Get a REAL Life!

In the best and worst of times - get a REAL life!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
English novelist (1812 - 1870)

Why? Times are hard, but then, they have always been, but in different ways. Often we tend to idealize times gone by, but would not wish to go back to living without running water and electricity. Modern medicine has taken huge leaps, and so has communication. 

 

From sending messages with pigeons, to letters that took days, weeks or even months to arrive, we have come to phone calls, text messages and emails. Gone is the excitement when finding a letter from a friend or family member in your letter box. Nowadays you find an email when you’re sifting through dozens newsletters in your inbox or messages on facebook, comments on your wall and tweets. You can hear from everyone more often and more quickly, thanks to social media you know what people are up to even if you haven’t seen or spoken to them in ages.

Does all that easy instant access to communication improve our lives? In many ways, yes it does, of course, though unfortunately, a lot of personal messages seem rather impersonal, usually only a couple of lines long and not very in depth. When writing a letter, you used to take time to think of something to write, to make it worth the effort of buying a stamp and going to the letter box, maybe you’d add some decorations as a personal touch and often, the letter ended up being five pages. When sending an email, I personallly often worry if it’s rude making it longer than two or three paragraphs. Writing nowadays is limited to postcards from holidays, Xmas- and birthday cards. I know some people who still write letters, but they clearly are the minority.

I am not writing this because I suffer from nostalgia, but while the world is moving closer and communication is speeding up, we also seem to be more isolated.

Where before you used to go out to see a film or a concert, connect with people or talk to someone on the phone, nowadays it’s our computer or Smartphone that does everything for us. Instead of seeing someone face to face, we write on their wall or comment their photo. You can download films and music or watch clips on YouTube. 

 

Yes, it’s all quick, cheap and convenient. But it’s also a bit lonely. You get isolated. A lot of us only go out to work or do some shopping, and even that you can do from home. My last job interview I did via Skype. And while it is great to have five hundred friends on facebook from all over the world, how many of them can you call in the middle of the night? Or call at all? From most of my fb friends I have neither their addresses nor phone numbers. 

 

Luckily, some social sites are designed to get people out of the house and connect in real live, like meetup, urbeeze and so on, but going out buddies are not necessarily friends in need.

I love my social sites, but sometimes it’s scary how dependant we are becoming of the internet and phone services. When Blackberry had their technical problems recently, people were swearing and tearing out their hair just because they could not send instant messages and access the internet via their phone! We haven’t had that all that long… 

 

I’m at the moment living somewhere without an internet connection, and it is strange. You suddenly find you have so much time on your hands, especially if like me you don’t or rarely watch TV. It’s a good time to read that book you’ve been meaning to do for ages but never gotten around to! Or go to sleep decent hours as you won’t be tempted to check on updates of friends’ that live in different time zones.

While our world has moved closer, there seems to be a loss of community at the same time. How many of you neighbors do you actually know personally? Are your friends local or hundreds or thousands of miles away? 

 

I have worked and lived in several different countries, and my friends are all over the place. While it is easy to keep in touch thanks to technology, I constantly have to establish myself somewhere new, make new connections. It’s what’s making life rich and juicy - interacting with people, talking, exchanging ideas, watching films and concerts together, eat and drink and be merry together. 

 

So with everyone locked in front of their computer, how do you go about it? Those social sites mentioned above are a great start, but what really helped me was dong voluntary work. It gets you out of the house, you do something good and you get to connect with people face to face. Even if you and your co-volunteers don’t seem to have much in common, more likely than not they are going to be people who would help you if in need. Remember, the Law of Attraction states that you get what you give; reap what you sow; you have to give first to receive and so on. 

 

I do voluntary work in a fair trade shop; most of the other volunteers are retired ladies. When I had financial problems, they told me where I could find help. When I needed a guarantor for a business loan several offered to help me. When I was not sure about how long to keep my apartment because I’m waiting to hire on a cruise ship, someone offered to put me and my stuff up, so I would not have to pay rent longer than necessary. (That’s why I’m without regular internet, as the little old lady I’m staying with is not interested in it).

