It's about Time!

Wow, It's hard to believe my last blog post was in 2012. Needless to say my journey is getting better and better. 

Ok here goes …♫♪ Dun dun dun dun dun “it might seem crazy what I’m bout to say♬♬

Yes, I want to sing, I want to dance, I want to shout it from the mountaintop:  

I am quitting my J.O.B. (just over broke) in 4 count’um, 4 weeks!!!!   Oh my gosh that felt good!!!

Ok why am I doing this? Because I’ve had enough.  I’ve worked for this company for 7 years pretty much doing the same thing because there’s no growth in my department and quite honestly it’s not even about that. It’s about my life and my time. I want my life back and I want to spend time doing the things I love and enjoy with the people I love and enjoy. Once again it takes me back to my old friend Marsha who said all of the time “life is too short to be unhappy”. Although Marsha was very young (early 20’s) her philosophy about life has been quoted for centuries and has so much truth behind it. Life really is too short to be unhappy. We get caught up in what we perceive to be reality, which is more or less consumerism. We think we’re working our good jobs when actually we work for the bank to pay our mortgage, we work for the car company to make our payments, we work for the credit card companies to pay for all the junk that we think we think will make us happy, when what we really need to do is turn off the television, which tells lies to your vision, and spend some time listening just listening to our breath. When was the last time you drove around without the car radio on or not talking on the phone? Try it sometimes and you’ll see how great and alive you feel living in the present. Anyway, back to why I’m leaving my J.O.B.  During the time that I’m sitting at my desk shuffling papers I have the opportunity to listen to podcasts and watch YouTube videos. I watch all kinds of videos including movies but mostly I enjoy videos about living a better life and getting into shape. My days are packed with videos of affirmations and inspiration, which then leads me to take notes sometimes because the lecture is so profound. There are wonderful videos on YouTube of motivational speakers like Les Brown, Tony Robbins, Lisa Nichols, Bob Proctor and Jack Canfield just to name a few. Listening to these speakers everyday has helped me to grow and learn more about myself and about how we as a spirit beings dwelling on this planet can use our powers and abilities to change our circumstance and heal ourselves with the power of belief. You see, your thoughts create your feelings, which in turn create your belief. This may not be news to you but it sure was to me. It was like I knew this but I didn’t know it. So when you think about it, truly it’s mind blowing and it shows that you have the ability to control your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and the outcome of your entire life. Ok whew!!!! This is getting deep, more than I was planning on going but it’s good stuff to me. We’ll talk more about that at a later date but I love this stuff because it’s what helped me to realize that I can quit my job and make a living doing what I enjoy which is exactly what all of those motivational speakers did. Anyway, before I start up my heart based business I’m going to do some traveling. First up….. New York City!

Thank you!

Thank you. Two words with a powerful meaning. Those words can change a negative attitude, heal relationships and bring closure to a situation if spoken with sincerity. My spirit keeps bringing me back to gratitude. I understand that when you desire a change or if you want to manifest something in your life having gratitude brings it to you faster so I'm going to spend the next 30 days in gratitude. It’s funny how the law of attraction works because I was attracting a lot of things to me about gratitude and then I received an email from this website that I’m subscribed to and the teacher is doing 30 days of gratitude so I decided to join him on his journey. His name is Peter Adams and each morning he also does what he calls “an hour of power” which is spending an hour each and every morning in prayer and meditation. I can speak from experience and say that this exercise really does change your life. The way you respond to things and people whether it’s “good” or “bad” your attitude will be completely different.

 

I remember when I was in my mid 20’s I used to spend that quiet time alone seeking and believing that there had to be more. I was single, my son was very young at the time my cousin and I were roommates and I had a part time job that started at noon. I would drop my son off to school and when I got home the apartment would be empty. Our apartment faced a lake so I would go outside and close my eyes and listen to the birds singing and just relax.

