To be beautiful means to accept yourself

I think the quote speaks for itself.  Accept yourself right now exactly as you are and see how beautiful you really are.  You are pure love and you are beautiful.  Don't wait until you have the house, partner, or job of your dreams.  Don't wait until you get to your ideal weight, health, and energy levels.  Love and accept yourself right now.  You are a miracle and you are amazing!!

Feel your own love and acceptable and embrace the power you have to achieve any goal.  Your beauty, awesomeness, and power do not depend on anything that you don't already have!  You are fabulous.  You are special.  You are wonderful and you are lovable and loved and loving.  You are beauty.

What are you going to do to celebrate yourself and your magnificence today?  Do something today and let me know what it is and how it made you feel!!

I love you!

Loving Ourselves

One thing I found working with different people, as well as from my own experience, is that often we don't even realize that there's a part of us that really doesn't love and accept ourselves for who we are. That lack of love and understanding and acceptance are often what holds us back from achieving our dreams. That lack is also what often causes dis-ease in our bodies.

Today I'd like to invite you to say, "I love you and accept you unconditionally, ______!" (fill in your name) every time you pass a mirror. I want you to look yourself in the eyes and say it like you mean it. If you do this for 30 days, you will be able to see miracles occurring in your life. You may find that you see aches and pains disappearing. You may find yourself noticing miracles happening every day. I would love to hear how this works for you. The key is to keep at it even if it feels silly or if you think it's pointless. Just try it. Think of it as an experiment.

You may find things come up that you didn't realize. This may give you insight into what else is holding you back. Some limiting beliefs may emerge. Sometimes people see that even though they really thought they loved and accepted themselves, there's that time that they yelled that their parents, a coworker, a fellow driver, or their children and they still feel really bad about it. Let whatever comes up, come up and just acknowledge and accept it. Tell yourself how you love yourself anyway. Sometimes we have done things we haven't forgiven ourselves for yet.  It doesn't matter what you've done or who you are you deserve love especially from yourself! When you start loving yourself more you'll also notice that you feel loved from other people a lot more too.

Report back in the me know how it goes. In the meantime, know that I love you! You are wonderful and lovable simply because you exist! That is truth!

Happiness

Look around you next time you are out.  How many people look happy?  I'm often astounded because so few people really look like they are happy.  The same goes when you talk to them.  I believe one of the main reasons for this is that they are looking for happiness outside of themselves. Happiness comes from inside. As Denis Waitley says, it comes from a sense of love and gratitude and grace. It is also a choice which we often forget. We are taught to focus on the things that have gone wrong so that we can fix them, however, when we do that were always thinking of things that don't make us happy.

I remember one of the first things I read about parenting is never to tell your kids to think about what they did wrong. The reason for that is because then that's all they are thinking about. Instead we should tell them to think about what they could have done differently that would've been a better choice. The same is true for us when we've done something that we would rather done differently. Rather than focusing on what we did and beating ourselves up about it, reliving it over and over again in our minds, we should focus on what we would have liked to have done.

A great exercise that I invite you to try is tonight when you go to bed if there's anything that went "wrong" in your day, think about how you would've liked that situation to go. Think about what the outcome would've been if you could change it.  Remember to think about the whole situation and make the changes.  In other words, if someone yelled at you at work, instead of thinking about the perfect comeback you could have made - think about how you would prefer to be treated and see them treating you that way.

Let me know how it goes.

Pursue Your Dreams and Find Your Passion

It's funny all the stories we tell ourselves to keep us "safe" and not following our dreams!  The truth is "safe" and "secure" are illusions that keep us in the known which is not always what we want.

If you are not living a life that you absolutely love - what's holding you back?  Are you afraid of suffering if you pursue your dreams? What's can happen? What are you telling yourself?

Today I want you to write down exactly what your ideal life would look like. Where would you live? Be specific. Would you live in a house or an apartment? What city or state would you like to live in? What is your home look like? How do you spend your days? What do you love to do? How do you serve others? How do you make money?