So when I hear about people who due to the financial crises are forced to live in their cars, I ask myself: do they not know anyone who could help them? I don’t mean paying off their debts, but maybe have a room to put them up, or advice where they could get help.

In the past I have often been in situations that could have turned out very differently had it not been for other people helping me. And it goes both ways, of course! 

 

When on my second day living in Avignon I was asked if I would not like to do some voluntary work, I did not plan on needing anyone’s help, neither did I anticipate the challenges that were to come my way. But just investing a few hours of my time has proved priceless. It’s all about giving and receiving, helping other people who might help you in return.

But it’s not only about helping and being helped, even just the fact of interacting with face to face raises your vibrations. You exchange ideas, energies, smiles and connect on a level not possible to that extend on a virtual level.

So often we hear about God or the Universe being on our side and helping us, and it’s true and really amazing to see how it plays out. But more often than not that help will come from a real rather than a virtual community.

So, go out, connect to people in flesh!

A bunch of tree-hugging hippie crap!

A bunch of tree-hugging hippie crap!

Hello everyone, I'm glad to be back! I'm and have been going through a lot of changes the last month, which involved a lot of thinking, soul-searching, taking action and loads of other kinds of busy-ness, so that's why have have not been posting a lot last month. I have been posting on my facebook page, if you haven't checked it out yet, make sure you do and 'like' it to get regular updates and inspirational quotes and pictures! The link is www.facebook.com/pages/Happy-Healing-Art

A lot of you will know the TV series 'South Park', an animated series about a bunch of four kids. One of them, Kenny, gets killed in every episode ('oh my god, they killed Kenny - you b*st*rds!' is probably their most famous catchphrase) and another one is Cartman, the  fat, obnoxious kid. One of his most famous lines is: 'That's all a bunch of tree-hugging hippie crap!'

Why do hippies and other people hug trees?

First of all: it feels good. Nature is the best medicine. As everything is energy, it also includes trees, naturally. Trees have a strong healing energy, and every tree has a different energy, just like people and places. Next to my terrace I have two trees. They look the same (don't ask me what type they are - hey, I'm a city girl!), but their vibrational energy is very different. One has a more calming, the other a more stimulating energy. That's why I gave the the nicknames 'tea' and 'coffee'. 

Generally speaking, trees are very helpful to ground yourself. And no, you don't even need to hug them! Just in case you're worried that people might think you're nuts because you walk around your local park hugging trees... 

First of all ask the tree for permission (you can do it quietly inside your head - it will understand). It is an act  of courtesy, as you don't like it either when strangers come up and touch you! 

Plant your feet firmly on the ground, and place both your hands on the tree to connect with it. Then consciously and deeply breathe in and out. You have formed a closed circuit with the tree. Its energy will flow through you and back though the tree. Now you are exchanging energies with the tree, and best of all, it's beneficial for both of you. Do this as long as you are comfortable. 

Hold the intention of healing for the both of you and just feel love and healing flowing through you, from your heart to your hands to the tree and back again; or from your heart through your right hand into the tree and from the tree through your left hand and back into your heart. 

It works with any tree you feel you 'like'. You don't need to go into the woods if it's not possible for you, any tree in your local park or garden is fine, even just a tree on the side of the road (note: if you're in France, beware of dog turds!). The important thing is that you resonate with the tree, just like you might resonate and make friends with a person.

Trees have an important role in several mythologies and religions. They symbolize the connection between heaven and earth and  also renewal. They have deep roots in the earth, grow strong and their branches seemingly reach out for the sky. After being bare over winter, they blossom in spring, carry leaves and fruit in summer and shed their leaves in fall; each year without fail. They show us the circle of life and they protect us from the elements (avoid them during thunderstorms though!).

The Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment sitting under the Bodhi tree. 

In the the Christian-Jewish tradition, the Tree of Life features in the Old Testament, where it is associated with wisdom. 

The Egyptians sycamore  tree stood on the threshold of life and death and connected the two worlds. 

In the Celtic world, trees were revered for having special powers and it was believed they served as the abode of fairies. 

In the Norse tradition, Yggdrasil, a giant tree,  is said to be the World Tree in which the nine worlds existed. It was a giant ash tree considered to be very holy.

At Christmas we put evergreen trees into our homes and decorate them.

