21 Goodbyes and The Root Chakra

"Out of the ash I rise with my red hair
and I eat men like air."
— Sylvia Plath


Photo Credits: http://socar.deviantart.com/

Today's meditation focused on the root chakra.

The Base or Root Chakra is associated with the color red. This chakra is the grounding force that allows us to connect to the earth energies and empower our beings. Focusing one's attention on the color of a cherry popsicle or a juicy red apple can help bring our energetic body "down to earth" and in alignment with our physical body when we find ourselves energetically fleeting or in other words....."spacing off."

Chakra One - Associations

Color - red
Sanskrit Name - muladhara
Physical Location - base of the spine
Purposes - kinesthetic feelings, movement
Spiritual Lesson - material world lessons
Physical Dysfunctions- lower back pain, sciatica, varicose veins, rectal tumors, depression, immune related disorders
Mental and Emotional Issues - survival, self esteem, social order, security, family
Information Stored Inside Root Chakra - familial beliefs, superstitions, loyalty, instincts, physical pleasure or pain, touch
Area of Body Governed - spinal column, kidneys, legs, feet, rectum, immune system
(From: http://healing.about.com/cs/chakras/a/chakra1.htm)

I used the following meditation video as an aid:

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This is my first attempt at Chakra meditation. I did find my mind straying at times, and I also found myself forgetting to breathe deeply. The elements of the meditation appeared a bit overwhelming. I hope that with time, and as the weeks pass I will be able to learn how to focus my mind more efficiently.

The video is particularly useful in teaching you what you must say to yourself during the Root Chakra meditation. I found that the directions were given a bit too fast. I think that it is best to use guided meditation as an introduction and once one understands the steps it may be easier to follow them at one's own pace in silence.

MY HAPPINESS JOURNAL

1. Today is my last day of being 21 and I am celebrating the last hour by jamming out to my newly synced IPOD!!! Nothing beats a good song that makes you daydream!!! (Perhaps my daydream abilities is what prevents me from focusing my mind during meditation....ooops)

2. Last year I was in the UK for my birthday. I celebrated the day alone, by vising famous sites in London and ended the night with pound a pint night with some exchange friends. I did not get to celebrate my birthday with my boyfriend, so tomorrow is the first day I get to celebrate my birthday with him (even though I've celebrated his birthday twice). I am excited for this!!! We will not be able to see each other much because of our busy schedules but I would have killed for a birthday kiss and hug a year ago. I can't wait :)

Until tomorrow's blog entry, Goodbye!!! I'll be 22!!! What a weird number combination!

Here Comes The Sun

"Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows."
— Helen Keller

Photo Credit: http://littlesailboat.deviantart.com/

It's coming!!! It's coming, the sun is coming! I sat outside on Saturday and felt the rays cover my back in a heat that stilled me. There was a breath of calmness.

I have not asserted myself with this resolution of self actualization, of finding happiness. That breath of sunshine was a moment of perfect stillness, and now I am back stuggling for air, calm, peace, inner satisfaction. I need to do something, it's never too late to start.

It's time to take a step back from this hectic life of worries and make time for myself. Please myself! So first, I want to just sit and listen to one of my all time favourite songs, Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles. This video makes me laugh!!! And it reminds me the days are growing longer, the stifling darkness and cold are leaving, and the opportunity of a spring awakening is on hand!!!

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I realize I need to be more concrete in achieving my goals. The easiest way to do this is to write out a plan. I am one of those people that takes pleasure in highlighted agendas, and organized lists. So here it is:

I will make weekly challenges for myself, and will update accordingly with at least 2 posts:
1. The Plan
2. The Outcome

Thinking about sitting in the sun, and taking a moment to relax, gave me the idea of meditation. There are an array of meditation techniques out there, so I think I may try out a meditation month, with a certain type of meditation per week...so I could call it March Madness Meditation!!! I like that!!!

March Madness Meditation here I come!!!

And to overdo myself here (Uh-Oh Silvia...you over achiever....don't self-handicap youself) This month I also want to do a happiness journal. It is very simple: Just write 2 points a day about what has brought me happiness that day...it can be something I am thankful for, a joke, an unexpected moment, a video, a song, a facebook comment...well no hypothesizing for now...I guess we will see!!! It is really a way to train myself to see joy even within an uneventful day. So today is March 8th...therefore April 8th will be review of my happiness journal.

