LiFe(long) LeArNing . . . b gr8-fuLL!

HeY yALL(s)!

So, the little poster above I find amazing! It basically encourages me to move on and learn from my past, not live in my past, wishing circumstances, events, or relationships would have been different. We do our best with the information we have at any given time (and so do others, yo . . . everyone!)

My mentor has said that everything happens FOR us (focus: creator!  learning, I can move forward with amazing gusto & POWer) and not TO us (focus: victim! OMG, I have no power!). That means even the crappy stuff is a gift, if we can look at it like that--through the eyes of learning and evolving!

I know I focus on gRaTiTuDe a Lot in my bLog-TasTic (as my British BfF, Rachel, would say!) bLoG, but it really and truly (swear on a stack of holy journals!) has made a monsTeRous (roar . . .) difference in my LiFe.

Here's the Go(o)d NeWs (or at least a few made up reasons . . . nOt . . .): It means . . .

• I can trust that even if something feels like it totally sucks, there's an important lesson or higher purpose involved---one that my puny human girl-woman can't possibly understand or wrap my pea-brain around
• there's probably something even more amazing that I couldn't even visualize in my life! Super cOOL caKeS!
• I can quit trying to control everything, and just do my best and be myself and listen to my inner gp(self)
• I'm not in charge
• I can quit judging myself and forgive myself for my bad choices
• I can say I'm sorry with integrity, and know I truly was doing my best at the time
• I can quit judging others and forgive others for bad choices or hurtful stuff, knowing they were truly doing their best

Isn't it weird to think of being grateful for the yucky stuff? But, let me tell, you, the most difficult situations, events, and people in my life have been my greatest teachers!

NO LIE, GUY! (and girl, I just wanted to rhyme . . .)

When you look back at your life, can you make sense of some of your hardships and how they serve as blessings to you now?

Here's an example: I was, well, rather bullied and picked on by who I thought were popular kids in middle school, and by neighbor kids. They called me chubby, teased me, and said they didn't like me, and that nobody liked me (this was a cAveD in and wObBLy part of my liFe, you may guess . . .)

BUT . . . here's the amazing nEwS: I am a middle school teacher, and I totally get what it feels like to be THAT caved-in KID who gets treated like and feels like total POO(p). And I tOTaLLy give those kids extra love and TLC.

GET iT? What a capital G-gift! To be the receiver of the yucky stuff and to get my 8th grade kids who may feel the same way? I'm so gR8-fULL. . . truly! I get why now. . . the Universe was preparing me to be a compassionate teacher and friend to my be(LOVE)d students!

What have you looked back on and been able to see the secret gifts in uR experience? Leave me a message in the comments!

Cool Beans & LovE-ing life!

;) dana

nO MEans nO . . . (and yEs to ME)! yAy!

Hey FreEple!

So yesterday I blOgGed about trUsting yoUrself and your inner S(elf) and listening to your gut (aka third chakra!). I don't know about you--but I have spent a HUGE amount of time and energy saying yes all my life...to stuff I didn't really want to do in my GUT.

We humans tend to do this out of fear, like, for example, here's what we think in our silly melon-heads:

If I don't __________(fill in the blank) . . . 
            . . . then (here comes the made up story) someone might:

• be mad at me
• not like me
• be disappointed

or,

• I might miss out
• everybody else is doing it
• I won't be popular

Do you want to make your decisions and live your life based on fear of outside stuff (which you are actually making up in your head and which probably will NEVER happen), or do you want to trUst your gUt, say NO (or H-no!) which means you are also saying YES to U and basing your decisions on lOvE and trUst of Ur inside stuff (Ur gut)!
That's what it means to put the U in trUst. In the groWn uP world, we call this setting boundaries. It's kinda like claiming your territory as a person who gets to choose what feels right for U firmly (and sometimes gently)with NO apologies. 

BTW: U can't say yes to others unless U say it to U first, yo (U)!
Just sayin'! Can I get a WOOT-WOOT?!

Love (me first), and then lOvE U--- sosososos mUch!
:) Ur sEcReT aDmiRer, 
dAna

You are energy!

Go(o)d day, fantastic funfree-me-tastical magicals! (made up compliment-word with super energy! maybe a little carried away, however). . .

Check out the vid above about energy and how water can absorb emotional energy of emotions!

Do you know that YOU are responsible for the movies you create (but someone has to tell you this stuff, right? I hope I was gentle enough about it . . . and there's more go(o)d news!)

Here it is: You can project anything you want on your screen and life will act as a MIRROR:RORRIM and give it right back to you! Case in point, you for sure have noticed that groSs cRapPy energy can be contagious (EeWw...no thanks...), but SO CAN smiling at everyone (they smile back almost 100% of the time, right?) and laughter! 

