Browsing Tag

sense of humor

Don't Be An Asshole Series, Eating Disorders/Healing, Guest Posts, Jen Pastiloff, Jen's Musings

I Can Grab My Belly Fat & Make It Talk. I Am Enough. PS- This Shit Is Hard.

June 25, 2015

By Jen Pastiloff

Hi! Gotta make this quick because I am packing to leave for Italy. I am leading a retreat there starting Saturday. I am not packed and I leave in two hours. I rule.

So, the demons have been back lately. I have been struggling. Who knows why? Free floating anxiety, not-so free floating, the kind that latches on and pulls me down real low to the earth, the kind that sits on my chest and won’t get off like a little bitch. Even when I call it a little bitch, it won’t get off. I have been watching Orange is The New Black and I’m all prisony. And yea, I too have a crush on the new girl on it. Ruby Rose. But I also have a crush on Pennsatucky and Black Cindy and Poussey and Taystee. And the whole show. I want to marry it! I am five years old. I love it so much that I want to marry it.

Anyway, the little bitch that is anxiety won’t get off my chest so my breathing is shallow and  I feel ungrounded, like I am floating, except that sounds kind of nice, and anxiety is not nice, so less like floating and more like a walking dead person. A walking panicky dead person. I hide it well. Probably not, actually. Ask any of my friends who get crazy texts from me.

In case you are new to my blog or my work, I had a severe eating disorder. It still haunts me at times. Anorexia and over-exercising. Like 5 hours a day exercising. Meh. (I probably could do that again if I could watch Orange is The New Black the whole time but nah. Gross.)

I can grab my belly fat & make it talk. So? I challenge you today to love your body. No matter what.

I posted this video on my instagram and challenged women (and men if they want to play too) to post a picture or video of their body using the hashtag #iLovemybody and #girlpoweryouareenough. My friend Maggie tweeted me this:
@JenPastiloff I think she’s just saying that you are awesome to accept yourself exactly as you are, when she can’t do the same.

Continue Reading…

Beating Fear with a Stick, beauty, Books, cancer, courage, funny, Guest Posts, healing

Shit Happens. To Everybody.

February 13, 2014

My Road Trip to Kripalu by Joules Evans.

A few months ago I was up late counting sheep, when some shit I’d been dealing with must’ve hit the ceiling fan over my bed and started splatting all over the sheep, spotting them like 101 Dalmatians. Which kinda felt like a spoiler alert to the sleeping game I was trying to win. So I stopped counting shitty sheep and I prayed a little. Which is probably what I should’ve been doing about my shit in the first place instead of kicking it around a bit, and then, kicking myself for making such a mess. I’m assuming we all know how messy metaphorical shit can get when you kick it around. Now, I know I’m not supposed to go assuming, but I figure it’s legit in this case, since there’s no such thing as a shit vaccine. I don’t think there is a sequel or grown-up version of the children’s book, Everyone Poops. But I could see it being called something like, Everybody is Full of Shit. Well, at least, I know I am, on a pretty “regular” basis.

Anyway, after all of that ruckus I sort of pulled it together a bit. I wasn’t in the mood to go back to counting sheep quite yet so I woke up my computer, and Googled: “yoga, writing, cancer, retreat” to see where it would lead. Yeah, that third word is some of the shit I was dealing with. The first two are a couple of ways I try to deal. And the last word sounded like a good thing to do when you’re up to your sleepy eyeballs dealing with your own shit.

poster-yoga-cat-med

poster by Jen’s friend Karen Salmansohn. Click to connect with Karen.

Google threw down an article Jen wrote for LIVESTRONG called “7 Reasons To Go On A Yoga Retreat”.  No shit.  This was my introduction Jen Pastiloff and her Manifestation Retreats. It didn’t take me long, after falling head over heels into the lovely vortex that is Jen’s tribe, from the Gateway of that LIVESTRONG article, to Facebook stalking her, and then staying up all night watching her YouTube channel, to realize (become enlightened;) that Manifesting is aka Making Shit Happen, in Jen speak. Which, translated, meant that of course I had to go. I hadn’t tried manifesting my shit before so I thought I’d give it a “swirly”.

