tag:jenniferka.com,2005:/blogs/blog?p=3Blog2023-08-25T07:16:10-04:00Jennifer Kathleenfalsetag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/72631492023-08-25T07:16:10-04:002024-01-02T11:27:36-05:00India - Travel Advice<p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">My first visit to India was in 1993. I spent 3 months traveling around different parts of India. This was before cell phones and the internet. Even making an international call in those days was an ordeal. It couldn’t be done from an average home phone. It required a visit to a special store where you could make an international call and had to pay in cash. Calling cards (remember those?) were not recognized. At that time a visit to India was truly an exotic adventure for an American, totally cut off from the Western world in every way. When I returned to India in July of 2019, and again that December, I will admit that I was a little disappointed to see the same fast food chains and clothing brands that can also be found in American strip malls. And of course everyone has a cell phone these days. But although Western influence has definitely infiltrated Indian culture, don’t think that your experience will be just like America but with more Indians. Life is very different here! </span></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/394070/4fed97051528b22ff1d0b4eeb190e51d2896151e/original/img20230510143346.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_right border_" /></p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">In 2021 I married an amazing Indian man and moved to India. At times the adjustment has been very challenging. It is not just the big things, such as adjusting to a different language and climate, but also a thousand little things in every aspect of daily life. For example, the way toilets flush, the way the light switches work, the way water is supplied and heated and the way food is prepared. That is just a few of the thousands of differences you will find in India as a visiting foreigner. </span></p><p> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Now that I have been living in India for several years, I decided to write this blog mainly to prepare my visiting friends and family for their stay in India. Life is always changing so I intend to keep this blog updated regularly so that friends and family will always have access to the most useful information that will help them prepare for their visit to India. </span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i><strong>**But first an important disclaimer!**</strong></i></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Although I have traveled extensively across India and have been a resident here for several years now, I am <strong>not </strong>an expert on Indian culture. I see things through my own lens of experience and from my own viewpoint. Others may not agree with the opinions and information expressed here. However, I do feel that this is my honest view, presenting the most valuable advice for friends and family who are preparing to visit me in India. </i></span></p><p> </p><h2 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Before You Go</span></h2><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<span style="color:#000000;">You will need a visa to travel to India. You can apply online for a tourist visa here; </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html</u></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> I suggest that you apply for your visa about a month prior to your trip. The electronic visa is usually processed within a few days and costs between $25 and $80 depending on the type of visa for which you are applying. </span>
</li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">No vaccines are <strong>required </strong>for visiting India, but several are recommended. Whether or not you should get the suggested vaccines is completely a personal choice. When I came to India in 1993 I got all of the recommended vaccines. Returning to India in 2019 and 2021 I got none of the recommended vaccines. And with or without vaccines it is always a good idea anywhere in the world to take precautions against mosquitoes, maintain sanitary habits and good personal hygiene. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Practice brushing your teeth <strong>without </strong>swallowing the water. Do NOT drink tap water in India! Only consume bottled water, or filtered water from a reliable source such as your host’s home or at upscale restaurants. If you have difficulty not swallowing the water, then practice brushing your teeth using bottled water. If filtered or bottled water is not available, you should boil the water before consuming it. Bottled water is readily available most everywhere you go in India, but if you would like to reduce your use of plastic you can consider boiling the water instead of always buying bottled water. That is what we did while staying in Delhi. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Buy a “travel bidet” and practice using it before your trip. A travel bidet is basically a plastic bottle with a spray nozzle. You squeeze the bottle and the water comes out of the nozzle. Toilet paper is much less commonly used in India and handheld sprayers are used in place of toilet paper. You will love the clean feeling and may never return to using toilet paper again! However, it is still a mystery to me how one dries off after using the sprayer. That might be the better use for toilet paper; a way to dry rather than to clean. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Ladies - Purchase a stand up pee device (sometimes called a female urinal) and practice with it before your trip. Public restrooms are less than ideal and oftentimes not available. To prevent the need of dropping your pants in public, a stand up pee device can keep things clean and discreet. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><p><span><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/qpTS0Lpt5PJytAx4q5vyfY6Xr0hL4XyioTnEVAau2cKZgNU6bvJR9xwVIfKsxQBMDvycfzXPUfQ8fwVJwzBqaLmIqKVMUHo2SR7O5U96fIJYoBP5gR7eVcda3so1oh3tjCJXOTmOxNDTXaZQlqs6h_M" class="size_s justify_right border_" height="159" width="194" /></span></p><h2 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Packing</span></h2><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Purchase a Type D plug adapter so that you will be able to charge your phone or laptop during your stay. They are quite cheap and found easily on Amazon. Please note that this is a plug adapter and NOT a power converter. Electrical appliances such as a hairdryer will require a power converter. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Buy a pair of flip-flops for indoor use. Shoes are removed before entering homes. If you do not wish to be barefoot inside the home bring a pair of flip flops that you reserve for indoor use only. You might wonder why you just can’t bring your bedroom slippers. Well you certainly can, but slippers are for keeping your feet warm and India is warm enough. Additionally, you may want to wear your flip-flops in the bathroom because the floor is often wet. Therefore rubber flip flops are the best indoor choice. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<span style="color:#000000;">Choose your travel clothes with sensitivity to the culture. Yes it is hot in India, but leave your crop tops, tank-tops and short-shorts at home and cover up your cleavage while in India. Whether or not you should bring shorts at all might depend on where you plan to travel. For example, the only time I’ve worn shorts in India since living here was when we went on a beach vacation to Kerala. The place where we stayed was accustomed to accommodating foreign tourists and so I felt comfortable wearing shorts there. Otherwise I wear loose fitting cotton pants with t-shirts or loose fitting cotton salwar suits. </span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/394070/a1e8fc7712340038b64bc5ba78a95813d31c1814/original/img20221024220949.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Pack two smaller suitcases instead of one large suitcase. International flights have a larger luggage allowance than domestic flights. Therefore, if you intend to take any flights within India, plan for one checked bag, and one carry-on bag and you will not exceed your luggage limit for a checked bag on domestic flights which is usually 33 pounds for your checked bag and 15 pounds for your carry-on bag </span></li>
</ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Pack a small travel umbrella regardless of the season and weather. You will really appreciate the portable shade! But be prepared to remove it from your carry-on bag when traveling on domestic flights. Along with keys, phone, and charger, airports in India often ask for umbrellas to be removed from your bag too.</span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Ear plugs are not only helpful on the long plane ride, but also very useful in India. I have used my ear plugs not just for peaceful sleep in certain places in India but I always carry a pair in my purse because Indians love LOUD music! I only survived the week of my brother-in-law’s wedding because of my earplugs. The drumming, chanting and dance music was all painfully loud to me. If you plan to attend any big social events you will be grateful for the earplugs. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Essential oils are a nice extra comfort for helping you feel calm in the chaos of traffic and crowds. Also, India can oftentimes have a rather pungent aroma, depending where you are. The smell of diesel fumes will always remind me of my first trip to Mumbai. The whole city of Delhi has the scent of urine mingled with rose incense. Nagpur smells like cows, mogra flowers, incense, diesel fumes and a hint of sewage. Therefore a drop or two of a nice fragrance on your handkerchief or your dupatta (long scarf often worn with salwar suits) can bring some relief if the odors are too strong.</span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;"> </span></p><h2 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">While in India</span></h2><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Is “Delhi Belly” a real thing? Sorry to say that yes, Delhi Belly (also known as the most wicked diarrhea you have ever had) is a real thing, but don’t worry, it is NOT inevitable. You can avoid it by following these suggestions; </span></li></ul><ol>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Avoid ice in your drinks because you can’t be sure that filtered water was used to make the ice. </span></li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Avoid consuming raw foods that may have been rinsed in unfiltered water. When eating raw foods, stick with fruits that can be peeled like bananas, and other fruit where the outside is not consumed like watermelons, mangoes, custard apples, etc. </span></li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Many Indian foods are eaten with the hands, so if you are traveling be sure to carry hand sanitizer as an extra layer of protection beyond soap and water which may or may not be available. </span></li>
</ol><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Quite frankly constipation is probably the more likely scenario for most travelers due to the heat combined with a lack of sufficient water intake. You will definitely need to increase your normal water consumption since most of India has a much hotter climate than what you may be accustomed to. </i></span></p><p> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<span style="color:#000000;">Use </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.makemytrip.com"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>www.makemytrip.com</u></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.agoda.com"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>www.agoda.com</u></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> for bookings. Use Ola or Uber apps for taxi. Use Swiggy or Zomato apps for ordering food. You can use Google Pay for payment or request Cash on Delivery which is very common in India. </span>
</li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Should you learn some Hindi words? While many Indians claim that you will not encounter a language barrier because they all learn English in school, this is something that is true on paper but doesn’t pan out in real life. In daily life you will definitely have a difficult time communicating in English. Additionally, language varies by region. There are 22 official languages of India and Hindi is less commonly used in the south. In my neighborhood the most commonly spoken language is Marathi. Even if you encounter someone who is very fluent in English, you may still have trouble understanding each other due to your different accents. Therefore my suggestion is to learn a few Hindi words for the sake of politeness, but rely on the translation app in your phone for more important communications in the local language, wherever you may be in India. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Traffic is different here. Before you give your Uber driver a bad rating, understand that in crowded cities of India people are used to much less space between vehicles than Americans are comfortable with. To an American, Indian traffic seems utterly chaotic. It is not unusual to see cows and dogs on the roads and even highways. Traffic rules are followed loosely. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Keep an open mind and go with the flow. Don’t be in a hurry. People aren't as fixated on time tables and schedules here. I remember once we had tickets to a dance and music performance that was scheduled to start at 6:30pm. I wanted to arrive early to get settled into our seats before the performance began. My husband insisted that the show wouldn't start on time. I really couldn't understand this, and so we compromised. Instead of arriving early, we arrived right at the start time of 6:30pm. The auditorium was almost completely empty and the show didn't actually start until 7:45! 😂 Therefore I have learned that, much like traffic laws, start times are merely loose suggestions! </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Do you need dental work, new glasses or even a minor surgery? Get it done in India and you will save yourself a fortune! Most everything is cheaper over here, so even if you don't require any medical treatment, you can purchase clothes, medicines, beauty products all for much less than in the USA. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Be respectful of the culture by taking off your shoes before entering homes, temples and even many stores. Cover your head when visiting holy places. Head coverings are mostly for women but in a Gurdwara (the worship place of Sikhs) men will also cover their heads. Oftentimes some head covering is available to borrow if you don't have one, but keep in mind they are for public use and not sanitized in between uses! </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">If you are a white American traveling to India, be prepared for a lot of stares and requests for selfies with you. It is OK to say no - whatever you are comfortable with. I got swarmed once in Rishikesh by a mob of people wanting photos with me and pushing their babies into my arms for photos too. After that experience I got more comfortable saying no. I will usually say yes to children's requests. Sometimes I will say yes to women but I always say no to men. That is my comfortable boundary. You decide your own. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Don't be too trusting. At holy sites beware of scammers disguised as holy men or guides. If you really would like a guided tour of a place, book it in advance through an app like Airbnb so you know that it is legitimate.</span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;"> </span></p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Be prepared to haggle! As a foreign tourist you will get overcharged for things regularly. If you are not traveling with a local, don't be afraid to ask any bystander if the price is good. We were at a bus stop in Delhi after just arriving from Dharamsala. A foreign woman was trying to get an auto taxi to the airport and she felt she was being overcharged so she called over to us and asked us what we thought about the price the driver had proposed. My husband told her it was much too high, and suggested a more reasonable price which the driver then agreed to. I understand that many people are struggling for their survival here but I would rather be charged the true rate and then give a generous tip rather than have someone try to fool me. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Keep track of your possessions and your luggage and<i><u> especially your passport.</u></i> I have never had any negative incidents but I have been warned in the same way by local officials so I will pass on this advice to you. </span></li></ul><p dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> </p><ul><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">For many Americans a visit to India might be a once in a lifetime experience, so do all the things! - try all the food, wear the clothes, listen to the music and I also suggest avoiding the big tourist places unless you have a very strong desire towards a particular place. The real India is found in places like the small off-beat roadside temple where you can have a spiritual chat with the priest there or in the rustic homestay tucked away in the foothills of the Himalayas where you can meet the most contemplative souls and share a kettle of kawa together. Skip the big chain hotels and stay at the small Homestays and Airbnbs where you will get a real glimpse of life in India. </span></li></ul><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/394070/8ba97f948df02a3d7c34e2626f0025f18cf2fda6/original/img20220825164249.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p>Most of all, enjoy yourself. Don't be bothered about small things. Keep a positive mindset and soak up every moment. India is a wonderful, beautiful adventure.</p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Do you have questions about your upcoming trip to India that I haven’t answered? </strong>Or have you been to India and feel that I have missed some important advice? Be sure to post your question or comment below so that I might revise this blog to include it.</span></p><p> </p><p>Lots of love,</p><p>Jennifer</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/72526922023-08-06T02:40:07-04:002023-08-06T02:45:44-04:00Tarot Talk - What are the Chances?!<p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Tarot is amazing. </strong>It really is. Although I have been a tarot reader for many years now, I am still surprised and delighted by the accuracy and consistency of the tarot. You might think that by now I would be less amazed, but it's like looking at rainbows - I never tire of seeing them. I am always amazed by the “magic” of light splitting into a spectrum of color. Tarot is just like that to me - always beautiful and amazing. </span></p><p dir="ltr"> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">So let me tell you about a recent event in my tarot adventures that once again left me amazed and joy-filled over the wonder that is the Tarot. Fellow tarot readers will nod their head and smile because we have all had such encounters as these with the tarot. Doubters of the tarot may find that they feel a small shift in their perspective after reading about these remarkable experiences. </span></p><p dir="ltr"> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">I had recently created a new Tarot Spread for members of </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/tarot-club"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>Tarot Club</u></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> called, “Shine A Light” and I wanted to give it a try myself, as I always do, before I share it with Tarot Club or offer it as a reading to my clients. This spread uses 4 cards to bring your attention to an area or aspect of your life that is either hidden or has been ignored and then provides guidance on how to bring balance, and light, into this situation or issue. </span></p><p dir="ltr"> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">I selected <i>‘The Herb Crafter’s Tarot’ </i>deck off of my shelf and began my brief ritual for cleansing the deck (which included cutting the deck several times and also shuffling) and prepared my heart and mind for the reading. After cleansing the deck, and clearing my mind, I shuffled thoroughly and pulled out 4 cards for the spread. It was immediately clear to me which issue was being highlighted here and yes, it was an issue that I had been avoiding. I won’t share the details of the reading because that part is quite personal, but I will show you a photo of the cards below. </span></p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><span><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/22pEI7pzWyTGHaVu7jKugXYAooq1_nxeS8_FvJY3jY16Uhf47WT_vDtK-vwXIQDEAKvv_ups9_0pHCiDiPqEotjcrq2Ap1shG0JuouQgm8Vryo4XZ0QHz66p2dRzu6pc50Hkn6j_qTWdy6DDh--Ca7I" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="285" width="624" /></span></span></p><p> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">So there it was, spread out in front of me in the cards, the issue I had been avoiding. The tarot was inviting me to shine a light on it. So I spent several moments reflecting on the messages here, and then in my own sassy style I thought; “OK FINE! You want to look at this issue? Then let’s look at it!” I collected all the cards, cleansed the deck again, and began a second thorough shuffling. This time I was going to use another spread that I had created called, “Should I?” in which you ask a direct question of something you are considering doing and the cards give you information about what will be the benefits, the challenges and the most likely outcome if you decide to do whatever the thing is. </span></p><p dir="ltr"> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>“So Here Goes” </i>I thought as I asked in my mind the question that I had been avoiding making a firm decision about, which was the question that the first reading had truly shone a light on, and then I pulled out 4 cards. Again, I won’t divulge details about the personal messages I received but I WILL show you the photo from this second reading: </span></p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><span><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/11VWBBHoz5Wx_NoyJ2MUBJR2xn4gym1xyB45BxO-uD_n0-WMHZVNW4TOW6tpx3GzI-RFr9PhNolLG35rgsDfhhtNG15ElSDCr7ux6Skb15jaOhZ2b52FnC9qOm_pkCBUp78RuK--Bgrxx_hUl1okTj0" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="280" width="624" /></span></span></p><p> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Take a look at this photo compared with the first one I shared. Did you notice that the last 2 cards of BOTH spreads are EXACTLY the same?! Keep in mind that a tarot deck contains 78 cards! Seventy Eight total cards shuffled thoroughly in between the two readings and yet somehow the last two cards of both spreads are identical! <i>What are the chances?? </i></span></p><p dir="ltr"> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Tarot readers learn very quickly about the consistency of the messages that come through the cards. You can ask the question slightly differently, you can use a different spread, but when you are essentially asking about the SAME issue, you will get the same answer, even if you were hoping for a different one. And in my view this aspect of tarot gives a certain legitimacy to the practice for those who may be doubtful or unsure of the value of tarot readings.</span></p><p dir="ltr"> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Now let me share with you another experience I had that was also way too specific to have been a random coincidence. It was almost two years ago. I had created a special tarot spread only for myself that required the use of 2 different decks. From one deck I chose purposefully (not pulled randomly) 2 cards. One card I chose to represent my desire for my inner, spiritual life and the other card I chose to represent my desire for my outer, earthly life. The two cards I intentionally selected from the deck were the best representation of my heart’s desires for my inner and outer life. Now I got out the second deck. From this deck, after the usual vigorous shuffling, I pulled (randomly) four cards to go around the edges of the first 2 cards from the other deck that I had placed at the center of the spread. I won’t bore you with all of the card placements and meanings, but only share with you two specific cards. In part of the spread there was a card position to show me “What energy do I need to align with <i><strong>internally</strong></i> to achieve my desire?” and there was another card position to answer the question of “What energy do I need to align with <i><strong>externally</strong></i> to achieve my desire?” and can you guess what happened? The cards were each a direct match to the two cards I had selected from the first deck!! The card relating to internal energy was identical to the card I had chosen to represent my spiritual desire and the card relating to my external energy was identical to the card I had chosen to represent my earthly desire. This was such an amazing demonstration of the actual truth in the words; “As within, so without” and also the teachings of many different spiritual traditions that advise you to “Be the Change” you wish to see, and to “Act as If” you already ARE what you desire. In other words, if you want to be happy, then radiate happiness. If you want to be wealthy then radiate abundance. If you want love, then BE love. It was such a beautiful experience. And again I asked myself, “What are the chances?” out of 78 well shuffled cards, that I would randomly select four cards and have two of them be exact matches to the two cards from the first deck? Perhaps you think that if this sort of thing happens often with tarot, that I shouldn’t be so amazed, but as I said previously about rainbows, I never tire of seeing rainbows and always feel surprised and delighted when one appears. </span></p><p dir="ltr"> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">I have shared with you just two of my own personal experiences with the tarot that have made me ask, almost rhetorically, “What are the chances?” but there have been many other similar incidents when working with my clients. (I have chosen to share my own personal experiences only and to keep my client’s experiences completely private.) and every time something so beautiful and profound happens, as it so often does when working with the tarot, I feel such an up-swell of joy and gratitude for this incredible tool that is the tarot. It truly does offer guidance and clarity to help you make the best decisions for your highest good. </span></p><p dir="ltr"> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">If you would like to explore the tarot further, or hear more of my personal experiences with the tarot you can take a look at my tarot playlist on YouTube </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAfjkBHjJmJpMTumXtIfUr2zsXx3-v8ce"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAfjkBHjJmJpMTumXtIfUr2zsXx3-v8ce</u></span></a></p><p> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">And of course if you are interested receiving a tarot reading from me, you can find my offerings here </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/tarot-readings"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/tarot-readings</u></span></a></p><p> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a comment below if you would like to share any of your own remarkable experiences with the tarot. </span></p><p> </p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Love and light,</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Jennifer</span></p><p dir="ltr"> </p><p dir="ltr"> </p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/394070/3698f49ed02be876b06779e159dbdb7418416e9e/original/img-20230101-162258.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" />Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/72139122023-05-23T06:22:11-04:002023-05-24T22:47:39-04:00Be Yourself<p><span class="text-big">It was sometime within the first year after I moved to India. In the early morning, I was enjoying a cup of coffee at the kitchen table with the back door open. A thousand thoughts were running through my mind, mostly about all the adjustments required after moving to a foreign land. Truthfully, just the mental work of so many new things to learn often left me exhausted. Overall I felt that I was adjusting well, but it is also expected that there would be moments of homesickness, and occasional longing for what had been my normal, for my comfort zone, and for my friends and family. With my gaze mostly turned inward, my eyes weren’t really focusing on the view from the back door. I wasn’t really noticing the sunlight coming over the rooftops of Nagpur, or the birds flying hither and yon, or the cow nibbling on someone’s garden below, or the 2 or 3 people who were sweeping and hosing off the street in front of their homes, which seems to be the early morning routine here. But then a small flash of distant movement grabbed my attention. On a rooftop terrace, maybe 2 or 3 streets behind ours, I saw a man go into a headstand. It was his feet kicking up into the headstand that caught my eye, otherwise I may not have noticed at all since it was rather far away. I watched as he held his pose there, against a wall for support. He held it for so long that I eventually shifted my gaze back to my coffee cup. And that was it. That was all I needed to feel the doubts disappear and to remember that I am exactly where I am meant to be. Even though I stick out here, as a <i>“taller than most and whiter than everyone"</i> lady in a city that is 99.99% Indians, in that moment my heart said; <strong>“These are my people.” </strong></span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/394070/f69df214b3890a0c060529016bb84c5ec859d40a/original/img-20230523-154827.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><span class="text-big">In India the practice of yoga can be traced back for thousands of years. There is some disagreement as to when Yoga was first introduced in the USA, but even in the 60’s and 70’s when yoga was enjoying a rise in popularity, the practice of yoga was still out on the fringe with hippies and new age guru worshippers. In the last two decades Yoga has become much more common in many cities and towns all across the USA but it is still not as widespread as in India. When I used to live in Pennsylvania, USA, if I spoke about “Surya Namaskar” only a handful of yoga practitioners would recognize these Sanskrit words. If I said; “Sun Salutations” perhaps more people would be familiar. However, if I say; “Surya Namaskar” in India, anyone and everyone would know immediately that I was referring to Yoga. In fact, in the Delhi airport there is a large sculpture depicting all of the poses included in Surya Namaskar. You can see an image of it on </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Salutation" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="Wikipedia here"><span class="text-big" style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Wikipedia here</strong></span></a><span class="text-big">. It is part of life here. It is embedded into the culture. </span></p><p><span class="text-big">But this blog isn’t about the history of Yoga. Let’s get back to that one man, on that one day, doing a headstand early in the morning. He didn’t know that I saw him. He was in his own life, doing his own practice, not aware at all that my observation of him transformed my low-key sadness into peaceful contentment and confidence. It turned my day around right at the start. It made me feel like I am exactly where I am meant to be - for so many reasons - but this one event reminded me of all the other reasons as well. </span></p><p><span class="text-big">My message today isn’t actually about yoga, or fitness at all really. My message for you is; be yourself. Do the thing that you love. Do it regularly and with passion. Whether it is on the fringe or in the mainstream, take time to do the things that you know are good for you, that you enjoy, that make you happy to be alive. You never know who is watching you. You never know whom you might inspire just by being yourself. It might be a headstand, or a haircut, or just the smile that you offer to others. Please don’t worry about fitting in. Be yourself. You are magic! When you live your life authentically, you (often unknowingly) are giving others the courage and the inspiration to do the same. </span></p><p><span class="text-big">I am reminded of words spoken by Mahatma Gandhi; </span></p><p><span class="text-big"><i>“Whatever you do in life will be insignificant but it is very important that you do it because you can't know. You can't ever really know the meaning of your life. And you don't need to. Every life has a meaning, whether it lasts one hundred years or one hundred seconds.” </i></span></p><p><span class="text-big">I have seen this sentiment summed up in the following phrase; <i><strong>“It is not what you do, but that you do it.” </strong></i></span></p><p><span class="text-big">You may think of your own life as nothing special, or maybe even boring, but to someone else your life is their inspiration. Imagine that! You are just living your life, your day to day routine, and someone else may be watching and finding just what they need through your example. Whether it is your work ethic, your manners, your originality, or even your headstand! Someone may be seeing you at just the right moment to get exactly the message they need. Isn’t that incredible?!</span></p><p><span class="text-big">So shine on, you beautiful star! You never know whose path you will light up just by being yourself and living life in your own special way. </span></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/71942442023-04-20T23:58:19-04:002023-04-20T23:58:19-04:00Words Matter<p><strong>Hello Beautiful Soul,</strong></p><p>This week I have been reflecting on the words of Jesus in which he said,</p><p>"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."</p><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="https://cdn.fs.teachablecdn.com/ADNupMnWyR7kCWRvm76Laz/https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/CcqitbNUQeyzqjPKgdf5" class="size_m justify_inline border_" /></p><p>We have discussed the topic of "right speech" before but today I would like to specifically focus on the idea that your words are an extension of your heart.</p><p><i>Your words are an extension of your heart. </i>How does that feel to you?</p><p>When your words are not in alignment with your heart it manifests in your life as anxiety, anger and depression. It is very important that we keep our words true.</p><p>But more than that, consider that every time you speak you are revealing your heart. Would you change the words you use? Here I mean not only the words that you speak aloud, but also your internal dialogue. The inner voice that is always narrating your experiences. We often call them thoughts, but recognize that thoughts are very often merely a collection of words in our mind.</p><p>As a general observation of society I feel that many folks use their words carelessly, even recklessly. People say things they don't mean and then often don't say the things they truly mean, or feel. Imagine a world where everyone said what they meant and meant what they said. Of course I am not naive enough to believe that we could ever get this world of billions of people to all speak their words more carefully BUT you do have control over who you allow into your inner circle. And you do have control over your own words as well.</p><p>When you think of words as an overflow of the heart, suddenly they mean a lot more. The person who speaks angry words and then later says; "I didn't mean it" not only has a heart full of anger but also a heart full of duplicity, or falsehood.</p><p>Think about the people in your life who always have a kind word to share, an uplifting word to give, a positive outlook to consider. These are the folks we enjoy spending time with.</p><p>Whereas the folks who always have a criticism, a complaint, and a negative outlook on life, drain our energy.</p><p>When we are being lied to we don't always recognize it right away and we can believe for a while the words spoken. But when the lie is revealed then we understand that this person has a lot of falsehood in their heart. And eventually their own words will reveal their true nature.</p><p>But let's take a look at ourselves for a moment. Consider the words you use. Are they gentle? Truthful? Loving?</p><p>I think that we could ALL improve in this regard. We have all spoken words out of anger or frustration. But instead of shrugging it off with the common excuse of; "I didn't mean it" let's do better at saying what we mean, and really speaking in a way that will reflect our heart, the heart that we wish to cultivate.</p><p>So if there is a lot of pain or anger in your heart right now, the good news is that this flow goes both ways. You can start to use your words to change your heart. When you begin speaking more peacefully, and gently and positively, your beautiful heart will bloom into this new way of being.</p><p>Try it. The next time you find yourself forming words in your mind or mouth, that is expressing in a way that isn't in alignment with the heart that you desire, change your words and see how it feels.</p><p>Make gentle, truthful and loving speech your priority, and see how things begin to shift in your life.<br> </p><p>Lots of love,</p><p>Jennifer</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><i><strong>Note - </strong>This was originally a "Weekly Reflection" in the </i><a class="no-pjax" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="Inspired Souls Club"><span style="color:rgb(39,174,96);"><i><strong>Inspired Souls Club</strong></i></span></a><span style="color:rgb(39,174,96);"><i><strong> </strong></i></span><i>that I decided to make as a public blog, not only to inspire you to claim your power to create the life you desire, but also to let you know what we do in the Inspired Souls Club. If you found this teaching helpful, consider joining the Inspired Souls Club where you will receive weekly reflections with practical teachings on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, working with the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life </i><span style="color:rgb(91,82,82);">❤ </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership"><span style="color:rgb(39,174,96);"><strong>https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership </strong></span></a></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/71489112023-02-05T03:45:09-05:002023-04-20T23:47:52-04:00Perfect Meditation<p>Recently someone asked me, on a YouTube comment, how to do "perfect meditation."</p>
<p>This is the sincere reply I wrote, which I am sharing here in case you have also been searching for the "perfect meditation." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>There is nothing such as "perfect meditation" to strive towards. Meditation is non-striving. It is not about getting any "new" or "perfect" technique. Meditation is about remembering that you are already whole. You have everything you need right now.</p>
<p>You are an extension of Divine Love. Nothing is missing from you or your meditation practice. All that is required is for you to remember your own wholeness and your eternal connection to all of life, to supreme Oneness. Let go of any thoughts that do not align to this fact. Release any beliefs you hold of unworthiness, and of lack. Free yourself from the idea that there is any distance between you and enlightenment, or between you and Divinity. No more striving and collecting, no more grasping and searching. Now, only shedding. Let go of all the labels that have been placed on "the self" and claim your inheritance of freedom and unconditional love right here and now.</p>
<p>Every time you sit in meditation, whether it is one minute or even just one breath, remember that you are releasing obscurations so that you can see more clearly only that which has been true all along. And yes, there are many techniques to release obscurations and to shed mistaken beliefs, but the best and easiest way is simply to remember your wholeness.</p>
<p>There has never been a moment of your life when Divine love has not pulsed through your spirit, not a single moment when you were not part of the whole and one with everything. Just breathe, and remember who you are. This is meditation. Just breathe.</p>
<p>When you remember, with unshakable clarity, that you yourself are One with this beautiful, amazing, wondrous universe - with the stars, with every loving smile that has ever occurred and will ever occur, with every stunning sunset and sunrise, with every single vibration of Love - when you remember, your heart will swell with such force of love and gratitude that you will bow down with tears in your eyes, so overwhelmed to see this truth and know, in your heart of hearts, that you have been whole all along.</p>
<p>In that moment the entire Universe, and every enlightened being that has ever lived and ever will live, will rejoice tremendously at your remembering. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Much love,</p>
<p>Jennifer 💞</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/71400872023-01-19T00:58:49-05:002023-01-28T12:34:41-05:00Abundance Focus<p><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/8fac4d1cb436412161cd2dd5141554bde8869e97/original/img20221123132405.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_none" alt="" />I woke up one day and decided that I would no longer focus on lack of any kind. </strong>I’ve understood for a long time that <em><strong>what you focus on expands</strong></em>, and yet I still found that I was giving too much energy to lack and not enough energy to Abundance. Recently I realized that the idea of lack is actually an illusion. Think of it in this way; One night you look up and see the full moon in all of its beautiful luminosity, lighting up the dark sky. But on a different night the moon is merely a thin crescent, barely noticeable. An unwise person might think that the moon has become less. They might ask, <em>‘Where has the beautiful full moon gone?’ </em>But a wise person understands that the moon is always whole and complete. It is only our view of the moon that has changed. </p>
<p>In the same way I have come to realize that there is nothing lacking in my life, and that when I become aware that I am noticing the illusion of lack in my life I can always change my view. I can always shift my attention back to abundance. </p>
<p><strong>For example</strong>, if my husband shows me a moment of impatience, I will no longer label him as an impatient man, point out his shortcoming, and feel hurt about his impatience towards me. Instead I will remember all of the MANY times that he has shown great patience and understanding towards me. Not only that, but I will also recall all of the times, when facing significant challenges, he showed tremendous patience during difficulties. When I reflect in this way it is easy to see that his patience is the bigger truth. His impatience is like the thin sliver of moon that I might see briefly before remembering that the WHOLE moon is still there; it is only my view that has shifted momentarily. There is no lack of patience here. </p>
<p><strong>On days when I might be feeling tired and overwhelmed</strong>, instead of feeling discouraged or disappointed about the things I wasn’t able to get done and the multitude of tasks still waiting for my attention, I will shift my attention and remember all of the times in the past when I was able to tackle a great many things with stamina and grace. There is no lack of energy or motivation here, just a temporary change of view. I change it back to abundance; an abundance of energy and enthusiasm. </p>
<p><strong>When you experience times of financial strain</strong>, think back to other times in life when you were easily able to pay for what you needed, and also what you wanted. No matter how far back you must remember - maybe all the way back to childhood when you went to the candy store with a quarter in your pocket that your Grandmother gave you - you can remember abundance. It is not gone. Abundance hasn’t changed. Only your view has changed. You can change it back. </p>
<p>Now you might say, <em>“But Jennifer, sometimes people ARE impatient. Sometimes you ARE overwhelmed. And sometimes financial hardships are too big to ignore. Sometimes Lack is REAL!” </em></p>
<p>And my reply is that the crescent moon is also real in a way. At least real enough that we have a word for it. We even talk about, and write about, the “waxing and waning” of the moon (which means becoming progressively stronger & larger, and smaller & weaker) but we aren’t really referring to the Moon. The moon doesn’t get bigger or smaller. The moon doesn’t become stronger or weaker either. The Moon’s size doesn’t change through its phases. It is just the way we are viewing the sun’s light reflecting off of it. </p>
<p><strong>Truly I am not here to convince you of anything. </strong>It is your life. You can focus on anything you like. You can focus on lack if you want to. You can focus on everything you dislike and you can focus on everything that creates stress in your mind and your body. You can live your life as you see fit. But please remember that a negative mind will never give you a positive life. And you cannot enjoy abundance while focusing on lack. </p>
<p><strong>As for me, I will focus on Abundance</strong>. I have decided, and here also declared, that lack is an illusion. I have set the intention to always see the fullness of those around me, and to see the wholeness of myself and my life. Regardless of its phase, I vow to always see the fullness of the Moon, and the abundance of this beautiful life.</p>
<p><strong>Love,</strong><br>Jennifer</p>
<p><em>PS - If you found this teaching helpful, consider joining the Inspired Souls Club where you will receive weekly reflections with practical teachings on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, working with the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life </em>❤ <strong><a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership </span></a></strong></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/71323152023-01-04T00:49:38-05:002023-04-20T23:47:52-04:00Happiness is in Your Hands<p>Hello Beautiful Soul, </p>
<p>Recently I was watching a video by Donna Eden, who works with the energy of people’s bodies. In the video there was a brief demonstration on how thoughts affect the energy of the body. She had a volunteer in front of her and asked him to think of a happy thought. Then she “Energy Tested” (you may have heard this called “Muscle Testing” with other practitioners) his arm (energy/muscles) and it was quite strong. She was not able to lower his outstretched arm by pressing down on it with her hand. Then she asked him to think about something that recently had caused him stress, and with that thought she was able to easily lower his arm by using just one finger. His arm (energy/muscle) was quite weak when thinking about a stressful situation in his life. </p>
<p>I have seen such demonstrations in the past by other people, in other fields, (a chiropractor and a pastor) and it got me reflecting on how so many different teachers are giving the same message in various ways, which is; <em>what you feel/think is absolutely tied to what you receive/create in life. </em></p>
<p>On the one hand, we love the possibility that we can think and feel good things, wanted things, into our life. On the other hand, when we look at things in our life that we consider as bad, unwanted things, we have difficulty understanding that these things too have come about as a result of our thoughts/feelings/vibrations. </p>
<p>But it is NOT my intention today to convince you of anything at all. Today I am only inviting you to reflect on the fact that many great spiritual teachers, from various backgrounds and belief systems, have taught the SAME concept regarding the power of your thoughts; </p>
<p>“Happiness is determined more by one’s state of mind than by external events.” - Dalai Lama </p>
<p>“A change of feeling is a change of destiny.” - Neville Goddard </p>
<p>“Change your thoughts - Change your life.” - Wayne Dyer </p>