The meditation I want to try out for this week is called Chakra Meditation. Here is a description I have condensed:

What is a Chakra Exactly?
Chakras are our energy centers. They are the openings for life energy to flow into and out of our aura. Their function is to vitalize the physical body and to bring about the development of our self-consciousness. They are associated with our physical, mental and emotional interactions.
(From:http://healing.about.com/cs/chakras/a/learnchakras.htm)

There are 7 major chakras. For my week of meditation I will focus on 1 Chakra a day. I will describe each Chakra's designated meaning on the day that I use it. I will use youtube videos to guide me in my Chakra visualization.

Alright this is the plan!!! It is bedtime for me!!! Wish me luck!!! I leave with a quote that reminds me to stay motivated:

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you."
— Thomas Jefferson

Just like a peach, just like a fish...

Justlikeapeach is the inspired result of two factors: a 2010 resolution and a quote from Alice Walker.

Justlikeapeach was created as a result of the anticipation and excitement for the new year, 2010! One can consider this blog to be a new resolution (and to even go as far as to assume that since it is a resolution, it may not succeed). 2009 was a year of anxiety, discovery, travel and chaos. The following is one of my recent diary entries, to give you a better taste of this past year:

Last January, I found myself hauling two large luggages, one little one, a backpack, and a purse up two flights of steep stairs. It was my first day of 6 months in the UK. Canada was far far away. I remember sitting on the blue dirty matress of my new room (which I might add reeked of cigarette smoke). I was alone, without Internet, and without a phone.I thought to myself,

“What have I gotten myself into?”

“Sooo, what now?”

A lot has happened since then.

2009 has proven to be an adventure! A challenging adventure at that!!! Upon retrospection it appears to be a blur of London town streets, chasing after buses, masala, Hatfield rabbits, arduous grocery bag travels, Barcelona art, airports, Parisian cafes, webcamming for an average of 7 hours until dawn, photography, google mapping, instant coffee, a comforting boyfriend, my psychology thesis, culture shock, ASDA, a new start and an end to friendships, discovering, facebook, postcards, anxiety and stress.

It is a bit alarming to think that overall I do not look fondly upon 2009. Perhaps it is because it challenged my beliefs. It challenged my perceptions of myself, of strangers and of people I knew. It was painful to see myself being left behind by friends when I needed them most. It is still painful to realize that friendships can be easily broken over miniscule details.

I have realized who my true friends have been during this challenging year. Although I may have lost many friends, I have learned to value those that have stood by me when I was a crying disaster, an axiety ridden stress ball, a hopeless being.

And so, I enter 2010 with a newly learned perspective. 2009 may have been a constant stuggle; however, I found myself. As a result I understand the person that I am better and I know not to give importance to invaluable constructs.

I have no idea where I am going.

But!

I am optimistic!” .

I believe some clearer introductions are in order. So here goes!
I am a 4th year psychology student. Last year I went on a 6 month exchange to the UK. These are some of my photos from my travels:

Make sure you click on the pics because the full picture view is a little cut out!



















(Im sorry about the lack of captions, my HTLM is not too good but the locations are in London, Paris, Barcelona, Hatfield (the town where I lived), St. Albans and Stonehedge. They include Abbey Road, Trafalgar Square in January and June, London Bridge, Familia Sangrada, A view from the London Eye, The Louvre, St. Paul's Cathedral, Sacre Coeur, St. Alban's Church, Notre Dame, and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.)

Abroad, I found myself in a crisis as I constantly found myself in a search for the meaning of my self. I am now back home from exchange and with the new 2010 year I wanted to take chances and assume a healthier lifestyle. Justlikeapeachis is all about audacity, trying to change the normal routine of life, engaging in new activities, and taking chances. They are the pursuit of happiness. It is an ode to surrounding myself with positive experiences, places and people.

The second inspiration of this blog, and consequently of the blog's title comes from a quote from Alice Walker:

I am an expression of the divine, just like a peach is, just like a fish is. I have a right to be this way...I can't apologize for that, nor can I change it, nor do I want to... We will never have to be other than who we are in order to be successful...We realize that we are as ourselves unlimited and our experiences valid. It is for the rest of the world to recognize this, if they choose.


The anxiety that I have allowed to eat away at part of my spirit has been grounded upon comparison. It has told me "Compare yourself to others! Go on, just a little". Even worse the anxiety allowed me to then compulsively find negative judgement after seeking comparison. What a bleak outlook I set out for myself! It is a habitual pattern, as well as a cyclic one. Anxiety --> comparison --> negative perceptions of self --> anxiety.

Alice Walker's quote is the woman I want to embody. She says, I am perfect, I am not sorry for who I am. I am proud. I am strong.

And so this blog is a way of documenting my journey to achieving self-acualization (fufillment) and always knowing that I am just like a peach!