bE tHe iNSpiRatIon . . .

Dear FFPS:

This is a letter I received from one of my former students--I am so so lucky! I love my job so much! Here's her message:

Miss Dana Curry,

I just want to say thanks. Thanks to the time and thought you put into your blog everyday. When I get home after a tiring day of school I look forward to logging onto my email and reading you Fun Free Me post (or as I like to call them MY DAILY DOSE OF HAPPINESS). 

The fun and quirky things you put on here make me smile and laugh and I appreciate it so very much! Your fabulous words made me think more and more about how I can make a difference so I wrote a poem!

you have wings

so fly high

you have fins 

so dive deep

you have words

so write them down

you have feelings

so tell the world

you have a choice

so make it right

you have time

so relax

you have friends

so be loving

you have a family

so be loved

you have love 

so spread it out

you have a life

so make it last <3

I honestly can't say in words how much I love your blog! Thanks again!!!
---sincerely Allie Dallmann former 8th grade student :)

I am so very grateful to inspire anybody . . .

Be The Love!

Dana 

PoWeR uP!

I have POWER!

What's UP pEEps?

OMG! I couldn't sleep last night 'cuz I was reading an amazing book! Do you ever lose sleep 'cuz you are learning so...so...so...so much and you are hungry for it? AND, you really don't need the sleep 'cuz you know you need the learning even more than you need the sLeeP?

zZZzzZzZZZZzzzZzzzzZzzzZzzzz.....(not...)

Wow! I learned a LoT when I was reading. SO here's what I got, and this started when I went to my meditation service yesterday morning. The speaker was saying that our planet is on a wavelength of VICTIM rather than CREATOR. And that we humans have a choice about which we can believe. 

Here's what she said, " We can choose to blame, or we can choose to move on, forgive ourselves and others, and lean into our POWER." 

Question: Why would we choose to be a victim when we can step into power?

.......enter my next installation of bEcoming funfreeME: I keep my power.

Which means:

I am responsible for how I interpret what happens to be; for example, asking "What can I learn?" (POWER) rather than, "OMG! I can't believe what S/HE did TO me?" (VICTIM)

Personally, I'd rather thank people for what they do FOR me--like, thanks for the lessons crazy (not) peeps?!

AND . . . the cool thing is, that according to the book that I read last night, we can actually look to the experiences in our lives where we feel victimized, and the way to move through them is to practice being grateful for them---Wow! Pow(er)!

Hope to sleep long and well tonight!

I have been mostly practicing keeping my power by speaking my truth lately. How about you? How do you keep your power?

Leave a comment and let me know!

;o) dana

HeaVeN on EaRtH . . . is in oUr tHouGhts!

"Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make,

not a place you must find."

-Wayne Dyer

Dear FunFreeSeekers--

Yesterday I wrote about energy and The Law of Attraction which basically holds that whatever you put out into the Universe comes back to you. As Dyer states, "Heaven on Earth" is likely a state of mind . . . a choice. Pretty cool, huh?

No coincidence that last week, Gabrielle Bernstein's newest book May Cause Miracles landed on my doorstep (I pre-ordered it from Amazon), and I was able to read part of the first section today. Guess what she wrote about? Energy. 

Here are some of her words:

"Your body is a molecular structure that is always vibrating energy. That energy is positive when thoughts are positive, and it is negative when your thoughts are negative. Our energy fields are like  magnets; they attract their likeness. Therefore, if your energy is negative . . . guess what? You're attracting negativity into your life. [ . . . ] The miracle-minded approach shows you how to shift your thoughts and energy, thereby attracting positivity into your life."

Bernstein, May Cause Miracles, p. 7

In the next 40-days, I'll be reading Bernstein's book, and I'll share some amazing nuggets with you. I was especially excited today to read Bernstein's components of a miraculous life, namely: service, gratitude, forgiveness, and love. 

So, whatever energy we put out into the Universe in the form of thoughts comes back to us in the original state--in the same form of energy. Yesterday, I had you ask yourself:

Is your cup half-full, or is it half-empty?

Do you live in a paradigm of abundance, or one of lack?

Are you generally positive, or negative?

Do you live a life full of gratitude, or resentment?

Do you believe you can shift your thoughts from negative states to focus more intentionally on service, gratitude, forgiveness, and love?

Can't wait to hear from you!

Lots of love,

Dana

What are your Personal Codes of Truth?

Dear funfreePeeps!

You may remember that last summer I went inward to search for some new Personal Codes of Truth, inspired by my daughter Chloe's mantra-candalabra combination (see Thursday's blog for more specifics!).  Here they are in sidewalk chalk on the tar of my driveway, and at my besties cabin on the blacktop. Since it's the beginning of the year, I wanted to review my PCs of T to remind myself about my growth since last summer, and to check on my progress to whether I'm off track on any of them.

I think I've been doing a good job with most of these: I definitely faced two of my biggest fears since last summer--a bit painful, but totally worth it, and I am trying to live as a loving human being. True that sometimes I get scared still (and I lose sleep, my heart pounds, and my mind still races once-in-a while . . . but nothing like it used to be; maybe 'cuz I am picking up my tools of breathing, doing yoga, and meditating on a more regular basis . . . whew! it's all good).

As far as gratitude goes, I think I can still improve on this one. Feeling grateful when I have doubts or when things aren't totally going the way I want them to isn't easy to let go of--I have to keep remembering that life is not on my timeline, there is a plan for me, and that every experience is created just for me, for my growth, and for my evolution as a human/spiritual being!