<p>“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." - Philippians 4:8 </p>
<p>“Everything you believe affects everything that comes to you. A belief is only a thought you keep thinking. Few realize that they can control the way they feel and positively affect the things that come into their life experience by deliberately directing their thoughts.” - Abraham Hicks </p>
<p>“If we want a joyous life, we must think joyous thoughts. If we want a prosperous life, we must think prosperous thoughts. If we want a loving life, we must think loving thoughts. Whatever we send out mentally or verbally will come back to us in like form.” - Louise Hay </p>
<p>“Your thoughts are the architects of your destiny.” - David O. McKay </p>
<p>Buddhism too, is filled with what are called; “Mind training techniques” designed to train your mind away from negative (harmful) thoughts and towards positive (beneficial) thoughts. </p>
<p>When you see this variety of writers and leaders all giving the same message in slightly different ways I hope you will begin (or continue) to pay attention to your inner world. I purposely wrote; <em>“inner world”</em> because to ask you to pay attention to EVERY thought, every day of your life is too daunting of a task. Thoughts can come rapid fire, and at times, seemingly from nowhere. Not every thought requires or deserves your attention even if you <em>were</em> able to pay attention to every single one of them. However, it is TOTALLY possible to monitor your FEELING throughout the day. Check in regularly. How are you feeling? If it is not how you <em>want</em> to feel, then cultivate thoughts that will generate within yourself the feeling that you desire. I have always found, and I have taught this for years in the <strong><a contents="Inspired Souls Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;">Inspired Souls Club</span></a></strong>, that gratitude is a bridge that will take me easily from a negative feeling to a positive feeling. Here is an example that I have often shared; </p>
<p>When I was suffering from a very painful health challenge, at times the pain was so excruciating that it seemed to flood into every aspect of my life. But part of me recognized that this was an illusion. Yes, there was pain, but it was not as all encompassing as it sometimes felt. So I would pause and do this little mental exercise of appreciating my body. </p>
<p><em>“Yes, there is pain in my body. Part of my body is not functioning optimally and it is causing me pain. But other parts of my body are functioning well. Both of my eyes work pretty well. Yes, I need glasses, but I can see the world and this is a blessing because I love to look at flowers and trees. I love to see the smile on my husband’s face. My ears also work very well. I like to listen to birds and to music. My lungs are also working optimally. It feels good to take deep breaths with ease. My heart is also functioning with no issues and so are all of my organs. There is a lot of wellness in my body. My feet feel good. My toes feel good. My hands feel good and that is really good because I love to play my guitar. My arms and shoulders are healthy and that is really good because I love to hug my husband. I recognize that my body is primarily full of wellness.” </em></p>
<p>I continue in this way, thinking thoughts of appreciation for my body and my life, until wellness and optimal health feel like the bigger picture and the pain I am experiencing is acknowledged as just a small part of the whole. </p>
<p><em><strong>You can use this technique in many situations; </strong></em> </p>
<p>With your loved one who just snapped at you - Before responding in anger, first pause and list all of their good qualities. Remember all of the times that they treated you with love and patience. List all of the things you love about them until their moment of rude impatience seems like a very small thing. </p>
<p>Or with your water heater that just broke down (or any other appliance, or even your vehicle) - You can remember all of the times that it worked well and with no problems. Think about all of the wonderful hot showers you took on cold winter days - All of the times you only needed to turn on the faucet to enjoy that warm flow with no concern. It gets you away from thoughts of; <em>“Things are ALWAYS breaking”</em> and <em>“NOTHING ever goes right”</em> when you remind yourself of all the times things actually were working well and going right. And even if your broken appliance or vehicle is beyond repair, and its replacement will be a financial hardship, you can still think; </p>
<p><em>“It will be nice to have a reliable appliance. I won’t have the stress of constant repairs. The new one might even be better than the old one. It will be fun to have a new, updated appliance. I have always managed my finances in the past. I am sure that I will find a way to pay for this new appliance too. It will be more efficient than the old one and reduce my energy costs too. I think I am going to like having this new appliance.” </em></p>
<p><strong>I hope that I have demonstrated clearly to you that, in any given moment, YOU get to decide how you want to feel. </strong>It is absolutely in your hands where you choose to place your focus, remembering that what you focus on expands. </p>
<p>Even if you do NOT believe in the law of attraction and do NOT believe that your thoughts create your life, still, at the very basic level you can easily see that one of these thoughts feels better than the other: </p>
<p><em>“Nothing ever goes right” </em></p>
<p>or </p>
<p><em>“Things go smoothly most of the time” </em></p>
<p><em><strong>And which one you decide to be “True” only depends on which one YOU choose to keep on thinking. </strong></em></p>
<p>If, dear one, you would like more techniques, and support, to continue working with your mind to create the best version of yourself and your life, you can always scroll through the curriculum of the <strong><a contents="Inspired Souls Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;">Inspired Souls Club</span></a></strong> to find exactly what you need. And remember to join us as often as you can in our twice weekly online meditation sessions where we have a wonderful opportunity to practice these techniques, in meditation, to strengthen them for use in daily life. </p>
<p>In closing I will leave you with one more quote; </p>
<p><em><strong>“Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.”</strong></em> - Dalai Lama </p>
<p>Love and light, </p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><strong>Note - </strong>This was originally a "Weekly Reflection" in the <strong><a contents="Inspired Souls Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;">Inspired Souls Club</span></a><span style="color:#27ae60;"> </span></strong>that I decided to make as a public blog, not only to inspire you to claim your power to create the life you desire, but also to let you know what we do in the Inspired Souls Club so that folks who resonate with our work may be inspired to join us. </em></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/737daa2eae339d0756486b3922ea06d0ae06fb35/original/img-20230104-111632.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_none" alt="" /></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/71297232022-12-29T05:20:44-05:002022-12-29T05:36:15-05:00An Amazing Year - 2022<p><strong>Here we are at the last days of 2022 </strong>and I am looking back on this year and feeling, “WOW!” - What an amazing year! 2022 was my first year spent entirely in India and it was a fabulous year of growth for myself and for the <strong><a contents="Beautiful Souls Academy.&nbsp;&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;">Beautiful Souls Academy. </span></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>At the start of January</strong> I was 2 months into using the Yoga for Pain Relief techniques I learned from Lee Albert and was already seeing the benefits. It was like a miracle, after 6 months of excruciating low back and sciatic nerve pain, I was finally free. I recently shared this very accessible and effective technique in a video offered in <strong><a contents="Yoga Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;">Yoga Club</span></a></strong> so that others can also find freedom from pain as I have. </p>
<p><strong>In February</strong>, with the pandemic starting to settle down, Luv and I finally got to enjoy our delayed honeymoon. We celebrated with a beach vacation in Kerela. It was a double celebration because I also turned FIFTY this year! Can you believe it!? Life is so awesome. As beautiful as Kerela was, the highlight of our trip was when Luv surprised me with a candlelit dinner where he brought his guitar and sang, <em>“What a Wonderful World”</em> to me, a song that he had been secretly practicing for weeks prior. </p>
<p><strong>In March</strong> we celebrated Luv’s birthday <em>(who still has a very long way to go before he turns 50!)</em> and the one year anniversary of my move to India. </p>
<p><strong>In April </strong>Luv began planning a big travel adventure for us. </p>
<p><strong>In May</strong> we left for a 3 week journey that began with a brief stop in Delhi, then onto an ashram in Haridwar, with a day trip from there to Rishikesh which is considered the Yoga capital of the world. Next was one night in Mohali in Punjab to visit friends, <em>(where we also made new friends who were owners of the wonderful Airbnb where we stayed)</em> and then on to Dharamsala where I was most fortunate to see the Dalai Lama. Throughout this adventure we took <strong><a contents="Yoga Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;">Yoga Club</span></a></strong> and the <strong><a contents="Inspired Souls Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;">Inspired Souls Club</span></a></strong> along with us for yoga classes and meditation offered via Zoom from our different locations. Members got a tour of the temple within the Ashram at Haridwar after one of our meditation sessions too. <a contents="Click Here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/courses/yoga-club/lectures/40082847" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Click Here</strong></span></a> for a view of Rishikesh including a large Hanuman statue and the Ganges River. From Dharamsala we took a long bus ride back to Delhi for one night where we held our Yoga Class from the rooftop of the hotel, and then a 15 hour train ride back to Nagpur. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now - Traveling in India is an extreme sport! </p>
<p><strong>June </strong>was spent recovering from our travels - <em>haha</em> - and preparing for our upcoming gig. At the end of June we attended a photo shoot with the other musicians who were also playing at the event in July. I had never done a professional photo shoot before. It was fun. </p>
<p><strong>July 9th</strong> was the concert/event at a local club. Luv and I performed together singing songs in English and in Hindi and performing original songs as well. It was a super fun night but due to some unexpected technological glitches with the band ahead of us, we ended up performing much earlier than expected, so the friends and family we had invited all missed our set. Therefore, since no one was there filming on our behalf, we didn’t get a video of our full set but only some very short clips that were kindly given to me by random audience members I met that evening. We shared those clips in <a contents="Yoga Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Yoga Club</strong></span></a>. I made the video public so that all members of the <a contents="Beautiful Souls Academy " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Beautiful Souls Academy </strong></span></a>could see it. <a contents="Click Here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/courses/yoga-club/lectures/41967217" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Click Here</strong></span></a> to view it if you haven’t seen it yet. I was very happy to be performing side by side with Luv. We have always shared a great love for music, and for those who know our story, it was music that brought us together in the first place. </p>
<p><strong>In August </strong>I decided to come out of the Tarot closet - <em>haha </em>- after reading Tarot cards for myself and close friends since 2017, I knew it was time to share this beneficial tool with others. You can <a contents="Click Here to book a reading" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/tarot-readings" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Click Here to book a reading</strong></span></a> with me. </p>
<p><strong>In September</strong> I launched <a contents="Tarot Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/tarot-club" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Tarot Club</strong></span></a> on the Beautiful Souls Academy. September also saw a lot of Tarot content being added to <a contents="my YouTube channel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/jenniferkathleen11" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>my YouTube channel</strong></span></a> and to <a contents="my web page" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://jenniferka.com/tarot" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>my web page</strong></span></a>. There are many misconceptions surrounding Tarot so I posted several videos sharing my view of Tarot and the benefits I have experienced by using the tool of Tarot. </p>
<p><strong>In October </strong>we had the very first gathering of the <a contents="Inspired Souls Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Inspired Souls Club</strong></span></a>. We met on Zoom to introduce ourselves to fellow members and to share our goals and feel the support of other folks on a similar path of self-actualization. </p>
<p><strong>November</strong> was a very exciting month beginning with our weekend trip for a safari through the Pench Jungle. You can view a <a contents="brief glimpse from the safari jeep here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtube.com/shorts/ZqOwKmnW590?feature=share" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>brief glimpse from the safari jeep here</strong></span></a>. On November 24th I released my single, “Only Love”. You can see it <a contents="Here on YouTube" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/Z0rhEprgTY4" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Here on YouTube</strong></span></a>. That video has become the 2nd most watched video of all my videos posted in 2022 - <em>the Safari video made first place! </em>And of the most watched videos on my channel for all time my new song has already taken 5th place. I hope you like it. I sure had fun writing it and making the video for it. </p>
<p><strong>During the last week of November</strong> we attended 3 back to back weddings in one week! I made a video montage covering 4 days of wedding celebrations and shared it in <a contents="Yoga Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Yoga Club</strong></span></a> under the section of “Glimpses of India”. Indian weddings are VERY different from weddings in the USA. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/54a06423aa41d95f9af4932380b313a095636d7f/original/img20221225153046.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_medium" alt="" /><strong>December</strong> was filled with preparations for Christmas. I was determined to give Luv’s family the best version of a typical American Christmas that I could. It was an interesting endeavor for a Buddhist like myself to offer Christmas celebrations to a family of Hindus, but in the end the smiles and fun that we had on Christmas weekend will be memories for a lifetime. On Christmas Eve Santa brought everyone Christmas pajamas and we wore them while watching the 1970 musical version of A Christmas Carol entitled, <em>Scrooge</em>. After the movie we sang <em>Silent Night</em> together. On Christmas Day we made a gingerbread house, drank hot cocoa and/or homemade eggnog, ate Christmas cookies, played “pin the carrot nose on the Snowman” and opened more presents. </p>
<p><strong>And guess what??? </strong>Now that Winter has arrived, that means the Winter Bonus Challenge Videos have returned to the 30 Day Plank Challenge! If you weren't able to conquer them last year, or if you are looking to enjoy those challenges again, you can <a contents="click here to go to the 30 Day Plank Challenge" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/30-day-plank-challenge" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>click here to go to the 30 Day Plank Challenge</strong></span></a> and get started. There is no enrollment fee. Consider it a free gift from me to you and to your fitness goals. </p>
<p><strong>Phew! What a year!</strong> And these were only the highlights - there were so many more wonderful moments all along the way, of smiles and laughter, good food and drinks, flowers and birds, butterflies and dragonflies, music and dancing, trees and skies, sunrises and sunsets - it was a wonderful year and I know that so many more adventures are waiting for us in 2023. </p>
<p><strong>THANK YOU</strong> for sharing the journey of 2022 with me. Luv and I wish you and your family a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! </p>
<p> </p>
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<p><strong>Love and light, </strong> </p>
<p>Jennifer </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/71061932022-11-19T06:34:47-05:002022-12-29T03:15:40-05:00Tarot for Self Empowerment<h4><strong>A Defining Moment </strong></h4>
<p>Years ago, shortly after I first began reading Tarot for myself, I got a professional reading from a fantastic Tarot reader named Ethony. The path proceeding that moment had been extremely difficult and painful. It felt like everything that was important to me had crumbled away and I wasn’t sure how to rebuild. In some ways it was really freeing because suddenly there were many possibilities in front of me, but as all of this turmoil was very unexpected, I wasn’t equipped to face those choices. I wasn’t sure which new direction to take. So I employed a skilled Tarot reader in the hopes of gaining some clarity. I purchased a video recorded reading from Ethony and sent her my questions, which were basically a “should I take this path or that path” type of inquiry. Her response was truly a meaningful moment in my life. I received many insights from her but essentially the reading said that either path I chose would be ok. Neither option in front of me stood out as especially positive or negative. Life has its ups and downs and either choice that I made would work out ok for me. It might surprise you to hear that the cards didn’t direct me towards any particular path. You might even think that the Tarot didn’t actually answer my question, but Spirit always knows exactly what we need, and THIS was definitely the message that I needed to hear at that time. Why? Because it was a huge wake up call that <em><strong>I can create my own life! I am in charge.</strong></em> I can choose which way to go and I can make the most of my choices. It was truly an empowering moment. It was as if Life was telling me, You get a new start now, what do you want to do with it? The reading also helped me to release so much fear by telling me that I would be ok. Of course it still took a lot of work and dedicated effort to fully take my own power into my hands and create the life I truly wanted, but I did it, and the Tarot reading from Ethony gave me the encouragement that I desperately needed at the time. Now, a handful of years later I am living my BEST life! I continue to use Tarot as a tool for self empowerment for myself and for my clients. Now let’s talk about how you too can use Tarot for your greatest benefit. </p>
<h4>The Value of a Tool </h4>
<p>The value of any tool lies not only in the tool itself but in your use of that tool. Imagine that you had a goal of getting in shape and reducing your weight. You go out and buy a treadmill because you heard that a treadmill can help you shed pounds and get fit. You put your shiny new treadmill in your bedroom. Then you hang your robe from the railing of the treadmill, and place a nice stack of books and one leafy plant on the treadmill’s belt. You admire how nice it looks, the shiny new treadmill serving as both bookshelf and plant stand, and you patiently wait for your body to feel the benefits of your latest purchase. That would be a little crazy, right? If you treat your treadmill as a plant stand then your use of that tool is not in alignment with your intentions and therefore will be of little benefit to you, despite the money you invested into it. </p>
<p>Tarot is also a tool and what you get out of it depends upon what you put into it. You might say;<em> “Wait a minute, I thought Tarot was just a mystical device that a Tarot reader uses to see my future. How can I put anything into it?” </em></p>
<p>Just like in the above example, your intentions and your use of the tool determines how much benefit you derive from it. So let’s talk about how Tarot can be used as a tool for self empowerment. </p>
<h4>Intentions </h4>
<p>The way in which you use a tool determines the result you will get. Before getting a Tarot reading, know your intentions. Are you merely curious and/or wanting some entertainment? Are you going through a difficult time and longing for some encouragement? Are you feeling aimless and hoping the Tarot will give you some direction? Get clear about what your intentions are and then focus on the particular area of your life in which you are seeking guidance. Love, Finances, Career and Purpose are all very common areas of inquiry in Tarot Readings. Once you have honed in on the area of your life upon which you would like your reading to focus, next comes the most important element of using Tarot for your greatest benefit, which is forming your question. </p>
<h4>Usage </h4>
<p>Tarot gives you the ability to communicate with higher wisdom, divine guidance and your own soul's intelligence. If you are hoping for a helpful answer, the question that you ask matters a lot! </p>
<p>Imagine that you are preparing for an important exam. You are feeling stressed. The exam is just two weeks away. You go to a Tarot Reader and ask if you will pass your exam. Whether you receive a yes or a no answer, very little will actually change in your life. Most likely you will still spend the next two weeks studying anyway, just as you have been, but perhaps now with a little more or less stress in your mind depending on the answer you received. But Tarot has the ability to do so much more for you!! <em><strong>To use the Tarot for self empowerment you must think about the result that you WANT and then ask the Tarot how to manifest it. I</strong></em>magine how differently the Tarot reading might’ve gone if you had asked, <em>“How can I achieve a high score on my upcoming exam?” </em>With a question like this you are really allowing the Tarot to speak to you in the most beneficial way. Instead of simply a yes or no answer, now you get some real guidance. Now, in our hypothetical example, the Tarot reader lays out the cards and tells you to make a concise study plan. She tells you to do some of your studying out in nature because the close connection to the earth will help you stay grounded and focused instead of getting distracted by worry and frivolous concerns. Perhaps the cards also show that you would benefit from participating in a study group with others, or maybe they tell you that you need more time studying in solitude before your exam. Maybe the reader tells you that your stress is actually blocking you from being able to absorb the information required to succeed in your exam. She gives you a breathing exercise intended to calm your mind or a positive affirmation to help you manage your fear and stress. Whatever comes up in this hypothetical reading is much more beneficial to you than simply a yes or a no. </p>
<p>[At this point I want to pause, in case you are wondering to yourself, “Can a Tarot reading really give someone all that information?” and I need you to hear this - YES! Yes it can.] </p>
<h4>Passive vs. Active engagement </h4>
<p>To successfully use the Tarot as a tool for self empowerment you must be an active participant. As I hope I have illustrated clearly in the example above, the question you ask <em>(and your willingness to hear the answer) </em>is how you can become an active and empowered participant in your Tarot reading. </p>
<p><strong>Now for a real life example: </strong></p>
<p>I recently did a reading for a young woman who was just finishing college and was about to begin an internship. She wanted to know if she would be successful in her career and specifically if she would earn a lot of money. Success and financial security usually take several, if not many, years to achieve. Various contributing factors can shape and change a person’s career timeline as well. I felt that this was a very foggy and generalized question, therefore I encouraged her to re-frame the question from passive to active. She agreed, and asked; <em>“How can I be successful in my career?”</em> I set up a very nice spread for her, (a Tarot spread is when cards are pulled and placed in a pattern where each card has a specific purpose assigned to it) that gave her a lot of information. She was shown the mental habit that she needed to abandon to achieve success. She was advised to take some deep rest after her exams, before her internship began. The cards also revealed that the path in front of her would require more determination and stamina than she realized but that the difficult period wouldn’t last long. And finally, the cards also revealed that a significant person would soon be entering her life who would present her with a new opportunity to move her career forward. This was a WAY better answer than merely “Yes or No” and strongly demonstrates again how important the question is when getting a Tarot Reading. </p>
<h4>What is Your View? </h4>
<p>Your view of life definitely influences the type of question you would tend to ask. For example, believing that everything is fate, and largely out of your hands, is a passive view and a very different viewpoint than believing that you, and your higher power, co-create the life that you desire for your greatest good. A passive approach is only asking <em>what will happen</em> while an active approach is asking <em>how can I make this happen.</em> </p>
<p>To be an active participant and use Tarot as a tool for self empowerment, I advise you once again to <strong><em>think about the result that you WANT and then ask the Tarot how to manifest it. </em></strong> Instead of asking passive questions that give away your power, ask active questions that will empower you to create the result that you desire. </p>
<p>For example, in Love & Romance readings, instead of asking questions like; </p>
<p><em>Will my Ex return? </em></p>
<p><em>Will I meet my soulmate soon? </em></p>
<p><em>Will I get married next year? </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Consider these; </p>
<p><em>What am I still carrying from my last relationship that I need to release? </em></p>
<p><em>What is blocking me from creating a meaningful relationship? </em></p>
<p><em>How can I become the best version of myself for when my special someone arrives? </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>For the record, the Tarot can answer <strong>both </strong>sets of those questions - and a treadmill can also be used as a plant stand. The choice is in your hands. I encourage my clients towards self-empowerment. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Love, </strong></p>
<p>Jennifer </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Would you like to book a reading with me?</strong><br>View available options here; <a contents="www.jenniferka.com/tarot" data-link-label="Tarot " data-link-type="page" href="/tarot">www.jenniferka.com/tarot </a></p>
<p><strong>Would you like to learn more about my Tarot role model, Ethony?</strong><br>Find her here; <a contents="www.ethony.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.ethony.com">www.ethony.com</a> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Image from the Light Seekers Tarot by Chris-Anne</em></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/70823212022-10-18T02:18:25-04:002022-11-19T06:36:53-05:00Yoga Curious? - Answers to the 10 most Frequently Asked Questions about Yoga<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Hello, my name is Jennifer Kathleen</strong> <strong>and I have been teaching yoga since 2014.</strong> </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/933e7e5eb6e72028056068978d54684c3270a16c/original/img-20220715-084703.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Today I am here to answer 10 of your biggest questions about yoga, including the ones you are too embarrassed to ask. So let’s jump right in. . . </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="fimYZ8TYayQ" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/fimYZ8TYayQ/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fimYZ8TYayQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span></p>
<h3><strong><span class="font_large">Can Yoga Help Me to Lose Weight? </span></strong></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">Yes. A regular Yoga practice will help you to tone and balance your body. A daily flow styled practice, whether Gentle or Vigorous, of at least 30 minutes a day will definitely help you to burn calories and lose weight. Even Restorative Yoga, with little movement and little muscle work, can actually help you to lose weight by reducing the stress hormone, Cortisol, which is often to blame for increased belly fat. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Additionally, the mindfulness aspect of Yoga will support you in making healthier choices. Besides being great exercise, Yoga encourages you to look within and to pay attention to your habits. We all have habits, and some of those habits are not beneficial. Whether they are habits of action (such as overeating) or habits of thought, (such as degrading self-talk) Yoga can help you to uproot your negative, self defeating habits and replace them with positive habits. By practicing self-love for the person you are RIGHT NOW, you will make more loving choices for your body and mind. </span></p>
<h3><span class="font_large">Can Yoga Reduce Back Pain? </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">Absolutely! Most back pain is caused by imbalances in the body. Those imbalances may have come from bad posture, from injury, or from a sedentary lifestyle. The good news is that Yoga can definitely reduce, and possibly eliminate, your back pain. I am living proof of this truth. After sustaining multiple injuries to my low back, I suffered for years with low back pain and excruciating sciatic nerve pain. The type of Yoga I was doing was giving me short term relief but no long term solution. For many years I explored various options, searching for a cure but nothing gave significant help. Eventually I learned how to apply yoga in very specific ways - differently than I had been practicing - as a means of re-balancing the body. It was truly the miracle cure for which I had been searching. <em>(shout out to Lee Albert, whose online course was a tremendous support for learning how to use Yoga to cure my chronic sciatic nerve pain. <a contents="https://www.leealbert.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.leealbert.com/">https://www.leealbert.com/</a> ) </em>The “secret” was to do specific poses held for a specific length of time. It has been a total game changer. Therefore, if you are suffering from back pain, I want you to know that relief is possible, but I suggest that you follow the instructions and advice of a qualified and experienced Yoga Teacher to help guide you to improved back health. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/106cda32be8a17250071fdb5fa7f273ef9210f15/original/img-20220501-195054.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></span></p>
<h3><span class="font_large">Can Yoga Help Me Manage Stress & Anxiety? </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">Yes! Yes! Yes! Yoga can definitely give you relief from the effects of stress and anxiety. Yoga is a practice of mindfulness and introspection. The practice of Yoga includes cultivating greater awareness of your body, breath and mind. Not only do you learn how to recognize tension in the body and the mind, but you also learn ways to release it. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Additionally there are yoga styles that especially focus on relaxation. Restorative yoga is a WONDERFUL practice to help you release pain, stress, and anxiety from the body and the mind. I highly recommend it to everyone. One word of caution though, I have seen over my many years of teaching that people who have very noisy and chaotic minds become VERY uncomfortable in the stillness and silence of restorative yoga classes. Therefore, if you know that you struggle in situations that require quiet and stillness, I suggest that you try a Gentle class first so you can ease your way slowly into a practice of greater stillness and silence. In Yoga Club we offer a class called “Slow Flow & Restore” which begins with a half hour of Gently flowing yoga and ends with a half hour of Restorative Yoga. If you struggle with stillness and silence, I suggest that you try a class like this first, with just 30 minutes of Restorative yoga instead of starting with a full hour - Because if that full hour is too much for you, and causes you to form a negative idea about Restorative yoga, it will be a big loss for you. Restorative Yoga is incredibly healing. On the flip side, if you are a person who enjoys quiet and stillness, Restorative Yoga is a HEAVENLY experience. </span></p>
<h3><span class="font_large">Do I Need to be Flexible to Practice Yoga? </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">I joke that asking this question is like asking, “Do I need to be clean to take a Shower?” But I understand why people ask this question often. You see photos and videos on the internet showing super fit and flexible bodies doing amazing yoga flows and poses that require tremendous flexibility & strength and perhaps you start thinking, “I am not that flexible. Maybe yoga isn’t for me.” I understand. But please recognize that all over the world, regular people with medium to low flexibility are doing yoga that is less extreme and much more accessible to the average person. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Start where you are and use modifications. Find a style of yoga that resonates with you - with where you are now and not where you WISH you were - and make sure that the instructor offers modifications to adapt the poses to your level of strength and flexibility. If you are VERY inflexible then you should begin with Restorative and Gentle Yoga practices so that you can safely increase your flexibility while learning basic poses and optimal alignment first before you push yourself further. Don’t jump into a high level vinyasa flow class just because you have a desire to be that strong and flexible. Honor where you are now and progress safely. If you develop muscles quickly but with poor alignment your practice will lead you to injury. And of course if you attempt to force yourself into poses and push beyond your current level of flexibility you will hurt yourself. It is far better to optimize your alignment first and increase your flexibility and strength in a mindful manner. That will assure that you are really getting the most from your practice. Yoga is a holistic practice of self awareness and refinement. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Most importantly, USE THE PROPS!! For the love of all that is good in the world, please use your blocks!!! - and your blanket and your strap and whatever else your teacher advises - They are NOT training wheels or crutches that you hope to abandon one day or that you are embarrassed to use. The props are TOOLS to achieve various results. Just like an artist uses different paintbrushes and a woodworker uses different carving tools, we use the props for specific purposes. Your body is the work of art that you are shaping and molding into the best version of yourself. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">For several years, from around 2015 to 2020, I taught yoga in a large gym. I had full classes several times a week which meant that I was seeing over 50 students a week who were regular attendees throughout these years. Because I was teaching during the day, most of my students here were of retirement age. Several of those regular students were very resistant to using the blocks. Even if I came over to their mat and set the blocks right beside them, and even if I clearly explained the benefits of using the blocks, they would still refuse to use them. My honest observation was that the students who willingly and regularly used the blocks made beautiful progress in those years. Their flexibility increased, their strength increased and most importantly their body awareness increased which also contributed to their poses becoming beautifully aligned. (Optimal alignment = maximum health benefit.) The folks who refused to use the blocks made no noticeable improvement over these YEARS despite attending classes regularly. Their lunge never got stronger or longer, their forward folds never got easier and their balance didn’t improve either. This was my real life honest experience of seeing the clear difference between students who learned how to use the blocks and those who continuously refused to incorporate them in their practice. </span></p>
<h3><span class="font_large">What If I Can’t Do All The Poses? </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">Yoga is NOT about forcing or coercing your body into specific poses. Yoga is a practice of inviting a pose into your body and observing how your body responds. A good teacher will show you how to modify the poses so that you can enjoy many of the benefits of the pose even if you are not able to do the full, or classical, expression of the pose. Be sure to start with Gentle Classes that move slowly because the teacher will have time to offer and demonstrate the modifications. Do NOT show up to a fast flowing advanced level class and expect the teacher to be able to accommodate you with modifications for every pose. Additionally, you may want to consider a private yoga session before you begin classes so that the teacher can address your particular limitations before class. You can learn how to modify poses, and you can also learn how to substitute similar poses. For example, I have clients who are not able to kneel on their mat due to issues with their knees, therefore, when the class comes into Child’s Pose, instead of being on their knees they know to turn over onto their back and hug their knees up to their chest. This gives them a very similar stretch but without putting any weight on their knees. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And also, in total honesty, most of us who have been practicing yoga for a lifetime still have those couple of poses that we just can’t do the full version of yet, and you know what? - That is OK!! </span></p>
<h3><span class="font_large">Is Yoga a Religion? </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">No, Yoga is not a religion. While Yoga may share some commonalities with other religions, such as the practice of meditation, Yoga is actually not a religion. However, the 8 Limbs of Classical Yoga are considered to be a complete path to enlightenment, although still not a religion in itself. Perhaps you associate the idea of enlightenment with Eastern religions, but again, Yoga is not a religion. Within the 8 limbs of Classical Yoga the actual yoga poses (Asana) are only one of those limbs, but perhaps the most well known to Western practitioners. Therefore, what is often referred to as “Yoga” is actually just one limb of the 8 limbed yogic path to enlightenment. Additionally, none of those 8 limbs are “religious” in nature. </span></p>
<h3><span class="font_large">Which is “The Best” Type of Yoga? </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">There are many different styles of yoga and each with their own, often foreign sounding, name. So which is the best one? The better question to ask is; “Which is the best type of yoga for me?” To answer that question requires you to know your intentions for starting a yoga practice. Are you looking for vigorous exercise or techniques to reduce stress? Are you looking for yoga to compliment your spiritual practice or to round out your athletic training? Once you are clear about your goals, a quick online search, such as “Yoga for relaxation” will give you a list of possible options to explore further. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/3756e6e039ab25d54efc386056ae98ce978b7fdb/original/screenshot-2022-05-03-07-44-51-03-99c04817c0de5652397fc8b56c3b3817.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">My biggest piece of advice regarding which type of yoga to practice is to diversify! Regardless of your MAIN intention, the benefits of yoga will multiply for you when you take a variety of classes. If you are always going to the sweaty, flowing, vigorous classes, try a slower paced class occasionally so that your mind can also reap the benefits of learning to be comfortable in stillness. If you tend towards the more slow paced, meditative styles of yoga, try a more challenging and flowing class sometimes. You may be surprised to discover that yoga can firm and tone your body just as well as other exercise classes. I recommend taking several different styles of classes a week. In Yoga Club we have a large library of recorded classes of varying styles and also lengths. In our live online classes, of which we have 5 a week, we offer the spectrum from Restorative Yoga all the way up to a Moderately challenging class. The wide variety makes it easy for you to tailor your week of yoga classes precisely to your needs. Perhaps you use gentle yoga as a cool down stretch after a vigorous run on one day. Another day is your “rest” day so you attend a Restorative class. The next day it rains so you decide to skip your run and attend a vigorous yoga class instead. This is just an example of how the variety of classes offered on Yoga Club can be used for the best possible results, and hopefully prevent you from getting stuck in a “fitness rut.” </span></p>
<h3><span class="font_large">I am Out of Shape. What if I Don’t Fit In? What If Everyone Else is Fit & Flexible Except Me? </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">Again I will say, start where you ARE and not where you WISH you were. So, if you start in beginner classes, and/or gentle classes, you will most likely see other students with a similar fitness level. There will always be a range of levels, even in a Gentle class, because some advanced practitioners will take Gentle classes on their “rest days” when they still want a good stretch but also want to take a break from their more vigorous practice. Avoid comparing yourself to others. In yoga we say to keep your body, and your mind, on your own mat. Don’t worry about what anybody else is doing. We ALL have limitations. Yoga teaches us to honor those limitations. In my classes the poses could look slightly different for almost every student. One woman with a shoulder issue never lifts her left arm in Warrior poses. Other students who have bad arthritis in their hands have to be on their elbows in poses that are usually done on the hands. Very often when working on balance poses, some students will move their position to be close to a wall for extra support while others are comfortable staying on their mat not using a wall. Yoga classes should be welcoming and inviting. If you ever attend a class where you are made to feel “less than” or to feel like an outcast because of your limitations, PLEASE KEEP LOOKING! Yoga is everywhere. So find a place that honors differences and welcomes you warmly regardless of your experience or abilities. </span></p>
<h3><span class="font_large">How Long Until I See Results? </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">You will see results immediately in regards to your mental well-being. So many times I have witnessed students coming to class feeling tired, or stressed or discouraged. They walk in as if they were carrying a heavy weight. But when class is over they walk out as light as a feather with a smile on their face and peace in their heart. It is beautiful to see. But if you want to know how long until you see and feel changes in your body, that depends on how often you intend to practice yoga each week. One class a week will give you limited results. Three to five classes a week, depending on the type of classes you are taking, will give you visible results in 6 to 8 weeks. </span></p>
