A Book Lover’s Tag

I just saw a lovely post over on Ivon Prefontaine’s blog called A Book Lover’s Tag  and it inspired me to answer the questions and post them here and give a call out to all of you book lovers who have been on this journey with the book tour for Jay.  This was my post contribution for Jay’s debut novel #Watching Glass Shatter!  I’m not nominating anyone in particular, but if you feel so inclined, please let me know you did it as I’d love to read your responses!

1. Do you have a favorite place to read? Yes, I like to read in bed or on the couch.
2. Do you use bookmarks or random pieces of paper? I use random pieces of paper if it’s a real book.  If not, then I use the bookmarks on the kindle.
3. Do you eat or drink while you read? Not usually.
4. Do you listen to music or watch TV? No, I like to read in silence.
5. Do you read one book or several at a time? If I’m power-reading (meaning so into the book I can’t put it down) like I was with Jay’s book, then it’s one at a time.  But I enjoy reading a few books at a time too.
6. Do you prefer reading at home or elsewhere? I will take the kindle on trips with me, but normally, I just read at home.
7. Do you read silently or out loud? I read silently.
8. Do you read ahead or skip about? I read straight through the book.  I never like to skip about or read ahead.
9. Do you break the spine or treat it like new? I usually don’t break the spine and I tend to treat the book well so that I can pass it along in good shape.
10. Do you write in books? If it’s a favorite self-help book, then I will turn down pages or maybe even underline.  But for the most part, I don’t mark them up.
11. What books are you reading now? I am reading The Tao of Equus:  A Woman’s Journey of Healing & Transformation Through The Way Of The Horse by Linda Kohanov on my kindle.  Thanks Karel at Peace With My Life for the suggestion.
12. What is your childhood favorite book? The Secret Garden comes to mind as well as Gone With The Wind which my best friend read to me in sixth grade when I was home sick for awhile.  For children’s books, Goodnight Moon and Dr. Seuss’ books.
13. What is your favorite book of all time?  Oh my, I don’t think I have a true absolute favorite book – maybe Gone With The Wind if I had to choose one.  But I have many books that I enjoy re-reading.  The authors Louise Hay, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Doreen Virtue, Tosha Silver, Florence Scovel Shinn and many others come to mind as favorites that I can reread at leisure when I need a little pick me up!  I also like the romance author Kaitlin O’Riley’s many historical romance novels.

Thanks for playing along and reading my post!  I love to read other people’s responses so feel free to answer the questions in a post and let me know so I can visit you too!

Shine On!

xo

P.S.  The Daily Prompt’s HONK made me think of making a bumper sticker!  What do you think of mine?

 

Imagination Enhances the Creativity of the Soul

The thought that imagination is the creativity of the soul came to me.  When was the last time you used your imagination?  As children we imagine all sorts of things when we freely play.  I remember playing house, making mudpies and pretending I was a wife and mother.  I remember imagining I was a princess.  I remember imagining I was free to fly like a bird!

What do you remember about your childhood and using your imagination?

Better yet, when was the last time you used your imagination?  As adults I believe we put away our imaginations in order to be ‘grown up’ and deal with ‘reality’ because that’s what we are told that grown ups do.  However, imagination is a wonderful tool to improve our grown up lives as well and it’s one I think we don’t use enough.

Imagination allows the soul to flourish, to blossom and to achieve what our limited minds cannot.  Goals and dreams can become reality when we use our imaginations, but often, we find imagination a childish whim and discard the powerful tool we have been given.

Dr. Wayne Dyer wrote a book called, You’ll See it When You Believe It:  The Way to Your Personal Transformation.  In this book, he shows how to improve one’s quality of life by tapping into the power within in order to direct the course of one’s destiny.  In other words, using your mind/imagination to make things happen!

Give yourself permission to use your imagination in your everyday life.  Imagine the plethora of possibilities with positivity!  Imagine what your life would feel like to be happy, healthy, and limitless!  Just do this a little everyday and let us know how life changes for you!  I imagine life will improve for you!

