Here in Texas the weather can change dramatically in moments and deliver one helluva slap. Sure enough, a big storm line was brewing. At 10:00 pm the weather guys interrupted and informed us a severe storm was headed our way. They were warning of hail, big hail, and lots of hail. And about a minute later hail it did.

For about the next twenty minutes the hail came down in sheets. First there was pea sized hail, then dime sized hail, and then golf ball sized hail. It hailed so long the grass was entirely covered in white. Although it was 80 degrees still outside, the yard looked like a winter wonderland.

This morning when I woke up, the hail still covered parts of the yard and patio. The most fun part of the this storm was taking Seraphim outside and letting her see her very first hail ever. It’s sort of unfair that this furry fluffy American Eskimo wound up living in the extreme heat of Texas, but for a few minutes she frolicked in the coolness of the ice!  

The good news is that we are probably  now out of our drought conditions (it really hadn’t rained much at all this spring). The tough news was that the spring flowers took quite a pelting. Today is a day for surveying the damage, cleaning up, an some new spring planting. Isn’t nature amazing!

My Husband and Best Friend
I can’t imagine my life without my two best friends Ray and Adrienne. For starters, these two people really get me. The understand my nuances, what makes me tick and what I’m all about. The three of us work together, play together and create bigger lives together. It’s like having my family of angels right here on Earth with me every day of my life! 

My Home
Some people thrive anywhere, but not me. I need to have roots and my home is definitely the center of my world. I LOVE my home. It’s the house that Ray built for us and now it’s filled with so much love that the excess flows out the windows, escapes through the roof and sinks deep down into the ground. I’ve painted almost every room myself and Ray’s eclectic art collection makes our walls come alive. Our home is filled with three soft and adorable kitties (Merlin, Solomon and Ariel) and a gorgeous sweet white pup named Seraphim. I’ve been feeding the birds outside for years and now my backyard is a permanent home to cardinals, blue jays, ravens, wood peckers, ducks, hawks, an assortment of little sparrow sized birds, a ton of playful squirrels, a family of raccoons and the occasional fox or coyote. 

Creative Expression
I have an art room upstairs filled with beautiful messy paints, gorgeous papers, canvases, glue for every type of surface, antique buttons and lace, and so many artsy-craftsy things that all make my heart smile. I love getting my hands covered in ink, looking down to see that I’ve ruined yet another shirt or pair of jeans with paint, and delving into some new artistic creation. This birthday I received a brand new sewing machine and have already begun to explore creating artworks that combine paper, paint, embellishments, cloth, hand embroidery, and sewing. FUN!! 

Yoga
There’s not much time lately for a lot of structured activity, but every Monday afternoon is Yoga day with our personal instructor Candace. This one hour a week provides a calm mind, a happier and more flexible neck and back, time to breath and a sense of balance. 

Morning Walks
Our cute dog-face Seraphim just recently turned a year old and thrives on activity. So the first thing she and I do in the morning is go on our morning walk outside rain or shine, freezing ice or summer heat. We head outdoors together to play, smell the wind and take in the sights and sounds of nature. 

Organization
I admit it, I’m a neat freak. Nothing obsessive or anything, but I love the aesthetics of clearing out anything that remotely resembles clutter and creating a certain type of breathing room. I keep organized kitchen drawers, clean refrigerators and pantries, nothing hidden under the beds, nothing on my closet floors and my clothes organized by season, color and style. Upon reflection, I’m seeing it’s more about maintaining flow rather than organization. When there’s room for flow than lots of new and exciting stuff continues coming into my life. 

My iPhone
An absolute necessity! It helps me find my way through the city traffic, allows me to text and stay in touch during business hours, holds all my favorite music and most exciting of all my iPhone stores lots of pictures. I’m constantly taking pictures of the food I cook, the art I’m currently creating, the beautiful nature sights that I see while I’m walking with Sera and the fun times I’m sharing with my friends. 

Skype
I live in Dallas and my parents and sister live in upstate NY. While there are only so many times we can visit each other during the year, Skype helps us bridge the distance. Now I get to see my families faces, take a peek at what my mom is cooking for dinner, share in their holidays on a more personal level, and look into their eyes more often. Priceless. 

