of residence, I would suggest trying a class, but if you don't have that privilege there's always the internet! Youtube is a great way to discover meditation. It's how I started, actually. Look up guided meditation videos for whatever topic you want to tackle and watch it for as many times as you feel it's helping you. Then, when you're ready, move on to another video or start meditating with just music, or in silence.

3. Just Breathe Through It

People I've talked to about meditation that don't resonate with the concept of it often tell me they have trouble concentrating in silence, and they tend to let their thoughts wander to the point of no return. What they usually don't realize is, that's common and it's normal. You can't simply shut your brain off. If you've never meditated before, no one expects you to be comfortable right away. The key is to allow. Allow the thoughts to flood your brain. Let them be there, let them drift away like a cloud, and let them go. Then, return to your breath. Focus on your breathing. Next time your mind wanders, let it, but realize what it's doing and eventually return again to the breath.

4. Confront The Negative Voice

So say you're meditating and allowing now, but all of a sudden you are overcome with negative thoughts. You remember an embarrassing thing you said or did years ago. You are worried about if you turned the stove off earlier. Or maybe something darker comes up: a traumatic experience you are reminded of from your past. You become overwhelmed with anger at yourself for a number of different reasons and you hear a voice telling you everything negative about yourself. The fear of facing the "demons" keeps a lot people from going within. They are not only afraid of what they may find, but that it has been a part of them all along. I choose to believe that what stands on the other side of fear is... nothing. When you choose to confront what you fear the most, it cowers and crumbles beneath you. Fear is an illusion. Sometimes what we fear most is the dark or hidden aspects of ourselves - that negative voice in our heads. I understand the worry that meditation might keep you trapped in the negative self-talk of your mind, but in actuality, it can set you free from it. Hear the voice telling you you're "not good enough," "not worthy," or "unloved." Realize the voice is not really you. You can separate yourself from it. Tell it it's wrong and it's weak. You are STRONG. You ARE good enough. You ARE worthy. You ARE loved. If you're wanting to find yourself, this is so important. Because on the other side of fear could be... you.

5. It's Okay If You Fall Asleep

Lastly, I just would like to point out that, yes, many people also have the issue of dozing off during meditation. That's okay! Honestly, if your body is so peaceful that it falls asleep, then let it. Maybe it needs the rest. You can still receive the benefits of a guided meditation or sound healing while asleep, and there will definitely be less resistance to it. However, if it becomes an ongoing issue, try meditating in the morning or at a time when you are less likely to be drowsy. And in general, get more sleep!! You deserve it dear.

How Do You Measure Happiness?

Happiness to me isn't what kind of car I drive or any amount of money. It's a feeling. The feeling of complete, inner and outer peace.

That's the feeling I crave for. Because with that kind of peace comes freedom - the freedom to be anything, do anything, and create anything.

We are all creators. That's our specialty as humans. Even if you don't see yourself as particularly creative, just think about all the small things you create in your life daily. Did you make coffee this morning? Pour yourself cereal? Write a text message? Even if you went to Starbucks, did you order yourself your favorite drink with the ingredients just the way you like them? Whether you like it or not, you've created the life you have right now. And you create all the little things that go into it.

We humans have so much potential to create, but most of this potential remains untapped, unused. Because most of us have yet to achieve peace. So we don't feel that it's safe for us to use our talents because it won't "pay the bills." I've heard countless stories of people giving up on a dream for security because they didn't think anything would come from it. But what if they were mistaken? What if the only real way to bring in the level of abundance we want is by using our natural talents?

That's the idea that I'm exploring in my life right now. From a young age I was raised and conditioned to believe that only a certain level of success in my life would make me happy, or a certain dollar amount in my bank account. Money is a useful tool in life. I'm not arguing that. But why do we want money? Digging deeper, what is it that we think the money will bring us? The short answer: freedom.

