Creating Good Habits: 21 Day Meditation Challenge

The 21 Day Meditation Challenge has ended but it marked the beginning of a lifestyle change I've been yearning for. 

Manifesto on my Mirror

Of course on Day 20, I flick on the TV and I hear a message I had long forgotten but that had permeated my soul. It's from one of my favorite movies, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 

"it's never too late....to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. ...I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

Isn't that always the message? We should live a life we're proud of. Whatever we do, whoever we are, we need to live a remarkable life - it's ours to design how we wish. 


So speaking of designing that life, here's a breakdown and a quick little video on how meditation helped with that goal: 

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Wordless Wednesday: Flor de Otoño

Three Years Blogging and a Coach Giveaway Winner

My deep thinkers have been on this journey with me for three years. Three truly amazing years. You inspire me to paint the colors of my life on this platform as I continue to share each moment. 

Writing is at the core of who I am and to be able to hone that talent is a pleasure. Being able to share it with all of you is a privilege. 

You may remember that I launched a giveaway for a Coach Laptop Sleeve in honor of my blogoversary.  Of a total of 91 people who followed the rules with their comments (yes, I DO check if you follow the rules) #13 was the winner chosen on random.org. Who is #13?

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LushLunes: Self Affirmations

Today is LushLunes my dears!!! I'm so excited about everything I've been up to. I was sooo very busy last week but my deep thinkers were in my thoughts. 

Today's mission is all about affirmations. No matter what happens today, take a moment and say the following to yourself as a mantra: "I deserve happiness."

Say it a few times in the morning, or just before you go to bed. Just like our bodies need nourishment, so does our spirit. Once you believe it, you will attain it. 

Do you use any affirmations daily? Please share! Wishing you all a very Happy and Lush Lunes! 

xoxo,

Put Your Work Boots On

Let's set the record straight. I don't live with rose colored glasses on.  I choose to be positive. Because given the choice, wouldn't you want to feel positivity?

Do you want to hear me bitch and complain every day? Nope. No one wants to read a lot of "I'm a victim of blah blah blah" type of talk. 

If I have a sad moment, I'll tell you about it, but it always has to end on a positive note. Why? Because I seek to 1) let you into my life while 2) motivating and uplifting myself and YOU.

my fuel. not my drive.

No one wants to be around negative people. No one wants to read a negative blog. But that doesn't mean life is roses in my neck of the woods. I struggle. I cry. I get sad. That's life. The more we want something, the more value it attains, the deeper we feel about it, and the pursuit of it. despite the struggles, the hurt, and the obstacles, I keep moving forward.

Success is defined by a series of small choices. And all these little choices, build on each other to set you on the path to achieve that goal, whatever it might be.

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My Plate Is Full!

My deep thinkers, I hope you have an amazing #LushLunes today!

I've got a lot on my plate this week and won't have as many posts up.

If you follow me on twitter (@HerDeepThoughts and @Lalicenciada) I will be revisiting older assignments (look up the #LushLunes hashtag).

I will leave you with this quote to ponder, a statement I heard on the plane back from Montreal last week:

"Ruin is a gift; ruin is the road to transformation." -Elizabeth Gilbert

On Being Your Own Hero

I’ve spent a large chunk of my life giving. And all of that giving wore me out until I learned a very vaulable lesson. YOU have to be FIRST. Did you know that? Perish the thought! But it’s true.

My lil sis is the fairy princess, and I am She-Ra, Princess of Power. Oh, Yea! 

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Hmm: Yoga & Self Awareness | Guest Post

While I was in San Diego for BlogHer, I attended P&G's Life Well Lived. They hosted a yoga session taught by Amy of YogaOne. Class with Amy was a very relaxing session and I'm so glad I attended. 

Amy was kind enough to write a post for my readers on how yoga at any stage or level of the practice impacts more than just your body; it gives you tools to permeate every aspect of your life.

I hope you enjoy this post by Amy and will share your deep thoughts on the topic!

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Wordless Wednesday: Angry Birds

Featured Post: Click to Enter My COACH Giveaway!

Change IS Good.

If you're anything like me, you enjoy the comfort of familiarity and routine. *yawn*

The reason is I like to be in control. I like to know what's next. But the thing is, "life ain't like that, baby" (that's me, shaking my finger at my inner control freak).

