Please continue to follow my blogs — only on a new blog site.  Follow this link:  http://ajoyfuldance.posterous.com/

I will be closing this blog out in a bit of time, so I hope you’ll join me at me new blog home!! 

You can also find me on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/niachick 

And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/JilltheNiaChick

Thank you so much!!

Day 52 of 52 Days:  White Cosmic Worldbridger

If you’ve been following along, congratulations!  We’ve completed 52 day of journeying inward.  It is simultaneously the end of one cycle and the birth of a new one.

Step into the fire of transformation.  You are more than your body, your mind or your heart.  You are spirit in form in action.

Use your capacities of body, mind and heart to express the truth of who you are.  Who you ARE, not what your opinion or someone else’s opinion is of yourself, but who you really are. 

I have a name, I have a job — neither of those is who I Am.  My name and my job (I’ve changed my name a couple of times, I’ve had different jobs) are merely place markers for our short stay on earth.   The “I am” never changes.  I am spirit.  I am love.  I am life.  

Step into the blue of flame.  Let everything burn away that no longer serves your purpose for being on earth.  Step into your greatness.

Thanks for traveling with me.  Thanks to those of you who stopped by to read and comment.  Carry on.

Day 51 of 52 Days:  Red Crystal Serpent

The body is constantly in a state of renewal.  Our body renews itself and changes in many ways all the time.  Our skin renews itself every 28 days.  Our entire body renews itself every 7-8 years.  I don’t even want to try to figure out how many times my skin has renewed itself in my 60 years of living on this earth, however, as far as my body totally renewing itself every 7-8 years…that would mean that I’ve had a new body close to 8 times.  Wow!  That’s an awesome fact!

Wouldn’t you think there would be some discomfort associated  with the body and all of its many systems constantly in a state of renewal?  Yet my awareness is not normally at the cellular level, so the changes happen organically, naturally. 

The body takes care of those things without any prompting.  It’s the day-to-day types of changes that happen…the stresses, the environment, the political unrest, the emotional outbursts, the mental anguish…these things can be uncomfortable.  Yet as the picture says…”LIFE BEGINS AT THE END OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE.”

One of my intentions during this second half of my life is to know courage and speak the truth.  Makes life pretty darned interesting — definitely not boring.  Discerning what one’s “truth” is as opposed to what one’s “opinion” is can be a fascinating study.  I find most people have opinions and quite often those opinions have nothing to do with “the Truth”.  The Truth is not a revolution — it is a revelation.  And revelations often come at the price of comfort. 

Today I am renewed.  My body, my mind, my heart, my spirit — unbound and free.  Now I am living life fully.  Today I dance.

Day 50 of 52 Days:  Yellow Spectral Seed

There really are no words to describe exactly how much I love Nia or how much I love teaching and sharing Nia. 

Nia has become a way of life for me.  The principles of Nia are visible throughout my daily living…the way I walk, the way I swing my arms, the way I get up out of bed, the way I feed the cats, the way I do laundry, the way I sit at my desk, the way I look to speak with impeccability…it is all a dance through life. 

I’ve been teaching Nia for 10 years.  I’ve been married to my soulmate for 10 years.  Coincidence?  I doubt it.  The Universe had plans for me…probably from the time I was born…it wasn’t until I turned 30 though that somewhere in the back of my head I felt the stirrings of the Universe’s call.  Of course I didn’t listen to closely…I had my own agenda…thought I knew better.  So the Universe let me go about my own way — free will and all, ya know. 

Every time I would stray off the path, the Universe would plant a seed…in the form of a thought or an emotion.  It took almost 20 more years for me to actually wake up to the beauty of the garden within…the seeds that had been planted had grown into beautiful flowers, trees, shrubs, grassy knolls…however there were lots of weeds since there had been no one there to tend the garden. 

Weeds are there for a reason.  They didn’t just pop up for no reason — weeds come from seeds being planted, too.  Often times, the seeds were not planted consciously by us, but they are present nonetheless.  We can choose to ignore them or we can choose to remove them. 

Much like an unattended garden, who we choose to associate with, who we choose to honor and be honored by is important to the quality and course of our lives.  Making decisions on when to change the landscape and/or the types of flowers/weeds we have in our gardens is not always easy…but it is necessary. 

So in this season of harvest, we are being invited to look at the seeds that have been planted in our field of life, in our gardens.  The seeds we plant is what we harvest…if you plant seeds of love, you will harvest love.  Seeds that were perhaps not planted by us but that are present nonetheless are still ours to tend.  Appreciation and gratitude for ALL things is important, as is recognizing when to plant a different crop.

Bringing it back to Nia and my soulmate…there were lots of weeds present in my life in my 30′s and 40′s that were not allowing me to see the beauty that was mine to cultivate.  Once I began to remove (with appreciation and gratitude) the weeds — my own thoughts, words, actions, as well as negative people — space was created for what the Universe had originally planned for me. 

I barely recognize or remember my pre-Nia, pre-Frank life.  These past 10 years have been so full of love, life and truth, dancing, laughter, and joy that anything less is simply not there anymore. 

Relax all the muscles in your face and particularly your jaw. 

Smile!

Be amazed at what one smile can create!!!

Smile…dance…laugh…hug…kiss…dream…love…live…

Day 48 of 52 Days (we’re almost to the finish line!):  White Solar Wind

The Latin root for “inspire” means “to inhale”.   Be inspired by your Life As Art.  Stop and smell the moment!  What inspires you? 

