Being grateful and saying 'I love you'

I recently returned from a wonderful vacation with Zac. On our return I had some time on my flight to re-read one of my books - The Key by Joe Vitale. I began reading the book again before I left for the vacation and I couldn't wait to start reading it on my way home.

He has some very useful tips about getting clear, discovering what you want and creating the mind-set to attract it. It is a must read for everyone. His style of writing is easy and very concise.

There were two things that I have began working with in the last week. One of the first methods he describes is being grateful. We have all heard this from time to time from many of our self-help gurus but what really stuck out for me this time around was being grateful for even the smallest things around me. As I was noticing everything and articulating the things that I was grateful for, I began to feel lighter, happier and even excited to be alive. In case you missed that, I will say that again. As I was noticing everything and articulating the things that I was grateful for, I began to feel lighter, happier and even excited to be alive. When I am grateful for what is, no matter how small, there is a definite shift in how I feel. That feeling allows more life to flow and keeps me from being stuck.

The other technique he recommended was repeating the words 'I love you'. When I come across something that upsets me or become frustrating I silently say I love you. Something shifts in my thinking and subsequently my feelings. This technique is best described using an example.

The other day I was sitting at a public place and I was looking at a lady. Her appearance was shaggy and I remember beginning to make judgments about her. Look at her nails, her hair, her face. I caught myself in this degrading moment and immediately shifted to saying I love you. Not that I love her per say but instead of looking for everything I didn't like I just began saying I love you. I noticed that I was feeling at peace and happy. It took absolutely nothing on this woman's part but just a shift in my thinking!

Now while this is probably a tame example of the use of this I love you exercise, I assure you that I have used in almost every moment and especially when I begin to feel tense. It has been a great way to let go if the stress and feel happy and in gratitude for what is.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go down to Indian Rocks Beach and participate in a sunset yoga class right on the beach. It was a beautiful evening. The weather was quite bearable considering we were on the beach and in the sun. We lay our towels down on the sand and began to face the ocean. The music started and we listened tentatively as Diana began to lead the class.

The whole experience was awesome. I attend Diana's yoga class every Monday night but tonight's class was especially superb given the beautiful surroundings. At the end of the 1 hour class we all sat down to a guided meditation. Diana read us a passage written by the Dalai Lama entitled compassion. As she read I began to notice where in my life I could start practicing more compassion. I looked at the people in my life that I could extend a helpful hand to or just a quick hello to check in with how they are doing.

As I drove home I noticed that my problems and resentments that I had accumulated for the day began to fade as I focused my attention toward compassion for others.

Thank you for the yoga class. Thank you Diana.

Early morning

The morning . . .

This morning my alarm clock goes off at 7:45am. This is 30 minutes before it regularly goes off. Last night I had decided to wake up early and take Miss Bell for a walk before I began my day. Needless to say, once I heard the piercing sound of the alarm all I wanted to do was to roll over and go back to sleep.

In my mind I was going back and forth 'should I go or should I just carry on sleeping'. I was being very creative about my reasons as to why I should keep sleeping. Honestly it was sheer guilt that got me out of bed. I had promised myself that I would get up and take Miss Bell for a walk and I would rather the inconvenience of getting up early than the guilt of not taking her out. Nowhere along the way did I ever consider that the walk would be good for me.

So at exactly 7:07am we left the house. I was yawning and Miss Bell was eager to get going. We walked our usual route; about a 40 minute one. I began to notice a shift in how I was feeling. For no apparent reason I began to feel at peace and quite content. I kept looking around me and I had such a sense of gratitude.

Now I am not one for all these airy fairy kinda things but this was an experience that really captivated me. When I returned home I had energy and a desire to start my day. The thing I noticed most was that even though there were things going on around me that I didn't like and would have normally become easily irritated by, something inside me remained constant and I just brushed those things by. I had a real experience of what it is like to remain in my own body and keep my inner perspective strong and purposeful, regardless of what is going on outside of me.

I also noticed during my day at the office that things seemed to flow and I was able to accomplish quite a few different tasks along the way. It reminded me about something I had read once. I will not attempt to quote it word for word, but it went something like this. The universe (or life force, or God or god or universal energy - or whatever term you subscribe to)is waiting for us to be in a space a.k.a a frame of heart and mind so that we can receive the events, thoughts, feelings or desires that will assist us in completing our life's purpose. These come to us in the form of small doses each day. So each day if we prepare ourselves mentally, spiritually and emotionally we will open ourselves up to our life as it is meant to be.

Today was one of those days. And while I still got annoyed about something and while I still had moments of restlessness and lethargy, there was an inner strength and knowing that life is unfolding perfectly!

I want to know . . .

Do you ever catch yourself doing something for hours and then wondering where the time went to?

Do you have a longing to express yourself in a way that makes your heart sing?

Do you know there is something you have that by sharing it with the rest of the world will make you shine and the world resonate?

