Loneliness in a Hyper-Connected Society

September 07, 2020 by Alannah Paren in Inspiration

Back in March of 2019, I jotted down in my notes: “What are the pros and cons of being so connected through technology in this day and age?” Now, over a year later, I find this question almost even more relevant and worth considering. It is incredibly fascinating that through today’s technology we can contact anyone in the world at any given minute and conduct work or school from the comfort of our own homes, among many other things. While I recognize the extreme benefits, there are moments when I feel that our machines and devices are tipping the scales of connectivity, entering into a realm where we are actually more isolated as individuals.

The ability to gather international news and access an incomprehensible amount of resources from the palms of our hands, are just two of the ways that technology has forever shaped society. And it is definitely a balance, because without these means to connect, we’d lack even more empathy in the world, as it would be incredibly hard to maintain awareness for others outside of our social bubbles. Yet, there is a special energy that requires us to get breaths of fresh air and open ourselves up to factors of life that span beyond standard screen sizes. I definitely took for granted the ease of being able to get out and meander in spaces, an activity that exposes us to strangers and allows for the magic and beauty of unexpected conversations. These days, it’s easy to virtually transport oneself across the globe or even complete daily errands like grocery shopping, without even leaving the couch.

With such hyper-connectivity, it is easy to slip into the territory of loneliness and isolation – sometimes without even realizing that it is happening. In my own experience, even if I am able to manage keeping up friendships and enhancing my worldly knowledge from behind the screen, I tend to lose my internal sense of being grounded. Physically enjoying nature, being in people’s presence, and getting to separate work life from my personal space, are all things that encourage my overall wellbeing. After long extents of relying on digital means to satisfy my human need to connect and engage, I find that I then tend to log off with an extreme sense of personal discontent. Moments that I get to spend with the people I love and the small adventures like walking to get takeout are the mini wins that I have learned are key to my own personal sanity.

In an effort to stay hopeful and honor ourselves through the actions that make us happiest, it is so important that we make space for the people and activities that keep us tuned into our best selves. While we oddly are feeling the restrictions of being physically bound within our homes, the lines delineating our personal, professional, and social lives have become completely blurred. It is okay to not have everything figured out, or to feel completely lost in a society that is outlining exactly where we should or shouldn’t be this year.

I have a lot to thank technology for and without the innovations of today’s world, I would be feeling an incredible void. The opportunities I have had, the people I cherish most, even this blog, are all aspects of my life that have benefitted from the ability to transcend time and distance through devices. However, the seed of our souls were not planted to thrive with machinery alone. It takes a healthy dose of other elements to keep us balanced as humans. This equilibrium can be achieved when we are intentional with our utilization of modern technology. Predetermining our goals when we unlock our phones or log on to our computers can be incredibly beneficial; whether we are heading into a work Zoom, hoping to connect with someone, or dedicating recreational perusing of social media, making mindful decisions can keep us in charge of our time and happiness.

Stay hopeful everyone and continue finding safe ways to spark joy! xoxo

Learning How Distance Can Bring You Closer to Center

June 16, 2019 by Alannah Paren in Travel, Inspiration

There’s the saying that “you don’t know what you have until its gone,” but sometimes it just takes you being the one that’s gone for a bit to help provide some clarity and perspective. When I decided to go abroad to work and study for two months, I expected to learn a lot, but I had no idea how quickly I would begin to discover more about myself. It has only been about two weeks in my new (temporary) home of Sydney, yet I already get the sense that I may have signed up for a summer intensive course with me at the focus.

Bronte Beach, NSW, Australia // June 2019

While I have come to realize a lot of personal things about myself, I have also come to generally find that there is something really refreshing in removing yourself from the routine that you know – it gives you freedom from the part of society that pushes for you to keep moving closer and closer to success. In fact, it feels a tad rebellious to seemingly “press pause” on the normality of what you have always known and to instead “press play” to a life completely unfamiliar. And, doing so does not impede on your track to success that it feels like you are escaping from, but rather it helps you better understand how to navigate that path once you return to reality.

