Category: Self-Publishing

Indie Author, Lifestyle, Podcast, Self-Discovery, Self-Publishing, Uncategorized

Step Back, Move Forward

Featuredby JheniLeave a Comment on Step Back, Move Forward

Up until two weeks ago, I’ve been blogging every week since October 2019 about many topics; from yoga to my Christian faith, from writing a book to the pandemic. I started blogging weekly mainly to see if I can stick to it consistently, because God had put it on my heart to start a podcast. The thought of doing a podcast was intimidating and overwhelming to me. It’s in my nature to dive headfirst into whatever dream I want to pursue without doing the research and putting in the necessary preparation; but as I’ve gotten older and more experienced in completing projects successfully, I have trained myself to put in the time to realistically prepare myself while still dreaming big. I told myself that if I can stick to blogging every week for a whole year, I would launch a podcast. That one year mark came and went.

This year, I decided to launch my podcast about living your best authentic life in Christ, and the launch date was set to May 4th. I was preparing and was making great progress… until I realized that I started to lose sight of the purpose of the podcast. I found myself becoming anxious and stressed out about staying afloat with everything in my life (teaching classes, homeschooling my daughter, dealing with health challenges, leading a small group at church, continuing education for yoga & wellness, etc.). I was constantly multitasking (which can cause mental stress if done too long) and sleeping less. So as the launch date approached, I felt like I was not in the right place emotionally and spiritually to debut my podcast. I listened to the Holy Spirit telling me to wait, and I rescheduled my launch to June 1st. Well, today is June 14th, and I’ve yet to launch my podcast; but this time it was intentional.

A recent blood test showed that I have several health issues that needed to be dealt with right away, which you can read about in my previous blog, “The Body Tells You.” It was at this moment that I realized I needed to take a step back in order to move forward. So with all that said, I’ve decided to step back in blogging weekly for now; instead, I will post a blog in the beginning of every month, starting on July 1st. Until my podcast launches (sometime this summer) my blogs will be mostly about behind-the-scenes of launching a podcast and writing a book (yes, I have decided to write a second book — you can buy my first book here). Once my podcast launches, my blogs will mainly be show notes and other behind the scenes info.

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With Gratitude,

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Dreams and Desires

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I’ve known that I wanted to be a dancer since I was four years old.  Not the traditional Korean fan dancing that was so part of my culture in South Korea.  I wanted to be a one of those professional dancers that would dance behind pop singers.  I had rhythm, but I wasn’t by any means a natural-born dancer.  I took dance classes offered at my kindergarten, and I participated in dance performances in elementary school while I was living in Seoul.  When we moved to the United States (Los Angeles), I started taking ballet at a local dance studio.  I was a decent ballerina, but I was told by the director of the dance studio that I was not built for ballet (meaning, I wasn’t thin enough).  I was discouraged, but my stubborn streak kept me from giving up. 

After two years of ballet, I switched over to jazz dance.  This is also around the time when MTV actually stood for Music Television.  My bestfriend and I watched dance music videos for hours, trying to learn intricate choreographies performed by Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Paula Abdul.  MTV and the T.V. Show Fame shaped my dreams to greater heights.  In high school and college, I took a lot of hip-hop and jazz dance classes at the renowned Millennium Dance Complex  in North Hollywood (formerly Moro Landis Dance Studio of Studio City).  Being surrounded by top choreographers and dancers of Hollywood influenced me to pursue the same life that they were leading: Auditions for gigs, acting classes, more dance classes, manager, agent… the whole nine yards.  By the time I was 19, I  felt like I was living my dreams; but there was still a part of me that felt void of true fulfillment… And that’s when I found Jesus.

