sunday musings

dreams
thoughts
the decision
action
faith
alignment
manifestation

quote unquote

the greatest mistake in the world is to pretend to be someone you're not in order to please someone else. have the courage to be yourself, no matter what. if you ruffle someone's feathers their reaction is not your business. all you can do is be who you are and who you are is one of a kind. but remember, the same thing goes for everyone else so chances are you'll get your feathers ruffled, too. one word will solve all your problems, allow.

- jackson kiddard

shut the @#!% up!

okay so the title is a little brash. but it's honest. and it's needed. quiet please.

with today being the 1st day of the new year, there's tons of reflecting, new goal setting, dreaming, and resolution-making going on. at the end of the day, all i want for myself and for you is peace & quiet. okay that's not true, i also dedicated a year of:

* unconditional love
* acceptance
* truth

to you in the 108 sun salutations class i took for the 1st time earlier today, but i digress. see, i need to shut the @#!% up my damn self. it's too much! too much talking, too much thinking, too much doing, too much bragging, too much posting, too much tweeting, too much soap box standing. it's enough to drive anyone crazy. so after you shut the @#!% up, sit the @#!% down...and just do nothing.

be still for goodness sake. it's okay to not always be doing something or saying something or reading something or creating something or fixing something or .... (fill in the blank with your own damn verb) something! nike had it all wrong...just (don't) do it! something tells me if we let ourselves off the hook more often and do nothing, maybe just maybe...we'll get to the core of who we really are and rest our nerves a bit. then maybe just maybe...something real and authentic will come to the surface as opposed to just saying or doing something for the sake of it or to make ourselves look and feel important to other people.

i'm putting you on notice, don't ask me to say or do nothing! i'm hibernating.
in fact, i'm done with this article.

erica jong simply tweeted this morning:
please read "the joy of quiet" by pico iyer in the new york times.

so here you go, it's an interesting read:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/opinion/sunday/the-joy-of-quiet.html 

oh and...
happy new year.

downward-facing dog

one of the first poses taught in the vinyasa practice.
if you're fairly new to yoga, this pose will initially feel like a killer. your arms may wobble, legs may shake a bit. although strong arms & legs help achieve the pose, the real strength comes from the core, the center of our power.

bks iyengar 

hands planted firmly into the mat.
long extended arms.
shoulders spread.
engage your core, meaning tuck it within.
shake the head from left to right to release any tension.
imagine a string wrapped around your hips and a friend pulling it up high to the sky.
long extended legs dripping to the floor.
heels reaching for the ground.
breathe.

it'll take some time, but eventually this pose will start to feel more like a resting pose.

quote unquote

- be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind
- talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet 
- make all your friends feel there is something special in them
- look at the sunny side of everything
- think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best
- be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own 
- forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future 
- give everyone a smile
- spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others
- be too big for worry and too noble for anger


- christian d. larsen, new thought leader and teacher
source: thedailylove.com newsletter

my new "yoga for artists" class

To kick off the new Fall season...starting this Wednesday 9/7, I'll be teaching YOGA for ARTISTS.

This class is really geared to anyone who's pursuing a dream:

artists

actors

writers

directors

dancers

musicians

singers

entrepreneurs

We'll focus on an asana practice and breathing exercises that will ground our bodies and still our minds while exploring the heart chakra. The heart chakra is the foundation for any faith-based pursuit. We are tasked with keeping an open heart while traveling along the unknown, unpredictable journey to our dreams.

photog: liz strong

Take an hour for yourself each week to "just breath" with other like-minded artists and dreamers.

This class will meet every Wednesday in September from 4-5pm.

Wed, Sept 7: 4-5pm

Wed, Sept 14: 4-5pm

Wed, Sept 21: 4-5pm

Wed, Sept 28: 4-5pm

The class is donation-based with a suggested donation of $7. 

OM Factory

265 W 37th St

b/w 7th & 8th Aves

17th FL

Wear comfortable clothes & bring a water bottle to fill up here on-site. Mats are complimentary.

Feel free to email me with questions at bettinagoolsby@gmail.com.

See you soon!

the gift of beyonce

by now everyone knows who beyonce is. her star has shown brightly all over the world a million times over. she is so huge in fact that her pregnancy announcement had as much impact in the same week as the 5.8 earthquake we experienced here on the east coast AND hurricane irene. 

i love beyonce. all of her...her music, her drive, her spirit, her dedication to her family and the way she’s been able to balance being the biggest singer of this generation along with maintaining a personal life and relationship with the equally biggest rapper/businessman of our generation. but what’s most interesting to me about beyonce is her dream actualization.

i am obsessed with shakti gawain’s book “creative visualization.” i reference it when i feel i need a refresher in the art of conscious dreaming. while the majority of us look at celebs and compare our “mundane” lives to theirs and live vicariously through them, i think the real gift of stardom is that it shows the rest of us what’s possible. okay no, there is absolutely no way i’m coming for beyonce in any way shape or form, but the way she lives her life is a testimony for creative visualization. this is where beyonce really shines and exhibits her true power. she could (and should) write a book on the subject. 

so many spiritual leaders will tell you plain and simple that everything begins with what’s going on inside of us. for beyonce to live the life we’ve witnessed for the past 10+ years, a larger-than-life existence that started with music and has grown into a fashion and lifestyle empire, just imagine what thoughts, dreams, affirmations, intentions she has swirling around in that gorgeous head of hers on a day-to-day basis. she is operating on a high vibrational frequency where pretty much anything she touches turns to gold and any dream she imagines for herself is actualized for all of us to see and be inspired by. 

mastin kipp of “the daily love” website writes ”we can literally create (from the inside out) any type of experience we wish to choose. it is when our desires, our thoughts and our actions are in alignment that this kind of life begins to emerge.” 

in theory, we understand this concept but in reality, how do we get past those unaffirmative and self-effacing thoughts that are so ingrained in us from childhood, family conditioning, and less-than-ideal life experiences. i think it starts with re-programming our minds one day at a time...creative visualization.

bigga

congrats to beyonce and jay-z on their pregnancy!

and...happy 30th birthday bey!