<h3><span class="font_large">What if I Pass Gas During Class? </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">I have literally been told by many people over the years that fear of passing gas in class has prevented them from taking public yoga classes. So, let’s talk about it. First of all, flatulence is a normal bodily function. Additionally, several yoga poses actually stimulate digestion and help you to cleanse your body internally, therefore flatulence is a common side effect of your yoga practice. And yes, I have been in class MANY TIMES as a teacher and a student, where somebody let out a tremendously loud expulsion of gas, and everyone just ignores it. We all hope it never happens to us, sure, but when it happens to someone else there is no shame, no laughter, and no pointing either. As I mentioned previously, in yoga we keep our body and our mind on our own mat and stay focused on what is happening with our own practice and not on the other students. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">That being said, if you still have a paralyzing fear of letting some air slip out during yoga class, I recommend you consider online classes. In Yoga Club the students all put their microphones on mute during class. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Furthermore, some students are also more comfortable keeping their cameras off too, or on but pointed away from their mat. You might wonder how I can teach a class without seeing all the students. That is a valid question. I am ok with cameras being off for two reasons. First of all, I know all my students. Many of them have been with me for years. I know their abilities and their limitations and I have already instructed them on alignment and modifications to such a degree that I am fully confident that no one will be injuring themselves by coming into the poses wrongly. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Secondly, I give very precise and detailed cues. If someone is listening and watching me during class, they will have all that they need to move through their practice safely. Additionally there is a LARGE library of recorded resources in Yoga Club including tutorials on specific poses and even a Beginner Yoga series too. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">You might wonder how we can cultivate a supportive community with an online format where participants also have the option of turning their cameras off during class - well let me tell you, we have a GREAT community. It has been amazing seeing the friendships develop over the years between fellow students. I open every class 10 minutes before the start time for folks who want to socialize before class. I also leave time after class for questions about the practice, for specific modification suggestions or very often for a little more socializing. So, if you are looking for a supportive online yoga community, I sincerely welcome you to join Yoga Club. Follow this link to learn more; <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club</a></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Do you have questions about yoga that I didn’t answer here? </strong>Feel free to leave your question in the comment section, and I will address it directly, or perhaps do a Part 2 with your yoga questions.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/5cbbb4a36a3b283b9c42de7de61be5b29bde3bb8/original/img-20220715-094332.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Love, </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Jennifer</span></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/70774032022-10-08T07:28:31-04:002022-10-16T02:35:04-04:00How Does Tarot Work? <p><strong><span class="font_large">I am often asked how exactly tarot works. How can a stack of cards give you advice or predict the most likely outcome of a situation? So this is my feeling about the Tarot; how it works, and how I use it. </span></strong></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/1725a94e750b559a8e4c260f3e02dc049d6c9cfc/original/img-20220927-180258.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_none" alt="" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Most of us can readily admit that there is something ”beyond” ourselves, something limitless, something Divine. But do you ever wonder how such a source could communicate with you? There are many stories from various religious traditions where an unexpected interaction or a sudden vision of the Divine caused blindness to the human unprepared to accept such an encounter. Although most of us acknowledge that there is “something” beyond ourselves, at the same time we are often reluctant, and even fearful of anything outside of our perceived reality. And so we keep such things at a safe distance. Maybe we attend a church or a temple once a week, but we are not ready to believe that every moment of our daily existence is absolutely infused with Divine energy, with what some might call <em>Magic</em>. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The things that are referred to as <em>“other worldly”</em> might actually be right here in this world, but we refuse to accept them and label them as something outside of our logical, knowing mind. But if we could accept this truth then moment by moment communication with the Divine would be our reality. All is One and we would be living in that Divine energy, fully incorporating it into our existence, as easily as breathing in and out. But that is not how most humans normally function, is it? Instead we draw a big dividing line between that which we can accept as <em>known</em>, and part of our human experience, and that which we label as <em>unknown</em>, and place outside of our reality, somewhere up in the sky, or far away in space, or in a place that we call Heaven. We imagine that there might be some kind of love and wisdom <em>“out there”</em> somewhere, but we reserve those thoughts for our fairy tales and Sunday sermons. In day to day life such things as Divine wisdom, Higher Self, Angels, Spirit Guides, and Tarot Cards fall in the realm of <em>“other”</em> outside of our supposed logical mind. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">If logic is what we believe in, then let’s approach the Tarot logically. Let us first assume that higher wisdom and Divine Energy is available to us. But if angelic messengers and spirit guides were talking to you on a regular basis, appearing in front of you at your workplace or whispering in your ear while you drive your car, we must admit that you would risk insanity. If an angel suddenly appeared in front of you and told you that God has a message for you, you would seriously question your own sanity, and hesitate to tell any of your friends about it. Essentially we have bound the hands of the Divine. Praying all the time - asking for this or that - and yet also not ready or willing to have a true encounter with the one(s) to whom we pray. So what can be done? Actually, let’s first talk about what HAS been done. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Your whole world is filled with love letters from the Divine, from God, from your higher self, from your own inner wisdom - whatever label you are comfortable with - there are signs and symbols and messages sent to you ALL THE TIME! God is always reaching out, always surrounding you with love, always sending you just what you need to grow and evolve into your highest self. Unfortunately you don’t always recognize this language, and you are unaware of these messages most of the time. The butterfly that floated and hovered around you for a while, came to let you know that your deceased loved one is ok and still sending you love, did you notice it? The intricate patterns of frost on your windshield that glittered in the morning sun in which was written in the language of beauty, <em>“You are Worthy”</em> did you see that? The stars, that were sparkling last night in the black sky, were a message of hope just for you. It said; <em>“Hang in there, and don’t give up hope. This struggle will be resolved soon.”</em> And in a million other ways the language of Divine love is being sent to you every day. But you, and most all of us, miss those messages over and over again. Only once in a while do they get through, and when they do we are amazed and we label these incredible, blissful moments as <em>“magical”</em> - again reinforcing the idea that they are uncommon, and outside of our day to day life. Additionally, it is the rather ridiculous mindset of humans that we expect God to speak to us in BIG and AMAZING ways, like in the example of stars above, but at the same time we miss those types of messages that are written in the language that transcends language. And then when the message comes through in something less immense, and more everyday, we scoff at that too, thinking, <em>“How could a Deck of cards communicate Divine messages?” </em>Again I will say that we have tied the hands of the Divine. We are unprepared to face a direct encounter, unable to see the messages all around us in the natural world, and unwilling to accept messages in ordinary man-made items such as Tarot Cards. If you reflect upon this deeply, you may begin to admit that the difficulty in receiving messages of guidance and love exists not from the side of the sender but with the one to whom they are being sent. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The Tarot system is actually a great vehicle for transmitting wisdom and guidance. In fact, 22 of the Tarot cards are believed to represent a complete path to enlightenment. The other 56 cards represent the various ways in which big spiritual lessons are manifesting in your daily life. Spread out in the cards before you, through imagery and symbols, here are messages of guidance and an objective look at where you are on your path. Here is the clarity your prayers have been requesting. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">If you accept that Divine messages and guidance CAN come through such a thing as cards, the next question might be, “HOW?” How can I shuffle the deck, lay out the cards and have a perfectly relevant and applicable reading come out? It seems so random, doesn’t it? But remember that this whole world is made up of vibrating particles. Essentially everything is vibrating and everything is connected. You don’t even have to study physics to understand vibrations. Let me tell you about something called ‘Sympathetic Vibrations”. My first real world experience of this was when I was teaching singing lessons many years ago. In my studio at that time, there was a bookshelf against the wall just a few feet from my piano. On that shelf was a candle in a glass jar that had a loose fitting metal lid, the kind that just sat on top of the jar, with holes in it that was supposed to reduce the amount of smoke and soot created by the candle. Whenever I played middle C on the piano, (regardless of soft or loud volume) the metal lid vibrated in sympathy with that pitch and made a rattling noise. It wasn’t subtle, it was obvious and a little distracting. I had to move the candle to another room. This is an example of a sympathetic vibration. The sound from the piano playing middle C was some kind of “match” with the candle’s lid, and therefore vibrated in sympathy with that pitch. We know that sound is vibrations. Can you also accept that thoughts, feelings, and intentions are vibrations? Can you accept that each card has its own vibration which could vibrate in sympathy with your intentions, or with your higher wisdom, or with the Divine? When you begin to understand your world as vibrations and energy, then the Tarot begins to make perfect sense. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"> I, the Tarot Reader, shuffle the deck, in the energy of pure love, with the intention that you receive the message that will best serve your highest good, for the highest good of all. Before shuffling the deck I request, and thank, your own high level guides (your guardian angels, ancestors, Saints, Deities) to join us in the space and give you the wisdom and guidance needed to achieve your soul’s purpose. I also request, and thank, my own guides to give me clear vision to interpret the cards. Only pure intentions are welcomed into the space. It is a highly spiritual and sacred practice to me. I am honored and grateful to deliver these messages, guidance and encouragement to those who are seeking clarity on their path. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Remember, the Tarot is just a tool. Can Tarot be used for negative intent? Of course it can! Just like there are humans with a lot of integrity and humans who are lacking integrity, Tarot Readers are the same. So how can you find a good Tarot Card Reader? Easy! - what is their VIBE? We already said that everything is vibrating, right? So ask yourself, what kind of vibe do you get? Does their style resonate with you? Have they clearly stated their intentions as a reader? Remember we also said that everything is connected, so check in with your own vibration as well. When you are considering getting a reading what is YOUR intention? Are you interested in receiving guidance? Are you hoping to prove that Tarot Readings are just a lot of silly hocus pocus? Are you doing it for entertainment? Know your own intention FIRST and then seek a reader who resonates with your intention. If you want entertainment, you can surely find that easily. If you want true guidance, you may have to research a little further to find a reader you are willing to trust to deliver the advice you are seeking. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I have written this within the truth of my own understanding of the Tarot, how I use it and how I have experienced it. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Lots of love,</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Jennifer </span></p>
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<p><span class="font_large">For more information about Tarot, or to book a reading with me: </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><a contents="https://jenniferka.com/tarot" data-link-label="Tarot " data-link-type="page" href="/tarot" target="_blank">https://jenniferka.com/tarot</a></span></p>
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<p> </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/70559302022-09-10T11:49:21-04:002022-11-19T06:40:13-05:00My Tarot Journey<h3><span class="font_regular">Tarot Beginnings </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_regular">You may know me as a singer, a music teacher or as a Yoga & meditation teacher, but did you know that I am also a Tarot card reader? I began reading tarot cards in 2017. In a time of upheaval and confusion, I saw how the tarot could offer clarity by helping me tap into my own inner wisdom, connect to my higher self, expand my view and at times reveal unseen aspects of challenging situations. I found the tarot to be a wonderful tool for cultivating and strengthening my own powers of intuition and knowledge of the self. Tarot became a great compliment to my meditation practice, to literally help me see specific thought patterns and spiritual lessons represented in the cards. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="CYOzeRBCDfA" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/CYOzeRBCDfA/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CYOzeRBCDfA?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">For the next several years I continued to use the tarot in this way, just for my own clarity. Occasionally friends (the few who knew that I read the Tarot) would request a reading. I was happy to share this wonderful tool with them but overall the tarot was a personal practice only. In 2018 I launched the <a contents="Inspired Souls Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" target="_blank">Inspired Souls Club</a> and began offering a weekly Oracle Card reading as one of the benefits of membership but beyond that I never felt the desire to read publicly for strangers, that is until 2022 </span></p>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Accidental Public Card Reader </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_regular">In May of 2022 my husband and I went on a 3 week trip to Northern India. It was a sort of spiritual pilgrimage for us both, visiting important sites relevant to Hinduism, Yoga and Buddhism. For part of the trip we stayed at an Ashram in Haridwar. One evening my husband happened to mention to a group of men visiting the Ashram that I was a card reader and that I was traveling with an Oracle Deck. They were all very interested in having a card pulled for them. I had never read publicly for strangers before, so this was a big step for me. What really impressed me was how respectful and appreciative these men were of the process and the results. It wasn’t entertainment for them, they were definitely interested in receiving guidance and clarity regarding certain situations in their lives. It was an incredible experience. Each of the men felt that the messages they received were relevant to their inquiry and also very helpful. It was a moment of revelation for me to really trust in my intuition while sharing the interpretation of the cards and then seeing how beneficial the readings were. The idea of becoming a professional card reader began to take shape. However, it took a few more gentle nudges from Spirit until I fully embraced this calling and began offering Tarot Card Readings on the <a contents="Beautiful Souls Academy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/tarot-readings" style="" target="_blank">Beautiful Souls Academy. </a></span></p>
<h3><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/3ed883fceff01abdceabb62c4b197d9cbd9024ac/original/portrait-good-tarot.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_thin" alt="" /></h3>
<h3>Benefits of Tarot Readings</h3>
<p><span class="font_regular">Tarot Readings offer you clarity in times of confusion and help guide you towards your dreams and goals. Just like your own eyes cannot see themselves without the help of a reflective device, such as a mirror, the Tarot Cards are a tool to reflect back to you the wisdom of your soul and the landscape of your mind. They can also give you advice from your Higher Self, and the Universal Divine. Tarot Readings are an invaluable resource for co-creating your ideal life and manifesting the best version of yourself and your life. </span></p>
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<h3>My Reading Style </h3>
<p>My intention is to empower clients to reach their highest good, for the highest good of all by helping them access their own innate wisdom and to let go of thought patterns that are no longer serving them. I believe in cause and effect (karma) and the Law of Attraction. The way you think about yourself and your life definitely shapes the kind of life you experience. </p>
<p>In my readings I use cards based on the Rider Waite Smith system as the foundation with further interpretation accessed intuitively. Additionally, when applicable and desired, I offer my clients suggestions for positive affirmations, meditations or journal exercises to help them release limiting beliefs that may reveal themselves in the reading.</p>
<p>The cards shown in the photo are from The Good Tarot by Colette Baron-Reid, which was my very first tarot deck, and still one of my favorites. </p>
<p>So that is how it began with a few nudges from Spirit along the way to get me where I am today. My Tarot journey continues to be one of amazement, revelation and gratitude. </p>
<p>Have you ever used Tarot as a tool for healing or self awareness? I welcome you to share with me a glimpse of your own Tarot journey in the comment section. </p>
<p>If you are interested in booking a reading with me, you can <strong><a contents="Click Here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/tarot-readings" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;">Click Here</span></a></strong> to see all available options. </p>
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<p><strong>Thanks for reading!</strong></p>
<p>With love,</p>
<p>Jennifer </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/69907382022-05-14T23:00:00-04:002022-09-10T11:35:45-04:00The Beatles Ashram in Rishikesh, India<p>Greetings from Haridwar, India, where I have been staying since Tuesday at a beautiful Ashram that is within walking distance of the Ganges River. </p>
<p>Yesterday we took a day trip to Rishikesh, which is considered to be the Yoga capital of the world, mainly in regards to the spiritual aspects of yoga beyond the poses. Rishikesh is located on the Ganges River. Here the river is wide, deep and fast flowing. It was an amazing day. </p>
<p> I’ve selected 7 photos, out of the very many I took, to take you on a virtual trip through Rishikesh. </p>
<p>Starting with a large statue of Hanuman who is an important character in the Ramayan (the story of Lord Ram) in Hinduism. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/a7abe4f9dfb9bbba6a79e1b9166a05c0227e004b/original/unnamed.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>It is said that someone once offered Hanuman gold, and his reply was to ask; what need of gold do I have when God himself dwells in my heart? Perhaps challenging Hanuman, the one who offered the gold demanded Hanuman to prove his claim and show him God dwelling within. Thereupon Hanuman tore open his chest to reveal Lord Ram and his consort Sita there within his heart. Although I have heard this tale many times previously, standing there in front of this large statue and hearing Luv recount the tale again was very moving. How wonderful it would be if everyone could also feel their own fullness, the Divine oneness of themselves with the whole universe, and be free from chasing after worthless desires such as gold. </p>
<p><a contents="Click Here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/courses/yoga-club/lectures/40082847"><span style="color:#3498db;">Click Here</span></a> to view a short video showing a 360 view of this statue and the surrounding area including the Ganges River</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/a2135a79339a1bd213e3d5dda949ab0c927bd38d/original/unnamed-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>One of the Ashrams we visited is nicknamed; The Beatles Ashram because they had stayed at the Ashram and studied with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/2fa6ab38190fc91c2fe611504f723974b70706f9/original/unnamed-2.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>At "The Beatles Ashram" there were many meditation caves, which were small huts made from large round stones taken from the Ganges river. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/d0cb1a5a1b191fbfa5b928dff9cd3e2c8851eeae/original/unnamed-3.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Leaving the Ashram we saw a Sadhu (one who practices the spiritual path) feeding fruit to the monkeys. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/68779b0723809247be75cbf0864cff848c0a919c/original/unnamed-4.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>A typical crowded street in Rishikesh. I loved the view of the mountain in the background. The wall on the right side of the photo is a boundary wall of a different and very large Ashram. We visited several and also took our lunch within one as well. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/de4f6138cd16662dd320bffc6284851f04bc19ab/original/unnamed-5.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>This was yet another Ashram. I found the entryway very beautiful. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/d1e19dfbd75d460e07a3b79869495a7b121e727b/original/unnamed-6.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>And lastly, a photo of me, Luv and Lord Shiv at the Ganges. </p>
<p>It was an incredible experience. I hope you enjoyed sharing a glimpse of it with me. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Love,</p>
<p>Jennifer </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/69479752022-04-14T04:44:12-04:002022-04-14T04:44:12-04:00Watermelon Juice - Easy Squeezy<h3><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/e5bc3ef03a229a72474eb281274dcf4b9fd30fc0/original/watermelonblog.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></h3>
<h3><strong>Does anything feel like summer more than a red ripe juicy watermelon?</strong></h3>
<p>Here in India, the watermelon season is much longer than what it was when I lived in Pennsylvania, USA. Watermelon is such a fabulous treat, but sometimes navigating around the multitude of seeds starts to feel tedious when you just want to enjoy a mouthful of luscious fruit. This is how I was feeling one day when the idea of using my nut milk bag to make watermelon juice came to mind, and let me tell you, this was a great idea!! In the past I had been given an electric juicer which I eventually gave away because I found it took up too much space and was really a drag to clean after using. With a nut milk bag you can squeeze delicious watermelon juice without electricity and with very easy clean up! </p>
<h3><strong>What is a Nut Milk Bag? </strong></h3>
<p>A Nut Milk Bag is a fabric bag made of nylon or cotton that is used to strain soaked and blended nuts to make nut milk. They are very inexpensive, costing just a few dollars, and have a variety of great uses. I bought my Nut Milk Bag many years ago when I would make my own almond milk regularly. Now I use it to make paneer (Indian Cheese) and to strain yogurt if I want a thicker batch. I definitely suggest that you invest in a Nut Milk Bag if you aspire to make your own paneer, yogurt or watermelon juice. Not only are they inexpensive and versatile, but they take up barely any space in your kitchen since it can be rolled or folded smaller than your kitchen washcloth. </p>
<p><em><strong>Pro-Tip = </strong>If you do not have a Nut Milk Bag yet, you can use a clean kitchen towel instead, but it is more difficult since you would have to hold the towel closed around the fruit and the towel will also absorb a lot of the juice. Invest in a Nut Milk Bag. They cost less than a kitchen towel anyway. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>How can a Nut Milk Bag be used to make watermelon juice? </strong></h3>
<p>It is very easy actually and just requires a few kitchen items. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Supplies: </strong></p>
<p>Nut Milk Bag </p>
<p>Large Bowl </p>
<p>Cutting Board </p>
<p>Knife </p>
<p>Watermelon</p>
<p><em>That’s all! </em></p>
<p> </p>
<h3>How to make fresh squeezed watermelon juice</h3>
<p>Place the Bag in the large bowl. The watermelon is so juicy that it will immediately start to drain through the bag so make sure you are catching every sweet drop of juice by keeping the bag in the bowl the whole time. </p>
<p>Cut the watermelon into slices first and then cut the rind away from the fruit. Place the fruit in the bag. </p>
<p>I was working with a smaller sized watermelon and all of its fruit fit into the bag in one go. </p>
<p>Once the bag is filled with fruit, pull the drawstring to close the bag. During the squeezing process keep your thumb and index finger of one hand closed around the top of the bag so that no seeds escape. Now use both hands to press down on the bag in the bowl and start kneading it like it is a big lump of bread dough! </p>
<p>As juice begins to collect in the bowl, you can pour it off into a container. Rather than placing the bag on the cutting board while pouring the juice, I held the bag against the inside edge of the bowl with the same hand that was holding the bowl to lift it and pour the juice. That way the juice that was still dripping from the bag would fall in the bowl.</p>
<p>Continue to press, squeeze and knead the bag of fruit. Feel with your fingers for any chunks of fruit still in the bag and squeeze them. The fruit in the bag will start to feel like smooth pulp instead of chunks of watermelon. Continue to squeeze the bag and empty the bowl as needed. Eventually you will end up with a small lump of semi-dry fruit remaining.</p>
<p>At this point you can go right ahead with a second watermelon if you wish. There is no need to empty the bag in-between. There will still be plenty of room in the bag for the second melon’s fruit. Repeat the process of squeezing, kneading and pouring until you are confident that you have gotten as much juice out as possible. My two small watermelons gave me about one and a half liters of delicious juice! It was amazing to see the little lump of pulp that remained as compared to the original size of the fruit. There is definitely a good reason why it is called watermelon. </p>
<p>At the end of the process there is very little clean up. You can empty the bag by easily turning it inside-out. Then dispose of the pulp and the rinds and rinse out the bag. Hang the bag to dry. After that there is just the washing of the bowl, the cutting board and the knife and that is it! Now sit down and relax with your beautiful glass of watermelon juice. </p>
<p><em><strong>Pro-Tip = </strong>Refrigerate your watermelon in advance if possible. Not only will it make the work of squeezing it cooler, but then when you are done you will be able to enjoy a cold glass of watermelon juice right away. </em></p>
<h3>Watermelon Juice is a delicious way to stay hydrated during hot weather</h3>
<p>There are also many other healthy benefits of Watermelon. You can follow this link to read, “The Top 9 Health Benefits of Watermelon.” You may be surprised to learn about how watermelon, besides being packed with nutrients, may also have anti-cancer effects, may improve heart health, reduce inflammation and more. </p>
<p><span style="color:#3498db;"><strong>https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/watermelon-health-benefits </strong></span></p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Try a refreshing watermelon spritzer </h3>
<p>Combine your watermelon juice with seltzer water and garnish with a lime wedge or sprig of mint. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>For more easy tutorials </strong>like this one, and to see more photos from Making Watermelon Juice, check out <em><strong>Easy Urban Homesteading</strong></em> on the Beautiful Soul’s Academy; <strong><span style="color:#3498db;">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/easy-urban-homesteading/ </span></strong>There is no enrollment fee for this course. I am just happily sharing my knowledge of simple living with others who are interested. After enrolling, you will be notified by email when new tutorials are published.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading!</p>
<p>Love,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/69203672022-03-12T02:40:07-05:002022-09-15T04:32:55-04:00Peace is Possible<p>After two long years of pandemic induced anxiety, a war in Europe is now heaping more stress and worry on top of that Covid mountain, and with it the concept of peace, let alone world peace, starts seeming like a fading mirage, an illusion. We feel powerless to change the root cause of senseless violence. Standing firm in our hope and with diminishing optimism, we offer financial support and encouragement to the Ukrainian people, but at times it feels like we are just placing a bandaid on the severed limb of our humanity. Is there any hope for peace? The answer is Yes. Of course Yes. Always Yes. It may not be the grand global peace of Utopian fantasy but peace is possible right here, right now. If you long for world peace please take a moment and ask; how have you been contributing to world peace? Does that seem like a strange question? Do you think that world peace is in the hands of governments and rulers? This is not only a mistaken idea, but one that leads to the dissolution of our individual responsibility to create peace in our world. Water dripping into a large vessel just one drop at a time will eventually overflow. In big and small ways, our words and actions are contributing to the vessel of peace or the vessel of violence. You might feel certain that you are not adding to violence in the world, but let’s take a closer look. Words hurt. Have you ever spoken words in anger to your loved ones? Of course you have. We all have. Whatever the circumstance and whatever the “reasons” we use to justify it, we must admit that harsh and angry words do not contribute to peace in ourselves or in our home. How can we then pine for a peaceful world when we ourselves have not even subdued our own tongue, or our own angry thoughts? It is unrealistic and illogical to hope for peace in the world before we have even taken efforts to create peace in ourselves. This is not a criticism, for we are all flawed. This is not pessimism, for there is great hope in these words because change is possible and therefore peace IS possible. Just like that vessel, slowly filling drop by drop until it overflows, we can all make a serious and heartfelt commitment to work for peace in seemingly small ways. Start by checking your words. How often do you use your words to heal, to uplift, to encourage or to inspire? How often are your words harsh, angry, impatient or insulting? Make a commitment to speak peace. Understand that words arise from thoughts and then check your thoughts. If you remove all harsh words from your tongue, but your heart still holds the seeds of violence in the form of anger and egoism, then all you have done is to create a facade of peace with your words. Real peace needs to happen at the root of all words and actions which is your own mind. When you notice an unkind or impatient thought arising in your mind, uproot it instantly as if it were a nuclear bomb that you must speedily diffuse or face mass destruction, because anger IS destructive. It slaughters relationships and annihilates the self worth of children. Stay alert, like a guard in a watchtower. Don’t allow even one small thought of anger to sneak into your mind. No matter how difficult this task may seem, all of humanity is depending on your commitment to peace. You, as the guard in the watchtower of your mind, must also be very careful of what you allow into your space. Energy matters. Think about the movies that you watch, the books that you read and the people with whom you share your time. Are they encouraging peace within you? You can’t plant a rock in your garden and expect it to grow a mango tree. Just like the food that you consume contributes to your physical health, in the same way, what you take into your mind will also contribute to your mental health. Make a commitment to take in peace. Yes, it is difficult to change our habits. It is difficult to give up using those harsh words, or to refrain from watching that violent tv show, or to stop spending time with that negative friend. You know what else is difficult? Getting your house bombed, leaving your home and country with only what you can carry on your back, and wondering if you will ever see your husband again as he is forced to stay behind and defend his homeland. Those things are horribly difficult. So do your part. It might seem small but your commitment to peace will be contagious to those around you. Imagine if peace began to spread as quickly and as globally as Covid and its variants have. It is not a mere daydream. Have you ever been in the presence of a very peaceful being? They radiate peace and love. It makes you feel peaceful and calm. You could be that person to others. </p>
<p>So please don’t let the news depress you and make you believe that everything is hopeless and out of your hands. That is a lie. Peace is in your hands. Right here. Right now. In kind words and in loving actions we can cultivate peace in our hearts, in our homes and in our community. Let’s make true peace the next thing that “goes viral” in our world. What will you do to spread peace today? </p>
<p>Lots of Love, </p>
<p>Jennifer Kathleen </p>
<p>Founder of <a contents="Beautiful Souls Academy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://After%20two%20long%20years%20of%20pandemic%20induced%20anxiety,%20%20a%20war%20in%20Europe%20is%20now%20heaping%20more%20stress%20and%20worry%20on%20top%20of%20that%20Covid%20mountain,%20and%20with%20it%20the%20concept%20of%20peace,%20let%20alone%20world%20peace,%20starts%20seeming%20like%20a%20fading%20mirage,%20an%20illusion.%20We%20feel%20powerless%20to%20change%20the%20root%20cause%20of%20senseless%20violence.%20Standing%20firm%20in%20our%20hope%20and%20with%20diminishing%20optimism,%20we%20offer%20financial%20support%20and%20encouragement%20to%20the%20Ukrainian%20people,%20but%20at%20times%20it%20feels%20like%20we%20are%20just%20placing%20a%20bandaid%20on%20the%20severed%20limb%20of%20our%20humanity.%20%20Is%20there%20any%20hope%20for%20peace?%20The%20answer%20is%20Yes.%20Of%20course%20Yes.%20Always%20Yes.%20It%20may%20not%20be%20the%20grand%20global%20peace%20of%20Utopian%20fantasy%20but%20peace%20is%20possible%20right%20here,%20right%20now.%20If%20you%20long%20for%20world%20peace%20please%20take%20a%20moment%20and%20ask;%20how%20have%20you%20been%20contributing%20to%20world%20peace?%20Does%20that%20seem%20like%20a%20strange%20question?%20Do%20you%20think%20that%20world%20peace%20is%20in%20the%20hands%20of%20governments%20and%20rulers?%20This%20is%20not%20only%20a%20mistaken%20idea,%20but%20one%20that%20leads%20to%20the%20dissolution%20of%20our%20individual%20responsibility%20to%20create%20peace%20in%20our%20world.%20Water%20dripping%20into%20a%20large%20vessel%20just%20one%20drop%20at%20a%20time%20will%20eventually%20overflow.%20In%20big%20and%20small%20ways,%20our%20words%20and%20actions%20are%20contributing%20to%20the%20vessel%20of%20peace%20or%20the%20vessel%20of%20violence.%20You%20might%20feel%20certain%20that%20you%20are%20not%20adding%20to%20violence%20in%20the%20world,%20but%20let%E2%80%99s%20take%20a%20closer%20look.%20Words%20hurt.%20%20Have%20you%20ever%20spoken%20words%20in%20anger%20to%20your%20loved%20ones?%20Of%20course%20you%20have.%20We%20all%20have.%20Whatever%20the%20circumstance%20and%20whatever%20the%20%E2%80%9Creasons%E2%80%9D%20we%20use%20to%20justify%20it,%20we%20must%20admit%20that%20harsh%20and%20angry%20words%20do%20not%20contribute%20to%20peace%20in%20ourselves%20or%20in%20our%20home.%20How%20can%20we%20then%20pine%20for%20a%20peaceful%20world%20when%20we%20ourselves%20have%20not%20even%20subdued%20our%20own%20tongue,%20or%20our%20own%20angry%20thoughts?%20It%20is%20unrealistic%20and%20illogical%20to%20hope%20for%20peace%20in%20the%20world%20before%20we%20have%20even%20taken%20efforts%20to%20create%20peace%20in%20ourselves.%20This%20is%20not%20a%20criticism,%20for%20we%20are%20all%20flawed.%20This%20is%20not%20pessimism,%20for%20there%20is%20great%20hope%20in%20these%20words%20because%20change%20is%20possible%20and%20therefore%20peace%20IS%20possible.%20Just%20like%20that%20vessel,%20slowly%20filling%20drop%20by%20drop%20until%20it%20overflows,%20we%20can%20all%20make%20a%20serious%20and%20heartfelt%20commitment%20to%20work%20for%20peace%20in%20seemingly%20small%20ways.%20Start%20by%20checking%20your%20words.%20%20How%20often%20do%20you%20use%20your%20words%20to%20heal,%20to%20uplift,%20to%20encourage%20or%20to%20inspire?%20How%20often%20are%20your%20words%20harsh,%20angry,%20impatient%20or%20insulting?%20Make%20a%20commitment%20to%20speak%20peace.%20Understand%20that%20words%20arise%20from%20thoughts%20and%20then%20check%20your%20thoughts.%20If%20you%20remove%20all%20harsh%20words%20from%20your%20tongue,%20but%20your%20heart%20still%20holds%20the%20seeds%20of%20violence%20in%20the%20form%20of%20anger%20and%20egoism,%20then%20all%20you%20have%20done%20is%20to%20create%20a%20facade%20of%20peace%20with%20your%20words.%20Real%20peace%20needs%20to%20happen%20at%20the%20root%20of%20all%20words%20and%20actions%20which%20is%20your%20own%20mind.%20When%20you%20notice%20an%20unkind%20or%20impatient%20thought%20arising%20in%20your%20mind,%20uproot%20it%20instantly%20as%20if%20it%20were%20a%20nuclear%20bomb%20that%20you%20must%20speedily%20diffuse%20or%20face%20mass%20destruction,%20because%20anger%20IS%20destructive.%20It%20slaughters%20relationships%20and%20annihilates%20the%20self%20worth%20of%20children.%20Stay%20alert,%20like%20a%20guard%20in%20a%20watchtower.%20Don%E2%80%99t%20allow%20even%20one%20small%20thought%20of%20anger%20to%20sneak%20into%20your%20mind.%20No%20matter%20how%20difficult%20this%20task%20may%20seem,%20all%20of%20humanity%20is%20depending%20on%20your%20commitment%20to%20peace.%20You,%20as%20the%20guard%20in%20the%20watchtower%20of%20your%20mind,%20must%20also%20be%20very%20careful%20of%20what%20you%20allow%20into%20your%20space.%20Energy%20matters.%20Think%20about%20the%20movies%20that%20you%20watch,%20the%20books%20that%20you%20read%20and%20the%20people%20with%20whom%20you%20share%20your%20time.%20Are%20they%20encouraging%20peace%20within%20you?%20You%20can%E2%80%99t%20plant%20a%20rock%20in%20your%20garden%20and%20expect%20it%20to%20grow%20a%20mango%20tree.%20Just%20like%20the%20food%20that%20you%20consume%20contributes%20to%20your%20physical%20health,%20in%20the%20same%20way,%20what%20you%20take%20into%20your%20mind%20will%20also%20contribute%20to%20your%20mental%20health.%20Make%20a%20commitment%20to%20take%20in%20peace.%20Yes,%20it%20is%20difficult%20to%20change%20our%20habits.%20It%20is%20difficult%20to%20give%20up%20using%20those%20harsh%20words,%20or%20to%20refrain%20from%20watching%20that%20violent%20tv%20show,%20or%20to%20stop%20spending%20time%20with%20that%20negative%20friend.%20You%20know%20what%20else%20is%20difficult?%20Getting%20your%20house%20bombed,%20leaving%20your%20home%20and%20country%20with%20only%20what%20you%20can%20carry%20on%20your%20back,%20and%20wondering%20if%20you%20will%20ever%20see%20your%20husband%20again%20as%20he%20is%20forced%20to%20stay%20behind%20and%20defend%20his%20homeland.%20Those%20things%20are%20horribly%20difficult.%20So%20do%20your%20part.%20It%20might%20seem%20small%20but%20your%20commitment%20to%20peace%20will%20be%20contagious%20to%20those%20around%20you.%20Imagine%20if%20peace%20began%20to%20spread%20as%20quickly%20and%20as%20globally%20as%20Covid%20and%20its%20variants%20have.%20It%20is%20not%20a%20mere%20daydream.%20Have%20you%20ever%20been%20in%20the%20presence%20of%20a%20very%20peaceful%20being?%20They%20radiate%20peace%20and%20love.%20It%20makes%20you%20feel%20peaceful%20and%20calm.%20You%20could%20be%20that%20person%20to%20others.%20%20So%20please%20don%E2%80%99t%20let%20the%20news%20depress%20you%20and%20make%20you%20believe%20that%20everything%20is%20hopeless%20and%20out%20of%20your%20hands.%20That%20is%20a%20lie.%20Peace%20is%20in%20your%20hands.%20Right%20here.%20Right%20now.%20In%20kind%20words%20and%20in%20loving%20actions%20we%20can%20cultivate%20peace%20in%20our%20hearts,%20in%20our%20homes%20and%20in%20our%20community.%20Let%E2%80%99s%20make%20true%20peace%20the%20next%20thing%20that%20%E2%80%9Cgoes%20viral%E2%80%9D%20in%20our%20world.%20What%20will%20you%20do%20to%20spread%20peace%20today?%20%20Lots%20of%20Love,%20Jennifer%20Kathleen%20%20Founder%20of%20Beautiful%20Souls%20Academy" style=""><span style="color:#3498db;">Beautiful Souls Academy</span></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>PS - If you found this teaching helpful, consider joining the<a contents=" Inspired Souls Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong> Inspired Souls Club</strong></span></a> where you will receive weekly reflections offering practical advice on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, understanding the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life ❤</em></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/85fa25fbc20fdb2108ac8a553da18447ce433213/original/fb-img-1599011163501.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/68040882021-12-13T19:46:31-05:002021-12-14T08:27:04-05:00Stove-top Pizza <h3>Homemade Pizza without an Oven</h3>
<p><strong>When I lived in Pennsylvania I LOVED making homemade pizza!</strong> Not only is it less greasy than what is served at the local pizza parlor, but it cost much less too and can be made exactly to your wishes. For example, I prefer cheddar cheese on my pizza, not mozzarella, and fresh basil is a favorite topping. A basil and cheddar cheese pizza will be uncommon at most pizzerias but you can make this at home yourself in the same amount of time it would take you to get a pizza delivered to your door. </p>
<p>When I moved to India my home did not have an oven, only a stove top. This is not uncommon in India, as most Indian food is made on the stove top only. Maybe because of the heat or maybe because of the cost of energy, I am not sure, but ovens are much less commonly used than in the States. When I left Pennsylvania to move to India I was willing to give up a lot of things, but pizza wasn’t one of those things! So I began to experiment with making pizza on the stove top and it didn’t take long before I figured out the most delicious and easy way to have homemade pizza without an oven. </p>
<p>When I made homemade pizza in the States I used a pizza stone and would bake it in the oven. Homemade pizza in the oven requires you to cook the pizza at a very high temperature for about 10 - 12 minutes and 500 degrees fahrenheit is the recommended temperature for cooking pizza. For best results the pizza stone needs to be preheated with the oven but handling a heavy pizza stone at 500 degrees was tricky business to say the least, not to mention the amount of heat created by having the oven on long enough to pre-heat to such a high temperature. This was wonderful in cold winters when the very high oven heat could warm up your home, but in summer it was much less desirable. A few times I used the pizza stone outside on the gas grill with varying results. My grill didn’t have a thermometer so it was a bit of a guessing game. If you like the brick-oven-slightly-burnt variety of pizza, then the grill is a good choice. But if you don’t have a grill, and you don’t want to overheat your home in summer, or if your oven is broken, or if your home doesn’t have an oven - whatever the reason - <strong>stove-top pizza is faster and just as delicious as oven baked pizza!</strong></p>
<h3>Don't Skimp on the Crust! Homemade Pizza Dough is Easier than you Think </h3>
<p>Do NOT use a store bought pizza base. Besides the fact that they NEVER taste as good as homemade, the store bought pre-made pizza crust will burn. Admittedly, I tried it a few times and it always burnt. The store bought crust lacks the moisture of homemade dough and therefore it will cook more rapidly than the cheese and toppings. The crust will be burnt and the cheese won't be melted. So definitely make your own dough. You will LOVE it! </p>
<p>The other benefit of making your own crust is that you can control the size of your pizza and tailor it to fit easily in the pan that you are using. You can make it a thick crust on a thin and crispy crust as you wish.</p>
<p>If you love homemade pizza then you probably already have a favorite recipe for pizza dough that you use. But if you are new to making homemade pizza and are looking for a great pizza crust recipe, along with instructions on how to knead and roll the dough, you can enroll in my free online course that takes you step by step through the whole process of making stove-top pizza. <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/easy-urban-homesteading" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/easy-urban-homesteading" style="">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/easy-urban-homesteading</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Ingredients for Pizza Dough</strong></p>
<p>1 1/2 Cups Room Temperature Water</p>
<p>3 teaspoons instant dry yeast</p>
<p>3/4 teaspoons salt</p>
<p>3 Tablespoons Oil</p>
<p>3 1/2 - 4 Cups of white flour</p>
<p><em>(If you prefer to use whole wheat flour, add a bit of honey to bring out the sweetness of the wheat)</em></p>
<p><strong>Time:</strong> On the day that you make the dough and roll it all into pizza bases it will take a little over an hour. After that, you will be able to make a delicious pizza at home in 10 minutes by following my instructions below. </p>
<p><strong>After you have combined your ingredients into a nice workable dough,</strong> be sure to knead for 5 minutes. After kneading the dough, place it in a bowl and cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel to prevent the dough from drying out. Let the dough rise for 15 - 30 minutes depending on the temperature of your room. The dough will rise faster in a warm room than in a cold room. While the dough is rising, prepare your toppings. Cut the vegetables, grate the cheese, pick and wash the basil - whatever type of pizza you are planning, get all the ingredients ready while the dough is rising. See my online course for a list of pizza topping suggestions as well as two pesto recipes in the bonus section! </p>
<p><b>Pro Tip</b> - If you do not have time to roll out and cook all of the dough, then after kneading your dough, take what you need and place the rest of it in a container to freeze for later. There is no need to let the dough rise before freezing. Be sure to use a container larger than the dough to give enough room for expansion. When the dough thaws it will expand. If you didn't leave enough room the lid could blow off and the dough that pops out of the container will become dry and hard. You won't be able to use the dry hardened bits so it will be wasted. Therefore, when placing dough in a container to freeze for later, the container should be twice the size of the dough. When you are ready to use the dough, place it on your kitchen counter 1 to 3 hours in advance. Again, this depends on the temperature of your home. When I lived in Pennsylvania, in the coldest months it might even take over 4 hours to thaw. Here in India, in the hot summer, it thaws in an hour. It can't really "over thaw". If the dough rises excessively during thawing you will still have a great pizza, but it might have a thinner crust than you intended, that's all. But if it is under thawed, then you won't be able to smoothly roll out the parts that are still frozen. </p>
<p><strong>Rolling the dough</strong></p>
<p>First decide, do you want a thick or thin crust? The recipe that you use will determine how many pizzas you are able to make. With the recipe I use, and have included above, I can divide the dough into 6 or 9 smaller balls, depending on if I want thick or thin crust. You must also consider the pan that you will be using. I use a 9 inch pan, so I roll the dough out in about an 8 inch circle. That will assure I have room in the pan to maneuver the pizza without it getting caught on the edges of the pan. It will take some trial and error for you to figure out the thickness that you prefer in relation to the size base you will use, which will determine how you divide your big lump of dough into smaller balls.</p>
<p>After your dough is divided, take one of the balls and dust it in flour and then press it into a flat circle with your hands. Place it on a lightly floured surface. In India we use a Chakla for rolling out flatbread. I use this for the pizza crust too. It works great. Roll the dough out in a nice circle and then set it aside. I place them on the counter top close to where I am rolling, and then I continue rolling the rest of the dough. This gives the dough another opportunity to rise before cooking it. When you get down to only 3 or 4 balls left to roll, begin to preheat your pan. </p>
<p><strong>To make delicious cafe-style pizza without using an oven,</strong> you need to lightly cook the pizza base first before assembling the whole pizza. Pre-heat your pan on a medium-high flame. Place your rolled out dough carefully on the pan. In a few moments you will begin to see bubbles forming on the top. This is when you should flip it over. You should see light brown spots on the side that was cooked first. Do this on the second side too. You only really need to flip the dough once, but if you aren't sure if the dough is fully cooked you can flip a second and third time if you want. The dough needs to be fully cooked but just lightly. There are complete photos of all stages <a contents="on my free online course" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/easy-urban-homesteading">on my free online course</a>. Continue baking all of the pizza bases in this way. You can stack them up in a pile once they are all cooked. Turn off the stove while you are assembling the pizza. We want the pan to cool down a bit because we will cook the pizza at a lower temperature than we cooked the dough. </p>
