Readers, do you consider yourself spiritual? No matter what you believe, I’ve sorta come to the conclusion that as long as you are happy to take what works for you and put the rest aside, you will find there is great benefit to be had from living in a more spiritually aware manner. Whatever that may mean to you. For some people that’s weekly trips to church, others it might mean a daily mantra practice, or setting out into nature alone with your thoughts once a month.
Here are three spiritual practices I try and incorporate in my life —
Keep Your Eyes Open
It can be amazing what you miss when you aren’t really looking – and by that same token, what you can see when you make a concentrated effort to keep your eyes open. Keeping your eyes open simply means you are on the lookout for anything which might spark joy…or delight ;). [I talk more in depth about how I incorporate this practice HERE.]
A friend of mine pointed out that when she started living this way, she was surprised by how the same things cropped up over and over again. So often that they began to feel significant. Her advice? Whether it’s the recurrence of specific angel numbers, a certain theme that seems to reappear in your relationships, or anything – whatever it is, pay attention and see what you can learn from it.
Spread Compassion
Something else which all spiritual traditions share is a focus on helping others and spreading joy and compassion towards them. Learning to do this in your daily life takes time, effort and courage – but you will find that doing so really does make for a much more fulfilling life. If you find that there is some kind of blockage stopping you from doing this, then you might want to think about what you can do to make it easier for yourself. In most cases, it begins with first spreading joy to yourself – so that you can then be more compassionate to those around you. You know what RuPaul says, right? “If you can’t love yourself how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?” CAN I GET AN AMEN?
Remain Present
One tenet most spiritual traditions agree upon is remaining present as a way to feel more in tune with reality and more at peace. Presence is hard to fully comprehend until you have practiced it. You might think you’re always present in the here and now. While this is technically true, if you’re anything like me, your brain is always moving…even in neutral! Reigning in your thoughts to focus solely the present moment actually takes a lot of work. Who knew!? But it is SO worth it. Of these three principles, this one is definitely where I struggle the most. Got any tips?
Are you spiritual? What does living in a spiritually aware manner mean to you?
Are you as obsessed with scrolling through Instagram as I am? I thought so.
The last post in my little IG series featured FOODIES. This time, I’d love to talk CELEBS! I mentioned before that this social media platform feels like a combination of a few of my favorite things — magazines, photo albums, and…well…diaries (what can I say! I’m nosy, lol.)
As someone who used to impulse buy trashy celeb magazines at the grocery check-out counter, following a few of my favorite famous folk is a great (and FREE) alternative.
britneyspears… everything about this Instagram is PERFECT and if you’re not following please do yourself a dang favor. (Also, if you love this account as much as me, give this podcast a listen. #obsessed)
Over to you! Leave your fave celebrity follows in the comments below. Oh, and drop your IG handle as well. Mine is @BBerg1012 and I’d love to connect (even though I’m not at all famous, lol).
Just the other day, one of my students asked me why I, a seemingly well adjusted adult who is the leader of her classroom, would ever go to therapy. She said the word with disdain – therapy– as if it was something to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. I chuckled, wondering just how much time I had to enlighten her on all the reasons why I do need it, and why I have been going to a therapist since college.
I’m an open book, someone who is not afraid to share her story or struggles with the general public, but I was not always that way. When I first started treatment for my eating disorder back in 2013, I was terrified about letting the world know that was what I was doing. I covered up my move to New York as a career move (I’m in the arts so it wasn’t a stretch), but the longer I was in treatment and the more I opened up to my therapist, the more I knew I needed to open up to the rest of the world. I needed the walls to come down, and little by little, they did. Now, I can’t imagine my life without being someone who shares what she went through with anyone who asks.
Because I am the passionate, go-getter individual that I am, when I started recovery I set a very high goal for myself. I remember saying the words out loud to my therapist. “I am going to love my whole self, 100% of the time.” She laughed at me. She literally laughed, and said, “that’s an impossible goal, Katie. I’m not letting you set that.” I was angry at her for doubting me. Hey, you barely even know me!! You don’t know what I’m capable of! But it’s true…I would be disappointed every single day when I woke up and looked at myself in the mirror and didn’t fall in love with the broken, changing girl in front of me. She was trying so hard. She also believed that therapy was something that you accomplished, and then you were done. Much like how I viewed recovery when I first began the process. I would quickly learn that, like almost everything else in recovery, it was not that simple.