For example, in being across the globe, living nearly a full day ahead of all my friends and family, I have experienced a deep appreciation for the people that I do have in my life. I often find it hard to display any signs of weakness, but I honestly have been feeling bouts of homesickness, since I miss my incredible sources of love and support back home. (Otherwise, Australia is really amazing and I would probably stay forever :) ) Being on my own has also naturally surfaced a lot of inner motivation and strength, which have always seemed a little more difficult to actualize back home. When you experience these types of feelings at least once, you begin to realize that you have it in you to catalyze them at any point in your life.

Bondi Beach, NSW, Australia // June 2019

While I might be experiencing a more extreme situation of solo self-discovery, I think there is something to be said about giving yourself space. When you are in the midst of life, attempting to make decisions, it can feel overwhelming. It is like deciding what lane you need to be in on the freeway – life isn’t going to just stop and wait while you make up your mind, so instead you feel like you have to make decisions quickly and efficiently as other cars whiz by. Allowing yourself to step back from scenarios, gives you the ability to truly analyze situations and make whole-hearted choices, knowing without a doubt they are the right ones to make. It takes getting out of your comfort zone to realize what your true comfort zone even is – the things and people that bring out the best in you, along with those that don’t make you feel the best.

The next time you feel like you need some clarity in a situation or maybe just want to challenge yourself to deeply seek what your heart desires, try adding a little distance. Sometimes it is hard to, especially since it seems like the norm is to keep moving towards things rather than away from them. But, I think it is time to release the misconception that distance is a negative aspect and that it makes it harder to achieve things. Because for me, pulling myself out of my everyday life and into a whole new society, has only made me more excited to go home and keep enjoying what I have come to realize makes me a happier and better version of myself. Taking time to discover your truth is invaluable in getting closer to your ideal future. Happy soul-searching everyone! :)

How to Love in Every Situation

February 06, 2019 by Alannah Paren in Inspiration, Lifestyle

Happy February! In light of Valentine’s Day coming up, I wanted to do another special feature on “love.” Last year I wrote about a few things I had learned on the topic, but this year I want to write about something that I am still working on fully integrating into my own life - the idea that no matter how upsetting a situation is, you approach it with love. When we feel like we are dealing with someone on a different vibration than we are, or when we feel hurt by another person’s thoughts or actions, it is easy to turn to being unhappy, disappointed, and maybe even angry. However, these feelings are not productive in terms of mending and healing, which is why we must ask ourselves an important question: “How can I love in this situation?”

The world can be, and currently is, a very messy place, and in an effort to move forward in a more holistically positive direction, we need to begin to do as much as we can to guide our lives with love and empathy. Stepping back from situations and evaluating how you fit into whatever might be unfolding, is crucial in not only helping to protect your own heart and soul energy, but also in understanding how to handle such circumstances. Let’s say you are having a hard time seeing eye-to-eye with a friend, coworker, roommate, or family member. It’s easy to get riled up, to begin to plaster up the walls of your heart and mind, and to keep those thick layers of defense on for all future interactions. But what if, before you began to apply these shielding mechanisms, you actually expanded these channels? What if you took a look at the situation and realized, “Okay, this is how _____ feels, because of xyz…,” and you allowed yourself to simply bring some love and empathy into the situation? Now, not only have you saved yourself the burden of wasting energy on fortifying your shields, but you have also taken a third person perspective on the scene at hand, giving you the ability to see how the other person is approaching the situation and how you thus should respond.

This is not an easy task. And by no means does this mean that you have to agree with the person or feel unconditional love. All this practice is serving to do is to get us to in some capacity leak love into our every action, and the more love we exude, the more we will attract. For instance, despite having an emotional morning and having a lot weighing on my heart the other day, I decided to take a moment to myself in the car. I realized that my next agenda item – my weekly grocery shopping at Whole Foods – had no relation to the outside upsets I was dealing with, so I sat in my car and said to myself, “Alright universe, I am going to do my best to shed my fears, anger, and doubts, and just trust, manifest, and magnetize.” As soon as I stepped out of my car and went to grab a cart (with a very mustered, but nonetheless bold, smile on my face) I could feel love radiating. The carts seemed to be stuck together, and I was mid-struggle when a man came over and helped me out and reassured me that it wasn’t just me having difficulties. Once inside the store, I felt like everyone I passed was smiling in my direction, so I kept beaming back, to the point that eventually, my phony smile was really genuine. The feeling was surreal – all I had to do was decide to enter into the setting with love, and low and behold, there was love to be acknowledged and received. This just goes to show that the question of “How can I love in this situation?” is not just applicable in dealing with other individuals, but sometimes we need it for ourselves or for approaching general, public scenes as well.