<p><strong>Pro Tip</strong> - Yes, pizza is fantastic, but these pizza bases also make wonderful cafe-style grilled flatbread sandwiches. My favorite sandwich includes sauteed peppers, onions and cabbage (occasionally carrot too). I spread a spicy sauce and/or a flavored mayonnaise on the bread, then put the hot sauteed veggies on half of the circle, sprinkle on some shredded cheese and then fold the dough circle in half to form the sandwich. I toast it on a pan just to warm it up. The sauteed vegetable are already hot (unless I am using leftovers) so the cheese will melt easily. </p>
<p>Now you have a nice stack of pizza bases. It is time to assemble the pizza. Spread the sauce or pesto over the base but not too thick or else the pizza will be soggy and difficult to manage. Add vegetables, spices and cheese. I usually make 4 pizzas for our meal but cook 2 pizzas at a time. I assemble two and while the first two are cooking I will assemble the next two. You will find your own system based on how many burners you have and suitable pans and also how many pizzas you are willing to "juggle" at once. </p>
<p>Once your pizza is assembled and ready to cook, you can turn your stove back on. <em>This time set it on the lowest setting.</em> <strong>This is important and the ultimate secret to delicious stove top pizza; </strong>The low temperature allows the pizza to get hot enough to melt the cheese but not so hot that the crust burns. This is why we pre-cook the base because raw dough wouldn't bake at such a low temperature. Carefully place the assembled pizza on the pan. I use a large wooden spatula on one side and my hand holding the other side. The cooking time is only about 5 minutes, but stay close. After a few minutes check the bottom of the pizza to make sure it isn't burning. Different pans conduct heat differently and different stoves have different ideas of what "low" setting is. It will take a little practice for you to find the perfect stove top setting and baking time that works best. Once you learn the best settings for your pan and stove, then you won't need to keep checking. </p>
<p>If you notice that the crust is getting too dark and the cheese isn't melting, don't worry. Keep the temperature very low and just cover your pan with a lid or with another pan. This will create a sort of "oven" and get the cheese to melt faster. Also, use this lid method when you are reheating the leftover pizza (if you ever have any!) that has been refrigerated. </p>
<p>When the pizza is cooked the crust will be crispy so you will be able to remove it easily from the pan with just the one large wooden spatula, or just slide it out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice and serve! </p>
<p><strong>And that is how you make delicious cafe style pizza on your stove top! </strong></p>
<p>The day that I make the dough and all the bases and also make pizza it will take about 60 to 90 minutes from start to finish. But if you cut and prepare extra toppings and store them in your refrigerator, then the next time you make pizza it will only take you TEN Minutes to create an amazing pizza at home - just 5 minutes to assemble and 5 minutes to cook! </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/da2741cb81fc15f828c913701c06daf19f01da25/original/20211203-202100.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><strong>If you would like to see step by step photos of this process, </strong>and enjoy a list of suggested pizza topping combinations, and read more pro tips, you can enroll in my free online course called "Easy Urban Homesteading" <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/easy-urban-homesteading&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/easy-urban-homesteading">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/easy-urban-homesteading </a> Stove top pizza is the first addition to this course, but if you opt in to emails I will notify you when new topics are added. Upcoming tutorials will be; Growing basil from seed, Making your own yogurt, Propagating House Plants, Holiday Cards and MORE!</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/68324132021-12-07T02:46:35-05:002021-12-30T03:42:34-05:00Golden Strands<p><em>Written December 2016 </em></p>
<p>"Once again I find myself <br>As if under a spell <br>Your words are golden strands <br>Weaving their enchantment and <br>Cast like a fisherman's net <br>Into the ocean of my heart <br>Sinking down into my soul <br>And then gathering up <br>All that is noble and beautiful <br>Every precious gem <br>Carefully drawn up <br>From the depths of my existAnce <br>Gently ferried through the waves <br>Until arriving at last <br>Upon the safe shores <br>Of your warm embrace" </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>He asked me once, why I always spell the word "existence" with an "A" instead of "E" and I replied that life is a Joyous D<strong>ance</strong> and this alternate spelling serves to remind me of my intention to live a joyous exist<strong>Ance</strong>. </em></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/68289622021-12-03T11:20:23-05:002021-12-03T23:48:09-05:00Easy Urban Homesteading - A Simpler Life is Possible<p><strong>Once Upon A Time,</strong> on a bitter cold day in December, I purchased a tiny house on a tiny plot of land in a tiny town in Pennsylvania. The very first thing I did when Spring arrived was to plant a medicinal herb garden. I grew many herbs and used them in natural remedies, in homemade beauty products and in kitchen recipes. The next year I planted a vegetable garden. I started a compost pile, and then planted fruit trees and raspberries. Each year the tiny plot of land grew more and more into a tiny homestead. I learned which flowers attracted beneficial insects and planted them all around. I planted trees, vines and shrubs that would feed the wildlife and provide a safe place for them too. I dug a tiny pond so there would always be a water source for the animals. I taught myself all kinds of skills besides gardening, like how to make homemade yogurt, how to make a braided throw rug out of scraps, and how to preserve food through canning and dehydration. I made my own almond milk, learned how to bake several kinds of homemade bread, and I learned how to make lip balm too, and many other money saving skills.</p>
<p><strong>As every homesteader and vegetable gardener knows</strong>, there is such a tremendous feeling of satisfaction that comes from eating a meal made from ingredients that you grew yourself. It is a healthier lifestyle, not only due to being more connected to nature, but you can avoid unwanted chemicals when you make your own food products and health care supplies. I was NOT a full time homesteader. In fact I worked several jobs including being a choir director, singing teacher, yoga instructor, administrative assistant and singer-songwriter. Therefore, the skills I learned had to fit into my lifestyle. I didn’t have endless hours to do painstaking tasks. So, if something wasn’t easy, I didn’t do it. Hooray for all the folks who are living off of the land in a self sustaining, off-grid lifestyle. I’ve learned a lot from those folks. But that is not the only type of homesteader. Anyone can embrace a more simple lifestyle. </p>
<p><strong>So there I was, on my tiny plot of land</strong> doing my homesteading things in-between various other jobs and demands of life. This went on for almost 20 years. The trees I planted grew big and tall during those years. But one day I had to leave. My story had several unexpected plot twists in a short span of time and just a few years after leaving my tiny house in the tiny Pennsylvania town I found myself in a city in Maharashtra, India. And that is where I am now, living in an apartment 4 floors above the street in the middle of this endless urban sprawl. After only a few months here, I am already growing spinach, mint, basil and cilantro on the front balcony and I have two composting bins on the back balcony. I also have several flowers, palms, and even small trees growing in pots on the balconies too. I am still making my own bread, but now it is flatbread because that is what folks eat here. I am still making my own yogurt and I learned how to make homemade cheese recently too.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/9041d150fb8e326a09740b5019648312bfd6ae0e/original/20211109-152328.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><strong>I've never lived in a city before,</strong> so I am learning how to take all these acquired skills and to adjust and adapt them towards Urban Homesteading. This is my adventure, and one I want to share with you. I created an online course on The Beautiful Soul's Academy called "Easy Urban Homesteading" so that I can share all of these skills with you. People are often drawn towards homesteading skills for a combination of reasons including needing to save money, wanting a healthier diet, desiring a simpler existence, wishing to reduce consumerism, protecting the planet and wanting to feel more connected to nature. But saving money is a BIG reason. I remember well those days of pinching every penny by making homemade gifts, and sewing my own bedroom curtains out of old pajamas. And it is the memory of being flat broke that motivated me to make this course totally free. That is right. You can enroll for free and learn all of the skills that I have acquired over my years of part-time homesteading, from my garden days to my city dwelling present. Right now the first tutorial is already available. You can learn how to make your own delicious cafe-style pizza on your stove top - no oven required. There are lots of reasons why you might want to make a pizza without using an oven, but the biggest perk of stove-top pizza is that it saves time and energy compared to using an oven. And once you have pre-made the pizza bases, you can literally have a delicious homemade pizza in just 10 minutes!! And as a special bonus I included two different pesto recipes in the Stove-Top Pizza tutorial. </p>
<p><strong><a contents="Click Here to enroll in Easy Urban Homesteading" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/easy-urban-homesteading">Click Here to enroll in Easy Urban Homesteading</a> </strong>and you will receive an email every time that new tutorials are added to the course. Upcoming skills will include; Growing Basil from Seed, Making your own Yogurt, Homemade Flatbread, Propagating House Plants, Making Holiday Cards, Making your Own Almond Milk, Homemade Cheese and much more! And remember, this is <strong>EASY </strong>Urban Homesteading. I will NOT be teaching you how to weave your own skirt from the hair your dog sheds or how to build a Yurt out of your now useless VHS tapes. Haha... no, I am sure someone on the internet can teach you those skills if you REALLY are interested, but Easy Urban Homesteading is for folks who want to live a simple life, simply! Whether you live in the woods, in a town or in a city, a simple life is possible no matter where you are in the world.</p>
<p>I hope you will consider joining me on this journey of <strong><a contents="Easy Urban Homesteading" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/easy-urban-homesteading">Easy Urban Homesteading</a>. </strong></p>
<p>Lots of love, </p>
<p>Jennifer</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/68066312021-11-16T06:23:30-05:002021-11-23T08:52:25-05:00Mantras for Healing & Happiness<h4>What is Mantra?</h4>
<p>"Mantra" is often translated as "mind protection". It is believed that mantra has the power not only to affect the body and mind by offering healing, relaxation and rejuvenation, but also to purify and protect your mind, your consciousness, from harmful energy, and also to purify your negative karma. You don't have to believe in karma or anything else to benefit from mantra. It is as easy to understand as recognizing that a happy thought makes you feel good and an angry thought makes you feel bad. The practice of mantra can be understood in basic terms as conditioning your mind towards positive thoughts and positive feelings. </p>
<h4>How Mantras are Used</h4>
<p>As a Yoga teacher, a Buddhist and a resident of India, I am no stranger to the practice of mantra and have included mantra as part of my daily life for many years now. Previously I used mantras mainly to generate a particular quality of mind. For example, if I wanted to strengthen my compassion, or offer compassion to others, I would chant the <em>Mani Mantra</em>. If I wanted to feel inspired towards enlightened activity (good deeds) then I would chant the <em>Tara Mantra</em>. And if I needed support in shedding harmful thoughts and feelings, or to reflect on emptiness, I would chant the <em>Mantra of the Perfection of Wisdom</em>. I never used mantras for the purpose of <em>physical</em> healing. But in November 2021 in the span of 3 days I met two different women who use (and teach) mantras for healing the body. They had very different styles and came from different spiritual backgrounds, but they both used mantras for healing the body. The experience of meeting these two ladies was something that I reflected on for several days. Then, something happened that inspired me to try mantras for my own physical healing. </p>
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<p><strong>My Recent Experience with Mantra for Healing</strong></p>
<p>Since June 1st of this year, I was suffering with a terrible flare up of the old back injuries that were the result of 3 different freak accidents I had in my 20's. This particular flare up was the worst ever and caused excruciating sciatic nerve pain. I started doing everything I could think of to heal this ongoing health challenge including; specific Yoga poses, Reiki, Ayurvedic medicine and physical therapy. Finally after over 5 months of agony, the pain was decreasing. One morning I woke up and thought, <em>"Wow, I am so happy that I am not in pain any more. I can move freely. I am so grateful." </em>That morning I had a private yoga session with a client and after the session I did my physical therapy exercises as usual. When I tried to stand up afterwards, I noticed that my back felt completely stiff as if all the muscles of my low back and hips were clenched. I couldn't stand up straight and it was painful. It was not as excruciating as the nerve pain had been previously, but I was definitely in pain. I felt utterly discouraged. After all of my efforts for healing, it felt like I was stuck in the same place as always, walking around in pain and hunched over as if I were 90 years old. I felt like giving up, but instead I used the heating pad and then the ice pack. I attached one of those menthol pain patches to my back. My husband gave me a light massage with oil that the Ayurvedic doctor had prescribed. I stretched gently. I did everything I could think to do. I went to bed that night hoping to wake feeling better, but that didn't happen. The next morning I was still very stiff and sore and deeply discouraged. That's when I thought about the two ladies I had recently met who used mantras for healing. Neither one of their styles really resonated with me, so instead of following their particular practice, I spontaneously made my own mantra. It was like a positive affirmation that I turned into a mantra. It went like this; </p>
<h4><strong>"Happy, Healed, Hydrated, Hooray!" </strong></h4>
<p>You can probably understand why I used the words; "Happy" and "Healed" but let me explain "Hydrated" and "Hooray". The weather had become very dry here in India, and I could feel in my body that I was not getting enough water. My lips were dry and my nostrils also felt uncomfortably dry. The dryness and dust was aggravating my sinuses and causing daily sneezing too. I also remembered that the Ayurvedic doctor had told me to drink lots of water, so I added it to my mantra as a reminder. The "Hooray" is not only because I love alliteration, but I wanted my mantra to be an affirmation of WHAT IS and not a begging plea. <em>(Many mantras and positive affirmations end with "soha"or "svaha" meaning, "and so it is" or "so be it" for this same reason. It is similar to the "Amen" of Christian tradition)</em> I began to sing these words over and over in varying improvised melodies. Sometimes I added "I am" at the beginning. When I found a particular melody that felt good to me, I stuck with it for a while, singing the words over and over again as I went about my day. And guess what happened? I began to FEEL happy, and I also noticed that I was able to stand up straight. My pain had reduced by at least half, maybe more. Each time I sang the word "hydrated" it reminded me to drink more water. And every "Hooray" reminded me to celebrate life and all of my many blessings. I wasn't completely cured, but I felt happier and could move with greater ease. So it worked. My little experiment showed me that mantra is not only for health of the mind but also can be very healing to the body too! It might sound silly, but this was my true experience. And I love to sing anyway, so going through my day singing is not exactly out of the ordinary for me! Even if you aren't a singer you can definitely benefit from a mantra practice, whether you sing them or say them, whether aloud or in your mind. </p>
<p>Mantras aren't just for Yogis and Eastern Spirituality, in fact mantras are very similar to positive affirmations and many Western health practitioners have embraced the use of mantras for healing. <a contents="Click Here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://elevatesportandspine.com/a-mantra-for-back-pain/" target="_blank">Click Here</a> for an interesting article from Elevate Sport & Spine Therapy in Colorado that discusses the benefits of mantra for back pain. </p>
<h4>How to Begin Using Mantras</h4>
<p>There are many beliefs about mantra and chanting. More important than learning about the spirituality and history of mantra and chanting, I suggest that you focus instead on how you<em><strong> feel</strong></em> when listening or reciting mantras. Notice if you feel an increase in relaxation in your body and mind. Perhaps you feel a sort of cleansing, that the mantras, especially after many repetitions, help to rid your mind of distracting or disturbing thoughts. Perhaps you find that the mantras increase your level of concentration and help you to focus on accomplishing other tasks after listening to them. Take time to notice how you feel, and then use mantras in the way that would best serve you.</p>
<p>Find or compose your own mantra - to say or to sing - that resonates with you and your goals. Sure, you can use my mantra if it feels good to you. Just remember that with mantras as well as affirmations, the words should feel good to you. You can call it "having faith" or "vibrating in harmony with" but it is important that you feel a connection to the words and/or to the teacher who gave them to you. If you don't connect with the mantra on a heart level, it will not be as powerful, although you may still get some benefit. And remember to "seal" it with something like "Hooray!" or "and so it is" so that you feel it in your <strong>NOW </strong>with joyfulness.</p>
<p>Any positive affirmation repeatedly chanted or sung can become a mantra as long as your mind is tuned into the task and not merely repeating words mindlessly.</p>
<p>Thich Nhat Hanh says that mantras</p>
<p><em>"...must be spoken in concentration, with body and mind focused as one. What you say in this state of being becomes a mantra."</em> </p>
<p>I described above how I chose 4 words to use in my mantra experiment. You can do the same with a few words or you can use a full sentence. Since positive affirmations can make wonderful mantras I will share with you a few of my favorites that I have collected over the years;</p>
<p><em>I move through life with ease. I am always supported.</em></p>
<p><em>I release the past with love and forgiveness.</em></p>
<p><em>I trust the process of life. All is well.</em></p>
<p><em>I am surrounded by love. I am safe.</em></p>
<p><em>My heart is at peace. My mind is serene. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<h4>The Power of Suggestion</h4>
<p>A student shared with me once that she felt positive affirmations were of no benefit because in her view "repeating lies to myself doesn't make them true." This is why it is so important that you do feel a connection to the words, but also, it is not exactly about what is true but more about what <em><strong>could be</strong></em> true. Let's look at the last affirmation that I listed above; <em>"My heart is at peace. My mind is serene." </em>You might be in a state of grief, of pain or confusion and these words won't feel true at all, BUT they <em><strong>could be</strong></em> true. Your heart has the <em>ability</em> to be at peace and your mind has the <em>potential</em> to be serene. Our minds are very susceptible to suggestion. When you recite the mantra, again and again, it becomes a truth. It is similar to how, even if you are feeling down, when you look in the mirror and smile at yourself you start to feel a little better. That first smile might be a "lie" but then, when you see yourself smiling, you actually DO start to feel better - or at least you got a good laugh at yourself grinning in the mirror! When I coach singers about creating more space in their mouth, I instruct them to imitate a yawn. It is difficult to yawn instantly on command and so we fake a big yawn. Then we talk about the anatomy of the mouth and throat and how we can recreate that open space, similar to a yawn, while singing. ALMOST ALWAYS, within a few short minutes the student will have a REAL yawn come over them. I share this to again demonstrate how we are very open to suggestions and what we hear and see can have a true affect on our body and mind. (In fact I yawned after writing this paragraph! Just writing the word, "Yawn" was enough to stimulate a real yawn.)</p>
<p>Therefore, choose words that feel good, and that could be true. As mentioned above, the quality of your mind while reciting the mantra is the force that gives the mantra the most power. If you believe the mantra is a lie, then it will be a lie to you. If you believe that the mantra could be true, then it will become your reality. But don't believe my words alone - Try it for yourself!</p>
<h4> </h4>
<h4>Further Exploration</h4>
<p>If you would like to learn more about Mantras and begin using the healing power of mantra practice, consider enrolling in my online course; "Mantras for Healing & Happiness" <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/melodic-chant" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/melodic-chant" target="_blank">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/melodic-chant</a></p>
<p>In the course you will learn the meanings of the mantras mentioned in this article <strong>and more</strong>. You can enjoy downloadable recordings of me singing several mantras as well as downloadable PDF files of the written mantras for your convenience. "Mantras for Healing & Happiness" is a self-paced online course. After enrolling in the course, you have unlimited, lifetime access to the material AND you can contact me directly with any questions about mantras. So, although you can go at your own pace, I will be here to support you whenever you need it. I hope to hear from you soon about how mantra practice has brought positive change and healing into your life. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lots of love,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/67869272021-10-26T02:32:55-04:002023-09-02T04:48:24-04:00How to Sing Better Instantly<h3>Improve Your Singing with these 3 Exercises </h3><p> </p><h4>Improve Your Singing with Breath Support </h4><p>Not only do singers need enough breath to sing long notes and phrases without interruptive inhales, but good breath support also allows you to sing with ease and gives you the ability to control the nuances of your voice. Every loud or soft note you sing depends upon how you are managing the breath. My beginner singing students are usually very surprised to discover that singing is much LESS about what is going on in the throat and is much MORE about what is going on with the breath. </p><p><strong>Practice Exercise #1: </strong> </p><p>This is a wonderful exercise to increase your breath capacity and also to help you practice breath management. <i>(Breath management, very simply stated, means that you neither expel the breath too quickly nor too slowly) </i>For this exercise I recommend using a clock that counts seconds. Also please note that breathing exercises should only be repeated three times in one practice session. More than that can cause light-headedness. </p><ol>
<li>
<strong>Inhale for 3 seconds.</strong> Your inhale should be steady and smooth. The goal is to have your lungs completely filled by the 3rd second, and not before. </li>
<li>
<strong>Hold your Breath for 3 seconds. </strong>The hold helps you to gently stretch your lungs. Think of a balloon that you blow up and then release the air again. Each time you blow up the balloon it gets easier and more air goes in faster because it has been stretched. That is the purpose of the hold. </li>
<li>
<strong>Now Exhale for 3 seconds.</strong> Your exhale should be steady and smooth. The goal is to have your lungs completely emptied by the 3rd second. </li>
</ol><p>Repeat twice more for a total of 3 times. After a few days of practice, if you notice that this exercise is feeling easier and more natural, you can increase it to 4 seconds. <i>(You still only repeat 3 times) </i>Slowly, in the coming weeks and maybe months, you can gradually increase as high as 10 seconds. There is no need to go longer than 10 seconds. You will definitely have learned the skill well enough by then. </p><p><strong>Pro Tip</strong> - While doing the above exercise, place one hand just below your naval. When you inhale, allow your abdominal muscles to relax into your hand. When exhaling you should feel your abdominal muscles pulling in and up at the same rate as your exhale. </p><h4>Improve Your Singing with More Space </h4><p>Look in the mirror and yawn widely. Notice how both the jaw and the tongue lowers and the soft palate lifts. <i>(The soft palate is located behind the roof of your mouth at the back of your throat.) </i>This is the kind of open space you want to recreate while singing. No, you don’t need to open THAT WIDE - although lowering the jaw definitely helps - but focus more on the space at the back of your throat. Imagine your mouth to be larger in size than it actually is. Picture the roof of your mouth to be like a high cathedral ceiling. </p><p><strong>Practice Exercise #2: </strong></p><p>Shape your mouth like a yawn, as mentioned above, and then say; “HA!” as if you were laughing boisterously. Now place your hand just below your naval again. Do you remember the slow pulling in and up of the abdominal muscles that you practiced in the last exercise? This time you will have that same feeling but very short and fast for each “HA!”. Now sing the “HA!” instead of speaking it. Choose a note that feels good to you somewhere in your middle register. Sing “HA!” on that note 5 times in a row. Each “HA!” should be accented and slightly detached, also known as <i>staccato</i>. Placing extra emphasis on the “H” will help you feel your breath expelling with each note and achieve the desired accent too. If you are familiar with Solfeggio, you can sing your “HA!” on the notes of a triad chord up and back; DO-MI-SOL-MI-DO </p><p><strong>Pro Tip </strong>- You should be able to sing all 5 notes on one breath with no sneaky inhales in between! You can repeat the exercise on the same notes, or if you are able, each repeat of the exercise can be one half step higher than the last. Only go up as high in your range as feels easy and comfortable. NEVER FORCE HIGH NOTES! </p><h4>Improve Your Singing with Proper Projection </h4><p>Learning proper projection and enunciating well ensures that your audience can hear AND understand your words. <i>(Yes, a microphone can help to project your voice but let’s assume that you want to be a great singer in all situations and NOT dependent on electronic amplification) </i> Think about how close your own ear is to your mouth. So, of course YOU hear every word you sing and it probably seems loud enough to you too. BUT where is your audience? Just the first row could be 10 to 20 feet in front of you. What about the back row? They can’t hear much at all because not only is your voice too quiet but your pronunciation of consonants is also too soft so they can’t even understand the words that actually make it to the back row. You need proper projection of the voice with high forward resonance. <i>(without getting too technical, let’s just say that you need your sound to be out in front of you) </i>Yes, this will require breath support but not only that. You must “send” your voice forward. Instead of feeling that the focal point of your voice is in your throat or in your mouth, I want you to imagine that the focal point of your voice is out in front of you. </p><p><strong>Practice Exercise #3: </strong></p><p>Make a circle with your thumb and index finger on one hand and then extend that arm straight out, parallel to the floor. The circle is now arm’s length in front of you. Now sing and imagine that you are sending your sound - including your consonants! - through that circle. When that feels comfortable <i>(or when your arm gets tired!)</i> try visualizing a lit candle in the corner of the room opposite from where you are. Sing as if you are trying to flicker that candle flame with your sound that is riding atop your breath. </p><p><strong>Pro Tip </strong>- Volume comes from the breath and NOT from the throat and DEFINITELY not from FORCING your tone. This concept can be VERY difficult for students to comprehend because up to this point they might feel that they are getting pretty good volume from singing from the throat and when I ask them to relax their throat and instead sing from the breath they feel that now they have less control and power. Yes, that is a NATURAL part of training. The best way I can explain it is like this; Imagine that you are a beginner weight lifter but you haven’t trained so you are mainly using just your back muscles to lift. Now a trainer comes along and explains that you need to use your abdominal muscles to lift, otherwise you are heading towards an injury. Your core muscles are not developed much at all so at first you can’t even lift the amount you were accustomed to lifting before. But after you learn how you use your abdominal muscles well, you are able to lift MUCH MORE weight than you could with just your back muscles. So accept the fact now that there will be a transition time as you learn to let go from the throat and build up your breathing support muscles. To avoid injury and to uncover the full potential of your voice it is essential that you learn how to project your sound by using proper breath support. </p><h4>Improve Your Singing with 10 Bonus Tips </h4><ol>
<li>Maintain good posture while singing. </li>
<li>Wear loose clothing that allows breathing room. </li>
<li>Stay well hydrated! </li>
<li>Protect your voice by avoiding talking loudly, over-talking, screaming, yelling and smoking. </li>
<li>Before singing, avoid consuming dairy products and anything cold as they increase phlegm in the throat. </li>
<li>Lemon juice will reduce phlegm in the throat but the citric acid can be an irritant so be sure to always mix lemon with honey. Honey coats the throat and many singers rely on honey lemon tea before singing. </li>
<li>Slippery Elm tea is my personal favorite when it comes to soothing an irritated throat. Add some honey for extra throat coating power. </li>
<li>Be smart about your warm ups. Choose ones that give you the best results in the shortest amount of time. The exercises that you choose should warm up and NOT wear out your voice. </li>
<li>Have good role models. Just because someone got rich and famous from singing doesn’t ACTUALLY mean that they are a good singer or that their technique is on point and worthy of emulating. It may be their connections, their lyrics, their music and their marketing that got them famous and NOT their actual vocal skills. So listen carefully and choose your role models wisely. </li>
<li>Relax and Enjoy! If you aren’t having a good time then your audience won’t be either. When you sing, your breathing muscles will be working hard but the rest of your body should be relaxed. Release tension from your jaw and your shoulders especially. Any tension near to your throat will become tension in your voice. If you have difficulty relaxing your shoulders while singing, practice singing <i>(not performing!)</i> while reclined on the floor, flat on your back. Tense shoulders can creep up higher and higher while you are standing <i>(and many people don’t even recognize it because their shoulder tension has become a habit) </i>but while reclined it is very unlikely that your shoulders will be up by your ears. In fact, it would feel very strange and awkward to you while reclined. Practicing singing in this reclined way will teach your body how it feels to sing with relaxed shoulders and then hopefully you will be able to recreate that feeling while standing. </li>
</ol><p><strong>Knowledge is enriched through sharing and discussing. </strong>Start a conversation about better singing with your friends. Share with them what you have learned and see what they may add to the discussion. Feel free to share my blog with them too! </p><h4>Ready to take the next step to Improve your Singing? </h4><p>Check out my online course, <strong>Singing Fundamentals</strong>, that covers all of the foundational information a student would learn in their first full year of private lessons at a fraction of the cost of private lessons. <a class="no-pjax" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/singing-fundamentals/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/singing-fundamentals/"><span style="color:#27ae60;">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/singing-fundamentals/</span></a></p><p><strong>If you would like a PDF version </strong>of all the information contained in this blog, you can download it here; <a class="no-pjax" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/my-downloadable-53788" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span style="color:#27ae60;">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/my-downloadable-53788</span></a></p><p> </p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/0fc4dae5dd5f172ed5db75d873d944d009d6b857/original/img-20191102-115024-830.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" alt="" /></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/67802652021-10-19T06:23:18-04:002022-09-15T04:34:38-04:00The Gift of Pain<p>We spend so much time and energy avoiding pain, don't we? We wear comfortable shoes and sleep in comfortable beds. We guard our hearts and protect our bodies from injury. So it seems quite ridiculous to say that there is a gift in pain. </p>
<p>The first person to suggest to me that there is a gift in pain was my yoga teacher, Pam Guido. She told me that I would be grateful for my physical pain and for my own limitations because it would cause me to intimately learn about how to care for such limitations with Yoga and it would not only make me more compassionate towards students with similar challenges, but it would also make me a better teacher overall. Of course her wise words were completely true. But the “gift” of pain is even larger than that. </p>
<p>Pain makes us seek out solutions. Pain propels us forward with more force than happiness does. Pain oftentimes gives us the push we need to get where we are supposed to be. </p>
<p>The pain of stress and discrimination was the push I needed to get a better job again and again. Each new job was an improvement upon the last and helped me to fine tune my ideas of what I really wanted to do for a living and how I wanted to do it. </p>
<p>The pain of 2 herniated discs (and the resulting excruciating sciatic nerve pain) caused by 3 freak accidents in the past have provided me with a wonderful opportunity to learn more about my body and also about several branches of the healing arts. This past flare-up has been the worst one ever, and so therefore has given me the biggest push forward. Desperate to be free from this constant pain, I scrambled for a solution. In addition to specific yoga practices that I have relied upon for years, I am now also under the care of both an Ayurvedic Doctor and a Physical Therapist. Additionally I am currently taking an online course on Yoga for Pain Relief and also receiving Reiki treatments from an amazing woman. In those Reiki sessions I am reminded that wounds of the heart can manifest in the body. So with the help of 4 amazing humans; the Ayurvedic Doctor, the Physical Therapist, the Yoga Teacher and the Reiki Practitioner, I am learning how to heal my body and soul. And this is more than short term relief. All of this is adding up to long term healing of the root causes. Can you imagine, after so many years of “just dealing with it” and managing as best I could with each flare-up, now I actually believe that true healing is possible. That is an incredible gift, and yes it was the gift of pain. Terrible pain. The worst physical pain of my life that was nonstop for FOUR MONTHS. But LOOK where it pushed me! I have learned so much and have met wonderful people along the way. I must admit that during the very worst days and nights of agony, if anyone had suggested to me that my pain was a “gift” I would've required a lot of self control to hold back a storm of ugly words. Maybe that is where you are now. I understand.<em> If pain is a gift then I hope it came with a receipt so I can return it</em>, right? I get it. But in retrospect we can see that when we are willing to face our pain it becomes an incredible force for change, for growth, for forward movement. </p>
<p>I might even suggest that it was pain itself that pushed me halfway across the world to India. How could that be? Well first, several years ago, I had to face the pain of betrayal in my past relationship. Then I had to face the painful truth that trust broken will never be made strong again. I had to face the pain of ending, of parting and of starting over. I had to face the pain of fear as I ventured out on my own for the first time in two decades. I had built my life on that relationship so there was a lot of deconstructing and reconstructing of my ideas of self worth, my values and my priorities that needed to happen. It was a terrible pain. The kind of soul pain that makes you wish you could peel off this human coat just to be free from the agony of being alive. </p>
<p><em>“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.”</em> - Mary Oliver </p>
<p>It certainly didn’t feel like a gift. It felt like a curse. And yet there<strong> was</strong> a gift in that pain. I had to stand on my own. I had to face fears and grow in courage and strength beyond what I previously imagined possible. I became a businesswoman. I bought a yoga studio. I met an amazing man who held my heart through my times of fear and doubt. He reminded me that I am stronger than I know. He continually pushed me out of my comfort zone only for the benefit of my own growth. Although he lived on the other side of the world in India, we communicated daily. He was a sounding board and wise counsel for my business decisions. He was my spiritual peer and my encourager. He was everything I imagined that a BIG love would be. Five years later he became my husband. What a wonderful, unexpected journey, all because I was willing to face mountains of pain and use it to move forward. </p>
<p>Despite the title of this blog, I actually don’t believe that pain is a gift. I do <strong>not</strong> believe that there is any inherent gift in pain. I do <strong>not</strong> believe that people who hurt you are actually giving you a gift in disguise. I believe that, just like with everything else in life, we can use pain to grow, to transform and to move forward. Plenty of people suppress their pain of body, mind and spirit. Plenty of people choose not to face it, choose not to accept it and choose not to transform it. There is <strong>no</strong> gift in pain. <em><strong>The gift is in you.</strong></em> The gift is your ability to work with pain, to let it teach you and guide you. The gift is your resilience, your courage, your determination. Pain, that feels so unbearably heavy when we are in it, is actually like a light that shines upon all these aspects of yourself that maybe were forgotten for a while. Pain comes to remind you of your power and your purpose. It asks you to refocus your attention on the things that matter most. It shows you that the gift is already in you, ready to be unwrapped and explored as your next adventure unfolding. </p>
<p>The next time you are feeling the grip of pain, whether it be in body, mind or spirit, imagine that this is a message from your higher self, or your higher power, trying to get your attention. What is it calling you to do? Do you need to make time for self care? Do you need to let go of the past? Do you need to muster your courage for a new future? Or do you just need to slow down and remember to enjoy all the small things? </p>
<p>Up to this point I have written about the power of pain as a force to move us forward, and while that is true, I want to remind you of one more thing before I close. I want to remind you that the <em><strong>power of love</strong></em> is the strongest. Self love gives us the strength to face our pain, to look at the ugly parts of our life and to accept it. It is love that gives us the ability to believe in positive change. It is love that gives us the wisdom and willingness to transform our pain into a path to move forward, to grow in compassion, and become all that we are meant to be. </p>
<p>One day maybe I will learn how to do things the easy way. Instead of being pushed along, kicking and screaming and full of resistance, down the path that leads to where I am meant to be, maybe I will learn how to travel with more grace, wisdom and joy. Maybe I will no longer require the force of pain to advance to the next level. But until that day arrives I will try to remember that pain is a valuable teacher, giving me the opportunity to explore new directions and to learn more about myself and the world. </p>
<p>Can you recall a time when pain pushed you into a better place? I would love to hear about it in the comments below. </p>
<p>Lots of love, </p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p><em>PS - If you found this teaching helpful, consider joining the <a contents="Inspired Souls Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Inspired Souls Club</strong></span></a> where you will receive weekly reflections offering practical advice on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, understanding the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life ❤ </em></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/67276352021-08-26T08:55:35-04:002022-09-15T04:35:53-04:00Thank You<p>It’s a Saturday afternoon in India and I am sitting in a health clinic waiting out the mandatory observation time after receiving the second dose of the covid vaccine. There are about 3 dozen other people here as well. I am in my own thoughts as I sit here with my breath. I am managing my pain, not from the shot but from a different health issue I am working through. The pain is intense. I am uncomfortable. I focus again on my breath. In my view I can see the nurse who is administering the vaccine doses, one after the other, in a seemingly endless line of people. I think about what the pandemic looks like through her eyes. Is she exhausted? Is she burned out like so many other health care workers I know? I say a silent prayer of gratitude for her. I realize that I have left my self-focused thoughts of pain when I saw that nurse. I began to think about all the other people in the room. Is anyone else in pain too? I looked around. There were two young men sitting behind me. There was an elderly couple in front of me. I looked at that old man and wondered; what does he worry about? Is he struggling with finances or health issues? There was a family by the wall, with young children and their grandmother too. What are their lives like? What is their reality? As I sat there, thinking about each person in the room, I wondered what life looks like through their eyes. What are they struggling with? What kind of suffering are they facing? I suddenly had a strong upsurge of love and compassion for this room of strangers and a strong desire that each and every one of them would have happiness and be free from suffering. </p>
<p>In the tradition of Mahayana Buddhism, practitioners aspire to relieve the suffering of ALL sentient beings. All of them. That is a lot. I sat in the health clinic, aware of intense pain in my body and realized that I don’t even have the wisdom or skills needed to relieve my OWN suffering. I thought about the people in the health clinic. No doubt they each had their own suffering too. This was just 36 people. I knew nothing of their suffering, so how could I begin to relieve it? How could I, one who cannot even relieve my own suffering, possibly reduce the suffering of others? Forget ALL sentient beings for a moment. This group of three dozen souls was already making me feel overwhelmed with the recognition that even for this small group of beings, I had no skills or ability to take away any of their burdens, let alone free them from suffering. </p>
<p>At this point you might imagine that I felt helpless and hopeless, but that is really not the case. What I felt initially was deep sadness, that even with a strong desire to help others, I had no wisdom or skill in that moment that could make even a small difference in the lives of anyone in that room. This deep sadness fueled a strong motivation in me. With the understanding that it is so difficult to relieve my own suffering, and seemingly impossible to relieve the suffering of others, I felt a wave of love come over me. This is what I can offer; Love. Maybe it won’t change much in the grand scheme of human suffering, but I knew that what I could offer to all sentient beings is love and compassion. </p>
<p>My husband sat beside me. Here is a man who understands my sensitive nature. A man who supports my growth and my aspirations. A man who loves me deeply. Such a deep love that thrived even while we were on opposite sides of this blue planet for so many years. A love that never stopped believing in us. What a gift! Tears of gratitude welled up in my eyes. Even if I lack the wisdom and skills to help people, I realized that there is no lack of love in my life. In that moment, the energy of love felt like a force strong enough to move mountains and light up the stars. I felt more convinced and motivated to become the most loving and compassionate person I could be for the benefit of all sentient beings. In my heart, I began visualizing the energy of love surrounding each person in that room. It also occurred to me that, for all I knew, someone else may be sitting in that room and sending love to ME and to everyone else. We don’t know the suffering in the lives of strangers we encounter, and we also don’t know the love that exists in their hearts. </p>