I’d already practically nodded my head off, agreeing with her 7 reasons I should go on a yoga retreat. As if, in fact, my body was, literally, saying YES. So I booked the next available Manifestation retreat, which meant packing up my shit for a road-trip to Kripalu in January. I don’t usually buy gifts for myself but this was a gift I needed to give myself. I saw it as the perfect diving board into 2014—a gift, which, 5 years ago when I was diagnosed with cancer, I never even imagined. It was time to re-imagine, cast a vision, set course, and dive in. Head first. No tiptoeing about it.

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When I first walked in the door, I had a pretty intense moment of truth. I didn’t know anybody. And, I’m actually super shy. Luckily I have blue hair, so I don’t think anybody noticed my knees shaking like green Jell-O when I walked across the room like Gumby and plopped down to join the tribe 40 women sitting in a circle, like lotuses blooming. As bold a display as it was a beautiful bouquet.

“If you knew who walked beside you at all times on this path which you have chosen, you would never experience fear or doubt.” Jen kept repeating this quote as we went around the circle introducing ourselves to one another. Over the weekend we got to know who walked beside us. We unrolled our mats, unpacked our shit, turned it on its smelly ear in down dog, wrote down the bones, made them dance, shared our stories and our dreams, tore up our excuses, became friends, and each other’s fans. We spent the weekend as beauty hunters, making lists and lists of our #5mostbeautifulthings. This is one of the most. fun. games. EVER. We shared our beautiful things, but we also shared our shit—because love is messy like that sometimes, but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful.

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Shit happens. To everybody.  Except when you’re constipated. And then you just sit on the toilet reading Leaves of Grass for what feels like forever; meanwhile shit’s just taking its own sweet time while you’re sitting there waiting for the shit to go down. Oh, shit’s gonna go down. And sometimes it’s going to hit the fan.

Shit happens. But so does beauty, and what if it hits the fan? Does it leave a beauty mark or make a beautiful mess? Sometimes you get dealt a shitty hand but sometimes you double down or play a wildcard and beat the dealer. Sometimes you’re up shit creek but at least you’re on a boat. You may not have a paddle, but at least you’re sipping red wine in your flippie-floppies with your girls on deck. Anything is possible. Even making good shit happen. Which is pretty much what a Manifestation Retreat, what Jen Pastiloff, is all about.

Post road trip to Kripalu, I’d have to say, that the shit that drove me there, and the beauty I came away with, are two sides of the same coin. I put so much pressure on myself to not waste this gift of life, but to hopefully leave a beauty mark—that I was here. This is what keeps me up in the middle of the night. I put so much pressure on myself not to waste a second of the gift of time that I’ve been given, but to spend myself, paying forward the gratitude I feel all the way down to my yoga toes—by making it count that I was here. This is what keeps me up in the middle of the night. I don’t ever want to take for granted the gift of a single breath, but sometimes I forget to breathe. This is why I drove to Kripalu. I don’t ever want to take for granted the gift of a heart that beats, or forget what it beats for. This is why I drove to Kripalu.

Jen summed it up best when she wrapped up our time together with these words, this mantra: “At the end of your life, when you say one final ‘What have I done?’ let your answer be, I have done love.”

#iamlove

That’s all.

(Except for the part where I express my gratitude to Jen, Kripalu, and the tribe. Peace, love, and namaste. *bows to your unapologetic awesomeness. Xoxo.)