What is it about yourself that gives you cause to inhale and be inspired?  What is it about today that inspires you to step into your greatness? 

Each and every day I am consciously grateful for all things.  I cannot separate out the “good” from the “bad”.  Judgment disallows gratitude.  In order to see my Life As Art, I must be grateful for ALL things.  An artist does not create a masterpiece in one sitting (at least most do not).  As one of my mentors once said, “you have to be willing to suck.”  Wise advise.  Be willing to suck AND not give it any weight.  Just move on.

I’m a football fan…more like a football fanatic.  One thing that makes a great quarterback is the ability to move on from making mistakes.  If a quarterback were to let an interception, a fumble, a misdirected play get into his head, then that quarterback will be a detriment to the team.  He is likely to feel guilt, shame, a lack of self-confidence — all obstacles to stepping into one’s greatness.

Same with life…make mistakes, learn from them…move on.  Step into your greatness.  Now.

I teach Nia (www.nianow.com).  I make plenty of mistakes during the hour class.  Many of them my students don’t even know are mistakes (except when I say “ooops”).  I’ve learned to be flexible, mobile, agile, strong and stable amidst the chaos of forgotten steps and stances, an iPod that quits, a CD that skips, the swirling energy of my own and my students’ attitudes in the moment. 

Nia allows me to step into my greatness every time the music starts. 

As the words in the song from Pink go: 

You take what you get and you get what you give
I say don’t run from yourself, man, that’s no way to live
I’ve got a record in my bag you should give it a spin
Lift your hands in the air so that life can begin

If God is a DJ
Life is a dance floor
Love is the rhythm
You are the music

If God is a DJ, then life is a dance floor so
Get your ass on the dance floor…now

Be inspired.  Be an inspiration.

Be playful today.

Remember what it’s like to be free to dance, sing, be silly, laugh.

Lighten up!  Shine your light! 

Go to a Nia (www.nianow.com) class!!!

In Nia, the 7th “joint” is the neck/spine — also called the mystic column.  The spine houses the wheels of energy known as “chakras”.

The chakras are not some airy-fairy concept.  There is research available that proves the chakras exist and are essential to a healthy spine and life.  Each chakra is linked to a particular vibration, color and endocrine gland.  Each chakra’s energy can be either open and functioning properly or the energy can be obstructed.  Obstruction of the chakra’s energy comes from various influences:  nutrition, physical fitness, emotional trauma, etc.

The Root chakra sits at the base of the spine and is connected to stability and security; groundedness.  The Root chakra and the Sacral chakra both influence the sexual organs.

The Sacral chakra which is located in the pelvic area along the spine also influences the energy of creative expression.

The Solar Plexus chakra sits below the sternum and above the belly button (along the spine) and influences one’s personal power, self-confidence, and self-esteem.  The endocrine gland associated with the solar plexus is the Pancreas.

The Heart chakra is located behind the Thymus gland along the spine, and influences health, healing, transformation, and one’s ability to sense compassion and love.

The Throat chakra is located behind the Thyroid gland along the spine and influences one’s ability to speak one’s truth, to have a strong voice in the world.

The Brow (sometimes called the Third Eye) chakra is located between the eyes at the bridge of the nose (along the spine) and is associated with the Pituitary gland (often called the Master Gland) and influences inner wisdom, imagination and creative thinking (it has nothing to do with academic learning).

The Crown chakra is located above the crown of the head and is associated with the Pineal gland.  The Crown chakra influences one’s ability to connect with Divine source.  This source is not separate from one’s self.

The colors starting with the Root Chakra are:  Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple and White or Gold.

Today, sense the presence of energy in your body…notice where the energy is either flowing easily or is lacking energy.  Movement can release and open the energy in the chakras.  Nia (www.nianow.com) is instrumental in maintaining a healthy physical, mental, emotional and spiritual body.

Move your body.  Love your body.  Love your life.

Experience more pleasure today.  See if you can feel like the little girl in the picture. 

Pleasure comes in many ways…physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.  Let it happen (notice I didn’t say “make” it happen). 

I have a doozy of a headcold today, yet I am in the midst of feeling the pleasure of living in the moment and knowing that as this headcold continues, I am actually in the midst of healing.  It’s sometimes hard to get out of our own way to be conscious of that fact — that healing is taking place ALL of the time.  I hear these things being spoken:  ”I am sick”, “I am so tired”, “I am such a dunce”. 

“I am” is divine.  It is spirit.  It is pleasure.  “I am” is never sick, never tired, never a dunce.  The cells in your body, your mind, your heart have ears.  They listen to what you say and respond.  If you say “I am sick”, the result is you are sick.  Replace “I am sick” with “I don’t feel well, but I am fine” — and watch the magic happen. 

You are brilliant.  You are beautiful.  You are healthy.  You are love.

Day 44 of 52 Days:  White Overtone Mirror

Be present.  Are you Now Here or do you think you are Nowhere?  A mere separation of letters changes the emphasis.

Create this day anew.

Give thanks for the specific capacity of consciousness through which your work is accomplished.  Be aware of the vital importance of every circumstance, every activity, and every relationship, small or large.  Release your love and greatness into each moment of the day.  Be ready to live and create through divine feeling, thought and action. 

You are now here, ready to play your part in the whole as a creator — one with all. 

Say that last sentence in first person:  “I am now here, ready to play my part in the whole as a creator, one with all.”

Sense the majesty and nobility of that statement.  Then do it.  Better yet, BE it.