<p>A tap on my arm pulled me out of my thoughts as my husband signaled that it was time for us to go. On the way out, we paused in front of the nurse who had administered our vaccine. We joined our hands at our heart and bowed our heads to her as we said, “धन्यवाद" (dhanyavaad) Thank You. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>PS - If you found this teaching helpful, consider joining the <a contents="Inspired Souls Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Inspired Souls Club</strong></span></a> where you will receive weekly reflections offering practical advice on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, understanding the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life ❤ </em></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/66923162021-07-19T14:57:26-04:002022-09-15T04:38:01-04:00Nothing is Ever Lost<p>I stepped out onto our little balcony three floors above the mostly dirt road below. Although we live outside of the city’s center, there are still only buildings to be seen from here to the horizon in any direction you look. The structures are mostly residential in this seemingly endless urban sprawl with occasional trees growing along the roadsides where cows, dogs, and chickens are as much a part of the local traffic as motorbikes and rickshaws. I had gone out to the balcony to take a closer look at the mogra flowers that opened for the first time today. The layers of white petals unfurled to create the most perfectly shaped round blossom. There, in the heat of the mid-day, I leaned over the plant to enjoy its alluring scent, which up to this moment I had only read about and never experienced first hand. With my nose against the silken bloom, I inhaled deeply and a flood of memories poured into my mind as the scent of the mogra seemed identical to the fragrance of honeysuckle. Oh, sweet honeysuckle, that woody vine bedecked in yellow and white tubular flowers! Thickly it covered the backyard fence of my childhood home. Many hours I would spend there beside it, watching the butterflies coming for a taste of nectar. Even I would partake of this treat, for if you gently pulled on the stem at the bottom of the honeysuckle flower you could pull out the style and with it comes one sweet drop of nectar. It was here, with dedicated patience thought to be uncommon in young children, that I would watch the butterflies and wait. For I knew that oftentimes as a butterfly was enjoying the flowers its wings would slowly open and close. I also had come to know that when a butterfly closed its wings, if I moved very slowly, I could then gently catch and hold the butterfly between my thumb and index finger. Catching a butterfly was no less thrilling than if I were holding an actual pixie in my hands. I could look at it closely and see every detail of its wings and many legs. Oh the delight! (When I got older I was very saddened to learn that the powder that was left behind on my fingers after holding a butterfly was actually their scales, and it is injurious to the insect, just as if we were to have our own skin rubbed off. I therefore promptly abandoned this pastime but continued to observe, and never again catch or touch, butterflies.) It was also beside this hedge-like honeysuckle vine that I refined my bumblebee-petting skills. (Thankfully, touching a bumblebee does not injure the creature as it does a butterfly.) Those fuzzy buzzy bumblebee backs were too tempting to touch. The busy bee has no time for me and in its quest for pollen my gentle pet is no more disturbing to it than a summer breeze. How that buzzing bumble bee would vibrate under my finger lightly upon its back! This hobby I had no reason to abandon and still find joy in it today and a jolly laugh as well when the bee, busy but aware of me, lifts one of its legs in my direction and with a little wave, just as one might mindlessly wave a gnat away from their eyes, it gives a clear enough message that it is only tolerating my touch because it is too busy to communicate further with me. But it wasn’t just the memory of butterflies and bees that came flooding into my mind. It was the recognition that my love for nature and for gardening grew right there just as vigorously as the honeysuckle vine conquered, and covered, that metal fence. I was in awe and wonder of these magical creatures, of the allure of a flower’s fragrance, and of the mysteries of trees. One day I left that childhood home, never to stand by the honeysuckle hedge again.</p>
<p>I settled into my own home and began to make my own garden. What started as just a small plot of grass and little else became a haven of flowers and trees for butterflies, birds, and bees. So dedicated was I to my love for flowers that I researched and planted flowers with the deliberate intent to always have something blooming in my garden every day of the year. Even in the bleakest Pennsylvania winters, there was still at least one flower blooming. Sometimes that Christmas rose was buried under a foot of snow, but I still knew it was blooming there. And soon enough the white heads of the snowdrops, bowing in reverence to the imminent death of winter, would appear against the house, followed closely by the crocus and then the daffodils. And on it went, season after season, year after year, my garden grew and grew. The apple trees I started from seeds, the goldfish pond I dug by hand and the dozens of butterfly bushes and milkweed (a tribute to those winged wonders as well as an apology to them for the ignorance of my youth) were all part of this magical place that I co-created with nature herself, that divine queen, our holy mother. The medicinal herbs, the vegetables, and the fruits were the wealth of my days and the joy of my spirit. But, one day, I had to leave this place behind too. Goodbye weeping cherry tree that scattered its pink petals onto the spring breeze like a magical snowfall. Goodbye wild raspberry bushes with fruit that shone like rubies in the summer sun. Goodbye hummingbirds and goldfinches and all winged gems so beloved and cherished. It was time for me to go. The next adventure was already unfolding. </p>
<p>I bought a yoga studio and it became like my garden. All of my time and effort went into growing this community and helping students to bloom and thrive. It was more than a full time job to keep this small studio afloat so that it could remain a haven of health and peace for all who entered. Although my free time was nearly non-existent now, outside of my small apartment I still had several large flower pots that were mostly neglected but managed to burst forth with tall sunflowers anyway along with savory oregano, pungent yarrow, ever determined morning glories and even a few goldenrod stalks. But the days of passing the hours watching butterflies floating by, or petting bumblebees was over. If I had time to mourn, I might have shed a few tears over what I lost, but I was too busy focusing on what I gained. Getting to know the students at the yoga studio was just as interesting as learning about new flowers or the habits of birds. Everyone had a special beauty, a unique spirit, and it was my delight to be amongst these kind-hearted folks. For two years I was the caretaker of this amazing community and, just like a garden, I received much more in return for all the hours of dedicated work I put into that studio. But, one day, I had to leave this place behind too. The pandemic swept through our town, and through the whole world. Just like a long drought shrivels the garden, the long lock-down was the end of our physical studio. Soon I had to leave my small apartment too. And what became of those planters in front of my apartment? A kind lady, who was a former singing student of mine and fellow nature lover, was happy to receive them all. And it is worth mentioning, in another beautiful circle of life, that the morning glories growing in those pots came from seeds I had received from the woman’s parents many years prior. </p>
<p>And now here I am, in a crowded city in India, turning our small balcony into a beautiful garden haven floating three floors above the street. The mango tree grown from the pit of a sweet mango I enjoyed weeks ago is already eight inches high with leaves that are almost as long. There are many flowers in my hanging pots, whose names I have yet to learn. I am also growing basil, tomatoes, watermelon, jasmine, a palm, marigolds, spinach, mint and more. On the much smaller balcony off of the kitchen I have two composting buckets, a curry plant and a few more tomato plants. On the kitchen windowsill sits a small glass bottle containing cuttings of jade and mint, both of which have already begun to put out roots. In just a few short months since arriving here I have transformed our balcony into a mini garden haven complete with a string of soft white lights for peaceful nighttime enjoyment. </p>
<p>What I realized in that moment of breathing in the sweet fragrance of mogra, that awoke in me all the memories of honeysuckle and the gardens that I loved and lost, was the truth that nothing is ever lost. Read that again. Nothing is ever lost. Love never dies, it just changes form, again and again. I still have “my garden”. The plants are different, and the climate is VERY different, but here I am, still smelling the flowers, watching for butterflies, and growing whatever I can. Nothing is ever lost. Just like those morning glory seeds, things have a way of circling back. Nothing is ever lost. Everything changes form, again and again. From honeysuckle to mogra, from USA to India, from beginnings to endings and back to new beginnings. Whichever part of the cycle you find yourself in now, take heart: Gains and losses, life and death, beginnings and endings are not opposites to each other but one and the same. Just as the wave rolls to the shore and pulls back out again, and just as an exhale will surely follow your next inhale, these things are merely different points on the same circle. This is the wisdom that the mogra flower shared with me.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/1e22134aaa34e920a9e0998f71e0cec43886d8df/original/mogra.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></p>
<p><em>PS - If you found this teaching helpful, consider joining the <a contents="Inspired Souls Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;"><strong>Inspired Souls Club</strong></span></a> where you will receive weekly reflections offering practical advice on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, understanding the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life ❤ </em></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/66393562021-05-25T06:09:10-04:002021-11-30T10:08:45-05:00Namaste - What does it mean, and how do we use it?<p><strong>If <em>Namaste</em> means "Hello" then why do we say it at the end of a Yoga Class?</strong></p>
<p>Have you ever wondered about the meaning of "Namaste" and its use in the yoga community? Perhaps you have heard others discussing why we should or shouldn't use this word as part of our yoga classes. I would like to offer you my own unique perspective on this topic, as a white, American Yoga teacher living in India with my Indian husband. But first, let's take a look at the literal meaning of this word and its modern day usage. Then I will share with you my thoughts about this word and its place in my yoga practice. </p>
<p>The word Namaste is said with the palms pressed together in front of the heart (anjali mudra) and accompanied with a bow of the head. Namaste is very commonly used today when greeting others, but it can also be used when parting. Although the word namaste is often used as "hello" and sometimes for "goodbye" the literal translation is neither hello nor goodbye. In Sanskrit the word <em>namah</em> means "to bow" and namaste means “I bow to you” The word <em>namaha</em> can also be literally interpreted as “na ma” (not mine). It has a spiritual significance of diminishing one’s ego in the presence of another. </p>
<p>The bow I take at the end of yoga class after saying Namaste is for me the most sacred moment of my practice. I am not saying it out of habit, and not I am not saying it just because my own yoga teacher also ended classes in that manner. In a way, I suppose I AM using it as "Hello". Hello to your authentic self. Students arrive to class weighed down with their thoughts and worries. Stress clings to many of them almost as visibly as the dust of India sticks to my sweaty skin. Our yoga practice helps us to wash that away. I feel that yoga helps us shed what is no longer serving us. It helps us get to the root of who we are. Once we see ourselves clearly, then we are able to see others more clearly too. And then, in that moment at the end of class, after we have released sweat, and released tension and released whatever is not true to our best selves, then, in that moment of authenticity, we bow to each other. It is my way of saying, "I see you. I see who you are. Hello to your beautiful soul. Thank you for sharing this part of yourself with me." </p>
<p>There is another reason why the word namaste and its accompanying bow is such a profound moment for me. I am not only bowing to each one of my students, but I also bow, with respect and gratitude, to the teachings of yoga. This is an expression of reverence. I set my ego aside and recognize that I am but a channel, a vessel, through which yogic wisdom flows for the benefit of others. I do not exalt myself as a teacher, but bow down as a servant, with a heart so full of gratitude that it overflows and often leaks out of my eyes as a small teardrop in that moment. How blessed am I to have studied these teachings and how fortunate to have the opportunity to share them with others. Gratitude, reverence, humility and joy are all contained in that one word for me. Namaste.</p>
<p>Now that I have explained the literal meaning of the word and described my own feelings about why I use it at the end of my yoga classes, I leave it to you to explore its meaning for yourself. What it means to YOU is the most important consideration in deciding if you feel comfortable using this word in your own yoga practice. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>If my yoga philosophy resonates with you, consider joining me in Yoga Club, your online studio for everything yoga. Enjoy live online classes, a large video library of classes in a variety of levels and lengths as well as yogic teachings, meditations and more.</em> <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club</a></p>
<p><strong>Further exploration:</strong></p>
<p>https://importantindia.com/27220/can-you-use-namaste-to-say-goodbye/</p>
<p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste</p>
<p> </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/66316532021-05-17T05:08:24-04:002022-09-15T04:44:04-04:00A New Normal<p><strong>"We need to find our new normal" </strong></p>
<p>I heard this phrase a lot when we were just a few months into the pandemic. People were struggling to adjust to all of the changes and to find how this "new normal" would look as schools and businesses went online while masks and hand sanitizer became as commonly used as shoes and socks. The gatherings stopped, the hugs stopped, the restaurants closed and so many more changes and loss rolled in like a sudden summer storm. Some of us longed for things to return to normal while others were trying to adjust to a “new normal”. </p>
<p>For me, normal never came, not even a new normal. I lived in a strange limbo with friends who were kind enough to take me in after I lost my studio, and then my home, during the ever extending lockdown. The months went by, and while I was surrounded by love and care there, I was also longing to be reunited with the love of my life in India. Separated by half a world, with all of our plans on hold, the future was frightfully unknown. </p>
<p>As you already know, I did get to India. I have been here in India almost 2 months now. The first week was spent searching for a nice apartment. If we could just find a nice place, and get moved in, then I could find my new normal. We found a place. We moved in. We had no furniture or appliances when we moved in but only our suitcases, a new mattress on the floor and a water purifier on the wall. Well this isn't normal either... but it will feel normal when we get our refrigerator and our sofa, and our bedroom furniture. But then a second wave of the pandemic swept over India like a tsunami, washing away any attempts to build normalcy. A lockdown was enforced, only essentials are being delivered, and the news is grim, dreadfully grim. Hospitals are short on beds and running out of oxygen while healthcare workers are strained beyond their physical and mental limits. As the tendrils of this global virus tighten its grip around the city, I could easily choke to death on the heavy cloud of fear that has covered India if I let my mind wander into the minefields of “what if”. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/e3064358e329b4e8181a1feb905579011c5c35a5/original/clouds.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_none" alt="" />Today the sky was a spectacular display of huge brilliant white fluffy clouds on a background of the purest blue sky you have ever seen. We ate our breakfast of poha (flattened rice) and marveled at the beauty of the sky and delighted in the company of each other. It feels jarring, doesn't it? To suddenly describe the beauty of the sky with no segue from the horror of the raging pandemic here. But this is my reality. The truth is that things are really scary here, and also really wonderful. Fear, pain, beauty and joy are always growing side by side in the wilderness of our daily existence. In our search for “normal” I think we are really looking for the comfort that we associate with our common routine. We are hoping to settle into some place where things are familiar and comfortable. And while, at first, that seems like a reasonable enough goal, the uncertainty of this ever changing world makes striving towards “normal” a fairly fruitless undertaking. </p>
<p>A dragonfly flew into my yoga room and hovered around, here and there, for a few moments before darting back out of the open window. How unusual, I thought, to not only have a dragonfly indoors, but in a third floor apartment in a crowded city. Rainbows shimmer on the walls from the crystals and prisms I have placed strategically around our home. Sunshine is found in abundance here. Our days are filled with music since both my husband and I play guitar and sing. A few days ago we awoke to the lovely, and unusually loud, chirping of a bird that we discovered was actually in our living-room. It was a splendid way to greet the new day, and the little bird soon flew back out of the kitchen window. Yesterday we enjoyed eating the most splendidly ripe watermelon. I am amazed that such a beautiful and delicious thing is found in nature - the luscious red fruit dotted with black seeds encased in an emerald green shell. Every evening the sunset can be seen through the sliding glass doors of our bedroom balcony. Last night the crescent moon hung above the horizon, a slice of orange against the black sky. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/ce55e66e943d3d7f31580d3b57634adfefac9805/original/watermelon.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_right border_none" alt="" /></p>
<p>All of this beauty and all of this uncertainty made me realize that I have been wasting my energy striving towards my “new normal”. Normal is not only an illusion, but a trap of complacency that blinds me to the truth of impermanence contained within every moment. When we can see deeply how life is ever changing, in big and small ways, moment by moment, then we can see clearly the beauty that is right before us in this fleeting moment. A synonym for the word normal is the word, common. In a search to find normal we risk overlooking the <strong>un</strong>common beauty and mystery of daily life. </p>
<p>In closing I will tell you that we still don’t have our bedroom furniture. We have a mattress on the floor and our clothes in suitcases as we wait for the long expected bed and wardrobes. Is this “normal” or a “new normal”? Who cares?! It’s my life, and it’s beautiful.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/608ea3101cd6f596bb4425166c1fea6131349164/original/luv-and-i-at-ramtek.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></p>
<p><em>If you enjoyed this glimpse of India, and my reflection upon the illusion of normalcy and the uncommon beauty hidden in our daily moments, please consider joining me in either Yoga Club, where I share regular glimpses of life in India, or in the Inspired Souls Club where you will receive weekly teachings intended to assist you in finding greater joy and happiness in the Now, in the ever changing, moment by moment, beauty of life. </em></p>
<p>Yoga Club: <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club" style="">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club</a></p>
<p>Inspired Souls Club: <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership</a></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/66199442021-05-03T04:22:04-04:002022-09-15T04:44:47-04:00Just Listen to the Birds<p>Adjusting to married life, in a foreign land, during a pandemic, has not been easy. My husband and I have faced constant challenges, big and small, including issues with my banking, my phone, our internet, and countless items we ordered arriving damaged, just to name a few. It seems like every day there is a new obstacle to overcome and some problem to be solved. This is life though, especially life during a pandemic. </p>
<p>The other day I woke early. It seemed close to sunrise but I wasn't sure. I reached for my phone to check the time and immediately regretted it. Although I was only looking to know the time, I couldn't avoid seeing messages and emails there, relating to some of the challenges I mentioned above. I was instantly reminded of the many issues that needed to be dealt with and problems that needed to be solved. There were also messages from friends expressing their worry and concern as they had seen in the news the terrible situation here in India with the pandemic. And while I do appreciate the dear friends that continue to check in with me, their worry and fear quickly became MY worry and fear. There, in the first moments of waking, I felt the weight of problems, worry and fear. I wondered if I could muster the strength to face another day of challenges and the constant effort to adjust to my new life. Then, at that very moment, a thought arose in my mind that seemed to come from somewhere else. It said, "Just listen to the birds". The birds were singing their morning songs and I was barely aware of it. So I listened. I heard the familiar cooing of the doves and the tweeting of the house sparrow. I also heard another bird that I did not recognize. Further away I heard other birds in the distance that seemed to be replying. I listened. The chirps and songs of the birds close to our home and the distant replies from other birds, closer to other homes, were weaving a tapestry of morning music, as if the new day was something to celebrate and to sing about. </p>
<p>"Just listen to the Birds." </p>
<p>I listened. A wave of peace came over me. In that moment there was nothing other than the singing of birds. The problems didn't disappear, and life still has its challenges to be faced. But at least I didn't miss out on the singing of the birds that day. </p>
<p>The next time you feel heavy under the weight of worry and challenges, I hope you will remember to "Just listen to the Birds." Remember to pause and find the beauty in that moment, whether it is in the songs of birds or in the smile of your loved one. Pause and notice that the world is much bigger than your worry and much bigger than even your biggest challenges. Big enough to hold immense beauty, tucked into every small moment, for those who are able to see and to listen. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Love and light, </p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>If you enjoyed reading my reflection please consider joining the Inspired Souls Club where we study short teachings by enlightened beings from various traditions every week to help us live more fully and vibrantly in the NOW. </em></p>
<p>Follow this link for more information: <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership</a></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/66001442021-04-10T08:39:16-04:002022-09-15T04:45:51-04:00A Day in India<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/f9719799943959c454373941114bbce197a8e953/original/sheets.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" />I hand-washed our sheets today. Here in India that is nothing out of the ordinary, but for most Americans, (and maybe other Western cultures) this might seem unusual. It was no problem at all. I placed the sheets in a bucket with washing powder and water and let them soak for a bit. Then later I used my hands to churn and stir the water to wash and then to rinse them. There are washing machines available to purchase here but many Indians consider it an unnecessary expense when it is just as easy to do it by hand yourself or to pay your maid to do it. Maids are quite common here and it seems like a regular part of the economy. Everybody has a maid to come and sweep the floors and clean the bathrooms and do other household chores. The cost is very low. We have not yet employed a maid, since we are still just getting settled into our home. After I washed the sheets, I took them outside to the balcony where we have a clothes drying rack that hangs from the ceiling of the balcony. It is on a pulley so that I can lower it to place the clothes on it and then hoist it up high to dry. A clothes drying appliance would be ridiculous in this hot climate. Everything gets hung out to dry, even though the sun will eventually fade the brightly colored clothing. It is so hot that I don't even take much effort to wring out the sheets and clothes. They are still dripping a bit when I hang them on the rack. I hoist the rack up high and then look out over the rooftops of Nagpur and think how quickly my life has changed. </p>
<p>Last night there was no water from the taps. It wasn't that the well ran dry, but just that the water tank for the building needed to be refilled from the well. All residents, I suppose, take their turn running the pump to fill the tank. We just moved to this apartment building and no one has yet shown us how to work the pump that fills the tank for the building. It was the middle of the night, so we just had to wait for some other resident to wake in the morning and realize that the tank was empty. Meanwhile, one of the two faucets at the kitchen sink is what they call "Corporation Water", a public utility. This faucet was the only one that had water since it is not dependent on the tank. I filled up a bucket of water from this faucet and carried it to the bathroom so that I could shower myself using a small pitcher to take water out of the bucket. This might also seem unusual to my American family and friends, but it is nothing new here. In fact, the Homestay where we stayed for my first week here didn't even have a shower. We used the bucket and pitcher method all week. </p>
<p>When I look out of our windows, from the 3rd floor, I see endless rooftops. Some have solar panels. All have water tanks. Several rooftops have men working on them to build another floor of the building. Endless rooftops with trees sprinkled here and there. Birds that look like small mourning doves, but their cooing sounds different, are seen often on the balcony and window ledges. Even amid all of these buildings and rooftops, there are a few roosters nearby that can be heard every morning. And one confused rooster prefers to <em>cock-a-doodle-do</em> at the setting sun rather than the rising sun.He might be a kindred spirit, as I too am more of a night owl than an early bird. Our balcony faces west so we have a great view of the setting sun, but it is usually far too hot to enjoy sitting out there to watch the sun go down. Instead, we sit inside, under the ceiling fan and watch the round orange ball of fire sinking low in the sky. Occasionally we hear some barking dogs or a loud MOO from a roaming cow. Its different here. More than just hand-washing bed sheets, so many big and small things are different. </p>
<p>I washed the sheets and hung them to dry on the balcony. The heat of the sun and the coolness of dripping water filled my senses. I felt content. Happy to do this work of daily life. To care for home and husband seems maybe too simple an existence but isn't this<strong><em> life</em></strong>, right here in all these small moments? Isn't this <strong><em>life</em></strong>, in the washing of the clothes and the dripping on the balcony in the late afternoon sun? All these small moments add up to one wondrous life. I don't want to miss one moment of one day in India. </p>
<p>Lots of love,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>If you enjoyed reading my reflection you may wish to consider joining the Inspired Souls Club where we study short teachings by enlightened beings from various traditions every week to help us live more fully and vibrantly in the NOW. </em></p>
<p>Follow this link for more information: <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership</a></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/65090962020-12-28T15:58:17-05:002022-09-15T04:50:36-04:00Embrace to Release<p>I am a Yoga Teacher. Before the pandemic I was teaching about 17 classes a week. In all of my classes I had music in the background. Sometimes soothing, sometimes upbeat, depending on the style of class. Since becoming a yoga teacher many years ago, my own personal practice has been done in silence. Maybe it was all the classes, with music, and all the talking required to give precise instruction to guide students through the class safely and with encouragement that caused me to prefer a silent personal practice. Then the pandemic came, and my studio closed and so did the many other locations where I taught regularly. I took my classes to an online format. I stopped playing music for classes now, knowing that background music would interfere by competing with my spoken instructions in this digital format. Music has not been part of my teaching since the start of the pandemic. Today, for some reason, rather than my usual practice done in silence, I felt that a little music would energize my practice. So I selected one of my favorite former class playlists that contained kirtan songs by Krishna Das, and a few of my Bollywood favorites, and I began my practice. It had been more than 9 months since I had listened to this music, and it had a surprising affect on my heart and mind. As I moved through my practice, it stirred up my memories and I saw in my mind all the faces of the students I had taught in the various places. I saw their smiles, I remembered their quirks and their kindness. In my mind I saw every detail of the rooms, and I remembered how I would walk among the students offering adjustments and encouragement. It all came flooding back, and as I continued through my practice, moving to the music, it felt like a dance of grief. It felt like I was honoring the memory of all the happiness I enjoyed in those days. Things have changed now. Even after the pandemic ends, it will never be as it was before. My studio is gone, and even if I teach in a new studio, it won't be the same people, or the same smiles. Something has been lost. A lot has been lost, and there on my mat today I was seeing it all in fullness. Seeing all of what I had lost and realizing it was time to let go. Each breath, each movement, each tear, was an embrace and a release. </p>
<p>Many people talk about "letting go", but the step that is often missed is the embrace that has to happen first. In other words, you can't release what you ignore. In July I had to move out of my apartment and plunge into an uncertain future. Not knowing where I would end up or when, it was necessary for me to get rid of most of my worldly possessions. Each item, I held in my hands and had to decide if I could keep it or if I needed to release it. Each item had memories attached to it, good or bad. I had to look at each item, and all of its memories, before deciding to let it go. Each item had to be boxed up to be sold or donated. Avoidance was not an option. The larger items, like my beloved piano, needed to be cleaned and polished to make it ready for its new owner. What I am saying is that each item required my time and attention as I reflected on its meaning and purpose in my life, before letting it go. This was the embrace. To hold it, appreciate it, and then let it go. I did this with 80% of my belongings. I embraced them all, and then let them go. In other words, I could only release what I was willing to really see and hold. </p>
<p>Situations, people and experiences can't be boxed up and given away. Unbeknownst to me until today, all these memories were stored up inside me like a closet of grief. Today, the music from my former yoga playlist opened the door and let all the memories flood over me during my yoga practice. It was time to release, not the memories themselves but the grief of change, the grief of loss, that was attached to them. All those faces in all those places I remembered and I said a prayer of thanks. You, reading this now, if you were ever in a class of mine, I saw your face today, I remembered your smile, and I thanked you for sharing this journey with me. I will always treasure these memories, but today I was able to release the pain of loss that had been stuck to them. </p>
<p>We can't move forward in a healthy way by ignoring our pain. And yet too many people get stuck holding onto sorrow with the idea that they are "honoring" their grief. It can be difficult to discern the difference, and we all have our own timelines for healing. I hope though, that when you are working with your own practice of letting go, that you remember to embrace and then release. Embrace all of it, even the painful ugly parts. Hold it all in your heart and wrap it in a prayer of gratitude, whether it is gratitude for the experience or just gratitude that you survived. Embrace it fully, and then release. Come back to the present moment and be here fully, unburdened by grief, and filled with acceptance and gratitude. Remember that we aren't letting go of our love or our past memories but we are letting go of the pain that is attached to them. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><strong>Postscript </strong></em>- Before I sign off, I would like share with you that over the years of writing these honest glimpses of my life and my journey, a common response I receive is from people expressing their amazement or appreciation for the way I am able to "stay positive" and "see the good" in difficult times. I want to make it very clear that this ability to transform pain and sorrow into gratitude and peace is not a "natural talent" or a "spiritual gift" that has been bestowed on me. No, rather it is the result of years of practice and dedicated effort. Just like my guitar playing isn't a result of "natural talent" or a "gift" but the result of dedicated practice over years of effort. In the same way it is possible to transform your mind and work with the difficulties of this world in a way that brings you more peace and more happiness. There are many avenues to take on this path of transformation. If you aren't sure where to start, please join me in the <a contents="Beautiful Souls membership " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" style="">Inspired Souls Club </a>where we work on these skills weekly. </p>
<p>If you would like to join my online yoga classes, follow <a contents="this link to Yoga Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club">this link to Yoga Club</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/64828842020-11-21T12:39:34-05:002021-11-23T00:32:01-05:00My View - Pandemic Reflections<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/9c1b5b66c8c305a12bfd6346b6f70ae42b2372fb/original/20201120-144839.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" />My view now, as I sit sipping coffee on a mild November day in Pennsylvania. But the beauty of this post is not contained in the photo, but in what it represents. This is a story of resilience, generosity, friendship and love. <br>I am a singer/songwriter and a yoga teacher. I owned a yoga studio. It was a dream come true. I loved the people there. Everyone said it was such a peaceful and welcoming place. But the pandemic took that away from me. In addition to losing my beloved studio, I also had to give up my apartment since I no longer had an income to sustain myself, (and although I have transitioned to online teaching, I need more time to build up my virtual studio). <br>So, the view in this photo is beautiful to me. It's the view from my friends' home. They generously invited me into their home where I have been living since July. They are my friends that have been like family to me. For many years they have celebrated my victories, cried with me in my sorrows and supported me through my challenges. The pandemic has not changed that. They have been here for me 100%. A lot of people can say that they love you and can say that they have your back, but only a few people really stand by you when things get tough. My friends have stood by me, and welcomed me into their home with love and generosity. Losing my studio and my home to the pandemic was a painful challenge for sure, but I recognize that I am blessed to have my health and to have these dear friends. <br>An additional struggle in this global pandemic has been being stuck on the opposite side of the world away from my wonderful partner. We have been in a long distance relationship for more than 4 years. Due to the pandemic, we haven't been able to be together for almost a year now. My friends have been amazingly supportive through all of this. They've gotten to know my partner through video chats and have made him feel like a beloved family member too. Like a miracle they have grown laughter and smiles within me during a season of tears. <br>These dear friends are providing me with a safe sanctuary to weather the storm of life in their harbor of love where I can find comfort and strength while facing an unknown future. And I want you to know, that their love is much BIGGER than my story alone. I have observed them opening their hearts to others, accepting people for who they are, quietly supporting charities and neighbors, family and friends with a multitude of loving deeds and a generous spirit. Yes, there are definitely angels among us. <br>On the other side of the world, my beloved man is fast asleep. I sit here, sipping coffee in the sunshine, feeling overwhelmed with gratitude and love. Even with so many challenges and heartaches, somehow love and gratitude still find a way through the darkness. It is bigger than you know. <br>It is stronger than you realize. <br>Recently I had the thought, that even when the borders open and I will finally be reunited with my wonderful man and begin building my future with him, I know that my happiness will be tempered with sadness at having to leave these dear friends and to miss out on all the small things that I treasure so much, like our meals together, our daily chats and our movie nights. Life is unfathomable at times, that it can overwhelm us with both loss and gain at the same time. <br>I'll close with a reminder to love. To love right now, where you are and who you are with. The future is not guaranteed. We are all travelers here, and in the end all that matters is love. 💕</p>
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<p>Love & light, </p>
<p>Jennifer</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/64591072020-10-19T15:43:11-04:002021-11-23T00:34:41-05:00Riches Beyond Measure<p>Drape me in the sparkling beams of sunlight beneath the tree with golden leaves. <br>Cover me in the scent of flowers that dance in the meadow. <br>Bedazzle my brow with the silver light of twinkling stars and I'll wear the diamond dew drops of morning when the dawn comes soft returning. <br>No finer cloth than moonlight has ever touched my skin. No more luxurious flavor has ever graced my lips than the ruby red raspberries from thorny cane and Summer's kiss - Such plump and juicy gems! <br>A crown of daisies upon my head with a butterfly as its jewel. <br>No other treasure, kept under lock and key, could ever have the same appeal as these riches beyond measure for me. </p>
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<p>With love,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/ed24d07350d54576aa65084575783f5c630d9782/original/20201018-142210.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I also share my poetry and other reflections on Cape of Cope. If you are interested in a more thoughtful and human social media, <strong>free </strong>from advertisements and manipulative engagement tactics, please join me on <a contents="www.CapeofCope.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.CapeOfCope.com" target="_blank"><span style="color:#16a085;">www.CapeofCope.com</span></a></p>
<p> </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/64591062020-10-19T15:40:54-04:002020-10-19T15:40:54-04:00Welcome Home<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/5cadf8f3e158f2776985f7cafdea0c972effbce1/original/screenshot-20201018-151705-video-player.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></p>
<p>A breeze came through the forest. It felt magical... like an ancient song, whispered by the Earth herself. <br>Time spent in the woods brings me back in touch with the natural cycles of life. I see the dead fallen trees amongst the living. The leaves too, will drop from living trees and after undergoing decomposition they become nutrients for other plants and trees around them. Here, life and death dance side by side in harmony, as one transforms into the other and then back again. <br>Everything in its season, a time for growing, for being, for releasing, for dissolving, and for transforming. <br>Here in the woods, a faith is strengthened within my heart; faith in life and in its seasons. I remember to trust the unfolding of time. Each season brings a share of joy and pain, and each season for sure will end, and change into something new. <br>Here, I join the dance as an equal partner with life and death, seeing them as one and the same. Here in the woods, I hear the song of the Earth. She whispers through the trees and tells me, "Welcome Home". </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/64568762020-10-15T22:02:48-04:002021-11-23T00:41:31-05:00How Can You Make Progress?<p>Recently I was giving a private yoga session to a gentleman via video call. During the session I noticed that he was pushing his stretch further than what his body could reasonably accommodate. I gently reminded him not to force a stretch. He made a joking reference to the well known motto; "No Pain, No Gain." I told him that my yogic philosophy does not include that belief. Then he asked me, "How can I make progress if I don't push myself?" This was my reply; </p>
<p>You don't push. You hold. When you feel that you have met your edge, don't push beyond it, but instead hold it a little longer and breathe. When you are in a pose and you start to feel like you can't hold it one more moment, take two more breaths before exiting the pose. In this way you can honor your limits even as you gently expand them. </p>
<p>And this technique is not limited to the practice of yoga. You can use this in many aspects of life whenever you meet your edge. Whether it is the edge of your patience, or the edge of your compassion, or the edge of your strength, take two more breaths. Hold and breathe. When you want to give up, hold and breathe. When you are ready to abandon hope, hold and breathe. Just two more breaths. This is the way to make gentle progress. Gentle progress creates lasting change because you are slowly increasing your capacity to stay in the discomfort and by doing so you are challenging your own limiting beliefs. </p>
<p>The next time you find yourself at your limit, in a yoga pose or any other aspect of life, take two more breaths. Hold and breathe, and picture me cheering you on and celebrating your expansion. </p>
<p>Love and Light, </p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For more teachings and encouragement like this, join me in the <a contents="Beautiful Souls Membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">Beautiful Souls Membership</a> and/or practice yoga with me in <a contents="Yoga Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club">Yoga Club</a></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/64350552020-09-16T11:53:44-04:002020-09-16T19:39:08-04:00Dear Uncle Walt <p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/133cbb50acc7f6a220226cf9aa8cd3a86fe85300/original/20200916-113917.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Dear Uncle Walt, <br>Tomorrow it will be 4 months since your death. I think of you every day. I miss hearing your voice. I miss your strength. You never shied away from life. You had a fair share of heartaches, the most painful being the loss of your beloved wife, Mae. She suffered immensely for years with a hereditary illness, that among many things, took away her sight. She spent so much of her life in the hospital, especially towards the end. You were so devoted to her. I know it broke your heart when she died. And yet even with so much pain and loss, you were ready to get up each day and try again. No matter how much was taken away from you, you kept on going, facing everyday as it came. <br>The global pandemic is still going on here on Earth. A lot of people are suffering, and the losses keep adding up. My friends are also suffering, so they forget to ask me how I am doing since losing you. My grief gets swept aside as everyone is dealing with their own challenges. And that's ok. It's ok if they forget about you, because I think of you so often it would more than compensate for their forgetfulness. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/bb198a83e79ab6b620236fd18c3a5cdd6d6df2fa/original/12396.jpeg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpeg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br>I've started texting your brother Alan more frequently since losing you. Maybe I just needed a place to send all the love that I can't give to you anymore. We both miss you a lot. As always, he uses humor to cope. I notice how similar he is to you, in the way that he doesn't easily express his emotions, but shows his love in actions, just like you always did. He checks on me to make sure I am doing ok in my new temporary home with kind hearted friends that took me in when the pandemic stole away my job and my home. He sent me photos of you that he thought I might like. He texts me funny memes, - although I don't always understand them - because our sense of humor is very different, but I always love hearing from him. <br>The other night I sat on that reclining lawn chair you gave me, and looked up at the stars. My friends and I were encircled around a campfire. I thought of you, out there somewhere, beyond the stars. I also thought of my life partner, on the other side of the planet while the pandemic continues to keep us apart. I reflected on the expansiveness of love. The love of the friends with me around that campfire. The love of my beloved man half a world away. And your love with me still, as strong as ever. I sat there, under the stars, in awe of the magnitude of the human heart that is able to hold so much love and pain all at once. Maybe humans spend too much time trying to carefully unravel and remove the pain from the love, not recognizing that they are so deeply intertwined, one with the other, that they could not exist independently. Just as the inhale cannot exist separately from the exhale, we are in constant motion, always taking in and letting go. <br>As usual, my letter to you got a bit lengthy. Thanks for always listening and for loving me for exactly who I am in each moment. <br>I miss our talks. <br>Send my love to Mae and Grandmom. <br>Love always, <br>Jennifer </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/cdad019afdf25f5f178ddbbd1d15d0ae90c2b6ea/original/20200726-094016.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/61320772020-08-13T17:47:03-04:002021-11-23T00:52:08-05:00Living Outside of Your Comfort Zone<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/e26322f0d181482e3ffbb3d99e735b5f66f4a580/original/himalyas.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" />Living outside of your comfort zone requires deliberate effort throughout life. When you first step outside of your comfort zone it is frightening and uncomfortable, but if you stay there for a while, it eventually becomes comfortable. Maybe you start to feel comfortable or maybe you acclimate into the discomfort. Either way your circle of comfort has expanded and now you are called upon to take another step out and then another step out. Keep taking these steps and one day you will look back and barely be able to recognize the person that you once were, long ago, living in that teeny tiny comfort zone of the past. That is what happened to me when I found myself around a campfire, with a group of men in the middle of the night, in a remote guest house in the foothills of the Himalayas. I could barely recognize my former self. I felt happy and at ease and I wondered in that moment; "How did I get here?" It was not by just the journey of planes, trains and buses, but the journey of continually stepping outside of my comfort zone. In that moment I saw so clearly how if I would've clung to fear, I would've missed out on what will always be a truly magical memory, that night in Kukuchhina, India. </p>
