Wednesday, April 22, 2020

What Makes Me Cry?



When I was a little girl, my brothers would lash out at me whenever I would start to cry. They criticized me for ‘dramatizing’ the situation and often accused me of using my tears to get my way with my parents.
            Then, when I was a teenager, my mother would tell me to ‘woman up,’ be tough, do not let ‘them’ see you cry.
            I cannot control the tears that well up inside of me. They are an expression of who I am and how I process the world around me—most of the time, crying feels like a proper cleansing, a completion of sorts.
Fireflies dancing in the marshy grass displaying their electric light show on a balmy April night make me cry.
            The cacophony of nature’s song from dawn till dusk makes me cry.
            The orange ball that lights up the sky from the mountains to the sea as it sets and marks the end of another day can make me cry.
            The sweet elixir that is wine as it courses through my veins, and I sit on my balcony on a warm breezy evening observing the glorious beauty that surrounds me, that makes me cry.
 When thoughts of friends and family, who have been here and gone to the great beyond pop into my head, they solicit tears. The conversations I have with them, in silence and out loud, of how I still miss them, see them and ask for their guidance and advice, often make me cry.
            The vision of my grandkids as they came to LIFE from the womb of my firstborn.
            The overwhelming connection to all things at once, while in Samadhi during deep meditation.
            The lonely orphaned African baby boy stranded and crying amid chaos as his village burns down around him.
            The pain in my heart when I am misunderstood and criticized. The intense joy that I feel in times of peace, and, while I am in a state of ecstasy.
            Sometimes, when I think of the four-year-old baby who once was me, even though her 13-year-old neighbor raped her, she grew up to be brave and strong because she survived; that thought can make me cry.
And even when I read. The written word can elicit a range of feelings that run the gambit of human emotions.                     
THE END

Sunday, January 5, 2020

What is Art?


There are many forms of art.  Living is an art form.  How we express ourselves, our mannerisms, how we relate to one another, the impressions we make, our form of speech, language, and vocabulary; all of these and more, cultivate our personalities and lives.

The manifestation of our body is an art form.  I looked up the definition of the word form, and it means "the shape and configuration of something."  Human beings are miraculous pieces of art, masterfully formed inside the womb, one cell at a time.  We come to life from the inside out, branching from Source to live.  Once here, we engage with people, places, and things.  

Some of us use the body to create classic works of art like paintings, sculptures, and architecture.  And most of us procreate, we create life itself.  There are performing arts, music, dancing, singing, acting, and writing.  We transmit ideas and thoughts through these forms; they can elevate our spirits, or plummet them to the dredges of misery.  Art pulls us through a broad spectrum of human emotions, and artists consider their works as a body, an extension of themselves.  

Although one might be moved by an art piece, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.  When I feel a deep sense that I AM moved and transported into another dimension, that is art.  When in a moment, I know I’m stirred, yet grounded on this earth appreciating what I'm feeling or creating, that is art.

Dance is my favorite form; it is liberating, energetic, and a conduit to my heart.  The most profound expressions of my soul come to life within the movements of a dance.  Whether I'm watching or dancing it, the music, the story, and the characters of that art form come to life inside of me.  I become the painter and the painting, the sculpture and the sculpturer, the architect, and Universal Architecture.  

The passion and pain emoted from the dance of life is my engine.  It flows from one moment to the next, one emotion to another.  The dance of life is a whimsical, daunting, imaginative statement from Source coming through me physically and spiritually.  It spins a journey of intrigue, magic, and mystery.  Life has bestowed me with the gift of dance, and I AM blessed that this world is my canvas.  I build my body of work and use my dance to leave an impression upon the fabric of our Universe.  I can shape, color, and configure its patterns into a more wonderous and thoughtful play on life, or I can demonstrate the struggle and fight against the unrelenting pain and suffering that constantly surface time and again. 

Either way, we all express ourselves through whatever art form we choose to love, whether we create or appreciate it.  In the end, I believe each of us leaves our unique imprint and expression of color and hue on this world no matter what form we choose. Before we fall from the tree of life back to the soil from whence we came, I think we long to leave our impressions behind.     


Wednesday, January 1, 2020

January 1st, 2020 Happy New Decade!



