Archive for Laughter
The Happy Movie
I recently heard about this movie – have you?
Imagine it. An entire movie about happiness. Love it! Watch the clip and soak in the happy vibes…
It looks fab, but it isn’t currently available in my area for viewing online. Have you seen it? If so, let me know what you think, won’t you?
5 Ways to Make Manifestation Easier
Sometimes, the ‘good stuff’ that you’ve ordered from the universe just doesn’t arrive.
Or at least, it hasn’t arrived YET. You’re living in the hope that it will eventually get here, but all this waiting can be a little dispiriting. To say the least.
Is this sounding familiar?
Let’s shake things up a little and get your order moving quickly along the production line, and delivered to your door ASAP. You’ve waited long enough, don’t you think?
Here are five ways to get things started…
1. Be Very Clear
This step is easy to bypass, because it seems so inconsequential. But the clearer you are about what you want, the easier it is for the universe/God/Spirit/Source/the Divine to bring it to you.
Otherwise you’re sending out contradictory thoughts that mean your order goes back to the universal warehouse, then out again, then back to the warehouse…
Honestly, you DO know what you want. You really do. It’s just that, until now, your thinking may have been so muddled that you haven’t been able to pin it down.
Just make a decision for now, a decision that you feel really good about. You can always create another order, once you’ve received this one!
Then watch the universe go out of its way to bring your order to life.
If you really are having trouble reaching clarity, you might want to join me for a private VIP Day to help you cut through the fog.
2. Time Your Visualisation
You’ve no doubt heard about the power of visualisation (that is, imagining what it is that you want, and feeling as though it really has come to pass).
However, unless you have visualisation worked neatly into your schedule, it often gets forgotten. Or it feels like a bit of a chore, something that could drag on for ages.
It doesn’t have to be like this.
It can be as simple as grabbing your kitchen timer at the same convenient time every day, plonking yourself down on a chair, giving yourself a minute to relax and then setting the timer for at least 60 seconds to create pure, focused thought and feeling about what it is that you want. (You’ll need to build up to 60 seconds — don’t expect to be able to hold the thoughts and feelings for that long at the start.)
Doing this actually reduces the amount of time it takes to manifest something into your life, because you are creating at a powerful energetic level — it cuts down on the number of ‘action hours’ that you’d normally need to create something.
3. Have Fun in the Now
You’ve gotta love this one. I mean, really, what could be easier and more enjoyable than having fun? And knowing that it helps you manifest more easily is just the icing on the cake.
When your vibration is naturally high (on an everyday basis), it helps you avoid feelings of despondency or desperation that you might otherwise attach to your ‘order’ not yet being here — you experience ‘detachment’, which is a perfect state to be in for manifesting!
So go to see movies that you love, invite that special person over, take an afternoon off to read a favourite book, boogie to tunes from your teenage years, or treat yourself to an experience that you’ve always wanted to have.
4. Think of Yourself as a ‘Downstream’ Person
That is, go with the flow, baby.
Listen to your intuition (aka your ‘gut’) and follow what feels good, where you’re led or guided to. Imagine that you are in a stream and realise that there’s no need to struggle against the current.
It may take effort to put in the action steps that you feel guided to take, but you don’t need to feel as though you’re struggling upstream — if your actions feel ‘right’ at an intuitive level, then trust that the universe is bringing your order to you in the fastest way it that it knows how…
5. Take Massive Action
You might think that this tip contradicts tip number 2, where we spend time creating at an energetic level in order to cut down on the number of action hours that we think we need to expend.
Well, it really doesn’t. In fact, this tip complements that tip.
Taking massive action (that feels intuitively on course) gives you a huge blast of energy, shows the universe that you’re serious, and builds your OWN faith that what you’ve ordered is on the way.
Also, we came to this life to EXPERIENCE life, and it’s through taking actions that we experience the deliciousness of the ride.
So, there you have it! Five ways to make manifestation easier. Try one, or try them all! (And let me know which is your favourite…)
All You Need Is Love
While it’s true that February is the month that hosts that most super-soppy of days – Valentine’s Day – that day (or indeed, the entire month) itself certainly doesn’t have to be a celebration only of ‘romantic’ love. You can celebrate love in all its forms – love for yourself, love for other people, love for animals, love for the planet, love for the work you are doing in the world, love for life itself.
(This is especially good news for those who are devoutly single!)
I truly believe that, above all other things, we are here to BE love.
We’re also here to grow, discover and create, but love is at the absolute heart of it all.
