Find your Gift

Let's get straight to the point here and ask "the big one".....

What is your purpose?

What is your individual gift that you can offer? 

I love asking these questions to myself over and over as it changes so much depending on where I ask it from. If the mind is asking then it tends to think in a more logistical, practical and productive way like a set of certain skills I have. This is constantly shifting and evolving as I learn new things and become more experienced in the skills I do have.

If I ask from the heart, then it is always the same answer. My purpose is to realize my Self and live in love, from love and to love. Then your gifts just come out of this space.

When we add these two answers together, we get a nice little result. We are able to put out into the world what we have learnt or are good at on a practical level, but from the heart. You just know when things are in flow or not.

So with that in mind...ask yourself the questions. Write down answers, but also meditate on it and drop into the heart.

You just being You is the Greatest gift you can give. You are an embodiment of God. What greater gift is there than that?

For a Tantric Numerology Reading of your birth date which gives you your GIFT number, follow the link:

https://www.3ho.org/tantric-numerology-reading

x 

How to Overcome Winter Depression

Winter blues are most definitely a real thing!
If the sun is out, then it is getting shorter and shorter. The nights draw in and darkness prevails! But it's kind of ok because we keep busy and there's always Christmas round the corner.

I am a big lover of Xmas, not in the novelties and tinsel sense, but I love the SPIRIT of Christmas. A chance for all to come together, even if you are alone there is a sense of oneness. There is exchange of gifts and life is celebrated...together. Every culture or religion has their own version. The relentless ego is not at the forefront as much, as we contemplate, love and receive.

So why can't we do this more often? I believe it is because we forget who the true owner is. Our ego's play such a convincing game at being real that we cannot see the there is a Divine play unfolding in front of our eyes, and we are leading the starring role! It is like an actor believing that they are really in the film and take their character home with them.

We can still play out personality and different identities but when we become so entangled in them, it always ends in trouble!

So how can we keep this essence of Christmas, a remembrance of love and life, with us on a more permanent basis? Or just to beat that Winter Depression.
Perhaps for you it is to meditate 20 minutes a day (my current commitment!), or perhaps it is to meet someone truly in the eyes during your day, perhaps it is to have touch with someone who doesn't experience much love, perhaps it is to give some food to someone. Whatever gift you can give, just try it. Start from now!

Vitamin D: I don't personally take Vitamin D, but there is a lot of evidence out there suggesting that it can help out with lack of sunlight. I sometimes do a few minutes on a sun bed, but make sure you use responsibly.

Take herbs: St Johns Wort, Valerian, Liquorice, Mallow, Chamomile are all good herbs to make into a herbal tea or take in supplement form.

GET OUTSIDE: Just going out of the house certainly clears the cobwebs. Morning time is best.

Remember, just take one thing and keep it simple and rest assured you are not alone if you feel down during the Winter.

Lots of love and warmth.

I know you care for your friends, you care for your job, you care for your children, you care for your future. There's not one item on the menu that you do not care about. But I just want to tell you, don't forget the owner of the whole thing is God Himself—the spirit, the breath of life-Yogi Bhajan

Life in Love..with God

All Being's share one longing...to feel love, contentment and happiness in whatever expression that appeals to that individual. There is not one right way and there are certainly many many ways to go about this. I strongly believe we are multifaceted beings and different paths come to us at different times, but the difference between someone digging a hole to find the gold and someone digging many holes but never quite reaching gold is the key to true wisdom and understanding.

Speaking from my own experience, I have certainly dabbled here and there in spiritual and physical paths. Some have lasted longer than others. Some have taken a backseat then reappeared years later. But throughout, I have always been that person to go fully into whatever it is I am seeking. Over the years and after gaining experience, I now approach sadhana, or daily discipline training the body and mind to serve the soul, in a somewhat different space. 

Before, I was driven. Driven by strong identity with Jenni, yogi, devotee, cyclist, health foodie, meditator. If I missed a practice, there was a shame and guilt that was felt by the Ego. I never thought about who was practicing, who was eating, who was healing, who was developing. 

So how do things stand now?

Well, I do Sadhana. It is not always yoga. Most of the time it involves some body movement, either cycling, running or strength training. But I do it out of love for life. For my body, to focus the mind and to follow my heart. I feel aligned so I can make the best choices each day. And it is a DAILY practice. If it gets missed, then I certainly make "lower" choices throughout the day. There is quite a bit of dogma about what sadhana is and how "spiritual" it is. In my opinion, as long as you are identified with person then any practice you do will just go round in circles. 

Non-personal sadhana really has a different flavour. I can see the irony in this statement, and I know there are individuals out there who really DON'T need any sadhana. They have been kissed from within and that has had an everlasting effect. But for those with mind's like a spaghetti junction, sadhana is a start. 

So EVERY DAY, uplift your Self to your highest potential. It doesn't have to be big but keep it consistent. Keep refining, balancing, be steady and strong and surrender to life. 

Sadhana is a lifestyle which allows you to overcome low self-esteem or self-destructive tendencies. 

If you feel ready to start a daily sadhana then please get in contact and send an email. I can send you a Kundalini Kriya, Meditation or, if a workout programme is more aligned to you then that. I am trialing this out so it is FREE, I just need some information about what it is your heart is reaching for.

Email: jennicodd@hotmail.co.uk

The uncomfortable side of Self-love

Aaah self-love time. Make yourself comfy with a warm blanket and cup of hot cacao. Put those tired legs up and just unwind....you've worked very hard today and deserve a bit of you time. Everything is so fast these days, time to sloooow down.

Or is it?

