Gnats of Wall Street

Have you ever studied a gnat? So innocent & naive yet the disgust of it’s animal class. Recently we came home from out of town to an apartment filled with these little innocent aggravators. #HouseSitterProbs

A problem I’m now surprisingly thankful for, because like most events in my life I took something valuable from watching their tiny lives peak and crash. In an effort to catch as many as I could to gain our sanity back, I filled a wine glass with water and agave nectar. Before you read anymore I can promise you this isn’t some ‘catch more flies with honey’ spill that’s miss used and over preached. What I witnessed was disgusting naive greed that ultimately led to death in vein.

They spend their entire existence flying around in chaos searching for an abundance of the sweet life. It’ll feed their hunger, give them energy and get them higher. It can give them everything they’ve ever needed and longed for during their inconsiderate existence. With one taste of it’s power they’re hooked for life only wanting more and more of it’s sinfully good fulfilment. What’s so ironic is that it will ultimately kill them. These gnats are so greedily focused on getting all the wealth for themselves they are blinded to the slow death they are right in the middle of endearing. So drunk on the wealth, they drown in it’s abundance without recognition of the greed itself being the infection.

I hope I haven’t lost you yet, I tend to type uncontrollably when passion takes over my mind…

We walk among these gnats daily! They are our peers, the strangers we aimlessly pass on the street, and quite possibly our most loved ones in life. One taste of power and money has killed their soul, their spirit and blindingly killing their physical bodies. I’m not talking about the wealthy spirits amoung us who give back bits of their wealth, knowledge, and love to the world. It’s the ones who gain it all and only pray for more to help themselves. This holds true not only for money! If you have wisdom, if you have love, if you’ve found peace, if you’ve been enlightened and you keep it all to yourself this too is greed in my opinion. Your ego will tell you that people will make fun of you or think you’re strange if you decide to share this metaphysical wisdom with the world. I’m still in the process of shaking this fear myself. I can’t tell you the crazy looks I’ve been given when I talk about sage, crystals and feeling people’s energy or hearing/ feeling god. The cruel comments and dirty looks are totally worth hearing someone come back to you eventually saying ‘I get it, I don’t know what happened but it’s amazing!’. Don’t be greedy with your beautiful existence. What good is the peace, love, and wisdom that comes with enlightenment if you don’t share it’s  pure happiness with the world? What good is all the power and money if it sits in cemented walls when it can save lives?

These naive little gnats are so relevant to us, maybe to teach us. Look for the lesson in everything…

Peace Sign Up,
-Amanda Machell

A Refreshed Perspective

It’s been far too long since I’ve last posted. A lot has taken place not only in my life, but also within my soul. For starters I began the 27th year of my life last Friday. The celebration took place on day one of the Hangout music fest on the beach so I couldn’t possibly have asked for more.

I’ll back track to before I left though. My mind is quite notorious for drifting continuously & my spirit is not a stranger to metaphysically longing for more living. With no surprise, I was beginning that all too familiar season of internal unsettlement. A cycle of my mind that once threw me into a spiral of lost persona, now helps me gain identity a little more with each onset.

Before we even left for the Hangout I could feel some soul shaking changes and ideas beginning to weave into my veins. So, weaving number one on my refreshed enlightenment will be to share the many meditations of my life through this media outlet. Our world is hurt, our people are infected, and it’s time for some universal healing together. No, I’m not some master guru that has it all figured out. I’m just a dreamer raised by two amazing bohemian mindset parents who praise personal achievements of unconditional love and peace over scholar and wealth gains. I can’t stick to my yoga routines, nor am I a vegan. Idealistically I’m no hippie superhero, just your average barefoot weirdo with messy hair and a pack of incense. What I do have is a dream, a full heart, and a vision to share good vibes with the world…Don’t you just love a new spiritual journey? 

Peace sign up,

Amanda Machell

Social Media Purge: How & Why I Made the Cut.