To prove my case – when a person knows they are about to die, and they have time to make a phone call, wouldn’t most people call family or friends to tell them that they love them? They wouldn’t waste time calling people with messages of hate, would they? When you get down to it, we yearn for love – it’s the true essence of our being.
And guess what? Love has an ultra-high vibration, so putting yourself in a loving vibration helps not only dissipate vibrations of a lower nature (such as worry, anger and jealousy), but naturally attracts more ‘things’ of a higher nature. You know, the good stuff – more love, more great experiences, more feelings of connection.
Wayne Dyer, in his beautiful book The Power of Intention, says:
We entered the physical world of boundaries and beginnings through the universal force field of pure love. This face of intention that is an expression of love wishes only for us to flourish and grow, and become all that we’re capable of becoming.
Doesn’t it make you feel good, just reading that? Knowing that the universe (of which we are all a part) loves you, and wants the best for you? In the world of law of attraction teaching, we talk about the importance of ‘feeling good’, and of the importance of feeling good as often as possible. Well, allowing and creating love will definitely get you into that feeling space!
This month, I invite you to look for opportunities to love, love, love. To foster self-love, start practicing ‘instant forgiveness’. For loving others, practice compassion and ‘walking a mile in another man’s moccasins’. Love animals by spending time with them, and love the planet and your work by lavishing them with care. Love life itself by expressing appreciation for all that you have (fill your heart with gratitude whenever you notice something amazing!).
See? Valentine’s Day doesn’t just have to be for starry-eyed romantics – and don’t you just love that?
PS The two little girls in the picture above are MY two little girls, when they were about five years of age!
© Joanne Newell, 2013
Would you like to use this article in your ezine or on your blog or website? You certainly may, as long as you include the following at the end of the article:
Joanne Newell, of Rich Radiant Real coaching, publishes the Your Abundant Life free monthly ezine, designed to inspire you to create the life of your dreams. For even more inspiration, head to www.richradiantreal.com to grab your complimentary guide called 7 Ways to Recharge Your Vibration & Attract the Riches of Life.
Lessons from French Women
I’ve always LOVED France. French people always seem to enjoy themselves, indulging in leisure and beauty every day. And then there’s the sumptuous French accent… j’adore!
A Facebook friend of mine recently posted a link to an article revealing the difference between we goal-oriented, Protestant work ethic countries and the vacation-loving French. There’s so much to learn from the French approach to life (even if you’re not a lover of all things French) – and we don’t need to give up our goals, dreams and successes in order to enjoy our lives to the max.
I approached the author of this beautifully written blog post, Tonya Leigh, and asked her if I could share her wisdom and observations with you. She agreed! (Thank you, Tonya.) So here’s the article. Be sure to let me, or Tonya, know YOUR approach to life. May this give you food for thought.
French Feminine Secret #6: Work to Live
“People who know how to employ themselves always find leisure moments, while those who do nothing are forever in a hurry.”
– Marie Jeanne Roland
I just e-mailed a friend of mine who lives in the South of France, and here is the automated response I received:
Bonjour, je suis en vacances du 28/7 au 26/8.
(Hello, I will be on vacation from July 28 through August 26.)
We can call the French lazy and lacking ambition and drive. However, while we are cranking out 60+ hour weeks, shuttling our kids to the moon and back, stressing our bodies to the max and spiraling into states of depression, they are probably sitting on the beach of Ibiza sipping a Pina Colada (scratch that; the French are not Pina Colada drinkers), and laughing at how we Anglo-Saxons just don’t get it.
French life is centered around quality and pleasure. Excessive work is not pleasurable to the average French woman. So, while the average Anglo-Saxon seems to always be in pursuit of The Next Big Thing, our French sister is likely to be basking in the Big Thing of Now – her morning café, 3-course lunches and, of course, frequent holidays and vacations.
The French woman certainly doesn’t have an arsenal of productivity tools and her time management system seems to nothing more than being present wherever she is. In fact, to the outsider looking in, she seems to have time on her side. Just like us, she has a job, maybe a husband and kids and a home to run. However, you’ll find her reading a book during lunch (that is, if she’s not indulging in a multi-course dejeuner), stopping off at her favorite market on the way home to pick up a fresh baguette and sitting down with her family for dinner.
The French woman doesn’t forget that her life is not her career, just a means to offer her what she’s really after: a life of play and pleasure.
This reminds me of a story I once heard:
A group of French people were working for an American businessman. Every day, they would leave at lunch and wouldn’t return for two hours. The American businessman was frustrated. “We need to be more productive, and your 2 hour lunch breaks are interfering, so tomorrow bring your lunches with you. You’ll be eating on the job.”