We all have an idea about what self-love means. The above scenario is indeed a type of self-love but what about the other sides which the ego may find uncomfortable. As we all know and get told repeatedly, life is about balance. We need the action behind the thoughts and we need the rest and recovery to check in with ourselves. This varies from person to person, depending on lifestyle and what your passions are and it is your journey to know your limits.

Now to throw a spanner in the works....The psychological mind is very clever at PLAYING self-love when actually what we really need to grow is a bit of pain and discomfort in our lives. You do not have to go out of your way to find this pain, trust in life to serve you exactly what you need, but do not always believe your minds perception of what self-love is. It is not always a big hug. Sometimes it can be getting up at 5am to do your meditation. It can mean feeling the pain of drug or alcohol withdrawal. It could mean feeling the wrath of loved ones as you start to find you true freedom. You could feel isolated, lonely, angry and yes...this is a form of self-love. 

As you start to break away from your belief systems, the mind is going to give you hell. It simply does not like it. Why? I don't know, but the prize at the end of it all is beyond anything you could ever imagine. True freedom is everything. 

Layers of identity start to peel away and when it can be seen from a true perspective, those times when you thought you were being self-loving were just pandering to the mind's beliefs.

And remember, it's all good.

Fly free. 

xxxx

Spiritual Warrior

If I had no fear I could do........................................

Imagine that, a life with no fear? Is fear not the main emotion that holds us back from what we really want to do, be, achieve?

We have all felt that crippling sense of panic overwhelm us in a very quick swift swoop. Sometimes it lingers for a moment, sometimes it can escalate into a full blown panic attack or we can go for years with a cloud of anxiety and fear hanging over our heads.

Fear is a completely natural, logical response to a dangerous situation like a elephant charging towards you or your house burning down. The fight/flight response is activated, adrenaline is pumped around the body and bam! you are in survival mode, but is this necessary for bumping into an ex? Or performing in front of people? Or thinking about that presentation you have to give out at work? Well yes and no. 

Nerves can be performance enhancing but quite often they can get the better of us and turn us into a wobbly, shakey pile of jelly, unable to think clearly and the ego gets a good old kicking. Shame, guilt and anger shortly follow.

We cannot avoid these situations, no matter how hard we try. Sometimes it is our karma that we need to burn through a deep seated fear so life will keep offering up these opportunities for us to go through. We need it so we can grow. Trust this and you will find that courage.

So how to get through it? Well there are a lot of tools out there to help. I would suggest keeping it easy and simple as too many things can overwhelm the mind and fear feeds off this. 

For me, I found the practice of Kundalini Yoga very powerful to find the courage to release the fear. Finding that self-love so you can trust in life's lessons and see everything in the light of the Divine.

Self-enquiry with Mooji helped me realise that any emotion is just a story narrated by the sense of ego/person and if we are able to drop the identity then no matter what psychological and physiological issues we are facing there remains something which is untouched, constantly perceiving all of this.

So whenever you feel the fear, find that inner spiritual warrior, and seize it, own it. Listen to what the fear is telling you. Do this with love and ease rather than a forceful nature, remembering that everything comes and goes when it needs to. 

Fear is powerful, but not as powerful as love. 

MEDITATION — FOR THE RELEASE OF SUBCONSCIOUS FEARS

To begin: Sit in easy pose with a straight spine, chin slightly locked with eyes 1/10th open focusing at the third-eye point with elbows bent so each hand is at your ear level just in front of you. Your palms will be facing forward, flat open with your fingers pointing up. Keep your arms relaxed and resting close to the body. Extend your tongue out at its length. Lightly rest the top teeth across the tongue. Inhale through the mouth in a long, gentle breath, so that you can feel the breath along the sides of your tongue.On the inhalation, mentally repeat the sound, “Go.” Exhale through your nose and mentally repeat the sound, “Bind” . The mantra “Gobind” means to sustain and protect thyself and has been broken into two parts in this meditation. Go is the sustaining factor that surrounds the essence, and Bind is the essence, the nucleus, the seed of the self, the inner point or center. Continue for 3-11 minutes.

To End: Inhale deeply, bring your tongue back into your mouth. Exhale and stretch your hands and arms toward the sky.

Comments: Sometimes at a very early age, fear becomes a part of our subconscious. As adults, we may show this unconscious fear as fear of loss, separation, abandonment, or feelings of helplessness. Sometimes it shows itself in feelings of not really being sure of ourselves. This meditation will help release subconscious fears and will give you a secure sense of yourself.

KUNDALINI CLASSES IN STOKE:

Fridays 10-11:30am, The Hub, Fenton. £5

Please bring mat, blanket and water.

Master Your Domain

Sat Nam all,

For those of you that are not able to make it to class but would like to have a practice at home, here is a great video for you to try out.

As busy daily life can cause tension in the mind and body, we can become stagnant and feel just a bit off. Our energy levels start dipping and we can feel like we are just keeping up all the time without flourishing in the way you know we should be.

This Kriya moves the glandular system and restores the nervous system. Flushing out toxins and bringing prana to the cells allowing you to meet life's challenges with ease and grace. To keep focus on living from your heart and all it's desires.

Click on the link below and enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=97&v=hiWDwhQRVQg

CLASS UPDATES!

NEW CLASS TIMING:

10:00-11:30am

Price: £5

At The Hub, Christchurch Street.

Shall look forward to seeing you :)

You are warmly welcome regardless of ability, gender, age, profession, health state, busy mind, quiet mind...just bring your good selves and let the Kundalini Yoga do it's work.

Please email jennicodd@hotmail.co.uk if you plan to attend.

One year later...New Kundalini Classes Stoke