Your life is the result of…

…the story you believe about yourself. notsalmon via Your life is the result of….

The Future is Open, Not Empty

“As for the future, your task is not to foresee it but to enable it.” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Get more here: Embracing Uncertainty: The Future is Open, Not Empty | Tiny Buddha: Wisdom Quotes, Letting Go, Letting Happiness In.

What Makes Us Rich

“If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.” ~Lau Tzu. Get more here: Tiny Wisdom: What Makes Us Rich | Tiny Buddha: Wisdom Quotes, Letting Go, Letting Happiness In.

Better Brewing: 12 Ways to Make Coffee at Home

With all the time us frugal-living people spend harping on how smart it is to make coffee at home, you think we’d devote a little more time to how to actually make that coffee. After all, one of my big beliefs about frugal living is that you do not have to be miserable while saving money — frugality is about enjoying life while finding ways to spend less. To that end, making coffee at home doesn’t mean that your only option is to plug in the ol’ drip-drip maker (although drip machines can make some darn fine coffee).

Of course, I must note that the method of preparation is only one factor in the taste of your coffee. The beans you choose, whether you grind them fresh or buy them pre-ground, and even your water can affect your brew. But for the moment, let’s focus (no matter how caffeine jittery we are) — here are 12 different methods for brewing your beans. (See also: 5 Reasons to Drink Coffee)

1. French Press

I begin with the French press for one very unscientific reason — it’s what I use. Most days, I only drink one cup of coffee, and my little Bodum French press makes that one cup so nicely. I really dig the way French press coffee tastes, although some people rag on the French press because it can leave more sediment in the coffee than some other methods. Others, however, point out that French presses preserve coffee oils better than drip coffee makers, although that’s true of more than one of the methods listed here.

To get started with a French press, check out my colleague Greg’s step-by-step guide to French press coffee.” Get more here: Better Brewing: 12 Ways to Make Coffee at Home | Wise Bread.

It’s what we use, too…

The Key To Healing It Is Feeling It; Embrace All Your Feelings As A Gift!

The challenge with curation is often finding the best 3 paragraphs to share. Kute Blackson’s post is so good today that I just grabbed the whole think. Sorry, Kute – hope you don’t mind…

All of your feelings are a gift.

Yet we often judge feelings as good or bad. We often try to eliminate the bad ones and feel only the good ones. However, in doing so, you end up disconnecting from the full range of your heart, self-expression and power.

To the degree that you suppress what you might think of as the negative feelings is to the degree that you also disconnect from your capacity to fully experience the positive feelings.

Ultimately, there are no good or bad feelings. Feelings are just energy moving through your body. Every feeling is a signal, which if you pay attention to will point you in the direction of something that you actually need to deal with, a part of you that needs loving compassion or needs to be released. Even the feelings you label as bad are simply a signal. They are like a fire alarm trying to get you to pay attention to a part of yourself. If you don’t listen, the signal gets louder and louder until you do. If you keep suppressing, the feelings end up coming out anyway most likely in a not so gracious way (AKA -You lose it, or have a meltdown and explode)!

When you suppress your authentic feelings, those feelings simply remain incomplete buried deep within you. You often end up recreating situations and relationships in your life based on those old incomplete feelings, as there is a deep impulse within us to complete what is incomplete.

What you might call “bad” feelings show you the parts of yourself that need your love and healing. Healing is applying love to the parts of yourself that are hurting. When you hold a space of compassion for yourself and the full range of your feelings without any judgment, this compassion has a transformative effect.

As children we learn to disconnect from our authentic feelings. We disconnect as a way to avoid pain, hurt, rejection, shame etc.  And it becomes a survival mechanism in order to function and protect ourselves.  That way of being may have “worked” for us as children to survive, but take this way of being into our adulthood and end up recreating those same incomplete childhood patterns over and over, it only creates suffering.

What feelings are you suppressing?

What feelings are you disconnecting from?

What feelings are you afraid of feeling and acknowledging within your self?

Take an honest look.

The feelings that you suppress, or are unwilling to acknowledge and embrace, will run you!

The feelings that you are unable to have will end up having you.

When you suppress your real feelings, whether anger, sadness or hurt – over time, you might end up finding yourself feeling depressed, heavy, irritated and lacking aliveness. The heaviness is a sign that you are suppressing and ends up clouding your ability to now feel joy in the present moment.

