Relaxed Flow

I have stopped going against the grain. If it doesn't feel good, expansive, and amazing, I just wont do it. What I have learnt is that this is not the energy that leads to the life I desire. See, we must be clear of the feeling we are after. The type of life that we envision must be in alignment with everything we are currently doing.

Here's an example: I recently signed a contract. Withing a short period of time that contract started to feel very limiting and my energy was drained. The project turned out to be so much more work than I had originally anticipated. But I stuck to it (stubbornly) because I believed (erroneously) that I had to fulfill my commitment. Fortunately, I got some sense talked into me. Sent a simple email stating that I wished to be release from the agreement, sat back, and expected the best. Sure enough, I received a reply that was easy and in agreement with my request.

Sometimes it is wise to keep pushing, but we must always check with our body/senses to see if what we are bringing forward is what's right. I believe that the Universe will always supply accordingly and all we have to do is show up, do whatever we can, the best way we can, and expect miracles along the way.

It has taken me entirely too long to understand the ease of this whole process, but now I'm happy to have found my answers and just as happy to share it and help those who are ready to bring their best lives forth.

The world is yours! What type of life do you dream of? What type of world are you ready to build?

Many Blessings,
Erika

____________________________________________________________________
Erika Matos is a transformational agent, a certified health and nutrition educator, intuitive healer, and life coach helping people shift in the right direction by critically rethinking everything assumed to be true about what it means to be a happy, healthy, prosperous being. To learn more about her work visit http://www.realitymanifest.com

Bring Value

Add Value to Your World! Go and make something worthwhile happen, and yes, smiling counts. You can't expect to create change while bringing greed, drama, selfishness, excuses, and pity to the party. These are the things that we must be mindful of, so that we may avoid them as much as possible.

Make your world better, then share with others. Be more loving, happier, simpler, more truthful, gentle, compassionate, and caring. Take yourself out of the picture for a while and think of how may you serve and help a planet that is in desperate need of kindness in every way.

"Let us cultivate love and compassion, both of which give life true meaning. This is the religion I preach. It is simple. Its temple is the heart. Its teaching is love and compassion. Its moral values are loving and respecting others, whoever they may be. Whether one is a lay person or a monastic, we have no other option if we wish to survive in this world." - Dalai Lama


Now is When. Shine on.

Love & Many Blessings,
+Erika

How to Stop Spending Money for 30 Days

How to Stop Spending Money for 30 Days

I came across this today and loved it! I have been 'trimming the fat' in order to have more money for traveling and retirement. It definitely takes discipline. The funny thing is that once you get over certain things, you quickly realize that you can live without them. My favorite ditch? Skin cleanser! I have been using almond oil and a washcloth for a while now, and my skin never looked better.
 
 

Think about it. How many things do you actually NEED? Yes, we all like our luxuries and things that make us feel spoiled. But truth is more than half of the world's population lives on less than $10 a day. Imagine living like that...
 
Also, Mother Nature will certainly thank you for not using additional natural resources just to indulge.
 
Less is certainly more! (Especially in your pocket!)
 
Here's the link again:
How to Stop Spending Money for 30 Days



Here's to living simpler and happier :)

+Erika

Living Our Divine Essence

Living Our Divine Essence by Erika Matos

An inspiring friend, Xina Sy, invited me to contribute to her  Big, Bold, Beautiful Blog(http://thebigboldbeautifulblog.blogspot.com) and I gladly obliged.

Here's the link: Living Our Divine Essence by Erika Matos

With Love. Enjoy!

"When we live from within, nothing from without can shake or stir us. When we are grounded in truth, we can trust our foundation to be the sturdiest and most reliable. When the inner void is filled, the material band-aids are no longer needed to determine worth or value." + Erika

Shine On!

"Our spiritual nature is light which radiates from us and naturally transforms and heals. This spiritual light also creates unlimited possibilities of what can happen versus the limitations our minds put on things.

The sun shines light that is absorbed by all of life. The sun does not decide that since things are going "badly" in the world it won't shine today. The sun shines each day.

We must make a choice to shine our light and allow that light to radiate no matter what is going on in the outer world. We can't go back and forth deciding one day to feed the light and then one day to feed fear and anger. This going back and forth detracts from the focus and concentration of spiritual energies needed right now to create true change."

- Sandra Ingerman

Liberation

I learnt so much this past 4th of July weekend. About love, life and the pursuit of happiness. About releasing my self-imposed roles. About relaxing and allowing myself to ride the incredible wave of life. About the unexpected lessons, and happy new connections. I experienced pure magic.

For a while, I allowed myself to surrender, and then wondered how come I didn't do this more often! Life happened beautifully without me trying to control what was going on around me. Better than I could've expected. The food, the company, the exchange of genuineness, all fed my soul, which was apparently hungrier than I imagined.