We all have something we are passionate about; that speaks to our soul. Something that ushers in love, power and freedom. And when we are fortunate enough and brave enough to stand in between our mind and our heart, we have the ability to create amazing things.

Watch the video below. It is not just a video about a hair product. It is one person's longing to be all that she can be even in spite of all the resistance she may endure.

I invite you to close your eyes and dream . . .






It doesn't interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing

It doesn't interest me how old you are
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive

Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Source: The Invitation

The weekend is upon us

I was watching this video again today and while it is the most popular youtube video around I couldn't help but post it here again for everyone to see. If you haven't checked it out yet then I invite you to take a peek. It will make you laugh and remind you of some of your old (even new) dance manoeuvres. It will lift you up and take you back to THAT dance floor!

Life Rocks!

The Sadness of Paying off debts

Today is the day that I am fortunate enough to pay off some debts. What a wonderful feeling you would say . . . being able to relinquish a couple of financial burdens and feel lighter about it all. As I sit here though, there is a heaviness that lingers in my body and an empty feeling that envelops my heart. The sadness that ripples along as the after affects of losing my Mom are brought up to bear.

I miss her so very much and it's times like these that I am reminded of the ebb and flow of grief and the time that must pass in order to move on. It seems that while a wonderful gift has been bestowed upon me, it comes at a hefty price.

As most of you will know my mom and I shared a rather tumultuous relationship at times. Since I have grown from teenager to woman I have come to understand, appreciate and totally admire my mother. It was through my own life experiences that I began to hold my mom in more of an empathetic and completely compassionate light. These times of development and struggle for me, evoked the strength I began to see in my mom. She was an amazing human being and remains to be a powerful being in my life. I love you Mom.

Vulnerability

"Flesh" art print by zknight

Some bold moves

I came across an old folder on my computer that contained some material I had written about projects I wanted to create. I thought I would just post them here for fun. (unedited versions).

At some point in our life we question why we are doing the work that we do and most times it is about not being fulfilled ,alive and passionate about what we do. So often we choose a career for ourselves based on every other desire than our own, and as a result our passions and dreams are left behind as we make our way along a career path that is founded on looking good and pleasing others. Now while I know that this is not the case for all people it is for most. I have a program that I will be beginning next year at an elementary school in St Pete. The program is call ' Young People Choose' and it focuses on a child's dream or passion ; how to discover it and create it into a career. Then as they move into adulthood they can work toward their dream living a life of passion, purpose and power.

Wednesday, December 22, 2004 3:10:02 PM


I want to offer members a FREE teleclass each month around a topic that I am finding is very sought after in the career world. Essentially members sign up with xxx.com because they are looking for a job. There are some excellent tools available to them for resume building, interviewing, goal setting etc. I want to add another tool to your selection one that allows a person the opportunity to discover what they truly want to do with their life. We all had dreams and desires of what we wanted to do with our lives and very few of us actually followed them. I offer a short teleclass called 'The Trip'. It was created around four distinctions; having a fulfilling and lasting career; passion, purpose and power. Discover what you are passionate about (so many people do not have a clue then sit with frustration and disappointment), your passion will fuel your purpose and this will unleash your power. Can you imagine what it would be like to be doing something that you are REALLY passionate about? Then what it would be like for the people (fellow employees, customers) to work with you. There are the pioneers out there who knew that building a career around 'The Trip' was what was needed for them to be happy and fulfilled. One pioneer that comes to mind is Richard Branson of VIRGIN, another is Howard Schultz of STARBUCKS and let's not forget our GOOGLE friends.

Tuesday, January 04, 2005 1:31:10 PM

Where to go from here

So as I sit and stare at my one post blog, I wonder where does a man (or woman) go from here. I turn to my right and ask the one person who motivated me to begin this blog. His answer is simple; "just keep posting and see where it takes you"

That comment reminded me of some of the things I have learnt in my almost 37 years of existence. I remember a conversation I had once with a very dear friend of mine. As we sat talking about life stuff and she expounded on some her life's adventures, I made a comment to her about how 'boring' my life was. That there were no major events that had occurred that I could say I had learnt something from or made decisions about. Little did I know that at 24 years of age life is pretty straightforward. When I decided to show up in my life as someone that wanted to play BIG and take responsibility for the course it was taking, then the adventure began. Stay tuned for the next development . . .

Goals, goals, goals

So what happens when we set a goal for ourselves and we don't hit the mark? What happened along the way? Two things to consider when setting goals:

1) Ask yourself why you want this goal? Spend some time thinking about what it means to you to have this accomplished. How will it make you feel? Look a little deeper than it will make me happy or feel good. This short step helps you create your intentions for what you want and this is the fuel for creating it.
2) Make your goal VISIBLE. Set it out somewhere for you to see everyday. Being reminded of what you want to achieve is like a reset for your mind that sometimes forgets!!