The following day, the American businessman was looking forward to increasing his production. At noon, the French workers, having agreed to eating on the job, went to the back of a truck, brought out tables and chairs and covered them with beautiful linen. They placed vases of fresh flowers on each one and set up each place setting. For le menu, they grilled steaks, roasted potatoes and cooked haricot verts. Of course, no French lunch would be complete without a glass of red wine and cheese.
Two hours later, the French finished their lunch and went back to work.
The French woman can thank her country, which has made her seemingly tranquil lifestyle possible. The government has certain laws in place that takes the fear out of job security. The 35-hour work week leaves plenty of time for love and passionate pursuits. And, everyone, from the banker to the plumber, receives 5 weeks of paid vacation, which you’ll never hear a French person say they’re too busy to take. This makes it very easy for the French girl to relax in her life.
Across the ocean, we’ve been raised very differently and afforded opportunities that the average French woman doesn’t have (and for which I’m extremely grateful). We live in a country that allows us to go after our dreams and do work that we love. Not every French woman gets to pursue her passion in the workplace, so thank goodness she has the time off to do it outside of the office.
On the other hand, with our protestant work ethic, we seem to always be in pursuit of something – more happiness, health and wealth – making it extremely difficult to slow down and savor life.
As an entrepreneurial female, I love my work and can get lost in whatever project I’m working on. I adore our clients, so spending time with them is a great pleasure. And, I love the freedom that running my own company affords me, so it doesn’t seem to be a problem.
However, deep down, I know it can be. I can’t fool life, and neither can you. Spending hours on the computer, neglecting our families and home, and most importantly, abandoning ourselves, we forget one key principle: our work is simply a means to live a beautiful life.
After speaking with many of my French girlfriends, I realize that most French people aren’t spending hours on Facebook, perusing books on how to make their life better or pressuring themselves to be, do and have more. Perhaps, it’s because they live in a society where they can’t or maybe they just don’t want to. As my French friend, Catherine, once said, “Life is too short for so much self-induced pressure.”
During my first visit to France, I remember feeling like life suddenly made sense – the way people dined, walked, presented themselves to the world, loved, lived. Beauty and leisure were sought out each day, not when you reached some non-existent finish line. Like the French, time felt like it was on my side. I bottled that feeling and set the intention to recreating that French essence back at home in the States.
Il était difficile pour moi. Being an ambitious and driven woman, I kept getting sucked back into the vortex of working madness. However, over time, I’ve learned to live in my own world where pleasure and play are a priority. I let go of feeling that I was behind when everyone around me seemed to be so far ahead. I stopped caring about what others are doing in their businesses, and focused on what works for me and my life. I even take sabbaticals like the French to renew and revive.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I want to create, grow and inspire. I have desires that I absolutely love seeing come to fruition. However, I do not want to be that girl who never enjoyed what she had because she was always in hot pursuit of the next thing.
Anglo-Saxons have perfected making a living, but the French girl has perfected creating a life!
I want to do both!
In all honesty, I’m still learning what that looks like for me. However, I’ve noticed when everyone is stressed and talking about how busy they are, I pour myself a glass of wine, take a deep breath and remind myself that there is no hurry. Right now is pretty damn good!
What about you?
As always, I want to hear from you. Which side do you air on? Are you more of a Frenchie when it comes to your work life? Or are you the driven, ambitious American woman who’s always striving for the next big thing? Or, maybe you’re a bit of both.
Leave your comments below, or at Tonya’s blog.
Master Life Coach Tonya Leigh has a simple credo: French Kiss Life. Cherish The World. And The Rest Will Follow. With chic travel retreats, solo & group coaching, and her infectious blend of joie de vivre & practical mind-play techniques, Tonya helps dynamic & driven women turn the world into their own personal playgrounds. She’s changing the way her clients think about power, seduction, and luxurious living—and challenging women to live their own self-made romances, one fearless choice at a time.
Explore Tonya’s Le Voyage Paris: The Art of Being a Woman Immersion at TonyaLeigh.com or check out her blog and get on her love list by clicking here.
The Search for Sanity in a Crazy World
This month’s article has been written by success strategist Dr Philip Humbert. I’ve been following Philip’s emailed TIPS newsletter for, like, FOREVER, and I love receiving his weekly dose of wisdom and wit. When I read this article in his newsletter a couple of weeks ago, I just knew that I wanted to share it with you (thanks for allowing me to do so, Philip!). To subscribe to the TIPS newsletter, head here.