I want you to dream big! This is an about what you think is possible this is about what do you want, what is your dream?

Let me know how it goes.

Allow Yourself to Love

Ask yourself today what you are doing to avoid feeling love.  Have you blocked any love from coming to you?  Just look and be aware.  If something comes up, ask yourself how you can release this and go from there.

Affirm that love comes to you easily and effortlessly and that you feel and share your love easily and effortless.

Let me know how it goes.

Love

Today I ask you to just take 5 minutes and think about how you can show love to yourself and others.  What random acts of kindness can you do?  How can you show compassion and understanding to others? How can you use what you are passionate about to be of service to others?

Think about it and take action.  Do something, even if it is small, and let me know how it made you feel?

A Loving Heart

When we have a loving heart, we are open to everything and it is in being open that we can have anything we desire!

Today, allow yourself to be open to the infinite field of possibilities.  Be open to loving everyone and everything simply because they exist.  Be open to light-heartedness.  Be open to learning and being.

Enjoy the day and let me know how it goes.  Be gentle with yourself and just allow awareness to enter.

Namaste!

Spread Love

"Spread love wherever you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." ~ Mother Teresa

I found one of the best ways to have people feel happier after interacting with me is by letting them know how important they are. The way I like to do that is to ask them questions about them.  Give them the opportunity to talk about what is important to them and really listen.  Don't listen with the intention of commenting or responding but listen with the intention of letting them know they are heard.

We are all important and we are all so busy that sometimes we don't spend the time truly connecting to people and seeing what is going on in their life.  Sometimes we leave interactions feeling "unimportant." Genuine interest and concern and listening, along with a glowing smile, will do so much good for the person receiving those gifts.  (The giver benefits, too, since it is in giving that we receive.)

Today, take an extra few minutes to really listen to the people in your life.  Listen closely to your kids, your partner, your neighbor, and the clerk at the store.  We are all people.  We all have ups and downs.  We all have emotions and hopes and dreams.  We are all connected. Feel that connection and let others know you feel it and they will always walk away happier having connected with another human being.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love Valentine's Day because it's the one day of the year that we are reminded to focus on love. While most people tend to focus on loving somebody else, I think it's more important to start with loving yourself.

This Valentine's Day I'd like you to know that you are loved and to remember to show yourself love, compassion, and understanding. Take this day to appreciate all that you do and to acknowledge yourself. Do something special for you. Once you've done that, it's a great day to also show everybody else that you love them! While Valentine's Day is traditionally about romantic love, it's just as important to focus on unconditional love with everyone you meet.

Have a spectacular Valentine's Day!

I love you!

P.S.  It's okay to treat every day as Valentine's Day!!

"Do all things with love."  ~ Og Mandino

Would You Rather Be Right or Happy?

A Course in Miracles asks, "Would you rather be right or happy?"  It's really amazing how many people choose right over happy and then wonder why they aren't happy.

Sometimes you are right but you insist everyone else knows you are right rather than being happy and just knowing it yourself.  I see this all the time in work situations but my favorite example is from when my kids were young. They would decide to have a race, and the one who came in second would say that he won. The one who knew he came in first would get so upset and angry because he knew he won and yet his brother insisted that he won. I remember saying, "Did you come in first? Do you know the came in first? Does that mean you won?" Of course the answer would be, "Yes, I won!" Then my response would be, "Then what difference does it make what he says? Why are you getting so upset?"

Too often we search outside of ourselves for recognition rather than just knowing what we know and being happy. Nobody else needs to know what our accomplishments are all the time, we need to just be happy in our own knowing. Of course that does mean we need to recognize and acknowledge ourselves.

The other thing that happens when you insist that you are right (even if you are) is that the other person often becomes defensive and uncooperative.  Hard feelings often emerge. Most times, it doesn't really matter.  There is no need to correct people when they make a mistake, it only makes them feel bad.  (I do recognize there are times when you do need to correct someone if safety is an issue or because you are training them but those happen less often.)

