Life is short. There is no time to waste time on what does not matter. What matters is our bliss and our bliss and doing whatever it takes to achieve that.

Mirror, mirror...what do you have to teach me?

We often hear that our world, and our relationships, mirror back to us how we're acting and behaving. Oftentimes, people think that this simply means what's being reflected back is our treatment of others…what some people think of as Karma, so to speak. While this may also be identified, this isn't the primary mechanism of how this "law" works.

With a deeper look, we see that our world, and relationships, actually reflect back HOW WE TREAT OURSELVES. So, if we don't value ourselves, the world reflects back situations where we won't feel valued. If we see ourselves as stupid, the world reflects back situations where we will feel stupid. If we run away from our emotions, this is the behavior we'll experience from others. Our thoughts, actions and behaviors are fueled by the beliefs we have about ourselves, and our world.

We actually create (subconsciously) a reality that brings forth situations that trigger the feelings we're used to having. Think about it. We end up feeling the same feelings over and over and over.

The people, situations, and scenery may be different, but the underlying storyline stays the same.

This may seem cruel and unusual karmic punishment. But, in truth, it's actually grace in action. This mechanism allows us to see vividly where our wounds and patterns are, where we're off the mark, where we're not in alignment with our true selves. It gives us the opportunity to learn, heal and make new choices that reflect the truth of who we really are.

So, if you're not sure of all the subtle, and not so subtle, ways you're treating yourself, and the beliefs you employ, just notice how the world is treating you. Then notice how you're treating yourself the exact same way. If you’d like to change these patterns, make a commitment to treat yourself in the way you'd like to be treated from the outside world.

Breathe. Be gentle. Have compassion for yourself. A lot of emotions may come up. Perfect. This will give you an opportunity to practice self love...the one and only, all-purpose healing elixir.

Frank Gjata,

Founder, Conscious Ink

If you've been waiting for a sign that it's time to do that thing you've been meaning to do but haven't gotten around to, well, this is it. 

You see, everyone comes with their own built in special aptitudes and gifts to share with the world. If you haven't yet uncovered where your own talents lie, look for those things that come so naturally to you that you don't even give them second thought. Our greatest internal gems are often hiding in places that are obvious to everyone except for us. 

So many of us are reluctant to accept these gifts that are innate to us and to in turn share these gifts with the world, because doing so might seem impractical or inconvenient. We may also be unknowingly waiting for some person or external event or circumstance to give us permission to act upon these callings. We say that we'll create that product when the economy picks up or we'll write that book when we feel more qualified to do so. 

The catch to waiting for the perfect external person, place or thing to give us the permission to do what we came here to do is that, more often than not, this permission slip never comes. Thereby we pose the risk of going to the grave with these gifts still inside of us, left unopened. 

When we bypass the permission slip that we believe we need to move in the direction of our dreams and get started now, we step into our power. If you must, grant yourself permission and go for it. The important thing is that you get started.

Everyday we claim our titles, our choices, our paths. Everyday we make 35,000 decisions -- choices that can seem as inconsequential as we choose to add an extra slice of tomato to our sandwiches or how we tie our shoelaces. But among those many decisions, those big and small choices, we also decide WHO AM I.

We choose to be compassionate or judgmental.

We choose to cling tight or surrender.

We choose to be kind or be cold.

These are choices we make as we drive down the street, see our coworkers in the hall, greet our families at the door or kiss our kids (or fur babies) goodnight. Our thoughts and actions shape who we are and who we are becoming. It is by living consciously, by intentionally choosing those thoughts and actions do we become radically empowered in creating the trajectory and momentum of our lives.

Conscious Ink was created to empower the world to own their truth. The manifestation tattoos are a simple tool of awareness and empowerment to serve our daily reawakening and our daily reminder to choose wisely.

How can you be GRACE today?

How can you be INSPIRATION today?

How can you be HOPE today?

How can you be HEALED today?

How can you be POWERFUL today?

First, you must look in the mirror and claim it.

I am...bold.

...brilliant.

...hope.

...strong.

...powerful.

Decide it. Declare it.

Look into your eyes and see the truth. Be witness to your great, glorious, sometimes messy, always evolving I AM.  

We are honored to be choosing, growing, claiming, evolving with you.

Shona Marie believes in the power and potency of words. She lives them. Breathes them. As the CEO of a copywriting boutique, her business is to know how to yank and tease words together to make them entice a reader or buyer.

Shona Marie has a copywriting team from all over the country. She trains them and leads them, but first, she wants to support them and make them feel seen and supported. Before diving into a team project, Shona asks her writers to pick a word, a mantra or a phrase, that deeply resonates with them at that moment.

