Sustainable Change and Conscious Action

How many times have you told yourself, you weren't going to smoke only to pick up a cigarette? or eat meat, or go back to an unhealthy relationship? Or talk about people. Or even have unprotected sex? We make promises to ourselves, and sometimes to others that we want to keep but don't intend to keep.  That's because it's our ego that makes the promise, and not our soul which sets our intentions.

Why is it so difficult to stop doing something that is clearly harming us? Of course, we can rationalize and say instead of eating a half-gallon of ice cream, we'll eat a pint? Or the person doesn't abuse us when they're sober? Diet coke doesn't have any calories. Or we like hot stuff, even though it causes acid reflux. So many rationalizations that thwart our forward progress.

Being a different person, letting go of behaviors that don't serve us and living differently is not for the faint of heart. It's not easy. Because sometimes when we really change than we may have to let go of people in our lifes that sustain our unhealthiness.

What it requires of us to sustain the behavior, to transform and to move us forward is will. What is will ? It's being conscious of your action. It is absolute power.  When we are unconscious, our thoughts can convince us to do things that actually harm us. We say, " I'm going to do it...I don't care" But usually at the time, we relapse, something has happen. Someone has called us and the message disturbed us, we feel frustrated. So, we pick up the drink, the drug or the ice cream.  Meanwhile, we suppress our feelings of fear, worry uncertainty by reverting to a behavior that temporary distracts us. What we don't realize is that this temporary distraction can cause irreparable damage to our lives. 

So the question becomes how do we develop our will? It is believed that "Will" comes from the root word mastery and not renunciation. So using your will doesn't mean you're giving something up, but becoming a master.  Everything and anything you want to accomplish in life is done through willpower.

Increase your willpower, and watch your life unfold. Or ignore the will and watch your life stay the same. So it's not want you want to do in life, rather what are you willing to do. How do we make our dreams come into existence? How do we create a different existence for ourselves?

Have you wanted to be with someone, but you never voiced it, yet you put yourself in the same space with that person? You may have been someone that goes to bed early, but you find yourself staying up later. In reality, you perform actions that manifest into existence the relationship. We do this all the time especially in relationships. We express our will. Often times though we're not conscious of it. Become conscious of your will power, so that you can use it consciously. 

Explore what what's going on inside of you that making you an enemy to yourself. 

Here are three ways to develop your will power:

1- Become optimistic towards life. We become our greatest obstacles to our progress in life. 

2- Discipline your mind  and body through concentration. Self-discipline makes you the master and not your mind.

3- Call on your will, which resides in your solar plexus to help you transform. Achieve  small steps of will to increase will power. Seek out a teacher.  

Connect with a practice that develops your willpower. If you do, relapsing will be a thing of the past. Let go of  harmful actions that take away your potential, compromises your success and affects your life force. Practice  Ase Yoga.

Until Next time,

Dr. Alston

Drop the Anger...Smile at the Sunset....

Our music,  movies, entertainment has made being angry fashionable. We walk around with this look on our face that literally says we're angry. Some of this anger is consumer-induced, while some comes from unresolved issues in our life. That is, we take on the anger of another person through the lyrics in music, and began to vibrate with their anger. But there are many of us who harbor  an accumulation of unspoken expectation that have result into chronic or long-standing anger. 

Angry people are highly sensitive, resistant to change and immature.  Quick to defend and overall unhappy. What comes out of them is insecurity, instability and fear. Often, they are self-destructive and unhealthy for others. They are stuck in a period of disappointment, rather than happiness.

Being angry is unhealthy and dangerous. It's an addiction and just as harmful as smoking cigarettes. Because its cool to be angry, we just don't talk about it. But anger is killing us. It affects our breathing, which reduces the efficiency of our lungs and oxygen intake. We literally poison ourselves when we are angry. When that happens, we lose our appetites, digestions increase, blood pressure, faster heartbeat, insomnia and our internal organs, tissues and glands become imbalance. We become ill and     dis-ease.