At the end of the day, we just need to do our best at considering what we are carrying with us and how we can work on overcoming difficulties, as opposed to shutting ourselves off from solutions. Analyzing how we can be better individuals by better understanding those around us is essential to a more unified society that operates more effortlessly. Next time you find yourself welling up with frustration or scorn, try to evaluate how you and the other person may be living on different frequencies and how, even if it isn’t a familial or romantic love, you do have flickers of love to disperse to all souls. Allow love to flow through you, so that you may magnetize more into your life and also guard yourself from the repercussions that come from stopping up your love channels with frustration, upset, and other negativities. Feel free to reach out if you have suggestions, want to discuss something, or just need a listening ear! Have an amazing month of love!

Forgive Yourself

January 14, 2019 by Alannah Paren in Inspiration

Month one of a beautiful new year! As we become fully immersed in the last year of the decade, some of us might still be in the process of shedding the old. A huge part of the process of releasing is forgiveness – the absolving of all binds to remorse, guilt, or shame. But often times we focus on forgiving others, which is very important indeed, but what about forgiving ourselves? If we are in any way feeling chained to some unhappy aspect stirring in our soul, how can we expect to feel free and reach new heights of our being?

A great practice to incorporate weekly, monthly - whenever you feel like you need to take a step back and remind yourself that the past shouldn’t take away from the present and future – take a moment to just be. Regretting a decision you made? Even if you would have done something differently in the moment, you probably learned something from the experience, and who knows, it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise later in life. Wish you hadn’t said something that slipped your lips? In the moment that was your truth, and it’s okay to go through those types of mistakes. Haven’t stopped thinking about a missed opportunity? Let it go, because wallowing in that loss will only strip you of more potential moving forward. We are all human and we need to learn to love ourselves and trust the process. Being our own best friend and standing behind our own decisions (or being self reflective and recognizing when we could have approached something better), is crucial to being able to harness as much of our individual power as possible and living as aligned to our heart’s desire as possible.

Forgiving ourselves also means refraining from being harsh on ourselves for outgrown versions of ourselves that we may have a hard time supporting from our more mature and sage perspectives. Life is a journey of lessons! It is important to maintain gratitude for the ability to get to the point that you are today, to gain the perspective and capacity to even look back and realize you had room to grow. Socrates once said that he was the wisest man because “he knew that he knew nothing.” Being able to tune in and realizing there is always room for growth and acquiring knowledge is helpful in maneuvering through a world that sometimes pits us against expectations that we aren’t all molded to fulfill in the same ways. And a part of this journey comes from doing things that may lead to forgiving ourselves, because after all, we need to go through imperfect moments to appreciate the better ones.

Remember that when we are at optimal individual self, we are a bigger asset to our surrounding society as a whole. Melt away any unsettling feelings you have within your own heart and soul by loving yourself and slopping off any weight that is holding you down, so that you can ascend to a point where your blueprint is clear. Forgiving yourself makes room for more light and love to enter, and you can ensure that you are setting yourself up to receive an abundance, especially once you let the universe know that you trust and are healed. Whenever you are in doubt, look within, and tap into that energy that we all have access to – but remember that you’ll encounter fewer clouds when searching for what you seek when you are confident and content with yourself. Happy January and happy Monday!

Approaching 2019 Authentically

December 29, 2018 by Alannah Paren in Inspiration

With only a couple days left until 2019 begins, we have reached that point of the year where there is much talk about “New Year’s Resolutions.” While I think that a fresh year does provide a wonderful slate for us to evaluate and set goals, the idea of a resolutionconjures up the connotation of something we have been unhappy about and want to leave behind, as opposed to the idea of an intention, where we aim towards something, freeing ourselves from the notion of something negative while we set our sights on something positive. My personal intention of 2018 was to not let anyone dim my light, realizing that one person’s shine does not take away from someone else’s. For my upcoming intention, I have chosen to focus on trusting and living my truth, recognizing that everything will fall into place if I surrender and live life as authentically as possible.