When I became a baptized disciple of Christ on 3/15/94, I knew my true purpose in life for the very first time in my life.  My purpose was to share with others the Good News of Jesus and God’s amazing plan through His love, grace and mercy,  Although I still loved dancing, I found myself being led to have a different focus.  Since then, I have had several shifts in my dreams and passions, but none compares to the new dream He put on my heart a few years ago.  In 2019, I wrote my first book titled, “BE STILL: The Power of Biblical Meditation.”  Becoming an author is something I hoped would happen, but my insecurities and fear of being vulnerable stopped me in the past from writing past just a couple of pages.  But the reason I decided and was able to finish writing a book was because one day during my meditative communion with God, He told me that if I did not write the book, I would be disobeying Him.  So, I decided to obey Him and make the completion of my book 100% about obedience and 0% about me.  Ever since the publication of my book, He has been stirring in my heart in such an intense way that I’m driven to do only the things He desires for me to do.  In saying this, I must tell you that I’m no way near perfect at obeying Him and listening to Him all the time, but this is my deepest wish and dream. 

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart,”
Psalm 37:4 

So often, we read the above scripture and think, if I delight in Him, He will give me whatever I want.”  Through living the past 27 years walking in the Lord, the Holy Spirit has revealed to me that what this really means is that if I delight in Him (if I’m in love with Him and find joy in everything about Him), my desires will transform into the desires He has for my life.

Everyday, I tell God that I only want to pursue the dreams that are His dreams for me.  This may seem limiting to some people, but for me, I know that I would be settling and selling myself short if I pursued my dreams instead of His because my imagination and dreams are limited by my humanity; His imagination and dreams and totally unlimited!  He dreams for me things that scare me because I sometimes doubt myself.  But I take comfort and confidence in knowing that, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

With Gratitude,
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Writing an E-Book

Featuredby JheniLeave a Comment on Writing an E-Book

imageWhen I wrote and published my book, BE STILL: The Power of Biblical Meditation, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment not only because I finally had the courage to write what God put on my heart to write three years prior, but also because writing a book is no easy feat. It’s one thing to write, but to write about the same topic and include quality content in all the pages is something to be celebrated. 

Since then, I’ve been wanting to write another book, but it doesn’t seem to be the right time to do that at this time.  There are a few reasons why I chose to hold off on writing more books: I’m in the middle of doing all the prep work to launch my podcast (6/1/21), teaching virtual yoga and fitness classes (click here to see my teaching schedule), homeschooling my daughter, co-leading a small group at church with my husband, and we’re helping out with the teen ministry at church.  Although I love what I do, I knew I needed to continue expressing myself through written words in the form of a book somehow…  And this is where my decision to write an e-book came about. 

E-books can be as long as the author desires, or they can be as short as just 8 pages (which are called “e-booklets”).  I talk to people about the importance of proper breathing pretty much on a regular basis.  If you spend a week with me, you’ll hear me talk about “the benefits of diaphragmatic breathing” and “activating the parasympathetic nervous system” at least a handful of times.  I heard someone say that whenever he gets asked the same question over and over again, he writes a book about it.  I’m sure I can write a whole book about the importance of breathing, but for now, I’m writing an e-booklet about 12-15 pages long with information, illustrations and instructions.  I’m sure there are many ways to go about writing an e-book start to finish, but I wanted to share the way I go about it with you:

  1. Pick a topic – This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s important to pick one topic to write about because you’d be surprised at how easy it is to go off on tangents and lose sight of the main point you’re trying to make.
  2. Write out all the content on a Word doc (or any word processing programs) before you start editing and formatting.
  3. Once you’re done writing the content, have someone edit the content.  As a writer and editor, I generally edit my own work but still ask a couple colleagues to proof-read my work.  They may find a typo or misplaced punctuation that my eyes might have missed.
  4. Lay-out and Format:  If you have graphic design experience, you can always do this on your own; if you don’t, consider contracting this task to a professional.  You can find some great professionals on Fiverr.com.
  5. Decide on whether you want to offer it as a free product to promote your brand or if you want to publish it for purchase.  The easiest site to publish for purchase is Amazon, through KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).  If you’re offering it as a free product (like me), you can keep it as simple as creating a pdf file for distribution or create a flipbook using one of the many flipbook sites.