So here's the million dollar question: Why would you choose to give out the crap (and get it back), when you can get the yummy juicy good stuff (and get it back)?

I dare you for one day, even if you think your life sucks, to intentionally be positive and try to shift your frequency to being AMAZINGLY pOSiTiVE and LiGhT!

Here are sOmE ways to do it [review for the big test (JK)]:

• smile at everyone, and laugh your butt off!
• don't take everything personally or so seriously--GET OUT OF YOUR DRAMA
• give people compliments
• show your gratitude with your words and actions
• write anonymous love notes
• do R.A.K. (random acts of kindness) note: you may need credit at first, but it's more fun to do if people don't know it was you!
• do super awesome random dance moves
• think amazing loving thoughts about everyone around you (even if you think they are annoying, "popular", ugly, emo, etc...)
• breathe deeply 100 times (daughter's recommendation)

Got hApPy? It's a choice, yo----I dare you to try it! (leave me a comment and let me know how it goes!)

Love and love squared (like, to the second power for all you math GeEkS)!--

;) dana

p.s. i am a maTh geEk! pRoPs to mAtH gEekS!

Peace IV . . .

Dear Ones,

How do you get your place of inner peace? After all, we each have it within us if only we get quiet enough so we can hear its gentle whisper.

Last week when I was reading from an Eckhart Tolle interview on Oprah.com, Tolle described some common barriers we humans experience that prevent us from being at peace:

• We mistake peace for unconsciousness.
• We mistake peace for happiness.
• We keep looking ahead (or looking back).
• We strain away from the present moment.
• We don't fully trust . . . yet.

I have written about the first four in the past few days. The first, we mistake peace for unconsciousness, reminds me of my behaviors and patterns that have kept peace at bay throughout my life; the second, we mistake peace for happiness, reminds me that peace is always available regardless of my emotional state; as a matter of fact, it is when I have had great emotional challenges or crises when I have gone deep within myself to find the most comforting  kind of peace: the peace that passeth all understanding. The third and fourth bullets help me remember that peace can only be found in the present moment.

As for the last bullet--we don't fully trust . . . yet--I interpret that to mean a couple different things. One, we don't trust that the Universe has our best interests in mind to help us learn the lessons that are for our highest good; another way of saying it is that we don't trust the pain or the challenges as part of the larger landscape of our plan--we only trust when things feel comfortable or happy. The result of this is that we try to control outcomes, people, circumstances, timing, emotions, money, etc. This control is what messes with our minds the mos and can lead us into a super tailspin.

Truth be told, we cannot control anything but ourselves. When we finally can begin to trust, we can let go and let God--one of the tenets of the 12-step program. This total surrender is one key to living a peaceful life, and the Serenity Prayer can offer us a tool for letting go.

When we can begin to discern what things we can control and what is beyond our control, we can focus back on ourselves, our own growth, and our own inner peace. We no longer need to look to outside of ourselves for peace, but need only look within, back to our birthright: peace.

Lots of Love,

Dana

Peace III . . .

Dear Peeps;

I've been writing in the past couple of days about peace--something I believe we all desire. Last week when I was reading from an Eckhart Tolle interview on Oprah.com, Tolle described some common barriers we humans experience that prevent us from being at peace:

• We mistake peace for unconsciousness. 
• We mistake peace for happiness.
• We keep looking ahead (or looking back).
• We strain away from the present moment.
• We don't fully trust . . . yet.

I've done some unpacking on the first two barriers, and I'd like to speak to the third and the fourth bullets, because I think they belong together; they both have to do with operating in the present moment. 

When we constantly beat ourselves up about the past, or worry about the future, we rob ourselves of the gift of the present moment, which is really all we have. Tolle reminds us that two more common mistakes are: We keep looking ahead (or looking back); We strain away from the present moment. 

I believe what Tolle is really hinting at is this: 

Peace is found in the present moment.

So, the questions then become:  

• How do we inhabit the present moment? 
• How do we stay present?
• How do we "present" ourselves?

Being present is something I have to work on daily, sometimes even on a momentary basis. When I am up in my head (looking ahead or looking back, according to Tolle), or trying to multitask--I am not attending to the moment. Then what can we do? 

In these instances, I have begun to train myself to CATCH MYSELF NOT BEING PRESENT. What do I do to get back into the moment?

• I begin to pay attention to my breathing.
• I engage in a conversation with eye contact with someone who is in my surroundings.
• I laugh out loud or stomp my feet on the ground or floor.
• I engage all my senses in whatever is around me . . . and time drops off.
• Silently in my mind I name objects, sounds, colors, smells, sights, and feelings in my environment.

What next?  Nothing. 

Just be. Being is pure presence, the inner knowing, the deep inner peace--that passeth all understanding.

How do you get back to presence? To peace? Leave a comment and share your experience.

Peace in,

;) Dana