In the Holy Roman Empire, rooted in ancient German tribal law, assemblies and tribal courts were held under the linden tree.

In Europe, Maypoles are erected. Tree trunks are put up either on May 1st or the evening before and decorated and danced around, to celebrate the renewal of the seasons and fertility.

In Wish-trees you can hang a note with your wish or a piece of cloth to make your wishes come true, sometimes votive offerings like coins, alcohol, food etc are made.

The Glastonbury Thorn in Glastonbury, England, is a hawthorn tree that is considered sacred, it is said to have miraculously sprouted from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea. Contrary to 'regular' hawthorns it does not bloom once, but twice a year, the second time around the holiday of Christmas.

Customs exists in which nail and hair clippings of sick people were put into trees to take away a person's sickness and banish it into the trees.

In Arab tradition sacred trees are haunted by angels or jinns and sacrifices are made, if a sick person slept underneath a sacred tree he would in his dream receive a prescription to cure his disease..

And on top of all that, they provide us with oxygen so that we can breathe!

So go out and befriend a tree! 

Love, Light and Healing,

Anya

Sympathy for the Devil, Compassion for the World

Sympathy for the Devil, Compassion for the World

Years ago, a friend of mine told me a statement he had heard from a girl he knew who was into the goth and S&M scenes: "Sympathy is the most sublime form of torture."

I have always liked this and found it to be true. Even more so since learning about the Law of Attraction and vibration.

Just think of this: with sympathy, in the sense of empathic concern, you are keeping the other person in the vibrational level of their suffering. When you see someone with a broken leg and you say: 'oh, that must really hurt!', you are likely to make them more conscious of the pain they've been or are going through. More of their attention goes to the pain, and in effect it gets worse, and they could even attract more pain. It's a well-meant equivalent of the proverbial rubbing salt in someones wound.

Another problem with sympathy is, is that it feels good when you are receiving it. At first glance, it makes you feel seen, you feel understood. The other person sees your pain and gives you attention. They seem to wish you well, but by drawing attention to the pain are effectively keeping you in that state of suffering, which is what makes it in effect 'sublime' and a 'form of torture'. And it can be highly addictive. I had a friend who manifested constantly health problems and always ever talked about her state of dis-ease, as she was hooked on people giving her sympathy, asking about her health, doctors looking after her. She sometimes sent me about ten messages a day describing me the exact measure of her suffering, and I suspect she did that with other friends as well. Imagine how much time per day is spent focusing on her own suffering every day and reliving it!

So what can you do if you don't want to appear callous? Instead of focusing on the misfortune with exclamations like 'how awful' and 'it's so bad' etc simply wish them well. It's really that easy. It draws the attention to the next better feeling and allows for an upwards spiral. Say 'I hope you'll be feeling better quickly', for example.  

Treat them with compassion rather than sympathy. That way you acknowledge their pain, but implies also the tool to relieve it. To put it in the words of The Buddha: Compassion is that which makes the heart of the good move at the pain of others. It crushes and destroys the pain of others; thus, it is called compassion. It is called compassion because it shelters and embraces the distressed. 

The Australian musician and songwriter John Butler put it this way: Compassion is a call, a demand of nature, to relieve the unhappy as hunger is a natural call for food.

If you are practicing compassion, you wish for others all the good you wish for yourself. Your actions are determined by the understanding of the effect they have on others and the desire for the greatest good for all.

Often, sympathy, empathy and compassion seem to be used interchangeably, but vibrationally, they are very different. Sympathy draws attention to the pain, empathy shares it and compassion acknowledges it and strives for something better.

It is often said that the world needs more compassion, and it's true. If we each treated everyone always with respect and their highest good and well-being in mind, there would be no more wars and crime, because we would be aware of the suffering involved and wish to avoid it. I am sure most people feel that way already, but unfortunately there are still people worldwide driven by hatred, greed and anger.

It is a good practice to make compassion part of your meditation. Here are a few affirmations from the Buddhist practice of lovingkindness and compassion:       

                               May all beings be happy

                               May all beings be safe

                               May all beings be free

I leave the closing words to the Dalai Lama:

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

... and finally, some videos to go with today's theme:

The classic 'Sympathy for the Devil' by the Rolling stones

And the amazingly beautiful 'In these Arms, a song for all beings', by Jennifer Berezan

As always, feel free to share and comment!