Remember, if you can write a sentence, you can write a paragraph; If you can write a paragraph, you can write a page; And if you could write a page, you can write a book!

Happy Writing!

With Gratitude,
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Goodbye 2020!

by JheniLeave a Comment on Goodbye 2020!

We did it!  We made it through this very interesting year of social distancing, sanitizing and face-mask wearing!  We started out the year “sort of” hearing about COVID-19 being an issue in other countries, but then by March, it was declared a global pandemic.  The last class that I taught in studio was on my birthday, March 18th.  When I got home after teaching that evening, I was notified by all the studios that I taught at that all fitness and yoga studios (and other “non-essential businesses”) will be shut down until further notice.  Just like it was for you, the rest of March and April were surreal.  We were no longer able to worship as a congregation inside the church building, everybody and their mothers created a Zoom account, everything went virtual.  Our lives, it seemed, were turned upside down.  I think a lot of us were waiting and hoping that things would “go back to normal” within a few months, but when that didn’t happen, we either went into panic-mode, got depressed or just accepted it for what it was and tried to make the best of it.

We all have now been living with this pandemic for 10 months.  I’ve seen many social media posts about how 2020 was horrible and that they’re eagerly waiting for 2021, but I think it’s important for us to check our hearts to make sure we don’t dismiss this year as a terrible year.  Personally, this year has been filled with many blessings and accomplishments even in the midst of hardships.

March – April:  I lost about 90% of my income (cancelled classes, workshops and book tour events)… but I started teaching classes virtually within days after the shut-down.  This is something I dreaded doing for a very long time (even though there have been requests for it by my students for several years) because I don’t like to see myself in videos.  It turns out that I’m pretty good at teaching virtually.  😃  Also, our dream of moving back to Texas happened sooner than expected because my husband received a job offer which allowed him to be based out of Texas OR North Carolina, and our house in Charlotte sold within days of putting it on the market!

May:  Moving halfway across the United States (again) was no easy task.  In an effort to live simpler, I said good-bye to many of my possessions… but we were able to buy a house in a great neighborhood right away!

June – August:  I was missing my best friends in Charlotte, and the pandemic didn’t make it easy for me to meet my neighbors  or make new friends… but I was able to reconnect with my besties here in Texas, and I was able to use my newly open schedule to enroll AND virtually complete a 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training which upgraded my title to a 500-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance!  I also started teaching virtual classes through the studio that I used to teach at in North Carolina as well as the one I used to teach at in Texas years ago!

September – December:  My daughter didn’t get to have that big Sweet Sixteen party that she had been wanting for YEARS… but we got to go on an amazingly memorable family trip while still observing social distancing guidelines.  (According to her, this was her most favorite family trip!)

A handful of our friends got COVID this year, but thankfully, every single one of them made full recoveries!  I’ve heard of several friends’ family members that are still struggling with the virus or have sadly passed away.  This has put a sense of urgency in our hearts to hug our loved ones a little tighter, to speak kindly to strangers, and give everyone the benefit of the doubt because we don’t know what they might be going through.

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
    but God remains the strength of my heart;
    he is mine forever.”
Psalm 73:26

That brings me to today.  We now have just a few days left in this year.  As we reflect on God’s blessings in the midst of this pandemic, I pray that you’re able to say good-bye to 2020 with a sense of peace and surrender as we get ready to say hello to 2021!