That’s where Conscious Ink tattoos come in. The team gets to pick their tattoo and then can wear it as a reminder and beautiful adornment as they set to spin words into stories. 

“A permanent tattoo doesn’t capture the fluidity and evolution of our individual experience. That’s why I love these temporary tattoos,” says Shona. “ A mantra or word or phrase that may have deep resonance today, may be something completely different a week from now, or a year from now. The key is to be present to our experience in the now and honor it. When we do, our power emerges.”

To be present requires honesty.

To be present requires us to get still and listen.

The beauty of Conscious Ink Manifestation tattoos is that they require us to lean back and reflect on…

And as we do, we get present and every time our eyes skim the tattoos on our skin, we are reminded that what we need is right here.

“It looked like a death sentence,” says Collins King about the moment she got up at 3am to reflect on her cancer diagnosis. But fast forward nearly a decade and now she is celebrating 7 years cancer-free! “I'll be 7 years out in November 2017 for Triple Negative Breast can-sur. I don't even spell it out and give it merit.“

But after chemotherapy and a double mastectomy, at 53, Collins started having body issues. Then Collins saw Conscious Ink tattoos  pop up in her Facebook newsfeed. Collins had decided to start a workout regiment. She wanted something positive on her skin that was visible to keep her on track, keep her positive and so she began wearing a Manifestation Tattoo on her right wrist every day before a workout.

You are loved.

Love your body.

Empowerment.

These were the words that she wore to remind her of her own strength. “Every time I look down at that tattoo, I am reminded that I can begin again.”

Collins can’t have tattoos (needles) in her arm and these tattoos allowed her the beauty and purpose of a tattoo without the actual ink, needles or permanence.

“I love wearing them and when my friends ask, ‘did you get ink?’ I say ‘temporary on the skin, indelible on the soul’ to them.”

In the end, it comes down to the words we choose for ourselves.

Collins says that if she could leave a single message to the world, it would be:

“Life is a Journey, not a destination. Go with God. Oh,and of course cancer sucks!”

Have you struggled with an illness? How did you overcome it? What mantra would you claim (or have you claimed) for strength for the journey?

Share your story of healing with our Conscious Ink family. Our collective stories are powerful when we allow them to rise.

In Arabic, the root word for human is insaan. Translated to English, it means the one who forgets. The one who forgets. Allow that to sink in. How often do we forget the power of who we are, of what we are? Conscious Ink was created for those aching to remember.

Being human is a wild and wondrous thing. As Frank Gjata said in a recent interview, “We are sparks of the divine in a human body.” And it is the recognition of that truth that gave birth to Conscious Ink. Frank, as a transformational coach, began to see how people could reach incredible epiphanies and then let the routine of life flood in to wash it away, how they would be reminded of their truth and then forget.

 

[“We are sparks of the divine in a human body.”- Frank Gjata]

 

“We may attend an empowering workshop, read a self-improvement book, have an engaging conversation with a friend and then we step outside onto the curb and life happens and we get thrown off,” Frank said. “I’m always thinking of ways to support myself and others in catching ourselves when we may fall asleep, fall back into our old familiar patterns and so this [Conscious Ink] came up as a way to remind us when we have forgotten.”

            The original idea for the tattoos occurred to Frank when his daughter came home from a birthday party with a pack of temporary tattoos in her party favor bag. Curiously, he played with him, put them on and then it hit him how something so simple, so small could have incredible influence. A tool, a way to keep people awake to the their truth.

           These Manifestation Temporary Tattoos and the company behind them are infused with a heart-felt and expansive intention to use the potency of words as a tool for awakening, transformation, and creation. The simplicity of the concept—words on skin—can have a profound impact as it fuels positive affirmation in our daily lives. We put the tattoo on our skin--our bold declaration, mindful intention, soulful reminder—then as the day(s) roll on, no matter whether they are filled with highs or lows, peace or turbulence, pain or hope, the tattoo remains steadfast, an ever present whisper for us to remember.

 

[The simplicity of the concept—words on skin—can have a profound impact as it fuels positive affirmation in our daily lives.]

 

            Conscious Ink is about how words can change us from the inside out and how that vitality can inspire the world around us. As you wear your Manifestation Tattoo, know that years of intention, imagination, teamwork and miracles went into its creation. The idea for these tattoos sparked from a birthday favor bag, but now are on women, men, and children around the world, a global community united by words and ink. Humans aka Conscious Inkers who have decided that they will strive to remember.

            Remember who you really are. 

            You are divinity. 

             Life is this moment now. 