To an untrained eye, I am recovered. I eat normally, I have restored my weight, I don’t have panic attacks daily, and I’m not a slave to my compulsions like I used to be. But I know that recovery is a lifelong venture that doesn’t end just because you aren’t in treatment anymore. Because of the nature of this ongoing journey, I firmly hope that I am always in therapy. It’s a safe space – a place that taught me how to be open to trying new things, how to speak authentically, and what empathy really means. Most importantly it showed me how to begin a conversation about mental health with anyone who asks, including my students.
Katie Berger is a musician, performer, and teaching artist based in St. Petersburg, FL. She is the writer and composer of Full the Musical, which details one girl’s battle with her eating disorder and struggles with childhood trauma. She began treatment for anorexia in 2013 and is so grateful to her treatment team and the people who supported her through the worst of her illness. She is a mental health advocate and an ear for anyone who might need one.
This guest post was inspired by BetterHelp, a website that makes professional counseling accessible so anyone can get help – anytime, anywhere. If you’re interested in learning more about online therapy , CLICK HERE.
I don’t know if this will be interesting to anyone but, for the sake of accountability, I’m gonna blog about my current fitness challenge! You might know from this post and this one, that a) I love creating my own fitness challenges and b) I love pretending I’m a ballerina.
I love creating my own fitness challenges because I’m a self-proclaimed decisionphobe. Now what does that have to do with working out? Well, I LOVE exercising. The brain break it gives me during and those sweet, sweet endorphins after. But without a clear plan in place…I’ll often just skip exercising entirely. Making the decision about what to do and when to do it leaves me at an impasse. Because I know this about myself, I plan ahead and make all the decisions in one big batch!
I love pretending I’m a ballerina because ballet is something I’ve done since I was itty-bitty. In my experience, finding delight as an adult is often as easy as reflecting on what brought you joy as a child and doing THAT.
So with all that out of the way, let’s chat about my 30 days of ballet training!
The challenge is made up of 5 types of work-outs:
STRETCH – That’s an obvious one. Stretching.
STRENGTH – Less ballet inspired, more building strength in key areas NEEDED for ballet.
TRAIN – Ballet-inspired workout to train a specific body part or aspect of ballet.
CARDIO – Center work without breaks to get the heart-rate up.
BARRE – Also an obvious one. Barre work.
Here’s what the work-outs look like over the 30 days:
Week One
1 – STRETCH: Flexibility
2 – STRENGTH: Legs and Abs
3 – STRETCH & STRENGTH: Back
4 – STRENGTH: Back
5 – STRETCH: Total Body
6 – STRENGTH: Knees
7 – BARRE: Classical Ballet
15 – STRENGTH: Legs and Bum
16 – TRAIN: Arches
17 – BARRE: Classical and Fitness Combo
18 – TRAIN: Splits
19 – STRENGTH: Arms and Core
20 – TRAIN: Core
21 – BARRE: Fitness (in athletic shoes)
Week Four
22 – STRETCH: Yoga Inspired
23 – STRENGTH: Legs and Abs
24 – TRAIN: Neck and Arms
25 – STRETCH: Active Stretching
26 – TRAIN: Arms
27 – TRAIN: Abs
28 – STRETCH: Active Stretching
Bonus Days
29 – STRENGTH: Back
30 – CARDIO: Classical Center
I’m currently on Day 13 (and yes, my arms are sore from yesterday!) and am loving the training schedule so far. I’m already feeling stronger and more flexible. Shall I report back after Day 30?
And if you suffer from decision fatigue, I can not recommend making your own fitness challenge enough. It works for all types of exercise and fitness levels! Need help getting started? Shoot me an email! I would LOVE to help you put one together. 🙂
What’s your favorite way to exercise? Have you ever tried a fitness challenge (either one that was already made or something you put together yourself)?
SOLITUDE – Spending quality time alone is one of the number one ways we get to know ourselves. And you gotta know yourself before you can even think about loving yourself. When you’re away from the “busy” of everyday life and the external influences that shape you, you can express yourself however you like. So get creative!
AFFIRMATION – When we repeat positive, encouraging messages to ourselves it can change the way that we feel. Toxic thoughts are bound to crop up — no matter who you are! So why not actively try to negate some of that negativity?
