Tag Archives: intention

Quarantine Reading Round-Up of Johnny La Pasta

With at least another month of quarantine ahead of us, we all have even more time to watch movies and binge television shows, listen to podcasts and stream music, and of course, read! I am rounding up some of my favorite pieces that I have ever written in case you are interested in exploring some writing by Johnny La Pasta! See the options below!

Mindfulness & Spirituality

Manifestation: There’s Something to It

My story of working and experiencing success with the concept of manifestation. It’s an allusive force, but one that can be powerful and real.
Read the full piece here.

Making Waves

Exploring the quotation: “Your thoughts and words are like stones dropped into still waters, causing ripples to grow and expand outward. The power you have to make impact on the world is far greater than you could ever image.”
Read the full piece here.

Let it Go

A discussion about doing your best, whatever that is, accepting where that gets you, and then letting go and finding peace.
Read the full piece here.

Today’s Gratitude’s and Tomorrow’s Visions

A mindfulness practice I have that you might find useful to take up during this time.
Read the full piece here.

Fulfilled

Fulfilled was published on Elephant Journal and discusses our deep desire to do work that fulfills the missions of our souls.
Read the full piece here.

Cultural Criticisms

Choosing Life Over Loans

A discussion of the absurdity of the student loan crisis in the United States and a call to action to still live your life loud and proud even if you have student loans.
Read the full piece here.

Being Whole On Your Own

Exploring the importance of find wholeness on your own before entering into a relationship.
Read the full piece here.

Rome is Burning: A Misguided Mentality of Corporate America

My observation of Corporate America and the absurd and disproportionate reactions that executives and the like have to minor problems in the scheme of the world. Something that will definitely have to change after this pandemic.
Read the full piece here.

Yoga & Fitness

Mantra Intention

Choosing a mantra to move with through your yoga and/or meditation practices.
Read the full piece here.

Fun Yoga Transitions

For yoga instructors and advanced practitioners, a break down of fun transitions to play with in your yoga practice!
Read the full piece here.

Creating a Yoga Playlist

For yoga instructors and home practitioners, I detail my process for creating a dope-ass-fire yoga playlist!
Read the full piece here.

8 Things Fit People Do

An overview of some of the practices that fit people do. Some are practical for incorporating now, others maybe more so later on.
Read the full piece here.

Recipes

Pastas:

Since we are all stocking up on food and cooking at home, we are all probably eating a bit more pasta these days. Below are 3 of my favorite pasta recipes that would be great for this time. Easily swap and substitute ingredients as you prefer.

Pasta Primavera

Easy Bolognese

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Soups:

Soups are another good option for stretching supplies and making in big batches to feed a lot of people or freeze. Here a few of my favorite recipes.

Johnny’s Tomato Soup

Vegan Caulifower & Red Bean Chili

Honey Roasted Carrot & Parsnip Soup

Other Recipes

Shepherd’s Pie

This is a great recipe to make a big dish of and feed a big family or divide and freeze to eat later on.

Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo

Make a big batch of this chicken to have with rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice, in salads, and beyond! Will freeze well too!

Johnny’s Frittata

A good breakfast that can feed you for 2-3 days.

Vegan Cauliflower Steak Marsala

Travel

Traveling Solo

A discussion about my experiences with traveling alone and the pros and cons that come with solo adventures.
Read the full piece here.

How Travel Can Be a Practice in Presence, Mindfulness, & Joy

Published on Elephant Journal, this piece a discusses how travel can be an avenue to becoming more present and to discovering much about the world and ourselves.
Read the full piece here.

Adventure to Paris & Munich 2015

A recap of my time exploring Paris and Munich during one of my solo travel adventures.
Read the full piece here.

Vancouver Travel Guide

My travel guide for the amazing city of Vancouver, British Columbia!
Read the full piece here.

COVID-19 Specific Pieces

Cautiously Hopeful

At the start of the quarantine in California, I reflect on the challenges of this unique time and maintain that I remain cautiously hopeful.
Read the full piece here.

Confined Contemplations

Questions I am asking myself and reflecting on in this time of quarantine. If interested, grab a journal and work with some of these questions on your own.
Read the full piece here.

