From the May 2010 issue of Healthy Options, an article by Barbara Ann Guiney
Feeling fabulous puts a smile on your face and in your heart. Begin to feel fabulous by first accepting and knowing that you are!
The true fabulous feeling doesn't come from your ego, but from your heart and spirit. Being fabulous is an inner knowing of your worth, beauty, goodness and kindness. It is trusting yourself and spirit. It's honouring and expressing all of your qualities and values. When you embrace your fabulousness on a daily basis, your life is filled with love and joy. You become an irresistible magnet when you know it and exude it, because people want to be around you. We all admire and love a woman who truly believes and expresses her fabulousness.
The ego or self-critical voice can hinder your ability to feel fabulous and usually isn't true. Become aware when that happens and replace that negativity with a positive statement. Don't share your self-criticism with others, because you will probably damage their image of you. They were originally attracted to you for your positive aspects so why would you want to detract from that? For some women it has become a destructive habit (e.g. Do I look fat in this?).
Finding happiness within the moment can empower you to create an even better future. Allow the goodness in your heart and soul to win over your ego. There may be things you want to change about yourself to improve your life. If you can change those things, then do it. Stop complaining and get moving. Don't expect a man to help you get over your criticisms. They can't, they don't know how and it's not their job. It's yours. Maybe your best girlfriends can help you.
Replace self-criticism with kindness and honouring yourself. In your garden of life, water your flowers. Ignore your weeds and they will die. Love yourself first so that you have love to give others and be an inspiration for them. It's not difficult to love yourself, although it may seem unfamiliar. Be willing to do new things. It is vital that you feel fabulous physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. For best results, do each of these simple and easy steps daily. Don't complain or give excuses, just do them and you'll see great results quickly.
1.Gratitude Start each day before you get out of bed with gratitude and thoughts that bring a smile to your face. Listen to your favourite song, read a passage from a special book or think about what glorious plans you have for your day. Visualise that day as an empty canvas where you can paint the most beautiful picture with your actions and thoughts.
2. Clear Negativity Ask for guidance from above to clear any negativity that you may be carrying or anything that is not to your highest good. Trust that it will be done. Notice how much lighter you feel after asking. Remember, 'Ask and you will receive'. You are worth it.
3. Be Still Be silent twice a day by meditating or just sitting quietly to listen to what your body and soul are feeling. It's amazing what great ideas you can hear. Meditating is a balance to prayer because after we ask the questions, we need quiet time to hear the answers. Life is a cycle of rest and activity, so give yourself permission to relax 10 to 15 minutes, twice a day. You can start with just five minutes, as a little time is better than no time. You will become addicted to how great you feel and eventually expand the time.
4. Move It Exercise daily even if it's just stretching. Move it or lose it! Dance for 10 minutes or do whatever you enjoy. Just do it because you will feel better. Increase your exercise to 20-30 minutes or more a day. Moderation is the key.
5. Eat Healthy Fuel your furnace with healthy food in small portions frequently during the day. Eat foods slowly. You can begin with fruit in the morning to cleanse your body. Don't eat past two hours before bedtime, because it's best for your body to focus on healing, not digestion, during sleep.
6. Awareness Become aware of your thoughts. When you hear a negative thought, replace it with a positive one until it becomes a habit. With practise you can eliminate your negative self-talk and erase those negative statements in your memory from others in your past.
7. Love Love yourself daily. Just imagine filling your heart and every cell of your body with loving energy. Don't wait for others to give you love. Happiness begins within. We can only give what we have, therefore, after you love yourself daily give love to others. This will keep you in the consciousness of love. It's crucial for your heart and soul, and reminds you who really are.
8. Clothes Only wear clothes that make you feel fabulous. Give away those other clothes! When you go on holiday you take your favourite clothes, so treat every day as a holiday. Wear fabulous clothes daily and feel your best!
9. Special People Places Surround yourself with people, places, jobs, houses and all things that make you feel special and support you. Don't share your dreams, energy or space with anything or anyone that doesn't make your heart sing. Daily use of special silverware! Your deserve only the best!
10. Gratitude At the end of the day before you go to sleep, be grateful. Spend a few minutes before you drift off to sleep listing what you are grateful for today. Gratitude creates more things to be grateful for. That's how nature works!