So how does the last decade look to you?  Have you reviewed the past years and reflected on how they've impacted your life?  Where you stand today is the culmination of your previous experiences, habitual behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and actions.  What does the landscape look like? Does the grass look greener on the other side?  Do you feel confident that the path you have chosen is leading you to your desired destination?  Do you foresee perils and treacherous roads ahead?  Do you stay the course or change directions?

If you decide to make a change, will you research and evaluate the new route so you can better navigate this new-found course?  Or will you wing it saying, "Oh well, nothing on this current path is working, I feel lost, so let me switch directions and see where it lands me?"  What would happen if you did nothing, changed nothing?

Interesting questions to ponder at the start of a new decade.  And, if health, wealth, and prosperity are on your mind today, join the human race. All of us are assessing where we've been and where we're going today.  Many of us are making New Year's resolutions, which according to my Google searches, will most likely be abandoned by mid-February.

My personal assessment of the last decade has led me to make a New Year's resolution.  2020 will be the decade of developing acute awareness of my body.  I vow to become increasingly aware of its signals, such as my nervousness, appetite, calmness, excitement, temperature, or fatigue.  What is it telling me, why do I feel the way I do, and what can I do to elevate my energy to its highest and healthiest frequency?

Do a quick meditation and survey of the last ten years of your life. Simply close your eyes and breathe. Go back to 2010.  Can you recall significant events from that year? Try to lean into 2011, then 2012, and so on, conjuring up significant memories from each year.  Go through the entire decade. You'll be able to do this quickly.  Once you have completed the exercise, bring yourself back to the present moment. Go ahead and do this now.

Feel into your body.  Is it calm or is it anxious?  Everything you think, say, and do revolves around awareness of your environment and your relationship to it. Whether or not you connect and become
aware of the people, places, and things around you, your well-being is determined by how you relate to your surroundings.

The best place to begin a new decade is deep within your heart and mind. Have a serious and honest conversation with yourself.  Pledge to be good to your body, eat healthily, and exercise. Keep your
external relationships healthy by honoring them and committing to your part of the bargain.  There is always an implied contract with you and the world around you. It is how we navigate our lives.  The idea of giving and taking is an expression of the cultivated relationship between the world around us and the one within.

What do you want your own personal culture to express?  Define it and go do it.
2020 is a new decade and a new beginning.

Peace, love, and harmony.
Clarita
www.claritabassett.com
www.myabsolutebest.com




Sunday, December 22, 2019

Blending Pain and Pleasure

My awareness has always revolved around my body because I am a dancer. I express myself through my movements.  My spine moves, my arms and legs extend, my core is strong, and I dance my way through life. My emotional surges, physical twists and turns, and mental realizations stem from my sensory perception, which organizes and processes the information around me.

If I feel pain, I scan my body and try to pinpoint its origin. Where is it? How did it manifest? What was the constitution of my emotional and mental state at the time of injury? Sometimes, it's easy to determine — for instance, an acute ankle sprain from a misstep on an uneven surface. The trauma takes place, pain ensues, and in a moment, I realize that my spatial awareness was not in sync with my movement.  My ankle could not support the full weight of my body, I was off-balance; therefore, I collapsed in pain. 

Other times, it is not as obvious. The trauma is more subtle, sustained, and chronic. It becomes a continuous lingering event below the surface of my awareness. Over time, it bubbles up to remind me that I am out of balance. An example of this is "chronic back pain." When my body is continuously hunched and contracted over a laptop, or the wheel of a car most hours of the day, the back muscles become overstretched. The intelligence of those muscles triggers my brain to give the spine some relief, so it sends messages to the torso to erect itself by contracting the back and extending the chest and abdominals.

However, if finishing a blog or arriving at that next appointment is vital enough to my monetary sustenance, my body overrides those messages. It will allow me to stay hunched over and contracted as long as necessary to complete the task. After a while, the accumulated pain and the weakening of the back muscles become so intense, the body's survival mechanisms kick in and force me to address the pain. That’s when I realize I have to STOP, pull out my cylinder, and begin rolling my back, or, get a massage, and discipline myself to incorporate more back extensions into my workouts.

If you are not aware of an imbalance in your body, mind, or emotions, a default mechanism will force your awareness of the problem. You may fall and injure yourself, become ill because of a compromised immune system, or become paralyzed with pain.