Keep It Moving, Quarantine!

Suggestions and instructions for moving your body while stuck inside in this quarantine!
Read the full piece here!

I hope that you find some useful information, inspiration, and/or entertainment in these pieces. If you enjoy, feel free to like, comment, and share!

Age 26

I am 26 years old today. Birthdays, for me, are a lot like how most people see the New Year. I look at each birthday as a new starting point from which we can set new goals and launch into a time of new opportunities. As oppose to looking at what happened between January 1st, 2016 and January 1st, 2017 and so on and so forth, I tend to look at and reflect on what happened in the space of time that I was aged 23, 24, 25. Where did I travel? What new activities did I try? Who did I spend time with? What experiences did I have? What did I create? It is always an interesting and insightful reflection, after which I start to think about what I want my next age to look like. Where will I go? What will I see? What will I do? What will I learn? There is no way to assign definitive answers to these questions, but I can set intentions on what I might like those answers to be.

Oddly, I have always been enamored with the number 27; there is no rhyme or reason for this, it has just always been my favorite number since I was a little kid. And so, I feel that age 27 is going to be a big, powerful, and exciting year for me. But for now, I am age 26. So I think that this, the year of 26, is going to be my year of setting intentions, meditating on those intentions, and ultimately manifesting those intentions in the year of 27. I see age 26 as the year of planting seeds and watering those seeds, and I see age 27, God-willing, as the year of harvest.

So I begin to flow through my new age, ever present in the moment and breathing in gratitude for where I am at a in the here and now, and while chanting positive energy and intention into the universe for the present and the future.

“Conscious Cooking” from Daily Om

I recently read a wonderful thought passage from a book called Daily Om – Inspirational Thoughts for a Happy, Healthy, and Fulfilling Day by Madisyn Taylor. This book is filled with hundreds of 1-2 page messages to inspire to thought, reflection, and ultimately you taking better action to be a happier person. I have made it a practice over the last quarter to read 1 passage in the morning and journal any quotes that I find particularly meaningful, as I suggest to you in my previous post “A Good Morning”. I have definitely found myself reading messages that seemed to be meant for me on that day. Click the link above to purchase of Amazon; I strongly recommend purchasing it and soaking up its inspiration.

daily-om

Anyway, the other day I read a passage entitled “Conscious Cooking”. In summary, the message is that it is important to take time with our food. It is primarily about the preparation of food and how we can truly affect our food with energy as we prepare it. It makes sacred the act of cooking a meal and when we can appreciate that every meal becomes nourishment rather than a means to an end, and every meal becomes a bountiful feast. Not enough people, especially in this country, value food for its own brand of magic. Preparing food is a vital part of daily life. We are meant to spend time with our food as it is at once a necessary part of human life AND one of life’s greatest joys. This message capitalizes on that and it speaks to me loud and clear. Take a read!

Continue reading →

Mantra Intention

In many of the yoga classes taught today, you will probably find that many instructors encourage the class to “set an intention” for the practice. This setting of the intention is typically done within the first minutes of class and can either be specifically assigned by the instructor or left open for the student. The inspiration behind the use of intention in certain schools of yoga is that said intention becomes a point of focus for the mind along with the breath to keep it stable and steady as well as dedicating energy to the manifestation or strengthening of the intention; in this way, the yoga practice becomes more than just a physical practice, but a moving meditation on various levels. For me, the fact that we do set an intention, something to mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually focus on along with the physical postures and movements is what makes yoga so magical and I why I love it so deeply.

yogaprayer

All that being said, it can be deeply challenging to choose an intention for your yoga practice and even more difficult to hold onto that intention throughout the class. Once you get going in the practice, it is very easy for the focus on the intention dwindle or even complete drop off. You may find yourself going over your to-do lists and what you need from the grocery store, or you may simply find yourself consumed by the physical efforts that are required of your body in the physical practice. Before you know it, class is cooling down and you never focused on your intention after the first sun salutation. This is completely normal and nothing to beat yourself up over – practice ahimsa (non-violence) – but obviously, we do want to work toward being able to hold our minds on an intention to strengthen our focus and the subject of the intention itself.

Continue reading →

Blog at WordPress.com.