Love, Light and Healing,

Anya

Get visual

Get visual

Since 'The Secret' was released, visualisation has become an acknowledged tool to retrain your subconscious and attract the things you want into your life. 

Some people, who are naturally more visually inclined and/or have a vivid imagination find it very easy to do, others find it more challenging. With the explosion of the lets call it 'Law of Attraction market', several tools are available like vision boards, mind movies, guided meditations on CD or DVD. 

Those all have their value, and I use many of those myself. Vision boards and mind movies are fun creating, but once that's done they are made, whilst still being worthwhile and valuable, using them you are consuming rather than creating. 

Set some time to actively visualize at least a couple of times a week. I find it gets me into a totally different state and space than following a guided meditation. As well as getting to customize what you are seeing, you are training your brain more and more conscious of your feelings.
Movies and audios are great way to rewire and train your subconscious after a day's work or when you feel you don't have the energy to actively visualize. I find them a quick and easy way to wind down and get inspired.
I use them like vitamin supplement: a great way to make sure you get all the nutrients needed, especially during stressful times, but rather an addition than a replacement of a healthy and balanced diet.

The most effective visualisations are the ones where you use all of your senses, not only vision.
When you picture yourself on a beach, for example, as well as seeing the scene, imagine smelling and tasting the salty air, hearing the waves crash and seagulls calling and feel the wind on your skin, the sand between your toes and the refreshing water reaching up to your ankles. And add feeling. Feel the joy, peacefulness and sense of freedom you get from watching the sea.

If you are one of those finding visualizing challenging, don't worry, it is a skill that you can develop and practice. We all have memories of the way things taste, look or smell. Here are some exercises:
try to:
-see the face of a loved one, the house you grew up in, a red car, a blue square
-hear the sound of an engine, your favourite song, someone whistling
-feel the soft fur of a dog or a cat, a rough stone, a smooth glass surface
-smell fire, coffee, freshly cut grass
-taste chocolate, salty fries, strawberries

After a while all of this will become easier, and you will be ready to create your own little visuals, fantasies, daydreams that include all of your senses. Create the life you dream of. For example, see yourself walking up yo the front door of  your ideal house, feel yourself searching for your key and inserting it into the lock, hear the key turning and the door opening, smell the fresh paint and the coffee your partner has made expecting you, see yourself walking up to them and embracing them, feel the warmth of the other body, smell the skin and feel the love and appreciation towards that person, taste the coffee you're drinking together.
As Albert Einstein said: 'Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions.' So use your imagination and visualize your very own desired reality!

You can visualize to create your preferred reality or to train your brain and subconscious, for example to be more focused or feeling more secure.

 Visualisation is not just a LOA tool but has been widely used in psychology and psychotherapy for years.
I recently rediscovered a book I have read years ago by Piero Ferucci called 'What we may be'. It was written in 1982 on the subject of self-realization using psychosynthesis.  Psychosynthesis is an approach to psychology developed by an Italian Psychotherapist called Roberto Assagioli that is one of the forerunners to humanistic and transpersonal psychology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosynthesis
In 'What we may be' Ferucci features many beautiful visualisations designed to help you become the best you may be.

One exercise I like that helps to increase the ability to focus is this one:

The arrow
Imagine you are holding a bow and arrow in your hands. Feel your feet stand firmly on the ground. Hold the bow with one hand and feel the tip of the arrow on the bow's side with the other hand. Experience the stretching of your arm muscles  while you are tautening the bow. See the target clearly before you; observe the tip of the arrow aiming directly at the target.
Now the arrow is stretched to the maximum: the arrow is perfectly aligned.  Feel the energy that is in this absolutely static position. All you have to do is let go of the arrow to unleash the energy that will carry it to the target. Notice how this letting go is setting free all of this dynamic power.
Now you have shot the arrow. Follow its flight and feel its absolutely straight direction. For the arrow, only the target exists, nothing else.No doubts, no distractions, no detours. The arrow flies towards its aim in an absolutely perfect way and hits exactly in the centre - shivering and vibrating it stays sticking in its target.
Feel free to shoot calmly and relaxed several more arrows towards your target and experience yourself being in that totally concentrated, focused power.



