Friday, September 30, 2011

Fun sayings, positive affirmations and powerful quotes:



And then, not expecting it, you become middle-aged and anonymous. No one notices you. You achieve a wonderful freedom. It is a positive thing. You can move about, unnoticed and invisible.

~Doris Lessing
English writer




When we can begin to take our failures non-seriously, it means we are ceasing to be afraid of them. It is of immense importance to learn to laugh at ourselves.

~Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923)
New Zealand writer




What seems like courage is really persistence-the ability to put part of yourself on hold - Patience.

~Barbara Gordon
20th-century American writer




This is one of my favourite positive affirmations statements:

Criticism can be very subtle in the way it creeps into our thoughts. Here are some examples of criticism to help you become aware of its subtlety, so you can eliminate it from your thoughts:

The weather is awful today.
The traffic is terrible.
The service is really bad.
Oh no, look at the line.
He/she is always late.
How long do we have to wait for our order?
That motorist is a lunatic.
It's so hot in here.
I've been on hold for so long!

These are subtle things, but the law of attraction is listening to them all. You have the ability to appreciate something in every single circumstance. There is always something to be grateful for.

-Rhonda Byrne





Here is an excerpt from Deepak Chopra M.D., Creating Affluence-Wealth Consciousness in the Field of all Possibilities


"K" stands for the fact that organizing power is inherent in knowledge. Knowledge of any kind gets metabolized spontaneously and brings about a change in awareness from where it is possible to create new realities.
For example, becoming familiar with the knowledge in this book will spontaneously create the conditions for wealth and affluence.




A lovely quote by Author, Louise L. Hay~

"This I know and affirm for myself: I love and approve of myself. All is well in my world. I inhale the precious yet abundant breath of life and allow my body, mind and emotions to relax. There is no need for me to scare myself. I am in harmony with all life."



Have a beautiful day,


joy,


photo: 'lake up high' PKM


Rena





Thursday, September 29, 2011

Feng Shui, happiness and wealth



In a recent interview Terah Kathryn Collins, founder of the Western School of Feng Shui, spoke of the importance of kindness to ourselves, and kindness to those all around us.



Terah mentioned what happens when we become aware of our relationship with our surroundings, and offers her insightful stories of Feng Shui as a way for us to regain balance in our lives. You can read her experiences of Feng Shui in her book, The Western Guide to Feng Shui. There is an array of informational tools to download to explore and play with the art of placement, which is another explanation of Feng Shui.



It can be that when we look at the big picture of life, or even within our home we can become overwhelmed with the enormity of it all. When working with Feng Shui for a home, at times it is necessary to scale the energy work down to baby steps. Rather than focusing on everything big, work within each room and the enhancements for the area that you are focusing on. A classic example is that you might want a huge water fountain in your back yard but at present you just don't have the funds to do it. Instead, find the wealth section in each room of your house and add some intention to each of these areas.



Using western form Feng Shui or non-directional as taught by Terah, you will know that the wealth sector is at the far back left corner of your house. In turn, on a smaller scale, this can be translated to the wealth corner being in every left hand back corner of every room in your house. Place something you treasure in that corner area of every room to work as an enhancement. This can be an affirmation card, a vase with flowers or even a piece of jewelry. It is important to work with the moment in front of you when you are put in these types of situations. This can keep the flow of energy moving and you will be the beneficiary of feeling happy because of your attention you have invested in your environment.



On the other hand you may be reading this and be in a different situation altogether. You may not have a house to live in at all. Your reality may be far away from wanting a water feature for your backyard and actually you may be wondering how you are going to pay your rent and tomorrow seems like a long way away.



This inspires me to share the book by Viktor Frankl M.D., Ph.D., Man's Search for
Meaning. (1905-1997, Vienna). He was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor. According to a survey conducted by the Library of Congress, Man's Search for Meaning belongs to a list of "the ten most influential books in the United States." At the time of the author's death in 1997, the book had sold 10 million copies in twenty-four languages.


Dr. Frankl chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate based on his psychotherapeutic method of finding meaning in all forms of existence, even the most sordid ones, and thus a reason to continue living.


The biggest point that I took away from this book (and I have to confess I read the book back in the 1990's but I still remember to this day) is that we are not defined by our external condition in order to keep our inner happiness. He sums it up by saying that the inner hold a person has on his spiritual self relies on having a faith in the future.


In a summary written in the book, Dr. Frankl shares from his experience that a person's psychological reactions are not solely the result of the condition of his life, but also from the freedom of choice he always has. He concludes that the meaning of life is in every moment of living; life never ceases to have meaning.


Dr. Frankl was one of the key figures in existential therapy and a prominent source of inspiration for humanistic psychologists. I remember so clearly the day I picked that book up in the bookstore and thought to myself, "What a skinny book-what could be so important in such a small book?"