Cooking
One of the things I love about cooking is that it is the ultimate form of creative expression which fills all my senses. Cooking involves creative planning, the wonderful experience of picking out the best ingredients, the peacefulness of chopping and dicing, the fantastic sounds of sizzling, a variety of smells, tastes, textures to fill my body with pleasure and the joy of sharing dishes that makes my loved ones smile.    

Humanscale Freedom Chair
Writing articles for the past 20 years for Eating Peacefully and Loving Miracles, writing the Divine Self blog each week and writing three inspirational books made getting a comfortable office chair a necessity. After much research and test driving, I found my perfect chair in the Humanscale Freedom Chair. It was worth the investment and my back and legs thank me every day. 

There are a million things that keep me happy and I’m often amused by the simple things. What about you? What are some things in life you just can’t live without? Share what makes your life a grand miracle in the comments section

Joshua Bell http://www.joshuabell.com/

For those of us who hadn’t already heard this story, as part of a social experiment Joshua Bell was asked by Washington Post writer Gene Weingarten to play his violin in a Washington DC subway station during morning rush hour.  At 7:51 am on January 12, 2007, a few months before he won the Avery Fisher Prize, Joshua Bell stood in a DC subway station in jeans and a long-sleeve T.  He opened up his case, and started playing his 1713 Stradivarius. 

Here’s how the story unfolds…

Washington, DC Metro Station on a Cold January Morning
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. 

Four Minutes Later
Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

6 Minutes
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

10 Minutes
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

45 Minutes
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. He received $32.17 for his 43 minutes playing, not counting the woman who recognized him and gave him a twenty.  And yes, there were a few pennies in his case.  About two thousand people passed by.  In the hustle and bustle of morning rush, few had even stopped to look at him, despite hearing the music. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. 

The commuters were oblivious to the treat that would have cost them a hefty $100 in a concert hall, if they could find a ticket that is.  And for Weingarten,  he got a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for his Washington Post cover story ‘Pearls Before Breakfast’.  To read this fascinating article, CLICK HERE.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100. 

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour “Do we perceive beauty?” “ Do we stop to appreciate it?” “ Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?” 

What place does beauty have in your daily routine?

intense thunderstorms

warm southerly wind

sunlight

starry starry nights

trees

spring

rocks, sticks, stones

self love

creating  art

the beauty of imperfection

water

empty spaces

first cup of coffee in the morning

sense of smell

animal, birds, puppies and kitties

soul connections

unconditional acceptance

inspiration

So these are just a few of the things that fill my every day life with light and make my heart sing. What about you? Leave us a comment and tell us one or two of your daily favorites.

1.  Organize your bedroom so that when you first open your eyes you will see beauty. Consider placing art on your walls that brightens your mood, living plants on the dressers that serve as a reminder that you are a part of the cycle of life, and planting a tree or flowering shrubs outside your bedroom window for beauty. 

2.  When you first wake up take a few long, slow, deep intentional breaths. 

3.  Wake up and remind yourself to live your day as if you’ll die tomorrow, and at the same time as though you’ll live 200 years. 

4.  Even before getting out of bed, say something meaningful to yourself out loud. It doesn’t have to be profound, just a few words that affirm that this is your day to live, to make meaningful choices, and to celebrate. 

5.  Playing music in the morning can set your mood for the day. Consider creating a playlist of your Top 20 Feel Good Songs. Soothing music can help relax, while rhythmic beats might get you dancing in the shower, and party beats can provide a sense of fun. 

6.  Be mindful of the quality of air in your bedroom. Open the windows often to let out the stale air and let in air that is fresh and full of oxygen. 

7.  Turn your bedroom into a serene oasis where the worries of the day melt away, and the grand potentials of life greet your eyes in the morning. Choose luxurious bedding, elegant sheets, perfect pillows, and a quality mattress. You deserve it! 

8.  The colors in your bedroom can have an astounding effect on your mood. Choose a color scheme for your bedroom that creates the type of mood you are looking for. Cool colors such as blues and greens tend to evoke serenity and peace. Pink is extremely calming. Shades of red are energizing and intimate. Pale shades of yellow will reflect light and make the room feel airy and bright. Earth tones are gentle and can create a cozy feeling. 