Do you have any favourite visualisation techniques?

Feel free to share and comment!

Love, Light and Happiness,

Anya

Remember to be yourself!

Remember to be YOURSELF!

So maybe you have been into spirituality for a while. You came across the Law of Attraction and learnt that where your focus goes, the thing grows; that thoughts become things and all that stuff about raising your vibration and avoiding negativity.

Your logical conclusion was 'oh, so in order to improve the quality of my life I must do lots of high vibrational things and avoid the low vibrational. Hmm, I should make a lifestyle-adjustment'!'

Great! And since you are very committed, you went the whole holistic way: changed your diet and only eat healthy food and lots of greens and fruit and little or no meat. Started some form of exercise. A meditation routine and a regular, spiritual practice. Stopped watching the news to avoid negativity. Read inspiring books, watch inspiring films and listen to mellow or upbeat positive music. Say your affirmations regularly.

Yet, not a lot of things seem to shift, you life did not miraculously get better. Not that you would ever admit that to yourself since you choose to only see the good in everything!

Maybe it's time to ask yourself: is all of that actually ME? Are you enjoying the changes you have made? Are they making you feel better? Or are there things that you are missing? Clean living does not have to be sterile. You can allow yourself once in a while a few 'privileges'. The important thing is to enjoy them consciously. That's why I call them 'privileges' rather than 'guilty pleasures' or 'slip-ups'. 

Maybe you used to love pizza or junk food or sweets, and decided to clean up your act and switch to a healthy diet. The odds are, once your body is detoxed and used to healthy food the thought of junk food will make your skin crawl, but what if you are secretly dreaming of burgers and fries? Should you deprive yourself and brave on with the salad? My take is that you don't have to. You don't need to be militant, but conscious. Enjoy it while you're eating it, and observe how you feel afterwards. If you notice yourself feeling sluggish after gulping down that fatty or sugary food, that might automatically stop your cravings, otherwise just be aware of you general diet choices and avoid going for the unhealthy stuff by default or out of comfort.

Or maybe it's films, books and music. In general, my taste is quite eclectic, but I adore watching horror movies since I discovered Freddy Kruger at the age of 13 and  and I have started devouring Stephen King books when I was twelve. And since those early years I loved horror movies and books,  and thrillers. My late teens coincided with grunge which got me into harder music like metal as well. 

When I got into the Law of Attraction and heard that all those things are low-vibrational and actually toxic for your subconscious, as it doesn't know the difference between fiction and reality and might absorb the messages from the books or song lyrics, I decided to cut those things out. 

Luckily, as I  said, my taste is very eclectic, I had plenty of other music to keep me amused, read books that are inspiring and even some romance novels. I watched more funny and less violent movies (though I could rarely bring myself to watch romantic comedies unless forced by peer pressure, I never liked those!). I was genuinely OK with all of this, and didn't feel I was missing anything.

Until I went around a friend's house and he put on a Slipknot live DVD. Within minutes I was buzzing. The sheer energy and drama and spectacle of it, the absurdity (they all wear masks and behave like berserks on stage)! I was mesmerized. And I felt more alive than I had in months. When I looked past the lyrics that were often violent or desperate, the noise, the act with the masks and the liberal use of the f word, I could see that they, the band, were passionate about being of service ( putting on a good show without holding back in any way) and were treating their fans in a very respectful and appreciative manner, more so than some 'serious' style musician I had seen. Even if I had to filter through a lot of bad language...

I was on a high after that and it got myself thinking. It's only you who knows what you resonate most with. And maybe your preferred art/entertainment form is your way to deal with your shadow side and letting off steam rather than the expression of who and what you are. I feel bad about killing insects, but I enjoy watching Tarantino movies. I don't believe violent music makes you go out and kill people. Charles Manson claimed he got the message for the killings from The Beatles' 'Helter Skelter'. To my knowledge it's not considered to be a violent song.  Blaming Marilyn Manson for high school massacres is a bit like blaming the Dollar for the bad economy. It may be part of it but not the cause of it. 