“This week, I’ve worried about violence in Syria, inflation, deflation, unemployment, President Obama’s actions, my credit score, and an earthquake in some country I don’t recall. And that’s only a few of the worries that come to mind at the moment!
Perhaps I’ve been watching too much “news.”
But if I turn off the news, then I have to monitor my Smart Phone, run a half-dozen apps per day, listen to my iPod, take care of 150 emails and deal with an average of 17 phone calls. Not to mention pay bills, fix dinner, and run a few errands. It’s all too much!
Or, I could sit on my deck with a good book and a good cigar, listen to the birds and watch the clouds float past.
And to me, that sounds more like the “good life” than anxiously monitoring the stock market all day long.
How did life get this way? Wasn’t technology supposed to help us? Wasn’t a small world with instant communication going to make us more efficient, more productive and less stressed?
Or, maybe I’m confused about that.
When I look around, I see folks with wires hanging from their ears. I see folks staring at tiny computer screens in their hands. I see folks scurrying about, but I don’t see much eye contact. I don’t see too many smiles. I don’t even see many handshakes or hear much laughter!
My point is that maybe we are slowly going crazy.
Are we living as well as we could? Are we making the most of our lives? Are we doing smart things in intelligent ways? Do we maximize our joy, and our quality of life?
My fear is that many of us are doing what we “should do” and aren’t very happy about it. I suspect we’re “majoring in minor things.” We’re “caught in the thick of thin things.”
Some of us remind me of Sisyphus, the character from Greek mythology who was condemned to push a rock up-hill, only to have it roll back down, over and over, forever. We’re always running, but never catching up.
The dilemma, of course, is that we dare not fall behind. We want to be in contact, to be involved, to be “connected.” We want to text our friends, monitor their Facebook pages, and make money. We want the benefits and rarely stop to count the cost.
We are the richest, most sophisticated and most productive people in history. This is good!
But I also remember that my Grandparents had time for dinner. They had a garden, they actually went to church to worship, talk with friends, and enjoy their community. They had the gift of time! (What a concept!)
I’m pleading for that elusive thing called “Balance.” Money is good! I want all I can get, but not at the cost of peace of mind, a loving family, and time to rest. I want new toys, new technology and a nice car, but not at the cost of frustration and high blood pressure. I want the benefits of modern life, but sometimes the cost is too high.
In the end, it’s about CHOICE. We are blessed in that we can have virtually any type of life we choose. We can live anywhere we choose. We can work as hard as we want. We can become famous or rich or powerful. We can have friends all over the world. And, we can play chess, read to our kids, or enjoy a long walk on a sunny winter day. But we cannot do all of it, at least not all at once.
We must choose. The Good Life and Success are about defining the life you want and consistently behaving in ways that are most likely to achieve it. I fear too many of us are neglecting the hard work of thinking about our priorities, then making the choices and enforcing the boundaries to achieve them.
In the end, we have a few years of 24-hour days and what we do with them is the most profound choice we will ever face.
To me, one of the great tragedies of modern life is to find, at the end of life, that we failed to live the life we intended. Don’t do that!
Think carefully about your values. Choose priorities that are consistent with your values. And live accordingly.”
Copyright (c) Dr Philip Humbert, 2012, all rights reserved.
U.S. Library of Congress ISSN: 1529-059X
Dr Philip Humbert is a success strategist, author and popular speaker, and he writes an awesome weekly newsletter called TIPS. I’d highly encourage you to check out Philip’s work, and his newsletter, at http://www.philiphumbert.com/ (or you can email him at Coach@philiphumbert.com). Many thanks again to Philip for sharing this article!
10 Ways to Create a Sparkly Christmas
If you’ve found yourself feeling a bit ‘over’ Christmas in recent years, going through the motions with no real joy, then it’s time to ‘sparkle’ things up a bit!
How do I define ‘sparkly’? Well, for me, it means seeing Christmas as the embodiment of all that it is good in the world. Connecting with people you love, and really celebrating life and beauty. A time when all that glitters really is gold!
Here are a few ideas for adding celebration and sparkle to your Christmas. I’ve either ‘done’ these myself, or plan to. Please don’t feel overwhelmed by this list – if you spot a couple of ideas that really resonate with you, why not just give those ones a try this Christmas?
1. Create a beautiful, welcoming wreath for your front door or the inside of your home.
2. Create personalised Christmas cards. We’ve done this every year since our girls were one year old, because I thought it would be easier to have one card that included a photo update of our children, rather than printing and sending photos with conventional cards.
Until last year, I had our DL-sized cards designed and printed at Snap, but last year I created my own and will have fun doing that again this year! I love taking the photos of our girls for these cards – they have a lot of fun!
