A safe harbor where beliefs are respected and kindness prevails.

Fearlessly Positive

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Teri WilliamsA few years ago I read something about positive attitudes “not being all they’re cracked up to be”.  If you know me, you know I think that’s just crazy. If you don’t know me, you should – I love my Pollyanna attitude and believe 100% that it has been my life saver on many occasions. They don’t call me The Bliss Lady for nothing!

Having a positive attitude does not mean that I am in a constant state of euphoria. There is an  evil twin lurking somewhere deep inside wanting to get out to spread a little (or maybe a lot) of negative energy around. Occasionally, she pops her head out to scream in the car, punch a pillow or throw something far across the room.  My best tool for getting it all out is a kick boxing session – hitting or kicking a punching bag a few times can make a big difference when those nasty little gremlins in my head start chatting.

What being fearlessly positive means, to me, is that I remain optimistic by choosing to:

  • Smile, even when I don’t feel like it
  • Maintain a cheerful countenance
  • Look at the bright side
  • Get creative
  • Take responsibility for my own actions
  • Choose wisely
  • Never stop reaching for the best
  • Practice impeccable soul care

When I am down in the dumps and feel like I can’t go on I silently chant Sarah Ban Breathnach’s mantra from Simple Abundance: This too shall pass and this too shall pass! I’ve practiced it  many times.  I am human, after all, and have had my share of drama and trauma.

Everyday I make a conscious effort to surround myself with like-minded individuals, as well as symbols of the love and joy in my own life.  Included in my personal space are constant reminders that have the potential to instantly lift my spirits and ignite my passion.

Walk into my sacred space and you will find photos’ of my family and pets, crystals, candles, books and quotes from my  teachers like The Buddha, Depak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Steve Jobs,  Albert Einstein, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oprah and so many more.  On the corner of my altar sits a miracle jar and a box that contains personal treasures and dreams.  Each item in my line of sight represents something to smile about and be thankful for.

As a member of this incredible community called Earth, I know I have more than enough tools and resources available for looking beyond the negative headlines and daily drama to remain fearlessly positive.  Mother Nature, season after season, doesn’t give up, neither will I!

Create A Ritual Of Light And Love

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light and loveGreeting the day ahead

The other day my mom and I were discussing how some people naturally bounce out of bed with a  smile on their face ready to take on the day, while others can barely muster enough energy to put one foot on the ground.  Fortunately both my mom and I are the former.  As an extra bonus, my father was also one to wake up extremely happy – sometimes too happy, says my mom.  At 82, she still wakes up with a smile on her face, eager to greet the day ahead.

So, when people ask me how I can remain so positive, so blissful, I can honestly reply “I come by it naturally”.

Obviously that is not the case for everyone.  What does one do when they don’t wake up with a spark?

Create a ritual of light and love.

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to witness the sun rising over the water or a mountain top, then you have experienced the beauty in the Universes daily ritual of light; the beauty of those small rays’ of brilliant light that swiftly expand into a golden ball, illuminating the morning sky.  This ritual takes place all over the world, every single day of the year, whether we witness it or not.

Taking our cue from Mother Nature, we can illuminate our own lives by creating a private ritual of light and love each morning in the privacy of our own home or space.  Even though I naturally wake up in a good mood, I still practice a morning ritual.  For me, it seals the deal on the day ahead.  Life will still happen;  there will be bumps along the way.  Knowing that I have established an intention for my day makes those bumps a little less painful.

My ritual goes something like this:

Before I even set a foot on the ground I begin thanking God/Source/Divine/Universe whatever you call it for another night’s rest and another day ahead.  I thank my tribe, both seen and unseen, the angels, all divine beings, ascended masters, elders and Mother Earth.  Then I make coffee!

While my coffee is brewing I light a candle, look out in my yard and begin radiating love to my community, to the entire world, and see that light expanding through the day ahead in how I interact with family, animals, clients, colleagues and friends, bringing that love back to me.  I greet the day, grounded in a loving embrace.

This is the ritual I have created for myself.  Any practice offered on a regular basis soon becomes a habit.  Create your own ritual of light and love and soon you’ll be waking with a sunny disposition every day of your life!

Soulcial Living – 56 acts of Loving Kindness

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Fotolia_54607324_Subscription_XXLAnd so the time has come to share my last 14 suggestions for “Soulcial Living”. Since January 9, 2014 I have offered you over 56 ways to practice, including the suggestions below.  That equals at least one kind gesture a week every day of the year.

In ‘Loving kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness’ Sharon Salzberg says:

“The difference between misery and happiness depends on what we do with our attention.” 

This is the secret to Soulcial Living – what we focus on multiples; simple yet true.

Begin this practice by bringing more loving kindness into your life.  Incorporate gestures of love, kindness and simplicity into your everyday existence.  Here are 14 additional tips to guide you:

  1. Let someone into traffic who looks like they are in a rush
  2. Start a campaign to help an individual or a group.
  3. Plant a tree or flowers in a neglected area in your neighborhood
  4. Let a debt go that someone owes you, whether monetarily or otherwise
  5. Give up your seat on a train or bus
  6. Tell a service providers manager what a great job they did
  7. Donate your long hair to Locks of Love
  8. Write a referral for someone
  9. Send thoughts of compassion to someone you dislike or feel uncomfortable
  10. Make homemade treats for your co-workers
  11. Send your favorite inspirational book to someone who is down
  12. Use less energy in your home and office (kindness for the planet)
  13. Stick up for someone who has been treated wrongly or unjustly
  14. Radiate loving kindness to the planet

 And ONE MORE

 15.Be gentle with yourself

Everything begins with YOU!

Lessons on kindness from a nanny or Becoming Soul-cial Part III

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cloudcanyon jawdroppingphotography kindness gathers loveWhen my kids were in elementary school I began sitting for a neighbor’s (friends) son on a regular basis. He became an extension of our family and his parents are two of my dearest friends.  I took him with me wherever we went; visiting my grandmother, sporting events, even to the grocery store.

One day my neighbor called me to share a story.  One evening, after picking up her son, they stopped at the grocery store to grab a few things.  You know how it goes, those few things soon turned into a cart full.  As they were waiting in line a young woman came up behind them with only one item.  Her son looked at the woman and said, “You can go ahead of us, we have a lot and you only have one thing.  We’ll probably be here a while.”  Shocked, my friend looked down at her son, telling him how nice that was.  She asked where on Earth he learned to be so nice.  He said, “Oh, it’s nothing, Mom, Teri does it all the time”.

You can imagine the tears of joy that were running down my face.  Kids pay attention.  They are the future.  For me, that future is now.  We make a difference whether we are nice or not.  Doesn’t it make more sense to show up with loving kindness than anger and frustration?

A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love. Saint Basil

Gather love. Turn your kindness switch on.  Here are 14 ways to get started:

  1. Say thank you for everything
  2. Tell someone they’re doing a great job
  3. Pay someone’s overdue book bill at the library
  4. Leave encouraging post it notes wherever you happen to be sitting/waiting
  5. Plan a special day with your child
  6. Submit positive feedback to a business you like
  7. Donate blood
  8. Adopt an animal
  9. Write a thank you card to the postal carrier
  10. Give food to a homeless person
  11. Take your pet to a nursing or children’s home
  12. Buy a star for someone
  13. Make cookies for someone who least expects it
  14. Say please

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