TRULY STRONG

During one of my “fitness role model” training days, I was climbing a high set of steps outdoors in an intense workout session. Many people passed by me, including an overweight mother who was having a hard time carrying her baby down the steps in its stroller.

I passed her at least three times as she struggled to get down, but it never occurred to me to help her. All my mind could think was that by passing her as fast as I could and as many times as possible, I would inspire her to engage in exercise so she could lose weight and be healthy.

Later, a couple passing by called me strong and courageous. Had I actually been strong and courageous—enough to be listening to my spiritual heart—I would have stopped to help the mother and her baby.

Yes, I would still be exercising for enjoyment and physical health, but I would be motivated by love and compassion. It would have been an action based, not on “look how good I am,” but on “here I am and look, someone needs help.”

Much love!

Valeria 

EXERCISING FOR THE WRONG REASONS

Most of us engage in exercise and clean eating for the wrong reasons. I did it for many years. I went through a rough period in my marriage when it didn’t matter how physically fit and healthy both of us were, our relationship wasn’t a happy one.

I stopped exercising for a few months. I gained about ten pounds. My body felt incredibly good (no more soreness or joint pain), though my marriage was falling apart. It didn’t take long for a heavy cloud of shame to settle over my head. Not even hours of meditation could save me from the pressure to go back to the gym and clean up my act. It had been about three months at this point, and the feelings of shame and fear were unbearable. How many of us exercise because we feel pressured to be lean and thin to fit the rules of society, please others, or because we are ashamed of our bodies?

Much love!

Valeria 

LEAVING HOME WAS A DREAM!

The limited physical reality most people live in is a painful one. We entertain ourselves with achievements, pleasures, and excitements. But we also suffer dissatisfaction, confusion, and disappointments, and we lack wisdom in the face of sickness and death. It’s hardly fun to dwell on the past, worry about the future, and constantly fight to maintain what we think we have or to acquire what we believe we lack. This kind of worldly life is an endless marathon toward suffering, but it can be replaced with joy when you access the truth inside your own heart.

After investing many years in physical and psychological health, I finally realized that true health comes from knowing the depths of our own hearts and the nature of life. With this knowledge, all my external searches for happiness and peace ended and a joyful celebration began. You don’t need to find the way back home when you realize that leaving home was only a dream. 

Much love!

Valeria 

HAPPINESS AND SERENITY

Happiness and serenity have a lot to do with being in the present moment. However, many people do not achieve this state because they dwell on the past or become preoccupied with how to escape it by living for a “better” future. When we project (or stake) our happiness on the hypothetical achievement of a future circumstance, we sabotage our ability to be happy in the present. This reinforces a self-destructive mindset that likely will persist into the magical “future” we are hoping for. 

To release yourself from this trap, you must shift your life toward a spiritual reality that transforms pain into joy. When you understand that the essence of your nature is not the thinking mind but rather a spaceless and timeless quality inside of you, compassion will arise and you will be free of unnecessary pain. Once you establish yourself in that place of love and kindness, everything will become love, or a lesson of love. While physical and mental health are valuable, realizing who you are at the heart-level is much more critical for happiness and serenity.

Much love!

Valeria  

EXERCISE AND LOVING-KINDNESS

Exercise, diet, and even therapy can become traps for a painful reality; in some ways they can make it worse. For example, if you consciously (or unconsciously) believe you are not good enough or not worthy as a whole human being, you might work to become fit in pursuit of such worthiness. This mindset, however, creates the trap of sustaining habits out of fear, turning exercise and diet into negative forces and compounding the root problem as we live for our bodies through abusive mechanisms. Disharmony within the heart occurs when we forget to recognize that love and kindness are what life is all about.

Much love!

Valeria 

INTENTION MATTERS

Where I come from in Brazil, an attractive body is worshipped as if it were a god. I was taught not only to strive for physical beauty, but also to be obedient, to serve, and to smile. It took years of suffering from inner conflict for me to accept my imperfect body and to find my way back to the intuitive faith in my heart. This heart had always known my true identity as a spiritual being, even though my rational mind could not accept that as truth. You might know well what I am talking about.

This was the main reason, for pretty much all of my life, that I pursued a fit and healthy body. To this day, daily exercise is still something my mind craves. What I do, then, is integrate exercise for the body with food for the soul! Every experience can become spiritual when we have the intention to be loving and kind. 

Yes, we can enjoy our fit bodies as long as we know that true happiness only comes from our own hearts! 

Much love!

Valeria 

BEYOND FORGIVENESS

A difficult past can trap us in negativity.

If you find yourself wandering away from the domain of the heart, you most likely are dwelling in the past. In my life, I have met all kinds of people—religious, spiritual, philosophical, psychological, young and old—who assured me that forgiveness was necessary for a happy life. I heard what they were saying, but it never resonated with the deeper truth in my heart.

When we understand that we are all prone to making mistakes, the idea of forgiving someone is not as compelling as treating those who have “wronged” us with compassion and kindness.

Think of how many times in the past you were unkind to yourself and others. If we are really honest, we’ll admit that we were unable to act differently.

To forgive implies that someone outside of ourselves has the power over our emotions, or that we have power over theirs. How about accessing true forgiveness that only the heart is able to offer? I don’t know anything more powerful than compassion.

Those who are compassionate understand the cause of their own pain and how unnecessary suffering can be avoided. Such understanding drives a compassionate person to be kind and loving toward everyone, including those who have hurt them in the past. This attitude transcends forgiveness.   

Much love!

Valeria