<p>I spent most of my life up until this point actively avoiding the company of men. I had good reasons. Very good reasons. We all have reasons for why we stay in our comfort zone. It feels safe. We think if we stay in this little circle then we won't have to suffer so much. As a child I was raised under the guiding principal of "worst case scenario" and taught to always be cautious and ready for the worst. My mother not only cautioned us, but instructed us, on how to avoid kidnapping, which was presented as an inevitable event at some point in life. At least that's how it seemed to me. Then as I grew older and became a teenager, the kidnapping scenario became the "getting attacked" scenario. And this too, it seemed, would be something I would definitely have to face and therefore must be prepared. And despite all the cautions and all the preparedness, bad things still happened. In other words, living in fear did not keep me safe. And now, at this age, I really feel that no one will get through this world unscathed. This is life: There is joy and pain, happiness and sorrow. Living in my comfort zone was a very small space. In fact my world got smaller and smaller. I would buy my clothes at the same store, and eat at the same restaurant. When I traveled, I went to the same place year after year, because I knew it. I liked it. I felt safe there. I worked a crappy job that was close to home because I was a nervous driver. And a dozen more examples I could give of how my life was being shaped and confined by fears. But the Universe wasn't going to let me continue living small.</p>
<p>One day the rug got pulled from under me and in an instant my whole world shook with the pain of betrayal and loss. All the precautions, and all the safe choices didn't protect me from pain in life. Everything I thought I was building got torn down in an instant. It was the same lesson I was shown previously, but it was even bigger now, telling me once again that living in fear did not guarantee safety, but instead it guarantees a small life, a half life. And in that moment, which was almost 10 years ago, I finally decided to stop allowing fear to hold me back. It didn't happen all at once, but it happened little by little, just like I mentioned above with one step and then another, and then another. I won't even discuss "releasing fear" because that is so misleading. I didn't release anything. I faced my fears. I leapt head first into the unknown again and again. Yes, I was terrified, but I did it anyway. And each time I did it, I got stronger. Did I get less fearful? Maybe, but remember, courage doesn't mean you don't have fear. Courage means you don't let fear hold you back from being who you are meant to be. So I kept taking the steps. I left the crappy job and I got a better one where I was appreciated. I began training to be a yoga teacher. I began doing things that scared me. I left the relationship that was stained by betrayal and I began to live alone in a quiet apartment. I had never lived alone before. I always imagined it would be very scary to live alone. I was totally wrong. I loved it. It was quiet. It was freedom. It made me wonder; how many other fears were lies? (Spoiler Alert: Pretty much ALL of my fears were lies, and yours probably are too!)</p>
<p>I bought a yoga studio - that was scary and awesome. I started an online Academy where I began recording videos of myself. Some of those videos were of me teaching yoga classes. Want to face your body image fears? Try putting yourself out there on the internet with videos of yourself doing yoga! But I kept doing it, again and again, taking the small steps, that often felt like enormous steps. And during all of this, I met someone. Not just someone.... I met an incredible man with whom I felt a deep connection. So powerful was the energy between us that I knew I could willingly face every fear to get closer to him, and I also knew intuitively that if I didn't do that, I would be missing something amazing. So again, I took more steps out of my comfort zone one after the other. He helped me with every step. He saw my fear, and he understood the reasons, and he loved me enough to desire my fullness. He knew that fear would keep me from becoming all I was meant to be. He would never let me use him to hide from fear but always encouraged me to find my own power. And I did. I found my power and my courage and I did many things I never thought I would do. And one of those things was to fly to the other side of the world to finally meet this incredible man who had walked beside me (figuratively) for more than three years. </p>
<p>So that's how it happened that I found myself one night, in the foothills of the Himalayas, as the only woman in a group of men around a campfire under a beautiful starry sky, feeling no fear but only contentment as we sat there in the cold, sharing glimpses of our lives and learning about each other's culture while an occasional shooting star streaked overhead. It was well into the night when we finally left the warmth of the glowing embers and thanked those wonderful strangers for letting us share their campfire and conversation. He and I headed back to our room. It was so cold, on that December night under the snow covered mountain peaks. I might've quickly slipped inside our room to find some warmth, but he stopped me. He gestured for me to stand beside him on the terrace. He reached for my hand and held it while we stood there in the cold, under the stars, gazing over the hills and mountains. It was divine stillness, blissful peace and contentment. There was never a more perfect moment of love and beauty. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/8f2ce65cb45f723409a65e7bfc392a0728288eb0/original/campfire.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_right border_" /></p>
<p>What would my life be like now if I never stepped out of my comfort zone? If I never faced my fears? Or if I never understood my own strength? I would've missed out on SO many amazing moments and opportunities for growth. I wouldn't be the woman I am today if I had kept on living a small life within the confines of my comfort zone. </p>
<p> I still have many fears, but nothing terrifies me more now than the thought of letting fear hold me back. </p>
<p>Lots of love,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>If you would like to learn more about stepping out of your comfort zone and creating the life you've imagined, consider joining me in the <a contents="Beautiful Souls Membership " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">Beautiful Souls Academy </a>where we study short teachings weekly, from various traditions, that help us live joyfully and courageously in the wondrous Now. </em></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/63087352020-05-08T02:33:35-04:002021-04-21T13:05:13-04:00Long Distance Love in a Global Pandemic <p>I don't know when I'll see you again. You, there on the other side of the Earth. Me, here in the country that's become the epicenter of a global pandemic. Borders are closed and travel restricted. Plans canceled. Plans delayed. Plans dying. Hope fading. <br>But love is something bigger, isn't it. I've always said that this love is much bigger than my fragile human form can contain. It's enormous. It flows through me with all the power of the oceans and the steadfastness of stars. But I can't get to you. My heart is always reaching out to you, but my arms are empty. <br>I can't hold all this love, yet the distance between us prevents me from pouring it all over you as I long to do. <br>So I am going to spread it out, far and wide, in big and small moments for you to find later. <br>I'm tucking it into the stars at night so you can feel my love when those shimmering diamonds pierce the blackness. <br>I'm hiding it in the storm clouds, so the song of rain will sing my love to you. <br>I asked a bird to carry it to your window. I asked the moon to sprinkle it in your dreams. <br>Look, my darling, this love is everywhere. I've hidden it in the blooms of flowers and in the branches of trees. I've even placed it in the trash on the street because I know that you see love in imperfections. <br>In the sweet treats that touch your lips and the cool water that soothes your throat. <br>I've woven my love into music and song. I've hidden it in the smiles of friends and strangers. <br>So no matter how long we are apart, you will encounter my love in all the small moments of your day. <br>I hope we are together soon. <br>I like to imagine a day long into the future, after we've had many seasons together, that we will be walking along, hand in hand, and a beautiful bird might sing out from high in a tree, or a colorful flower may catch our eye and we'll say, "There it is." There is another one of my countless love notes hidden throughout the universe. We will find them together, years later, when this time of separation has become a well faded memory. <br>And long after our fragile human forms have departed this earthly realm, the ones we have left behind will also say, "There it is." They will find our love, still woven into small corners of daily moments and oft overlooked sighs. In the scent of rain and the comfort of chai. <br>Because for every day we have spent apart, I have tucked a thousand echos of love into every pulse of the universe, for you to find whenever and wherever you need them. Now and forever. </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/62878872020-04-20T11:52:58-04:002020-04-20T11:52:58-04:00One thing I know for sure<p>I've heard that people are protesting the shutdown. I've heard that people are refusing to wear masks and are ignoring the social distancing recommendations. <br>It's not my place to judge or criticize. But I will admit that I am perplexed. It is difficult for me to understand, although I try, I can only truly see from my own eyes. I can only understand from my own experinece. With so much unknown, and difficult to understand, I would like to share with you the one thing that I know for sure; </p>
<p>I am a small business owner, and the shutdown has, of course, severely impacted my business. I have no reasonable income, and yet the bills keep coming. Will my Yoga Studio be another casualty of Covid-19? I don't know. But what I do know is that it's not about me. </p>
<p>My kitchen cupboards are getting empty, and the refrigerator is only ghost town now, inhabited by the ghost of produce past. Haha... 👻🍎😄Now it contains only faded memories of crisp apples and sweet mangoes. Will I completely run out of food before the shutdown ends? I don't know. But what I do know is that it's not about me. </p>
<p>Because I've lost my income, I can't afford my apartment now, so I will be giving up my home and moving in with friends in a few weeks. How long will I need to depend on the generosity of friends? I don't know. But what I do know is that it's not about me. </p>
<p>My beloved nieces both work in hospitals. Everyday I choke down the white hot terror that they may contract the virus while they are working so hard to care for others. Will my fears become reality? I don't know. But what I do know is that it's not about me. </p>
<p>The love of my life lives on the other side of the world. We were hoping to see each other again in June, but those plans have since been canceled as borders have been closed and travel restricted. In these days of challenge and uncertainty, how wonderful it would be to wrap myself up in his warm embrace and forget about all this struggle for a while. But that's not an option for me. When will we see each other again? I don't know. But what I do know is that it's not about me. </p>
<p>My Uncle is dying (not from covid-19) and I haven't been able to visit him, or hug him. Today I asked him how he was doing and he said "Things are going South". If he dies during this pandemic, we won't be able to have a funeral. How will I say goodbye, and honor his life and process my grief without the opportunity to have a funeral service for him? I don't know. But what I do know is that it's not about me. </p>
<p>It's not about me. It's not about you either. It's about all of us. It's about the good of the collective. It's about kindness and compassion. It's about rising above our self centered attitudes and becoming more. That's right... in this time of less, we have the opportunity to become more. More loving, more generous, more understanding, MORE HUMAN. <br>It's not about me. <br>This is what I know for sure. </p>
<p> </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/62807932020-04-13T06:50:40-04:002020-04-13T06:55:52-04:00Accidental Egg Hunt<p>I want to share with you what I think is a funny story about how I ended up participating in an accidental egg hunt on a quarantined Easter Sunday. </p>
<p>With all these days and nights blending one into the other in my solitary quarantine, I still remembered that it was Easter. So when I woke up, I sent a few "Happy Easter" messages to friends that I knew would be observing Easter, and then I went about my day as usual, with the same blend of working on Yoga Club curriculum, reading, marketing, housework and packing, on a continuous loop. So for me, beyond those morning texts, it was just another day in quarantine. </p>
<p>However, sometime in the early evening I received a text message from a friend that said, "Look outside your door for goodies!!! Sending Love!!" </p>
<p>Wow... I wondered what it could be?? So I got my long black coat out of the closet, to hide the fact from neighbors' eyes that I was still in my pajamas at 4:30pm .... #truth ... and took a cautious step outside to find out what kind of goodies would be there. When I opened the door the first thing I saw was that my walkway was decorated in chalk with messages of love and of Happy Easter. What a great surprise!! But that wasn't all... there was also a bag beside the door. Inside the bag was a carefully packaged Easter dinner and an Easter basket filled with goodies! Wow... it has been many years since I had a visit from the Easter Bunny.... haha... so I was feeling like a kid again. I set the basket on the piano bench that doubles as a coffee table, and took the food to the kitchen. After carefully putting all the food containers away, I came back to the sofa to resume the work I had been doing, but somehow, as I walked past the bench/table, I accidentally knocked over the Easter basket and all the contents went sprawling across the floor. No big deal, I just got down on my hands and knees and started to collect the goodies and return them to the basket. That's when I realized, as I was crawling around my living-room searching for the eggs and treats, that I was participating in an accidental egg hunt! </p>
<p>It really made me laugh and feel like a kid again as I filled the basket back up with all the goodies. </p>
<p>Life gives us these gifts, of dear friends and unexpected moments and laughter amid the darkness. Its beautiful. Life is beautiful. </p>
<p>I hope you enjoyed reading about my accidental egg hunt as much as I enjoyed being a kid again for a little while today. </p>
<p>Love and Light, </p>
<p>Jennifer</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/62671512020-03-31T06:32:11-04:002021-11-23T01:01:27-05:00A Season of Kindness<p>During this challenging time, I want to remind you to be kind to yourself. Life is changing so quickly and so drastically, it is ok to take time to grieve the loss of normalcy. It is ok to acknowledge your sadness and fear. Take some time to really check in with your body, mind and spirit. </p>
<p>Difficult situations like this are a tremendous opportunity for growth. We can aspire to grow in patience for our quarantined family or for our stressed out co-workers. We can grow in compassion and reach out to those in need. I can't tell you how much it has meant to me to have folks randomly checking in with me. Friends, family, and clients have all lifted my spirits just by asking me if I am ok, and if I need anything. And although I am facing challenges beyond what any one person could mend for me, and maybe you are too, it still made a world of difference to receive these expressions of care and concern. It also helped remind me to reach out to others. Since it meant so much to me, surely I could do the same for others. Instead of being overwhelmed by the struggles ahead and the constant weight of uncertainty, I started sending out postcards to friends just to brighten up their mailbox and to let them know I care. It is a small thing but we can all do something, and together we can do anything. </p>
<p>It is my most heartfelt wish that when we get to the other side of this, and we WILL get to the other side, that we will look back upon this time as a season of kindness. A time when we reached out to help others and joined together in one global community, recognizing our shared humanity and lifting each other up by making kindness our most sacred mission. </p>
<p>Love and light, </p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>**this was an email that I sent out to friends of the <a contents="Beautiful Souls Academy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/">Beautiful Souls Academy</a>. After writing it, I felt that I wanted to share it with a wider audience. </em></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/61363822020-01-20T14:04:55-05:002021-11-23T01:11:49-05:00Choosing Happiness<p><span class="font_large">On Sunday evenings or Monday mornings is when I look to the week ahead. I review my schedule, which changes from week to week, and I review my enormous to-do list. I mentally prepare myself for the week ahead and for the tasks I need to accomplish. <br>At the start of this week while I was looking at my list of tasks, and categorizing them, and prioritizing them, it occurred to me that in all this planning and everything I hope to achieve, I haven't planned out how I want to FEEL. This is a very important thing to plan, and while I do frequently set intentions on how I want to feel day to day, or moment to moment, I've never included it in my weekly planning,... until now. So I set a strong intention to be happy this week. Sure I have challenges, struggles and pain - we all do - but even amid the suffering of life which is often unavoidable, we need to understand that excessive mental suffering IS AVOIDABLE. So while driving to a yoga class this morning, whenever I noticed that my mind went to the worried thought, or the fearful thought, or the painful thought, or the mournful thought, I would remember my intention, my "plan" for the week, to feel happy and then I would shift my focus. <br>I looked at the blue sky and felt happy. I looked at the bare trees of winter and appreciated the patterns of limbs and branches that are hidden by leaves most of the year. I felt my breath moving with ease in my body. I recognized that even while my body is in pain and struggling, my breath is still easy. Other parts of my body are also functioning well. I felt tension release from my body when I recognized that truth. <br>When I tell you; "Happiness is a choice", this is what I mean. It doesn't mean using thoughts of rainbows and butterflies to avoid the truth of your life. It means to clearly see everything in your mind - acknowledge it all - and then decide where you will spend your energy. On what will you focus?<br>I know it's difficult. I know sometimes we think the best thing we can do for ourselves is to just stay in bed and allow ourselves to "process" our pain. But is that really the best thing? Are you processing or are you wallowing? Is it really a choice of self love or is it a temporary giving up? <br><em>I am not judging myself here, and I am certainly not judging you or anybody. I am simply asking the questions and inviting you (and myself) to explore the answers. </em><br>So ask yourself, "Do I have time to give up?" Even if it's just one day, or only a few hours, do you have time? How long will your life be? ..... Nobody knows. Do you want to spend any moments of your precious life drowning in sorrow, or do you want to take steps towards greater happiness? Assume you live to be very old, and imagine you are reflecting back on your life. What do you want to remember? Do you want to look back on days, weeks and months where you remained stuck in sorrow and pain, and spent energy on worry and fear? Or do you want to look back at all the times you pulled yourself up from challenges and suffering? Do you want to look back on a kaleidoscope of beauty and happiness that grew from everything you experienced? Or do you want to say, "Glad life is almost done because it sucked"? The choice is yours. In every moment the choice is yours. No matter what you are facing, the choice is yours. If you want to cling to your sorrow and keep believing that YOUR suffering is MORE than anybody else's suffering, well you certainly have that right. You have every right to become the saddest, most depressed and miserable person you want to be. You have every right to be angry and bitter too. Live the way you want but never forget that the choice is yours. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Picture again yourself as being very old. When you look back on your life, what story do you want to leave behind? I want to leave behind a story of love, hope and happiness. I want people to say about me;</span></p>
<p><em><span class="font_large">No matter what she was going through she always freely shared smiles with others.</span></em></p>
<p><em><span class="font_large">No matter how bad things got, she never gave up on her dreams. </span></em></p>
<p><em><span class="font_large">Regardless of her pain, she always expressed so much gratitude for life. </span></em></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I want everyone who knew me to say that I gave them courage to believe in their own abilities, to believe in their own power to create more happiness and peace in their own lives, and in their own mind. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">This kind of happiness is like the sun that will radiate out to those around you. What a wonderful gift of love you are able to give to yourself and others. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So let me say again, Happiness is a Choice. A moment by moment choice. Sometimes we succeed in our intention to choose happiness and sometimes we fail. But the more we practice, and the more we intentionally choose better feeling thoughts, the stronger our ability will be to create greater happiness in life. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Don't believe me? Try it... Just try it. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">Lots of love,</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Jennifer</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">For more teachings and reflections similar to this, join me in the <a contents="Beautiful Souls Membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">Beautiful Souls Membership. </a></span></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692502019-11-29T19:00:00-05:002021-11-23T01:17:06-05:00A Remedy for Sorrow<p>Visualize a starry sky, on a clear night with every corner of the sky as far as you can see, sparkling with countless diamonds in red, silver and blue. I hope you've seen such a sky at least once in your life. Bring that image into your mind with as much clarity as you can envision. Feel a sense of peace wash over your body and mind. The stars remind us that this world is bigger than our struggles. Stars live for billions of years. Our little drama will play out in a handful of decades. 100 years from now, none of these worries or fears, regrets or sorrows will matter at all. There is freedom in that truth. Freedom to look beyond our small corner of the world and see a bigger picture. To stare into this vast and mysterious universe and know that you are a part of it all, however brief. The stars remind you of the limitless possibilities and unexplored potential of this human experience in this vast, beautiful, abundant and mysterious universe. Your time here is brief. Shake off the cloak of sorrow and shine as is your destiny. </p>
<p>Love,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>For more meditations and visualizations like this one, join me in the <a contents="Beautiful Souls Membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">Beautiful Souls Membership</a></em></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692482019-10-12T20:00:00-04:002021-11-23T01:25:11-05:00Where's My Lollipop?<p dir="ltr"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/80f93dd79ddeed864ad2141571448fb2806a97a0/original/img-20191013-195731-685.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_inline border_none" alt="" height="720" width="720" /></p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Growth is a continual process of death and rebirth. </strong>We shed old ideas and beliefs. We shed old relationships and ways of being. We shed former versions of ourselves. It's painful. Its exhausting. And yet, let's be honest, there is a part of us still expects, or desires, a smoother path.....maybe lit with rainbows and shooting stars and constant signs and encouragement from spirit/divine/universe that we are on the right path. (but for real, that would be awesome!) After we did the difficult inner-work, and went through the painful growth, we stand there like a toddler denied a lollipop, wondering where is our reward for doing the brave thing, for taking the big leap, for being vulnerable and digging into the shadows. Where is our reward? For real,... "I'm WAITING!!" (Said in the voice of Vizzini) Instead of a lollipop, the universe responds by pointing us towards the next step, the next journey that is so far out of my comfort zone that I threw away the damn map. This is uncharted territory.<br>Perhaps it is indicative of a lack of self love that being a better version of ourselves isn't enough of a reward.... ? What do you think? And what if THE THING that you must go through to become your best self and to fulfill your Soul's purpose is a really painful thing? Would you do it anyway? Oftentimes it's only in looking back that we can see how our biggest challenges and sorrows propelled us forward on our path. But what if you saw it in front of you? Would you still leap? Why do we wait for things to "work out" before we can say, "I grew from that". <em><strong>How awesome would it be, to jump into the MIDDLE OF THE SHIT STORM, with the battle cry of "I'm GROWING!!!!!"</strong></em><br>I want to be that person. I want to recognize my path while I am on it, right in the dirty, messy, painful transformation. I want to see my life now, and not need to find some justifiable resolution before I can accept it. I want to accept all this BEAUTIFUL PAIN, right now. But I am terrified. Are you?</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">Love,</p>
<p dir="ltr">Jennifer</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692472019-10-07T20:00:00-04:002022-05-18T05:04:15-04:00Refuge from a Mad World<p>This was the scene just a few hours ago, as I sat in my car in front of Just Breathe Yoga & Fitness studio and cried. Massive tears streaming down my face without even the slightest effort to hold them back. I was there to teach a class, but truth be told, if I wasn't teaching, I probably would not have been there. After far too many challenging days and weeks, it would've been so easy to just stay home and go to bed instead of going to yoga. But I was the teacher. I didn't want to disappoint anyone. So I mustered up my strength and forced myself out the door. Then on the way to the studio one more thing went wrong and I just collapsed under the weight of too many struggles, and cried. I couldn't hold back the tears. I sat there in my car, not caring who might be walking by, and I sobbed. Thankfully, my beloved and precious man was still awake on the other side of the world. His gentle care and firm logic helped me to keep things in perspective and to regain my composure before the students began arriving. I took a few deep breaths, then wiped the tears away and got ready for class.</p>
<p>It was a small class of experienced students who didn't require a lot of detailed guidance from me, so I joined them doing the poses as I guided them through a flowing practice. It wasn't perfect. I made mistakes. Sometimes the words didn't come out right, but the clients at Just Breathe are very kind and they graciously forgive my mistakes with shared laughter and smiles. We moved, and breathed, and stretched and flowed for a wonderful hour that ended with the deep stillness of savasana. I began to chant the mani mantra. Not out of habit, but from a sincere wish that these beautiful souls enjoy some moments of peace. With prayerful intention I imagine the vibrations of my voice washing over them, like a gentle wave which clears away the dust of sorrow and the grime of worry, that they might leave class feeling lighter and refreshed. That is always my aspiration.</p>
<p>Our hour of yoga ended and then the TRX students begin entering for the next class on our schedule. That was like the second wave of happiness as the folks came in and greeted me with friendliness and smiles. We chat a bit and they joke with each other. They are not free from struggles. I know enough about them to know that one has been suffering with illness and another one has been out of work. And yet in that moment, in that space, we can forget all of that for a little while and just enjoy each other's company and "Sweat it Out" as one client said. It occurs to me that there has never been a shortage of smiles in this place. </p>
<p>Back in my car, I pull out of the parking lot and wave to another client who is coming for TRX class. I thought to myself, what a difference an hour makes. I felt so much lighter in body and mind. I felt an easy smile on my face as I drove home feeling hopeful and grateful. </p>
<p>This is why we show up again and again to class. This is why we make ourselves go out, in the evening, when its dreary and rainy, when we would rather give up and go to bed. We make ourselves go back to the studio again and again because this is where we find refuge from the mad world. This is our sacred space. This is our community. This is where our burdens lighten and our smiles brighten.</p>
<p>I would like to extend my most heartfelt gratitude to every beautiful soul that makes our space the wonderful and uplifting place that it is. And if by chance you are reading this, and you aren't a part of our studio and you don't have a space like this to go to for refuge from the mad world, rest assured we will welcome you here, and we will always be happy to see you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> <em>A lot has changed since writing this, and our small, peaceful studio closed permanently due to the pandemic. But many of those same wonderful smiling folks that I remember from that night, and plenty of others too, have joined our fully online studio, <strong><a contents="Yoga Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club" style=""><span style="color:#3498db;">Yoga Club</span></a></strong>. I hope to see you there soon.</em></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692492019-09-24T20:00:00-04:002021-11-23T01:32:38-05:00Seasons of Us<p>You, crossed my path as calm as a warm spring breeze<br>then shook up my life like a hurricane gale force wind<br>that blew away all, all dust and debris.<br>All that was not for my highest good.<br>You warmed my cold body like the summer sun<br>and showed me how to shine.<br>You taught me how to let go, as gracefully as leaves in Autumn, a beautiful release.<br>You showed me how to look inward<br>and how to be comfortable in stillness<br>like the silent blanket of the winter snow,<br>covering all in whiteness, a clean slate,<br>time to look inward, until it's time to begin again.<br>That Spring breeze returns, calm and warm.<br>Gently guiding me onward.<br>I am growing into the seasons of you, the seasons of us.</p>
<p> </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692462019-05-27T20:00:00-04:002021-11-23T01:36:41-05:00How to Reduce Suffering<p>It may be true that suffering is a part of life. It may even be true that we need a certain degree of suffering to help us grow into a compassionate human being. But one thing I know for sure, we can greatly reduce our suffering when we understand how the mind works and something that is called <em>"the suffering of suffering"</em></p>
<p><em>"The </em>Suffering of Suffering" is when we encounter suffering and then the mind itself behaves in such a way that compounds our suffering. In other words, your own thoughts take a situation of suffering and multiply it, significantly increasing the amount of suffering you experience. </p>
<p>Is that hard to believe? You probably think that you would never purposefully increase your own suffering, and that is true. You wouldn't <strong><em>purposely</em> </strong>increase your own suffering. The suffering of suffering is such a habit that we don't even recognize it. </p>
<p>Let me give you an example;</p>
<p>Let's imagine that you walked into the corner of your coffee table and really hurt your leg. You hit it hard enough to bruise your leg and a lump will definitely form. You are in pain. You are suffering. This is suffering. But what is happening in the mind? This is where <em>the suffering of suffering</em> is forming. Other thoughts arise, such as;</p>
<p><em>"I never liked this stupid table. My mother gave me this ugly table. She doesn't know anything about my taste!"</em></p>
<p>(now you are feeling angry at your mother and feeling like she doesn't even take time to learn your tastes and style)</p>
<p><em>"I didn't want this table here. I wanted it closer to the sofa. It was my stupid roommate/partner that put it here. I never get my way."</em></p>
<p>(now you are angry and feeling like your opinion doesn't matter)</p>
<p><em>"I was just starting to recover from the injury to my hand last week and now I have another injury to deal with"</em></p>
<p>(You are feeling very sorry for yourself and are reinforcing your victimhood and the false belief that bad things always happen to you.)</p>
<p>There are MANY examples of how the mind compounds our suffering. Another example is that your bad mood from hurting your leg may cause you to lash out at someone. Now you have created tension and hurt in a relationship as well. And it compounds just like that. The mind goes racing into negativity, and NONE of that is going to help the situation. The fact remains that your leg is injured. Period. Wherever you place the blame or vent your anger, it won't change the fact that your leg is hurt. </p>
<p>We can reduce this suffering by recognizing the activity of the mind. The recognition will arise if we pause and observe. Before you react in anger, pause. Before you place blame, pause. Before you reinforce your status as a "victim", pause. Pause, breathe and observe your thoughts. Remember, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK. If an angry thought arises, acknowledge it, and let it pass by. Don't grab onto it, and don't react to it. Let your awareness rest on the flow of your breath and eventually those reactive thoughts will dissipate naturally without any struggle from your side. Stay focused on your breath and don't give any energy to negative thoughts that will create "the suffering of suffering"</p>
<p>This is the practice of meditation. It's just like that - observing the mind so that you NOTICE when an unsubdued thought arises and you PAUSE instead of reacting in your habitual ways. This is the practice. This is how to find greater freedom and how to reduce suffering in your life. Doing this practice for just a few moments a day is enough to bring about positive change in your mind. The more you practice, the better you get and the more you are creating a NEW habit in the mind. </p>
<p>Change doesn't come by wishing, but by making consistent effort. It's never too late to make a fresh start or to abandon habits that are no longer serving you. If you want more happiness and less suffering, make the decision to commit to regular meditation - whether that means once a day or once a week - slow progress is still progress. The hardest step in a new direction is often the first step. </p>
<p>Take that next step towards your freedom now. Life may always contain an element of suffering, but we have the power to greatly reduce the amount of suffering we experience by learning to work with the mind. </p>
<p>Lots of love,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><strong>Need help with your meditation practice?</strong> My online meditation course will introduce you to 21 different meditation techniques to get you started, or to renew your practice. The course is self-paced and you have lifetime access to the material so that you can return again and again to your favorite guided meditations and/or techniques. And best of all, you aren't alone on your journey. I am there to help and guide you, to answer your questions and to offer support. <a data-imported="1" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/meditation-a-21-day-journey">Click on THIS LINK to learn more about Meditation</a></em></p>
<p> </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692432019-02-08T19:00:00-05:002021-11-23T01:39:56-05:00Raven Heart<p>Let me tell you a story of falling and flying, of bleeding and becoming.</p>
<p>It began small and wholly unnoticed at first. I was being nudged towards the edge for years though little neglectful actions and small unkind words. Contained within the tiniest of moments the disregard for me had crept in like a cancer. But the moment of falling began with a note. Left there carelessly, was a note addressed to the one I loved that read, "Thank you for a wonderful weekend" and signed by a name that wasn't mine. This note, discovered just after after a weekend (that apparently wasn't a work weekend as I had been told) was like some metaphorical banana peel placed there at the edge of a cliff where I regularly walked. Just like that, this note was left for me to slip on, to lose my balance and to begin falling over the cliff that had snuck closer and closer over the years. But it was more than just a slip. It was the very ground disintegrating beneath me. The entire foundation upon which I had built my life crumbled right out from under my feet and I went tumbling over the cliff. The "sorry" that echoed behind me as I fell was utterly useless as it did not prevent my descent into darkness. The tears of regret were also useless because I began falling long before they did. The falling was endless and literally lasted for years. Every time I thought I hit rock bottom it wasn't rock bottom it was just some rock, or a gnarled branch, jutting out from the side of this enormous cliff that I would slam into but keep falling on and on. There was no solid ground in sight, only endless falling as it grew darker and darker.</p>
<p> Then one day, out of nowhere, I heard a voice in the darkness. The voice said, "You have a beautiful heart". I wondered whose voice this was. I wondered even more how my heart could be beautiful. I looked down at my own hands where I held together the pieces of my broken and bleeding heart and tried to figure out what of this heart was beautiful. But the voice was gone and I didn't know to whom it may have belonged for I was still falling, endlessly falling.</p>
<p> The next time I heard the voice I decided to share my wounds and show this being that I did not have a beautiful heart. I had a broken and bleeding heart. I showed him my bloody hands. I showed him the pain and fear behind my eyes that began so long ago. He listened with great compassion and then he told me a story. It was my own story of betrayal and pain. And as he came to the end of the story he said, <em>"The woman healed. She was so happy about the wonderful life she was bestowed with. So much beautiful pain that made her what she was. Yes she was more sensitive to the pain of others and she was also close to enlightenment, to utmost freedom. Until then, she lived with grace."</em></p>
<p> Who was this being that knew my spirit so well? Who was this being that was able to remain beside me while I was still falling from an endlessly high cliff? Surely he must be an angel, for only a winged creature could be so at ease this far from solid ground. I looked more closely and I saw that this being was an owl. Wise, magical, handsome and mysterious was my white-winged companion. </p>
<p>He had said that I was close to utmost freedom, but I didn't feel free. He said I lived with grace, but I didn't feel graceful. All I felt was pain. So the next time I saw him I told him that my heart wasn't beautiful. I told him it was filled with pain. He said it was foolish to believe I had a heart full of pain because only the Heart Sutra resides in my heart. His words completely halted me. The Heart Sutra is my most beloved sacred text, with beautiful words of truth such as; <em>"There is no suffering, origin, cessation or path. There is no wisdom, no attainment, and even no non-attainment"</em> Within the Heart Sutra is the mantra of the Perfection of Wisdom; <strong>"Gate, gate, paragate, parasumgate, bodhi svaha"</strong> which is usually translated as; <em>Gone, gone, gone beyond, utterly gone beyond, awake! so be it</em></p>
<p>I reflected on his words, that only the Heart Sutra resides in my heart. <em>No suffering. Gone beyond. Awake.</em> The truth of his words existed beyond words, but had spoken directly to my soul, a soul that understood completely and at the same time had no language to define or label this truth that was beyond labels. </p>
<p> Who is this being that sees right into my soul? But I still felt heavy with pain and grief. I was falling and I was afraid of the falling. I admitted this to him.</p>
<p>He replied, "You aren't falling, you are flying. You are free and you needed to be free."</p>
<p>I said, "If I am free, then why do I feel stuck in darkness?"</p>
<p>He said, "Don't fear the Darkness. Darkness is needed because this is where we grow. I am comfortable in the darkness and I can teach you how to be comfortable in the darkness also."</p>
<p>I looked down at my own hands covered in the blood of my own heart. I had tried to hold these broken pieces together for so long. It was time to let go. It was time to believe in my freedom. The holding on was too heavy for me now. The holding on was dragging me down. Why was I so afraid of the broken pieces even after all these years of not being able to hold them together? Perhaps I am meant to be many pieces and many things, always changing, completely impermanent and free within this impermanence. Free to change and free to transform. Free to become anything I wanted to be. So I let go. I let the pieces scatter. I released the pain. I forgave the memory and I forgave myself for holding on too long. I let go of resistance and I surrendered to the becoming. I recognized the truth of his words, that I was not falling, I was flying.</p>
<p> This beautiful Owl showed me my freedom and showed me my strength. Finally I could shed the illusion of brokenness. With his guidance I grew into my fullness and reclaimed my destiny. It was in that moment I felt my own wings for the first time. Were they owl's wings or would they be shining angel wings? I looked to my left and to my right and I was not surprised to see enormous black wings, black as night, black as the crow, dark and beautiful. I understood that I could embrace the darkness for it was darkness itself upon which I flew and began my ascent. A white-winged owl dwelling in darkness and a black-winged raven dwelling in sunshine, the two together, an unexplained mystery, hold a sacred thread of this wondrous Universe. </p>
<p>This is my story. A true story of falling and flying, of bleeding and becoming. I am a yoga teacher, and a singer. I always conclude my yoga classes with chanting using my own melodies to the words of either the Mani Mantra, the Perfection of Wisdom Mantra or the Tara Mantra. Students will often tell me afterwards that they physically feel the vibrations of my voice. I have no doubt they do, but what they may not realize is that they are feeling not merely my voice, but the wingbeats of this Raven Heart. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Love & light,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692422019-01-29T19:00:00-05:002021-11-23T01:44:59-05:00Aerial Yoga - Beyond the Mat<p>This is a personal story, about my experience of Aerial Yoga and how I found healing and courage within that silk hammock. </p>
<p>Before I was the owner of the studio, I heard that aerial yoga was being offered locally. It was something I really wanted to do, but for some reason, I was holding back. Many months passed, maybe a year, between when I first heard about these aerial yoga classes and when I actually attended my first class. Why was I holding back? Not because of fear, maybe a little bit because of finances, but mostly because it had become a habit to suppress my own wishes and desires. I had gotten too used to putting others first and too comfortable with neglecting myself. I felt like there were parts of myself that hadn't seen the light of day in over a decade. But I was getting bolder because the habit of suppressing my truth had not saved me from pain, and in fact, may have added to my pain. I was coming to a point where I had enough of making myself smaller for the comfort of those around me. I was ready to voice my wishes and to take steps forward to shed all that was no longer serving me. And believe it or not, taking aerial yoga was an important step. It was a bold declaration to say, "This is what I want and I am using this time and money for MYSELF". Some of you reading this will understand EXACTLY what it feels like to do something for yourself and struggle against feeling guilty about it. This was aerial yoga for me.</p>
<p>Externally, I could point to the difficult situation I was going through at the time, and the major changes happening in my life because of that situation, and say that this was the cause of my heartache. But in truth, the external circumstances were just the fuel to spark much needed internal changes. The internal changes were much more significant than the situations that forced this transformation. It really did feel like a <strong>forced</strong> transformation, for I had held on so tightly to what I knew from the past, until there was nothing left to hold on to. The foundation upon which I had built my life for the past 22 years had crumbled and I was in what felt like a never ending free-fall. Often called "groundlessness" this powerful energy actually brings with it a great freedom. When everything falls apart everything is possible because we are given a wonderful opportunity to rebuild something new, something more aligned with our highest good. But usually the cold terror that's felt in this free-fall obscures our ability to see that freedom And this is what I was going through when I began taking aerial yoga classes. I was struggling to redefine myself within these massive changes and struggling to see my own worth while hoping against hope that after the smoke cleared, I would be able to find something valuable in the ashes. Going to aerial yoga was part of this transformation. It fed the deep need to revive my soul and to find something that brought me joy. I had no idea that aerial yoga could give me so much more than merely a joyful hour of swinging fun. </p>
<p> I had taken one class before, at a different studio, where the hammocks were hung low to the ground, so this class was a much bigger adventure because in this class, when I sat in the hammock, my feet were off the ground. So, there was a certain degree of courage required to attend my first aerial yoga class at Just Breathe Yoga & Fitness studio. But there was no way I would let fear stop me. Honestly, at this point, several of my long held fears in life had already happened, and after your worst fears come true, there isn't much left to fear anymore, and certainly not a yoga class. </p>