If we think we need money to give us freedom, and we don't have money, where does that leave us? Stuck. Stuck working a 9 to 5 that we hate. Stuck in a victim mentality. "Woe is me. Why does this always happen to me?" Let's get over this way of thinking and dive deeper.

Money isn't the only thing that will give us freedom.

Peace will give us freedom. Releasing ourselves from the chains of our mind will give us freedom - releasing ourselves from the idea that we need money money money all the time.

If you don't have all the money that you think you need right now, try a different approach to freedom and see how it will change your life. Go within. Let go of that habitual need and desperation for money.

You want to know a secret? When you energetically let go of the need, is when it will come. Its the simple Law of Attraction. When you have fully let go, you will have found peace with it.

Peace is saying "no matter what it looks like or seems like I have, I know I have all the wealth and abundance of the universe and I am calm and grounded in that knowing." Say this out loud a few times if you have to. When you finally believe this, what will it feel like? Live in that feeling for as long as you can. To me, it feels like happiness.

With that happiness you will have all the freedom you need to create anything you want in this life.

Battling The Blues - Purging Painful Emotions

As someone who has struggled with depression, sometimes it's hard to tell if you're slipping back into it or if you're just feeling sad for a moment.

For example, a few days ago I was feeling a little unmotivated so I decided to watch one of my favorite channelers on Youtube talk about my star family forecast for the month (starseed shit, more on this sometime soon). She talked about people around me possibly trying to challenge me and triggering me. Keep in mind, I had already been feeling down before I watched this. When the video was over I sat in silence for a few minutes.

I tried to convince myself that watching the video cured everything and that I felt better. But it didn't. Inside I felt that something was wrong. I couldn't feel the tears coming but I knew that's what I really needed. I needed to cry.

So I locked myself in an empty room for a few minutes and let it out. The release I was feeling wasn't from the video. It had nothing to do with the video. It was from a memory that had been triggered when she mentioned people trying to challenge me. I had been so used to people challenging me in the past, even people who were supposed to be my friends, and I was tired of it. It's a common toxic pattern in past relationships of mine.

To finally let this go, I sat down and let myself feel the emotions completely. I let out a sob and was surprised at how good it felt. I wanted to cry more. I wanted to release more. And when I was done, I looked out the window and it was a beautiful bright day outside. I felt amazing. The darkness that had clouded my mind was gone.

From that point on, I pledged to not hold in my emotions. When they come up this way, it's a blessing because they can easily be released. Let that shit go! I'm not a medical expert, nor do I claim to know the difference between sadness and depression. But as someone who has experienced both, I can say that holding on to pain and burying it deep inside helps with neither. The best thing I've learned to do is to take a personal moment alone and let the emotions surface, then cry, sob, yell, make noise, a.k.a. do whatever the hell you have to get rid of them and finish it off with some deep breathing.

Set the intention that you want to transmute this energy, to let it go so that it can be transformed into positivity and clear some space for happiness. Picture your situation differently. Picture yourself smiling and at peace. And on that note, restart your day! No matter what time it is. Time is an illusion after all.

If You’re Dealing With Toxic Friendships…

People come into your life for a reason, sometimes for just a season. You have to know when to let go.

I thought I had escaped this idea of toxicity in friendships and left it long behind me when I moved from Florida to Los Angeles a couple of years ago. Then, once more when I got here and realized a few people close to me had toxic narcissistic tendencies. But even as I moved away from those people, I slowly realized that there was and is a certain level of toxicity in most (if not all) of my relationships.

I wanted to break it down and understand why that is. Now I see it could be a number of reasons.

REASON 1: I'm An Empath

Empaths have the ability to feel other peoples' emotions and can sometimes take on the burden of those emotions. Very often we take on these emotions unknowingly. Because of this we tend to attract people who need healing, whom in a lot of cases send toxic energies our way. Also, in social situations we can sense when we are being lied to or when someone doesn't like us. Let me just say, it's not great for the self-esteem. If you feel like you take on other peoples' energies and are exhausted after you've been around a lot of people, you may be an empath.