In celebration of the launch of our BEHIND THE INK blog series, we are offering our REMEMBER WHO YOU REALLY ARE Manifestation Tattoo for free (with discount code: REMEMBER2017), with any purchase through July 5th, 2017. Just add the REMEMBER WHO YOU REALLY ARE Manifestation Tattoo to your cart, and when you check out, add the discount code: REMEMBER2017

With My Father’s Death, Comes A Lesson For Life…With A Little Help From Our Friends.

~Frank Gjata, founder, Conscious Ink

Setting out to write my father’s eulogy, I wasn’t sure where I would land, but I was clear as to the direction I was headed.
I started my expedition with my compass pointed to the core essence of my father, Thomas. His deepest truths. What made Thomas uniquely Thomas. I mean, why mess around? If I was going to dig, I was going to break out the heaviest, and the finest detail, excavation equipment I could muster.

I wasn’t sure if I would arrive at this very specific intended destination successfully, but, fortunately, this kind of distilling and mining for truth was a practice I had grown accustomed to over the years, whether it was directed at myself, others I coached, or the universe at large.

I won’t include the entire eulogy here, but I will share how in search for some of Thomas’ deepest truths, they, serendipitously and graciously, found me first.

This was fitting…since Thomas would also often say, “Life is strange”. What he meant by that was that he noticed the synchronicities of life. He saw how everything was connected, and interwoven together.

I experienced a couple of these “life is strange” moments during this time contemplating about my father.

...this kind of distilling and mining for truth was a practice I had grown accustomed to over the years...

I have the pleasure of being an acquaintance of Anita Moorjani, a beautiful soul, and the best selling author of “Dying To Be Me” (a life-changing book which chronicles her incredible near-death experience, which I highly recommend by the way). Anita and I had tentative plans to have tea, a few days after my father had passed. She unexpectedly had to fly out to New York. I let her know that my father had passed recently, and asked her to please have her people on “the other side” welcome Thomas. She graciously said she would say a prayer for my dad, and would ask Wayne and others to look out for him for sure. I thought to myself how awesome, and delightfully unexpected…I forgot that Anita was dear friends with Wayne Dyer (that was the “Wayne” she was referring to).

Grateful to Anita for her kind gesture, I started to wonder, “Could there be a connection between my dad, who’d never read a self help book in his life, and Wayne Dyer?”

Hmmmm…

Well, for starters, Thomas was a wise man in his own right. So much so, that a family friend coined the nickname for him, “Nostra-Thomas”… a play on words with the famous seer “Nostradamus”.

Thomas knew how to go with the flow of life. And he knew how to ultimately let go. He would often say, “C’est la vie”, “water under the bridge”, and, “what can you do”. He seemed to have a strong grasp of understanding the difference between the things we can control in life, and the things we can’t.

And then, another serendipitous moment occurred during the wake for my dad. A couple of us were sharing about Thomas, talking about his warm smile, big heart, and the way he carried himself…then, all of a sudden, Anna, our 80-something year old relative with a thick Italian accent blurts out loudly and enthusiastically, “Ricchi senza soldi!”. And even before I could translate the words from Italian into English, I knew instantly that our relative Anna had sourced Thomas’ essence in a flash.

Thomas lived, “Ricchi con o senza soldi!”, which translates to, “Rich, with or without money”. I thought wow, that’s IT. That describes Thomas to a tee. This is how Thomas lived “Ricchi, con o senza soldi.” Rich, with or without money.

(And, the irony wasn’t lost on me that this moment was able to reach me when I was willing to let go trying to find it.)

So, I thought, what makes a man rich? We know that money doesn’t necessarily make one so. So what then? For Thomas, it was a CHOICE to live richly, everyday. Well, most days. And Thomas made that choice in a variety of ways. He didn’t allow circumstances to dictate the way he lived life.

Live richly, with or without money.

This is the key principle:

Choose to live richly regardless of circumstances (however that might look like for you).

Give that a moment.

So, with his “Ricchi con o senza soldi”, Thomas would greet each day dressed in a suit, polished shoes, clean shaven, and with a flower in his lapel. He wore a rich, warm smile. And he valued every interaction greatly, and intently.

He had a deep respect for life. And life noticed.

He lived richly by sharing with others what he had, regardless of what he had. He would give money, whether or not he had money to give. He made friends wherever he went, even in unlikely places, with people from all walks of life, including those he would meet on his walks, like the homeless. He would literally stop and smell the roses. And he was always prepared for adventure…saying “YES” to the invitations of life that crossed his path, without overanalyzing, questioning, or making excuses about why he couldn’t participate. That is living richly, “Ricchi con o senza soldi”! Say it with me now. It’s kinda catchy. “Ricchi con o senza soldi”.

LIVE RICHLY, WITH OR WITHOUT MONEY.