After you do each of these steps for 30 days, you will significantly alter the way you feel. You will begin to feel fabulous! Continue for three months and you will feel like a new woman and be an inspiration to others. Do you choose to feel fabulous for the rest of your life??
Showing posts with label health and lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health and lifestyle. Show all posts
Monday, May 16, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
After the Earthquake And The 1st Day of Autumn
It's hard to believe a week has gone by and already autumn is on our doorstep. Many family and friends have commented to me about forgetting the day of the week, due I imagine to some major distractions going on at the moment. People ask me what it must be like living through this. It is hugely exhausting, scary and sickening. We are constantly living on edge, waiting for the next shake. Many of us are purposefully going about our normal day to day (like me) routines, giving us an immense sense of normality. Many are not venturing very far, we are basically sticking to home, where we feel very safe.
When the earthquake struck, Alex and I were in the middle of a spelling test, Georgia was upstairs having just had a shower. It began as many of the other shakes have, some rumbling and shaking. The shaking then became more and more violent, until ending quite quickly. To believe such damage could be caused by about 15 seconds of shaking is amazing. I shouted up to Georgia "get down stairs as fast as possible!" and we all moved through the house and outside. My heart was thumping so hard, and I couldn't believe it had happened all over again. No power and alarms going off everywhere. Dead silence, then the aftershocks started. They would continue all afternoon and evening. We immediately realised that the city would have been hit as well. Quickly turning on the transistor radio, we were only able to hear what the rest of the country was watching.
Our city and country is part of a national civil defense emergency. The first time, in fact that a national state of emergency has ever been declared, such is the magnitude of our circumstances. Civil Defense can only issue it for 7 days at a time. We now have another 7 days, and it's likely to be repeated several more times.
The haves and have nots
Although all people in the Christchurch area experienced the earthquake last week, not all suburbs were directly damaged as a result. In a cruel twist of fate, the poorest suburbs of our city have been hardest hit. Those residents were only just getting themselves back together after September, now they face even more damage than before. Whereas the residents on the western side of the city are largely untouched. That's where we live. I saw a news item last night showing ladies sitting out in the sun at a cafe up the road, sipping their lattes, chatting and laughing. Then you see footage of Aranui, Bexley, Dallington and Avondale with no water, sewerage or water and certainly no coffees and food. I struggle daily with this inequality and perhaps survivor's guilt. My dirty washing pile is now almost up to date due to having plenty of water. Our garden is brimming with untouched vegetables and fruit, our section has no liquefaction and our house intact. However, my sister, aunts, uncles and cousins have no water or sewerage. My sister showers and refills her water containers at mum and dad's house. Here I merrily take autumn photos for my blog, very thankful and blessed indeed. Our street was visited on Monday by a search and rescue team from the Waitaki area. Another area had teams checking on them from Taupo.
While getting some supplies from the supermarket the other night, I met Gerry Brownlee, our (now) Minister for Earthquake Repair. Here was a crown minister humbly pushing his grocery trolley around at Pak N Save in Hornby Mall. I felt quite strongly that I wanted to talk briefly to him, so I plucked up the courage and did. Everyone else basically ignored him. I said to him what a great job I thought the Government was doing under very trying times. He spent some time talking with me about how very bad the death toll will be. This was last Friday night. We are beginning to see how very bad it is indeed.
How are we coping & feeling?
After yesterday, I feel I have left some grief behind me. Attending our local church yesterday for the 2 minutes silence was important for me. What a sombre and solemn half hour. Parishioners arrived from 12.40pm onwards. Nobody spoke, people just sat and listened to the beautiful hymn music being played gently over the speakers. At 12.51pm the music stopped for 2 minutes. During that time the bells were continually rung by hand. The sound of the bells resonating through the whole building was moving. It was a sad sad moment in time. What made it more so was the Japanese media photographer frantically taking photos of crying huddles of people in the most private of times. He was eventually asked to stop. Just bizarre. Somewhere in Japan will be photos of people from St Christopher's Church in their moment of grief.
Keeping healthy and losing weight - Week 1
On a lighter note. It will be important in the coming weeks and months to make sure I am eating and exercising right to help deal with the stresses around me. A priority for me will be looking after my anxious children and hard working husband. Homeschooling sometimes leads to long days for me, so this week I began concentrating on these areas of my life, which actually makes for a nice distraction from what is happening around me. So what better time to kick start losing some extra weight than now. Will keep you posted on how I am going.
