Choosing Awareness Over Illusion: Rethinking Love and Abundance

A Message from the Owner - February 2025

Dear Friends,

I hope this email finds you well and that you're navigating life's stress in positive ways.

This month, Valentine's Day often takes center stage, celebrating romantic love. While that can be beautiful, the reality is that many of us experience the opposite....feelings of loneliness, comparison, or even pressure to live up to external expectations.

In a world overwhelmed by information and a growing mental health crisis, it's easy to compare ourselves to unrealistic ideals presented by the media. We unconsciously measure our lives against these standards, sometimes pushing ourselves to fit an image that isn't truly ours, or feeling defeated when we don't. I know I've struggled with this myself. I try to stay mindful by asking empowering questions:

Why do I feel like I need this?

Is this truly my desire, or something external I've been conditioned to want?

More often than not, I realize my wants aren't even my own, but those of a conditioned mind! When I step back, I see that I already have everything I need! I am blessed. I am abundant. Anything extra is simply an enhancement, not a necessity.

The Power of Meditation & Awareness

I truly believe that the answer to many of our struggles lies in calm awareness. I'm reminded of a story where Dr. Wayne Dyer once asked Thich Nhat Hanh what he would recommend for those seeking solutions to their problems. His answer? "Meditate." Wayne Dyer pressed further, saying, "But what about real problems in the world?" Thich Nhat Hanh simply replied, "Meditate, meditate, meditate." I believe the media constantly tells us what we lack, but when we meditate, we clear the noise. We reconnect with the truth: that Source, God, the Universe has already provided everything we need, right here, right now. Many of the things we now chase after were once freely available.... packaged, branded, and sold back to us as something we're told we must have! This seems so insane to me at times!

Choosing Awareness Over Illusion

The question is, will we continue investing in these false narratives, or will we choose mindfulness, meditation, and awareness? Will we recognize that, in many ways, we are contributing to the very problems we wish to escape?

The truth is, we are already living well, the earth, even our own backyards, may provide what we need. When we become aware of this, we reclaim our power. Awareness is one of the most accessible, empowering, and free tools available to us anytime, anywhere.

A Space for You

Our space exists as a reminder that you are your own teacher.... and your life experiences, including your challenges, can be transformed through awareness and meditation!

Our yoga space, that I now call The Yoga Den, is a place where local teachers and practitioners can come together to educate, heal, and share holistic approaches to stress and wellness. Every offering is donation-based, making it accessible to all.

I encourage you to visit our space for a donation-based yoga class or wellness workshop. If we want to change the world around us, we must start with ourselves. As the quote goes (often attributed to John the Baptist, though its origins remain uncertain): "For kingdoms to change, man must change."

This is a practice, and I invite you to practice with me. Like many, I, too, struggle with the pull of external validation. But together, through awareness, we can begin to shift. Wishing you a beautiful, mindful, and abundant month.

Wishing you a beautiful, mindful, and abundant month.

With love,

Linda Osorio

PS Here is your affirmation for the month:

"I am whole, abundant, and enough. Everything I need is already within me. I trust, let go, and live in peace."