Today, look for the opportunity to choose to be happy!

More smiles

"I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish." ~ Mother Teresa

I know I just wrote about the importance of smiling but I wanted to post again about it.  Smiling has such an amazingly positive impact of others.  It really has the power to change the direction of someone's day and even their life.  It costs nothing.  It has a physical impact of the person smiling, too.  

Who took me up on the challenge to smile at everyone you met the other day?  Who will do it now?  Also, for the ultimate affect, try your most genuine smile.  For everyone you meet, imagine they are you long lost favorite relative or friend.  Imagine that seeing them is the most amazing thing ever.  You can even say, "Hi, it's good to see you!"  Trust me you'll make a difference.

I remember when I was working in Boston and I'd walk down the sidewalk with a big smile on my face and make eye contact with people and acknowledge them as I walked by.  It felt strange when I started doing it and I know a lot of people wondered if I was mentally unstable but... I also know that it made many, many other people smile, too.   I could feel how their smile helped melt some of the stress they were feeling.  That might be even more so for the people who thought I was crazy :-)  The fact is, I felt great, too.  So many people who I saw regularly began to respond as if we were long lost friends.  They knew that they were special and that they made a connection.  That's what we all want and need - connection with others.  So go ahead and make sure you smile at everyone you see today.

Please let me know how it goes!! 

You can make easily make a big difference in this world - all you need to do is smile.

Enjoy Life

Don't be so intent on achieving your goals that you forget to enjoy life!  Goals are super important but too often people move through life trying to make more money and get more "stuff" but they forget to enjoy life.

Every day is a gift and no matter what you have or where you are, you CAN be happy.  Focus on what you do have and you will get more plus you'll be much happier in the process!!

Look around and see the beauty that exists.  Slow down and take a deep breath.  You are alive and you have the power to create your life the way you want it every day.  Be present.  Enjoy!

Let me know what steps you take today to stop and smell the roses!!

Follow Your Bliss - Love Your Life

Many people find themselves dreading going to work and they are simply miserable.  Most heart attacks happen on Monday mornings!!

Many people have given up on being able to really follow their bliss and they settle for a "good job" and a "good life" that leaves them feeling empty and unfulfilled.  It doesn't have to be that way and in fact, it's the opposite of how it's supposed to be.  Life is meant to be enjoyed.  We are supposed to LOVE life!!  We are supposed to be happy!

We get so caught up in our limiting beliefs that we actually believe we don't have a choice.  We may think, "There is no way to make a living doing what we love."  That's simply not true.  I firmly believe that we can make a living doing what we love and have seen it over and over again.

If you are not waking up every morning excited to start the day, we can change that and I challenge you to take the first step towards living a life of passion and purpose.  The first step is to be abundantly clear about exactly what you want.  Don't worry about the how, simply write down what your ideal day would be like.  Think about what really makes you happy.  Decide what steps you can take today to move in the direction of your dreams.  Write them down.  Write down as many steps as you can think of and start checking them off one by one.  You can live a life you love!!

As always, let me know what you come up with and what action steps you are going to take today.

Smile

Remember to smile.  Smiling releases chemicals in your brain that actually improve your mood.  In addition to that, smiling at others makes them happy and they tend to smile back which also improves your mood.  The ripple effect of one smile can make a world of difference.

So today, make an effort to smile at everyone you see.  Let me know how you feel and how your day goes!

Laughter

Laughter is the best medicine. Sometimes we forget the importance of laughing and as a society we've become way too serious for our own good and for our health! Laughter brings joy to us and to other people who see us laughing. It's been medically proven to help people who are sick. Norman Cousins healed himself from two "terminal" illnesses by laughter alone. One of the reasons for that is because it allows oxygen to get deep into our lungs and for us to expel the old stale oxygen that's in there .  Oxygen is the most healing thing we have. They actually have oxygen tanks now that they put people in to heal because when cells have the appropriate amount of oxygen they can heal anything that's wrong with them.