I'm grateful for my body awareness and its intelligence. Although I often get caught up in the race of getting things done, I know my body will alert me to recalibrate and adjust my physical and emotional state of mind so I can better navigate my world. If I can blend the moments of my experiences, both the pain and pleasure and bring them into my present awareness, then I can learn how to self regulate and heal my body.

A nudge from the highest vibration of myself will tell me whether or not I am on the right track. As I age, each moment from the past merges with my present, making me stop and take notice of who I am and where I am going.  It is a mind-altering experience to heal your pain and open yourself up to positive vibrations. Although I will never fully eradicate pain from my life, I can develop more awareness of myself and my surroundings so I can carefully walk the path to health and wellness.

If you have pain in your body, try some of the exercises I share on my youtube channel and see if they help. 

Or come visit me at:

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Feels Good to Be Home Again, I AM So Grateful!

The Beauty and Freedom of Pura Vida: At Danyasa Yoga Retreat in Dominical Costa Rica

Eat, move, meditate! Sometimes it feels like I need to take a break and get away from the madness of work and traffic and escape to paradise. So, I do it often, usually every quarter. Tranquility and timelessness infuse my body when I'm in Costa Rica, one of the richest blue zones in the world.

My book, "I AM" Imagination, Action, Memorization, talks about the importance of taking time for self-care. This world, our relationships, and our ability to thrive hinges on our health. One of the ways to elevate our wellness frequency is to surround ourselves with nature, turn inward and contemplate our heart's desires. We must treat our bodies as the temples they are for without them; we would not exist in this dimension. 


Irene and me on one of my lots in Miramar, Costa Rica 

It's imperative to unplug and recharge so our cellular bodies can regenerate and bring us back to homeostasis. It helps if the environment you choose to rebuild and create wellness has the magic of assisting with longevity, good pure food, clean air, friendly people, lots of water and pristine land. Lots of trees, birds, and wonderous mammals surround Costa Rica's jungle paradise, and I appreciate it so much more than the concrete jungle of the big cities.

Sometimes, I erroneously believe I need to stay in the rat-race of the big city because it is the only place I can earn enough money to support my lifestyle. That's an obsolete notion today. I know I can support my lifestyle wherever I live. The determining factor of where I hang my hat is my heart. Where does it beat evenly and naturally? Where does my energy feels abundant rather than depleted? Technology transcends borders and if we're creative and fearless, we can develop a plan of action that will create monetary gains anywhere in the world.

Each time I return to the Costa Rican jungle, my belief about making this transition gains momentum. For now, I plan to continue taking my friends and customers on my Yoga Retreats, and soon, we will have a permanent home in the city of Miramar, Puntarenas. Until then, we will continue to go to our favorite sites, like the Miramar Adventure Park, Monte Verde, Danyasa Yoga Retreat in Dominical, Uvita, Flamingo Beach, and Tamarindo.

 
Cooling off in at RJ's Air B&B in Dominical 

I just got home a couple of days ago, and I'm ready to go back. I invite you to come with me on our next trip. We can work on my "I AM" processes, journal, define our goals for life, build a plan of action to make our dreams come true and live the dream in real-time.

Let me know if you're interested by clicking this link. Fill out the fields of information, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. If you want, you can buy my book first and be prepared to create a dynamic change in your life. Go to my “I AM” page on my website and buy one today.


Peace, Love, Namaste

Clarita





Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Do You Want to Go to Costa Rica? "I AM" Going!!!

Costa Rica Bound - December 1st through 14th, 2019

Do you want to join me in Costa Rica? Many of you have told me, “Yes! I want to go!” That’s great, however, there is a huge difference between wanting and doing something.

In my book, “I AM” Imagination, Action, Memorization, I talk about the steps one must take to manifest their loftiest dreams. If you can imagine yourself in Costa Rica for 14 days, doing Yoga, developing body awareness, meditating, eating healthily, and venturing through paradise on daily eco-tours, then you can make it a reality.

How? First, you must put a plan of action into play. I can give you that plan, however, you must execute it. If not, you can say good-bye to the possibility of sharing this experience with me.

Here’s the plan.

1. Make a commitment to join us. Click here and let me know you are coming.

2. Send me a message saying “Yes, I am committing to “I AM” A Costa Rica Yoga Retreat. Please contact me today. I will deposit $500 towards my trip no later than September 15th, 2019. (You can even copy and paste this into the message section.)

