A personal Chakra Flow Reading that I wanted to share with you.

https://www.gloriamiller.co.uk/

I think it's time for some of the rules to evolve.

I think it's okay to be in your head sometimes. Just do that shit in private!

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As I’m getting older, my internal clock is getting louder. So much so, that I can’t stand the sound of actual clocks ticking. I made the hubs get rid of any clock that ticked, but that didn’t settle the unrest bubbling in the pit of my stomach.

There is so much that I still want to do with my life, but sometimes I can’t shake that feeling of running out of time and then I get stuck. A ‘lack’ mentality will always lead to feeling stuck. That idea of “if only I had more money, I would …” or “if only I were younger, I would …”

If only. Two little words that can paralyze us and keep us from living our best lives. Stop for a minute and think about your ‘what if.’ I’ll wait. Got it? Now I encourage you to take another minute and flip the script. For example, instead of ‘if only I was younger, I would …’ flip it to ‘what if I had all the time in the world, what would I do.’ Then list the things you’d do and get to gettin’.

My point is that you can change the narrative, and you should if your current one isn’t serving you. I was watching Rihanna’s Fenty shows on Prime recently, and looking at the performers being so committed to their craft and seeing the full spectrum of beauty that represents humanity, I felt like I could accomplish anything. At one point, what the performers were doing was so beautiful I was brought tears. But it was more than that. I felt the power of witnessing people living their dreams, and I want that power in my own life.

So I’m gonna fight for it! Come on … say it with me … ‘I got the power.’ Yes boo! You have the power to create the life you want. Simply switch your perspective. Turn your ‘if only’ to ‘what if.’ Go from victim to victor. I’m going to plan like I have all the time in the world and live like there’s no tomorrow! What are you gonna do?

Now’s the time to be fearless and create the life of your dreams. No one is going to hand it to you on a silver platter. Not even if you’re born into royalty. If the ‘Spare’ is out there hustling to live his best life, then we better get out there and live ours!

You deserve all the good things in life that you want. You are worthy. You are on point to do great things. You are unstoppable. Now is the time.

by Gloria Miller (aka, Ekua Adowole)

I wrote this as a blog post right after the incident happening with Will & Jada Smith at the Oscars. I'm finally getting around to sharing my thoughts with you. 

This past week following the tragic death of George Floyd I found myself in a really dark place. The struggle to keep anger from turning into hatred and rage is real, and we are seeing it played out in the media across the world as outrage against racism is unleashed. I finally had to stop looking at social media and the news as they were just fanning the flames. I had to get quiet with my feelings, and find a way to be a light in the midst of all of this darkness.

My yoga session today was on a spiritual plain. More so than usual. Because the emotions of the past week have drained me, I am approaching my mat completely empty, and wow, with each breathe I could feel the light of the universe coursing through me. I've been pretty obsessed with the universe over the past few years, and according to astronomer Carl Sagan, we are made of 'star-stuff.' His statement sums up the fact that the carbon, nitrogen and oxygen atoms in our bodies, as well as atoms of all other heavy elements, were created in previous generations of stars over 4.5 billion years ago. Moby sang about it in his popular 2002 song "We Are All Made of Stars." Light is at the very core of our being, and we can't let anything steal our shine.

One of my mother's favourite songs was 'This Little Light of Mine,' and at the end of my Yoga session today, that song was blaring in my Spirit ... 'this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine ...'

At the end of my session as I was lying in resting pose, I could feel energy coursing through my entire being. Then I turned on my right side and curled up in the fetal position and an image of myself shining as bright as the sun flashed before me. When I left my mat, I was determined to shine bright, no matter how dark the world seems around me.

So, in the midst of social injustice and racism, Covid 19, unemployment, economic uncertainty or whatever the darkness is that seems to be closing in around you, I say to you ... stand your ground and let your light shine! Because in your light, you will find peace and strength!

I need to preface what I’m sharing in this episode/post with the fact that typically I don’t publicly share my political views, and I keep my thoughts and feelings to myself on social issues. But last night, when I stumbled across a video on Facebook showing the fate of George Floyd, I was disturbed and angered. I fell asleep and woke up this morning with George and his plight on my mind, and I couldn’t keep quiet on this one ... so here goes ...

"Please, please ...

I can’t breathe man ...

Your knee is in my neck, I can’t breathe ...

Momma, Momma ...

I’m through ...

My stomach hurt, my neck hurt, everything hurt ...

I need some water or something ...

Please ...

I can’t breath officer ...

They gone kill me ..."

And they did. Four men dressed in police uniforms killed George Floyd in broad daylight, on a city street filled with people joining their pleas with his for help. I struggle to call them police and I struggle to call them men. Who do you call for help, when the police need to be policed?

When the video starts, George is already lying on the ground with his hands cuffed behind him, and one of the officers, Derek Chauvin, is kneeling on George with one of his knees on his neck. George as well as bystanders can be heard begging the police officer to take his knee off of George’s neck.

While George’s cries and moans grow weaker, the protests of the crowd grow louder, but to no avail. Chauvin continues to kneel on George’s neck.

There were two other officers next to Chauvin who all appear to be holding George down, and another officer doing crowd control. The two officers who you can clearly see in the video, Chauvin, the officer with his knee on George's neck, and Tou Thao, the officer doing crowd control, showed no compassion or sense of humanity when George was begging for help. Essentially, begging for his life.

At around 4:04 of the video I saw, George stops moving. For the entire four minutes of the video to this point, George and the bystanders have been begging for the officers to show some mercy and get off of George, who is lying on the ground, handcuffed and and being held down by three officers. Not resisting. Just struggling to breathe. Just calling for his momma and begging for his life. Yet, the police ignore George’s pleas and that of the bystanders around them.