Another very important thing about laughing and one of the premises for laughter yoga is that it creates peace. The goal is world peace. There been studies that show that prisoners that do laughter yoga become much more calm and much less violent. That is also been shown that people cannot be mean to other people while they're laughing and in that state of happiness.

I am looking to bring laughter yoga into schools. I know my children are often told not to laugh at school and I think that's kind of sad. It's important to laugh and it's important to find humor in all situations. When we stop being able to do that, we lose a big ability to heal physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Also, in this age of bullying, if we allow students to laugh together and create that bond, connection, and sense of community there will be a lot less meanness and bullying happening because of those friendships formed through laughter.

Laughter provides you with a great aerobic workout as well as an ab workout!  

Laughter is a universal language. 

Laughter is a sign of happiness and joy .

Spend some time laughing today!  You don't need to have a reason and nothing actually needs to be funny to start laughing.  If you pretend laugh, the positive effects are the same on your body and your health!  And most people start to laugh for real after pretend laughing because it's funny just because it's fun!

Forgiveness: The Other F-word

The funny thing about forgiveness is that we often think it's about the other person or situation. Sometimes we also don't want to do it because we know we are right and they are wrong!  The fact is, that's irrelevant to forgiving.  Right and wrong don't come into play with forgiveness. As Louise Hay says, "Forgiveness opens our hearts to self-love."  It in turn opens us up to joy and success.  

Forgiveness doesn't mean the other person was right or justified or that their behavior is acceptable and should be condoned.  Forgiveness is about letting go of the anger and the resentment which live inside you.  It's like the old saying that resentment is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die.  It doesn't work that way - you are the one affected and resentment and unforgiveness eat away at you every day whether you realize it or not.  They take away your joy and your life.  

The past is over and it only exists now in our minds.  Yet we let it keep tormenting us on a daily basis.  It's time to let go.  It's time to forgive everyone who has done anything to hurt you.  You can start by just affirming, "I am willing to forgive _________."  It also sometimes helps to remember that no one hurts another person if they aren't hurting inside.  While that doesn't make it right, perhaps we can have understanding and compassion.  

It's also important to forgive ourselves. Sometimes we feel bad because we yelled at someone or we didn't do something we said we were going to do.  It happens, it's part of being human.  We need to let it go.  We need to forgive ourselves and love ourselves unconditionally. When possible, it's great to apologize if we feel bad about something or to make it up to someone if we can.  But either way, you must forgive yourself.  When we feel bad about anything, we are more likely to do things that make us feel bad again.  

Your assignment today is to think of someone who you need to forgive and start the process.  Remember, this is about you, not them.  They don't necessarily even need to know you are forgiving them.  If the situation is such that you want to tell them and that will help you and not cause any issues then by all means you can.  The most important part of the exercise is to forgive.  Feel what you need to feel about person and the situation and then let it go.  It's important that we acknowledge our feelings.  Allow them because they are important but then release them so you can move on and live freely.

As always, I welcome your feedback and would love to hear about your successes and challenges with forgiveness.  It is a wonderful teacher if we are open to its lessons!

Kindness

To continue our February focus on love and heart health, I need to talk about kindness which is way too often underestimated.

A simple smile at or kind word to a stranger may brighten their day.  It may help them to remember they are connected to others.  It could save their life.  I have heard several stories about people who were planning their suicide but a random act of kindness, sometimes from a complete stranger, changed their outlook on life.  That not only affects that person but everyone in their life that their suicide would have impacted.

Every interaction we have has a ripple effect and we need to be aware of that so we can have a positive effect.  When you are going through the line at the grocery or department store (or anywhere), smile and make eye contact with the cashier.  Ask them how their day is going?  Make small talk - ask them about their life and watch the change on their face.  Notice the change in their energy.  You have just made their day with a simple act of kindness.  They will in turn treat the next person in line differently and the ripple begins.