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long.
Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now;
rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.
For the things we see now will soon be gone,
but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:17-18

 

With Gratitude,
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Christian Yogi’s Perspective on Yoga Philosophy: Dhyana

by JheniLeave a Comment on Christian Yogi’s Perspective on Yoga Philosophy: Dhyana

In last week’s blog, I talked about Dharana, the practice of concentration which precedes the practice of meditation which is what today’s blog is about.  To enter the practice of meditation, the two previous stages (sense withdrawal and a single-pointed concentration) must be practiced.  The stage of meditation, called Dhyana, is simply being part of the experience that comes after concentration.  One of my teachers once said, “While you’re in dhyana, you become aware of the fact that you’re meditating, then you have come out of the meditation.”  The experience of dhyana is not a constant state; you come in and out of this stage during your practice of meditation.  Just like asanas (or anything else in life), constant practice improves one’s ability to stay in dhyana for longer periods of time. So as a Christian, how can dhyana be practiced; and is there even a difference between biblical meditation and an non-biblical meditation?  Here’s an excerpt from my book, “BE STILL: The Power of Biblical Meditation”:

My book can be purchase on: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/jheni-solis/be-still-the-power-of-biblical-meditation/paperback/product-1dgmrmzm.html

“Shortly after moving to Charlotte, NC in 2015, I invited a college-aged girl to church as I was leaving Panera Bread. She said she was a student at a Bible College and was very involved in the church that was affiliated with the school, and after a brief but pleasant chat about God and the Bible, I gave her my business card to keep in touch.
Later that evening, I received a message from her where she was expressing her deep concern for my salvation because she read on my website that I’m a meditation coach. She advised me to pray to God and not engage in meditation that she believed was not righteous. She referred to a scripture about how you can invite evil spirits to enter you (Matthew 12:44-45). She told me that I was on dangerous ground and that I needed to repent.
I must admit, my initial reaction was to get prideful and defensive (which is really the same thing). Instead, I took a step back and thanked God for her in prayer for her heart of boldness to stand for what she believed was for God’s glory. I replied to her with a humbler heart than I otherwise would have before praying, and I thanked her for her concern. I also explained to her that meditation is absolutely biblical and that not all meditation is a “paganistic practice.”
Just like anything in life, we can take something God created and make it not of God (i.e. – corruption in politics, religious organizations, corporations, etc.). The meditation she was referring to was not the meditation that I practice. The biblical meditation that I practice is to practice stillness in heart, mind, soul and strength as stated in Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-2; Psalm 104:34.”

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Joshua 1:8
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.”
Psalm 1:1-2
“May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.”
Psalm 104:34

As a Christian, my intention for meditation should be to keep His Words close to my heart, for it to always be on my lips, and to rejoice in the Him so that I can please the Lord, the God of the Universe.  To set myself up for success, I read a scripture and pray.  I pray for God to allow the Spirit to intercede and make our time together glorifying to Him.  I then move on to pranayama, followed by pratyahara, and then dharana.  While I’m experiencing dhyana (going into and coming out of dhyana throughout the practice), God reveals many things to me.  Experiencing this intimate communion with God is not an unattainable practice; it simply requires us to take the first step so that He can carry us through the remainder of the way.

If you would like to purchase and/or read about my book, “BE STILL: The Power of Biblical Meditation,” click here.

 

With Gratitude,
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I did it!

by JheniLeave a Comment on I did it!

At 4:30pm on Friday, 8/7/2020, I clicked on the [SUBMIT] button for the very last video exam of my 300-Hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training (AYTT) program!  When this journey first began 10 weeks prior (on 6/1/2020), and it definitely has been full of self-discoveries and life lessons!  Of the countless amount of lessons I learned/re-learned, here are the Top 5 Lessons that will stay with me throughout my journey in life and self-realization:

1.  LIFE IS NOT A RACE.

I have a competitive spirit.  I didn’t play competitive sports growing up because I hated losing.  I think that’s why I loved the performing arts so much.  Of course, there is a competitive aspect in performing arts, but I’ve always felt that a performer expressing their art can not be objectively judged (which is also why I am not a big fan of awards shows for movies, music, television series, etc.).  When I was a dancer in Los Angeles, I did strive to be a “better dancer than everyone else,” but when it came down to it, I danced because it made my spirit feel alive.   In the beginning of the AYTT program, I found myself wanting to finish the program faster just because I saw others finishing the program in a month, a month and a half, etc.  But then somewhere along the way (I think in between week 2 and week 3), I reminded myself to enjoy the journey and learn for the pure love of learning and growing instead of trying to finish before someone that started at the same time as I did.