Shine On!

xo

 

 

 

How To Embrace Change

Change is beautifully inevitable

Seasons change, people change, weather changes, day changes to night.  When we balk at change, it stunts our growth.  Many of us can flow with the changes of daylight savings time, etc with ease, but when it comes to deeper changes, more life changing changes, we stomp our feet and dig in our heels, crying ‘no fair!’ to the Universe.  But friends, it’s all for naught.  The changes that are coming, the changes that arrive, come whether we believe it’s fair or not.  It comes as no surprise that change happens in life, for otherwise we would remain stagnant and not have the opportunity to grow, to move out of our relegated zones of comfort and expand our experiences.

Change happens.

“When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change,” is a quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer and happens to be on of my favorites.  It’s helped me through many of my life experiences when I wanted to refuse to budge from my own comfort zone even though my life had changed dramatically.  The idea that I can look at change from a different view and find the good in the change even when it was hard to see has been a pivotal point in my soul’s growth.  I can tell you that it hasn’t been easy to deal with many of the changes in my life, but then I don’t think that upheavals are supposed to be easy.  Sometimes they are simply mind shattering and belief scattering ~ which allows us to pick up the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together in a different way.  We change (for the better) when we allow change to flow and not dam the flow of life.  Certainly, I’ve learned that lesson time and time again as I know you have as well.

Change heralds freedom and allows us to drop the woulda, coulda, shoulda’s that may have had us imprisioned in our own lives.  Whether it be changes in health, relationships, jobs or roles, we need to find the peace in our own minds, hearts and souls to embrace the change and go with the flow.  That doesn’t mean you are in a canoe without a paddle, it simply means that you now know that you are the paddler of your own canoe.  Sure, you can link your canoe up with another’s, but you are still in charge of your own buoyancy.

For we can sink or swim when change happens.  We can stop trying and drown in the sorrow or we can tread water until we begin to swim again.  It’s a choice.  Lessons learned by change can feel daunting, but given time and trust, we can see the gifts that come from change.  There are blessings in change.  There’s opportunity to shine your heartlight when you’ve survived what you never thought you could.  There are connections with others to be made when you share your life experiences.

I know it’s not easy, but it can be done.  I am living proof.  Everyday in every way, you choose to swim or to give up.  Keep swimming dear friends.  You can do it.  If you need a helping hand, grab your paddle and let’s flow together.

Change is inevitably beautiful.

Shine On!

xo

See the Light In Others

and treat them as if that is all you see.

~ Dr. Wayne Dyer

I love this quote by Dr. Wayne Dyer and it goes with the theme of my past few posts.  When we see with our heartlights, our hearts are filled with warmth, love and peace.

May you see everyone’s heartlight shining today and everyday!

Shine On!

xo

The Shift

Please click here  to watch The Shift for free.  It’s an amazing opportunity that I received in my email last night.  I have watched this myself and it was life-changing.  I hope you enjoy the gift from his family.

Shine On!

xo

Joy

The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

~ Christopher McCandless

Sometimes we forget to EN-JOY the changes and different experiences that we find ourselves in and instead label the changes as good or bad.  But they are not all black and white like that, even though they feel hard and sometimes impossible to accept.  I understand how you feel.  But you must remember that they are simply changes and new experiences.  There’s no definitive label needed ~ just the Joy in Living ~ and by living, we have endlessly changing horizons, for each day has a new and different sun!

Remember, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change!” ~ Wayne Dyer

Choose JOY! 

Shine On!

xo

 

The Cookie Thief

The Cookie Thief by Valerie Cox

A woman was waiting at an airport one night
With several long hours before her flight
She hunted for a book in the airport shop
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop
She was engrossed in her book but happened to see
That the man beside her as bold as could be
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between
Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene
She munched cookies and watched the clock
As this gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by
Thinking “If I wasn’t so nice I’d blacken his eye”
With each cookie she took he took one too
And when only one was left she wondered what he’d do
With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh
He took the last cookie and broke it in half
He offered her half as he ate the other
She snatched it from him and thought “Oh brother
This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude
Why he didn’t even show any gratitude”
She had never known when she had been so galled
And sighed with relief when her flight was called
She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate
Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate
She boarded the plane and sank in her seat
Then sought her book which was almost complete
As she reached in her baggage she gasped with surprise
There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes
“If mine are here” she moaned with despair
“Then the others were his and he tried to share”
“Too late to apologize she realized with grief”
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

Shine On!

xo

P.S.  Thank you Heather for sharing your cookies with me!

P.P.S.  This is for Iva’s Day 6-7 Birthday Challenge ~ click here to participate!

Monday is My Day

Top ‘O the Morn to you! 