REASON 2: My Personal Issues Are Reflecting In Other People

Our 3D reality is just a giant mirror. What we feel on the inside is reflected onto what we perceive as "the outside world." In a sense, the toxicity I feel from others can just be my own issues that have yet to be dealt with internally. That may be why I attract these people because they bring out certain issues of my own that I fail to acknowledge and therefore have not healed.

REASON 3: There Is A Small Percentage Of People In This Society That Aren't Effected By Jealousy And Competition

In the age of Instagram followers and the like, of course the green monster of jealousy will rear its ugly head. In my experience, especially among women, we seem to want either to keep up or be better than the rest. I don't know why. I've been guilty of this too and it's something I can't seem to put my finger on. Maybe because of the scarcity mentality, inherently we believe there's not enough of the pie to go around. Whether that be money, good men, success, acknowledgement, friends, etc. But that's just not true. There is always enough for everyone. That's my new mentality as far as this goes. And maybe this mindset will help me to attract more people who feel the same way.

I could go on theorizing about the why forever, but I want to do something to change this an here are the action steps I'm taking. If you're in a similar situation, maybe you can try them with me.

1. Protect Your Energy

Important if you're an empath: Taking on peoples' emotions will drain your energy, especially if they are negative emotions. You can protect your energy with crystals like black tourmaline or obsidian, by envisioning a protective layer of white light over your aura or if you work with angels, by calling on an archangel for assistance. If you are less open to any of these options, then simply visualize a few dials in your mind and turn everyone's dial to off except the one labeled with your name. This will symbolize that you do not consent to taking on anyone one else's emotions at this time. Repeat as much as needed. These are just a few options of many. I may write more on this topic in the future.

2. Heal Your Past Pains And Traumas

Hurt people hurt people. If you want to be sure you aren't projecting a negative mindset onto other people, it's important to heal yourself from the trauma that is keeping you in a negative state of mind. As within, so without. When you're unhealed you may tend to lean on harmful habits like talking people down, judging, getting into heated arguments, and gossiping. These habits didn't seem harmful to you at the time because they made you feel better about yourself. You may not have even noticed you did these things because when we feel bad, all we focus on is feeling better no matter the cost. It's okay. We're human. Once you start to see some of your own habits that may be toxic, that's when you've identified what you need to heal and then the healing can begin. For this I would recommend shadow work, hypnotherapy, and/or guided healing meditations. You can easily find these for free on Youtube if you type something like "meditation for healing past trauma."

3. Cut Out Energy Vampires

This is a tough one that I'm guilty of constantly avoiding. Really tune into how you feel in the company of the people you surround yourself with. How do they make you feel? Do they listen to you? Do they genuinely support you and even your craziest ideas? Are they happy that you're happy? Do they wish to see you succeed? Do they always lift you up and never tear you down? Do they only speak kind words about you when you're not around? These should all be yes right away. You don't have time for these people if not. You're too busy manifesting your dreams. This is called loving yourself. You have to love yourself first. I know its painful to lose someone you care about, but you may both be better for it. And if you're thinking that maybe you've been the energy vampire all along, don't beat yourself up because there's always room to learn and grow. That's what life's about. Be willing to change and take baby steps.

4. Trust And Use Your Intuition And Discernment

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Your intuition is your best friend. It's your higher self warning you and protecting you from danger. If you sense that someone isn't looking out for your greatest good or that you're being taken advantage of... run baby run. Run for the hills. Don't blame the person. They probably have no idea they are giving off these vibes, but there is probably a part of their subconscious that could be harmful to you; a part of them they don't even recognize. This is the shadow side. Until people take care of their shadow sides, it's perfectly okay to protect yourself. You can still care for them, pray for them, and love them from a distance. You, however, must show them how to treat you. Set your boundaries. It's self-love after all.