3. Read my past blogs about what to expect on the trip.

4. Block out your calendar from December 1st, through December 10th, 2019.

5. Request time off work and set up your financial affairs so everything remains in order throughout your absence.

6. Set up your “vacation” email response.

7. If you have a family, let your husband and kids know you will be incommunicado for those 10 days, and they will have to "make due" without you.

8. Go shopping for a new bathing suit, sunscreen, bug spray, and my book, “I AM” Imagination, Action, Memorization!

9. Pack your bags and bring a Yoga mat and journal.

10. Meet me at LAX December 1st, 2019 at 9:00 PM!

Serious travelers only! If you want the trajectory of your life to skyrocket, then this trip is a must.  You must act today. This is a limited time offer.

Talk soon,

Clarita

Myabsolutebest.com

(310) 548-5984 office

(310) 408-3349 cell

Thursday, August 22, 2019

"I AM" Taking a Leap of Faith

Photo by: Michael & Patricia Fogden
Your flight to Costa Rica leaves Los Angeles International Airport at 11:24 PM on December 1st, 2019 and arrives at Juan Santa Maria International Airport near San Jose, at 7:05 AM the next morning.
Imagine leaving the hustle and bustle of daily life for ten days, toting a Yoga mat, a backpack with shorts, tee-shirts, workout pants, bathing suits, a journal, and amphibian shoes.  Can you see yourself trucking through this Central American country immersed in its exotic, natural beauty of diverse flora and fauna?

Ticos, as the friendly people of Costa Rica refer to themselves, have a mantra; Pura Vida (Pure Life).  "There is more time than life." -- they say, meaning, appreciate this moment because time is continuous, life is brief.

Absolute Best Costa Rican Retreats' mission is to blend fun eco-tourism, adventure, yoga, meditation, and soul transformation all into one fantastic trip.  This retreat's focus will be on the whole-life wellness and success principles  I've laid out in my book, "I AM" Imagination, Action, Memorization - The Way to your Absolute Best.   Click this link, order it, and bring it with you on tour.
Upon arrival, we will stay at the Hotel Vista Golfo Adventure Park in Miramar through December 5th.  That's where we'll feel the exhilarating thrill of ziplining through 25 cables and 11 waterfalls, test our courage, and enjoy breathtaking views of Costa Rica's Pacific Mountains.  

When we leave Miramar, we'll head south towards the lush tropical beaches of  Dominical.  There, we'll stay in a quaint Air B&B in Playa Dominical and make daily visits to Danysa Yoga Studio until December 8th.  We'll return to San Jose on the 9th to prepare for an early return flight home to LA on the 10th.

When we get to the beach, we'll practice private Yoga Circles at the studio where I will teach you asanas and meditation techniques meant to connect you with your heart, body, and mind.

Throughout your trip, you will journal about your experiences and feelings.  You will learn to identify the myriad of communications which express themselves through the vibrational energy of this magnificent biosphere.  You will delve deep into the calm, tranquil labyrinth of your soul, and contemplate your deepest desires.  Finally, you will discover and unearth an action plan that will unleash your loftiest dreams upon this world.  Experience "Pura Vida" while immersing yourself in paradise for ten days.


You have a purpose in this life, so take that leap of faith.
Go do that "thing" you've always wanted to do.  Push aside the frenzy of city living for a spell and discover your true nature.  Spirit is waiting to commune with the eternal essence of your nature and enliven the best within you.  Learn to appreciate the simple things in life and realize long-term abundance, health, and prosperity.


Click here and register for "I AM" A Costa Rica Retreat with Absolute Best.   RSVP Today.
Save These Dates
December 1st, 2019 through December 10th, 2019.  
This trip will include airfare (leaving from LAX to SJO and back), most of our healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus.   
-Canopy Zip Lining
-Horseback Riding
-Nature Tours
-And beach activities; snorkeling, paddleboarding, kayaking, snorkeling.
(tipping is encouraged)



THIS ALL-INCLUSIVE TRIP IS ONLY $3,478
THIS A LIMITED TIME OFFER!
YOU MUST MAKE YOUR FIRST DEPOSIT OF $1,000 NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 15TH, 2019.   

Join the fun.  Let us know if you are interested by clicking here and giving us your name and email address. We will contact you and answer any of your questions.

We are looking forward to seeing you on this fabulous trip.


Pura Vida,
Clarita Bassett
http://myabsolutebest.com/