2.  DREAM BIG… AND THEN PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!

I knew I would eventually complete a 300-hour AYTT program, but I didn’t know how or when.  First of all, most AYTT programs cost anywhere from $2,300 to $5,000; secondly, there was an AYTT near me that I felt was a good fit for me.  While I was living in Charlotte, NC, I looked into a program in Asheville which was a little over 2 hours away as well as one in Winstom-Salem which was only slightly over an hour away.  When this pandemic hit the US earlier this year and everyone went into social distancing and quarantine mode, Yoga Alliance decided to temporarily allow Registered Yoga Schools (RYS) to offer their programs virtually.  So after a lot of research, I found a program that was affordable, flexible, and very unique… So I signed up on June 1st to complete my 300 hours with ULU Yoga in Thailand!  I planned out my study schedule for each week, and I made sure I stuck to it with some wiggle room in case of unexpected things happened (check out all 9 blogs from the previous weeks for those “unexpected events”).  I loved checking off each task and seeing myself getting closer and closer to achieving a dream of mine while learning and growing.

3.  ONLY CONTROL THE THINGS THAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO CONTROL, AND LET THE REST WORK ITSELF OUT.

Like I mentioned above,  there were things that happened during the last 10 weeks that I could not control.  In fact, there have always been things in my life that I could not control (can I get an amen?).  I used to get upset that I couldn’t control everything (like changing somebody’s mind, outcome of situations, etc.); but through this AYTT experience, I was reminded to focus on controlling myself and just leave alone the other things outside of my control.  There’s a sense of freedom that comes with surrender and just putting any desire for improvement to be placed on self-improvement.

4.  CHOOSE DELAYED GRATIFICATION OVER INSTANT PLEASURE.

Let’s face it, we live in a world where we expect results right away.  If our Google results don’t pop up within .01 second, we get impatient.  We try to find the quickest way to get things done.  I admit, I’m guilty of choosing the easier and faster way of accomplishing things (like using my sewing machine over hand-sewing my face masks), but it is so good for our hearts and our souls to work hard at something that doesn’t come quickly or easy to us.  James 1:4 reads, “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  It takes perseverance to build character, and if we constantly choose the easy way out, we won’t grow in our authenticity.  There were days that I wanted to binge-watch Netflix or just sleep in until Noon (although I don’t think I can physically sleep until Noon); but I knew that in order to finish my AYTT by August, I needed to stay on task and enjoy each moment of the training — which leads us to #5:

5.  BE PRESENT.

Going through the AYTT program allowed me to be a better Yoga Teacher for the virtual classes that I’ve been teaching.  In my book, “Be Still: The Power of Biblical Meditation,” I talked about how in order to be a good teacher, you must be a good student.  I find that I’m a better teacher when I’m going through some type of learning, whether it be a certification course or reading a book on Christian discipleship, self-improvement, yoga, ayurveda, or energy science.  When I’m learning, I fully there physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  Lately, I’ve been reminding my yoga students that because we are bound by this thing called “Time,” we can not live in the past or the future; So if we’re constantly focusing on the past or the future — and the only place we can live in is the present — we have to ask ourselves, “Are we truly living?”

Show up.  Every time.  Every moment.