Pets, the garden and autumn
Life and seasons carry on regardless of what is happening to man and buildings. Touches of autumn are beginning in the garden. I was most excited about this yesterday, as autumn is my favourite season. Sebbie was out under the shade of our big flowering cherry tree. The temperature was around 27, the hottest it's been for over a week. The strawberries are madly producing plenty of large juicy fruit.
When the earthquake struck, Alex and I were in the middle of a spelling test, Georgia was upstairs having just had a shower. It began as many of the other shakes have, some rumbling and shaking. The shaking then became more and more violent, until ending quite quickly. To believe such damage could be caused by about 15 seconds of shaking is amazing. I shouted up to Georgia "get down stairs as fast as possible!" and we all moved through the house and outside. My heart was thumping so hard, and I couldn't believe it had happened all over again. No power and alarms going off everywhere. Dead silence, then the aftershocks started. They would continue all afternoon and evening. We immediately realised that the city would have been hit as well. Quickly turning on the transistor radio, we were only able to hear what the rest of the country was watching.
Georgia has noted the day on her calendar
For a non-coke drinking family, I managed to find an awful lot of coke bottles!
The haves and have nots
Although all people in the Christchurch area experienced the earthquake last week, not all suburbs were directly damaged as a result. In a cruel twist of fate, the poorest suburbs of our city have been hardest hit. Those residents were only just getting themselves back together after September, now they face even more damage than before. Whereas the residents on the western side of the city are largely untouched. That's where we live. I saw a news item last night showing ladies sitting out in the sun at a cafe up the road, sipping their lattes, chatting and laughing. Then you see footage of Aranui, Bexley, Dallington and Avondale with no water, sewerage or water and certainly no coffees and food. I struggle daily with this inequality and perhaps survivor's guilt. My dirty washing pile is now almost up to date due to having plenty of water. Our garden is brimming with untouched vegetables and fruit, our section has no liquefaction and our house intact. However, my sister, aunts, uncles and cousins have no water or sewerage. My sister showers and refills her water containers at mum and dad's house. Here I merrily take autumn photos for my blog, very thankful and blessed indeed. Our street was visited on Monday by a search and rescue team from the Waitaki area. Another area had teams checking on them from Taupo.
While getting some supplies from the supermarket the other night, I met Gerry Brownlee, our (now) Minister for Earthquake Repair. Here was a crown minister humbly pushing his grocery trolley around at Pak N Save in Hornby Mall. I felt quite strongly that I wanted to talk briefly to him, so I plucked up the courage and did. Everyone else basically ignored him. I said to him what a great job I thought the Government was doing under very trying times. He spent some time talking with me about how very bad the death toll will be. This was last Friday night. We are beginning to see how very bad it is indeed.
How are we coping & feeling?
After yesterday, I feel I have left some grief behind me. Attending our local church yesterday for the 2 minutes silence was important for me. What a sombre and solemn half hour. Parishioners arrived from 12.40pm onwards. Nobody spoke, people just sat and listened to the beautiful hymn music being played gently over the speakers. At 12.51pm the music stopped for 2 minutes. During that time the bells were continually rung by hand. The sound of the bells resonating through the whole building was moving. It was a sad sad moment in time. What made it more so was the Japanese media photographer frantically taking photos of crying huddles of people in the most private of times. He was eventually asked to stop. Just bizarre. Somewhere in Japan will be photos of people from St Christopher's Church in their moment of grief.
Keeping healthy and losing weight - Week 1
On a lighter note. It will be important in the coming weeks and months to make sure I am eating and exercising right to help deal with the stresses around me. A priority for me will be looking after my anxious children and hard working husband. Homeschooling sometimes leads to long days for me, so this week I began concentrating on these areas of my life, which actually makes for a nice distraction from what is happening around me. So what better time to kick start losing some extra weight than now. Will keep you posted on how I am going.
Pants that are a bit tight, on the cupboard to keep me motivated
Pets, the garden and autumn
First leaves are starting to fall and freshly picked strawberries
Life and seasons carry on regardless of what is happening to man and buildings. Touches of autumn are beginning in the garden. I was most excited about this yesterday, as autumn is my favourite season. Sebbie was out under the shade of our big flowering cherry tree. The temperature was around 27, the hottest it's been for over a week. The strawberries are madly producing plenty of large juicy fruit.
Earthquakes are very tiring
Lee-Anne
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