The time I spent only with positive music, books and films was fine, but I was feeling a little like I was drifting. When I started listening to harder music again and watching and reading more intense books and films I felt like my senses had sharpened and I could push forward more. I had wind in my sails again. I felt like myself again. And good things began to happen, I manifested several positive things and events. I'm not saying that violent music, films and books bring you good luck, what raises my vibration might not be the same that raises yours, and vice versa; or at least not in the same measure.

The trick is finding a balance and being conscious about our choices. You don't have turn into the equivalent of a Tibetan monk to attract good things into your life. You can indulge into your favourite foods, music, books and films. But be aware of toxic language, negative messages or low nutritional value. Make sure the last thing you watch, read or listen to before going to bed has a positive message, after all, you will be stewing approximately eight hours in your subconscious! Have fruit or salad with your junk food. It's not all or nothing.

Raising your vibrations is not necessarily about depriving yourself of something, but of being aware of your choices. Choose from love, not from fear.

Just to make sure: the indulgences I am talking about here are not involving drug or alcohol abuse or anything illegal; if you managed to get off an addiction, whatever you were addicted to, it is better to stay away from it!

My indulgence for today is a little clip from the Slipknot concert! Enjoy!

Feel free to comment and share!

Love, Light and Healing,

Anya

Some of my favourite Quotes

Quotes

Today I'd like to present to you a small selection of my favourite quotes!

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
- Oscar Wilde

"Avoid fruits and nuts. After all, you are what you eat."
- Garfield

Happiness is not having what you want. It is wanting what you have.
- Rabbi Hyman Schachtel

For the first half of your life, people tell you what you should do; for the second half, they tell you what you should have done.
- Richard Needham

Vision is not enough, it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.
- Vaclav Havel


Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves.
- Lord Byron


Believe you can and you're halfway there.
- Theodore Roosevelt


Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.
- Jim Carey



Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
- Lao Tzu


As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round. 
- Ben Hogan


Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson


I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.
- Lily Tomlin


Come live in my heart, and pay no rent.
- Samuel Lover


All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson


Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
- Mark Twain


“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. I'll always be with you.”
- Winnie the Pooh


I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want.
- Muhammad Ali


All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.
- George Orwell


A hard man is good to find.
- Mae West



I hope you enjoyed those!

Love, Light and Healing,
Anya

   

Today is the only one of his kind

Today is the only one of his kind

Today will never come back. It is unique. Do you remember the film 'Dead Poet's Society'?

It's most famous quote is 'Carpe diem - seize the day'. You only have this one chance of living this day, to make it special.

Don't waste time by holding grudges, holding on to resentment or worrying. Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. Enjoy each new day as an opportunity for magic to happen, to meet inspiring people, to grow.


Here's a poem by Kalidasa, a Sanskrit poet living around 2500 B.C., I like very much:

                                                 Salutation to the Dawn                                          

Look to this day!
For it is life
The very life of life
In its brief course
Lie all the varieties and realities
of your existence.

The bliss of growth
The bliss of action
The splendour of beauty.
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision,
And today well lived,
Makes yesterday a dream of Happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of Hope.

Look well,therefore,to this Day
Such is the Salutation to the Dawn

Enjoy your day. Every day.

Love, light and healing,

Anya

Feel free to comment and share!

   

Tap into your Power

You heard that thoughts become things. That what goes around comes around. What you focus on grows. Feel good, think good thoughts, and you attract good things.
It would be great if we could program ourselves that way. The thing is, we are humans, and even the most positive of us have the odd off day. So what do you do if you find yourself feeling negative emotions, having negative thoughts? Suppress and erase the, pretend they are not real? That would not help! What you resist, persists. You have to deal with issues, acknowledge your thoughts and emotions.