I’m a millennial so of course I’m attached to social media quite often throughout my week. It’s often a huge part of our lives that we just can’t possibly explain to our baby boomin’ elders. In their eyes it’s more likely a waste of time. Now, while I don’t agree with them, I do believe when used improperly it is in fact a time sucking ignorance enthusing monster. This fallen angel has at some point for all of us turned into a beast.

Here’s what the boomers fail to understand….

Social media wears many hats.

It’s our inspirational speaker, our cheapest form of higher education, the window to millions of friends from all walks of life, a way to see every corner of the world for those who never could, the creative business opportunity for an underdog….

and most importantly, a medium to unify humanity. 

So, where have we gone wrong?

We’ve followed, re-tweeted & liked our way into a black hole of chaos and (too often) bold faced bullshit. All the junk and spam is filling our  feeds, wasting our time, and killing the genius of social media. I realized this in my own social world this week when I observed how little I actually got on twitter these days. I summed it up to the idea that I never spent time on my once loved outlet because my twitter feed annoyed more than it inspired, motivated, or educated me. So, now I begin the purge…

So far I’ve purged my twitter and half of my instagram. This media frenzy beast is not the easiest to tackle. It’s been extremely time consuming but absolutely worth every minute spent. Surprisingly I feel more organized and much more inspired to post!!

TIPS FOR TACKLING THE BEAST:

• First go through your entire list of followers and anyone’s profile that doesn’t inspire you or make you uber enthusiastic about social media, unfollow.  This should take a big chunk of junk out of your news-feed. You’ll be really shocked to remember how much someone clutters your feed just by glimpsing their profile pic.
• Every time you scroll the feed and find a spammer, troll or annoyance you unfollow them right away! Don’t put it off until later just because you want to keep scrolling. I’m telling you, it’s worth the ten seconds to take care of this!
• IF THEY DON’T INSPIRE, MOTIVATE, EDUCATE, OR MORE MAKE YOU LAUGH, YOU DO NOT NEED TO FOLLOW. IT’S JUST WASTING YOUR TIME. They may inspire others, but their media just isn’t right for your feed.

 

Peace Sign Up,

-Amanda Machell

Ocean Lover Detox Soak

You know that feeling you get when something seems to be missing in life but strangely you’ve got everything? I hit that odd sensation sporadically throughout the year but the sunshine peaking pre-summer season, we’ll call it spring, magnifies this bittersweet longing in my soul.

My spirit never feels more at home than anywhere else when I’m in the cool mist of salty waves crashing against the shore. The aromatherapy of fresh mineral scented air alone is enough to make me feel euphoria. Reflections of sunshine off the water creating sweet little dancing shadows along skin… Beams of sun rays off the white hot sand that are sometimes so blinding all you can do is shut your eyes and take in the magic… I miss it all.  I get this homesickness feeling of sorts that can’t be shaken off.

For a quick fix to feed my aching little spirit I’ve created a body cocktail of sorts that eases the longing until my feet hit the blistering sand once more. In a hot bath mix the following:

• 1/4 Cup Sea Salt: I use a sea salt from the Atlantic in Portugal I purchase at a local health food store. Read about the mental & physical benefits of sea salt here.
• 1 Tbs Powdered Coconut Milk: Besides the island scent that will take you on an escape, coconut milk is soothing & moisturizing for the skin.
• 1 Tsp Kukui Oil: I’ve fallen in love with this native Hawaiian oil in the last year. Besides being ultra moisturizing, it’s great for acne, scars & sunburns. My favorite is by Alba Botanica.
• Essential Oils (of choice)

It’s a soak that’s very soothing for your mind, body & soul. I try to take one of these at least once a week, but if you’re having a stress out moment it’s an amazing quick remedy for some ease. For an added beach vibe bonus I douse my body in extra virgin unrefined coconut oil after drying off.

Peace Sign Up,

-Amanda Machell