Finding balance

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When I decided to turn my attention to how I’m relating to my “social media self”, I started to see how off balance things were in my life. As I navigate what my life with/ and without social media is becoming, it has been an eye-opening experiment. I deactivated my profiles, and the world did not end. Most people didn’t even notice that I was gone, or taking a break. It was interesting considering how much time I felt I was putting into crafting this online “persona”, and outward facing version of myself. I kept changing and re-arranging who I was with what I thought people might “want” from me. In reality, we are the sum of many, many things. There is this push on social media to limit the multitudes that make up our being into quick digestible blurbs. To narrow down the services we offer into something concrete, to “brand” our infinite into something relatable.

I don’t think I’m ready to leave completely, to move from “deactivate on occasion” to “permanently delete” on my platforms. There have been beautiful moments of sharing, when someone has reached out because of a post I’ve made, or because of a connection that would’ve only happened on Facebook. Learning to navigate balance is tricky when you’re up against multiple platforms that are designed to feed on your attention. I am learning that I need it less and less, and that I’m connecting more and more with the people in my life.

I’m also starting to find my own voice again, and it really has given me an opportunity to do some deep and necessary self care and reflection. One nugget that my God Soul would always give me is, “Don’t be an echo, share your voice and insights”, and I’m learning to do that more. It’s easy to click “share” on someones else’s post, and there are some really great voices out there. I do think, that too often we defer to others because we don’t feel our voice is strong enough to rise in the moment. I’m spending more time with my analog journal. Writing things out longhand really allows me the opportunity to be more present with what I’m committing to paper. I even had to pause when starting this blog today, the thought of dressing it up with pictures to help drive the message home was there, but this is enough.

When we take a moment to slow down and really observe where our attention is going, and where it isn’t, we regain/retain a bit of our power. I feel balance and power go hand in hand. When we pull back some of that power that is ours, we can begin to use it to stabilize our center. I’m finding that it’s okay to also just be one thing to the world. I don’t have to wear all the hats, or all of the projections. When we step closer to our passions, we can also start to see where balance flows outward, and into the world. There are things I stopped doing a while back because I was afraid, or nervous of how the world would see me, or that I was “wasting time” on things that were not furthering my brand.

How do you navigate your online and offline life? Where do you feel power might be lost, and where can you pull some back for yourself, for your craft, for your art? How different are you from your online persona?

Breathing life into life

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Today I made the big decision to step away from my social medial platforms. I’m not an influencer by any means, but I feel that the influence being exerted on me by those platforms was bordering on unhealthy. I recently told one of my yoga students, “The only reason I’m still on social media is for work, otherwise I wouldn’t be on at all.” My intuition grabbed me and asked, “Do you really need it for work?’

Over the years I’ve wrestled with the idea that I have to be online to promote myself. When I first started the blog years ago, it was all that I had. Social media wasn’t as pervasive, and I was able to connect with most of my clients and students through actual interactions. We had conversations over coffee, we met up for walk and talks about life, we had poetry jams. Life’s connections where richer, deeper, and nourishing. The recent push from the pandemic to move more online was necessary, and I’m happy that we have that space to do the work we need to do. I heard in a podcast earlier this week that building your business on social media is building it on rented space, space that you don’t truly own.

So, I’m back, I’m going to be writing more, reading more, and sharing my experiences here regarding this journey into a social media free life. I don’t want to be on my death bed remembering how much scrolling I’ve done in this life. Not sure what will evolve out of this journey, but I’m excited to see what happens, and what grows from this soil.

New beginnings and a weekly FaceBook Live Broadcast

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Hello Soul Tribe!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here.

Life has been a crazy ride the past few years.  I stepped away from doing the spiritual work full time, and re-dedicated myself to my fitness journey.  I was able to dive into certifications, working at some amazing gyms here in Columbia South Carolina, but there was something missing.

The past several months I’ve felt the need to re-commit myself to my spiritual work, and to also re-open those doors in working with clients.  We are living in a time where healing is necessary, and those of us that are able to be of service are being called to do that work.

Every Friday at 8:00pm, I’ll be doing live Facebook Soul Interaction Sessions.  These soul inspired Dharma talks will be a chance for us to connect, to grow, and to deepen our commitment to the journey ahead.

I have more stuff in the works.  Amazing opportunities for us to work together in small groups online, and here in the Columbia, SC area.