My Epiphany: The Real Secret To Getting Everything You Want

I'm a firm believer of the Law of Attraction since my spiritual awakening began.

At first, I became obsessed. I would constantly watch Youtube videos with tips on attracting and manifesting what you want into your life. I would try every method and meditate to let go of my desire.

If I didn't get what I wanted I would assume it was because I was too attached to it.

But what I didn't realize is that...  I was blocked!

I had hit a wall with my manifesting. And it was in two specific areas that I needed to remove blockages.

1. The first was manifesting wealth and abundance.

2. The second was career success.

With abundance, every time I wanted to attract physical money/cash into my life, it would come in another form like a gift or a free pass. Or it wouldn't come at all. Sometimes this was because I was too attached to the idea of receiving the money and would feel negative when I didn't get it. BUT, the other 80% of the time, when I wasn't attached to it, the reason I still wasn't manifesting it was because I had a block in that area of my life. Blocks are a result of limiting beliefs. An example of a limiting belief would be if you've always thought you had to work very hard to receive even just a dollar. If that's what you truly believe, then when you try to manifest, say, winning the lottery: It's probably not going to happen. Why? Because deep down you believe you can only make money from working very hard. If you have this belief, you have to find out when it formed and why. Ask yourself if it still applies to you.

Note: The law of attraction is a law of the mind. It's basis is that what you believe in your mind will be true in your physical life.

With career success, the block I had was mostly due to fear. If you really want something, but deep in your mind you're afraid of what will happen when you get it, you will subconsciously sabotage yourself from achieving it. This was and still is very true in my case. Some fears that I had were regarding the people in my life. I thought that if I became successful, then the people in my life would slowly fade away. I love my family and friends and the idea of this makes me deeply sad. So truthfully, I know my procrastination, laziness, and utter protest to the action I know is necessary, is stemming from this fear. I'd rather stay in and be lazy than have to deal with the fear of what could go wrong.

The good news is, I am able to overcome these beliefs! There is a cure.

The Real Secret

The only solution to your blocks is healing! This is the epiphany I had recently.

I was watching a video of renowned Therapist Marisa Peer speaking, and she mentions a story of someone she's treated that had a fear of public speaking. She put this person through regression (a form of hypnotherapy that takes the person through their memories to the root of the problem) and found that their fear dates back to when the person was in elementary school and was bullied after reading aloud in class. Once they determined when and why the fear was formed, the patient realized it doesn't apply to them anymore and was able to let it go. The patient used affirmations and other tools to reverse the belief in their mind and was cured of it! They were then able to conquer the task of public speaking and overcome social anxiety.

The idea is that once you get to the root of your limiting beliefs and figure out when and why they formed in your mind, you can finally heal yourself and your inner child of that belief. It's amazing!

Some of the methods you can use to heal are:

• Chakra balancing (more to come on this soon)

• Hypnosis (there are free clips on Youtube)

• Subliminal audio clips and binaural beats

• Meditation

• Reiki

• Therapy

• Physical body work (such as yoga)

• Nature retreats

I'll be writing a whole post on healing soon, so stay tuned for more info.

Taking Inspired Action

Even with the law of attraction (which can bring about miracles and blessings on its own) I still believe that certain goals require guided action. For example, one of my goals was to start this website and write this blog. But websites don't write themselves! That wasn't going to happen until I actually took the time to write and purchase the site. So it's important to listen to the voice thats guiding you on the action steps to take toward your goals. And remember this: If you feel stuck, uninspired or unmotivated, there could be a block! But you have the power to clear it.

A Closing Note On Healing

I truly believe that when someone is mean or cruel they are just acting on the part of them that is still hurting from a past trauma. They never healed from a traumatic experience. The "hurting child" is what I like to call these people. But always remember they are just humans trying to cope with this pain in the only way they know how. Don't judge them for it. Know that their anger is their pain and it has nothing to do with you. Move forward.