One really great tool I have come across is Tapping, also called EFT (emotional freedom technique). Tapping  helps you acknowledge and release your emotions, and it can be used on anything, not only when you feel bad, but also if you want to set the intention for something positive.
So how does it work? In a nutshell: if you are slightly familiar with acupuncture or shiatsu, you have hear that there are energy lines, so-called meridians, running across our body. Sometimes the energy is blocked, or for some other reason does not flow the way it is supposed to and symptoms of dis-ease appear. An acupuncturist would stick needles into certain points to correct that.
EFT also recognizes that there are blockages of those energy lines, and that they are being caused by your emotions. But instead of using needles, you just gently tap with your fingertips on the energy points saying affirmations.

You start off by tapping several rounds of stating what might be bothering you, until you feel a relief. Then you start reaching for the next better feeling, going from neutral to positive, and in the last round you state the most positive intention. The points to tap are the side of your hand called 'karate chop', between your eyes where your third eye would be, side of your eyes, under your eyes, under the nose, under the lip, collar bone and depending on the practitioner under the arm, where us ladies would find the bra strap.

The advantages of tapping are many. It is quick, you only need to do about five, ten minutes a day, it's discrete and you can do it anywhere and in any situation you might feel stressed, it's free - there are many videos on youtube, you just have to imitate and repeat what is being said, which makes it easy to do, and it is a very forgiving technique, you don't have to worry about hitting the exactly right spot, and it doesn't matter which hand and what side of your face you tap on.

I heard of people who tap while listening to the news or in upsetting situations as to not absorb the negativity, and you don't have to go through all the points in those cases, just tapping the point at the side of your hand or the collarbone is as discrete as it is effective.

By first starting with the negative, you release it, so it won't clog up your system, so to speak, anymore and come up somewhere else.The neutral to positive statement helps you raise your vibrations and by tapping while affirming the positive statements you are programming your unconscious and can attract positive things, people and events into your life.

Go have a look on youtube, it's a great way to start. I can highly recommend Brad Yates, his presentations are very warm-hearted and humorous, or Margret M. Lynch. There are many, many more brilliant practitioners with great videos, too many for me to list all of them here, just see who you resonate most with. All you have to do is watch, imitate what the practitioner is doing and repeat the statements.
Feel your energy shift! For some people quite a lot might be shifting and they could get tearful, that's why you are being asked at the beginnings of the videos to be responsible for your own well-being, but I have never heard about anyone having negative side effects from EFT.

There are EFT videos about virtually anything from worrying too much, breakups, having an amazing day, a good night, being a money magnet, being a love magnet, and much more. Try not only to tap when you are feeling bad, but as regularly as possible. As Brad Yates says: you don't brush your teeth only once and expect it to last, either!

Here are some videos to get you started, have fun!

 

 

Love, Light and Joy,
Anya

Always look on the bright side of life

 

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Life is a wonderful thing. It is simply amazing. But there are times we forget that. Challenges, disappointments, hard times. Then we say that life is hard, life is unfair and so on.

What if it isn't? What if life is what you make it? In every bad there is a seed for something good. And often it is just a question of your focus.

Choose to see the positive. When you go out to town, maybe shopping, you could notice all that traffic, dirt and graffitis, rude and stressed people, high prices etc. My guess is that the time you get home you're either exhausted or angry or both.
How about enjoying all that hustle and bustle around you, admire the beautiful cars, the wonderful objects on sale, be grateful for the opportunity to sit down in a coffee shop, sip a lovely beverage and enjoy watching what goes on around you? Would that not tell a different story? You would certainly be in a better mood when coming home!

Remember being a kid? Everything is an adventure. Whatever you found, you wondered how it worked, what it could do and how you could play with it.

Make the effort to look out for beauty. Use your senses. Consciously touch, smell and look at things, taste your coffee or your sandwich like it was the first time you tasted a coffee or a sandwich. Simple as it sounds, it transforms every day into a miracle. You can't but help to wonder 'what amazing things will happen to me today?' Does that not feel better than just wading through your routine or killing time?

It's the same with people. Choose to see the good and the beauty within every person you meet and interact with. Even if they are challenging. That way you have a much lighter aura around you and send out more positive vibrations.
I once started a new job with another girl and our superior could get very nasty sometimes. I decided to not take it personally and put it down on her being stressed and see the person behind the work mask and I got along fine with her.
My colleague in contrast was plain scared and clammed up when having to interact with her or tried to avoid our superior as much as possible. When we discussed this she told me 'Well, it's easy for you, you see the good in everyone. But with that woman you have to be careful.' Well, I do see the good in everyone, but not by default. It is a choice I made and remake every day. And I'm well aware of people's bad sides, but I choose not to focus on those. We all have our dark sides, or we would not be human. And we all have our good sides, too. And by focusing on those, your interactions will be much lighter and more pleasant.

