NYC – Page 2

Last week, I spent the last official day of summer in NYC with a friend I met in Australia 5.5 years ago. She was traveling with her family to NYC and now is in Disney World.

I drove to Trenton early in the morning and took the 7:31 train to the city. The train ride took about 90 minutes. I had a new book on my kindle so I spent most of the time reading.

Shortly after 9 I met up with Laura and her family at the Empire State Building. I have never been up that one before. We beat most of the crowd which was nice since we didnt have to wait in any lines. The weather was absolutely beautiful! It was 70 in the morning and got up to 80.

We enjoyed the views and doing some yoga. Laura’s mom jumped in to do yoga with me too.

After the Empire State Building we walked around stopping in Macys, playing on the big piano.

Then we found some lunch nearby at Pax Wholesome Foods. I got the chicken pesto flatbread.

After that we caught the subway to Washington Square Park where more bridges were done.

We found this cool coffee shop with tons of board games you can rent and play while you are there.

Then we walked by a bakery which I checked out and bought some brazilian truffles. They were tasty.

Back to the subway to head to the High Line. Beautiful day for walking but there was definitely a lot of construction around the High Line with new apartments and condos.

We made it full circle back towards the empire state building and then headed to Times Square. Laura and her family got some tickets for an evening show. I wish I could have stayed but getting home at midnight or so would have been rough for me. So then it was time to say goodbye as they headed back to their hotel to change and power nap. I hopped on the subway back to Penn Station and it was shortly after 5 so it was packed with rush hour. Once I made it to Penn, I found a Tim Hortons and got an iced tea as I needed something to drink. I enjoyed my tea and a luna bar I brought for a snack/dinner.

I made perfect timing as I got back to my car and it was 5 minutes before 12 hours. Had I gone over 12 hours it would have cost more for parking but I was pleasantly surprised when I only had to pay $10. I was thinking it was $18.

I drove home as the sun set, getting back close to 8pm. I then posted pics and relaxed taking a salt bath and then heading to bed with my sore feet. 20k steps for the first time in many many weeks. I feel like I am still walking a little funny on both my feet but just started physical therapy on Friday and it already seems to be helping. I really think there is a mental block I just have to get past to bend my toes again on my right foot.

Where if your favorite place to go in NYC?

I mentioned Monday that I went to go see Gabrielle Bernstein speak in NYC last week. I don’t remember who introduced me to Gabrielle Bernstein’s books. Most likely I read about her book somewhere on a blog or saw it as I was browsing Amazon as I have been trying to read more personal development books this year to help me focus on some goals I have for myself. I knew she taught from A Course in Miracles, which I was introduced to from Heather Waxman.

I ordered Gabrielle Bernstein’s book Spirit Junkie back in February. As soon as I got the book, I could hardly put it down. I loved her meditations, her words and guidance. I even underlined passages I know I need to work on and bookmarked them. Growing up, I HATED writing in books, but I am finding underlining in personal development books to be a good thing.

It was shortly after that, I decided to follow her on Facebook and then I saw she was speaking in NYC on my birthday weekend! The fact that NYC is only an hour and a half or so drive from where I currently live right now makes it more convenient. I took it as a sign that I needed to go listen to her speak. This was my chance, it was my birthday weekend and I wanted to make it happen. As the weeks went by and my birthday approached, I wasn’t sure it was going to happen. I didn’t really want to go by myself. I knew Brian wouldn’t tag along to the event with me, but if we were to spend the day in NYC together, I wanted to find something he would enjoy. When I mentioned the Air and Space museum he was totally on board. I took the day off from work and last minute we decided to drive instead of taking the train to the city which made it more convenient since the event ended late.

In the evening, we split up, Brian headed to the movies and I headed to see Gabby Bernstein. Her speech was titled True Power and naturally she talked about the steps to accessing your own true power.

We began with a short meditation which felt good as I suddenly got nervous in the room. Gabby also mentioned the method of tapping. I haven’t read much about tapping other than what is in her book, but there are different parts of your body you can tap to calm yourself down. The one that she showed us was tapping between your ring and pinky finger when you are freaking out, to put it simply.

Gabby then began talking about the steps to take to access your true power.

A quick breakdown of Gabby’s steps:

Stop trying to out run your fear
Honor your wounds
Show up for what’s up or it will keep showing up
Take down your hands and see that you are in the light
Be real even if it doesn’t look good

Throughout the time, Gabby used examples and there were also a few people who volunteered their own examples. There were times where it was emotional hearing other people’s stories, but also inspiring to learn about what some people have overcome. Just being truthful is so important! The common theme that I felt came up was people feeling like they were not enough. “I am not enough”, I cannot count how many times I heard that. I think it is sad that we really do grow up that way, always feeling like we aren’t enough. I may not struggle with that like some people, but I have been there before, thinking what am I doing with my life?! Time keeps passing and while I may seem so happy, there are things I would like to change, hence the goals I hinted to in the beginning. Showing up at Gabby’s speech event was one step forward to taking action on my goals. It was also motivating to hear others speak. Some people that wouldn’t normally stand up in front of 700 people and talk about how they really felt with tears streaming down their face. They did, because they felt safe. They did, because at some point, I think we have all experienced that “I am not enough” feeling.

Now it’s time to move past that feeling, it’s time to go through Gabby’s steps and do our homework and heal. I am not saying that will happen overnight. I am not saying that will happen in a month or even a year. Even when you might feel healed, something could trigger that feeling again. Gabby mentioned triggers as well, especially in a relationship, it is important to know your spouse’s/significant other’s triggers and if you are triggered, learn to recognize it and be honest about it.

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters” – Epictetus

I love that quote and it is so true!! I remember times I was yelling and angry at someone, but the truth was, I was angry with myself and taking it out on the other person. Yes it happens to all of us!! I am not perfect. What I can do though, is recognize that I am not mad at the other person and I am just overwhelmed and stressed with myself and my own tasks. Then I can explain that to them and maybe talk calmly about it and figure out the steps I can take to lower my stress. It may be hard in the moment, but practice and be patient.

I am practicing being more truthful with others and myself. I am also going to think about Gabby’s steps as I work towards my goals and live my life to its fullest.

Always remember, just be you!!

A Day in NYC

Gabrielle Bernstein True Power Reflection