INTENTION SETTING – If we never set a target, who is to blame when we miss the mark? Write down your intention for tomorrow, speak your intentions out loud, share your goals with loved ones. Clarifying what we want to achieve not only sets us up for success, but honors our path as something that is important and achievable.
And how it all comes together:
-Schedule some time for SOLITUDE. Spend this time getting to know yourself by brainstorming what you love about yourself in the present and what you’d like to improve on or accomplish in the future. You may want to write in a journal or meditate during this process.
-Begin a regular AFFIRMATION practice. Need help getting in the swing of things? Try a daily mirror affirmation for the next 7 days or check out my 30 day mantra challenge. Remember those things you love about yourself in the present? Start telling yourself.
-Now set yourself up for future successes, and new areas to affirm, by SETTING INTENTIONS. Start writing out a daily intention for the following day before you go to sleep at night. Not only will you sleep better, but you’ll start prioritizing based on your own needs and dreams. Self-love (with a dash of productivity) at it’s finest!
Want to go even bigger? Identify 3 intentions for the year to come. Write them out and post somewhere you’ll see every day. A constant reminder that your goals matter and are possible.
Do you utilize SOLITUDE, AFFIRMATIONS, or INTENTIONS to facilitate self-love? What does YOUR self-love recipe look like? Share the ingredients below!
Way back in 2014, I wrote this post about why I love Instagram so much. Instagram is like a happy union between glossy magazine, family photo album, and public diary so it’s no wonder I still love scrolling through the app to this day!
With that in mind, I thought I’d do a little series shouting out some of the accounts I love to follow. Starting with a very controversial subject matter — FOOD. Secretly (well, not such a secret NOW), I LOVE the fact that there are folks out there who take pics of their meals. While I recognize the critique of the millennial snappin’ pics of her plate while her food gets cold is a valid one, the entertainment factor on my end is certainly enjoyable. (And if it brings the ‘grammer joy too then I say, “DO. YOU.”)
Over to you! Leave your fave foodie follows in the comments below. Oh, and drop your IG handle as well. Mine is @BBerg1012 and I’d love to connect (even though my foodie IG game could use some work, lol).
Years ago, I found myself in a bit of a rut. No matter how hard I tried life wasn’t turning out the way I had hoped and the pressure to turn things around started to feel like a black cloud rather than a rainbow of possibility.
Then one day, something changed.
I decided I would spend my drive to work (at a job I never expected to have) looking for things that would make me smile. A sweet old labrador lumbering down the sidewalk. A pair of siblings running to their bus stop. Weird license plates. Light hitting a puddle just so.
In the span of my 15 minute commute I went from grumpy to great! I continued to practice this exercise every day and was dumb-founded at the difference it made. Suddenly I was “finding delight” in the present moment instead of worrying about the future or what my life should look like.
Now, I still make time to seek out things I delight in every day. Whether this means looking out for things that make me smile when I’m stuck in Miami traffic (I clocked that burger graffiti pictured above while waiting at an intersection) or reading an article just for fun or asking myself “What will bring me joy today?” and then doing THAT. Just taking a few minutes to shift my perspective to the present moment works wonders. It’s the easiest, and simplest, way I know to turn my mood around!
So, I’d love to know — What made you smile today? If you’re still struggling for an answer, take a look around RIGHT NOW and look for something to delight in. What do you see? Thanks for sharing!
Hi friends! As promised, today I’m going to fill you in on my recent trip to Los Angeles. In celebration of his birthday, my dear friend Adam asked if I would like to spend a few days in L.A. culminating in a Venice Beach birthday party. Of course I jumped at the chance! It was a wonderful excuse to spend time with him (we haven’t lived in the same city since college!) and see some of our other friends who call the West Coast home.
Lately, I’ve been really into reading diary-style blog posts (“I did this…and then we did this…”) so I decided to try that out for this post. I actually typed this up straight from my personal travel journal! Let me know if you like this method. Here we go —
Wednesday –
After a morning of work, I Ubered to MIA with plenty of time for a leisurely, non-rushed experience. I boughtWhite Fur by Jardine Libaireat the airport Books & Books, grabbed a turkey bagel from Einstein’s, and ate while listening to Britney’s Gram: The Podcast. I nabbed some snacks for the flight. The flight to L.A. was 6 hours. On the plane, I read a few chapters from my new book and then watched The Glass Castle and Girls Trip. Long flights by yourself are kind of a treat (as long as you don’t have a man-spreader next to you), aren’t they? I landed at 8:30pm pt and met up with Adam, whose plane had also just arrived–no easy feat as LAX is huge. Colby picked us up and we stayed up (too) late talking. I had a couple glasses of red wine because California.
