Commit and Recommit

Commit and Recommit

by | Mindset

I am delighted I kept with the challenge.

I am new to blogging, and even though I set it up myself (woo hoo) I lost my website in the process. sad long face!

Now I have it all integrated together again, but I will need to fine tune it a bit. Thankfully I asked for support from those technology guru sorts. Message to self – you don’t need to do it all yourself, ask for help from those that are more knowledgeable in certain areas.

YES, I wrote for 15 days,
NO, I did not do my best writing by any means.
But I stayed with it, and here I am at Day 15 (another woohoo)
I feel a little wiser, and have many resources that I did not know existed, that I can explore more. The bonus being, that this challenge has made me a little less fearful of all that technology jargon and tools. I guess those tools ARE really there to support not confuse me.

I believe when you take just one small step towards something, The Universe takes a bigger step towards you (there is probably a quote somewhere explaining this)

During The 15 Days To Freedom Blog Challenge, I also applied to Elephant Journal for their Spring Apprentice intake, and after a 3 phase elimination challenge, I was chosen one of a group of 30 accepted, with 160 applicants in total.( another woohoo)

Not bad! Actually really awesome! (and the crowd goes wild with woohoos)

So now I need to step into my writer “I have something worth sharing” place. And write some good stuff or even great stuff. But no pressure!

Thanks, Natalie Sisson, it was great to be a part of this challenge, and equally nice to hear your Kiwi accent, we have lived in the USA for 3 years now from our home country Oz. I love to hear those accents that take me on a journey to our beautiful part of the world.

I loved it all.

Blessings and Dreams being Fulfilled, to you all.

Travel to Home

Travel to Home

by | Mindset, Relationships

I love to travel, new sights, sounds, people and adventures to have.

And I love to be at home pottering around, being creative, hanging out with family and friends, I like knowing about new shows or restaurants that are worth exploring.

The time of one’s life speeds by so quickly.
Having a plan and focus is great and so too is free-wheeling, having an adventurous heart and a gypsy mind, spontaneously being lead or drawn to things is a great motto to live by. I achieve this occasionally, and welcome it more.

Juggling this does become difficult, when you have to throw into the mix, partners, children, homes, and pets. Oh and work.

I believe strongly in creating rituals and memorable moments.

I think I have passed that on to our children and it has also rubbed off on my hubby too.

Here is one of the sweet memories I have; for no reason, one night my husband lined our windy long driveway with tea light candles either side. And when I arrived home from teaching Yoga, these little lights created a blissful luminous pathway home.

Times like this remind me of holidays, when you think less, worry less, complain less, laugh more, be spontaneous more, relax more, play more, be kind to yourself more.

Life ultimately is about enhancing one’s joy factor, adding more of what you want and letting less of what you don’t want, fall away.

Light, Lighter, In-Lightened

by | Inspiration, Spirituality

Bringing full focus, attention and action to my mind, body and soul.

So, I harness the word light.

Thoughts that are light, lighter mood, physical lightness, freedom of movement and an inner light glowing, the radiant light within.

All these areas are important they make the great triangle = BALANCE. (mind, body, soul)

I am stimulating my mind always and all ways.

I am no longer making excuses to not move my body, in particularly out the door and into nature with exercise shoes and attire on.

I am bringing a deep soul full connection to all that is, all ways and always.

And even though I wrote this quickly late at night, I feel the resolve within me to live this way.

Blessings to all. So be it.

Stuff, the stuff we think we want and when we get it, we have to manage it. Urgh!

by | Mindset

I am all over this challenge. YES, YES, YES.

In September 2014, I organized an online group with some friends to do a 60 Day Wardrobe (Closet) Challenge to wear an item only once in the 60 days, this including women aged between 20 – 50. The suggestions were also to wear things that they often pass over. And mix and match items that they have not done so in the past. This was a great adventure and a transformative process for all. We posted our outfits each day and wrote about feelings or insights.

Whilst doing the challenge I came across a book, More or Less by Jeff Shinabarger.

Take a look at this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUY-kfQMMXM

His wife did exactly the challenge we were doing, she told her husband she thought she would last around 70 days looking at what she assumed was in her wardrobe. She last 156 days of only wearing each item once!!!!!

After the 60 days I also was not done. So I set up another online group with new friends and I scrapped through to another 58 days. Total 118 days.

This was beneficial to me in many many ways, and some are still revealing themselves now.

I got rid of clothes that not longer fit, that I was keeping ‘just incase” It also showed me how attached to my appearance I was. (I wore a 15 something year old heavily shoulder padded jacket out in public with no qualms) I got compliments on things I wore that I really hated but still had in my wardrobe. I even invited friends in my wardrobe to look at the stuff other than clothes that were stacked there. Talk about coming out of the Closet, I was inviting people in! This was so freeing, I had no idea it would have been. I lightened up on my perceived opinions I thought people had on my looks, and me in general! They just don’t!

I also suggested women in the group to do seasonal swaps with friends as another activity during the challenge. And I shared information relating to clothing waste, fashion houses dumping and community minded people doing great recycle and up cycle things with clothing. One women wrote an article on Elephant Journal about her time in the challenge http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/12/memories-made-of-cloth-a-wardrobe-challenge/

At the completion of the 2 challenges, I headed up a clothing drive, I put out a challenge to our school community to give away warm clothing to the homeless. We delivered these items (numerous car loads) directly to people on the streets, through an organization that also takes warm food directly to the streets. We also had women and children’s clothing left over and delivered them to a local women’s shelter. 

And I was able to bring ‘zen’ to my closet. There is nothing in my wardrobe that I don’t wear now. Also a bonus was that NO shopping was to be done at all for clothing during the challenge. My husband was ecstatic 120 days of no purchases!

I have bought only 2 pieces of exercise clothing a month on from the challenge and I find now I am way more fussy with buying anything.

How does adding more stuff bring Happiness?

In my 5th decade I know, it doesn’t.

Last week I organized an Organization Coach to come help me organize, sort, discard my whole home. Every room, every cupboard, this is an 8 week, 2 hour a week commitment. I myself know how weighing some of these areas have been for me, and well the reality is, I would just never get around to sorting them out by myself. Even though my home is quite streamline, I have a dump room, stuff that I just want out of my sight and have not dealt with gets dropped off there, and the door closed again.

Now is the time I am bringing ‘ZEN’ to everything.

I know it is also aiding with clearing away any excuses. To not be and do what my heart yearns for.

When you create peace, order and tranquility, grand possibilities have a place to enter.

Getting it done.

ZEN to you too x

ps I am into buying experiences too