So my offering to you with this posting is to ask where your wealth sector is in your inner self? What kind thought to yourself can you place in your mind to enhance your wealth of happiness. Oprah used to comment that just being able to breathe in and out is a great place to start.






Have a beautiful day,


joy,



Photo: 'together' PKM



Rena








Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Feng Shui flow and home




Recently I spent a lovely afternoon with a friend at her home. Although we talk on the telephone and email all the time we tallied up the years and realized that for close to a decade that I had been over visiting her in the home that she had built. In between sipping tea and enjoying homemade cookies, the conversation shifted over to the topic of Feng Shui and the flow of energy in a home.


In 2001, I was actually invited to participate in the layout and design decisions of my girlfriends home, using my Feng Shui training. Needless to say I was thrilled to share my knowledge and it was a very amazing experience to see the entire house unfold through to completion. The house was originally an older home and it was taken down to the studs and rebuilt from the ground up.


The footprint of the house was essentially the same, but that was about it. We were able to create missing corners and living areas not originally there and all in all it was a blast to be involved with the design using Feng Shui principles as sounding board and rudder.


In our conversation my friend mentioned that there were decorating issues that she did not feel completely comfortable with and asked me if I could give her space some thought. It was pretty obvious to me there were some design issues going on but we were so busy blabbing and catching up on our girl talk that it wasn't until the next day that I was able to email her with the answers to her design and energy inquiry.



She did the changes the same day and phoned me chirping with glee at how the energy shifted when she moved the larger pieces of furniture into their new position. There were a couple of longer term solutions she was going to work on as well. To finish off she was also going with new placement of her artwork to enhance the flow of the energy in her home.


I thought it would helpful to share in my blog some ideas on how you can work with and decorate your space on your own using some Feng Shui principles. As a certified Interior ReDesigner with the Canadian ReDesigners Association and the American affiliate, IRIS, Interior ReDesign Industry Specialists, I have first hand experience in reworking an existing space with what you have collected-in a new way.


There are many resources on the Internet for ReDesigning your space if you do a little digging. I would like to offer you the following information for when you are feeling that your space needs a shift working with just the elements.



Decorating with five elements: FIRE, EARTH, METAL, WATER, WOOD.

The first thing to do is to find pictures of rooms in magazines or on the Internet, however that may be, and you personally gather and store images. Compile as many as you like. Some rooms will hit all the things you love, other images will make you like some of the space but not so much other parts.


Do not spend time second guessing yourself. This process should be easy and fun.


Using this list of the five elements, check off what the elements are in the image of the room you are attracted to. Using this information you will be empowered to create your own beautiful sanctuary that you call home. Ideally a room well proportioned in all the five elements energetically will be more balanced. Remember that a room can be all one color but the shapes of all five elements can be used to balance the energy as well.

Tip:
Review the images again from the magazines you gathered that you like a lot but do not completely sit well with you. Using the provided list below make a note of the elements that were used. What elements are missing? Go through the list and find what element is not in the space. Ask yourself what would the room look like if that element were included?



The FIRE element is found in:
:All lighting, including candles, natural sunlight, fireplaces
:Things made from animals, fur, leather, bone, feathers
:Pets and wildlife
:Shapes, triangles and stars
:The red spectrum of colors
:Humans
:Art with people or animals, color red, triangles, sunlight, fire


The EARTH element is found in:
:Ceramic objects
:Cement, sand,
:All rocks and stones, marble, granite
:Natural crystals, rocks, gemstones
:The yellow and earthen spectrum of colors
:Shapes, squares and long flat surfaces
:Art with Earth landscapes, fields,



The METAL element is found in:
:All metals, stainless steel, copper, brass, iron, silver and gold
:The white and light icicle pastel spectrum of colors
:Shapes, circle, oval and arch
:Art made from metal or stone



The WATER element is found in:
:Rivers, pools, fountains, and water features
:Mirrors, crystal, glass
:The black and and dark colors as well as blue
:Shapes, flowing, asymmetrical shapes



The WOOD element is found in:
:Wood furniture, trees, plants, flooring, decks
:Art with flowers, gardens, plants
:The green spectrum of colors
:Shapes, columnar shape, poles, and rectangle



When you start to take note of the elements you will notice that there are elemental combinations in the things around you. For example, your coffee table shape may be earth and the table itself is made up of wood. The glass top would be a water element. You may find that the simplest object may be a combination of several elements. In working with these elements you will be training yourself to see your environment in a new light.
By using this list of elements you can see what you are attracted to and what makes you feel good in an environment. Create the environment from the pictures you have chosen from your own items. Use the same elements that are in the images that you enjoy in your own space. You will now have the empowerment to add the elements for a balanced combination.



Have a beautiful day,



Joy,



photo: PKM 'changes'



Rena