<p>So there I was, clueless and a little nervous, feeling awkward but open to the experience. And what an experience! Ashley, is the instructor for the beginner class. How can I describe Ashley except to say that she is part sunshine and stardust, part mermaid and angel. She has a smile that lights up the entire studio and laughter flows so easily from her heart. Besides being a very knowledgeable and skilled teacher, she has this magical quality of making everyone feel like they are AWESOME! For real, I could spend half the class flopping around in the silk, struggling to get at least a little close to the pose that was demonstrated and the way she cheers me on and oftentimes physically assists me, somehow I leave class feeling like I am a strong, graceful, and amazing woman. And it's not just Ashley, but the entire class encourages each other and helps each other. When you are hanging upside-down in the hammock, it is easy to become directionally disoriented, especially in the beginning. One time I was hanging upside-down and Ashley explained how to flip back around, but somehow there was a disconnect between my brain and my body and I just wasn't processing the instructions correctly. Ashley was already helping other beginners in the class so the woman next to me literally hopped right out of her hammock without hesitating and helped me to flip back right-side up. This is how all the students behave in class. They applaud when someone gets a pose that they couldn't achieve previously. They cheer you on and create an environment where we can laugh at ourselves and smile at our imperfections. Sometimes there is a pose I can't do, and they say, "don't worry, you'll get it next time." It is actually a very freeing experience to not have to be GREAT at something, but to just be content with what I can do on any given day and not feel bad for what I couldn't do well or do at all. Everyone can just be themselves. It is a wonderfully supportive environment. </p>
<p>So much healing came from just being in this really fun and supportive environment, swinging and flipping and laughing. But that isn't even the extent of my experience. Class ends with a savasana, the relaxation pose. In aerial yoga when the students recline fully in the hammock, and it's called "cocoon pose" and that is exactly how it feels, like being in your own safe cocoon. Ashley tells the class the type of essential oil she has that day and instructs everyone that if they would like a drop of this oil on their palm, to leave one hand out of the hammock. She comes around to each student, and after placing the drop of oil on your palm she asks if you would like to "swing or be still". I always say "swing". And so she gives my hammock a gentle swing and I rest there, enveloped in my safe cocoon and surrounded by the scent of the essential oil, listening to beautiful music - it is amazing! The energy of loving care Ashley gives to all of us is reminiscent of being a child getting "tucked in" to bed.</p>
<p>All of this that I have written so far gives a very clear picture of how aerial yoga has been, and continues to be, an incredibly healing experience. But there is more. Yes, much more. Before savasana ends and before we come out of our safe cocoon, Ashley reads some poem or paragraph. These beautiful readings are often on topics such as self-love, letting go, healing your heart, being true to yourself, and reminders that you are worthy. So many times the reading she chose for the day spoke directly to whatever I was going through at the time. It felt like the exact words I needed to hear at the exact time. It happened so often that I stopped viewing it as a coincidence and just accepted the fact that the Universe was speaking to me through these readings. How many silent tears fell in my safe cocoon! These were not tears of sadness, but tears of gratitude for all that I was able to release, and for all the love in the Universe that I was able to feel in those moments. </p>
<p>So when people ask me about aerial yoga, I can say honestly that it is SO MUCH FUN, and does so much to increase confidence. It is a journey of trust that starts by trusting the teacher, and learning to trust the hammock, then to trust your own body and your own abilities. Strength builds over time, in the body and the spirit. I thought it would be difficult to explain my experience of aerial yoga, but after writing this I realize that it's not so difficult to explain, but perhaps difficult to believe that so much healing and transformation can happen because of aerial yoga. But this is my truth and I am eternally grateful. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lots of love,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692412019-01-19T19:00:00-05:002021-11-23T01:47:28-05:00In a Past Life...<p>I recently had a very interesting conversation with my beloved about the spirit of trees and their energy. It reminded me of this poem I wrote almost two years ago now. A poem that felt like a remembering more than a creation. Reflecting on trees made me want to share this poem. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know in the comments if you can relate to it, if your spirit resonates with non-animal entities in this world, or if you have ever felt the soul of a tree. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>In a Past Life...</strong></p>
<p><em>A Poem written April 25, 2017</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>In a past life you were a river and I was a tree. <br><br>You, always you, and I, only me <br><br><br>You, a river powerful enough to drag and push heavy rocks to the Sea<br><br>Strong enough to dig into the Earth and reshape your own boundary<br><br><br>Gentle enough to invite dragonflies upon your banks and boulders<br><br>To carry moonlight and starlight upon your back and shoulders.<br><br><br>I, a weeping willow tree growing near, <br><br>with trunk gnarled and twisted made <br><br>long flowing branches that dance on the wind<br><br>A respite for birds, and a haven of shade <br><br><br>You carved out the land between you and me to reach the caress of my luscious green hue <br><br>I reached my roots deeply into your bed only to touch the very heart of you.<br><br><br>Your voice was the swirling around rocks and reeds, of sighs, and trips<br><br>My voice was the whisper of wind through leafy arms and fingertips<br><br>We sang together in darkness of night <br><br>We sang together in day's warm light <br><br><br>Every Autumn I would shake loose my golden garlands to decorate your waves and in yellow splendor hide you<br><br>In Winter I would bejewel myself in diamonds of snow and ice and stand as a queen beside you <br><br><br>Ever-flowing, ever-changing, you were endless, boundless, and free <br><br>Yet always present, always nurturing I drank you into me</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692402018-11-05T19:00:00-05:002021-11-23T01:57:44-05:00On the verge of something Wonderful!<p>A few weeks back I was having a discussion with a dear friend. We were talking about this thing I have been trying to manifest for many, many months now. A particular situation that has taken a lot of time, effort and a roller coaster ride of emotions and once again I was right up against that place where it was on the verge of happening. And my friend said, "Even if it doesn't happen right now, in the way that you want it, you can still believe that something wonderful is about to happen."</p>
<p>This concept is <strong>not</strong> new to me. In fact I have even taught on this exact idea. However in that moment when she said those words, I felt like my entire being came to a complete halt. In that moment I was smacked in the face by the reality that I have a strong and solid core belief that I am always waiting for the other shoe to fall. On a deep level, it felt completely false to believe that something wonderful will happen, because my belief is that life rips the rug out from under me.</p>
<p>On an intellectual level I completely agree with the idea and philosophy of believing something wonderful will happen, of focusing the mind on positive results, and of being open to allowing things to unfold in divine order. All of this I can completely grasp on an intellectual level and yet in my heart of hearts I suddenly saw the ugly truth that my spirit is always waiting for the other shoe to fall. The reality of this brought tears to my eyes because I could see clearly, in that moment, the trail of heartache, betrayal and dissapointment that contributed to this strong belief. But some of those tears were also of gratitude because I was now able to consider, for the first time, that this belief is NOT something solid, true, and unchanging, but I could see that I actually have the power to release this belief. And this is the challenge of facing our mistaken beliefs. These beliefs are so strong that they feel like reality. When we have these glimpses of truth it is such a blessing because we are starting to recognize that there is another option. These beliefs, no matter how strong, can always be shed as we find, learn and grow into beliefs that better serve our higher purpose.</p>
<p> So the thing I wanted didn't happen. All of the work, effort, hopes and dreams did not manifest in the result for which I was hoping. This was the third time that I got right up to the door but was denied entry. That's how it felt, like a long, arduous quest that once again did not meet with success. The thing I wanted more than anything else in life was again denied, for the third time. It is the feeling of running in place - so much effort but getting nowhere. And I cried,... for days. Each morning I would wake and the grief hit me hard. I struggled to function, but I managed. As the days went by I would recall the words of my friend saying, "Even if it doesn't happen this time, you can still believe that something wonderful will happen". Admittedly this didn't feel possible the first few days, but I knew that it IS possible to change core beliefs, so I continued to reflect on her words. However, when I looked back over my past all I could see was the evidence against the idea that something wonderful will happen. All I saw was the times the rug was ripped out from under me and all the times that the other shoe not only fell, but smacked me right in the face and punched me in the heart. That is all I could see in my past. But I didn't reject my friend's words. I continued to sit with them because I know that change takes time. Today, I decided to look back and make a list of all the wonderful things that have happened in life.... and guess what?, I was able to create a really beautiful list, an amazing list, of things that seemed impossible at one point but came to fruition over time. When I looked honestly, the list of wonderful things FAR out numbered the times the rug got pulled out from under me. </p>
<p>So, where to go from here? I plan to keep focusing on all the good things in life, even as I continue to pursue my most heartfelt dreams. I will practice trusting in the Universe and believe that things unfold in perfect timing. I will continue to shift my way of thinking so that I can shed the beliefs that keep me stuck and prevent forward motion. </p>
<p>And I start to feel like something wonderful is happening right now ❤</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Love,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>For more teachings and reflections similar to this, join me in the <a contents="Beautiful Souls Membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">Beautiful Souls Membership</a></em></p>
<p> </p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692382018-10-06T20:00:00-04:002021-11-23T02:02:06-05:00In this very moment<p><em>"Yes, you really understand the process. We need that vulnerability and humility to let go. We feel that wave of release and a lightness comes over our being. But it is never once and done, is it? Even when the clarity and realization is strong, there always seems to be a deeper level,... more letting go,... more clarity.... more vulnerability. Like flowing water can, over time, carve into and reshape rocks and stones, so are we having our rough edges smoothed, little by little, as these waves of understanding and healing wash over our being, removing all the layers of protection that prevented us from seeing that we were complete and whole the entire time. Nothing was ever taken from us. Maybe we are not so much finding healing, as we are removing the blindness so that we can finally see that we are already healed and whole and lacking in nothing but the ability to recognize our true divinity."</em></p>
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<p>This was my response to a comment on one of my most personal weekly reflections shared in the Beautiful Souls Membership. Even if you haven't seen the reflection or the original comment, I believe this response is something that many of us can relate to, but more than that, an important message for those of us on the path to healing. It feels like we are healing our heart and soul, but I invite you to consider that you are healing your vision.</p>
<p>It feels like a mistaken view to believe that we can ever be anything other than healed and whole. Like storm clouds that can spread across the vast sky, blocking out the light with their ominous weight, and yet, the nature of the sky remains the same. Clarity and spaciousness is the true nature of the sky, able to hold all variety of weather, and remain unchanged at the core of its being. At our own core is our inherent nature of wholeness and divinity. The pain and challenges we face can all be contained here, in the sky of our being. The storms blow through here with fierceness and screaming, pain and bleeding, but at our core we remain unchanged. Healed and whole, divine and sacred is our inherent nature. When the storm rages here, the sun is still shinning in its place above the clouds. Whatever clouds gather or scatter, and whatever weather is contained within those clouds, the nature of the sky remains the same. The sky is still the sky.</p>
<p>Even when we we feel the pieces of our heart and our soul as broken and scattered, missing or hurting, our true nature of wholeness and beauty remains unscathed. Perhaps it is only our perception that changes when we experience trauma and pain. No matter how fierce the storm, don't let it cover your eyes forever. You are more than this. You are a beautiful and sacred expression of the entire universe wrapped up in this human form, perfect in your imperfections. Healed and whole, complete and gorgeous just as you are in this moment,</p>
<p>in</p>
<p>this</p>
<p>very</p>
<p>moment. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>**If this blog resonated with you, join me in the <a contents="Beautiful Souls Membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" style="">Beautiful Souls Membership</a> for more reflections and teachings like this one. </em></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692372018-09-28T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T02:30:55-05:00Maintaining a Positive Mind<div><strong>Frequently taught in relationship counseling is the idea that for every one negative comment or complaint you make about a person, you should then also share 5 positive comments. This way, there is not only a greater abundance of positivity in the relationship, but you are also creating a habit of positive thinking. </strong></div>
<div>We can apply this technique to our own minds. If we notice a negative thought, a worry, or a self criticism, we can practice generating 5 positive thoughts. If generating a positive thought feels difficult in that moment, try listing 5 things, 5 aspects of your life, for which you are grateful. Sometimes a negative emotion can be very heavy and feel very strong. In those moments it can be challenging to think of even one positive thought. But if you begin with gratitude, you can travel the distance from a negative thought or feeling to a positive and lighter mind. Start by simply recognizing this breath within you, and generate gratitude for it. For this heartbeat, this moment, this day... for the sky above you and the earth beneath you. The list begins to grow and grow and you feel your mind becoming lighter. </div>
<div>Meditation can help with this practice, because in order to be able to transform the mind, we first need to see what is there now. If you don't see, or notice your negative thought, you won't make an effort to transform it. The practice of meditation is the practice of watching the fluctuations of the mind, the shifting waves of thoughts, feelings and emotions, and then learning how to remain steady within these waves. You are not a little boat being tossed about on the sea. You are the entire ocean. Reclaim your power, the power of the positive mind.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><em>With love from Jennifer</em></div>
<div> </div>
<div>If you found this helpful, you may be interested in joining the Beautiful Souls Membership where you will receive a weekly teaching like this, with advice on how to manage your thoughts, maintain a positive mind and create the life you desire. Folow this link to learn more; <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership</a>
</div>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692362018-07-10T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T02:32:09-05:00You<p><br>You came to me barefoot at the temple door<br>Rose petals strewn across the floor<br>Your words like scented oil sweet<br>You placed so gently at my feet<br><br>An offering of you in essence and form<br>Upon my heart jewels to adorn<br>No more a step would quake or falter<br>But stand strong before love's holy altar<br><br>How true a gift, in earnest gives<br>With joy abounds and hope that lives<br>A sacred touch of golden light<br>That binds our souls and breeds delight<br>Ever always day and night<br>Amid these walls of ancient plight<br>To touch, to breathe, to sing and play<br>An endless dance of vast array<br>Take my hand and lead me on<br>The night gives way to approaching dawn<br><br>- Jennifer Kathleen</p>
<div> May 1st, 2018</div>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692352018-06-13T20:00:00-04:002021-11-23T01:53:21-05:00Nothing But Love<p>One day I'll die. <br>We all die.<br>Time and again.<br>And when my time comes again,<br>Believe not whatever tale is told of my demise<br>Whether accident or illness, <br>Even in violence, or in peace.<br>Whatever is said,<br>However it is explained,<br>Don't believe any part of it.<br>For you must know, <br>Beyond a doubt <br>That my disappearance from this world <br>could not come by any of these means, or circumstances.</p>
<p>Nothing but love could carry me from this world to the next. <br>For there will come a time, when so much love fills my heart, that this fleeting form will burst from the fullness of it. <br>So much love for you.<br>For life, for laughter, <br>For your smile, for your pain,<br>Love for your eyes, your hair, your skin, your hands, your cheeks, your thoughts, your tears, your joys, your jokes, your feet, your voice, your tongue, your forgetfulness, your lips, your arms, your kindness, your gentle soul, your intelligent mind.<br>So much love for all you've given me, for all you've taught me, for every moment with you. <br>This love fills me completely, and permeates every pore of my being. It's vastness is great, unimaginable and immeasurable. And one day, unable to contain such enormity of love, this fragile body will explode into a thousand million pieces, each piece saturated with love for you, bursting out into the universe, spreading everywhere. There is no separation or distinction between me and my love. You will see me everywhere. In the twinkle of the stars, in the freshness of the dew, in the delicacy of snowflakes, in the strength of mountains, in the coolness of shade, in the scent of flowers, in the song of the seas, in the arms of the trees, you will feel this love, everywhere, and you will know in the depths of your being, that love never dies, and you are loved with all the fullness of creation, with all the mystery of the universe. Wherever you go, whatever you face, you'll feel this love everywhere, not as a remembrance, but as a living energy embracing you always, and forever. </p>
<p>- Jennifer Kathleen</p>
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<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Written November 10, 2017</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692332018-06-01T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T02:53:20-05:00A Stack of Gratitude<p><strong>Update:</strong> It took almost 3 years, but before I moved to India in March of 2021, I had mailed out every single one of those hundreds and hundreds of postcards.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/a927d6178939f481066272e658b62584ffbf2cca/original/20180602-131115.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MzI2NHgyNDQ4Il0%3D.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="2448" width="3264" />It began a long time ago when I was a young girl. My family did not have a camera nor the money for souvenirs. So it was an ingenious idea of my parents to allow each of us children to choose one postcard from every place we went. So whether it was a day trip to the zoo or to a park or to a museum, each place we went we were permitted to choose one postcard as a remembrance of that day. Each of us also had a bulletin board hung beside our bed and here we would hang these treasured memories in postcard form, decorating our space and changing them out with the seasons or with shifting whims of childhood.</p>
<p> Over the years friends began to learn of this postcard collection and they were happy to add to it either by sending me postcards or bringing me back blank postcards from their travels. And indeed this habit endured beyond childhood as I would continue to collect blank postcards from the places that I traveled alone or with friends.</p>
<p> I hadn't thought much about this postcard collection for many many years. The last several years brought struggles and changes that didn't always allow for traveling nor the time to reminisce thru the past. My postcard collection stayed in a box in the attic and forgotten.</p>
<p> But change is a constant so once again my life is seeing significant changes. I began to go through all of my belongings reevaluating what to keep, what to pass along and what to throw away. I came upon this postcard collection and letters from friends - so many postcards and notes that I saved over the years. Many of these cards I have continued to save in a safe place with other beloved memories and treasures from the past. But all of these blank postcards I felt it was time to release.</p>
<p> So I have decided to take these memories of the past and essentially send them back to my past, back to the people that were significant to me or supported me throughout these years or months or however long I have known you. I have decided to send these postcards out to people that have been important in my life, people that come to mind maybe for no reason on any particular day. It is my intention each day to send out a postcard filled with gratitude to you, beautiful souls, that have helped me along my journey in big and small ways. A postcard from me to you expressing gratitude every single day until this large stack of blank postcards is no more.</p>
<p>If you are reading this blog now then you are a significant soul in my journey just because you have come along for the ride, you have observed me through my blog in these struggles and adventurers maybe for years or only months but you're reading this now and so we have a connection. If you would like to receive a postcard from me, please email me privately with your address and I will be happy to include a message to you as I go through this stack of gratitude.</p>
<p>In closing, I want to say a sincere thank you, for this stack of gratitude I have accumulated in this life's journey, which I intend to send back out into the universe. </p>
<p>Love and Gratitude,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/ce769412b9677e91ad1d64d45ffb22930e2cb996/original/20180602-131149.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MzI2NHgyNDQ4Il0%3D.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="2448" width="3264" /></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692322018-05-30T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T02:56:12-05:00This Fragile Human Form<p>My love for you cannot be contained in this body.<br>The edges of this existAnce are always on the verge of bursting open... stretching beyond what is possible... a pain in the soul,... the pain of being contained,... of being limited in form, when my love for you is limitless.<br><br>Maybe in a past life the same thing happened. Maybe I met you and loved you so completely and so fully that it could not be contained in this human body. And maybe one day, overwhelmed by my love for you, I burst wide open, exploding into a billion shining pieces that became all the stars in the sky, and became this entire universe made from Love, every single part of it. Now I've returned once more, after countless lifetimes, to find you again in this world created by love. And if the same thing happens,... if my love for you overwhelms this fragile human form, and I explode into a billion shining parts, then let it be my story told in the Stars so that everyone looking up at the night sky, glittering with numberless silver stars, will be reminded that they live in a world created by love and that love is Limitless. We are Limitless.<br>Maybe this is why the stars feel like home to me... because they are me as much as I am them. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>(This blog post feels like a continuation or expansion of my song, "Dim Reflection". Listen to it <a data-imported="1" href="https://youtu.be/q849ykNNO7I" title="Dim Reflection">here</a> on YouTube.)</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692312018-05-26T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T03:00:00-05:00Your Message<p>"Our own life has to be our message"</p>
<p>This is a quote by Thich Nhat Hanh</p>
<p>Read these words again</p>
<p>"Our own life has to be our message."</p>
<p>What is your message?</p>
<p> Before your mind goes making a list of your achievements and your successes, think about this; what do you really want to say with your brief time on this planet?</p>
<p> Each one of us will have a different answer to that question. And I hope that your message will be your own, a message that has blossomed out of your authenticity. Only you know what your message should be or what you would like your message to be. I want my message to be about kindness. I want my message to be about acceptance. For others to see that I handled my challenges with grace. That I was willing to learn and grow from whatever heartaches presented themselves. I want each person that crosses my path to feel that I see them and appreciate them - this is what I mean by acceptance, that each person I encounter feels genuinely accepted for where they are right now in this moment, honestly and authentically.</p>
<p> I want my message to be about empowerment because there is power in living authentically. And there is power when we choose how we want to feel and what we want to think. Our thoughts create our life so I would like my message to tell people the power of their own thoughts and their ability to create the life that they want.</p>
<p> Kindness, compassion, acceptance and empowerment - let this be my message. What is your message? Think about it because everything you do and say is sending a message out into the universe. It's not about the degree hanging on your wall. It's not about the amount in your bank account either. It's your every thought and every action that sends subtle vibrations out into the universe. What are you contributing to this existence? What energy are you bringing to every situation? It's not just the big grand actions that change the world. Drop by drop a bucket will eventually overflow. These small drops are our thoughts and actions. What are you doing to raise the vibration of this existence? It could be as simple as an honest smile that lift someone's spirits. Each day, in big and small ways, we are sending a message out into the universe. Understand the responsibility that you have each day and each moment. Let's recommit ourselves to contributing in a positive way to every situation in every moment. Actions have energy but so do thoughts. What energy are you sending out into the universe with your thoughts, your actions and your intentions?</p>
<p>Again, I will ask you, so that you will ask yourself.... what message is your life sending? What would you like that message to be? Is there a distance between what IS now and what you WISH it would be? If so, start asking how you can bridge that distance and make your life be the message you WANT to send out into the Universe. </p>
<p>And here is a little reminder... it all begins with your thoughts. </p>
<p><em>Need help creating more positive thoughts? Consider joining the Beautiful Souls Membership where the weekly reflections give practical advice on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, understanding the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life </em>❤ <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" style="">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership</a></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692302018-04-28T20:00:00-04:002021-12-08T09:49:10-05:00Allow the Unfolding - Cliff diving anyone??<p>Trust in Divine Timing.</p>
<p>That’s what we are told. Trust. I’ve even reminded myself and others to ‘allow the unfolding’. To let things unfold naturally instead of trying to force a certain outcome. When we are doing our work, learning the lessons, shedding the layers, and moving forward, sometimes …. (Umm, actually a lot of the time,)… we would like some concrete affirmation that our work is paying off, that our efforts come to fruition in a tangible way, and preferably RIGHT NOW. This is normal human behavior. We need some motivation to keep us inspired to do all this hard work. And it IS hard work… it takes courage, honesty, and the ability to tolerate being uncomfortable <strong>a lot</strong>, because that’s exactly what we are doing, we are breaking out of our comfort zone and <em><strong>leaping into the discomfort because that’s where the growth happens.</strong></em> And we want the growth! We want greater happiness and peace and we know we need to GROW to get there. We want a life that excites us and stirs our soul and makes the world a brighter place. So this is why we do the hard work, we dig down into the dark places of ourselves and bring the light of healing to our wounds, to our scars, to our delusions and attachments. This work is HARD. And that’s EXACTLY WHY we want some tangible evidence of the payoff, and we want it NOW. We want the signs, the blessings and the manifestations today. Hahaha… for real. We do. But, in this interconnected and interdependent existence, its not just about us. There are countless threads connecting us with everything else and everyone else in the universe, all moving forward together . That’s right. Its not just about us. Its about the ALL of US. Remember, we are not just doing this for our own ascension, we want to take ALL SENTIENT BEINGS WITH US,… and that is a huge endeavor. Numberless incidents and events all perfectly timed in synchronicity to produce the best result for EVERYONE. <strong><em>And THAT, Beautiful Soul, is what we call DIVINE TIMING.</em></strong></p>
<p>So now you know the reason, this beautiful orchestra of light, creating a marvelous symphony that will be the greatest benefit to everyone. Just like in an actual symphony, timing is important. We can’t just rush ahead and finish our part. Imagine an orchestra where everyone was playing the same musical piece, but all in their own time. Yikes…. Would we even recognize the piece? It would sound like chaos! Its like that - a cooperative symphony that we call Divine timing. We have to trust in the bigger picture, the piece as a whole and not just our own contribution. Its so hard though, isn’t it? The faith required for this journey is like taking a trust fall off the edge of a cliff....</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/aaa8dc714650238768a3ec5be70340010382eeca/original/cliff-diving.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.png" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></p>
<p>And if feels like falling…. And falling… and falling… so we try to grab onto solid ground. ANY SOLID GROUND… something to hang onto, to make us feel comfortable and secure. Some tangible something…. A relationship, a job, a project, a thing, ANYTHING to make us feel we have something to hang onto and give us a respite from the free-fall. But solid ground in an illusion. In this universe, impermanence permeates everything. It is always changing, shifting, growing, and evolving. This is GOOD NEWS. It means change is possible, and growth is possible, and EVERYTHING is possible! But is doesn’t feel like good news when we are taking that trust fall off the edge of the cliff. We wonder, what if I really fall? I mean, SPLAT!! and land on ROCK BOTTOM? What if our risks don’t pay off? What if it doesn’t work out? What if…? What if…? What if….? JUST STOP!! STOP the doubt. STOP the worry. STOP reaching out for that solid ground which is only an illusion anyway. You aren’t meant to grab onto things that will weigh you down. You are meant to FLY!! Yes, my beautiful darling, we aren’t falling, we are learning to fly! It absolutely IS a trust fall off of a cliff… a very high cliff for sure. This is where we learn to soar, and embrace the limitlessness of our true nature. Yes. You are limitlessness.</p>
<p>So let’s remind ourselves, when we are not seeing the results, when we are weary, when we wonder what is so great about ‘waking up’ anyway, when it feels so uncomfortable, let's remind ourselves that we are here to learn how to FLY! <em><strong>To soar to the heights of our potential, to dive headfirst into the energy of unconditional love and raise the vibration of the entire world.</strong></em> Yes, beautiful soul, that’s a big mission, but it’s what you came here to do.</p>
<p>Trust divine timing. Allow the unfolding. When we stop grasping and instead, open ourselves to ALL the possibilities, everyday becomes an adventure. The kind of adventure that gives you butterflies in your stomach, a slight waver in your voice and a weakness in your knees, but it’s also the kind of adventure that makes everyday a miracle, an amazing journey, a wondrous expedition into the unknown. Everything becomes part of the adventure. Suddenly the challenges and perceived obstacles on our path are seen for what they really are; lessons to be learned, and growth to be made.</p>
<p>If you need some extra help getting <em>comfortable with uncertainty</em>, I suggest you read Pema Chodron, who has a book by this same title, and other wonderful teachings explaining how we can <span style="text-decoration:underline">lean into</span> our discomfort, instead of shying away from it, and get in touch with that soft spot within us, instead of hardening ourselves against life’s experiences.</p>
<p>I sincerely hope that these words have provided you with some encouragement and renewed your vigor for this wondrous journey. Spread your wings darling, because you aren’t falling, you are FLYING!!</p>
<p>Lots of love from Jennifer</p>
<p>Ps - If this message spoke to you, and you aren't already a member of the Beautiful Souls Community, you may want to consider joining. This blog is a great representation of what we strive to achieve together and if it resonated with you, then the weekly reflections would be a continuation of the ideas and inspiration that I wrote about in this blog. So check it out and know that we would LOVE to have you in our community of Beautiful Souls. <a data-imported="1" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" style="">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership</a></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692292018-04-16T20:00:00-04:002022-04-22T01:33:01-04:00Dandelion Smiles<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>“I have lost my smile, but don’t worry. The dandelion has it” – Thich Nhat Hanh</strong></em></p>
<p>What a beautiful thought. This week in several of my yoga classes I invited students to reflect upon this quote, and I also shared some of my own explorations of these lovely lines. Here I would like to share my ponderings on this quote and also explore further.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/56aa1686495a1176361ee324aa415782a39e001c/original/dandelion.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.png" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></p>
<p><em><strong>“I have lost my smile, but don’t worry. The dandelion has it”</strong></em></p>
<p>First of all, I confess <strong>I adore dandelions</strong>. They are tenacious, growing up through sidewalk cracks and skipping across lawns everywhere, whether they are welcome or not! They are an important food source for honeybees. When a groundhog lived in my yard I often saw him feasting on the leaves of the tallest dandelions he could find. This made me happy. Most people complain of the damage groundhogs do to their gardens. This friendly ‘whistle pig’ was just helping out with weed control. But are dandelions really weeds? <strong>Isn’t a weed just a misunderstood flower?</strong> The health benefits of the dandelion plant are so numerous that it should really be classified as a medicinal herb. But let’s save that topic for a blogging herbalist. I would rather discuss the more spiritual aspects of the dandelion.</p>
<p><em><strong>“I have lost my smile, but don’t worry. The dandelion has it”</strong></em></p>
<p>Two little lines. Two lines overflowing with beauty and wisdom. The dandelion is such a small and common thing, and yet, it has His smile. Happiness can be found in small things, and in common things. Happiness is there, among the ordinary moments of our lives, just waiting for us to notice. Notice the small things, the hidden gifts and the simple pleasures, for this is where joy resides. Are you waiting for the BIG moments? For GRAND gestures? For RARE gifts? Those things are wonderful, but why wait? Why refuse small things and daily moments of their gifts of happiness? Why deny the happiness available to you right now? Don’t postpone joy waiting for some imagined future happiness. Smiles can be gleaned from dandelions.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“I have lost my smile, but don’t worry. The dandelion has it”</em></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Maybe we never really lose anything. </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Maybe it is just somewhere else for a while</strong>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He lost his smile, but he found it in the dandelion. It was never really lost. The dandelion had it the whole time. Sometimes we just need to shift our focus. If we focus on lack, we won’t see abundance.</p>
<p>And finally, maybe this is a teaching on inter-connectedness and inter-dependency. Maybe it doesn’t have to be all about ME ME ME!!! On days when I am feeling blue, I can find peace and contentment knowing that the dandelion is smiling. Or more practically speaking, if my friends are smiling, I can share their smiles. If my loved ones are happy, I can find happiness in that. If a stranger smiles at me, I can share that smile. On days when I am focusing too much on my own sorrow, I can shift my focus to the happiness of others and share in that abundance. Some people have the <strong>VERY</strong> mistaken idea that if someone else is happy, or wealthy, etc. it somehow means that there is less happiness and wealth available to them. THIS IS A TOTAL FALSEHOOD created by a grasping ego. In fact, the opposite is true. When others around us are happy, wealthy, healthy, positive, etc. it means that the <strong>ENERGY</strong> of these things is strong here, and you can tap into that energy so easily because it is close to you. Really, you can tap into it at any time, but it is easier for us, in the beginning of the journey, to work with the energy when it is close to us. So <strong>SHARE</strong> in the JOY of others. Share in the smiles of the dandelions. Tap into the energy of joy, abundance and happiness at every opportunity.</p>
<p><strong>If the sun could rain like clouds do, then the dandelions would be the droplets of sunshine clinging to the grass.</strong> (I think I need to write a song dedicated to the dandelion.....)</p>
<p>My favorite thing about dandelions is when the white fluffy seed-heads form. In the last hours of daylight, when the sun sits low in the sky, the angle of late day sunshine hits these white puffs in such a way that they appear aglow with their own light, like faerie orbs floating just above the lawn.</p>
<p><strong>Come to think of it, there have been MANY times when the dandelion had my smile too!</strong></p>
<p><em>If you enjoyed this teaching, consider joining the Beautiful Souls Membership where you will receive weekly reflections similar to this teaching that give practical advice on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, understanding the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life ❤</em> <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership</a></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692282018-03-31T20:00:00-04:002021-12-08T09:29:52-05:00Time to Unclench<p>Here is the image. You have a goal. You’ve planned a path to that goal. You are walking the path with total commitment and dedication. You should make it to your goal then, right? But what if you don’t? You are focusing on every step and keeping your eyes glued to the path…. Then you hit a brick wall. You are standing there with your face up against the wall, so close that all you see are the bricks. You try to punch, kick, climb, scratch and claw your way through or over the wall but nothing is working. ARGGHH!!! Then comes the “<em>why vomiting</em>”. WHY is this happening? WHY am I being blocked? WHY did my path lead here? WHY didn’t I realize this obstacle would be here? WHY WHY WHY WHY? WHY can’t I see a way around it??</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/e9cf01b09ec37902652d102b6e5182c3f52b76bd/original/brick-wall.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.png" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></p>
<p>A-ha! That’s the question to ask! Why can’t you see a way around it? Because you are TOO CLOSE. All your focus has been fixated on this ONE path, this ONE way you will reach your goal, this ONE idea of happiness. With your face pressed up against the wall, all you see is your obstacle. So what do you do?</p>
<p>….. Turn you head …..</p>
<p> Yup, that’s all. Just turn your head. You’ve been looking straight ahead and only seeing this ONE way. You forgot you can turn your head. You can look to either side. And when you do, you see that the wall doesn’t go on forever. In fact, maybe it’s just a few feet wide, but you couldn’t see that until you turned your head. Maybe you don’t have to scratch and claw your way over, or hammer through it. Maybe you can easily walk around it. There are MANY PATHS to the thing you want. When we only hold space in our mind for ONE WAY to get there, ONE idea of happiness, we are going to miss A LOT. A different path might not be what you pictured, but it will get you there just the same. Maybe it is faster, or slower, but you can still get where you want to go. Maybe, just maybe, it is far better than the path you were on anyway.</p>
<p>When we GRASP and CLING so hard to our ideas of how life should unfold, we are really constricting our energy. It is as if we are squeezing ourselves into a little tiny ball and our world gets very small as our possibilities shrink. Remember, this is a YES Universe! That means the Universe will AFFIRM your beliefs. If you believe there is ONLY ONE WAY, then the Universe will only show you ONE WAY. If you believe that the UNIVERSE is much more vast, and creative than your own wild imagination, you will remain open to possibilities, and the UNIVERSE will say YES to that. YES to possibilities! YES to things unfolding in even better and more amazing ways than you could’ve imagined on your own.</p>
<p>We are co-creators of our life. What does that mean? It means we must set our INTENTION, our goal, and take steps towards that goal but be OPEN to the tugs of Spirit, to the creative energy of the Universe that can form a path for you filled with wonder and growth beyond your imagination. We need to look around and to UNCLENCH. Be open to the unfolding of the Universe. Be curious about the twists and turns of the path instead of fearing every unknown curve, every unseen trail. We think that worry is somehow protecting us. It is NOT. Fear and worry make your world small and shrink your possibilities. It’s time to let go.</p>
<p>Think of it this way…. Picture holding something precious in your hand. Your arm is outstretched and your palm is turned down toward the floor. You grasp this thing you love SO TIGHTLY because you KNOW if you open your hand it will fall to the floor and smash into a million pieces and you will lose everything you love. This is the feeling of constriction. The thing we love is being squeezed in our tightly clenched fist. No energy can flow through our hand, through our tight fist, through our clenched mind, or through the thing we love.</p>
<p>But listen,… IT IS POSSIBLE TO LET GO AND <strong>NOT </strong>LOSE EVERYTHING.</p>
<p>Picture your outstretched arm, and just turn your palm up towards the sky. Now unclench your fist. The thing you love is still there in your hand, resting easily on your palm. Energy flows all around. You can relax. There is no need to grasp. Stress, worry and attempting to control everything is going to feel tight and constricted. You are blocking your own energy and missing all of the possibilities around you. Soften into the wonder of the Universe. Unclench. You are made of stardust and moonlight, dewdrops and sunbeams. The same elements that make up the stars are also in you. You are not one small speck in the universe, you are a DIVINE expression of life, a child of the universe. You are a part of this Universe just as much as the stars in the sky, and the waves of the sea. All is unfolding just as it should be. Open yourself to the unfolding of life. Believe in your possibilities, and your potential.</p>
<p>Thich Nhat Hanh tells us, “Because you are alive everything is possible”</p>
<p>Believe in your possibilities. Turn your head and see there are many paths available to you. Unclench and let your energy flow freely. You are here to SHINE and GROW, not to stress and shrink. The Universe is constantly expanding. Don’t resist the expansion. Be open to the unfolding and SHINE ON!!</p>
<p>“Walking the path toward the complete ending of clinging and suffering is the noblest thing a person can do. It opens the fist of the mind, and allows a person to walk in the world with gift-bestowing hands.” - Gil Fronsdal</p>
<p>“Gift-bestowing hands”… what a beautiful image. Let’s unclench, and walk through this world, through our own lives, with gift-bestowing hands.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading.</p>
<p>Love and Light,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p><em>Ps - If you found this teaching helpful, consider joining the Beautiful Souls Membership where you will receive weekly reflections give practical advice on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, understanding the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life </em>❤ <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership</a></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692272018-03-02T19:00:00-05:002022-01-16T09:42:29-05:00A Trail of Magic<p>I read a quote once that has stuck with me for many years, although I don’t recall to whom the quote was attributed. It said, <strong>“By choosing to be our most authentic and loving self, we leave a trail of magic everywhere we go”</strong></p>
<p>Isn’t that a beautiful image? A trail of magic… but what does that really mean?</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/ef89842d707786c2173a19e813d672ef94380806/original/trail-of-magic.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.png" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></p>