Thursday –
Not a great night of sleep (damn you time changes!) but I woke up ready to tackle the day, after some coffee of course. Adam and I went to M Cafe (a vegan spot in the neighborhood) and split a breakfast burrito and avocado toast before walking around West Hollywood for a bit. We planned out the rest of our day and decided to walk to The Original Farmer’s Market.
It’s a long walk but mostly through cute neighborhoods. We saw lots of bungalows (totally my vibe!) and kids dressed up for Purim. Once at the market, we walked around the stalls. The sticker stall was a clear favorite for me and I couldn’t resist buying a few sheets. (I mean who can resist ALPACA stickers?!) We also lingered in the stalls selling incense and essential oils. Free smells! There were a ton of food options but I settled on Loteria Grill and ordered huevos rancheros with warm corn tortillas. Then we stumbled into a fruit stall that smelled even more amazing than all those hippy-oils and bought some mangoes. There was a Zara nearby so we popped in for a quick browse. I ended up buying a marigold cardigan and justified the purchase because L.A. was much colder than I had planned and I needed an extra layer.
We then took an Uber to Colby’s apartment; our driver played old school hip-hop the whole way and it seemed like the perfect soundtrack to the passing scenery. Since we’d been walking all morning, we relaxed for about an hour at Colby’s before heading out to Runyon Canyon. We hiked a large loop which took us along a ridge with beautiful views of Downtown L.A. on one side and the Hollywood sign on the other.
We stopped at various benches to take in the landscape and take pictures, and chatted the whole way. I took a water from the “honor system” cooler on the way out, paying a dollar via Venmo. (Technology!)
The red carpet is under a layer of plastic wrap!
From there, we made our way down to Hollywood Blvd, by way of Muji (my obsession), and saw the star clad side walk. Then we walked the red carpet (!) which was already set up for Sunday’s Oscars – just with a bit of plastic on top. It was fun to get a behind-the-scenes look. We also found another view of the Hollywood sign, saw more stars, and the apartment building from Pretty Woman.
The apartment building from the movie Pretty Woman.
After another chill sesh at Colby’s, we decided to call it a night after a quick pop-in dinner at Village Idiot.
Friday –
I woke up quite early and read White Fur for a bit. Adam and I decided we both needed to do a little work to wrap up the week so we headed to Coffee for Sasquatch. This was the rainiest day (rain in LA?!) of the trip and the coffee shop was a cozy place to spend the morning.
After a little work we took an Uber to downtown L.A. to spend a few hours at The Last Bookstore. Adam’s birthday was the following day and he has a tradition of treating himself to a stack of books each year. I abstained from purchasing my own stack as it wasn’t my birthday but, honestly it had more to do with my one bag travel situation.
Books flying off the shelf, trying to come home with me!
Still raining, we darted a few blocks to Bäco Mercat. Our meal here was definitely a highlight of the whole trip. Highly recommend! We split caramelized cauliflower to start and I had The Fava Fritter. So good! Adam grabbed a post-meal espresso at Tilt
and we took a hilarious Uber pool back to West Hollywood. (Hilarious because Adam and I know each other well enough that we can speak without needing to speak…and our car companions needed to be spoken about. Let’s just say I spent a portion of the ride staring out the window with tears coming down my face because I was trying so hard not to laugh!)
From there, we drove to Dan’s house in a borrowed mini cooper. The first half of the drive was stunning as we navigated through the Hollywood Hills in the rainy weather with jazz playing on the radio. Dan and his wife Samantha gave us a tour of their house and we spent some time visiting. Then we headed to a couple grocery stores to buy supplies for Adam’s party. Back at the house, we met Dan’s 2.5 year old daughter, Olivia.
Finally, we met up with Maggie at Los Feliz Theater (Recommend! Only $9.50 for a ticket and super charming!) and saw Red Sparrow. I snuck in a burrito bowl from Tacos Tu Madrewhich is right next door. Sorry, not sorry.