About Joules: I’m a Christ follower. I wear a pink bracelet that says survivor. I think cancer is a bitch. Been there. Done that. Had to buy a new t-shirt. But… I also think God is good. He’s been good to me. I just finished writing a book: SHAKEN NOT STIRRED… A CHEMO COCKTAIL about the cancer chapter in my life. Right now I’m in the midst of editing it and pursuing publication. I’m having the time of my life. I am an INFP. My hub is an INTP (also Buzz Light-year by day.) We have three ridiculous amazing kids who wake up and make me feel blessed. We call them “the Redheads”. After 16 years of homeschooling, we’ve all graduated and I’ve since retired my red pencil and grade-book. Between college, mission trips, internships and world travels, are three all in the process of divebombing out of our cozy little nest aka “the Evanshire” and stretching my apron strings till they snap. Next fall we will singlehandedly be keeping afloat the University of Cincinnati. I love my fam, Vineyard Cincy, writing, red wine, black coffee, good books, cooking, the smells of my hub’s pipe and freshly cut grass, star-gazing (clouds and sunsets too), peanut butter and chocolate, Shakespeare plays, long walks, long talks, playing Scrabble and tennis, popcorn and a movie, traveling, following my Redheads following their dreams…. I don’t like anything besmirching my peanut butter.

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Jennifer Pastiloff is a writer based in Los Angeles. She is the founder of The Manifest-Station. Jen will be leading a retreat to Ojai Calif (where Joules will also be!) over Labor Day. All retreats are a combo of yoga/writing and for ALL levels. Read this post to understand what a Manifestation retreat is. Check out her site jenniferpastiloff.com for all retreat listings and workshops to attend one in a city near you. Jen and bestselling author Emily Rapp will be leading another writing retreat to Vermont in October. A lot. Next up is a workshop in London, England on July 6. Book here.

Video

Do You Have a Sense Of Humor? Your Life Depends on It.

June 23, 2013
 Do You Have a Sense Of Humor? Your Life Depends on It.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lfPfBAteyk]
After I put up a funny picture which said “May Your LIfe Be As Awesome as You Pretend It Is on Facebook” and some people got offended, I realized it was high time for the reminder: You Must have a sense of humor. Life is short. We are all doing the best we can. No one makes it out alive anyway 😉

Where can you lighten up? Have a sense of humor? Love to hear your thoughts on this one. Feel free to share xo jen

said offending poster.

said offending poster.

Video

Are You Spending Too Much Time On Those That Don’t Appreciate You?

June 22, 2013

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36nE1ISandQ]

 

Are you living a congruent life? Who are you surrounding yourself with?
“Find Your Tribe.

You know, the ones that make you feel the most YOU. The ones that lift you up and help you remember who you really are. The ones that remind you that a blip in the road is just that, a blip, and not to mistake it for an earthquake, and even it were to be an earthquake, they’d be there with the Earthquake Emergency Supply Kit. They are the ones that, when you walk out of a room, they make you feel like a better person than when you walked in. They are the ones that, even if you don’t see them face to face as often as you’d like, you see them heart to heart. You know, that kind of tribe?”

She is not in my tribe.

Why do we spend time on the people who don’t like us?

Love to hear your thoughts on this, my beloved Tribe. Here is the essay about this via Positively Positive. Please read https://www.positivelypositive.com/2012/12/29/turning-an-insult-into-an-opportunity-for-love//…. Post thoughts and share the video xoxo love www.jenniferpastiloff.com xoox

How To

2nd Rule For Life: Have a Sense of Humor.

April 18, 2012

My 2nd post went up on the fantastic MindBodyGreen. I am so thrilled to be a regular writer for them now. Click here.

The other day I posted my ‘15 Rules to Live By‘ and my first rule: Be Kind. Each post in this series will discuss each of one of the following rules.
1. Be Kind.
2. Have a sense of humor especially when it comes to YOU.
3. Write poems, even if only in your head.
4. Sing out loud, even if badly.
5. Dance, even with no rhythm.
6. If you don’t have anything nice to say… you know the deal.
7. Find things to be in awe of.
8. Be grateful for what you have right now.
9. Watch Modern Family, read Wayne Dyer, and end every complaint with “But I’m so blessed!”
10. Duh, do yoga.
11. Don’t worry. Everyone on Facebook seems like they have happier and funner lives. They don’t.
12. Tell someone you love that you love them. Right now.
13.Take more pictures.
14. Forgive yourself for not being perfect. No such thing.
15. Thank the Universe in advance.
Number Two. Sense of Humor. Especially When It Comes to Yourself.
My most well known rule in my yoga classes is: If you Fall, You Must Laugh.
I take this rule very seriously, folks.
I am not suggesting that you shouldn’t take your yoga practice seriously, or your job or anything else that is important to you. But, you should never ever take yourself seriously.
Why? Well, for one, it is boring.
It’s extremely dull to be around folks who don’t have a sense of humor, who can’t laugh at themselves.
Click here to read the rest of the article on MindBodyGreen. And yes, I talk about the whole mooning story from Mexico. 
Q & A Series, Wayne Dyer

Wayne Dyer! My Beloved Teacher Visits The Manifestation Q&A Series. A Dream Come True.