Resolve to let go of your anger. Turn off the angry music. Refrain from the angry movies. Re-set your face for happiness, for love, for peace. Breath into your organs and as you do...smile. Experience Ase.

Dr. Alston

What is Your Destiny?

Consider: Some people acquire degrees to feel secure in life; while others learn a trade. But security does not come from degrees or even a trade. Being a lawyer does not make you more secure than a plumber. Security and stability comes from being whole and following your path.

We are conditioned to believe that everyone needs a degree to be successful. And so enmasse, we become lawyers, doctors, professors to feel this sense of success. Success is defined by money and our acquisitions.

However, we forget our destiny or what we are supposed to be doing. As long as we forget our destiny, our purpose, we will never feel whole or fulfilled. As well, money can not substitute for destiny.

Think about this if a swan, which embodies space and purity decided to be a eagle, which embodies power and aloness, it would no longer fulfil its' purpose.

Perhaps what we seeking requires a degree. Than go for it. But what if, you decided to create whatever you're seeking through your own will and power. Thats Ase. 

Refrain from looking back, putting yourself in constant reverse, regretting what you have or have not done. Refrain from fear or obsessing over what you should be doing.

See yourself as a work of art. If you've made a wrong turn, incorrect decision, it might be just what you need to reflect on your life, revamp your plans to complete your work of art.

Mistakes can lead to creation, best ideas, discoveries... Think about this: Our mistakes and errors may turn out to be what we need to reach our destiny, unfold our beauty.

Live your destiny which is your highest potential.

Experience Ase. Dr. Alston

Wishing You A Peaceful, Healthy and Prosperous New Years.

Thank you for your support.  Experience Ase.

Ase Yoga

Unveiling Your Beauty...

When you think of beauty, what do you think of? A person on television, close friend, family member or just anyone other than yourself. It's a tragedy, when we live a life, not realizing our beauty or worth.

Living with wrong knowledge about who you are leads to accepting less than. Gradually, we began to accept and settle in life. For instance, people that come into our lives that might not be good for us, we accept. We marry because we don't think anyone else will ask us. We stay at job because we fear no one else will hire us. We rely on what others think of us rather than who we really are. If someone compliments you, you wonder who they're talking about. Even if you don't think you're ugly, you don't feel your beauty.

Unveiling our beauty is not about the physical. In fact,  beautiful on the outside is superficial. Nor is ugliness about the physical. Beauty and ugliness is how we feel inside. For many reason, mostly the messages we receive, many of us do not have positive feeling inside about ourselves. We tear ourselves apart.

How ridiculous is it to wish that you were taller? Or to be healthy and moan about your receding hairline. So what you're not as tall  as you want, your skin may be dark or light, your body too heavy or skinny--- if you don't understand true beauty than we will always be searching.

All the Kardashian shoes, false pedicures, manicures, make-up, spandex, eyelashes, Ralph Lauren and other designer decor will not change how we feel. When one thing changes, we will feel a need to change something else. Simply, beauty is not for sell.

So much emphasis is placed on that physical beauty that is determined by others, that we forget universal or natural beauty. Physical beauty is subjective or in the eyes of the beholder. In contrast, natural beauty exist. It can't be given nor taken away. 

You are naturally beautiful. like the stars, the sun, the moon, trees, air, wind. But unlike nature, your are reluctant to unveiling your beauty. By unveiling your beauty you begin to breathe, to dance, to sing, to flower, to live your life.  Beauty is fulfilling your purpose in life. It could be as a writer, potter, gardener, teacher, construction worker.

However you choose to express it----authentic beauty is within and yearns to be expressed.

The most important beauty make-over that you can give yourself is to begin to meditate, to soften your face and let go of your tension. Misery is what makes us ugly. Observe how you feel, what you do to yourself---and might  find out that you're feeding your misery not your beauty. 

Feed you beauty. Be creative. Sing. Write poetry. Dance. Laugh. Never let anyone or any situation hide your beauty. Unveil your beauty. Be yourself. Meditate. Experience Ase.

Wishing you peace, power and love,

Dr. Alston