I would sit there sometimes just being grateful for the serenity and the stillness of the day. I have to admit that I really miss those quiet alone times and the simplicity of my life at that time. I think I was a bit ahead of my time because I was not able to find a group of people who supported my intuitiveness. I did have a friend whose husband was into spirituality but he involved beliefs about Christ that I did not agree with so I did not connect with him. Nonetheless, I’m grateful for my experiences and that I was brought to a place of seeking and desiring more. I’m grateful for where I am right now and that I have the desire to do more, see more and be more. I’m grateful for my family and that everyone is alive and healthy. I’m grateful for being able to document my feelings and share them with whomever is interested. Maybe you’re on the same path of seeking more because you believe there’s more. Well, there is and it all begins with YOU. Be grateful for person, every experience, every situation, everything, no matter what it is.

              Gratitude changes everything!!

The mind is a terrible thing to waste

I found this awesome quote on Pinterest.com by Eleanor Roosevelt. I decided to blog about it because lately I find myself in the midst of small minds. With that being said, I am making a conscious decision to remove myself from those types of situations. In order to create our best life and to attract great things to ourselves, we have to stay in the light, meaning we need to surround ourselves with positive people who are discussing ideas and things that will help us to be better in some shape or form whether it's financially, spiritually, mentally or socially.

As Proverbs 4:23 says, "We have to guard our hearts because everything flows from it". So if we allow negative people, music or TV shows into our hearts, our spirit-man which is our true nature begins to fade and we end up lost and caught up in this human experience, thinking this is all there is. But as spirit be-ings we have to understand that there is so much more to this life than what we see with our carnal eyes. We have to turn off the TV, shut down the computer and spend time in prayer and meditation which will lead us to our purpose. Yep, I'm letting it all out in this one.

There are tons of inspiration bible scriptures, spiritual verses, quotes and books about the mind. One of my favorites comes from the bible:



As a Man thinketh, in his heart so is he
Proverbs 23:7

The other is a simple book entitled Don't let your mind stunt your growth by Dr. Brian E. Robinson, PhD. There are several great books about your thinking: James Allen, As A Man Thinketh, Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, Ernest Holmes Creative Mind just to name a few.

All of these offer insight as to why things happen to us and why we allow certain things and people in our lives. Your life is shaped and formed by your thoughts, beliefs and actions. Your thoughts create things and whatever you believe to be true will be true for you. So if you believe that you will never meet the love of your life or that person doesn't exist then guess what? You will never meet the love of your life. If you believe it's hard to make money or you'll never be wealthy then that's exactly what will show up in your life; lack, struggle and poverty. If you keep attracting the same situation or the same type of person over and over again, it's very possible that you have some limiting beliefs that are blocking you from moving forward. If undiscovered, those limiting beliefs can keep you in a cycle of dismay and regret. Some people go through a lifetime living this way and never understand why these things keep happening to them. If you get nothing else out of this blog, please know and understand that you are a co-creator with God and you are constantly creating whether it's positive things or negative things. Take a close look at your life and see what you've created thus far. If you're pleased with your results then good for you but if you're not so pleased or you have areas that need help, ponder how you feel about these areas and examine yourself to see what limiting belief you may hold that's blocking you from being successful in that area. I encourage you to change your thoughts in order to change your life because your mind is a very powerful organic machine. After all, you really are what you think you are.

Inspiration Time

Inspiration Time

Last week at work one of my coworkers passed out a little baggie filled with sweet treats to celebrate spring. Each baggie was a different pastel color with different colored Easter grass in the bottom and attached to the baggies was a little note printed on bright yellow paper that said:

                                                                                                

                                                        May Day

                  Live every moment  

                             Laugh every day

                       Love beyond words

JHappy SpringJ

This little note brought me joy that day because I have these words carved in wood in my den and kitchen. I ate some of the delicious treats but I kept the note because it is a reminder of how important it is to LIVE, LAUGH, and LOVE. It reminds me of my old college buddy Marsha. She used to say all the time “life is too short to be unhappy” and she was so right. At that time she was single and had 3 daughters and she lived in a fabulous townhome with her kids. She was a few years younger than me and she always had such a positive outlook. I admired how she LIVEd her life to the fullest by taking nice family vacations with her daughters, working hard to put herself through school to support her family and how she made sure to provide a nice safe home and environment for her family. She LAUGHed all the time and she always had a smile on her face. When things went wrong she didn’t get upset, she just said “oh well, that’s life” and took whatever the challenge was in stride. And she LOVEd her daughters beyond words. She would always give them kisses and hugs and they were always hugging and laying on her whenever they could squeeze into an open space. Now, she wasn’t perfect but she was a genuinely good person and friend. She was my maid of honor at my wedding and unfortunately after getting married I lost contact with her. But these words brought back the great memory of my friend Marsha to LIVE every moment consciously, LAUGH every day, even if it’s at yourself and LOVE beyond words by giving hugs and kisses to those who you love. Life is too short to be unhappy, so just LIVE, LAUGH AND LOVE. Thanks Marsha!!