It’s Monday!  Yes, the start of the week ~ how wonderful it is to awaken to a new day, a new week and the first Monday of the month!  On Saturday you already said, “Rabbit Rabbit” which brought you luck for the month.  Now, let me let you in on a little secret ~ I’ve found a new way to look at the first day of the workweek!  MONDAY means MY DAY because ‘mon’ means MY in French!  What a lovely way to look at a day which some dislike!  As Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

So now do you like Mondays?

Well, when I researched about this particular Monday here*  and I found some more interesting information!

“When : Always March 3rd

“I Want You to be Happy Day” is an unselfish day. It’s a thought that we wish upon others that we care for or love.

Celebrate today by doing more than wishing someone is happy. Do something to make others happy. It can start with a card that will put a smile on someone’s face. Other ideas include a phone call, making positive compliments, or cooking a special meal. Be creative. There are endless ways to make others happy.

---

Origin of “I Want You to be Happy Day”:

Our research did not find the creator, or the origin of this day. Most likely it was created by a stationary or Ecard company, a candy company, or other gift giving venue.”*

It’s amazing what you can find when you are looking for inspiration on the web!

May your MY DAY be happy and may you share happiness wherever you go!

Shine On!

xo

P.S.  Do you want to send a card in honor of “I want you to be happy day?”  Just click HERE and send one on me ~ my treat!  I made the above card in under 2 minutes!  This works internationally too! ♥

Change your thinking!

~ ~ It’s not about what happens.  It’s about perspective.  I may not be able to change what takes place, but I can always choose to change my thinking.  ~ ~ Michelle Sedas

The above quote tugged at me today and I knew I had to share it.  I thought it may be as helpful to you as I found it to be for me.  For you see, I’ve been stretching out of my comfort zone for a second week, eating the frog shall we say (don’t know what that means?  CLICK HERE!)  and trying to continue Inner Hotshot University!  Have you been trying to stretch a bit too this week?

I know it’s not easy to choose to stretch out of your comfort zone, but I will tell you that it’s well worth it!  Everyday I continue to try to say yes to opportunity which was my commitment last week.  I’ve also tried to allow others to be themselves and to just work on myself.  In other words, I’m trying to be my own cheerleader and not look to others to praise me.  Does this happen to you?  It’s a bad habit that I”m breaking, but it’s a work in progress ~ kind of like me!

So what have you been working on?  Do you need any help?  Want a teammate?  I’m ready to give you  a hand, applaud you with my own 2 hands and lend you a wing until you remember how to fly with your own two wings!

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer

When the going gets tough, the tough get going and change their perspective!

Come along with me!  The best in life is meant to be!

Shine On!

xo

Please share your favorites with me!

For the Love of Reading, Learning and Sharing!

Good morning to YOU!  I hope your week has begun on a happy and loving note ~ and if it has not, then you know what you need to do, right?  Change your thoughts and tell yourself that it’s a bright, happy Tuesday morning!  Ta Da!  Yup, it’s as simple as that when you try.  You aren’t your circumstances, you have free will and you have the choice to be happy or sad in this very moment.  Pick Happy!  Pick Loving!  Pick Goodness!

And pick me out a new book to read!

You know I love to share what I find to be incredible books and movies that move me ~ dare I say, SHIFT ME!  In fact, MoJo http://www.momentumofjoy.wordpress.com gave me my last one which I wrote about the other day, but as I went back into my archives, I’ve written about a bunch of books which I find inspiring to read ~ and just plain ol’ good for the soul.

https://misifusa.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/the-little-soul-and-the-sun/

https://misifusa.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/saturday-books/

https://misifusa.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/the-shift-to-feeling-delicious/

https://misifusa.wordpress.com/2012/11/30/looking-for-a-new-normal-continued/

https://misifusa.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/a-bit-of-good-reading-for-the-holidays/

https://misifusa.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/ive-got-the-secret/

https://misifusa.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/love-you-love-me/

https://misifusa.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/denials-and-affirmations-10/

But I’m fresh out of ideas!  I’ve read more books than this, but at the moment, I need something special, something new and I know you have the answer!

So please take a moment and share a book or two that you’ve read that you enjoyed!

I love all kinds of books so please don’t feel restricted!

Thank you!  Happy Tuesday to YOU!

Shine On and Keep Reading!

xo