So this weekend I went with the flow, got into a state of flow, and loved every second of it! Maybe this holiday was meant to liberate me from myself. To feel my way through this journey just a tad bit more, and to put the mind at ease. The fireworks ignited within my soul, and I fell in love with life all over again...

Hoping that your holiday was filled with joy!

Many Blessings,
Erika

Are You Focusing on the Clock?

Clock time is a social construction. While we oblige by it, we must also find time to disconnect from it.  I want to share in this post some very useful insight from Eckhart Tolle:

The elimination of time from your consciousness is the elimination of ego. It is the only true spiritual practice. Here are three exercises to help you move in this direction:


Step out of the time dimension as much as possible in everyday life. Become friendly toward the present moment. Make it your practice to withdraw attention from past and future whenever they are not needed.


Be present as the watcher of your mind—of your thoughts and emotions as well as your reactions in various situations. Be at least as interested in your reactions as in the situation or person that causes you to react.


Use your senses fully. Be where you are. Look around. Just look, don't interpret. Be aware of the silent presence of each thing. Be aware of the space that allows everything to be. Listen to the sounds; don't judge them. Listen to the silence beneath the sounds. Touch something—anything—and feel and acknowledge its Being. Allow the "isness" of all things. Move deeply into the Now.

– Eckhart Tolle

It is true that time will pass, and that there will be many things around us to remind us of just that.  In your daily hustle, make sure that you slow down from time to time to enjoy the flowers along the path.  Rushing all the time depletes us of essential life force, making us inefficient and clumsy. Take a few moments to connect with your breath: five consecutive breaths will oxygenate your body and begin to release tension.

Life is passing us by. Are you enjoying every moment as much as possible?

I Am, as are you...

+Erika

________________________________________________________
Erika Matos is a transformational agent, a certified health and nutrition educator, intuitive healer, and life coach helping people shift in the right direction by critically rethinking everything assumed to be true about what it means to be a happy, healthy, prosperous being. To learn more about her work visit http://www.realitymanifest.com

Shadow Working

Whatever you feel is wrong with the world are shadows of yourself.  The things that you like in other people, and the things you don't like in other people, are all reflections of yourself.

(You mean to tell me that person I can't stand is mirroring a part of me? Yep!)

What's a shadow? According to Debbie Ford, the shadow contains all the parts of ourselves that we try to hide, deny or suppress. It is the keeper of all the aspects of ourselves that we dislike and the qualities that we judge as unacceptable. It shows up in different ways and you may feel angry, critical, fearful, lazy, controlling, selfish, weak, pathetic, etc. These are the parts of ourselves we don’t want to the world to see, and that we try so hard to get rid of.


But eliminating it is not the answer. We must learn to embrace and accept those parts of ourselves! The Shadow Process gives us access to loving our imperfect, human selves entirely and unconditionally. This deep and profound work teaches and enables us to embrace both the darkness of our smallest self and the brilliant light of our highest self. 

Making peace with our dark side is a sacred journey. It demands rigorous honesty, courage and a great deal of compassion. Embracing our shadow delivers us emotional wholeness and the absolute freedom to be who we are. When we are filled with self-love and self-appreciation, we automatically attract the miraculous experience of love and appreciation from others. I think of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, where in the end he made peace within himself, and 'brought balance to the force'.

Don't fight those parts of yourself. The darkness within needs love just like anything else. When you learn to give it just that, those pieces of you start working in your favor. 

Shadow work is intense! It'll always show you where you could improve, and it's ongoing, and every time and opportunity for growth and expansion. Yes, it's uncomfortable, but we understand that discomfort is a chance for betterment.

Love what you have feared in order to receive the key that will allow you to unleash the unlimited power that lies dormant within you.

You don't have to be perfect, you just need to be YOU.

+Erika
____________________________________________________
Erika Matos is a transformational agent, a certified health and nutrition educator, intuitive healer, and life coach helping people shift in the right direction by critically rethinking everything assumed to be true about what it means to be a happy, healthy, prosperous being. To learn more about her work visit http://www.realitymanifest.com

My A-ha! Moment Today

I have spent my morning gathering documents for a project that I thought was finished. What happened, you ask? More support was needed. The task was tedious to begin with. I could have grunted the whole way through my hundreds of copies of the reporting assignment. It is, after all, my least favorite part of my job. However, I decided to stay light about the whole situation.

As I removed staples, copied and re-stapled, I took on an attitude of diligent dutifulness and gratefulness, and felt immediately at ease. Instead of allowing the complainer to take center stage, I allowed the smile to embrace my whole being. At that time, I was gently reminded that we all have a reason for being here, and that we all had things to do. 