If a situation is challenging, try to see if there is any way you could turn it into something positive. You surely have hard the saying 'If life deals you lemons, turn them into lemonade'.
Even if you can't seem to turn it into something better, look if there is a lesson to be learned from it, without putting blame or judgement on yourself or others. Blame and judgement only weigh you down and stop you from being free and truly progressing.

Use your sense of humour to get through challenges, lighten up. Remember as Monty Python sang in 'The Life of Brian': Always look on the bright side of life!

Love, Light and joy, 

Anya

   

Vibes up!

Vibes up!

Do you remember the early 90s? There was a hit by the girl band 'en Vogue' called 'Free your mind' and the lyrics went like this: 'free your mind, and the rest will follow'.
In the Law of Attraction we say: Raise your vibes, and the best will follow' Catchy, not? If I had any musical talent, I'd make it into a song myself!

If you're vibrating on a high rate, you are attracting good thing into your life. If this sounds a bit abstract for you, think of this: you surely know the proverb 'you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar'. On a practical level: if you are positive, people react to you in a more pleasant and friendly manner. And it's not just people. It's everything.
You send out low vibration, you get more of it. You send out high vibration, it comes back to you.

What can you do to raise your vibration today?
First of all, remember you are a complex being with a physical, spiritual and mental level. Ideally you want to look after all of these aspects equally well. Train your mind as well as your body, and connect with your spiritual side.

It's summertime (northern hemisphere, at least), so looking after your physical side should come easily:  it's the best season for eating fresh fruit and vegetables and go for nice long walks.

Mentally, with use the longer days to read inspiring books or listen to inspiring audios, have discussions with friends. Or simply solve a crossword puzzle to keep those braincells supple.

Spiritually, use the season to reconnect with nature, and be really conscious of the lush colours, nice smells, abundance of plants, flowers and greens, bless and appreciate all of natures riches, or meditate outdoors.

And remember, often it's the little things that count. Take the time to smell the roses. Steady, bit by bit good vibration builds up and stays consistently high. Rather than looking for a huge enlightenment when meditating and expect everything to be perfect ever after, make it your aim to feel a little better and a little better the best you can, and make it a regular practice, a habit.

Enjoy the summer!

Lots of Love and Light and Joy,

Anya



     

C'mon get HAPPY!

Do you feel out? Down? Like life is something that happens to you without you having control?

STOP!

Get happy!

I know that might not be easy at first glance. You might have worries, problems, things are not the way you want them to be.

Happiness comes from within. It's not a state you're in once you got that car, partner, lottery win. 

It is an inner state. Your first job is to choose to be happy. No matter what. It is your first and most important action to take every day. Set the intention to be happy. Right when you wake up every morning, before you go to sleep and many times in between.

Let's face it, sometimes stuff happens. Stuff we could do without. Like breakups, losing a job or getting sick. How do you react? That is the key question. Do you get upset, angry, fall into depression and worry? All of that is human, but not constructive. 

Stay calm, have faith that the Universe/God/Source Energy or whatever higher power you believe in always has your best interest in mind. You can turn any situation into an advantage. See the good in everything. It may not be easy at first. 

And with getting happy no matter what I certainly don't want you to be complacent and ignore your problems and rely on the higher power to fix all your challenges!

But starting from and with a positive attitude makes it much easier to take the right action. Things tend to spiral, and if you're acting and reacting on autopilot that spiral will take you downward more often than upward. 

There are tools to make sure you are as happy as possible at any given time. These tools include mind, body and spirit. And they are to be used on a regular basis rather than a quick fix, that's why I like to refer to it as 'Holicstic Hygiene'. Good news is, I will share those tools with you!

And remember: What you focus on grows. That's a basic rule of the Law of Attraction.

So step one: Get HAPPY!

Love, Light and Joy,

Anya