 

With Gratitude,
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My Personal Struggles of COVID-19 (and how I combat it)

by JheniLeave a Comment on My Personal Struggles of COVID-19 (and how I combat it)

Everyone in this entire globe has been affected by the pandemic of COVID-19.  Life as we know it, has been turned upside down.  Whether or not you have been infected by the virus (or personally know someone that has been infected), the past three months have created many challenges in everyone’s lives.  Here are my top three struggles that has come out during this time:

  1. I got Zoomed Out!

    girl, computer, work, fatigue, office, woman, stand-alone, girl ...Struggle: Most people I meet in a social setting think that I’m an extrovert.  Not that I’m being deceptive, but when I have to “work a room,” I make a conscious decision to be positive, get to know people and make people feel seen and heard.  As much as I love to make people feel special, it really drains my energy.  The reason why this is important for you to know about me is because my struggles during quarantine did not include going batty over not seeing people in person.  I actually loved the time of “stay-at-home order” because I felt like it gave me permission to stay at home; but with staying home, I couldn’t get out of all the Zoom call requests!
    Solution: I started to limit my Zoom call acceptances to 2 calls per day, and they could not be back-to-back.  As an extrovert by nurture and introvert by nature, I quickly realized that I needed at least 30 minutes in between calls to energetically recover and regenerate.  This simple decision helped me maintain my energetic boundaries as well as increase my ability to mentally show up for each Zoom calls.

  2. I lost half of my income!
    Empty wallet | ✅ Marco Verch is a Professional Photographer ...Struggle: As a yoga teacher, fitness instructor and pilates instructor, the studios and gyms I taught weekly classes and monthly workshops at had to temporarily close their doors. Most health and wellness instructors and teachers are independent contractors for studios and/or part-time employees at fitness facilities, so we don’t get paid time-off.
    Solution: I chose to count my blessings and focus on the things I can be grateful for.  My husband makes enough for me to not work (some of the money I make goes toward my wellness business-related expenses).  I’m not an essential worker that is required to put myself in danger everyday (A deep, sincere thank-you to all the essential workers!). I don’t have as many expenses when I stay at home.  I can teach some classes virtually.  I was able to successfully transition all of my private clients to meeting virtually.  My monthly workshop has also been transitioned to virtual workshops.  There are people who have lost jobs and their entire income.  I pray for them everyday. 
  3. My daily routine has been thrown all over the place!
    Struggle: I’ve heard from many people (without young kids or having to work) that it’s getting easier to stay up late and harder to get up early.  For people with kids, they’ve had to add being a homeschool teacher/daycare worker/nanny to their already-existing responsibilities.  For me, I’ve been busier than ever with teaching my classes online, moving half way across the country, writing my second book, getting ready for an upcoming advanced yoga teacher training in a couple of weeks, and getting furniture for our new house.  These days, I don’t have a consistent routine other than waking up, reading my Bible, praying, meditating and practicing yoga.  Other than that, my day-to-day activities varies.

Solution: I decided to enjoy this time of slight disorder and semi-chaotic life.  This sets the perfect environment for me to truly practice stillness and being present. I also started taking walks around the lake and enjoying short yoga asana practices during sunsets.  When I’m outside (especially near lakes and beaches), it immediately calms me down and helps me to become fully present.

I’ve been making a daily decision to be okay with my new normal.  Even through my struggles of feeling like my life is on hold, I must be present and live each and every moment… because even in this new reality, our lives continue on.

What are some of your own struggles during this pandemic?  I would love to hear from you!

With Gratitude,
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The Process of Transformation

by JheniLeave a Comment on The Process of Transformation

Last week, I talked about the cost of discipline and how creating a habit takes more than 21 days like many of us had been previously informed.  Although the being disciplined is not the most fun or comfortable route to take in life, it is the more productive choice and an essential decision to make in order to improve who we are.