One of the foundations on which I built this blog was the idea that if we all strived towards our own positive lives, we could radiate that onto others and thus have a domino effect, resulting in an overall happier and more cohesive society. However, while we hope to be positive influences to those around us, it can be hard to separate from the power of others who might stray us from our individual progress. We live in a world where it is so easy to interact with and be inspired by others, but that also means that we expose ourselves to more information, news, and social media platforms that can set us back in our pursuit of pure bliss. Some people are stronger than others when it comes to ignoring how they are perceived by others or making decisions completely on their own, and while there is nothing wrong with surrounding yourself with supportive and guiding souls, it is important to never lose sight of the messages in your own heart and mind.

Tying together my 2018 and 2019 intentions, I hope to provide the message that we can all be successful and happy, and that a big part in reaching this for ourselves, is to wish success and happiness for others. Therefore, do not get dismayed by those who attempt to dim your light or upheave you from the path you are forging. Advice from outsiders can be quite beneficial, but if it does not resonate with you, move on. Like I have said before, there are multiple routes to the same outcome, that’s why the element of trust and knowing that you are currently the most aligned with your heart and soul are important factors. Trust not only means surrendering yourself to what the universe has planned for you, but it also means believing in yourself, so that when unwanted and unwarranted energies or comments enter your life, you are strong enough to keep shining your most pure light. After all, no one experiences life through your eyes and heart except for you. You are your own most genuine guide.

Reflect on this past year and think of all the things you have learned and gained, and set your own intentions for 2019 so that you can continue to live a life that you are content with. As I write this, I realize that many of my posts are “intention-like,” often focusing on aspects of life that I think are important and that have either helped me or I am presently working on as well. So with everything that I have learned this year, I hope that you too have learned something, either from my posts or in general, and that you keep on growing and evolving, because truly that is what life is all about. The journey doesn’t ever really end. You climb up the steep trails to one scenic lookout, and then you drive right back down searching for the next oasis on the horizon. Wishing everyone a very happy end to 2018 and a wonderful new year ahead! May we all be fearless, patient, grateful, open-minded, authentic, and trusting; here’s to loving one another and embracing new experiences! xoxo

An Ode to “Eat, Pray, Love”

August 17, 2018 by Alannah Paren in Inspiration, Travel

For those of you who have never read Liz Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love,” I highly suggest that you add it to your reading list (along with her book “Big Magic”!). When people ask me who my celebrity idols are, and mind you, I’ve never really been the fan-girl-type, I have three people I might suggest depending on my mood: comedian Ellen DeGeneres, chef Gordon Ramsay, and yes, author Elizabeth Gilbert. My wanderlust, spontaneous soul has always admired Gilbert’s story of leaving her conventional life in search of a deeper meaning, all while trusting in the universe’s divine guidance. My personal Instagram plays homage to the novel with categories dedicated to “Eat,” “P(l)ay,” and “Love.” Long story left un-shortened…. I revere Gilbert and her journey with all my heart.

One March night, after I had recently arrived back from my trip to Canada, I caught my mind spiraling with all the possibilities of where I could travel to next, and of course I couldn’t help but tease the possibility of getting up and just moving to a foreign country for a month without a plan, much like Gilbert. I jokingly said in my head, “Well at least I got the eating part out of the way,” as I reminisced on all the cheese platters and other rich foods I had consumed in Québec. It wasn’t until the next month that my trips to Israel and Hawaii were solidified. And once again, as I fell asleep I realized: my trip to Israel was going to be for soul searching and praying, while my trip to Hawaii was going to be spent in the company of my family, the people I love most. I had found the “Pray” and the “Love” pieces to my very own “Eat, Pray, Love” quest!

May and June rolled around, and I couldn’t have been more overjoyed at the idea of having traveled to three different unique destinations, all with their own purpose, in the span of under four months. First, in Canada, I indulged in heaps of cured meats with fruit preserves and buttery chocolate chip croissants, washed down with sweet wines and floral gins. Next, in Israel, I meditated, I pushed myself to overcome things I couldn’t have imagined before, and I wept when I came in the presence of the Western Wall. Then came time to dedicate life to love and those closest to me in Maui, a destination very dear to my heart. I modified my “Love” phase to be symbolic of paying homage to my roots and soaking up my favorite sceneries with my wonderful parents and sister. After all, I couldn’t expect to be swept off my feet by some guy while in Hawaii like Gilbert experiences in Bali, right??

