Happy Thanksgiving! Counting our blessings…

Cheers! Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Hope your day is filled with joyful times with family and friends! Don’t let expectations of the ‘perfect’ holiday ruin the incredible moments that you share. Often times, expectations can cause many of us to become stressed out about the holidays, making it hard to enjoy ourselves, crabby and naggy at our closest loved ones as we try to recreate the picture of what we think the ‘perfect’ holiday is.  Remember that really, there is only the present  moment and you get to decide how you are going to live in it.  Choose to be at peace, even if the turkey burns.  Choose to laugh when your children spill the gravy.  Choose to share love and a smile when your difficult in-laws show up.  You can choose to be happy, content and peaceful.  By choosing your emotions, others will see your peace and try to mirror it back.  It will allow everyone else to be at ease, laugh and have fun together.  Isn’t that really what the holidays are all about anyway?

This isn’t the day to bring up past fights, arguments or judgements we have about others in our lives.  It is about sharing the best parts of ourselves and opening our heart to allowing forgiveness and gratitude to shine out.  Take time today to think of something you appreciate about each person who is in your life.  It may take more time for some of the difficult people, especially if they are not choosing to be at peace today.  Remember that each person is in your life because you chose them to be there.  Receive the lesson, insight and gift that each person brings and let go of the judgement on them and yourself for the minor imperfections that make us all human. 

Gratitude Prayer –

Dear Mother Father God -

We are so thankful for this special day where we offer our thanks and gratitude for all of the blessings we have received in our lives.  Thank you for filling our lives with infinite prosperity and abundance in all things.  Thank you for this beautiful feast, prepared with loving hands and hearts filled with joy. 

Bless each hand that has played a role in the preparation of this feast, from the animals, to the farmers and everyone along the way.  Bless this food with your unconditional love and infinite peace so that it may nourish not only our bodies, but feed our minds, hearts and souls. 

Thank you for the infinite oneness we all share, may each person feel the loving connection to you and others today and not feel alone in this world.  Thank you for the joy that you bring to our lives so that each day can be filled with happiness and laughter.  Thank you for the wisdom that helps guide our lives so that it is filled with mercy, grace and compassion for ourselves and all others.  In gratitude, we thank you for every blessing in every area of our lives, today and always.  Amen!

Thank you for all of your love, laughter & friendship today and always!  We appeciate each and every one of you, for the special sparkling light that you are and the gift that you bring to our lives! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

What is Happiness?

My definition of Happiness would be:

Happiness is a choice you make in each moment. A choice to claim joy, peace, harmony and contentment regardless of what the world situation is around you or how others are feeling. It is an inner feeling of contentment that all is well, all will be well and all is at peace in you and your life. Happiness is not something that has to be sought outside of yourself. It cannot be fulfilled by events, jobs, or material items. Happiness is already waiting within you to claim it. Allow yourself the joy of feeling contentment and happiness in your life. Choose to think positively about yourself, your life and the world around you.

How would you define Happiness?

“Reclaiming Your Wisdom” ~02.23.10 Daily Inspiration

 Rather than seeking answers outside of yourself, remember that all answers lie within. Sit back, relax and be at peace. Focus your attention on your spirit and let go of all the stress, judgment and negativity you hold about yourself. By returning to a place of love and peace with yourself, you allow your spirit to communicate with you. Being in a place of peace and love, allows your inner wisdom to speak to you in the small voice that tries so hard to talk above the noise of everyday life. Allow yourself moments of stillness, where you commune with yourself rather than communing with the world or seeking out yet another answer from some outside source. Within you is the spirit of all, an infinite spirit, a divine spark of light that holds the key to all that you seek. Open the lock that is held within your heart with love, joy, peace and compassion.

The song below is by Shaina Noll (www.shainanoll.com) called You Can Relax Now from her Songs for the Inner Child CD.  That CD is an awesome resource for anyone who is on a healing journey, I have used it many times when healing others and have found that her voice whispers to the soul better than any other. 

Listen to it and allow it to speak to your heart, to your soul.  Sing the words as if you are singing them to your own inner child, your own forgotten self.  You are not separate from the love in your heart, you are not separate from the true beauty that was created the moment you were born.  The divine spark within you still glows strongly. Be at peace and know that you are loved beyond measure.  Be at peace and know that you are loved just as you are.  Regain the peace, hope and assurance that you are an amazing, beautiful creation.  You are loved!

Picture Perfect Holidays

Holidays making you feel stressed out and overwhelmed? 

SLOW DOWN!

Remember to breath and live in each moment.  You don’t have to make each day or moment of the holidays perfect.  Lower your expectations of how the ‘picture perfect’ holiday season should be and remember the true meaning of why we choose to celebrate at all.  Celebrate the love that is shared when you gather together with family & friends.  Celebrate the simple joy of taking the time to create a holiday tradition with your children – whether it is baking sugar cookies, singing songs or playing games together. 

You won’t remember the ‘perfect’ things about the holidays – you will remember the love in your heart, the love shining in your family and friends eyes and how much fun you had just being together. 

