What does real success mean to you? When all is said and done, will you look back on your life and measure your achievements based on your bank account? Your fitness? Your business ventures? I think true success has little to do with external riches and everything to do with internal wealth. I’m talking self-actualization. Being your true, best self. That’s success to me. Check out my latest post for Sivana East to read more… https://blog.sivanaspirit.com/different-definition

All of our experiences come with opportunities, we just don’t always see them. That’s because our brains are too busy categorizing and defining these moments as either ‘good’ or  ‘bad,’ to be able to see the bigger picture. When we jump out of the present, we block our ability to see potential opportunities that can come from it all, especially the challenges we face. An awesome way to open ourselves up to possibility in times of upheaval is to remember that we’ve also been g

Many of us form strong attachments to the people, places and things around us. We craft our identities out of what we do, how we do, who we know, where we’ve been and are expected to go. We create identities for all the other characters in our stories, too. Labeling is easy. Categorizing is automatic. Attachments make us feel safe- but they keep us limited. Identities, attachments, judgments and labels all have one thing in common: limitation on freedom of the self. When we s

Hello. My name is Eryl and I’m a recovering To-Doer. I’ve spent the better part of my life making checklists, crossing tasks off and looking for more to ‘get done.’ To the outside world I’ve likely seemed super organized, goal oriented and/or pretty damn anal. To the inside world, my world, I’ve been drowning in obligation and rejecting the natural flow of life. Feeling stuck and uptight. Now, I’m not saying there’s no value in writing down what you want to address because th

Many of us felt like we set the world on fire with our New Year’s Resolutions this year- I know I did. In truth, I really feel that way. I’m going big and being bold in 2016. Does this sound familiar? The only thing standing between me and abundance is mindset. FEAR. It’s likely the case for you, too. I’ve spent the past few weeks journaling, brainstorming, meditating, declaring, clarifying, breaking down, breaking through and being in action towards my goals for this year. I

“I’ll never recover from this day,” a smiling stranger announced, with her jacket unzipped and arms outstretched on the boardwalk bench. As I passed her by with my dog leash in hand and a breathtaking scene of the lake in view, I thought to myself- how perfectly true. Normally, it’s below ze Life is made of up beautiful, unexplainable moments. Many that cause a stir in our souls because of their natural foundation. It’s moments like this, where the sun’s golden shimmery rays

I was sitting on the couch the other night, staring anxiously at my phone and feeling self-conscious because I’d just posted something new on my social media accounts. After an inspiring chat with my good friend, social media guru Brigitte Truong (check out her website), I created a schedule for new and uplifting weekly Instagram posts, YouTube yoga videos and monthly blog posts to connect me with the online world in a positive and more reliable way. I want to, and someday so

There’s nothing more rewarding or fulfilling than building your own business from the ground up and watching it grow. There’s also nothing more exhausting, challenging, defeating and at times, down right frustrating, than going it alone. I started my Freelance Writing business over a year and half ago and it’s been such a colourful journey. I’ve made incredible connections with people all over the country, cried over setbacks and celebrated successes. I’ve chased down payment

Clutter has a purpose. It prevents you from seeing, moving and living with clarity. Many of us collect physical clutter subconsciously to create a divide between ourselves and our world and yet, we seem so frustrated when our mess becomes “out of control” with no one to blame but number one. The tangible trash we collect can feel icky and suffocating, but I believe mental clutter can be just as, if not more, damaging to ourselves. So, let’s look at some quick and easy ways to

When your brain says you “can’t do” something, take it as a sign that you need to dive right in! There are two types of fear. There’s the kind of primal, raw fear that takes over your entire body before you jump out of a plane to skydive. Then there’s the sometimes- debilitating type of fear that lives upstairs in your brain. This gremlin is always on standby, ready to tell you what you can and can’t do and it can be just as intense as your instinctual, your-life’s-at-risk ty

I feel like an old book, rife with dust, that hasn’t been cracked open in years. Stiff, stale and unused. I haven’t written for two weeks or been active on social media because my phone broke on my way up to Wemindji to visit my sister. It feels natural and freeing to get back to writing–one of my favourite forms of expression. The Cree Nation of Wemindji is on the east coast of James Bay, in northern Quebec. The major city nearest to the native reserve is Montreal. It took m

Try shifting your perspective up 🙂 Perspective gives us a road map of how to behave in and learn from certain situations. It urges us to look past immediate concerns and into future implications. Without perspective, life appears somewhat meaningless and harsh. With this larger view, however, life appears to make sense, have a flow and rhythm to it–meaning. There was a time I didn’t let perspective into my world view, or maybe I didn’t know how. Sometimes it seems we can’t s

Photography: Claire Cole clairecolephotography.wordpress.com Algonquin has the ability to completely dissolve time, stress and worry. As my best friend Claire put it, ‘the only time is when it’s dark or light out.’ We were packing up camp and heading out for the day when there was light out and setting up camp as the sun set. We were portaging with our belongings or canoeing along the beautiful lakes and rivers in between. For those 5 days there was no time, only freedom and

So, I totalled my car yesterday. I smashed into the gold Camry in front of me on the highway, just minutes from home. I was driving back from teaching a group of kids yoga at a hockey camp in Mississauga. I was on what the yoga world refers to as a “yoga high.”  As soon as the high faded though, my to-do list surfaced in my mind and I was back to obsessing about what items I needed to check off next. I was like a dog with a squirrel, chasing my thoughts one after the other so