No feelings last forever. But we are sometimes afraid to feel the feelings we think are bad because we are worried we will stay stuck there. Know this: all feelings pass. None are permanent. To the degree you can feel them, you will let them go and feel more alive.

So do not resist the negative feelings, feel them fully with total awareness whilst connecting to the sensations in your body. They will move through you and dissolve.

Similarly, no positive feelings will last forever either. So when you feel a positive feeling, simply feel it fully with total awareness, without trying to make it stay, and you might find yourself experiencing it longer. What often happens is in an effort to keep the “good” feelings we try to make it stay, which creates a contraction. In doing so we start to lose the positive feeling even more quickly!

When you are willing to embrace and love the dark in you, you are then able to more fully embrace your light. However, let me be clear, it is NOT about wallowing in your negativity and dark feelings using that as an excuse. Feeling authentically isn’t wallowing or indulging. It is simply about acknowledging and integrating what your feelings have to share with you and allowing them to move through you in a healthy way.

Ultimately you are not your feelings, whether good or bad. You are beyond them all. Your relationship with your feelings is as important as the feelings themselves. No need to be afraid or run away from them.

Your feelings are a portal into a deeper dimension of yourself and thus a deeper dimension of your own Divinity and freedom.

Your feelings are a gift. Sometimes you just need to patiently unwrap them, so you can find the important message inside.

When you feel it, you heal it.

And when you heal it, you can be more of the real you that you are meant to be.

It is time.

Love. Now.

Source: The Key To Healing It Is Feeling It…Embrace All Your Feelings As A Gift!

Before You Send That Angry E-mail

Michael Hyatt writes:

Over the course of my career, I have fired off my share of angry letters and e-mail. However, I cannot think of a single time when these communiques had a positive effect. Usually, they only served to escalate the conflict and alienate the recipient.” Get more here: Before You Send That Angry E-mail | Michael Hyatt.

Think twice, click send once…

15 Steps to Boost Productivity Before You Start Your Day

It’s amazing how a morning can suck minutes or even hours away from your day before you even open your eyes completely.

Fortunately, it’s easy to get time back in the morning – all you need to do is get organized and utilize some new efficiencies. Of course, before you can establish new patterns, you need to figure out what patterns you’ve already established – and that is the first step to a properly multi-tasked morning.” via Multi-Tasking Your Morning – 15 Steps to Boost Productivity Before You Start Your Day.

Vision and action

It’s Possible!

The Daily Love via Visual Inspiration: It’s Possible!.

Piece of my heart

Nothing comes close to Janis — not even Crystal Bowersox… :-D. Anderson Layman’s Blog: You know you got it……………..

17 Manly Quotes for Father’s Day

“Father’s Day is now only days away and what better way to bring in this year’s manly day than with a selection of quotes about men from men. There are many facets to “being a man” and rather than figure it all out for ourselves, men can rely on great thinkers and doers of the past to give them some encouragement and wisdom.” Get more here: 17 Manly Quotes for Father’s Day.

ParadoxicalProductivity: The Director’s Cut, the first 17

Brussel sprouts

Nicholas Bate offers these tips:

1: Send Less E-Mail. Get less e-mail.

2: Tidy Up. Gain clarity.

3: Fewer People. Faster, focused and easier.

4: Use A Wall Planner Not Your Phone To Plan. The future, not just today.

5: You KNOW the problem: (1) Wake Up (2) Look Up (3) Get Real

6: Stand Up. Gain determination.

7: You Don’t Need To Be Nice. Polite, loyal and on time definitely. But this ain’t kindergarten.

8: Put the work in at the start. For an easy life later on.

9: Take A Break. It activates higher brain where the best work is always done.

10: Start at the end. Start with the result you want and work backwards.

11: Work Hard To Maintain The Relationship. Productive business needs trusting relationships.

12: Make Small, Big. And Big, Small. Get perspective/get a plan.

13: Know Your Rhythm. Follow your rhythm rather than just the Siren’s call of pure urgency.

14: Re-claim your unique advantage. Stop & Think.

15: Hands & Heart. Engage both.

16: Be Here Now. Once you have decided, give it 110%

17: Love Mondays. It sets the tone for the week.

The detail here.

Bonus 1:  Professionalism 101

Bonus 2: How To Be Brilliant

Bonus 3: How To Be Brilliant at Business

via ParadoxicalProductivity: The Director’s Cut, the first 17.