I used to teach a 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training program which would take 9-10 months for my students to complete.  On the first day of the program each year, I reminded my students that becoming a certified yoga teacher is secondary and that the self-transformation through the process is the primary benefit that they will experience.  At the end of the program, they have all agreed that they’re not the same person that they came in through the door on the first day.  I’ve had students that seemed to be polar opposites or conflicting personalities become best friends by the end of the program.  I’ve had students who seemed to “have it all together” break down and experience a sense of authenticity and vulnerability that they say they’ve never felt before (you can read more about it in my book, “BE STILL: The Power of Biblical Meditation“).  I took a break from running my 200-Hr YTT program last year so that I can focus on publishing my first book, and I am in the process of writing my second book which will be completed either by the end of this year or the beginning of next year; but once I am ready (and my schedule allows me to commit to teaching 200 hours), I will resume teaching my program… in Texas!  (Check out my blog next week for details on Texas.)  Now getting back on topic of transformation…

The reason why my students experienced a transformation is because they committed to learning how to be a good teacher; and part of being a good teacher is to be a good student.  Yoga is not something you can teach or regularly practice half-hearted.  Being a Yoga Teacher means you are also doing the work to get deeper in your journey towards authenticity.  As a teacher to future Yoga Teachers, I always say that I am not an expert as there really is no such thing (that’s why it’s called a Yoga Practice, not Yoga Perfection).  Even the greatest gurus in Yoga are learning and growing.  With learning and growing comes discomfort, facing your fears, and doing the work necessary to heal from past hurts, traumas and tendencies that do not serve us for our highest good (which is to meet who you were created to be since the beginning of creation itself).  I have had to face many obstacles (pride, bad habits, fears, etc.) in order to change and to grow… so that I can continue to change and grow.  We must be intentional about constantly transforming to be better versions of ourselves.  We never stay the same;  We’re either striving to get better or allowing ourselves to get worse.

The process of transformation is hard, and it won’t happen overnight; but if you keep persevering and staying disciplined, you will be able to look back and see how much you have grown!

 

With Gratitude,
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Book, Indie Author, Meditation, Self Improvement, Self-Discovery, Self-Publishing, Yoga

Misunderstood? Me too!

by JheniLeave a Comment on Misunderstood? Me too!

As a kid in the 80’s, one of my favorite T.V. shows was reruns of Threes Company.  Being that I was a preteen and my English was my second language, a lot of the “adult humor” went over my head.  What I found so hilarious about the show was the physical comedy of Jack Tripper (played by John Ritter) as well as all the misunderstandings that caused 99% of the comedic drama among the main characters.  Of course by the end of the epidsodes, all misunderstandings were cleared up, everyone hugged it out and all was good in the world again.  In a perfect world, all misunderstandings would be cleared up in 30 minutes (minus commercial breaks), this unfortunately, this is not the case.

Last year, I wrote and published a book called, Be Still: The Power of Biblical Meditation.  It’s full of true stories from my own life as well as other people’s lives on how biblical meditation played a huge role in helping us heal from daily stressors, people-pleasing, childhood trauma, divorce, domestic violence, and death of loved ones.  The book also contains many techniques to help create stillness through scriptural yoga, pranayama (breath control techniques), and scriptural meditation.  I even recorded all of the techniques and provided links to each of them.  It took me six months to write/edit/design/publish my book (which you can read about in my previous blog, Indie-Author Do’s and Don’ts), and I was so excited to share it with the world!

The first month, I taught scriptural yoga and biblical meditation classes at a big women’s retreat in Asheville, NC where approximately 900 women from the southeast states attended.  I received many words of encouragement, gratitude and confirmation that I was doing exactly what God wanted me to do.  The second and third months were the same, where I was humbled at how powerfully God was using the book He commanded me to write.  But then January came, and I saw a one-star rating review on my book (you can read them on Lulu.com and Amazon.com).  I felt discouraged at first, not because I doubted the purpose of this book (which all glory was to God) but because I felt misunderstood.  There was a part of me that wanted to somehow contact the reviewer and say, “Wait a minute, let me explain and address all your concerns.  Let me explain to you all of my training and research on this subject.”  But then I took a step back to re-evaluate my heart.  I fully respect the reviewer’s opinions and therefore, I am completely okay with being misunderstood.