Maybe that wasn't at all what I had in mind for my day, but what a great reminder of the difference the right mindset can make even in the most mundane case. It feels great to embrace the moment and look for the positive possibilities.

Feeling fortunate for the small things today, and making it a point to extend this simple consciousness to all areas of my life daily. My "A-Ha" moment!

Life is so good! Don't you agree? :)

+Erika

________________________________________________________

Erika Matos is a transformational agent, a certified health and nutrition educator, intuitive healer, and life coach helping people shift in the right direction by critically rethinking everything assumed to be true about what it means to be a happy, healthy, prosperous being. To learn more about her work visit http://www.realitymanifest.com

Absolutely Beneficial: Discomfort & Change

We all hear "Follow your bliss". Not long ago I was (ahem) whining to a friend about a task I needed to handle. Just when I thought I was going to hear the old familiar words, she says "Follow your discomfort" instead. I gave a confused stare. She knew she had to explain.

She went on to say that the fear of something new and different was keeping me from doing what would be absolutely beneficial. She was right of course. So I analyzed why I was hesitating to move forward. This is what I came up with:
The weak mind is easily frightened and prefers comfort. It will never allow you to reach your goals and fulfill your destiny. It'll raise all the reasons why you shouldn't do something (doubts), and then come up with a list of what it'll rather do instead (waste time). Comfort is not your ultimate goal. In fact, by stepping out of that zone and through discomfort, you will challenge yourself to try new things, do the dreadful, come out with a new perspective, a lesson learnt, and inevitable growth in the process. Don't stay put! The rewards will always be greater leaping.

We have to become mentally strong enough to keep walking forward, even when the roads are unfamiliar. We have a place to reach. Settling in the laurels is not an option. Just remember to enjoy the exciting journey.

Today I want to challenge you to take a small step into doing something you don't want to do. Call that client. Go to the gym. Set up that meeting. Eat that Salad. Take that Class. Speak your mind. Face your Fear!

The more you practice, the easier it gets.

"Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it." - Bill Cosby

Change can be scary. Lucky for you, the odds are in your favor.

Go get 'em!
+Erika

______________________________________________________________
Erika Matos is a transformational agent, a certified health and nutrition educator, intuitive healer, and life coach helping people shift in the right direction by critically rethinking everything assumed to be true about what it means to be a happy, healthy, prosperous being.



To learn more about her work visit http://www.realitymanifest.com/

When in Doubt, Wait it Out

Sometimes we get a little stuck. We don't know where to go, or what to do. It's ok. Wait it out. Take a deep breath. Put the situation on a shelf. In no time the solution will present itself: either the answer will come through you or to you, by a Divine 'Coincidence'.

Often, we are tempted to force the situation. We want what we want, when we want it, rather than stepping back and allowing the Universe handle things in the same perfect fashion it has since the beginning of time. Relax. Stop thinking of the problem. Usually, when we do, it becomes crystal clear what the next step should be. No need to rush anything. All is happening exactly as it should.
Go ahead. Give yourself permission to continue on with something else, and let this situation that is stressing you out handle itself. You'll be glad you did!

Many Blessings,
Erika



Erika Matos is a transformational agent, a certified health and nutrition educator, intuitive healer, and life coach helping people shift in the right direction by critically rethinking everything assumed to be true about what it means to be a happy, healthy, prosperous being.
To learn more about her work visit http://www.realitymanifest.com/

Oprah's Farewell

Yes. Everyone is talking about her. With good reason. The woman is absolutely amazing. Oprah. With one name. That's all she needs.

For me it was about her showing me a map, of how to tap into what she tapped into, of how to learn what she learnt (the important lessons in life), of how to make a difference, of how to be the best me, of how to let my light shine. Even how to expand my consciousness into what it is now, and it keeps growing. What an incredible gift to give to someone she has never met through a medium that touches millions everyday. That was what made her magical in my eyes. Because of her, and many others, I know that anything is possible. That the human spirit prevails.

Raw. Real. Honest. Transparent. Heart full. Loving. Giving. Comforting. That's how I perceive her. And she's not perfect. Her story is full of traumatic events and challenges, and yet she rose to the top. That's why I love her so.

Listen to These Words:
Oprah's Farewell Message


I'm plugged in. I want to continue spreading the messages. To be of service. To lend a voice to the evolution of mankind so that there are more Oprah's in the world. People unafraid of their dreams, of the light within, of hope, and to carry that to unseen corners of the world.
 
I'm not sure how life will be without "O", but I know it'll never be the same...
 
With a heart full of gratitude - Thanks, Oprah.

+E



www.realitymanifest.com