My experience has been that most people have a solid sense of when they are doing good for themselves…and when they are not.  The tricky part is when things that are not good become a part of a daily routine, or a self-sabotage that pops up and takes over.

After spending another week in Japan at the base of Mt Fuji participating in days of  ancient Nichiren Shoshu ceremonies that I’ve seen transform my own karma for years, I watched myself go trough a series of changes- some subtle and some vibrantly loud- that showed me the way I have been creating my own life in ways that don’t always help me.

Key words here: “creating my own life.”

In Buddhist philosophy that is espoused now far and wide by pop psychology and all sorts of philosophy, we create our life through thoughts, words and actions.  The word used to describe this bank of thoughts words and ations is KARMA.

But, there are those unconscious cravings that seem to hijack the brain.  The bad boy that you know is really not your ideal mate but you date him anyway. The junk food late at night.  The third cocktail.  The binges on TV.  The streak of jealousy that you can’t explain and seemingly can’t control… The over-spending at a big sample sale.  All this and so much more seems to feel so good at the moment yet winds up being subtle self-destruction.

Clarity can go a long way toward making meaningful changes!

Today, I thought it would be awesome to kick off a long weekend with a few ways to live with more cause over your own mind-hijacking cravings, less somewhat unconscious self-demise and a more balanced sense of confidence that you can create a life that you love! 

To kick this off, here’s a bit of science on self-sabotaging cravings and two strategies to flip them to something positive from Lifehacker:

” A craving is often created from a trigger. Since something as simple as reading the words “potato chips” can make you crave them, the same triggers should exist for what you want to crave. It’s not a long-term solution to dealing with harmful cravings, but you can use those cravings to accomplish positive goals you have trouble starting. Here are a couple ideas for how you can use them.

Change your environment: Dr. Mcgonigal describes this as “dopamanizing your willpower challenges.” Take something that triggers a craving and then pair it with something you want to get done. For instance, if you have to get paperwork done, combine it with a task you enjoy, like eating a muffin at a coffee shop. If you hate exercise, but enjoy shopping, start speed walking in the mall. The flush of dopamine and stress hormones still come out, but you can associate them with the task you want to accomplish. This eventually wears off and stops working, but it gives you enough time to form a new and healthy habit.

Alter your environment: Placing things you truly want around the house is a way to create a competing motivation for your cravings. The idea is that when you’re reminded of you positive goals, like exercise or eating better, you have quick access to what you need, not what you want. Make subtle changes to your home or work environment. Keep your running shoes by the door or store fruit in the same place you store Pop-Tarts. This trains your brain to not only balance your motivations and cravings properly, but also creates triggers for the positive change you want to make. You can’t crave what you don’t want, but you can train your brain into wanting what’s healthy for you.”

Hmmm…

Did you notice that both of these suggestions have to do with your environment?

All of the crystal images in this post- along with this tray of sea salt for space “purification” – were snapped at a new shop at the Narita airport.  It seems that the quest for purity and a detoxed life is something we share across cultures.  There’s a growing awareness that space affects life.  There are all kinds of ways that we seek to hack life to get more of what we want and less of what we don’t…

Yet, ultimately, it all comes down to thoughts, words and actions that really create life.  Shortcuts don’t seem to work in the long-run.

• Social media consultants are measuring brand engagement rather than the sheer number of followers a person has on a given platform since so many people tried to shortcut their media success by “buying followers.” The strategy is now over.
• Crash diets can lead to a large bout of hair loss (from te shock to your system) but the weight seems to come back very quickly, with a few extra punds on top of it all.
• A lucky amulet or a magical incantation may seem to bring you an instant “manifestation” of what you want, but the stories from people who get “what they want” in these quick fix life-manipulations never seem to end well.

Creating a life you love means more purity and clarity in thoughts, words and actions.

Your environment can support your intentions and your positive thoughts, words and actions by reflecting your intentions and reinforcing them all around you.  Environments are a powerful reflection of who we are, so when you invest and environment with  thoughts, words and actions that reflect your own gratest good, it becomes easier to stop the self-destructive, seeking-shortcuts mindsets that don’t work.  It becomes easier to create a life that you love!

To invest a space with better thoughts: clean house and see if your clean space elevates your mood and keeps you thinking more clearly.  Washing windows is great in this regard,

To invest a space with better words: see if the messages in your art and your books support your ideals.  If not, elevate them!

To invest a space with better actions: see if you are using your home for your highest good.  Is your bedroom used for sleeping and rejuvenating, or is it loaded with electronics, TV and computer stuff that is detrimental to your mind and your rest?   Is your living room meant for social interaction, or to get lost in cable binges? Is your pantry designed to help you to feed yourself, or to house lots of quick fix foods that are satisfying but not nourishing?

The more you can invest your space with easy-to-access positive activities (some relaxation space, an art studio, a workspace that is creative or anything else you desire) the better!

Do you believe that you can create a life that you love?

Start today!

Simple shifts are the things that create momentum and open the door to big, solid changes with time, patience, practice and lots of gratitude! And, with that, I’m off to chant away more of my own karmic heaviness to create space for the bright and new!

xoxo Dana

 

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And, if you want to dive in to your own personalized feng shui in a modern, practical way, Say hello to Feng Shui 101.  Its the guide I made for you to create your own personalized feng shui at home, in the office, wherever you may be… in 8 weeks.  It’s not filled with strict rules or what you “must” do.  Its filled with information, questions, exercises and even videos and classes to help you confidently create amazing spaces with killer feng shui and live with more flow.   Learn more about the 8-week feng shui adventure & grab your copy to get started right HERE…   And, as always, please let me know what happens!