So now, it’s been two months since I’ve arrived back home after my travels, and I am now in a relationship – with a guy that I connected with while I was in Hawaii. Although he himself wasn’t physically on the island, the universe has a funny way of working out, and I couldn’t be happier, not only with the direction life is going in, but also that I got to live out my own little “Eat, Pray, Love” that I had always dreamed of. Life is spontaneous, and these past months have been full of surprising changes and opportunities that I couldn’t be more grateful for. Sometimes things happen quickly and unexpectedly, but always remember to trust in the universe and let life flow! Open up your heart to the potential of what your heart and soul are seeking, enjoy the moment, and the universe will provide you with more than expected! We all are going through our own journeys, so you must enjoy your own for what it is! Don’t be afraid to share you stories, reach out to others, and always live life in the moment!

Dissolving Differences

July 30, 2018 by Alannah Paren in Inspiration, Travel

One of the biggest things I like to emphasis on this blog (and in life in general!) is the oneness that connects us all. Society often likes to make the differences in life more obvious than the similarities. While reading Only Love is Real, the sequel to Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss, I realized that some of his words correlated with a woman’s story I had learned while traveling in Israel. The overall message is that we all go through the same hardships; deep down we are all scared, we all want to find love and happiness. Weiss discusses how the soul is not attached to superficial differences (like race, ethnicity, gender, etc.) that often pose as barriers in everyday life. The woman I met in Israel discussed what it is like to live in a country where the majority of people she is spiritually connected to are fighting against the people she is ethnically connected to.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Brain Weiss, he is a therapist who specializes in past life regression therapy, in which patients are able to recall their past lives and identify life patterns and familiar souls. (Read my post about his first book here.) Through his innumerous sessions with clients, he has seen how diverse one soul’s lives can be – from a British woman of royalty in one life to an Egyptian male healer in another. Weiss writes that in “the course of our lifetimes, we change sexes, religions, and races in order to learn from all sides” (Only Love is Real 98). He illustrates that we cannot have fear, anger, greed, hatred, etc., because we have probably at one point in our soul’s journey, embodied whatever it is now that we view as “different.” The point of life he says is to learn how to love, forgive, be aware, and eliminate violence. Regardless of your religion or if you believe in reincarnation or not, it is hard to argue with Weiss’ points that simply suggest that we place ourselves in others’ shoes and treat people in a manner in which we would hope to be treated if we were in their situation.

Israel has long been in war with Palestine, and while I was visiting, I was fortunate enough to get to go to a village that was inhabited by both Israelis and non-Israelis. A woman shared her story of being a Christian who lived in a non-Israeli village that was destroyed by Israelis, and how she found forgiveness and love in their people when she moved into a main Israeli port for university. She was young, divorced, and her rejection of her somewhat forced marriage through her culture caused her to be abandoned by her own blood. That’s when she was left with nothing, only to find that so many Israelis welcomed her with open arms and offered her a roof, food, education, and companionship. She shared that through her experiences she realized that love conquers all – that no matter your side in a situation, both parties are afraid, both parties have a right to their beliefs, and both parties are just trying to protect their own happiness and health, which she believes doesn’t have to be at the expense of others.

Lately, I have been quite observant of how often we rely on the differences between ourselves and others to characterize, when we should be focusing more on similarities or attributes such as one’s humor, kindness, generosity, etc. If we empathize with the feelings and familiarities of those around us, not only do we broaden our repertoire of experienced emotions, but we open up our heart to allow others to also enter and understand our lives better. Weiss’ discussion of patterns across multiple lives and how we can break destructive cycles through the recognition of such patterns, inspired me to want to focus on the breaking of cycles within this life that we currently know, regardless of whether or not we have insight into any of our soul’s past encounters. It is time that we break the pattern of guarding our hearts against others, ignoring what we all share as a human race, and being blind to the wonderful connections we have the potential to make with people, no matter how diverse their lives are compared to our own!