9.  Develop a pleasant morning routine that makes you eager to get out of bed. Try going for a light morning walk before showering, meditating, doing some light yoga stretches to get your body moving, or writing in a journal. Experiment and find a routine that works best for you. 

10.  Have something to be excited about today. When you wake up, think about one specific action or nice thing you can do for yourself that day… then make a solid decision to do it. When you have something you are excited about, you are more likely to get out of bed alert and looking forward to the day. 

If you tend to wake up feeling groggy, grumpy, or even sad, consider using one or more of the above tips to help boost your morning mood. These easy ways to perk up help you take charge and feeling more confident to face whatever the day may bring.

Today’s column offers 10 valuable tips than can help you have a more creative and fulfilling relationship with yourself and life in the New Year: 

1.  Become observant and be a witness to yourself. Observe your breathing, the way you hold yourself, the actions you take when alone or with others. The more watchful you become, the more conscious you become. It is only when we are conscious that we are then able to become free to make new choices. 

2.  Treat yourself with respect and make careful deliberate decisions that feel right to the core truth of who you are. 

3.  Listen to your intuitive heart and really hear what this divine part of yourself has to say. Then honor your wisdom and take action in the direction of your truth. 

4.  Stay focused on what’s most important to you by putting personal priorities on the front burner. 

5.  Ask yourself what you can do each day to invest in improving the quality of your relationship with yourself. 

6.  Make time for yourself, noticing what you need and giving it to yourself. 

7.  Make yourself happy and more filled with joy by choosing and actions that feel good to you—both in the present moment and in the long-term. Actions that feel good only short-term but cause guilt, grief or regret long-term may provide a moment of comfort, but will not serve to increase the overall level of joy available to you in this life. 

8.  Talk to yourself. Open up and clearly articulate the thoughts that typically run through your mind. Whether using a journal or talking to yourself aloud in a mirror, voicing the thoughts that tend to spin in your mind helps you notice your patterns. There’s no need to train your mind to “think positive” thoughts. Instead, the decision to bring thoughts out into the open helps disempowering thoughts resolve and allows us to place attention on thoughts that affirm the beauty of self and life.  

9.  Taste and savor your food. Bringing greater consciousness to your eating brings you into greater connection to your body, to the planet and to the universe at large. Conscious eating is powerful because it expands awareness of our right to true enjoyment and our right to belong to this world.

10.  Become conscious of what is in your closets, drawers, and storage spaces. Letting go of excess clutter and redundant clothes, tools, and objects can raise energy levels to new heights. Clearing space is a sign you are ready to open up to new potentials! 

Becoming more conscious of thoughts, feelings and patterns can help bring your relationship with life and with yourself into balance. No matter where you are in this New Year you have the ability to make changes in your life and make constructive choices when opportunities arise. Best wishes to you!

Below is a little list of 50 items that includes some of the little things that add joy to my day. EnJOY and please add your favorite joy actions to the comments section below. 