Now this sounded like a great title for a self help book I thought.

Although, as I mentioned previously, I would venture to say that Thomas never read a new age book in his life. Yet, here he was embodying, some very rich concepts in living.

I mean, who wouldn’t be able appreciate Thomas’ motto of not letting circumstances get in the way of living richly?

How might that look like for you today?

If Thomas and Wayne do end up meeting up, perhaps serendipitously, on the other side, I can envision them, very sweetly, walking (or floating?) arm in arm, enjoying each other’s company, in appreciation, joy, and wonder.

I’ll leave you with one last sentiment my dad shared with others. When he would meet someone, he would say, “It’s my pleasure”, or “The pleasure is mine.”

I, and I believe those who crossed Thomas’ path, along with the universe itself, would say the same of knowing him…the pleasure is indeed, ours.

Let’s be honest, in our fast-paced world with endless to-do lists, we need all the help we can get to stay grounded, and focused on our well-meaning intentions. But temporary tattoos, really? Most of us are already familiar with the most popular self-help rituals, like meditation, yoga, and walks in nature. These are all wonderful, and have proven to be effective. The problem is that more times than not, soon after we’re done with repeating our 1000th mantra, luxuriating in savasana pose, or communing with nature, we quickly can find ourselves back in our old routines, and may find ourselves cursing that inconsiderate “idiot” in front of us in traffic!

Wouldn’t it be great to have something…a practice… that would help us in those out-of-control moments, when we’ve simply lost our center? Well, one way to keep our intentions top of mind is to also keep them “top of body” with a Manifestation Temporary Tattoo by Conscious Ink. It’s this precise purpose that life-coach founder Frank Gjata created these unique, unexpected, and effective tools.

With over 300 positive words, inspiring phrases, and empowering affirmations, it’s easy to find the perfect message to support you with whatever you’d like to manifest into your life.

Plus, these Conscious Ink Manifestation Temporary Tattoos can perform magic even if when you’re not consciously noticing the inspiring messages. According to Dr. Emoto & his groundbreaking research on water, even water molecules are affected by thoughts, words, and feelings. Since our bodies are 70% water, just imagine the influence that thoughts, words and feelings have on us!

So, there you have it, it’s time to get inked up for good! Log onto our online Conscious Ink Store and pick out the temporary tattoo that speaks to you... you might find that it’s the tattoo that picks you. (We think that’s a good thing.) Happy manifesting to you!

One of my favorite things about being part of the Conscious Ink team is the way that the inspirational messages of our temporary tattoos find their ways into my life.  Just being around such positive, affirming, and inspiring messages on a regular basis allows and encourages me to think about their meaning and live my life in a more, well, conscious way, and the Conscious Ink message that seems to keep finding its way into my life lately is the message of gratitude.

Gratitude is a tricky thing.  It’s not necessarily something you can create or just conjure up out of nowhere.  Doing something expecting gratitude rarely evokes the desired response and I’m sure that many of us have had the experience of struggling to find something to appreciate in a given moment.  As a child and young adult, I often thought of gratitude as something that you express for the sake of someone else; I thought the whole point of expressing gratitude was to make someone else feel good or to be polite.  I’ve realized, however, that, while it definitely feels good to know that you’re appreciated, the experience of really connecting with how much you value, appreciate, and are truly thankful for something in your life is an incredibly enriching experience on a personal level.

Gratitude has the capacity to inspire us to be more generous, to give us a new perspective on the world around us, and even to heal us.  One of the beautiful things about gratitude is that there is an infinite number of things that can elicit it.  We can feel gratitude for the people in our lives that have supported and guided us.  We can feel appreciation for our health and for the luxuries that are so easily taken for granted every day: the food that nourishes us, the comforts of our homes, and the opportunities that we have been blessed with in our lives.  Even simple things, like a smile from a stranger, a beautiful day, or the experience of feeling seen, acknowledged, or understood can fill us with so much gratitude.

Of course, there are times when it can be difficult to connect with that sense of thankfulness.  When we find ourselves in circumstances that trigger fear, anger, or pain, it can often feel like there isn’t enough room for gratitude as well.  Even in these moments though, if we can take a step back and just breathe into the difficult part of the situation, we can see that these experiences can be full of gifts as well.  They provide us with the opportunity to grow, to learn, and to test and stretch the limits of what we believe we are capable of.  It is often the very experience of struggle that helps us develop a greater capacity for humility and compassion.  It is in these moments that we have the chance to fully explore what it means to be a human being with the myriad of sensations, emotions, and experiences that come along with it, and what can any one of us be more grateful for than that?
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**Lots of GRATITUDE to Suzanne Campbell for the photos featured in this article**