Tag: IyanlaVanzant

  • Quiet Reflections

    Quiet Reflections

    If you can’t get quiet enough to hear yourself, your life is too loud. ~Terri Guillemets

    I never completely understood the term “Silence is golden” until I started meditating.  Now that I have experienced the peace that comes from just sitting in silence, there is not a day that goes by that I don’t take some time to sit silently in a quiet space.   There are three benefits I gained I want to share with you.DSCF4794

    The first one is that it helped me to become more mindful of my thoughts. I never realized that I was my own worst enemy and sabotaging my own peace and happiness.  There was so much self-negative talk going on in my own head.  When I started paying attention to the way I spoke to myself I had to make a choice to work on it. When a thought popped in my head, I would ask “would you say that to anyone else out loud?”  Most of the time, the answer was no. The negative talk produced a dislike for myself that I didn’t know existed.  When I would take my walks in the morning, I would focus my attention on positive affirmations, such as, “I am worth.” “I am enough.” “I am successful.” The more I heard these thoughts, the more natural they would pop in to my head. I started to value who I was and the uniqueness I brought to the world.

    Another benefit meditating did was helped me to became more present in my life.  My mind wasn’t cluttered with thoughts of what I used to do or what I was going to do, I concentrated on the activity at hand. The trees looked greener and the sky looked bluer.  I discovered a passion for photography.DSCF6033 My relationship with my children improved. Last summer, I implemented a mandatory “unwind time” for everyone. It was something very similar to a tech-free time out, no electronics, cell phones, TV or radio for two hours each night during the weekday.  During the two hours, we would play card games, take walks or just simply sit outside on the deck and talk. I must admit, I had trouble turning off the phone in the beginning but as time went on; the kids would come and sit down in the living room without being called to join in. They actually looked forward to hanging out with me again.

    The last thing I want to share was I learned who I am and what I want. I no longer seek approval from others. I gained a deeper to love for myself. DSCF6292 I know now that I have the power to make better and smarter choices for the kind of life I wish to live. I learned that no one can steal your joy when it comes from deep within. 

    These lessons didn’t come easy. As Iyanla Vanzant so eloquently states it, I had to challenge my Belief System or BS. I know I am still a work in progress, but I can honestly say, I am proud of the person I am becoming.  Here are three key points I want to leave with you.

    1. The best project to work on is you.
    2. One little step leads to another.
    3. No one can be you but you.

    Quote source: http://www.quotegarden.com/silence.html

    Thank you for taking the time to visit. Please share your thoughts.

  • You Only Live Once

    You Only Live Once

    Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending. ~Author Unknown

    I had a wonderful week. I was in Detroit last weekend for Oprah’s Life You Want to Live Tour. DSCF5097It was one of the best things I have ever done for myself. It was a five hour drive to Detroit. I left at 4 am to make it in line to register.

    The doors opened at 9:45 am to register for the wristband and Oprah’s pop up tent town O-Town opened at 10 am.  I made it there by 9 am.  I had decided to make the trip by myself.  While I was standing in the registration line, I met 5 women. Four of the women were from the Detroit area. The one other woman drove up from Cincinnati herself as well.

    After we got our wristbands, there was another line to jump in. This one took us into O-Town. My new found friend and I started to talk and walk around together. DSCF5259

    In O-Town, one of the sponsor tents offered ticket holders a chance to upgrade their seats. I had purchased the lowest cost seats available so I know I wasn’t up close at all, and neither was my new friend. While we were in the line for the chance at upgraded seats, I noticed the sign that stated that each winner would receive two tickets.  The “two tickets” seemed to catch my attention and I said to my friend, “if I win, I will give you the extra ticket” and she relied “I was just thinking the same thing.”  We were about 5-6 people back from the front. When it was our turn to try, I lost but my new friend won. At  that moment, I knew this trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity!

    Quote Source: http://www.quotegarden.com