Saturday –
Birthday party day! Adam and I returned to M Cafe – I had oatmeal with berries and a juice (with lots of turmeric!). We ran up the street to a Trader Joe’s to get last minute supplies – water, snacks, beer – for the party. We drove to Venice Beach and dropped stuff off at Dylan’s apartment, the party locale. His place has an adjoining beachy courtyard strung with fairy lights, complete with picnic table and fire-pit. The three of us walked the boardwalk and got cold brew at a cute place nearby with outside seating (I don’t recall the name).
Party guests started to arrive, including Dan who was making all the yummy food, and Stephanie, who I hadn’t seen in almost 10 years. I also got to meet Colby’s boyfriend who had been at work when we hung out on Thursday. We dined on bean-burger sliders with coleslaw and homemade bbq sauce, tempeh kebabs, and chips with hummus and homemade salsa. Vegan BBQ-theme on point!! I also bought Adam a 9″ fruit tart from Whole Foods as his “cake” and, although we skipped the candles, we sang a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday. We made a fire in the fire-pit, talked, and listened to music.
Sunday –
I woke up at 4:30am and was out the door by 5:15. Made it to LAX without a hitch. Thank goodness for the early morning departure time. Paramedics were randomly resuscitating a woman on one of those metal tables in security and my pre-coffee consumption self was highly confused. She seemed to be ok by the time I made it through. I got a bagel (which I saved to eat on the plane) and coffee (which I immediately downed). On the plane I watched The Battle of the Sexes and hardcore creeped my seat mate’s business because I was convinced he was an air marshal – still no conclusive evidence on that one. I made it back to Miami just after 3pm est. Such a wonderful trip. So glad I got to spend time with Adam for his birthday!
The end.
Have you ever been to Los Angeles? What was your favorite part? Do you keep a travel journal with details from your trips? I love having a place to jot down the places I visit and the restaurants I want to remember. Hope you enjoyed this peek into mine!
P.S. Some of these photos were captured by Adam. Thanks boo!
Did you watch the Super Bowl last night? I spent the evening with a few folks, and honestly, by the time the game started we were still busy discussing all things Kylie Jenner. We even asked that the game be turned down so we could watch her birth announcement video a second time.
But then this happened…
Please someone tell me what red is in Gisele Bundchen’s wine glass! I’d totally buy a bottle…(even though her hubby’s team didn’t win.) She is all of us. Haha!
I’ve been in a real decluttering mood as of late. I did a clothes clear out, went through a few drawers full of odds and ends, did a once over on my book collection, and even edited the kitchen by quite a lot (cooking gadgets and utensils are my ultimate hoarding weakness!). Perhaps it’s the promise of a new calendar year that has me wanting to clear out the old.
Whatever the reason, it’s certainly been a successful few weeks in the minimizing-my-home department.
So, I thought I’d share with you the little thought exercise I use when I’m feeling apprehensive about letting go of *stuff*. Maybe it will help you let go of the material goods or possessions in your own home that cause you to feel bogged down. Here’s what I do…
First, I think of my happiest memories. Then, I try and identify what made them so great. Was it the people I was with? The place? A certain time of year or a feeling of security? Most importantly, was it the STUFF? Usually, as I compose bullet points in my head about these wonderful moments in my life, the “things” involved in the memories – the clothes and the knick-knacks and the books and the KITCHEN GADGETS (lol!) – sink to the bottom. After all, they’re heavy and take up space. Conversely, the feelings are weightless.
And many times I find memories created through the absence of possessions pop up, too. Like when I lived abroad as a child and the absence of tons of toys meant my sister and I went outside to play more. Or when Chet and I first moved to Miami and the absence of lots of furniture meant we didn’t just sit but explored.
Think about your very favorite vacation.
Do you remember everything you packed?
Now I’m not saying I could be one of those people who pares down so fully that they can live with 100 or less possessions. I love watching the YouTube videos those people make but I’m not naive enough to think I can disassociate all feelings from certain possessions. I’ll always have too many books and a drawer of kitchen utensils that can barely close. But once a year, maybe twice, I can edit. And my happy memories thought exercise is how I do it.
Are you successful when it comes to decluttering or do you find it difficult to part with possessions? How do you manage to minimize your home? Let’s chat about it in the comments below!
Finding delight. 