LET'S GET TO HEALING.

Subliminals: The Beginning

Subliminals have been on Youtube for a years now, but as a relatively new Youtuber, I never thought to try them out until recently.

A subliminal video is a video with hidden messages played at a volume that is either very low or practically inaudible to the conscious mind. These videos usually have binaural beats playing in the background and some form of music or natural sounds. The messages are meant to sink into your subconscious while you listen. Essentially hypnosis, but you're fully conscious and awake. It's recommended to watch them daily to begin to see results.

Important to note: Do not keep listening to any subliminal video that leaves you feeling sad or low afterward. Your mind is a precious thing. Don't give the power to control it away to someone you don't trust. You can even make your own subliminal video if you want to have total control.

Please comment and let me know if you have any experience with subliminals!

Affirmations: Rewiring Your Perspective (Plus Cool Apps)

Recently I've come across some pretty awesome LOA (Law of Attraction) phone apps and thought I would share them and in addition talk about affirmations.

Warning: long post ahead.

AFFIRMATIONS.

Firstly, an affirmation is a statement that you either write down or say to yourself, aloud or in your thoughts, that trains your mind to believe it is true, even if you currently don't believe it's true. It's a great tool for the Law Of Attraction because it helps us get rid of limiting beliefs that actually hinder us from accomplishing our goals. For example, if I ever catch myself in a mood, feeling sad or tired, I'll say an affirmation like "I feel very energetic and happy!" I'll repeat this affirmation to myself several times til it sets in.

Even if at first I was grumpy and annoyed with myself and the idea that I was anything but sad and tired, eventually the words will sink in and I'll realize that I can change my mood. All it takes is the effort and the will to change. Believe me I know it's hard at first.

Misery does love company and when I'm feeling down I usually want to stay down, wallow in my sadness, eat ice cream, watch a sappy movie, and cry. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Giving into your emotions can actually be a healthy way to resolve them, IF you move on after you acknowledge them.

Keeping yourself in a low vibration for a long period of time can do a lot of harm. So take caution: If you're going to take a day to be sad and cry, try to limit it to just that day. Let out all of your emotions and wake up the next day with the intention of being happy. Then take it day by day. And the same goes for any other negative emotions like anger, jealousy, resentment, etc.

Getting back on the topic of affirmations, they can be used for anything, not just emotions! Say I'm trying to manifest a new car. An affirmation for that could be "I have a brand new shiny red Mercedes Benz."

Then since I'm using the Law of Attraction, the next step would be to act as if it's true. I would visualize myself driving the new Mercedes. I would save pictures of the car and picture myself in the photo standing next to it. Next, I would take Then of course, I would know that it will all be taken care of by the Universe and I should no longer concern myself with it. Let it go.

Some affirmations I use often are:

"It's a great day!"

"Life is wonderful!"

"Everything is happening for my highest good!"

I AMS.

I am affirmations are affirmations that are used for affirming your beliefs about who you are. You could say them to yourself to rewire your mind to believe you are already the person you want to be. Try it out for a week and see how you start to change into that person subconsciously! It's an amazing tool.

Here are some examples of I Ams:

I am happy

I am positive

I am motivated

I am quick

I am intelligent

I am strong 

I am brave

I am persistent

I am loving

I am beautiful

I am kind

I am generous

I am safe

Here are some cool apps I've recently discovered that can be helpful tools in manifesting, self help, and personal growth!

Eternal Sunshine

Includes daily mantras, meditation exercises, morning mindfulness and other inspirational tools.

Rewiring the Mindset

Lets you set your own goals and has the ability to send you notifications with your personalized affirmations.

LOA Toolbox

Has different methods of Law Of Attraction set up as "games." It makes manifesting fun!

A Universal Law: The Law of Attraction

I feel that it's time to introduce a subject that influences a lot of situations in my life. It's this universal law called the Law of Attraction.