If you’d like to schedule a one-on-one session with me, feel free reach out via my website:

http://www.michaebrazell.com

You can tune into the weekly Soul Sessions at: www.facebook.com/mbrazell 

Transitions and New Beginnings

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A lot of new things have been happening in my life since first starting this blog.  I’ve had a chance to ride the waves of change, a lot. These waves have sometimes been more rocky than others, but I’ve learned so much along the way.

I moved back into teaching and practicing fitness. I’ve rededicated my life to this journey in profound ways.  I love teaching group fitness. I love being able to inspire others through the path of fitness, and I in turn have been so deeply inspired by so many people.

Most of this site has been devoted to spiritual study.  My spiritual journey has been a diverse one, and continues to be so.  What I’m finding in my own life is to look at how all parts of my experience intersect, collide and fall apart. Im finding this new path is calling me to do deeper work towards integration.

Fitness and spirituality meet in very unique ways, and I’m planning on using this space to explore those intersections, share tools to help you experience this sense of integration, and to create a place for us to connect and create community.

I’m excited for the road ahead.  I am also offering new services, so be sure to check out the services page for information and to schedule a session.  I’ll also be updating my website: www.michaelbrazell.com with all the new details.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me!

 

Tabula Rasa: cleansing, centering and integrating

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ta·bu·la ra·sa
ˈtäbyo͝olə ˈräsə,ˈräzə/
noun
  1. an absence of preconceived ideas or predetermined goals; a clean slate.
    “the team did not have complete freedom and a tabula rasa from which to work”
    • the human mind, especially at birth, viewed as having no innate ideas.

     

Sometimes, in order to stand in our power, we have to wipe the slate clean. We have to start over, and have the courage to let go of what needs releasing.

There is a beautiful dual current that shows up during this time of year. One one side we have the celebration, the joy, the giving and receiving. On the other we have the dying, the darkness, and the emotional struggle that often also arises. This beautiful duality is a powerful teacher. It gives us contrast that creates growth, and it offers us possibility.

Wiping the slate clean takes work. It’s a process. Not everything gets wiped away with ease. The hardest part is starting, making the commitment to show up to whatever process of cleansing works best for you. This is a great time of the year to open, to engage, to begin. What’s holding you back from stepping into your power? What’s creating stagnation in your current experience? What do you need to do in this moment to begin healing?

Cleansing can take many forms. Sometimes we have to start with our physical spaces. De-cluttering our lives of unnecessary “things”, donating them to those in need, examining our attachments are all important. Sometimes it means taking the broom the the floors, putting hands in dishwater, organizing a workspace.

We may feel the call to cleanse the body. Taking a warm bath. Moving the body through dance, yoga, going for a walk–building body heat and sweat. It may mean changing out diets to be more nutritious.

We may feel the need to cleanse the inner temple. Meditating, engaging in energy healing, breathing deeply, and journaling are ways to bring balance and awareness to the inner space.

The missing piece of the puzzle is integration. Once we begin the process of cleansing mind, body, and spirit energy begins to move. How you integrate into life after the cleansing phase is just as important as the process of cleansing. Being at center, is being fully integrated.

In the next few weeks, we’ll be diving deeper into cleansing processes. We’ll also discuss how to integrate after the changes. The path of full integration is not an easy one, but it is necessary.

Take time to feel where you are in your body. Take a moment to bring awareness to your inner and outer spaces. Breathe deeply. Know that you are loved.

Radio Show, Leaning Into Joy, and Loving the Flow

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Tonight at 9pm, we’ll be re-launching our online BlogTalk Radio show, “Soul Empowerment Radio”!  We took a bit of a hiatus for travel, getting out into the world, and diving a bit into the soul journey. I’m excited to be on air again. Technology often gets a pretty bad rap, but if we can use this platform to connect, to deepen our connection to the journey, and to offer healing to the world then it’s a good thing!  My hope is to go LIVE Monday – Friday at 9pm EST. Each episode will start with a discussion and soul centered dialog followed by a guided meditation. I’ll also be opening up the lines for FREE on air mini-readings and healing sessions.  We are also working on inviting on guests, doing book reviews, and opening to community in whatever way we can!