From around 4:04 to 6:43, when the paramedics arrive, George is lying completely still on the ground while bystanders are begging for the police to check his pulse. With one bystander overheard to say, ‘Did they just kill him?’

One paramedic can be seen checking George’s pulse and then heading back to the ambulance to get a stretcher. Then George, who is still handcuffed, is manhandled onto the stretcher with very little care given to his neck or spine, which is what you would normally expect to see. If there was even a hint of a pulse when the paramedic checked him, you would expect them to start CPR right there on the scene. But they didn’t. He was just put onto the stretcher. They didn’t even bother to strap him down. At around 8:09 in the video, where you can briefly see George lying on his back on the stretcher, it doesn’t look like he’s breathing. (more)

Is it optimism, looking at the world through rose coloured glasses or spotting a silver lining?

I’m not sure, but somehow during this Coronavirus Pandemic, I have found simplicity. And with that simplicity, I have found a mordicum of peace.

I just started reading a book about a man trying to live his life without all the electronic gadgets and apps that have become such a natural part of our lives, even in the fight against Covid19. My favourite app is ‘To-Do,’ an app that I would NEVER give up. I have always used lists to stay organized, and one of my biggest pleasures is completing a task and then checking that task off as finished. Just the thought of it makes me happy.

Prior to the pandemic, my to-do list was unending. Each day I was checking things off, but I was also adding more things that ‘needed to be done.’ During the early days of the virus, I could not face this mountain of to-dos, because I was so weighed down by fear and confusion at the start of this global journey into the unknown. So I spent the first couple weeks trying not to panic while having panic attacks. Cra Cra.

Third week in, I opened my To-do app and started deleting tasks that were now either irrelevent due to the fact I didn’t have any work, or unimportant in light of the world’s condition.

With each deletion, I felt a little bit lighter. I have now whittled the list down from infinite to eight tasks per day, and I haven’t been adding to the list. Four of those items are from my CV Mental Health list that I referenced in my earlier ‘Coping’ podcast.

In doing so, I have achieved simplicity. By narrowing my focus, I have been able to identify the crucial things that must be done, and eliminate the rest, creating space in my mind and reclaiming ownership of my time.

Without this Coronavirus outbreak, I would not have come to this place of simplicity. Silver lining. And yes, the future is uncertain and the outlook is scary, but the calm that has come from simplifying my life is also giving me the strength to face each day as it comes.

Many of us are having to think of ways to re-invent ourselves whether from necessity or desire, because what we did for a living before Covid19 might not be an option during or after. I encourage you to find simplicity within the madness, giving yourself the headspace to figure out your next steps. Cut out anything that’s not serving you now, because it probably won’t serve you in the future.

Use this time to simplify your life so that you have the room for the expansion that is to come. Stay safe, keep it simple sweetie, and thrive as you survive!

I welcome your thoughts and comments, so please let me know how you’re doing in this very challenging time.

I need to preface this post by stating that I wrote this post on the 22nd April when I was struggling with being in lock down. I was in such a strange place then and was unable to actually bring myself to sharing it with you. Well, here goes ...

How are you coping with lock down?

For me it’s been a strange combination of ‘Ground Hog Day’ and riding an emotional roller coaster, with the biggest struggle being lack of purpose. Wondering what’s it all for. At the start of lock down I created a Coronavirus mental health list and on that list I put five activities to keep my mind, body and spirit fed during this crises:

1. Plan My Meals (counting the calories so that I don’t put on the predicted Coronavirus 15 pounds).

Update: So far, I've put on five pounds :).

2. Work Out (That's been going great. Been doing very long walks with the hubs and that is helping with keeping the 15 pounds off.)

3. Read for at least 30 minutes (I’m an avid reader so this one has proven to be easy.)

4. Write for at least 30 minutes (This has been a struggle, but I’m beginning to feel the creative flow in this area after several weeks in lock down.)

5. Work on Music (This has been a joy!)

The first few days I found it very helpful to have a routine, and was happily checking off these tasks everyday (one of my greatest joys is completing tasks). But after a week I found myself back to wondering what’s it all for. With all the uncertainty about resuming life as we knew it, I’m finding it hard to get excited about anything.

When there’s so much death and pain around us, reading my books, writing my stories or even working on music feels so trivial. My first single of 2020 is dropping soon and I feel guilty any time I do any social media promotion because it just feels irrelevant. I feel irrelevant.

But there’s still a flicker of purpose buried somewhere deep in my Spirit that keeps propelling me to follow my daily routine and do these things that once brought me a significant amount of joy, but I currently feel numb to, because though it might just be subconsciously, I know that this too shall pass.

If I’m honest, my life isn’t much different that it was before lock down. By nature, I’m a loner and I enjoy being in the house. But, the idea of not having options feels stifling. So I go back to my list, my routine and the false sense of normalcy it gives me. There are some positives that have come from this situation. Each day feels like a gift when so many around me are suffering and dying. Another positive is the realisation that the love between the hubs and I is as strong as it is, because we have NEVER spent this much time together, and there have only been a few mild clashes. And, I can clearly see who and what is truly important to me, because I’m clinging to those things and people as if they are a lifeline, because they are. My friends, family and creating have been my salvation.

So today, I am committing to my survival list and sticking to my routine, even when my heart is not in it, in the hope of returning to a sense of purpose. This is a work in progress.

Update: I have managed to stick to everything In my Coronavirus mental health list but the writing, which thankfully as of today, that particular creative spark seems to be re-igniting!

So, I ask again. How are you coping? Please feel free to share your thoughts either in the comments or at gloriamiller.co.uk.