How to Start a Gratitude Practice and Change Your Life “When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” -Lao Tzu Somewhere in the distant past, out here in New Zealand, I recall someone saying to me “Be grateful for small mercies.” Back in the 1950s, when I was a small girl, that meant being grateful for the simple things that made up the better part of my life. As I grew, I forgot that piece of advice that someone, probably my beautiful grandmother, gave me way back then. But in 2010, I remembered it again. Like so many people in the world in 2010, troubles were crowding in on me. My American same-sex partner and I had not been able to see each other for over a year, due to both the usual constraints—American immigration law does not recognize our relationship—and the not so usual – the recession, joblessness, bankruptcy, and threatened foreclosure on our American home. In July my father died in New Zealand and it was at that point I threw in the towel. And so we did. 1. 2. So do it. 3. 4. Move into the feeling. 5.
How to Practice Gratitude – Helpful Tips (and focus on what's really important.) In a stuck moment, it’s hard to see positive forces when obstacles are blaring and fears are looming. This is a good time to be grateful. Not grateful for what has us stuck, but appreciating what doesn’t. Gratitude helps us see our situation in a way that can lessen panic, and could open up our thinking to new solutions. Thing is, people aren’t hardwired to be grateful. Gratitude puts situations into perspective. Unstuck helps us achieve what's important to us Unstuck helps you solve life’s problems, big and small, by looking at what has you stuck and how to change that. 9 ways to cultivate gratitude 1 Notice your day-to-day world from a point of gratitude and be amazed at all the goodness we take for granted. The power of paying a compliment When Mark Twain said, "I can live two months on a good compliment," he only told half the story. Here are five do’s and don’ts to make the most of giving and receiving of admiration: DO be genuine.
What’s On Your Gratitude List Today? We all know how focusing on the things that we’re grateful for can turn around a negative mood but have you made this a daily practice? I started my own version of this years ago in the form of The 10/10 Exercise. Each day I write at least ten things for which I’m grateful. After putting myself into a great mood writing about things I’m grateful for, I follow it by writing at least ten things that I want to attract into my life. Today I thought I would share with you some of the many things that have appeared in my gratitude list. Be grateful if you have eyes to see these things, a nose to smell them, ears to hear them, a mouth to taste them, hands to touch them and a heart to feel them. The petals of a flower The eyelashes of a baby The smell of a puppy The rainbow of colors in a sunrise and sunset The unconditional love of our four-legged friends The sassy people in our lives who tell us what we really need to hear Big hugs Passionate kisses Understanding the power of our own intuition Love
What Are Affirmations and How to Use Them By Remez Sasson What Are Affirmations Affirmations are sentences aimed to affect the conscious and the subconscious mind. The words composing the affirmation, automatically and involuntarily, bring up related mental images into the mind, which could inspire, energize and motivate. Repeating affirmations, and the resultant mental images, affect the subconscious mind, which in turn, influences the behavior, habits, actions and reactions. What Affirmations Do? They motivate. When and How to Repeat Affirmations 1) Devote some special times during the day for repeating them. 2) Repeat them wherever you are, and whenever you want and have the time. Before starting, ask yourself whether you really want to get what you want to affirm for. Affirm with love, faith, feeling and interest, and feel and believe that your desire has already been fulfilled. Examples Affirmations for success: It is easy and simple to achieve success. Affirmations for happiness: I am letting happiness manifest in my life.
How To Take A Compliment Sisters of Charity Australia – The Love Of Christ Impels Us Pope Francis Honours Founder of the Religious Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of Charity of Australia. Given at Rome: 18th March 2015 Mary Aikenhead (1787-1858), who founded the Religious Sisters of Charity in 1815 to provide services to “the suffering poor”, has been declared Venerable by Pope Francis. Throughout the world today Religious Sisters of Charity are in Ireland, England, Scotland, Zambia, California, Nigeria, Malawi and Australia. When Mary Aikenhead set up her Congregation two hundred years ago, there were only a hundred women religious in Ireland, all enclosed contemplatives. Sister Clare Nolan, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Charity of Australia, concurs with Sister Mary Christian, Congregational Leader of the Religious Sisters of Charity in Ireland that Mary Aikenhead was a woman ahead of her time. Notes for the Editors: Being declared Venerable is the second of four steps in the Catholic Church’s Canonisation process.
Creative Baby Shower Gift Ideas - Who Arted? Several of my friends are in the process of starting their families – which means I’ve been going to quite a few baby showers lately! If you’re searching for some creative and thoughtul gift ideas, look no further! Here are seven of my favorite gift ideas for moms-to-be! Gift Idea #1: Monthly Onesies One of my favorite gifts to give! …and my niece! If you’re interested in a monthly onesie tutorial, let me know! Gift Idea #2: Books! My in-laws threw me a baby shower and asked guests to bring a book in lieu of a card. My favorite part of this idea is that each guest wrote a little note inside their book, so everytime we read a book we have a special note from our family and friends. Recordable Books: One of my favorite books we received was from Casey’s Great Grandma Evelyn. Old Books: Another great surprise was that my mother-in-law saved some of my husband’s books from when he was little. Interactive Books: One of our favorites is the “Tickle Monster” Laughing Kit. Gift Idea #3: Baby Binder
The First Woman Photographer - Anna Atkins - Films not dead. - F.N.D Anna Atkins is said to had been the first woman to create a photograph. Initially she was trained as an English Botanist and discovered photography as a means to document botanical specimens for a scientific reference book, entitled ‘British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions’. This book subsequently became considered to be the first book to demonstrate light-senstive materials in a publication. Anna Atkins was born in Tunbridge, Kent, England in 1799. John George Children and John Pelly Atkins were friends of Willian Fox Talbot and in 1841 inspired by the advice from William Henry Fox Talbot she decided to take up photography where she learned directly from Talbot about two of his inventions related to photography: the “photogenic drawing” technique (in which an object is placed on light-sensitized paper which is exposed to the sun to produce an image) and calotypes. Information: The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes – Second edition/ Lee Gallery
2015 has three Friday the 13ths. What are the odds? Scared of Friday the 13th? An irrational fear of this date is called friggatriskaidekaphobia (Frigga is the Norse goddess for whom Friday is named). Image via Kelli Marshall March 13, 2015 is a Friday, ushering in Act II of this year’s epic Friday the 13th trilogy. Not that we at EarthSky suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia – an irrational fear of Friday the 13th – but, gosh darn, it’s Friday the 13th three times over in 2015. Scary coincidence or super unlucky? In 2015, blame Thursday The February-March-November Friday the 13th trilogy repeats … The rhyme and reason of the Friday the 13th cycle Friday-the-13th-year repetitions within 28-year cycle Can three Friday the 13ths occur in a leap year? The Friday the 13th slasher-movie franchise helped keep this day maintain its notoriety. Gioachino Rossini, a 19th century Italian composer. Scary coincidence or super unlucky? Friday has always gotten a bad rap. Enjoying EarthSky so far? In 2015, blame Thursday. Calendar for 2015