Here is a link to join in tonight! Soul Empowerment Radio

Leaning Into Joy

joyIt’s been an incredible few months. Weather changes have bombarded our coasts, upheaval seems to be a constant trend in our media, and life for many has become heavy. It’s okay to feel whatever it is that you are feeling. You are human. It’s okay to feel the pain and the weight of the world. Taking steps toward joy can be difficult in times of global or personal upheaval. Joy is often elusive when we feel the weight of life on our shoulders, but we have to remember that taking steps toward joy gives us a chance to feel freedom, even in our chaos.

Joy isn’t meant to be used as an escape from what we are experiencing. We don’t want to use joy as a mechanism of suppression. Joy gives us access to perspective, balance, and understanding. When we over identify with our suffering, we do so at the risk of excluding other areas of life. Sometimes we have to make leaning into joy a conscious act. Here are a few steps to lean into joy when you might be experiencing upheaval:

  1. Find time to laugh. Laughter really is the best medicine.
  2. Take time to express gratitude. Now, this is different from just writing down the things you’re grateful for (which is also a powerful practice). Expressing gratitude through action allows us to participate in sharing joy. A few ways to express gratitude are: saying thank you to those that serve you in a restaurant, offering to do the daily chores, helping others in need, being in service to those around you in whatever ways feels best.
  3. Journaling. Journaling allows us to detox the mind. Creating a pressure valve for our minds allows us to have a bit more space in our life for joy.
  4. Do something silly. Color in a coloring book, play with play dough, paint, run through the sprinklers, have fun!
  5. Eat delicious food.
  6. Listen to poetry
  7. Talk a walk outside and experience nature (not just on your screen saver).

Loving the Flow

Finding balance in life allows us to move a bit deeper into the flow. It helps us to be in the experience of life, it allows us to feel this moment a bit more deeply. Life is going to come with its up and downs, it may even take you sideways, and that’s okay. It’s part of the flow. Joy is part of the flow. Love is part of the flow. Even if things feel heavy right now, know that you are moving, just as the breath is moving through your lungs. Live deeply, love deeply, be present.

Life Update: Feri, Yoga, and Writing

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Life is an interesting journey. I love the way it ebbs and flows, and thought I’d toss out a few updates:

-I started Feri training again. I did the training a while back, but came to a point in my life where I needed to step away, and it happened that at that time, I was marching towards some pretty massive life changes (move from DC to SC, break up, etc)… but, I never stopped the core practices that were given to me by my teacher at the time. What I’m learning as I move forward in my spiritual journey is that everything we move into, informs the journey. Feri training helped to create balance to the other areas of my life. Often when we are working in the world of spirit and dealing heavily with the intuition, we forget that the body is also a part of our spiritual path/practice. I’ll be doing some blog posts soon on my experiences with this tradition, and more importantly how I am integrating this work into the other areas of my life.

-Yoga, yoga, yoga!  I’m going to be teaching classes here in the DC area, and I am also talking to a new studio here in the Columbia, SC area. I’m breathing life into the LGBT Bears do Yoga program in DC, and I am also hoping to get this started here in the Columbia area as well. I’m also working to get some videos on youtube, so be sure to subscribe to my channel! I’m planning online satsangs, small group Skype sessions, and google hangouts. If you like information on the upcoming classes, feel free to email me at: michael@michaelbrazell.com

-I’m finally working on my book, and you can expect to see a lot more activity on this blog. I’ve been dividing myself a bit too far, and one message my soul has been offering is to streamline and focus. Poetry is also calling my soul. Poetry is a powerful tool for healing and transformation. There are a lot of things in my heart that are asking to have their voice echoed out onto paper. I am also planning some trips to open mics.. I miss the poetry slam scene.

-Lots of travel coming up. I’ll be in DC from the 15th of August through the 15th of September, and then again in October.

Just a quick life update. Hope you all are riding the energy shifts with balance and grace. Be kind to yourself,and love fiercely.

Giving Yourself a Reading

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One way to connect to your intuition and to develop trust in the information that it is giving you, is to get in the daily habit of giving yourself readings.  There are a wide variety of techniques and processes out there, but the idea is to keep it simple.  I’m going to give you a simple process that I have shared with students and clients of mine over the years.