                  

Adventure Time

Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day, I've got a wonderful feeling, everythings going my way!!! What a nice and simple song. I like to sing it every now and again and when I do people look at me like I'm crazy but hey, that's what I'm feeling yo, LOL!!! Ok seriously, I'm so grateful for my life and my journey of intention. I'm really coming out of my comfort zone and doing things that I've wanted to do for years and it feels gosh darn awesome man!! I mean, I made the decision (and yes when you want to do something you have to make a quality decision) to spend this spring exploring and doing outdoor things that I've been wanting to do and this past Saturday I went hiking with my friend Tracy at a state park called Washington on the Brazos. 

Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site is where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed on March 2, 1836. It is the birthplace of Texas. We went there for 2 reasons, my friend loves history and I wanted to see the wildflowers. This place is known to have a beautiful blue bonnet field but unfortunately because of the strange weather we've been having lately and the drought last year, the blue bonnets bloomed very early and didn't last very long at all but there were other beautiful wildflowers that stole the show.

We walked along the trail and listened to the gravel crunching under our feet. I love that sound. When we stopped the only sound  we could hear was the birds singing. I took this time to reflect on how awesome this beautiful earth is and how wonderful God is for getting us there safely. I was very grateful that I finally got to experience the wildflowers of this wonderful state. The colors were so vivid and bright and they smelled fantastic. At this moment I felt like everything was okay in the world. It's amazing how serenity makes you feel.

  We continued our walk with very little conversation other than pointing to the beautiful flowers and attempting to name them. I verbally thanked God for this experience because it was something I've always wanted to do and I thanked God for my friend who wanted to share this experience with me. I joked that I hope we wouldn't be attacked by wild animals when she discovered bobcat poo and then I almost stepped on a snake.

Yeah, I was ready to go after that. We rounded the trail and came upon a couple having a picnic and we saw a photographer in the bushes about 25 feet away from the couple and the photographer told us that it was a proposal. What a beautiful day it was for such an awesome event.  I would have loved to hang around to see it but I think we would have given it away so we continued on to the river overlook which was another peaceful area of the park. I could have stayed there for hours just watching the water and listening to the birds.

The day was perfect, the sun wasn't too hot and there was only one snake and no visible bobcats, thank goodness!! But after thanking God for allowing me to see this beauty, I found that am really interested in seeing other state parks. I'm sure I won't be able to see them all this spring but I do want to visit more and also take a nature class or something to know how to respond to the wild animals that are out there so that I can be protected. I mean, nature is in the wild and there are all kinds of creatures that go from place to place and you never know if someone owned a wild animal and didn't want it anymore and dropped it off in the preserve so just for my own peace of mind I'd like to know what to do. My friend who is a native Texan and lives in the country says she's never seen a live snake before and honestly that was my 2nd time in my life coming close to walking on a snake. Anyway, I enjoyed myself immensly and I hope that if anything, what you will take from my adventure is to get outside and have an adventure of your own. Go somewhere you've never been and open yourself up to experiencing something new. Keep moving and growing so that you can discover new things about yourself. I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Just Be happy

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response.
- Mildred Barthel

I love this quote because this is so very true: Happiness is a choice.  Your happiness comes from inside of you, not from circumstances, other people, increases or anything that would be outside of you because again, it’s a choice. I’ve often heard people say I’ll be happen when this or that happens. Well what if those things never happen, or happen years from now? Are you going to put your happiness on hold? If you wait for something or someone to make you happen, you’re limiting yourself because it’s a choice you can make right at this very moment.

