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QC02072013

58 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • FEBRUARY 7, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com health Gain Clarity & Greater Happiness This new year, after way too long of an absence, I have finally resumed my yoga practice and I am loving it. I take yoga at a studio called The Mat and each month they focus on a particular s word to look at and incorporate both in your practice and your life. This month the word is clarity. It got me to thinking about how important clarity is in our lives and how it can be difficult to achieve. It is so easy to get clouded; clouded with stress, busyness, attraction, addiction, unconsciousness. So we end up making decisions and living our lives through a haze instead of through the eyes of clarity. How much better would your life and relationships be if you were clearer? Why is clarity important? Well for one, it is impossible to be our authentic selves if we are not living and making decisions from a place of clarity. If we are not our authentic selves, or at least striving to be, then we tend to be less satisfied with our life and our relationships. Relationships based on authenticity and clarity are deeper, more meaningful and ultimately more satisfying. Also, clarity allows one to feel at peace with one’s decisions. No matter what kind of decisions they are - parenting, romantic, business - making them from a place of clarity allows you to feel calm even if the actions you have to take may be difficult. You will know that you are being true to yourself and you will be able to stand by your choices with strength and certainty instead of fear and doubt. So how do you go about gaining clarity? The following are 5 important steps. 1. Willingness to examine self. In order to achieve clarity, you need to have a desire and willingness to look at the issues in your life that need clarity. You need to be willing to go beyond the surface and not be paralyzed by fear of what you may find. 2. Create space. In order to gain clarity you need to create the space for clarity to be revealed. When your mind and life are cluttered, it makes it very difficult to achieve clarity on anything in your life. That lack of space is usually what robs of us of clarity to begin with. Allow for quiet, remove activities, thoughts and even people from your life who add clutter as opposed to value. Once you have the space, clarity is much easier to attain. 3. Make a practice of clarity. Pick an issue that you want to focus on and set the intention to achieve clarity. Then you must set aside time to work on it. You can set aside a few minutes in the morning or before you go to bed. Another time that is great is when you are doing something physical and your mind is quiet. This may be while exercising, cleaning, fixing the car. Choose a time where you won’t be interrupted and where you can clear your mind of other thoughts. Then ask yourself how you feel about the issue, ask what you should do, ask what is really happening. 4. Listen. So often we gain clarity in the form of a knowing, a feeling or “sixth sense.” You must stop second guessing these moments of clarity. When you set the intention, create the space and make a practice of gaining clarity on an issue it’s important to accept what you reveal. What you do about it is up to you but at least honor the clarity. 5. Use it. Now that you have gained clarity, challenge yourself to follow through on what has been revealed. Is it time to end or change a relationship? Is it time to parent differently? Is it time to make a career move? Challenge yourself to use this clarity to improve your life and relationships! Wishing you the best with finding clarity and then using it to live a more joyful and authentic life! EJOY COACHING BY ELIZABETH ALONI www.ejoycoaching.com


QC02072013
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