Everyone is allowed to have their own opinions whether they believe they are right and others are wrong.  It’s completely okay.  It’s okay that one person is a republican while their friend is a democrat.  It is okay.  It’s even okay that I use Yoga to get closer to God while a friend of mine believes that it is not of God.  IT IS OKAY.  It’s not my job to try to convince someone that what helps me will help them.  They have every right to their own opinions.  We waste so much time and energy on getting worked up about disagreements and misunderstandings.  There was a time when I would lose sleep over such things.  But at the end of the day, none of that matters.  Unless someone is asking me questions with the intention of wanting clarity, it is not my job to debate or provide proof of why I think “I am right and they’re not.”

There’s something freeing about living this way.  There’s such a feeling of lightness within the spirit when you’re not living to prove yourself to others but rather living to move closer to your authenticity.  So this week, I encourage you to practice being okay of feeling misunderstood.  Let other’s have their opinions about you because this does not change who you are.  Continue to shine bright for those who wish to be in your light.

 

With Gratitude,
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Dream + Intention + Action = Reality

by JheniLeave a Comment on Dream + Intention + Action = Reality

I’m a dreamer.  I’ve always been a dreamer.  When I was young, I dreamed of dancing professionally, working in a corporate setting with an important title, starring/co-starring in a musical and being a teacher of some sort… which I had the blessing of experiencing all of them.  But I also have dreams that have not yet come true, such a becoming a rock star, a film actress, an acupuncturist, and a public speaker at a big conference of some sort.

I realize that I may never experience hundreds of thousands of fans singing along to one of my songs during my world tour.  I also may not walk the red carpet as I stop to pose for the photographers and be interviewed by correspondents from Entertainment Tonight before I make my way into the Academy Awards to take a seat next to my co-star.  I do, however, believe that I can become an acupuncturist and a public speaker at a big conference.  So why do I believe that the first two are probably not in my future but that the second two are?  The difference is ACTION.

Fulfilling the dreams of becoming a rock star and a film actress would be pretty awesome; but honestly, I don’t think I would be willing to pour my time and energy into going after these things.  (I do have an acting coach/mentor that I work with, but I act because I love it and not because I want to be famous.  But back to the topic of this blog…) Although I haven’t done it yet, I do believe that when the time is right, I will go back to school to become an acupuncturist as well as doing the necessary research and apply to become a speaker at a big conference.

When you have a dream without intentions and actions, you will see years pass by with those things remaining as dreams.  In the past decade, how many dreams did you start out with?  How many of those have come true, and how many are still dreams?  And of the ones that remain your dreams, are you taking actions to make those dreams a reality one day?

Dreams stop being dreams
when you make them a reality.

So practically speaking, how do you fulfill a dream?  I’m not an expert at this, but here’s how I go about fulfilling my own dreams:

1. Write down the dream.

Literally.  Write it down.  When I don’t write down my dreams, they stay in my brain for a while, and then they go away.  When I write them down, they begin to exist outside of your mind.
Example:  “I want to be a published author.”

2.  Come up with a plan.

2a)  First, start with writing down big milestone steps.
Example:  “I will begin writing my book on March 1st, finish by July 1st, have it edited by August 1st, have book cover designed by August 14th, submitted for print by August 31st and order books for my first book event by September 1st.”

2b)  Next, fill in the action items and tasks within each milestones.
Example:  “I will write for 2 hours at Panera Bread on Wednesdays and 3 hours at the library on Thursdays.  I will reserve an AirBnB in Denton, TX to take a week-long sabbatical in June in order to focus and make significant progress in my writing.  I will schedule a photo shoot with my models for the book in July.  I will research book cover designs and decide on how I want the cover to look like.  I will write the back cover content by August 14th.  I will save up money to purchase enough copies of the book for my first book event in October.”

3.  Start taking action!

Take what you wrote down in step 2 and do them! 

 

As 2019 comes to a close, get ready for the new year and the new decade(!) with some dreams and goals by sticking to the plans you come up with, and continue to revisit the plan to make sure you are staying on target to complete the tasks necessary to fulfill your dreams without giving into distractions. 

 

With Gratitude,
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