Here’s a scan of our family Christmas card from a few years ago:
If you live in the US, Pinhole Press has a fantastic range of beautifully designed templates that can be personalised with your photos.
3. Help out at a food shelter – bring your family on board. If you can’t help out in person, perhaps donate some food, or consider donating to Oxfam via its Unwrapped Christmas-gift project.
4. Remember the power of intention, and create an affirmation that helps you attract the type of Christmas you’d love to have (for help with creating affirmations, check out the Affirmations: Your How-to Guide PDF bonus when you invest in Dream Life Affirmations audios.
5. Make a set of special, long-lasting decorations that can become family heirlooms (perhaps some Santa tree ornaments or napkin holders?!).
6. Take healthy sweet treats around to your neighbours on Christmas Eve, beautifully packaged – you could make the White Christmas recipe in this month’s ezine, or check out the recipe for decadent Orange-Choc Bliss Balls in Monkey Mike’s Raw Food Kitchen: An Un-Cookbook for Kids.
7. Watch a suitably Christmassy movie such as the original Miracle on 34th Street, or the Christmas scene from Mr Bean’s Christmas! (And then there’s always Love, Actually.)
8. Add a bitta ‘bling’ to your life with sparkly decorations in your home and office. There’s something so special about glitteriness. Just remember that ‘sparkly’ can be tastefully done (tinsel doesn’t have to feature, if that ain’t your thing). Candlelight makes everything shimmer – and what about adding sparkle to your clothing? Check this out for inspiration!
9. Pretend you’re a child again, and put out a stocking at the end of your bed.
10. Create your own Christmas crackers. We did this for the first time last year, and it was so much fun.
We (my children and I) bought the inner tubes and cracker snaps from Riot, and we filled the crackers with a cracker snap, a wrapped Lindor chocolate ball, a handwritten Christmas joke, and a handmade paper crown. We then wrapped them in tissue paper, tied ribbons on the end, and put a small photo of the recipient on the front of the cracker!
Note: don’t make the tissue paper wrapping too thick. We did, and it was a little difficult to rip the crackers open…
Oh, a bonus tip – if you’re a ‘planner’, like me, you’ll love Alison May’s Brocante Home Christmas Planner, which features heaps of inspiration and dozens of checklists.
I hope this list has inspired you – and if you were feeling a bit jaded about the whole thing, I do hope that it’s reignited your Christmas spirit!
PS I’d love to hear what you love about Christmas – what traditions do you love to repeat every year? What new tradition/s would you like to start? Leave a comment and let me know!
The Infectious Power of Laughter
My children took a gold-coin donation to school today, to take part in the Laugh for Kids appeal – at the school assembly, they had to laugh for one minute!
They said it was strange at first, and that they were faking their laughter, but then it all seemed so ridiculous that everyone was laughing for real after a few seconds.
It reminded me of ‘laughter yoga’, and of the fantastic health benefits of laughing (not to mention the great things it does for our vibration!). So I dug out the above YouTube clip of John Cleese researching laughter yoga – the quality of the sound isn’t great, but you get the gist!
See if you aren’t smiling – or even giggling – by the end.
This has been a community service announcement!
Rock Meh!
You know how you just start humming random old songs? Maybe you’ll think of a word like ‘crazy’, and get the urge to start singing something like ‘…crazy for feelin’ so lone-lee-hee’? Surely that can’t just be ME?
Well, my girls always want to know more about the songs that Darren and I hum or (attempt to) sing at home, so we have started looking them up on YouTube.
Recently, Darren and I broke out with ‘Rock Me’ by Abba, and of course the girls wanted to see Abba in full technicolour.
So we found the clip for them on YouTube. We were soon all dancing around the office, and ended up breathless, collapsing in giggles. Good old Abba!
Thought I’d share this clip – hope it rocks your day, baby! I’m picking up some good vibrations…
Thank you, Leslie
Actor Leslie Nielsen died earlier this week, and I just wanted to pay tribute to this man, who always made me laugh. We speak a lot around here about raising your vibration, and laughter definitely does that – for some reason, Leslie Nielsen always tickled my funny bone, no matter what role he was in. Just looking at the daft expression he wears as Lt Frank Drebin makes me giggle.
The first gag in the above clip, where the tall man knocks a huge piece of banana off his face (a gag repeated in one of The Naked Gun movies), has become a joke in my extended family, with us mimicking it with all sorts of foods. Puerile, no doubt, but it never fails to have us rolling on the floor in fits!
Thank you, Leslie, for all the joy you brought to so many people. May you rest in peace.
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