It's time for a CHANGE. Yes change is scary because there's no way of knowing what will come of the change, but it's totally worth the risk!!! 

Source

The situation you have grown accustomed to was at one point a new experience. What I keep telling myself (and am now telling you) is that you can do it again! You can start a new routine (sounds better than "change")!

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LushLunes: Intention Synchronizes Fulfillment

Hola my deep thinkers! We've had a few LushLunes assignments focused on our vision boards.

Have you been avoiding this? Well, as I told my friend last week, don't over think it, don't feel that you have to have your ducks in a row in order to attain the golden shiny ducks you really want in a row. No. As the wise Nike  use to say, just do it.


So what's your LushLunes assignment? 

If you've started with a phrase that motivates you, now add more phrases, pictures, symbols...make it a board, make it a wall, make it a screen saver: Your life is your palette. Paint what you wish to see.

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On Top of the World (10 years Later)

I remember August of 2001. My old friend Lou was in town and we were hanging out in the financial district.  We were all dressed up with no where to go, so he got the idea to eat at Windows on the World. I'd never been there before, (typical New Yorker) so we headed to the Twin Towers. We were both getting ready to go to law school in a few days so why not splurge a little!

Windows on the World, via CBS.com, video that I couldn't bear to watch to completion.

We almost didn't get in. The guard at the elevators said they weren't letting anyone else up. I told Lou we should just go another time. He begged the guy and I guess the guard felt bad seeing us begging to go eat there so he let us up.

Up the elevators in a flash, excited about our fancy meal, we sat at a table overlooking Manhattan. 

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What About Your Friends? | Guest Post

"What about your friends, Will they stand their ground, Will they let you down again; What about your friends, Are they gonna be low down, Will they ever be around, or will they turn their backs on you"

- TLC, What About Your Friends

I met my "first" best friend in grammar school and I thought we'd be friends forever. At the end of fourth grade, she told me her parents bought a house in Long Island and they were moving. I was devastated. How can my best friend leave? We kept in touch for a while via letters and phone calls but with distance and new friends eventually we lost touch.

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Wordless Wednesday: Fun is Universal

Featured Post: Click to Enter My COACH Giveaway!

The Dream Chasing Business

A while ago I told you about the lovely messages sent to me from what I call The Universe (GOD, the collective consciousness, angels, & all that good stuff that suits your individual beliefs).

Well as you know I shot a commercial and had a LOT of fun. The biggest challenge was having the courage to do the commercial in English AND Spanish! (I keep getting asked to put it up, but I've decided it's just gonna be part of my reel)

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A Life Lived (Like There Was No Tomorrow)

Since I've been meditating daily I've been in a very reflective place. I wrote this on the train home one day, as I was in reflection mode. It may seem a little dark, but I hope you enjoy it.

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Nike Training Club: The Make Yourself App

You may recall that I resolved to make fitness and meditation a part of my life this year. I'm proud to say that I got the meditation part down - it's become a daily practice. Woohoo!!!

Although I practice yoga* weekly, but I haven't incorporated other forms of exercise (what happened to my swimming? My running? My Jillian Michaels? My calisthenics**? My Burpees**? smh). It's been an on and off enterprise to say the least, and I've had enough of that. 

I wake up every morning and my body calls to meditate. But when I pull the yoga mat out, I'm totally slacking and not living up to my potential. All that has got to change. 

I need More yoga. I need more exercise. Just MORE so that my body feels nourished. Lately, when my body tells me it wants to RUN, instead I respond with, "well, I could run and get a cookie" like heading to Starbucks is gonna help (they have good chocolate chip cookies by the way).

So as I flopped on the couch earlier this week looking for pictures from Lucky magazine to put on my vision board, I stumbled across this promotion on the Nike Training Club:

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The Challenge to Put Me First

I have been meditating for 17 days now - sometimes even twice a day - and I've seen drastic changes in my life. Over the past two weeks I have made conscious decisions that put me FIRST.

My laptop screen: Condensed Vision Board!

Cultivating the business aspect of my acting has been a priority. I have become a bit obsessed with it, which is a good thing. But I also make sure I find some balance, which means I haven't been attached to my electronic devices as much.

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