Snowy Search For Strength

April 06, 2018 by Alannah Paren in Travel, Inspiration

This post is inspired by my latest travels to the charming city of Québec, Canada. Rather that start in chronological order, I'd like to skip to the very last moments of my vacation where we only had 10 minutes to make our second flight's gate after our first connecting flight was delayed. There we were, running through the Montreal airport, clad in our big snow boots and snow coats, heavy backpacks and suitcases in tow. I'll spare you all the details of our terrible experience in Customs and jump to the point where I race up to the gate and collapse over the desk while desperately offering up my passport and ticket to the agent, only to have her say, "Madame don't worry, we haven't starting boarding yet." And that's when I realized: why did I ever doubt that the universe wouldn't have stalled the plane for us so that we could be exactly where we needed to be?

The entire trip got me thinking about how grateful I am that I have the opportunity to see the world and follow my dreams, which then got me mulling over the age-old debate of luck vs. hard work. Throughout our explorations everything found a way of working out and it felt like things seamlessly fell into place or were justified through later little karmic experiences. As I reflected on everything, I came to the personal conclusion that life is a balance of both "luck" and hard work. (I put luck in quotations because I truly believe that life is simply a blueprint of what the universe has planned for you, so everything is exactly as it's meant to be… hence we don't get lucky, we are fortunate!) Essentially, we all have the power of the universe working behind us, but it is also up to us to acknowledge the full potential of this power, surrender to it, and do our part in the physical world to achieve the full effect of our goals.

In other words, we are fortunate that the universe provides us with the opportunities that it does and ensures that what is meant to be will be (like making sure your plane is just as late as you are!). But the second that we realize that we have the power to change our perspective and statements from "I wish/hope/want" to "I will/am," we activate our "hard work" portion by harnessing the power of our self will to align with the magic of the universe that acts as the tail wind pushing us towards these goals that we have now affirmed we will dedicate ourselves to. I personally used to say, "I want to be a blogger," "I want to travel," etc. and for a while I was stuck in a rut feeling like I wasn't living my life like the person I wanted to be. Finally one day it hit me: there was no reason other than the fact that I was treating these things as hypothetical "wouldn't it be nice" statements instead of saying "I am…”. The entire time I had been sitting there aimlessly wishing was time that I wasn’t going out and realizing that I had all the tools in front of me (thank you universe!) to fully actualize my aspirations. I needed to make the decision to live purposefully because it was just a matter of me not running through all the wonderful doors that had been there, opened in front of me the entire time. And the funny thing is, is the more doors you say, "I am going to run through you" to, the more doors that seem to fly open on the other side.

The moral to this story is that even when life feels like you are buried under heavy clothes and baggage, do your part to run and the universe will make sure that the door (or in my case, airplane gate :) ) will be open for you in the end! I know I talk a lot about our individual power, but it's so true that we all have the power within us to manifest our dreams and desires. Be patient and know you aren't alone, trust in yourself and the universe around you!

Renewing With the Spring Season

March 16, 2018 by Alannah Paren in Inspiration

On Tuesday the 20th, we enter into the Spring Equinox, a time meant to revitalize and renew our spirits. In preparation for this welcoming of spring, we can look inwards and almost do a "spring-cleaning" for the soul. What's going well in life right now? What has been nagging at us that we can take action on? What's in balance and what isn't?

This is a great time for us to consider whether or not we are doing our best at fulfilling our souls, recognizing that it is healthy to take a step back and give our minds and bodies the time they need to recover before once again subjecting ourselves into a new physically or emotionally demanding situation (as lots of life's moments can be!). Revitalize by doing little things like taking advantage of these longer, slightly warmer days and letting yourself soak up the sun! Remember that if we don't start by first taking the time to respect and nurture ourselves, it becomes hard to be able to benefit and engage with society and those around us.

Someone very close to me just got me a sign that says, "Grow through what you go through," which I think is super appropriate given that with the change of the seasons we will see more of nature bloom, and we too can amplify our souls' radiance from within! Spring is symbolic of light, also making the concept of "you have to have darkness to see the light" relatable. I encourage everyone to celebrate this emergence of new life within nature, to get together with those who matter most, and to simply celebrate life.