Just a quick note about "bullies".  People who are feeling love do not hurt other people.  If someone is playing the role of bully it is because they are hurting and need to feel loved.  Your smile or kind words may have a bigger effect that you know.  It's easy to get mad (rippling in the wrong direction) but feeling love and compassion for them will make a much bigger difference.

It is really easy to show interest and caring for another person and it doesn't cost any money but you will both benefit more than you can imagine.

I challenge you to do at least one random act of kindness after you read this.  You'll be glad you did.  Report back and let me know what you did and how you feel.

15 Benefits of Almonds - Heart Healthy Nuts

I've been called a "nut" on more than one occasion but that's not what I'm talking about today.  Nuts sometimes get a bad rap.  Most nuts are actually really good for you.  Today I will focus on almonds.  I am also going to suggest having a serving on them today and every day.  Preferably raw almonds.

Benefits of Almonds:

1. Lower Cholesterol
2. Reduce risk of heart disease
3. Reduce risk of cancer
4. Provide Vitamin E, copper, magnesium, and protein
5. Help to boost your energy level
6. High in fiber
7. High in healthy fat
8. Build strong bones and teeth
9. Protect arteries from damage
10. Alkalize the body
11. Lower the rise of blood sugar and insulin after meals
12. Good "brain food" and may reduce risk of Alzheimer's
13. Helps maintain a healthy weight
14. Anti-inflammatory
15. Good during pregnancy because they contain folic acid which decreases birth defects

Try eating these for a snack - they are nice and easy to bring with you.  

February - Focus on Love and the Heart

Okay - so my focus for this month is going to be love and the heart.  I'll share some heart healthy nutrition, focus on self-love, and loving your life and everything in it.

The first and most important type of love I want to focus on is self-love.  Not in the egotistical way people often think of self-love.  In fact, when we are vein and talk about ourselves constantly, it usually means we are actually lacking in self-esteem, self-love, and self-confidence.  Because of that we often "brag" in order to get recognition.  Who doesn't want recognition?  We all do but when we don't give it to ourselves along with love, we focus on getting it from the outside and anyone who will give it to us.

So, for the month of February, I challenge myself and each one of you to make a daily commit of self-love and recognition through a mirror exercise.  I want you to look yourself in the eyes every time you pass a mirror and say, "I love you, ________, I really, really love you.  I appreciate all you do and I accept you exactly as you are right now!" (Insert your name where the blank is.)

If you are in a private location, say it aloud. If you are in a public restroom, you can absolutely say it to yourself since I may get a lot of funny looks.  :)  If you want to still say it out loud you can use that as a conversation starter and teach others the importance of loving themselves.  When we all are completely full of love, there will be no aggression toward ourselves or others.  When we recognize that we are all connected and all more similar than we are different, we will find peace and compassion.  We all have feelings and emotions, we all crave love and recognition, we all have positive and negative experiences that affect us - we are all here living life on this planet and experiencing many of the same types of things although the specifics may be different.

The second part of the challenge is before bed go to the mirror and tell yourself aloud how much you appreciate all the things you did well during that day. It could be anything.  If you are having a particularly bad day, it may simply be that you got yourself out of bed and went to work.  Nothing is too small to acknowledge.  If you made a healthy selection of food or drink, if you acknowledged someone else and made them feel good.  If you got your kids to school on time.  It doesn't matter what it is - only focus on the good.  And finish up by saying, "I love you, ___________, and I really appreciate you.  I forgive you for all the things you feel need forgiving.  I forgive you for not giving yourself enough credit.  I forgive everyone who doesn't recognize what you do.  I love you!!  You are amazing.  I really, really love you!!"

Try this for the month - please tell me how you feel.  Do you notice any differences?  You may even want to journal about this so you see the difference.  Can you look yourself in the eyes when you say these loving words to yourself? Do you want to cry?  Do you notice a shift?  Please do share.  This can be transformational if you commit to it.

This month know that you are loved.  And focus on feeling the love from others put most importantly from yourself.  I love you!!  Namaste!!