February 8, 2012

Welcome to The Manifestation Q&A Series.

 I am Jennifer Pastiloff and this series is designed to introduce the world to someone I find incredible. Someone who is manifesting their dreams on a daily basis.

Someone like Wayne Dyer.

The greatest day of my life is here! My beloved Wayne Dyer is visiting us for a short q&a.

 Pinch me?

My inspiring friend Karen Salmasohn designed these posters especially for this day. Check her out at notsalmon.com

Wayne Dyer is THE reason I call my company “Manifestation Yoga.” When I started to achieve success as a yoga teacher very early on in my career people would ask how it was that I made such profound changes in my life so quickly. How so many amazing things kept showing up for me, from being on Good Morning America and traveling around the world with sold out retreats/workshops or becoming a writer for Positively Positive. As Wayne says: it is not our job to ask “how” or “when” but to say YES! 

That is just what I did.

I do not think all of this happened because of Wayne Dyer but I do know that he was the most powerful teacher I could have ever prayed for. (And, to be clear, I did pray for a teacher.)

He showed up in my life exactly when I needed him to, as the teacher will do when the student is ready.

His talented and inspiring daughter Skye, who happens to be my dear friend, will be doing music for my upcoming yoga/life dvd so I did a Q&A with her in December. In it, I mentioned that my dream was to have her father do a Q&A.

Guess what? Ask for what you want and be prepared when it shows up.

And most definitely, honor your worthiness to receive.

I have Dr. Dyer on my vision board (of course.) I have thanked the Universe in advance daily for this opportunity.

I could go on and on about Dr. Dyer. How he is a father figure for me, how I listen to him talk about his children and how it humanizes him. How his humor gets me through some dark days (you will see some of his silly humor below). How I have learned to “let it be” and find the G-d within from his words. How I have relearned to believe in miracles. How I have cultivated a meditation practice despite the difficulty I have because of my tinnitus. (I will save that all for my book dedicated to him and my deceased father, Melvin Pastiloff.)

Dear Manifesters, the proof is in the pudding. Here I am, interviewing my beloved Dr Dyer. I have manifested my greatest dream.

I am humbled.

I live my life by the mantra “ How May I Serve?” yet another thing I have learned from Dr. Dyer.

Because of him, I decided to forego a traditional wedding and donate all my money from my wedding (in lieu of gifts) to Haiti after their earthquake. I do my best to let others shine their light. What I love about this man is that he is doing the very same! By him being here today, he has asked “How May I Serve?” and in doing so, he is enabling me to have my own dream come true. I have seen him do this more times than I can count, by the way. In fact, one of my other guests, Anita Moorjani, my friend who wrote the amazing book “Dying To Be Me” was introduced to me via Wayne Dyer.

He picks up inspiring people he believes and lets the world get to know them.

I will stop raving now.

Come to one of my Manifestation Workshops/retreats or the Tadasana Festival in Santa Monica on Earth Day weekend. if you want more Wayne Dyer quotes or inspirations or read one of my Positively Positive articles.

I got more Wayne. 

I got tons more on Wayne Dyer, the man who helped me change my life and discover my bliss.

(Do you think I am too old to be adopted by him?)

Jen, Wayne and Jen's friend Tara Berro.

Jennifer Pastiloff: What are you most proud to have manifested in your life?

Wayne Dyer: The divine love in my heart.

Jennifer Pastiloff: What is your favorite part of having Skye sing on stage with you? Having lost my dad at age 8, I could not stop sobbing the first time I saw you two up there together. That feeling from that first night I saw you both live in Santa Monica is still with me.