                                                                     

Did you know that there is a "happy" meditation that you can do to change your vibration? Yep, it’s true. This meditation is so simple and all it takes is for you to make up your mind and open yourself up to it. All you have to do is close your eyes and smile. When you smile, that action brings forth good feelings which trigger good thoughts. Sometimes you may just laugh at yourself because you’re sitting with your eyes close and smiling. Either way, it works.

For this new year, I choose to do those things that make me happy. I choose to live my life on purpose, laugh more, hug more, take more pictures, say “I love you” more, make more phone calls, spend more time outdoors, and just live more. So this weekend I went hiking with the hubby and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. As we started down the trail, the birds seem to serenade us and welcome us to the woods. They sang with so much vigor and beauty, I immediately felt a sense of calm and peace. I noticed an older gentleman sitting on a bench and as we got closer to him I looked at him to say “hello” but he had his eyes close, his head was slightly leaned back as if he was listening to the singing birds, he had a very peaceful smile on his face and he tapped his foot. He didn’t have any earplugs in his ears for music so that led me to believe he was simply enjoying the music of the birds. Watching this man enjoy this moment gave me a feeling of “connection” and ushered me into the state of mind to enjoy the moment. I think my hubby felt it too because he reached out and grabbed my hand.

As we walked along in this peaceful place watching the butterflies flutter along and the lizards creep across the sidewalk, I verbally thanked God and allowed gratefulness to overtake me. I felt so grateful for the beautiful day, grateful for the cool breeze (it was about 70 degrees), grateful that although it had rained a couple days before, there were NO MOSQUITOS. I took this time to reflect on all of the things that mattered most to me like my mom & dad, and all of my loved ones. I thought about how blessed I am and how good it felt to be moving and alive.



attempting to count the age of the tree

We walked the trail for about 40 minutes or so with very little conversation. I think we were both basking in our own worlds but grateful to be together. We came to the map and I wanted to see the botanical gardens because I figured that it’s spring so things should be in bloom. We crossed the path to head over to the botanical gardens and to my surprise it was a blooming wonder. I can’t imagine why I thought this was my secret place because there were quite a few people there taking pictures and walking with their children. The fragrant smells of the flowers filled the air and the gentle breeze blew the trees and petals around on the ground. It was totally picturesque. So beautiful. So much so that I decided to bring my son and his family back so that I could finally get some family pictures because that's what I wanted to do to make me happy.

So I offer that  you find those things that make you happy. Laugh out loud everyday and have fun like a child would. You get old when you forget how to have fun and forget to laugh. Smile more, love more, be more friendly, live more, and just be happy. It could always be worse.



Slow down and See it

Spring is my favorite time of the new year and I am still basking in the newness of life.  The wildflowers are all in bloom, butterflies are everywhere and I feel so grateful that the sun is shining but not like the usual Texas hot sunshine, and there is also a cool gentle breeze in the air. Texas summers are brutal and it's almost impossible to get out for running errands or family time prior to 5pm to do anything. You either need to go out before 11am or after 5pm in order to survive the heat. So what I've decided to do this spring is spend more time outdoors enjoying the city before it gets too hot. I want to slow down and not just look at things but see things. I'm going to take my time and see what I've been missing, so this week I started with my favorite place: Canino's Farmers Market. I've been to this market hundreds of times but because it's soooooo crowded I always rush in, grab the usual items that I want from the same lady and be on my way. But this past Saturday, I decided to slow down and bring my camera along to see what I've been missing and I was pleasantly surprised. I normally buy my leafy greens from the supermarket because the prices seem so competitive but on this day this is what I found in the air conditioned part of the market:

 This place even has goji berries which are filled with powerful antioxidants and other compounds that may help prevent cancer and other illnesses, including heart disease and all this time I've been ordering them from the web.

 There are many varieties of jams, preserves and natural fruit spreads that I've never even noticed before.

      And look at all the varieties of pure raw honey. My honey is comparing prices to get the best deal.

         After our purchases in this part of the market, we headed out to the open air part of the market.

                    I headed to my favorite marketeer and I finally asked her name. Meet Ms. Celia

     Her produce is so fresh and at this market each bushel of produce is only $2. Can you believe these prices???