<p>We understand ‘loving’ but what does it mean to be ‘authentic’? It is something beyond just ‘being yourself’. It is not just about being yourself, but being OK with ALL of yourself. To have the courage to see yourself clearly, and to accept it all; all of the darkness and all of the light. To forgive ourselves for the times we fell short, and to celebrate all of our efforts, not just the successes that panned out, but the times we screwed up, got it wrong, made a mess, and broke our own hearts or someone else’s. We take it all in our arms in one loving embrace of self-acceptance and genuine compassion. And THIS is where we find our authenticity. Not in the lofty heights of aspirations for enlightenment, but in the mud and the mess where the roots of the lotus flower thrive. We know we are all on a journey. You are on a journey, or you wouldn’t have been led to my blog. You are reading this now, and feeling the truth of your own journey. We know that we have incredible power to transform, to grow and to expand into our limitless potential. But we don’t have to wait until we’ve finally reached our idea of ‘perfection’ or ‘success’ to finally accept who we are, and to be authentic, … to be here…. To be now. THIS IS THE MAGIC!! To love yourself unconditionally right now, all the light and all the darkness that resides inside you in this moment. The courage and grace it takes to stand in the center of our own life and see all the pain and all the beauty for the masterpiece that it truly is. This is magical. And yet, there is so much more.</p>
<p>When we can honestly face the darkness within ourselves, we find our compassion grows tremendously for the darkness that we see in others. By living authentically, we create the space for others to do the same. We give other people the invitation and the acceptance to shed their own masks and armor. Whether they accept the invitation or not, is not our business. Our job is just to create the space, and by example to extend this invitation. So by being authentic, and loving, we can inspire others to also find the courage to be truthful, loving, authentic and compassionate. And this is true magic.</p>
<p>If you long to have your belief in magic restored, it is here. This is beautiful magic. To understand that the efforts you put into your own healing, compassion, and self-acceptance, can benefit those around you, just as a small pebble thrown into a still lake will create ripples moving out in circles that grow wider and wider. Not everyone will believe in this magic. Not everyone will shed their masks and armor just because you did. <strong>Don’t worry, gorgeous soul, you just plant the seeds, and shine on!</strong></p>
<p>Lots of love from Jennifer</p>
<p> <em>PS - If you found this teaching helpful, consider joining the Beautiful Souls Membership where you will receive weekly reflections giving practical advice on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, understanding the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life ❤ <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership</a></em></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692262017-12-19T19:00:00-05:002021-12-07T03:46:27-05:00Mood Enhancing Substances<p>I’ve heard that the way to get a great workout is to ‘increase your resistance’. Well then, I had a fantastic workout, because during the time I spent on the elliptical today, I RESISTED the urge to SING every time my favorite Bollywood songs came on my playlist! I also RESISTED dancing when those upbeat, toe-tapping, Post Modern Jukebox jams came on! And that’s a good thing… because me dancing on the elliptical machine could only end in disaster. Not that I don’t have stellar moves, (These curves put the ‘hip’ in hypnotic!) but I am not much of a multi-tasker, and would come crashing down onto the floor when my attention went all to dancing and none to staying balanced on the machine. So there I was today, NOT singing and NOT dancing, but grinning just widely enough that it seems out of context for the situation and people around probably wonder if I am on some mood-enhancing substance. … The answer is YES I AM! I am on regular doses of GRATITUDE and I am totally addicted to YOGA! Both of them are very mood enhancing. Why am I so grateful for this sweat soaked time at the gym? Let me tell you, there have been many times in my life, when illness or injury made simply walking very difficult. Times when I needed help just to get myself dressed. Times when even the smallest movement triggered a great deal of pain. So, when I can walk around on my own two legs, when I can move, and run, and do yoga, and spend an hour on the elliptical machine, how can I be anything but grateful? Do you need some extra motivation maintaining or beginning a fitness program? Think of this; there are countless people all over the world who would LOVE to be able to do the workout that you are avoiding,… but they can’t. Countless people who would love to just have the freedom to move around on their own two legs…. But they can’t. So if you have freedom of movement and need a little extra motivation to get your fitness program back on track, why don’t you dedicate your workout to the happiness of all those people who are not able to walk, run, and move like you can? Remembering this will inspire gratitude throughout your workout and dedicating your efforts to the happiness of others will send so much positive energy into the world and also help you to accumulate positive karma. What we send out into the world echoes back to us. In these simple ways we can train our minds to always work toward the happiness of others and always inspire gratitude within ourselves for this beautiful life.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave your comments below. And if you don’t want to miss out on any future musing by this paagalee yogini (crazy yoga lady) then sign up for my newsletter to receive occasional messages from me delivered right to your inbox. <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/</a></p>
<p>Love & Music,</p>
<p>Jennifer Kathleen</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692252017-02-21T19:00:00-05:002024-01-02T11:27:36-05:00By the Shower Door<p>I like to take a hot shower at night, before bed. I'm not a person big on routines, my hours, my days have a somewhat haphazard quality to them, as every day is a bit different. A different job and a different schedule each day doesn't lend itself to routine. But the hot shower before bed is my delight. It allows me to wash away the dust of the day, and later my curly head will air dry on the pillow while I dream.</p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/394070/d3a66a7103602492285f845dbd9e275feca9cc28/original/by-the-shower-door.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.png" class="size_m justify_center border_" alt="" /></p><p>A hot shower is my routine. Hotter than hot for this body that's always just a little too chilly, never quite warm enough for any length of time. This scalding shower chases away the chill and clears my mind. Wash away the day, wash this body, wash the long legs made strong from yoga, wash these freckled arms of my Celtic heritage, wash the whiter than white stomach that never sees the sun, wash the soft curves of this gentle woman. Let the steam envelope me, let me breathe it in until all is fresh and clean again, and then the shower ends . I slide open the shower door, and I see, there on the floor, the clothes of my day. The clothes I shed. The yoga top, the yoga pants, the pretty kurti, crumbled on the floor and the colorful scarf draped nearby. I was a yoga teacher today. I shared peace and calm. I watched my breath. I moved my body. I chanted OM. I held my hands together at my heart's center and bowed to the light in you. Did it make a difference? Did it matter at all? What will I remember of this day, washed away, crumpled evidence in laundry on the floor, by the shower door?<br>Another day. Another hot shower. This time, after I shut off the scalding water, I look down at the floor to see the crumbled clothes I cast off. The skirt, the delicate top, the stockings, a different colorful scarf hangs nearby. Today I was a singer. I walked on stage with all the confidence of a seasoned performer and the humility of a poet who uses lyrics and melody to reveal the most beautiful and hidden parts of this heart. I played guitar. I sang. I told stories of my life, the view from these mis-matched eyes. I bowed to your applause. Did it make a difference? Did it matter at all? What will I remember of this day, washed away, crumpled evidence in laundry on the floor, by the shower door?</p><p>Another day. Another hot shower before sleep. After indulging in the healing embrace of steam, I open the shower door. I look down at the floor to see my crumbled clothes, the remains of my undressing. The old jeans with dirty ripped knees, the T-shirt I just can't part with despite the small stains and little holes, the once new hoodie, now tearing at the cuffs and with pockets pulling away from the worn out fabric. I was a gardener today. I dug in the dirt. I inhaled the first scent of approaching spring in the air. I planted seeds. I fed the birds. I thanked the trees and the vast blue sky. I bowed to the majesty of the earth. Did it make a difference? Did it matter at all? What will I remember of this day, washed away, crumpled evidence in laundry on the floor, by the shower door?</p><p>One day will be my last day. My last yoga class to teach. My last performance to sing. My last seed to plant. One day I will look down on this discarded body, the legs that were strong, the arms that were freckled, the stomach that was white, the curves that were soft, the head that was curly. Did it make a difference? Did it matter at all? What will I remember of this life, washed away, crumpled evidence in an empty body on the floor? <br>I bow to this mystery, to this crazy d<strong>Ance</strong> of life, to this wild exist<strong>Ance</strong>. I bow to the beauty. I bow to the pain. I bow to the remains of the shell that carried me through this journey, through this lifetime. I bow deeply, and I depart.</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692242014-10-16T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T03:55:33-05:00A sneak peek into the making of a CD.<p><span style="color:#3366ff">My new CD, 'Beautiful Souls', released over a month ago. In the months leading up to the release I was very busy with everything that has to happen prior to a release concert. This is my FIFTH collection of original songs, so all of the tasks involved in this musician's life are well known to me by now, but maybe not very well known to you. So, if you ever wondered what goes into the making of a CD, read on!</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#3366ff">The writing takes the longest. My last CD released in November of 2011. The first song I wrote for 'Beautiful Souls' was 'My Heart's Home', which I composed in March of 2012. Songs come in their own time and in their own way. Sometimes they come out all at once, and other times they arrive in sections, spread over time. The song, 'Bodhicitta' began as a piano song many years ago. Other songs, like 'Ella and Chester' come out all at once. That was the last song I wrote for 'Beautiful Souls'. I thought it was so well suited for my new CD that I actually bumped another title that I was planning to include. Even after I feel that a song is written, and I begin to perform it at live shows, they can still go through a subtle transformation such as polishing the ending or slightly changing lyrics if they don't feel quite right on my tongue during a performance. But all of this is my favorite part. It feels like I am taking all of the stuff of life, the beauty, pain, emotions, experiences, passion, energy and love, and forming it, shaping it, and polishing it into something beautiful.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#3366ff">Next comes the recording. This was so much fun. Amanda Lyn Hornberger recorded this CD, and no matter what was going wrong (and things went wrong) she was positive and encouraging and we ended up sharing A LOT of laughs (one of which was recorded and inserted into 'Brighton Pier'!) After the recording comes the mixing. Amanda did most of this on her own, with a little input from me and Donna. Mixing is basically balancing all of the tracks and matching levels and things like that.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#3366ff">Having the hard copy of the completely recorded CD in my hands feels like a big relief but it is only temporary, because MOST of the real work (and by 'work' I mean not as much fun as writing and recording) comes next. Production was the biggest headache, mainly because this time I decided to save money and NOT pay the 'Art Department' for designing or formatting my Cd and its envelope. Navigating through the online templates and formatting the photos, etc. was one bump in the road after another. FINALLY, after MANY headaches, rejected proofs and phone calls & emails to the lovely support folks at Oasis, the Cd and cover were ready at last. The folks at Oasis duplicated the Cd, wrapped them up in the lovely sleeve that I designed, shrink wrapped them and mailed them off to me. When the shipment arrived on my doorstep, it felt like a major victory!!</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#3366ff">Ok, so in my hands was my new CD filled with 10 new songs.....but would anybody ever hear it? Next comes marketing!! Getting the word out, posting on Facebook, sending emails, texting friends. I had already scheduled a performance at The Yoga Place in Ephrata for September so I decided that the timing (and venue) was PERFECT for the release concert. Since space would be limited, I began advertising right away, thinking that it would sell out fast. ...... It didn't. Ever. {Insert lots of anxiety and worry here mixed with a whole lot of self pitying whining such as, 'why am I doing this anyway?"} It was about a week and a half before the concert when the seats started to sell. We didn't sell out, but I still breathed a huge sigh of relief when most of the seats were sold.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#3366ff">Now that I knew there would actually be an audience, I began to prepare the set list, which was one of the easiest tasks of this project. I planned to perform all of the songs from the new Cd and the rest of the space I filled in with special requests that folks were sending me through Facebook. Set list written!</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#3366ff">The next task is the one that worries Donna the most.....CHOOSING MY OUTFIT!!! Poor Donna. Too many times she has witnessed me standing in front of the closet, tearing outfits on and off in a whirlwind of self-criticizing remarks paired with what I like to call 'wardrobe whining'. As the pile of rejected clothes gets higher my mood gets lower. But, this time the stars were in my favor. I tried on one dress that I had in mind to wear. It was a lovely oriental style, but it just didn't feel right for the night. Decided instead to wear the very glamorous shoes I bought for my last release concert, (in Brighton!) and I built my outfit from the shoes up. So, with only one 'rejected' outfit, this was a personal best. I think Donna wrote about this amazing and rare turn of events in her journal that night to remember always. ;)</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#3366ff">Then there was a checklist of things to remember, chairs to bring in, snacks and drinks to purchase and dozens of other little things to prepare. I wrote my self a list of reminders like; remember to wear a watch, remember to bring the email sign-up sheet, remember to bring the box of new CDs (that was an important one!) We arrived at The Yoga Place with plenty of time to get everything in place before folks began arriving. Chairs were set up, the merchandise table was looking good and the sound system was plugged in and working. Phew! All I had left to do was to drink copious amount of water and wait for folks to arrive....and wait....and wait.....and start to worry. By the time the concert was meant to begin, one third of the reserved seats were still empty!! (Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic) Thankfully the audience was VERY friendly and there were many conversations going on in the room, so when I asked if anyone minded if we delayed starting by a few minutes, no one was bothered in the least. About five minutes later three different groups of people came rushing in the door. Phew! Another BIG sigh of relief from me. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#3366ff">Then there was only one thing left on my to-do list, BE AWESOME! </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#3366ff">Done. :)</span></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692142014-04-30T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T03:56:50-05:00The Other Shoe<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_5363f93cd6e114d66646987"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{" tn="">Anyone who has survived trauma of any kind knows the uneasy feeling that comes when life 'gets good again'. It is the shadowy companion of happiness that warns you not to get 'too' happy, because the rug got ripped out from under you before and it could happen again. Every dose of happiness brings along a dose of anxiety. We are always waiting for the other shoe to fall.<br>Maybe this thinking origi<span class="text_exposed_show">nally manifested to protect you, but it is no longer serving you. It is time to Let It Go! (cue 'Frozen' soundtrack)<br>The very nature of life is impermanence, and therein lies life's greatest beauty. The truth of impermanence pulls us out of getting stuck in the past and of fearing the future. The truth of impermanence tells us that all we really have is this moment. So whether it is happy or sad is not as important as being fully present to WHATEVER is happening, knowing that each moment is precious and fleeting. Thich Nhat Hanh says, "Only the present moment contains Life".<br>I want to be alive, fully and wonderfully alive, to every moment. Maybe the other shoe will fall. If it does, I hope it is a gorgeous and glittery high-heel shoe and I'll go shopping for a fabulous dress to match it! And if the rug gets ripped out from under me again, I will take up tap-dancing, because, well, you can't tap-dance on a rug anyway, right?!</span></span></div>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692202014-01-15T19:00:00-05:002021-12-07T04:00:21-05:00Can Only Be Seen in Winter<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_536400f6882436359760667"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{" tn="">This morning I was driving to yoga under a dreary grey sky and thinking about how much I miss the leaves on the trees. I was reminding myself that the trees aren't dead, they are just resting. I came around a bend in the road and saw in a distant corner of the sky a beautiful opening in the seemingly endless grey where patches of beautiful blue could be seen. The sunlight that came through this op<span class="text_exposed_show">ening lit up the edges of the cloudscape bright white. It was beautiful. It made me think about the truth of "where we choose to focus our attention". If we are so busy focusing on what we DON'T want in our lives, we will miss seeing what we DO want in our lives. The moment this thought dawned in my mind, snowflakes began to fall around me and dance on the breeze as if the universe was celebrating the moment with a handful of white glitter tossed down from heaven. For the rest of the drive I enjoyed the beauty of the tree branches and their noble structure set against the grey sky that can only be seen in winter when they are not clothed in their leafy garments of spring, summer and fall.</span></span></div>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692132013-12-16T19:00:00-05:002021-12-07T04:09:42-05:00Avoiding Money<p>Avoiding Money isn't generally a topic that will get a lot of attention, especially during the holiday season, but for those few folks who have 'go-against-the-grain' souls, you might appreciate this topic. It is the holiday season and so much of what we do revolves around money....buying gifts, mailing cards (stamps cost money), purchasing special groceries for that holiday meal....it is hard to do without money. While we may not be able to avoid it completely, perhaps we could think about shifting the focus from money during the holiday season. What would your holiday look like with no money? Could you still enjoy yourself? Recently a new friend of mine spoke to me about the Buddhist idea of avoiding handling money. This put the wheels in motion. What would my life look like with no money? I am not talking about living in poverty. I know what poverty looks like....real poverty, slums with no food, no clean water, no sewage system, no hope. I am talking about having enough. I am talking about our values. If our society operated on a barter system, what would you be offering the world? What would it look like if we were not judged by our buying power but instead valued for what we offered society? What would it really be like to NOT HAVE MONEY? I recently had someone offer me a large sum of money, not for free but as a 'deal' like most things in this life....but it doesn't matter what the deal was or how much money was involved, what I want to talk about is 'money manipulation' and this is not an investment technique. I am talking about the idea of some wealthy folks that they can manipulate others just by making the 'right offer'. This is based on their assumption that everybody <span style="text-decoration:underline">wants</span> money. Sure, I want to be able to pay my bills, and to go on occasional vacations, but beyond that, I see that THINGS and MONEY can be burdens. Take my mini house for example. I have been in houses wherein my entire home could fit into their living-room alone. Imagine the cost of heating and cooling that size house. Imagine cleaning it. . . or maybe you think you will pay someone to clean it, but then ask yourself for what are you working? Working 10 hour days 5-6 days of the week so that you can pay someone else to clean your giant home? Doesn't that sound odd? Wouldn't your time be better spent with loved ones and doing something you really loved to do? Everything grows from your thoughts. I could look at my old carpet, fraying at the edges, and complain that I don't have the money for new carpet. Instead, when I notice how shabby the carpet is, I see it as a sign of freedom, and I smile. I have the freedom to work doing something I LOVE and I am not tied to a desk doing something that sucks the life out of me. I also have the freedom of NOT WORRYING about something spilling and staining the carpet, (because who worries about old carpet?) which then by extension offers my pets a great deal of freedom from stress, that when they have sickness and accidents, they don't have to worry about feeling negative energy from me over something as insignificant as carpet. Not having (to a certain degree) offers freedom from worrying about things. Not wanting is also a kind of freedom. It is freedom from craving, from desire, from jealousy. Contentment is the most valuable thing you can 'have'. So don't try to throw money in my direction in an attempt to get me to dance to your tune. It won't work. It won't work because I am content with my simple life. Content with my rusty old car and content with my mini house. Freedom from want is true contentment and true contentment is real power.</p>
<p>Some of you will understand this, and others will believe that simple living is only a synonym for being poor. Meanwhile, I believe every word of my song, 'Extravagant Life'. I have a solid roof over my head, a soft clean bed, running water, warm food on the table and fresh fruit (and veggies) from my own garden. Therefore I am considered by much of the world to be rich, in fact, filthy rich. And if you don't believe that, then take your money and do some traveling. Step out of your backyard and see how the rest of the world lives. Open your eyes and you will see that there are happy rich people and sad rich people just as there are happy poor people and sad poor people. Could it be that money has nothing to do with happiness?????????? Could it be that happiness grows from our thoughts, just like everything else does? (Hint = the answer is yes)</p>
<p>And a final word of warning to anyone else that might want to wave their money in my face as if I could be hypnotized by it, .... Go Away! If I were interested in money I never would've become a musician.</p>
<p>And for those of you who 'totally get it' .... I say THANK YOU. Thank you for going against the grain, living simply so that others can simply live, and for understanding that I have my own dreams, my own goals, and not a damn one of them has to do with 'having money'. . . . and they never will.</p>
<p>Life is brief. One day it will end. One day you will exhale and no inhale will follow and your short life ends just like that. How will you spend the time you have been given?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>You can listen to my song, Extravagant Life, here on YouTube; </em><a contents="https://youtu.be/JItsE8Rg1v8" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/JItsE8Rg1v8">https://youtu.be/JItsE8Rg1v8</a></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692102013-08-11T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T04:16:09-05:00Dance of the Beached Whale and other Midnight Musings<p>I had one of those Mondays. Do you know the kind that I mean? Like a bad cup of coffee that is tinged by bitterness and yet I recognize that bad coffee is still better than no coffee. Today wore the grey cloak of disappointment. It began in yoga class. And incidentally, Monday’s class is my favorite yoga class, taught by my favorite teacher. She is a true yogi. The kind of person that makes you feel blessed and benefited just by being in her presence. So I really don’t want to sound ungrateful when I confess that after every instruction she gave to the class, my inner voice said, “Are you freaking kidding me?!” (Confessing the my inner voice did NOT use the euphemism) But I made my feeble attempt anyway. I didn’t run from the room in tears so I guess that was a small victory. And yet my attempts were admittedly falling pathetically short of the goal. And then came the Jr. High flashbacks – you know the one I mean – Seventh grade gym class in the gymnastics unit attempting the infamous ‘floor routine’. (It really is a shame that they didn’t include ribbon dancing with this curriculum because I strongly feel that I could have excelled at that.) But alas, I was no gymnast. I was nearly six feet tall already by the seventh grade, and there I was flopping around breathless on the gym mats with my lame routine, which could have been titled, ‘Dance of the beached whale’. And just like that poor stranded sea mammal, fighting for every breath, so was I fighting to hold on to the dream of ever feeling graceful in this oversized body. This morning’s yoga class was pretty much the same. There I was, once again breathless and flopping, while all the petite, (fifty and sixty year olds!) around me are leaping up into their inversions like graceful dolphins. Even the instructor is a petite woman, whereas I stand head, shoulders (and sometimes chest) above everyone in the class, including the token dude. (There is one or two in each class and every damn one of them is shorter than I am) These last few months I had been feeling that my dreams were closer than they had ever been, so today it was tough to see the reality of how far I had to go; how very far. {<em>Sigh</em>} Well, yes it was discouraging, but it is not in my nature to tie the stone of disappointment around my neck and plunge into the lake of despair. I think of myself in that shoe store about 3 years ago when I finally said, ‘to hell with being self-conscious about my height’. I bought myself some 6” heels, and then another pair and then another pair. And each time I wear them it is my way of saying, “IN YOUR FACE!!” to any lingering feelings of self-consciousness regarding my statuesque physique. Pema Chodron instructs practitioners to ‘lean into’ the discomfort. (referring to situational discomfort and not the discomfort of wearing 6” heels – just to be clear) She advises us not to pull away from feelings of aversion, for they are the places rich in potential. I have heard the saying that goes something like, ‘Outside of your comfort zone is where the magic happens’ Well, I think that is a bit sugar-coated. I believe that outside of your comfort zone is where you are UNCOMFORTABLE! Nothing magical about feeling awkward, nervous or uncomfortable, but when we can ‘lean into’ this discomfort, when we can hold our ground, when we can stay on our mat and breathe, just breathe and stay, then THIS is where growth begins. And in the growth, well THAT is where the real magic lies. This is how yoga is really just a metaphor for life. We show up, we place our feet on the mat, we breathe, we acknowledge our limitations, we acknowledge our abilities, we make progress, slowly, slowly we make progress. It is not about what we achieve, or how we compare to others. It is about showing up and not running away. It is about being honest and gentle with ourselves so that we learn how to be honest and gentle with others. While we are stretching our bodies we are also stretching our minds to understand that we are capable of so much more than we allow ourselves to believe. We are capable of more love, more joy, more peace and more understanding than we can begin to imagine. So friends, why don’t you join me in the dance of the beached whale? Lean into the discomfort. Dare to step outside of your secure circle and see how the magic unfolds. Just show up and start saying ‘Yes’ to life and then brace yourself for the adventure that follows. See you in yoga class.</p>
<p>Lots of Love,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>
<p><em>If this resonated with you, please join me in Yoga Club, a fully online yoga studio on the Beautiful Souls Academy. </em><a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/yoga-club</a></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692222013-08-09T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T04:20:35-05:00Enjoy the Journey<div class="_1_n fsm fwn fcg"> </div>
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<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_536405867f7fe6855516791">Many folks on this page have complimented me on the positive nature of my blogs. It makes me happy to know that in a small way I can share this positive energy with you. I want to say again that my positive outlook is NOT the result of livi<span class="text_exposed_show">ng a life free from sorrow. It is also not a result of genetics. I have worked hard to become more positive. Life is hard. Our hearts break. We suffer. But when we dwell in negative thoughts we increase our suffering. To be positive is not to bury one's head in the sand. It is to know that sorrow exists, but joy does too. Sorrow exists but love, gratitude, kindness, laughter and beauty exist too. Which will you focus on today? It begins with getting to know your own mind; your own thoughts. Change the way you think about life and your life will change. To meditate is to watch your own mind. Enjoy the journey.<br>With love from Jennifer</span>
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<em>Ps - If you are wanting to nurture a more positive outlook and create greater happiness in your life, consider joining the Beautiful Souls Membership where you will receive weekly reflections give practical advice on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, understanding the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life </em>❤ <a contents="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership">https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership</a>
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</div></div>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692232013-07-31T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T04:22:00-05:00Saucy Tales<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_5364058817bf05b29283695"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{" tn="">I always really enjoy it when gossip, rumors and lies about me gets back to me because it makes me feel famous, like the subject of a celebrity gossip column. However, I have found over the years that there is a serious and troublesome lack of creativity, intrigue and glamour in these lies. In fact, to be perfectly frank, they have been lackluster, utterly lackluster. So, with the goal of stimulat<span class="text_exposed_show">ing more creative juices in the rumor mill, I have come up with a few suggestions for the next time you hear my name mentioned in more dull and drab gossip. Feel free to us any of the following bits of gossip at any time;<br>* I was the inspiration for Katy Perry’s song, ‘I kissed a girl’<br>* The reason I am a vegetarian is because I get all the blood I need with my nightly vampiric activities<br>* I am Lady Gaga’s birth mother.<br>* And lastly, if you hear my name linked with the word ‘escorted’ please make sure that it is followed with the phrase, ‘by Antonio Banderas’.<br>Now get out there and spin some saucy tales!!</span></span></div>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692212013-02-10T19:00:00-05:002021-12-07T04:25:22-05:00Congratulations Halestorm!<p><span class="userContent" data-ft="{" tn="">Tonight the band, Halestorm won a Grammy for Best Live Perfomance of a Metal Band. Lzzy & Arejay Hale of Halestorm took voice lessons from me at the Community School of Music and Arts in 1997 & 1998. I remember them as nice kids in a loving and very supportive family. Congratulations!!</span></p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692092013-01-10T19:00:00-05:002021-12-07T04:29:18-05:00Blossoming Diva<p><span style="color:#ff00ff"> </span> It began in the spring of 2011. I stepped out beyond the bounds of my comfort zone, of my narrow definition of self, and truly accepted, embraced and set free, my inner Diva. I am a classically trained Lyric soprano so really it was just a matter of time. Considering my operatic training and years spent performing classical music, I am surprised that I was able to suppress my inner Diva this long. I believe that my love of folk music kept my inner Diva quiet all these years. Have you ever heard a singer referred to as the ‘Diva of Folk Music’? I haven’t. It just doesn’t happen. Folk singers don’t wear fabulous heels and body glitter. Folk singers are vegetarians, who wear denim jeans with holes in the knees and brown leather vests with fringe and beads on them. We wear earrings made from bird feathers, flowers behind our ears, bracelets woven from string and maybe an occasional headband in good hippie fashion. . . . Right? Well…., I <em><span style="text-decoration:underline">am</span></em> a vegetarian ….and I have been known to perform (occasionally) in a pair of blue jeans but NEVER with holes in the knees. I never wore feather earrings or fringed vests either. Can a vegetarian in blue jeans sing Mozart? Can a folk singer/songwriter wear fabulous high heels? The simple answer is …..YEAH BABY!!!! I am going to be true to ALL of who I am.</p>
<p> What is a Diva anyway? I think that being a true Diva is NOT about an ego trip. A true Diva fully embraces life, celebrates life, loves life and recognizes that she (or he) <strong><em>IS</em></strong> part of this life, this interdependent web of existence. We can celebrate ourselves just as we celebrate the sunrise, the silver stars, the fabulous heels, the blossoming roses and the whole world. We even celebrate the heartbreak, the sorrow and the pain, because we know that our pain enhances our gratitude for life. Only after having the experience of not being able to walk, was I able to see what an amazing gift it is just to walk around on my own two legs. Heartache and loss remind us to be grateful for every minute we are able to spend in this wondrous life. True Divas open their hearts to the world and can find beauty everywhere. </p>
<p> So embrace your inner Diva. Uncover your fabulousness and SHINE your light like only you can!! I hope to see you soon, strutting you stuff on the red carpet of life. I will meet you there. You will recognize me because I will be the one in blue jeans and fabulous heels.</p>
<p> Oh, and if you were wondering how I remembered the precise year and season that I embraced my inner Diva . . . . . Well of course it was when I bought my very first pair of <em>fabulous </em>high heels!</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692072012-07-19T20:00:00-04:002022-09-15T04:28:50-04:005 WAYS TO SHINE YOUR LIGHT IN DARK TIMES<p><strong>Recent events in the news have many of us heartbroken as we struggle to make sense of a senseless world. Remember that what we put our focus on will expand, so be careful where you turn your attention in these dark days. This is NOT a suggestion to turn a blind eye - This is how to see the sorrow and shine your light brightly anyway.</strong></p>
<p> <strong>1 -</strong> Outweigh the negative with positive 5 to 1. For every heartbreaking situation you hear about, make a mental list of five positive things you heard. For every one person who treats you unkindly, send a note of thanks to 5 people who treat you kindly. Your note of gratitude could help boost their spirits and they in turn can share their joy with another. <strong>Love multiplies.</strong></p>
<p><strong>2 -</strong> Someone once asked the Dalai Lama if he thought that the world was getting worse based upon all of the recent tragedies in the news. <strong>The Dalai Lama replied that the basic nature of humans is warm heartedness.</strong> He said the reason that terrible stories make the news is because they are so unusual. He said that everyday all over the world mothers are lovingly caring for their children and every day neighbors are helping neighbors and every day there are countless good deeds happening every minute. News isn’t about everyday kindness, it is about the unusual stories. Limit your media consumption.</p>
<p><strong>3 -</strong> Let sad news become a motivating force inspiring you to help others. <strong>Do what you can.</strong> Maybe helping one person or one animal won’t make the world different, but to that one person or animal you have made all the difference in <em>their </em>world.</p>
<p><strong>4 -</strong> Tragic stories break our hearts. But before you respond with anger or depression, ask yourself this question: Do you really want to add to the negative energy in this world? <strong>The whole universe pulsates with energy. How are you adding to it? </strong></p>
<p><strong>5 - Cultivate the positive energy in yourself.</strong> Be grateful. Take time to read uplifting stories, spend time in nature or listen to uplifting music. And of course I have <strong><em>lots</em></strong> of suggestions for uplifting music! Listen to ‘Extravagant Life’ to inspire gratitude, or ‘Here for You’ to inspire forgiveness, or ‘Wonderful’ to remember the beauty found in nature, or ‘My Happy’ to feel , well, HAPPY! You can find my songs on YouTube here; <a contents="https://www.youtube.com/user/jenniferkathleen11" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/jenniferkathleen11">https://www.youtube.com/user/jenniferkathleen11</a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <strong>Shine your Light! You are Gorgeous!</strong></p>
<p><em>PS - If you found this teaching helpful, consider joining the <strong><a contents="Inspired Souls Club" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/beautiful-souls-community-membership" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#27ae60;">Inspired Souls Club</span></a></strong> where you will receive weekly reflections offering practical advice on; creating a more positive mindset, managing emotions, understanding the Law of Attraction, and letting your awesome self shine more brightly into this beautiful life </em>❤</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692062012-06-29T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T04:38:56-05:00Ah sweet summertime<p>Ah sweet summertime, how I adore you! Raspberries abound in the gardens - such sweet treats. Several evenings this week we sat out in the garden enjoying freshly picked raspberries and smiling at the antics of our two young dogs. Bodhi is our youngest pup. This is her first summer with us. It has been a joy watching her discover her new surroundings. She was picked up by Animal Control as a stray in South Philadelphia and subsequently rescued by PAWS, (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society) from where we adopted her. This small town rural living is all new to her. The first time she saw a firefly, she ate it! The second time she saw a firefly, it lit up right in front of her nose and then floated up above her. I saw her lifting her head to watch it go higher and higher above her. I could see the wonder in her eyes. A similar incident happened when a butterfly brushed past her nose. I could almost hear the question in her mind, <em>‘What was that?</em>’, as she jumped backwards away from it. She eats fallen crabapples, grass and soil. I imagine these would be considered delicacies on the streets of South Philly. On one of these recent relaxing evenings I saw the first hummingbird of the season briefly visit one of our large butterfly bushes. I love those flying jewels. It really lifts my spirits to see hummingbirds, and to eat raspberries, and to take time to enjoy beauty and to see our two rescued pups enjoying their life. These past few evenings I have felt very uplifted. What lifts your spirits? We all need to revive our souls and fill our hearts. How do you revive your soul? How do you lift someone else’s spirits? For me, the most important goal I have with my music is to uplift, encourage, and comfort others. I hope my music does that for you.</p>
<p>Thank you for reading.</p>
<p>Love & fireflies,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692022012-03-22T20:00:00-04:002021-12-07T04:44:06-05:00Inaugural Performance at Javateas<p><strong>Inaugural Performance at Javateas</strong></p>
<p>It was a beautiful Friday evening in March, on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day. We arrived at Javateas around six, planning to set up the sound equipment and then enjoy some dinner before my show started at 7:30. Javateas is a very cozy little cafe so it took us a while to really decide on the best place to set up allowing for the greatest space possible for fans to sit comfortably. Thankfully, Donna is very gifted with spatial concepts! Kris arrived and didn’t hesitate in helping us set up the speakers and move things around. Once everything was set up and plugged in we were ready for the sound check. So I began singing, “<em>Today the breeze came blowing down</em>……” and I saw Donna shaking her head. No sound. I stopped strumming and tried to resolve the situation with a carefully regimented system of ‘jiggling the cords and plugs’ and tried again . . . “<em>along the coast from Provincetown. It brought the……</em>” I see both Kris and Donna shaking their heads – still no sound. So I went to step two of my technical plan which is to unplug and re-plug all of the microphone and speaker cords. “<em>sunshine and a blue, blue sky and treasured memories have……</em>” Nope – nothing – zilch. Hmmmmmm….. time to get serious. I turned off the mixer and then unplugged it. I waited a few seconds before plugging it back in and powering up again. “<em>Today the breeze came . . . .</em> .” STILL NOTHING! Well that was the extent of my ‘expertise’ involving mixers, so we implemented <span style="text-decoration:underline">plan B</span> – <strong>the backup mixer</strong>. It is not as fancy, no digital delay, but it WORKS! So we were able to finally sound check and set mic levels with Donna and Kris giving their input. Thanks ladies! :) Phew! And THAT is why I have a back up mixer. Now it was time for dinner. Wow, Javateas has a nice menu with several vegetarian options. I chose their ‘Herb & Tomato Flatbread melt’ and it was really delicious! For a beverage I had a wonderful frozen Café Mocha – YUM! The staff that evening were friendly and helpful and made everyone feel very welcome. Friends and fans began arriving after 6:45. The place filled up fast. It was so great to see so many familiar faces coming out to listen to my music and enjoy an evening together. Then things really got crazy once the unique feature in the restroom was discovered. (I won’t give it away for those that have never been) Suddenly there was a parade of folks heading to the restroom with the supportive cheers of others saying, ‘Have Fun!’</p>
<p> I started off my set with material from my newest CD and the second half of the evening heard more selections from ‘With a Little Stardust’ and at least one song from ‘Anything Can Happen’. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, in-between songs I shared stories of what it was like growing up in a very Celtic family. The last song of the evening was a brand new song called, ‘My Heart’s Home’ which I wrote in the style of an Irish ballad specifically for this performance. It was very well received.</p>
<p> The place was filled with so many wonderful friends and fans. I had a great time chatting with everyone at intermission. The energy in the room was really bright and happy and we shared a lot of laughter that evening and also shared deep connections with some of my more emotional songs. I felt like we were all on the journey together. Although not everyone there knew each other, I think by the end of the night we all felt like friends. That is how it seemed to me as strangers were introduced to each other and began sharing conversation and laughter.</p>
<p> One of my favorite things about performing is what we have come to call the ‘after party’ which usually occurs in the parking lot of the venue. This is where we gather after the place has closed for the night but we are all having too much fun to say goodbye. We talked and laughed for an hour or more out in the parking lot until the cold air and my full bladder finally forced the evening to end. All of the places around Javateas had closed, but thankfully the Weis across the street is open 24 hours! A quick trip to the Weiss restroom (which was nowhere near as interesting as the restroom at Javateas!) and our wonderful evening came to an end. However, the memories from that night will always bring a smile to my face. Thank you to all who attended. For those that couldn’t make it, I hope you felt like you were able to share in the fun a little bit by reading about it here.</p>
<p>Much love,</p>
<p>Jennifer</p>Jennifer Kathleentag:jenniferka.com,2005:Post/60692002012-01-31T19:00:00-05:002021-12-07T04:46:46-05:00Since the release<p>Wow! So much has happend since my new cd, 'Here for YOu' released in November. . . .</p>
<p>The cd release night was an amazing and magical evening and I thank everyone who came and supported my music and shared their smiles and sung along to their favorites. The high I felt after that evening lasted only a short time though. Just a week later my precious dog Kenzie (who is on the cover of the new cd) got suddenly very ill. She was diagnosed with Lymphoma the Monday after Thanksgiving and she passed away 9 days later. So, as you can imagine, the entire month of December was pretty much a blurr of tears and heartache. I was so grateful that I had the inspiration to put Kenzie on the cover of my new cd. I want to thank Donna Lascoskie for taking the beautiful photos of my baby girl Kenzie. I will always treasure them. <3 A few weeks went by and then, feeling very strongly about the cause of rescuing shelter animals, I found my new baby girl, Bodhicitta, at the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society on Dec. 28th. She is beautiful, and seems born to do agility, so we have been having a GREAT time together. :)</p>
<p>In January I played at Clover Lane Coffee House and opened for Herr Street. It was a wonderful night and I thank everyone who came out to enjoy the music. The folks at Clover Lane are so friendly and welcoming. It was really fun for me to be able to play my music, and then sit with my friends and enjoy the music of Herr Street.</p>
<p>Again, I sincerely thank everyone who has purchased any of my cd's. Your support means so much to me. If you have heard my new cd and enjoyed it, please consider writing a review of it on CD Baby. A review of the cd helps other potential fans decide if they want to purchase my music. Use this link, <a data-imported="1" href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jenniferkathleen">http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jenniferkathleen</a> and then scroll down to the bottom to write your review. You will have to set up an account, but it only takes a few seconds to do, and I would be so grateful for your help in spreading the word about my music.</p>
<p>SO that brings you up to date on things. Now it is February 1st so I hope you have a happy Ground Hog's day . . . . and a very happy Valentine's Day. Hope to see you March 16th at Javateas!!!</p>
<p>Love and Music,</p>
<p>Jennifer Kathleen</p>Jennifer Kathleen