Most recently I have embarked on the journey of motherhood and I have learned that this journey is not without glimmering relevance to self-criticism and self-sacrifice.  I am tasked with looking at how to embrace softness and integrate it within my being. It seems to only flow outward to my child, to the staff I supervise, to the clients I serve, to my partner, and most recently to a camera lens staring back at me at work. Softness only kicks back to me, from me, minimally and without intention. I have the ability to maintain a bird's eye view in the moment but it doesn't help me much because I still neglect or criticize myself. I just watch myself, totally aware, neglecting self-care or criticizing, which somehow seems worse than being ignorant to the need for it at all. Why do I do this? I am a sensitive soul and I yearn for the softer side of life. I appreciate, soak in, and linger in hearing meaningful music, sensing emotion, making eye contact,...

It's been a while and I'm back. Hoping for all those souls that were interested in reading my blogs in the past remain connected to me as I embark on a new journey and phase of my life. I have noticed that my energetic bursts of creativity, are just that, sporadic and inspiration driven. My energies have been recently cultivating a grounded home base and nurturing the baby bud of new life in my son Cai. Therefore, the blog has taken a back seat. I have however, experienced the aching and longing for creative spiritual writing once again. I welcome your ideas on topics that you'd like me to explore by commenting on this post with your suggestions. Until then, I will follow my feet with the topics that are divinely given to me. Please remember to add your email address if you wish to be notified of new blog entries. I can't think of a more appropriate time to reinstate the Rasa Files than on Christmas Eve. I have found myself tearing up to Christmas music in the ca...

Recently I have been experiencing the beautiful soul challenge of standing in my solar plexus. For me, this means being called to examine and affirm the worth and conviction of my belief systems. The lens in which I see the world has been known to me as different and I'm happy to say that I have remained unwavering in those beliefs. For many of us, we experience the challenge of others' opinions and we either dramatically reject or softly acquiesce. It is not a comfortable experience when we are challenged.   This blog entry is dedicated to those who challenge and are challenged in hopes that the quiet voice within is strengthened. I am saddened to live in a world where hope and the possibility of change are seen as distant and unreachable goals. My perspective of the human experience is that within us exists the limitless possibility of evolution. It has been brought to my attention lately that this is "idealism." I hope to expand and exploit the inherent fallacy i...

Beautiful people, many blessings in the new year!! I thought I would share my intentions with you. At my new job they encouraged us to write and share our personal mission statements in order to understand employees better. I, of course, found this exercise to be both enriching and educational. I know my values and my mission but I never took the time to list them out formally. As I began this process, I realized how powerful it was for me. I started to feel a warm and fuzzy feeling inside because I felt passionate about these values. Suddenly, having them on paper felt powerful for me. It made them real. I believe it's a good idea to ponder, grasp, convey and write out your values. In doing so, one can more readily access and remain on track with the current pulse and direction of life. For me, it's been helpful to remind myself of the things that I need to continue to work on and reinforce within my own personal healing. I see values as a map for h...

Let things go. This has been one of my best skills, and most challenging lessons in this life. I've noticed within myself and within others the need to grasp, grip and remain steadfast on a certain path. This is not a healthy state of mind. I have sensed that the way to advancement in any area of life is the willingness, the state of mind, of freedom and flow. We must be willing to allow ourselves to adjust and take risks. To be attached to nothing is a wonderful concept. To be able to let things go, you need to have a few focused qualities such as: creativity, flexibility, humbleness, willingness and self-esteem. We need to be creative to see the possibilities of a new direction. We need to be flexible to adjust and shift with life's winding roads. We need to be humble to be able to learn about ourselves from others and from life experiences. We need to be willing to see things differently. Finally, we need to have a level of self-esteem, to afford us the courage to chang...

This blog is dedicated to a special someone who has recently crossed over to the other side. A great friend and teacher of mine. He would often call me the teacher but I am quite sure that he was the wise one….living fully what I could only teach. The great Olufemi was a previous client I had the honor of working with. I got to hug him 3 weeks ago and felt his power of accomplishment as he stood proud at a graduation celebrating over a year of sobriety. He enjoyed this blog so it seems only right to honor him with it today. I can only be so lucky to cross over myself with the same conviction, peace and serenity that he had at the end of his life. The great Olufemi was a pillar and symbol of conviction. A man who lived many years with a number of concomitant health and emotional issues, a dark past, yet always seeking the brighter, healthier and uplifted lens to see the world through. He chose to imagine the hope even though there were other things grabbing his attention. I am certain h...

Intolerable people in my mind are the kinds of people with dark, narrow-minded, condemning, greedy, selfish interests. I have so often railed against these "intolerable people".... judging them, standing on my soap box from up above and pointing my righteous finger. I feel justified. I squint my eyes and smack my lips, toss my nose up in the air and think negative things about them.  Like most of us, I have developed my own moral code. I have this way in my head how things should be and how others should be treated; what seems right and wrong. Things like equality, mutual respect, open-mindedness, compassion, acceptance and justice. No one elected me to be the queen of discernment in this area, but I assume this role nonetheless. Based on my description of the "intolerable," one would imagine that I am referring to the those in society cast out...the evil, criminal or the crazy; yet nothing could be farther from the truth. Upon further reflection of myself, I re...