Day Brighteners for A Gloomy Day

Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of kindness to brighten someone’s day. In our busy and hurried lives, we tend to forget that the smallest kindness can have the biggest reward and the biggest impact on another person. How often have you been having a bad day and then someone just comes up to you all shiny and bubbly, and says “Hi!” and smiles at you and then continues on their way and from that moment on your day starts to get better and you smile instead of frown?

 

Never underestimate the power of one kind word, one warm touch, one warm smile ~ each drop of kindness adds a ripple in the waters of life, creating a ripple that cascades out into another ripple, creating another drop of kindness until there is a tidal wave of love and compassion flowing freely from one person to another. Tidal waves of love cleanse away the dark and polluted waters of sorrow, despair, hate and anger bringing back the crystal pure waters of love, compassion, peace and joy! When you let your light brighten someone’s day, your own day is brighter!

 

Simple day brighteners that don’t cost you any money:

 

·        Smiling at everyone you see on the street

·        Saying Good Morning or Good Afternoon to people in your office with a big smile

·        Asking someone you don’t normally talk to “How are you?” and listen to the response

·        Complimenting someone on anything about their appearance, sometimes a simple ‘”Love your top” can lift someone’s spirits and build their confidence.

·        Write a love note to your partner and leave it on the mirror where they will see it first thing in the morning

·        Tuck a little note or special treat into your child’s lunch

·        Thank the people who help you throughout the day

·        Hug your friend, lover, kid, mother, father, etc.

·        Pat someone on the back

·        Rub your partner’s feet

·        Offer to give your stressed out friend a facial, manicure, cook dinner, mow their lawn, etc.

·        Send your loved ones an e-card or a 360! Message

·        Say “I Love You!” from your heart and eyes

·        Tell a loved one you appreciate all the good that they do ~ remember to appreciate yourself and all the good you do, too!

·        Thank your friends for being a part of your life

·        Congratulate loved ones on goals they have completed ~ no matter how big or small ~ even if it is just making it to the gym or finishing a long book

 

Choices

 

 

One way to live a better life is to make better choices for your life.  These choices are not only about choosing to eat better or exercise more.  These choices are about treating yourself better, accepting that you may want something different out of life than other people want for you, or choosing to express how you feel no matter how other people will respond. 

 

Are you making choices that make your heart sing?

Are you making choices in your life that make you dread waking up each day?

 

Everyday is filled with a million choices to be made, ranging from:  Do I get out of bed this morning?  What am I going to have for breakfast? What kind of activities do I really want to do today?

 

Each question can have a million different responses, based on your internal workings, morals and desires.  Sometimes choices are not made from our heart but from what our mind deems is the best choice.  The mind’s choice isn’t always a horrible choice, but it also isn’t always the best choice. Sometimes it is the mind choosing to get up and go to work even when you do not really feel like it. This is a decent choice because usually the reason behind going to work is so you can pay bills, take care of your responsibilities and fulfill obligations.  Other times it is choosing to go to an event or activity that you really don’t want to go to, but still attend out of a feeling of responsibility or desire to please your family, spouse, friends, etc. 

 

Each choice can lead us further and further away from where our heart’s desires truly lie.  Our heart will never really lead us astray, but our mind sometimes will.  Choices you make from your heart will help your spirit to feel fed and fulfilled.  If your spirit feels fulfilled you will not need to feed it so much with food.  However, when you continuously make choices from your mind, you create situation where you do not feel fulfilled but instead feel overwhelmed, stressed out, angry and discontent.  These choices lead to the cycle of feeding yourself with food to suppress these emotions, so you can continue to live exactly as you are without changing anything.

 

This week look at the choices you are making.  Are they truly serving your spirit or are they stifling your spirit?

Allowing For More Joy

Allowing for moments of Joy

 

 

Today I found myself in a rare moment of joy.  I went to work out at the gym – dreading it as I have not been back to the gym in a while and already felt very stiff and sore even before going to work out.  But once I got into the water, all thoughts passed out of my mind and soon I was laughing and splashing, bobbing like a dolphin in the water.  I felt clearer and freer than I had in many weeks and even months, even though I usually swim and work out in the water, I have not had a moment of pure joy in the water in a long time.  I even caught myself singing to myself like a small child and found that reflected after my work out, hearing a small child singing to herself for no reason in the shower, just making up words and laughing, hearing the joy and serenity that comes just from being. 

 

Many times we lose these moments of joy as we are in adulthood, too busy thinking, worrying or fearing about what is to come, or lost in the past pain and sorrow, regret over what has happened in our lives.  My goal for myself this week is to allow for more moments of joy.  Notice I didn’t say “find” more moments of joy but “allow” for more moments of joy.  As it is an allowing of the ego to let the spirit shine through.  Ask the ego to allow you to be in the moment, to be in a state of peace and joy in your day, every day.  Maybe it will last for only a few seconds or a few minutes.  Just allow it to be.  Allow yourself to be. 

 

May we all find more moments of joy and peace within ourselves.