Wayne Dyer: She brings her supreme talent to my audience along with her gracious and loving personality, which I feel so proud to watch.

Jennifer Pastiloff: I am so moved by the forgiveness you have shown toward your father. Forgiveness is something I struggle with often. The last thing I ever said to my dad was “ I hate you.” What would you say helped you the most in forgiving your father? What would you also say in regards to someone who is struggling with forgiving themselves?I know when I do ‘Forgiveness” themed meditations in my Manifestation Workshops, they are the most powerful. People are the usually most moved when I ask them to meditate on forgiving themselves.

Wayne Dyer: I was sent by forces bigger than all of us to his grave for the purpose of forgiveness, even though I wasn’t aware of it. Forgiveness is for yourself and not for the other person, it clears your soul of rage and that is why its so important to forgive.

Jennifer Pastiloff: I have a list of “rules”. See below. What would some of Wayne Dyer’s be?

Wayne Dyer: I live by the Tao, a man of the Tao is kind to the kind and kind to the unkind because kindness is his nature.

Jennifer Pastiloff: In my workshops I have people share with the room, and in writing, what it is they are manifesting in their lives. I may be wrong, and please correct me if I am, but I thought I have read that you suggest to keep what you are manifesting private. I go back and forth. Suggestions?

Wayne Dyer: It’s absolutely crucial to keep it private because that keeps the ego out of the process. My feelings are: Don’t explain, Don’t complain.

Another by the lovely notsalmon.com

Jennifer Pastiloff: What is the greatest lesson you have learned from your kids?

Wayne Dyer: Don’t have any more. Just kidding.

I used all ‘S’ names and I should have used “Stop” for the first one.. Only joking.

Having children gives you an opportunity to truly experience divine love which is no matter what they do or who they are or what they choose, you still always love them.

Jennifer Pastiloff:  I guess I will have to change my name to “Sennifer” to be adopted by you then.

My sister Rachel, whose one son has Prader Willi Syndrome asked me to ask you the following: How does one continue to manifest your dreams while being a parent? I recall you saying children will challenge your worthiness to receive the most, somewhat facetiously, of course.

Wayne Dyer: Parents are not for learning. They make learning unnecessary. Manifest your dreams by letting your children manifest theirs.

Jennifer Pastiloff: Do you practice yoga? (When are you coming to one of my classes, ahem? It’s NOT Bikram!)

Wayne Dyer: Yes, I practice Bikram yoga everyday. Maybe one day I will come to one of your classes 🙂

(Note from Jen: Yay! Yay! Yay!)

Jennifer Pastiloff: Gratitude is the greatest force In my life. Most of my classes are set to this theme. If you could say thank you right now, who would it be to?

Wayne Dyer: I thank everyday the “I am” presence that is located within me. I am in a state of gratitude for the “I am” presence that is the life that is in my body.

Jennifer Pastiloff: One of the things I love most about you is your humor and the fact that you seemingly do not take yourself too seriously (Note from Jen: After reading this you will indeed believe that this amazing man does NOT take himself too seriously at all. What a gift!).

I have a “rule” in my yoga class which is “ if you fall you must laugh”. You are not allowed to take yourself seriously in my room. Being mostly deaf I have learned to laugh at myself in a way that has surprised even me sometimes, because the alternative was to feel sorry for myself. And that, I believe, is my ego at work. What part does humor play in your life? When is the last time you have laughed at yourself?

Wayne Dyer: One of the most important lessons I have learned is to not take yourself too seriously. Yes, that is the work of the ego.

I laugh at myself everyday.

Jennifer Pastiloff:  Based on your answers I can tell you laugh at yourself daily and I love that balance. I absolutely cherished the film “The Shift.” ( I knew I wanted to be on ‘The Ellen Show’ (currently working on getting my Karaoke Yoga on there as we speak) but when I saw her wife Portia in your film, it was a done deal! When I found out you married them I almost fell out of my seat.) Can we expect any more films from you soon?