The Law of Attraction has been discussed a lot recently online (especially on Youtube). If you're new to the topic, I'd recommend watching the Netflix documentary titled "The Secret," or reading the book "Ask And It Is Given" by Esther and Jerry Hicks.

In a simple definition, the Law of Attraction is idea that "like attracts like." Meaning that you attract things, people, places, and situations in your life that are similar to your thoughts, actions, and vibration. When I say vibration I'm referring to the frequency that you vibrate at according to metaphysics. Everything in the universe has a vibration. After all, we are made up of cells, essentially atoms, in constant motion.

You can look at vibration like a spectrum.

Here's an example range to help you understand it:

10. Extremely High

9. Very Very High

8. Very High

7. High

6. Moderately HIgh

5. Moderate

4. Moderately Low

3. Low

2. Very Low

1. Dangerously Low

This blurry drawing I hastily made above shows what a low frequency/vibration would look like versus a high frequency/vibration. This is important because when you are trying to attract something of a high vibration (say a million dollars?), you would need to match that vibration in order to receive it.

I've been manifesting $10 million for a couple of months now, and a big factor in whether I will receive it soon is if my vibration is high enough to match that amount of money. It's an easy concept, but a complicated task.

I'll do a post soon about ways to raise your vibration (I have a whole book about them!).

Other than just raising your vibration, there are a couple of other factors involved in manifesting your desires, and I'll sum them up in a few simple steps:

1. Get clear on what you want and be specific!

2. State your desire and write it down.

3. Raise your vibrations!

4. Act as if you already have it. Be an actor, it's fun! (Pro tip: Tell someone that you already have it!)

5. Be grateful that the universe has given this to you.

6. Let it go. (forget about it, know that it is coming, and it will come)

The most important step in my opinion is the last one. If you want something so badly that you become attached to it, it will be harder to manifest it. You must lower the importance of it in your mind, stop worrying about when it will come, and then finally let it go and know that it will come to you in perfect timing. Only then will it appear.

I hope this helps to anyone new to the Law Of Attraction. There is so much more I could say, but I decided to keep this brief. I look forward to explaining it in detail and adding more helpful tricks in the near future.

What is an 'Indigo'?

I want to talk about why I decided to name my company The Indigo Jo.

Indigo, as you may know, is a dark bluish-purple color. How I was always taught to remember the rainbow's colors is the name/acronym "Roy G Biv": Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

When I started to get more interested in meditation, I learned about the 7 chakras of the body: The Root, The Sacral, The Solar Plexus, The Heart, The Throat, The Third Eye,  and The Crown. Each one has a color that corresponds to it, and it follows the acronym I learned at a young age:

Red = Root

Orange = Sacral

Yellow = Solar Plexus

Green = Heart

Blue = Throat

Indigo = Third Eye

Violet = Crown

The Third Eye chakra is the area in-between your eyes. It is said to be the area that controls visions and intuition; communication with the unseen/spiritual realm. So Indigo, being the color of the Third Eye Chakra, is a very special color to me.

Even more important to me is idea of the "Indigo child". An Indigo child is a child that is precocious and wise beyond their years. They have a strong intuition and simply understand the way the universe or world works without even being taught. Sometimes they can even see things that others can't like auras or spiritual beings. Weird huh?

Since learning what an indigo child is, I've resonated with the definition. I remember being young and being curious about every little thing, and questioning everything I was told. I knew there was so much more out there that we as humans have yet to question or explore. My mom told me once that I was "born an adult" because of my independent and mature spirit. So I feel like in my youth I may have been an indigo child, but unfortunately, I grew up and conformed to a capitalist society and that spirit left me for a while.

Luckily, I've since returned to my old self and I feel like a kid again. Light and playful. I nicknamed this new me: Indigo Jo. Now I'm excited to share more interesting facts I've learned with everyone who will listen.