Your Unshakable Purpose

Do not waste time explaining your position or your passions to anyone. God gave everyone their unique qualities and purpose to fulfill in life. Sometimes there will be those who will come along to challenge you and knock you off from your position but what God gives you is what God gives you for a lifetime. These challenges come in the form of mocking, persecution, or even minor “problem starters” who create conflict to distract you. Sometimes the closer you get to your purpose the more challenges and challengers will be placed in your path. From a higher standpoint these are placed there for your growth, so perseverance and learning how to manage your energy and attention is key. No human has the ability to take your purpose away from you. Continue stubbornly towards the amazing things in store for you and in the direction of accomplishing your projects and fulfilling what turns on that flame of passion and creativity. God wants you to nurture these things. This is what God gave you to propel you towards your accomplishments.

Gratitude

Live with gratitude.
Gratitude is the force that magnetizes more blessings and internal bliss into your life. Positive expectations make this force more powerful. Whatever we think and whatever vibe we put out into the world is what we will get in return. So expect great things. Be thankful for everything from your meals, to your breath, to the wind touching your face. Make gratitude a consistent practice and your life will transform and flourish.

Social Media Illusion

Social media is a double edged sword. You can learn so much from it, connect with different people in positive ways but also be fooled and confused into delusions by it. We tend to focus so much on what we see externally and on the over-importance of others, as we minimize our own efforts and successes. Extroversion and boastfulness do not equate to confidence or success. Introversion and silence do not equate to low self-worth or failure. The internet and social media can be a house of mirrors that can fool many into believing that what’s most physically evident is what’s true or what has more worth than internal successes and intangible qualities about ourselves.

If you were able to take a picture of your soul, would you post that picture on social media? Before being upset or feeling down about your so called failures and inability to “prove” anything to the world, remember that there is much more worth in the intangible progress you make, than in the physical things you can “showcase”. Anyone with a pulse can post something and make it look beautiful on Instagram and Facebook. They can throw filters, they can arrange themselves a certain way or they can legitimately have beautiful things and a perfectly glamorous home or outfit, but inside of them can exist a whole different world opposite of all that outer beauty.

Some people use these outer complishments as crutches to help them feel a sense of superiority over others. Some people see these things and automatically feel belittled because unfortunately, the world convinces you that if you do not show any physical, tangible success, that you are a failure. What most people who fall into this littleness forget to think about is the fact that anyone who has to showcase anything to make others feel less than, deep down, feels like a little person themselves. Everyone acts out their sense of inferiority differently and some will do by posting excessive selfies and pictures showcasing what they have, in an attempt to gain many likes or to prove themselves to others. Take into account also, that many people who focus so much on the material and on showing what they have, are not doing the proper healing or dealing with their own insecurity. They will leave inner work unnoticed and their inner child unattended, for the sake of fulfilling their desperate need for likes and recognition.

I have seen people who have the most beautiful souls and enriching lives, who do for others and are developing themselves beautifully inside and out. Owning their flaws and on the path to self-love. They do not go out of their way to flaunt because they are already fulfilled. I myself am on this path to self love and healing and it is an extremely valuable path. Well worth it, full of it’s ups and downs of course. We are not the most glamorous of people because that’s not the path that we have, we are here for a larger purpose. I can see why people who do spiritual work can feel so out of place. Society seems to value physicality and riches above anything. But know that physicality and riches is not the ultimate truth, specially when it is being used as a replacement to, or a distraction from spiritual growth and healing.

Enjoy your journey and your life. Be thankful for the things you have such as family, home, food, nature surrounding you, and the many beautiful and sometimes small things you can think of. Putting yourself above others is not conducive to blessings. Being thankful for what you already have, is. It is a beautiful balance when you can have beautiful things and a peaceful soul. My writing of this article is not proclaiming that it is a bad thing to have physical things and to enjoy them. What I am trying to help people understand is that it is not conducive to well being when you allow physical gratification, the desperate need for riches, or the desperate need to showcase things for likes, to overtake your life and distract you from your much more important and bigger spiritual advancement.

Home Made Face Masks

In addition to my oil pulling routine, I found two recipes online for two face masks, that have been working quite well to keep acne at bay and to relieve my pores of congestion and keeping them from becoming congested as well. The one at the top gets rid of blackheads and prevents future breakouts. The ingredients are:

• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp nutmeg powder
• 2 tbsp corn flour
• Almond milk (mix in until a paste is created)

The second mask is for fading scars and killing acne related bacteria. It reduces and prevents inflammation due to acne. The ingredients are:

• 1 tsp of grated AND minced turmeric OR powdered turmeric
• 1 tsp of coconut oil
• 1 tbsp of plain yogurt to make a paste

Some people may be allergic to coconut oil so use with caution. Also the use of oil on the face my scare some people. It is believed that too much causes break-outs and for some it does but for others including myself, coconut oil is an antioxidant and works to kill bacteria. It also helps moisturize the skin, allowing for the sebaceous (oil producing) glands to stop making excess oil. The sebaceous glands become over active when your skin is overly dry, trying to compensate for the moisture it lacks so make sure a facial moisturizer is used at least daily.

The way that I apply these masks is to first take out some time out of the day (once a week or every two weeks). I use a steamer to open my pores for about 15 minutes, then I cleanse/exfoliate my face with an exfoliating cleanser. Then I apply one of these masks. You can alternate between days or do both on the same day. I leave the mask on for 15-20 minutes and continue to sit with the steamer, so the heat can help the ingredients penetrate into the skin. After the 15 or 20 minutes are up, I wash the mask off with the same exfoliating cleanser to get rid of residue. To conclude I let my face air dry or dry it with a clean cloth and thoroughly moisturize my face with a non-oil based moisturizer.

I hope this helps anyone dealing with acne and dark marks. Enjoy your week everyone!