1. Bring in large doses of compassion.

2. Take a deep breath, accept the situation, and find ways to be tender to self.

3. Go for a walk.

4. Play with the pets. Enjoy the look of appreciation in their eyes.

5. Water the plants outside.

6. Work on a non-thinking creative project.

7. Take time for others.

8. Drink plenty of fluids.

9. Send someone a hand-written greeting card.

10. It’s time to step out the routine and add self-pampering.

11. Take a hot bath even if it is the middle of the day.

12. Donate old books to the library.

13. Dance like a fool to some silly song on the radio.

14. Make the decision not to dwell in self-pity.

15. Smile.

16. A gentle reminder that this too shall pass.

17. Appreciate the details that are going well.

18. Feel the truth of what is going on, but also give permission to allow joyful moments.

19. Find joy in nature.

20. Create joy in everyday moments.

21. Sing a familiar uplifting song.

22. Stop and smell the roses.

23. Sit in the sunshine.

24. Place energetic focus on something that inspires the heart.

25. Clean the house.

26. Buy something beautiful.

27. Rearrange the closet.

28. Relax under the stars.

29. Be kind to self and others.

30. Practice relaxation.

31. Paint a picture.

32. Use the good china.

33. Honor the body by listening to what it wants to eat.

34. Look at pictures of loved ones.

35. Have a day without email or computers.

36. Call a loved one just to say “I love you.

37. Ask your soul what it wants to do today.

38. Don’t expect perfection. Not every day is filled with sunshine.

39. Call a friend and share the feelings, both good and bad.

40. Instead of running a boring errand alone, take a friend along and watch the smiles increase.

41. Go for a drive with the sunroof open.

42. Take a nap.

43. Swing on a playground swing.

44. Cook a meal. There’s something soothing about chopping and dicing. 

45. Take many deep conscious breaths throughout the day.

46. Dress up.  Who doesn’t feel better when they’re in a great outfit?

47. Do something for someone else.

48. Find ways to laugh throughout the day.

49. Tell yourself, “I believe in you.”

50. Remember you’re alive. That in itself is joyful.

Joy is not a logical concept and as such can never be experienced by the mind. Joy is the result of love—or the spirit of an individual—becoming manifested in life. In other words, joy requires experiencing. 

For example, joy can be experienced while quietly watching a sunset, cooking a meal, feeling the warmth of a southerly breeze, or in a moment of simple stillness. When we are playing, laughing, expressing ourselves, or even dancing, joy appears spontaneously. 

Great pleasure fills us when we engage in stimulating or exciting endeavors. We “forget” ourselves and have a good time. In other words, we lose the tight control we have over ourselves, soften our bodies, breathe more deeply, and remain absorbed in the current moment.

What is joy?
It is a bird
That we all want to catch.
It is the same bird
That we all love to see flying

- Sri Chinmoy

There’s something about mass consciousness that lures us into believing that in order to be happy we have “fight” what is wrong with us. We fight a cold, we battle our weight, we go to war with our illnesses, and we attempt to control our brains by fighting off negative thoughts and thinking only good thoughts. Yet despite this tendency to battle life, we all know deep within our hearts that love is always the answer. It’s not always the quick and easy answer, and it can be difficult to bring love into a frightful situation, but love really does heal all wounds. Love is the joy that you are. Next time you are tempted to fight the good fight, decide differently.

Emotions, especially intense or “negative” emotions, often feel bad and scary. Sometimes it seems as if those big emotions carrying all that intense energy could destroy us.                     

Emotions aren’t “negative” or “wrong” and they can’t really harm us. After all, they are just energy. But if they are just energy, why are certain emotions so difficult to experience? With some emotions, we are emotionally immature. This simply means that certain emotions have never been allowed to resolve themselves to completion. Fearing the unknown and the unexpected, each time these types of emotions are triggered or as they begin to surface, we resort to old strategies of and push them back down while they are in an unresolved state. 

However, escaping, avoiding, ignoring, or repressing emotions is only a temporary fix. After awhile, that energy becomes pressurized and wants to burst loose. Like a pressurized volcano that energy builds up wanting to erupt and resolve itself into completion.   

Repressing emotions limits our happiness because we end up fearing the explosion of energy. Having no prior successful experience under our belt of knowing  how to deal with these emotions, we resort to our repression coping strategies. It becomes a habit to push down strong emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, and shame, with the help of food, anorexia, bulimia, alcohol, smoking, drugs, chronic shopping, or excessive busyness. These coping strategies make our life more difficult and limit our happiness as they create long-term negative consequences. 

One way to increase happiness is to pay attention to your so called negative emotions. This doesn’t mean wallowing in them, or being consumed by them, but finding a way to express them. Write them down, speak them out, explore them, and be open to the wisdom within them. 

This may require a bit of courage and practice because negative emotions often contain the pain of who you are now and the limitations you believe to be true about yourself. However, by consciously exploring these beliefs and ideas, you prepare yourself to evolve into a stronger, more balanced, happier person.  Letting emotional pain express itself gets things out into the open, where old beliefs can heal, and new more self-supportive beliefs can be incorporated.

The next time you are experiencing an intense emotion, let it out by conscious breathing, crying, signing, writing in your journal, or sharing the experience by expressing it aloud. The key is let the emotional energy resolve itself through expression in a way that doesn’t hurt yourself or others.