"When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears." ~ Anthony Robbins
The above quote by Anthony Robbins is very true. Remembering to be grateful has the power to shift one's mood. It has the power to make a glass that once looked half empty, look half full. It is very difficult to remain pessimistic when you take time to look around yourself and consider all that is good and right in your life. Sure there are days where you might feel stretched to write a gratitude list, but even on the worst of days one can still find something to include.
Here is an eye opening video called the Miniature Earth. The idea behind it is that if the world's population was reduced to 100 people it would look like this....
Today I am grateful for:
having all my basic needs met abundantly (food, shelter, clothing) having clean water to drink and bathe in, as well as indoor plumbing this beautiful planet called Earth
What are you grateful for on this beautiful Grateful Monday?
Starting Monday there is going to be some Magic Mojo on the Red Boa. There are going to be regular postings on different topics. One Monday it will be "Grateful Monday," the next "Inspired Monday," followed by "Photo Monday," and "Express Yourself Monday" and so on. If you are reading this I hope you will return each Monday to play along. You can post comments and also include links to your own blog or web site and share in the fun! Magic Mojo Mondays are going to be a wonderful way to get the week rocking and rolling in a positive direction. Here is to living our dreams and creating our legendary lives!
Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter and multiple time Grammy winner, Alanis Morissette, speaks intimately to the trials and vicissitudes that come with being a woman on the front lines of power and influence. At twenty-one years of age, Alanis' album Jagged Little Pill skyrocketed her to unexpected worldwide recognition and fame, selling more than 30 million copies and becoming the best selling debut album of any female artist in music history. At this very young age, Alanis found herself thrust on an international stage, an icon of rock and roll whose voice was changing the face of the entire music industry. Through the swirl, Alanis made a fierce decision to stay true to her own voice amidst enormous pressure from both fans and industry insiders who all wanted to stake their claim in shaping her emerging career.
Here is Alanis performing Thank U
"Thank U"
how bout getting off these antibiotics how bout stopping eating when I'm full up how bout them transparent dangling carrots how bout that ever elusive kudo
thank you india thank you terror thank you disillusionment thank you frailty thank you consequence thank you thank you silence
how bout me not blaming you for everything how bout me enjoying the moment for once how bout how good it feels to finally forgive you how bout grieving it all one at a time
thank you india thank you terror thank you disillusionment thank you frailty thank you consequence thank you thank you silence
the moment I let go of it was the moment I got more than I could handle the moment I jumped off of it was the moment I touched down
how bout no longer being masochistic how bout remembering your divinity how bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out how bout not equating death with stopping
thank you india thank you providence thank you disillusionment thank you nothingness thank you clarity thank you thank you silence
Clearing ~ the act of making or becoming clear. Clear ~ a synonym for transparent
The word "clearing" and "clear" have been especially significant to me the past seven years. I entered into a new phase of life that included marriage, moving to a new community and then becoming a mommy to twin daughters. Sharing my life with a partner has taught me so much more about the real meaning of commitment, compromise and forgiveness. Being a parent also includes commitment and compromise, in addition to self-forgiveness and the practice of a whole new level of patience with myself and others.
I entered into therapy for the first time due to some struggles I was experiencing in my marriage and as a first time parent. It has been eye opening to view my life as a kind of web and to really see how the various parts of myself from the past and the present connect. There have been revelations that have been positive and helpful. Others have been painful, but also in their own way sometimes even more helpful. When you find yourself caught up in an unhealthy spiral, to finally have that aha moment of clarity, allows you to then break free and move in a different direction, make different choices and really see things through new eyes.
During the course of some work I have been doing with Shiloh McCloud and the Cosmic Cowgirl University in the 30 day on-line class called A Year of Great Promise I have again come to see more "clearly" how often my thoughts can travel back into the past and revisit old stories and events or project worries into the future. I once read that FEAR stands for False Expectations Appearing Real and I have never forgotten that because it is so true. If I am reminiscing about wonderful happy memories that is all fine and good. However, if my wanders into the past are more focused on loss, grief, sadness, and those things that cause me pain, I am unnecessarily living them over and over again. In the opposite direction there is that thinking about the future too much. Dreaming, Visioning, and Planning out one's future is the best part about thinking about one's future. Yet when I find that my focus becomes more about my worries and fears about what could happen, then my focus on the future becomes unproductive and even self-defeating.
