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Subjects
We leave our bodies when we create fantasies, take photos of ourselves, or dream up expectations. Those acts see our Selves outside of our bodies rather than as the subjects. When in fact, we are…
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Santiago
This morning on the way to Santiago has all the emotions, rain, sun, clouds, blue skies just like my heart.
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Poems Are Like Footsteps
When we walk all pilgrims have thoughts the voices that come from deep inside us and we should let them out talk to ourselves or write them down into the poems that they are and…
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Pain
Everyone’s body experiences pain. But the real pain is not the physical pain, it’s the thought that tells you you’re in pain. The thoughts that lock you and don’t let you think about anything else.…
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Let It In
Let more of the Camino in. Let more of the outside world into yourself. Be more present. Let the people give you what they want to give you. Let the world give you the lessons…
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Fight For Her, Now
You felt that she was fading away, that she was getting further and further from you, that she was deeply unhappy, that she was being ignored because society was telling you to do so. But…
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Respect
It’s respect. Respect is the key to self-care. At the times when my mind is angry at myself, it loses the respect for the divinity within me. The woman in the bubble. The times when…
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Ups & Downs
Whenever we do something that we’ve been practicing not to do, like being cruel to ourselves, overthinking, or reacting instead of responding, the solution is not to be upset with oneself and vow never to…
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Lick the Spoon
Contentment is our natural state and we should be using every moment of our lives in order to get back to it. In society, we complicate our lives, distract ourselves from stillness, and take ourselves…
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Let Them Sit With You
Let the bad thoughts come up and sit with you as you still search for joy with them by your side.
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My Name Is Not Ali
My name is not Ali. I don’t even know what my name is. But this is not my body either. I have many bodies, but this is the one that the universe chose for me…
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We Are Not Our Faces
Remember when we were kids and we realized for the first time that we were given a specific body that we could not change? Because of the genetic and ancestral circumstances that created our bodies…
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Whispers
Where do I go? What do I do with my life? Who do I spend my time with? How much do I need? What is the point? We often yell these questions in our heads.…
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Underneath Our Noses
Wake up every morning thinking that this day, this next chapter, is going to be more beautiful than the ones before. People are waiting to teach us something, people are waiting to learn from you,…
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Brillo
I should give all the shine I give others to myself. If I did, I would enjoy every moment and so would the world.
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Wait For Gold
You miss out on more by moving too quickly. You miss out on good meals by eating whatever is in front of you without thanking the food and becoming numb with pleasure. You miss out…
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Bubbles & Snakes
A woman sits cross-legged in a floating bubble, eyes closed, smiling. She is the image of one’s divinity. Untouched, natural, in a vacuum, solely existing within the universe. Unconnected to any physical world. Unconnected to…
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Requirements On The Camino
The Camino de Santiago is a place where there are very few requirements of you. On the Camino, you are only required to sleep, eat, and walk. With very few belongings and very small steps,…
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Body, A Thousand Years Old
We forget the power of the body. Bodies are always trying to get us to a state of homeostasis, to a state of balance. They’re always trying to make us the most healthy, efficient, nurturing,…
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Bad Banana Bread
I want to be a baker. I literally and figuratively tasted the joy of baking while working for a chef in Argentina. I felt the joy of working with my hands. I tasted the sweetness…
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Rivers
Love is like a river. It flows through our hearts and into others. It makes a song that forever sings throughout each day and throughout each night. It sweeps us off our feet, carrying all…
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Falling In Love
Falling in love feels like the specific color purple of the clouds during a sunrise. Falling in love looks like the blue stars and red lightning bolts that you see in your eyes during a…
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Giving Love
The times when I am the happiest are the times when I am giving love and receiving love from others. Staring at a lover in the eyes, resting a hand on a friend, playing instruments…
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Spider Webs & Ant Hills
Nature can create more marvels than our minds could ever think of. Spider webs, and their intricate and magically floating structures. Ant hills, and their underground labyrinth of self-supporting tunnels. Trees, and their natural foundation…
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The Forms of Joy
Say good morning to the plants. Listen to the music the birds make in the morning. Say “buen provecho” before every meal and “salud” before each drink. Sip your coffee slowly. Give yourself or a…
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The Right to Enjoy
On the Camino to Santiago, a Spanish nun once told me that we all have the right to enjoy life. To enjoy every moment, no matter what. And if she’s not right, then who is?!
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Opposites
Trust is the opposite of control. Tranquility is the opposite of perfection. Letting go is the opposite of fantasy. And enjoying is the opposite of questioning.
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The Right to Forgive
We have the right to forgive ourselves of the things that other people never forgave us for just as much as we have the right to accept the imagined forgiveness that we wish would come…
Ali Walks Around 