Sadly, no mention of exercise and healthy eating. Perhaps those things are so obvious that Nicholas didn’t think it was necessary to put on this list. So, call me ‘master of the obvious’, but you’ll not likely be able to even touch this list if you aren’t eating healthily and exercising every day. Reference this post from yesterday

Transformation

notsalmon via Transformation.

Don’t try to be perfect

notsalmon via Don’t try to be perfect..

Doing good feels good

notsalmon via Doing good not only feels good….

I am stronger than my challenges

notsalmon via I am stronger than my challenges..

Wolf Shrink Valet

Bizarro Blog! Get more here: Wolf Shrink Valet.

12 Intuitive Signs of a Low State of Mind

“Awareness. That’s the subject of many of the questions I’ve received lately. Readers are wondering about the signs of a low level of awareness, consciousness, or state of mind. As one reader recently asked, “If I’m not seeing life clearly and prone to making poor choices from a low mind-set, then how do I know when I’m low and, therefore, stillpower is the best option?”

Good question. Here are twelve intuitive signs that you’re making decisions, changes, or corrections from a low state of mind and it’s time to ease off the gas and let the mind settle.” Get more here: Be Still: 12 Intuitive Signs of a Low State of Mind.

Disappointed Someone? It’s Okay. Get Over It.

“When we are the one responsible behind disappointment, we find ourselves poked by both ends of a double-edged sword – on the one side wounded by disappointment in ourselves, and the other traumatized with guilt towards the party affected.

But like toothaches and awkward puberty, we have to accept the fact that we are all bound to the possibility of disappointment, be it by ourselves, family, friends or co-workers; or by circumstances beyond our control, such as bad timing or a chain of events that eventually domino-crumble down our path.

Disappointment is an essential part of our growth and self-discovery, and despite being uncomfortable and hurtful, teaches us to trust ourselves, recognize our strengths and weaknesses, and let go of our hold on perfection.

By actively avoiding disappointment onto others, sometimes we set ourselves up for more failure and pain instead of less, or none at all.

We understand that like people, disappointment comes in many different shapes and sizes. While we don’t reproach the remorse that comes with our wrongdoing (hey, that’s a sign of empathy, right?), we’re definitely not down with the idea of indulging in continuous self-pity over a missed deadline or a forgotten detail.

So here are some tips you can apply in your personal or work life on how to overcome the emotional self-flagellation that comes with having disappointed someone.” Get more here: Disappointed Someone? It’s Okay. Get Over It..

Hanging on to Old Relationships

More Melody Beattie:

“We want to travel baggage-free on this journey. It makes the trip easier.

Some of the baggage we can let go of is lingering feelings and unfinished business with past relationships: anger; resentments; feelings of victimization, hurt, or longing.

If we have not put closure on a relationship, if we cannot walk away in peace, we have not yet learned our lesson. That may mean we will have to have another go-around with that lesson before we are ready to move on.

We may want to do a Fourth Step (a written inventory of our relationships) and a Fifth Step (an admission of our wrongs). What feelings did we leave with in a particular relationship? Are we still carrying those feelings around? Do we want the heaviness and impact of that baggage on our behavior today?

Are we still feeling victimized, rejected, or bitter about something that happened two, five, ten, or even twenty years ago?

It may be time to let it go. It may be time to open ourselves to the true lesson from that experience. It may be time to put past relationships to rest, so we are free to go on to new, more rewarding experiences.

We can choose to live in the past, or we can choose to finish our old business from the past and open ourselves to the beauty of today.

Let go of your baggage from past relationships.

Today, I will open myself to the cleansing and healing process that will put closure on yesterday and open me to the best today, and tomorrow, has to offer in my relationships.” Source: Hanging on to Old Relationships

Intelligence Follows the Wheel

English: Exercise wheel for a small rodent, di...

I ran across some interesting research the other day that I wanted to take a few moments to share here. For years scientists have known that giving mice “enriched” environments makes the mice smarter. They would put in colorful toys, tunnels, exercise wheels, etc. and mice who lived in the “enriched” environments performed better on tests than the mice in the non-enriched cages. Finally some scientists started trying to figure out exactly what it was in the enriched environment’s was making the mice smart.

It turned out it wasn’t the colorful balls or toys. it all came down to the exercise wheel. Even though the mice loved the toys the thing that made them smart was running on the wheel. The intelligence followed the exercise wheel–not the toys.

This has some interesting implications for people who want to perform at their peak mental capabilities. Maybe exercise is the one of the best ways to invest your time in getting smarter.” via Intelligence Follows the Wheel | Productivity501.

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