  1. Write down your questions. I harp on journaling A LOT because it is one of the most powerful spiritual tools in our arsenal of self discovery. One of the reasons so many people have difficulty in doing readings for themselves is that they either aren’t sure of the questions they want to ask, or they aren’t sure they are ready to hear the answers to those questions. Carrying our journals with us gives us a place to write down the questions we may have for our soul.
  2. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable with yourself. Being open to our questions is as important as being open to the answers, and both require us to be vulnerable enough to show up to our process of self inquiry.
  3. Open to your heart. One simple method of tuning in is to bring your awareness to your heart center. You can do this by simply bringing your hands to the heart. Allow yourself to connect to the simple rise and fall of the chest. Feel the beating heart beneath your hand. Let this act of body awareness be a doorway to deeper listening.
  4. Listen for the answers to your question with your entire body. We often get stuck in our head, and we often feel as if answers to our questions will come with some deep flash of insight, or thundering God force words through our ears. Sometimes the answer comes as a subtle fluttering in our bellies, a breath that goes a bit deeper than all the others, or you may see something in your external space that triggers deeper exploration (a photo, a color, a bird, a tree, etc).
  5. Write down anything you are feeling, seeing, sensing, or hearing (internally or externally). All of it is used in determining the answer to the questions you are asking. Don’t over think things, if something is standing out, write it down.
  6. Take a step back from the session. Let the answers and questions gestate a bit. You might come back with more questions based on the answers you receive – GREAT!  This means you are now moving into a soul dialog rather than just a question and answer session.
  7. Sometimes the answer isn’t what you want to hear, but it is always what you need to hear. Be receptive to whatever comes through. One of the most dangerous things we can do it is toss aside an answer just because we don’t like it. I see this often in cases of relationship questions. It’s hard to hear the truth. Sometimes the answer is that it is time to move on, but tossing aside that truth filled answer because it’s not what we want to hear only leads us to more suffering. If we are having trouble with a particular response we have received from our intuition, we can always ask our soul to amply the answer we have received, be open to digging deeper if you feel called to do so:
    1. What do I need to know about my relationship at this time?
      1. Beloved, it is time to move forward into your own light as this relationship has come to the end of its course.
      2. What can I do to make the transition one filled with grace?
      3. What areas of this relationship have caused us to arrive at this point of finality?
      4. What is my true teaching from this relationship with (xyz)?
  8. Have fun with giving yourself a reading. Too often we only use this beautiful connection we have to the soul our soul (the intuition) to ask about the stuff that requires heavy lifting. Ask simple things, ask about manifesting, ask about creating abundance, ask about winning the lottery, ask about expanding your connection to your spiritual path, ask for affirmations of love, ask for any number of things you might desire insight on, but ask!
  9. Take action on what your soul is giving you in the reading. If we are asking to improve our lives, and then we don’t follow through, it is only going to prolong the suffering and delay arriving at that place of liberation.

This is just a quick primer, something to have a bit of fun with, and my soul is nudging me to do more with the blog, so here it is. I hope that you find the information useful, and if you have questions you can alway contact me at: michael@michaelbrazell.com

Blog Series: Power Cleansing

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Spiritual-CleansingAs I was cleaning out some of my old online folders I came across an old outline for a book I was working on regarding personal and spacial spiritual cleansing. I thought it would be great to turn this outline into a blog series. Spiritual cleansing is an important part of spiritual work, but one that can be a bit confusing for the beginner and advanced practitioner alike.

Through this blog series we’ll explore:

  • What is spiritual cleansing and why is it important?
  • Spiritual cleansing from various mystical traditions
  • Tools for the cleansing arsenal
  • Cleansing the body and empowering the soul
  • Space clearing and cleansing
  • Working with entities: The good, the bad and the ugly
  • Diet and nutrition as tools for spiritual cleansing
  • Working with karma
  • Psychic protection and defending against psychic vampires, hexes and curses
  • Exorcism fundamentals
  • and much more

It is my hope that you’ll be able to use some of what I’ll be offering in this series to move you into a deeper relationship with your spiritual journey. Along the way I’ll be offering exercises to help you begin or evolve your work with cleansing and clearing.

I also want to hear from you. What are your questions and experiences with spiritual cleansing? Have you ever witnessed or participated in an exorcism? What tools have you placed in your personal arsenal for cleaning out spaces both internally and externally?

Remember, if you need help along the way you can always reach out by contacting me via my website: www.michaelbrazell.com