I am also learning to trust myself more and more as I allow myself to get quiet and stop DOING so much.

While I used to look more on the outside for stuff, relationships, experiences, and activities to fill me up and provide me with "happiness," I've realized that my happiness is an inside job--AND, I can retain my peace of mind, my bliss, and my contentment, regardless of what is going on around me. This also means that the amazing people in my life are off the hook to be most authentically themselves, and I can meet the people in my life with more transparency and with fewer expectations.

I am still working on taking better care of myself, and I am definitely getting less and less hard on myself and also less critical. Sharing the fact that I've made mistakes (and I still do) with my own kids has helped us all become more human. There is less pressure to be perfect! Yeah!  
While I definitely don't want to leave the legacy of perfectionism to my kids,  there are some upsides to being organized, orderly, and NOT CHAOTIC!

As for the last two (below), I am getting better and better at asking for what I need (btw--this first means that we need to be in touch with what we need . . . another new behavior for me!) and then actually being open to receiving once I've asked. I've never been very good at receiving, especially when it feels vulnerable, so I've kind of kept what I want and need to myself because I'm not sure how to react once I've received it--especially when it comes to emotional support and intimacy. It's like I freeze up a little, get kind of shy, or even apologetic. 

What I'm learning is that there is actually power in my vulnerability, and one of the best ways I can actually keep my power is to be open and vulnerable, and ask for what I need. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean I always get what I ask for--but the power is in the asking, and the openness and willingness to receive.
What Personal Codes of Truth do you live by? How do they operate in your life? I know for me, it's really helped to write them down and do some reflection about them for the New Year.
As always, leave a comment on the blog and let us know how you are doing . . . with your own Personal Codes of Truth!

Blessings,
Dana

ManTRa . . La La ! (revisited)

Chloe's Mantra

01.03.12

“The mantra becomes one's staff of life and carries one through every ordeal.

Each repetition has a new meaning, carrying you nearer and nearer to God.”

~Gandhi

Happy "YOU" Year All--

Got maNtrA? Have you ever heard of a mantra, or a special saying that serves to ground you? Kind of like a pErSoNal cOde oF tRuTh? Gandhi calls a mantra a "staff of life"--a personal walking stick that supports us through life's not so super fun challenges. Since it's the New Year, I'd like us to consider creating personal mantras, or codes of truth. Here's a definition of mantra:

man·tra  (mntr, mn-) n.

Hinduism. A sacred verbal formula repeated in prayer, meditation, or incantation, such as an invocation of a god, a magic spell, or a syllable or portion of scripture containing mystical potentialities.

Last summer, some of you may remember me writing about my daughter Chloe creating a candle prayer (with no candles, but whatever!!)--see above picture--this little mini-altar had her special mantras written on sticky notes, taped to this candle holder; this is what they say (going from left to right up to down):

• Dream Big!
• Praise God and you!
• Meditate and think who you are
• Live the life you love, love the life you live!
• Have fun!
• Speak up to them!
• Who cares what they say?
• Love people that don't like you!
• Like and love you so much!

Last summer, I wrote a bit about each one--and especially since they came from a kid they are for sure true 'cuz it's my firm beLiEf that sometimes, 

KiDs kNow a heckuva lOt mOrE

than the ridiculously grown-up gRoWnUps!

• Dream Big!--so like, don't ever limit yourself, and know in your heart that you were born to do amazing things (remember: your life is a miracle!)
• Praise God and You!--I think this means to always remember that there is a You-niverse that is larger than you (like God) and that higher power has your back and your best interests in mind--always! The second part about praising yourself means that there is God and the divine right inside of fabulous You, and you can check in to it anytime 'cuz it's always available to guide You!
• Meditate and think who You are--instead of running around like a crazy person doing a buzzillion activities all the time, make sure you take quiet time to listen to your heart and gut--this quiet time is super important to get to know YourSelf!
• Live the life you love, love the life you live!--do all the stuff you love that fills you up with joy and energy (this includes spending time with peeps who adore and support you!). Loving the life you live means celebrating the stuff that's in front of you and living in the moment--not worrying about the past and freaking out about the future!@#$!
• Have fun!: Like--as in--enjoy life! Too many people are into the drama that life should be so hard and complain about everything that is wrong when there are so many BLEssIngs! Why can't we focus on the positive?
• Speak up to them!: Speak your truth without apology--even if you have made a mistake. You are human and you get to screw up. Knowing that and learning is part of being a hu(wo)man or kid. So, apologize when you need to, own your part, and move on. If others cant move on, it's not about you!
• Who cares what they say? Don't live from the outside in. Your words and actions should come from amazing and powerful YOU and not from what you think others will think or feel about you. YOUR LIFE IS NOT ABOUT OTHERS--IT'S ABOUT YOU--TAKE YOUR PLACE IN THE SUN! YOU DESERVE IT!
• Love people that don't like you! Understand that how others feel about you is not actually about you--they don't like you 'cuz they've seen something in you they don't like about themselves.
• Like and love you so much! You are a human and the most important thing is that you accept and like and love yourself before others. You have to loVe you before U can love others. This may sound weird-- but your first relationship is with yourSelf...and then--you open up space to love others . . .

So that's what my daughter's mantras are--Since it's the beginning of the year, I thought revisiting these mantras would be a great exercise. Last summer, I took the time to write my own personal codes of truth, which I am going to revisit (and possibly revise) in the next couple of days. 

Do you have any mantras that guide you through your daily life? Leave us a comment and share your words to live by with us!

Happy Mantra(LaLa)!

Lots of Love,

Dana