i heArT U!

"If I create from the heart, nearly everything works;

if from the head, almost nothing." 

- Marc Chagall

gOOd moRning aLL!

You probably already know if you follow my blog that sometimes I get very stuck up in my head (like, as in the night before the first day of school when I couldn't  sleep!). 

One of my bffs has told me over and over: "Don't overthink it." In other words, I should stop thinking so much and follow my gut and my heart.

Which makes me wonder why I tend to overthink so much and why I get stuck up in my brain so often.

Didn't I ever really learn to trust my heart and my gut? I mean, I get that it's really never too late to learn, but jeeeesh! 

Some things, I suppose, take a lifetime of practice . . . and, at least I realize that I do this now. A few years ago, I was usually trapped in my head and I didn't even realize I was a prisoner of my own thoughts sometimes. I guess that's progress, huh?

Meditation really helps me calm my thoughts and focus on my breath--which can almost always bring me back to the PRESENT MOMENT,-- out of my worries about the future and yucky instant replays of my past.

Eckhart Tolle wrote an amazing book called The Power of Now that I listen to on my iPod. He basically tells us that we are not our thoughts and we are not our mind--we are so much greater. And he gives strategies for freeing ourselves of our negative beliefs and thought patterns. And what we need to do is stand beside out thoughts and observe them (without judgement), and not necessarily believe them . . . but just notice them, and then let them go. Kind of like sitting on the side of a river watching the current of the water flow by. Ahhhhhh . . . I feel calmer already! 

Here is a super juicy heart chakra meditation to try. It's only a few minutes--and the benefits are amazing!

I totally know that my most important journey these days is finding the path from my head to my heart. Maybe I will introduce them to each other and we can all have a lovely chat!

I hEaRt U, yO!

Dana bo bayna

wE R sOsO gR8-fuLL . . .!

mY bRavE gIrL!

(with favorite blankie . . .)

10.17.15.

Hey yoU aLL!

My baby girl, Chloe, is so so so so so so so tired. We are in the hospital after a 911 call this morning. She was picked up by an ambulance after waking up feeling pretty darn yucky. Chloe has diabetes, which means her body does not process sugar . . . so, every time she eats anything with carbohydrates, she needs insulin because her body doesn't produce it in her pancreas.

THIS WEEKEND WAS SCARY.

Chloe is in the

EMERGENCY ROOM

after she was throwing up. Her blood sugar was running really high, and she went in to what is called "DK" or diabetic ketoacidosis--which basically means that her body wasn't getting the insulin it needs. As a result, she got dehydrated, headachy, and listless.

Chloe is so brave and smart because of her disease, AND it's really hard sometimes. She's tired, and when her blood sugar is HIGH she get a tummy ache and headache, and when it's LOW she feels faint--like she is going to pass out, and she also gets sleepy.

I have learned so much about being present from Chloe. Like, for example, I really didn't want to do my blog today, 'cuz I want to take care of her. If she weren't asleep, I was just going to tell all of you that I couldn't blog today.

The nurses and doctors at the hospital were so amazing, and I just wanted to say how lucky and grateful I am that we have amazing healthcare coverage so my family gets taken care of when we are sick, and so we can also get regular preventative care so we all can maintain being healthy. 

I really can't imagine what we would do without Chloe's team of specialists--so thank you Children's Hospital of Saint Paul--for your amazing staff! 

YOU ROCK!

While she was at the hospital, Chloe did crafts, got visits from 2 doggies (yeah!), watched a movie, listened to meditation music, and even got a massage!

Anyway, Chloe just woke up, and she is starting to feel better. She wants me to tell you:"Yo--Chloe's in the House!" 

I know that the best gift I can give to the people in my life is BEING PRESENT. Which means--I pay attention to what is RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AS IF THAT IS THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IN MY LIFE!

What do you think about that? How do you maintain PRESENCE in your life? Let me know in the comments . . . 
So much love!
;0) Dana

yOu SeE wHat yOu SeE(k) !

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

Do you realize that YOU are responsible for the movies (aka LIFE) you create (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!

gOt fAiTh?

“It doesn't matter what you did or where you were...

it matters where you are and what you're doing. 

Get out there! 

Sing the song in your heart and 

NEVER let anyone shut you up!!” 

― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Good Day fUn & fReE foLk!
YEsterday I was writing about the miracle of you! Can you beLIeVE you are aLIVE and yoUr fabulous existence began as a strand of DNA?

(Pretty darn amazing . . . huh?)

So, do you live your life on purpose? With purpose? I am doing a lot of stuff right now to figure out them meaning of my LIFE('s) highest purpose, and one of the things I have come to is that if I get in touch with me, I can check in to what gives me a feeling of passion and what brings me to LIFE!
When I used to live from the OUTSIDE:IN, I worried a lot about what other people thought of me (made up info. on my part, btw!), I freaked out about what I looked like, and I found myself reacting to life rather than living it & loving (mySELf and oTheRs) as a powerful coCreator!
Instead of trying to be cheap imitations of oThEr people (and what I thought they wanted me to be--also made up), I beLIeVE it is my destiny (& everyOnE's) to be the most powerful and fabulous eXpReSSioN of mE I can be! That is each of our destinies! 
So, are you living life small? Or, are you living LARGE and in CHARGE--bursting forward with pursuing the amazing creative aCtS that give you energy and paSSiOn? I was walking around the lake with my beautiful friend Alana (good morning, hun!) and we decided that the biggest gift is being present and engaged in life (aka . . . LIVING!).
Have U every thought that the wOrLd will be a better place if U get to know yourself enough to sHaRe your gIfTs with the You-niverse? What presence do you wish to leave as your own personal signature to our delicious and amazing existence?
Live your life as your BeSt sElF--'cuz every juicy moment and hOLy interaction is created jUsT for you to reaCh youR hIghEsT poTentIaL!

JuSt SaYin'!
LiVin' LaRgE . . .
;) dana

GiVe oF yOu . . .

Give yourself entirely to those around you. 

Be generous with your blessings. 

A kind gesture can reach a wound that only

compassion can heal.

 ~Steve Maraboli

Hey All--

This post is inspired by the Purpose Fairy--a blog I receive every week! Today, she wrote the following:

There are so many things we can all offer to those around us and believe it or not many of these things are free. If you have material things you would like to give away to those who have less than you do, give it, and if you feel like you don’t have any material possession to offer, give them your time, your knowledge, your love and support and many of the things you have that cost you nothing but they value a lot.

JOY OF GIVING

A woman who was traveling alone in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream.

The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, the woman opened her bag to share her food.
The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.
The traveler left, rejoicing in his great fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.
But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the woman.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.”

The woman smiled, “The joy of giving!”

What do you have to give? Leave us a comment and share it! I personally want to make a commitment to give to every person I encounter . . . that can be as simple as a smile!

What can you give?

Huggers!
Dana