I think a key term that encompasses the essence of this time is: balance. Life is a continuum of experiences and emotions, but the important thing is to allow ourselves the space to go through the varying times that come our way. I want to emphasize that there shouldn't be any guilt with pursuing things that enrich your life, whether it be going out to grab a bite at the place you've been craving lately or staying in instead of going out when you feel like you need a personal reboot. This seasonal transition serves as a checkpoint for us to take what we have learned thus far and try to utilize it to its greatest ability to positively impact the future.

Have a beautiful weekend and may this spring season give you the opportunity to revitalize and transform into even lighter and more balanced version of yourself!

Embracing the Essence of the Soul

September 30, 2017 by Alannah Paren in Inspiration

As we emerge into this transformative time of the year, as it is not only one week into the Jewish New Year for some, but also one week into the transition of the autumn season, it is important to look within and evaluate what we hope to shed and gain in our lives. I personally feel that setting intentions is important daily, but it’s even more imperative during a time when the universal energy is in high support of an evolution, be it at the level of the world collectively, or at the level of the individual soul. Recently, I have been introduced to a lot of ideas about the soul and its purpose, the art of envisioning your ideals and actually achieving them, and forgiveness.

I always find it funny that often times the themes of life overlap, meaning that we can learn about a new idea and then it begins to pop up in various forms in other aspects of our life. One of these ideas is that of living our lives guided by our soul, rather than giving into the distractions of what our body might desire. According to Ancient Greek philosophers, the secret to ultimate happiness and a good life, is to listen to the soul. Everyone’s soul seeks what is truly essential to life: love, wisdom, courage, and justice. However, to be given the opportunity to go on such an enlightening journey, we are given human bodies, which have other desires. The philosopher Socrates says that this is often why people are prone to mental conflict, as we have both our soul and our body’s desires fighting to beat the other out. This can be solved though when we separate the distractions of the body from the truth that our soul speaks.

In lieu of this time of the year where we look towards who we want to become and acknowledge the characteristics we want to leave behind us, the ancient philosophers give us perspective on how to be successful in achieving our goals. For those of you who are familiar with the Law of Attraction (the idea that when we emit positive thoughts we attract physical prosperity in our lives, and the opposite when we are negative), this is essentially an earlier version of this idea. Dating back thousands of years ago, the importance of envisioning what you wanted something to be like and then working your way towards it, was vitally important. This is the spirit that built the great cities that we now learn about in textbooks, but it is also the spirit that the philosophers believed could be applied to an individual’s life as well. When we conceptualize the version of something that we hope to reach, we subconsciously align our actions in a way that effortlessly leads to the realization of this image.

Another important theme that helps us move forward in our lives and let go of what is no longer serving us, is the concept of forgiveness. I think this idea is fairly well engrained into our society in the aspect that we are all aware of it, but that we do not always remember to apply it. Lately, I have been letting go of things that previously upset me and realizing that I may not have the power to reverse upsetting things, but I do have the power to give my energy towards the positive things in life and dismiss the negative. I think it is important to note that forgiving ourselves is also crucial. When we love ourselves and realize that we are human and make mistakes, we lift off a weight that disadvantages us in our pursuit of what we truly desire in life.

With these three points in mind, I encourage you to take some time and reflect on what you hope to gain in the months ahead. Looking back, what do you hope to release and fix in the future? As you do this, reminding yourself to forgive and not wallow in the guilt or upset that certain things may have caused you. Set intentions and visualize what would make you the happiest, focusing on the positives with the viewpoint that you hope to achieve them, not that you don’t have them currently. According to the philosophers of ancient times, setting goals of what you want will change your perspective, and in turn will cause you to naturally begin to act in a way that will lead to the ultimate manifestation of your hopes. Above all though, these desires that you wish to attain should be desires that in the end will place you further on your journey to ultimate happiness based on the soul. As you take this time to reflect, clear your mind and listen to your heart and soul, what does your soul point you towards? By acknowledging the deeper longings within yourself, you can help to subside the temporary requests of the body. Honor yourself and take this opportunity to reign in the generative energy in the universe to help jumpstart your own transformation into an even happier phase of your life.