Wayne Dyer: I have a new film, My Greatest Teacher, which is based on a series of miracles that occurred and brought me to my father’s grave, which is where I learned forgiveness. I have a mind that is open to all things and attached to nothing so anything could happen, including another film.

Jennifer Pastiloff: Can you tell us about your latest book?

Wayne Dyer: Wishes Fulfilled, my latest book, is about understanding spiritual manifestation; you manifest what you are rather than what you find is missing in your life.

Jennifer Pastiloff: I am writing a book on how I manifested my dreams and overcame depression and adversities like hearing loss. I am struggling. Any tips on the writing process from someone who has written so many books?

Wayne Dyer: Writing is not what I do, writing is what I am. It is how I express my whole humanity.

Jennifer Pastiloff: Did you finally get a computer? I remember you saying you wrote your books by hand.

Wayne Dyer: I have an iPad (which I am using to write this) and the thing I like most about it is the trash button. Anything that comes at me that I don’t want to hear, I just push trash and then delete.

I am trying to figure out a way to get one of those in my real life.

I am still writing my books by hand though.

Jennifer Pastiloff: How has meditation changed your life?

Wayne Dyer: Herman Melville said ” God’s one and only voice is silence”. Meditation allowed me to make conscious contact with God.

The incredible Robert Sturman captures me in silence. Malibu 2012.

Jennifer Pastiloff: What do you think the 5 greatest keys to the manifesting process are?

Wayne Dyer: I don’t think linear and I don’t think numerically. The only key to manifesting is staying connected to your source of being, which is the author of all things.

Jennifer Pastiloff: Everytime I see you, I am amazed at how great you look. As if you are ageless. Can you tell us about this? I know we all die, of course, but I am fascinated by the idea that everything about how we live is a choice. As you say, you can be miserable or motivate yourself, the choice is yours. I look at you and see someone so vibrant and full of life.

Wayne Dyer: At my essence I am birthless, deathless, and changeless, that is who I am. This body I am in is just a container for my formless soul.

Jennifer Pastiloff: How is your health now? What has the journey been like since you were diagnosed with leukemia?

Wayne Dyer: I am perfect health. I am well.

Jennifer Pastiloff: One of the things that shifted my life the most was when you spoke of Manifesting at your Santa Monica talk and gave us 7 steps. You said one of them was “ Does It feel natural to you?” I thought about my prior career as an actor and realized that it had never felt natural. What I am doing now does. I cannot imagine another life, nor a life without you as my teacher. How and when did you discover this principle?

Wayne Dyer: Generally speaking something not feeling natural means you feel unworthy of what you would like to attract into your life. It doesn’t feel natural for a person who has always been poor to feel prosperous. Drug addicts can’t picture themselves free of their addiction, but our natural state is one of well being and unlimited potential.

Jennifer Pastiloff: What are you manifesting in 2012?

Wayne Dyer: A four hour erection but I am consulting my doctor.

Just kidding.

I am manifesting experiential awareness of divine love!

Thank you Jen.

Jennifer Pastiloff: Thank you, Dr. Dyer. I love you.

At 72 years young this man still has a sense of humor like no one else and a life energy and force to be admired. I love you Wayne!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jen’s “rules”:

1. Be Kind.

2. Have a sense of humor especially when it comes to yourself

3. Write poems, even if only in your head

4. Sing out loud, even if badly

5. Dance

6. If you don’t have anything nice to say… you know the deal

7. Find things to be in awe of

8. Be grateful for what you have right now .

9. Watch Modern Family, read Wayne Dyer, and end every complaint with “But I’m so blessed!”

10. Duh, do yoga

11. Don’t worry. Everyone on Facebook seems like they have happier and funner lives. They don’t.

12. Tell someone you love that you love them. Right now.

13.. Take more pictures.

14. Forgive yourself for not being perfect. no such thing.

15. Thank the Universe in advance.

You can see why I love this man so much. Not only is he enlightened but he is  funny and silly! I will be seeing him and Anita Moorjani, and of course the lovely Skye Dyer in San Jose March 17th. Join me!

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