I don't want to suggest that all wanders into the hurtful past are self indulgent. Certainly it can be necessary to bring something from the past into the light so you can experience a breakthrough of sorts and finally move forward. An example might be when you are feeling anxiety and you really don't quite know what is at the heart of the matter. So you find yourself taking an on-line class with Shiloh and some of the prompts and questions prove difficult and intitally you find yourself resisting answering, writing and responding, but as you stick with it there comes upon you a realization of what is truly at the center of that anxiety. There is your clearing. There is that point of bringing what was hidden into the light. There is your opportunity for recognition and then release, or perhaps action, if that is what is called for in order for you to move forward.
In this clearing I have realized how profoundly my own thoughts affect me. I can allow my thoughts to get bogged down in thinking about old negative story lines from my past or worries and fears about my future. When I get bogged down in the past and future there isn't as much room for Focusing on my Vision or all the positives in my life or all of my many blessings. This is my challenge - to stop those unhealthy and negative wanderings and redirect my thoughts back to the present and what I am doing NOW. Positive thoughts create positive feelings. Positive feelings make you feel good and make you feel happier. This brings me full circle to my Life Vision. I want to be a force for Positive change in my life, the lives of my family and friends and if I widen the circle I would also say in my community and in the world.
It all starts with my thoughts and where I choose to focus them.
the rainbows that you sometimes wear like magical jewels
and underneath your stunning appearance
you are humble
You are a provider
a giver of life
if it were not for you
and the water that covers
two thirds of your surface
there would be no life
and yet you are humble
There are those
in certain circles
who are concerned
about worshipping you
as a deity
and yet it seems
that since our very
lives and survival
depends on you
that there needs to be
greater Reverence in how we view you
There needs to be more
love and respect
in our actions and thoughts
towards you
and while we can celebrate
that forty years ago
inspired individuals celebrated
the first Earth Day on
April 22, 1970
we must also honor that
every day is Earth Day
Here are the lyrics that appear in the above art work.
Jack Johnson featuring Ben Harper
"With My Own Two Hands" I can change the world With my own two hands Make it a better place With my own two hands Make it a kinder place With my own two hands With my own With my own two hands I can make peace on earth With my own two hands I can clean up the earth With my own two hands I can reach out to you With my own two hands With my own With my own two hands I'm going to make it a brighter place With my own two hands I'm going to make it a safer place With my own two hands I'm going to help the human race With my own two hands With my own With my own two hands I can hold you With my own two hands I can comfort you With my own two hands But you've got to use Use your own two hands Use your own Use your own two hands With our own With our own two hands With my own With my own two hands
Queen 1. a female ruler 2. an admired woman 3. the most powerful chess piece 4. a woman eminent in rank, power or attractions 5. a goddess or a female having supremacy in a specified realm.
Cindy Ratzlaff and Kathy Kinney
Are you looking for something inspiring and entertaining to read? Then look no further than the book Queen of Your Own Life: The Grown-Up Woman's Guide to Claiming Happiness and Getting the Life You Deserve by authors Cindy Ratzlaff and Kathy Kinney. You might recognize Kathy Kinney from her role on the Drew Carey show as she played Mimi.
In the book they share techniques that they call "The seven best gifts a woman can give herself." These seven gifts elaborate on the following:
Claiming your beauty and feeling your power.
Cleaning your mental closet and finding your queen voice.
Admiring yourself for who you've become.
Building deep, fulfilling friendships with other women.
Establishing firm boundaries that will strengthen all your relationships.
Learning the simple trick to finally being happy.
Placing the crown firmly on your head.
Cindy and Kathy manage to keep the reading rather light, even as they tackle topics like Kathy's below-sea-level self-esteem. They takes turns sharing stories from their personal lives to help elaborate and get their point across and that includes some real nuggets of wisdom along the way.
Here are a couple of excerpts to give you a taste of the book~ "I've had my share of grief and sadness in my life but the truth is that a lot of my unhappiness has been created by me. I was so busy borrowing worry from the future, about things that were probably never going to happen, that I was destroying any chance of happiness in my present. I had no gratitude for all the abundance I did have and no faith that I would be able to hang on to any of it. I didn't understand that being happy and worry free is a choice, and making that choice on a daily basis takes practice."
"I believed that I had to suffer in order to be worthy of anything I received. I thought if something came too easily to me, I hadn't earned it and therefore didn't deserve to enjoy it. I now believe that life i supposed to be easy and joyful. When it is difficult and painful, it's a sign that I need to change something."
"We have a secret to tell you. You already were the Queen of Your Own Life. You just needed a couple of good friends like us to hold up the mirror to help you see what we see -- your best self, a woman who has been made wiser and stronger by the journey, who is beautiful just the way she is and who she is more than capable of creating a life for herself that is filled with joy."
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