Joy Rebel Monday!

This past week's Joy Rebel assignment was called "Pick a Colour Any Colour" (only without the "U"s...I added those because I am obnoxiously Canadian).  We were to pick a colour and then go through the week photographing anything that was that colour.  And then Brandi gave us links to a program that would make our photos into a photo mosaic.  So fun!

I picked orange.  Couldn't say why, I'm not even that fond of orange, but I did find a lot of orange things around the house!  Here's my collage:

OK, OK, I admit that that photo of me and Little Bear was taken several months ago, but it was on my computer and I couldn't resist!  As for the rest of the photos, it was like a scavenger hunt!  I kept catching sight of things I could photograph.  It occurs to me that I should have dug in the fridge for the oranges and carrots, but oh well!  Definitely a fun activity :)

In other news, I am having a spectacularly joyful day!  Not sure why, but I am LOVING it!  I seem to be surrounded by people who are reaching out to each other with love and kindness, or who are speaking out to each other in gratitude and appreciation. So much love in the world. So much beauty if we take time to see it. So much joy if we just set our radars to look for it. It makes me ache inside.


Happy Monday!

Creating and Recording Success!

Welcome to Creative Adventure Sunday! This week's assignment was to build on our maps/lists from last week and to create a method to track our successes. Since my gentle daily to-do list from last week's post was already taking some effect, I decided to build on that. The idea of daily "success tracker" blog posts didn't really appeal, or at least I didn't feel like putting them on here or like making an entirely new blog. I know myself, and that just wouldn't work for me. I already have my "This is My Day" list on my fridge and I've been making daily gratitude posts on Facebook since New Years Day...I wanted to do something to help myself keep track of these things. I also wanted to keep track of other things...like Little Bear's daily life. The months are passing so quickly, and he's growing so much. Soon he won't be a baby any more...he's such a toddler now. So all of these ideas swirled around in my head until I was at the grocery store and I saw the spiral bound notebooks. And BOOM! Inspiration!

And here's the result of an hour of cutting and a mad half-hour of gluing...the front cover:


The inside front cover:


And a sample page:

(you can click on the photo for a larger version if you want to read it...if you can read my handwriting, that is)

I like that it's a cross between a checklist and a fill in the blank. It reminds me of my daily list, it records my gratitude practice, and it helps me take note of what Little Bear does. And, best of all, unlike other journals I've tried (like food journals...oh, how I hate food journals), I feel like writing my entry is part and parcel with the practice. It ties it all together and reminds me to do my practice just as much as my practice reminds me to do the journal...if that makes sense. Anyway, I know I haven't been doing it for long, but I'm really happy with it. Plus, even when it's closed, the cover is inspirational for me. Love it love it love it!

Wishing you all the best success and fun pursuing joy in your days! Happy Sunday!

Six-Word Saturday!

This is an experiment...

My life in six words:

1. Looking for joy in all things.
2. Totally obsessed with David Tennant's Doctor.

Technically that was 12 words. Also, it sounds like I'm stalking David Tennant's medical practitioner. That's not what I mean! My current obsession with Doctor Who's "Doctor + Rose" relationship rivals my obsession with Steed and Emma Peel from the Avengers circa mid-1960s. And, as some of you know, that obsession is SEVERE.

Anywho, this was my first experiment with Six Word Saturday. Shall it return next week? Only time will tell, but I could see how it could be as fun and addictive as making up haikus!

Wishcasting Wednesday!

In my exploration of the blogosphere (like that? I don't think I came up with it) I keep encountering weekly missions. I like this. They punctuate my week. They remind me to pay attention, to seek joy, to investigate myself, and TO UPDATE MY BLOG :-P (incidentally, if you're wondering what happened to Mission Monday, it's an all-week assignment, and thus shall return NEXT Monday and continue weekly from there).

My newest discovery? Wishcasting Wednesday
Here's the jist: You follow the weekly prompt and write your wish. Then you join a circle of bloggers who visit each other's sites and lend their voices to your wish with comments like “As (insert name ) wishes for her/himself, so I wish for her/him also.” And that's it! Fun!!

Today's Wishcasting prompt is: What do you wish for your family?

For my family I wish great joy, radiant health, increasing abundance, unlimited growth, and unconditional attachment.

But then, who doesn't. Seriously, is there a single person out there who wouldn't say pretty much exactly the same thing: happiness, health, wealth, and love? I doubt it. So if I had to go deeper than that...my wish for my family -and I mean so many more people than those I'm related to- is that they become more themselves. I wish for them to explore passions, discover hidden facets, deepen connections, and clarify their self-understanding. I wish these things for them as I wish them for myself. Let us all grow into ourselves.

<3 <3 <3

This is My Year

Last week's Creative Sunday assignment was to create a list of intentions and goals for the next year...a map to get us where we want to go. It was an interesting exercise for me...it demonstrated the power of wording. If I worded things as a "to-do" list or tried to quantify things exactly I found myself getting completely stressed out. Putting a number on things ("Drink 2.5 litres of water a day") made me feel like if I didn't reach that number exactly I would be failing...and that's not good. Drinking 2L of water is better than not drinking ANY, after all! So, after a false start or two, here is my This Is My Year list:

This is my Health: I feel vibrant, radiant, and fully IN my body.
-I do Energy Medicine daily
-I dance my chores
-I drink plenty of water
-I participate in a fitness community
-I eat vibrantly healthy foods: (I incorporate more raw foods into my diet, I buy local and organic whenever I can, I avoid "angry foods" and eat free-range meat and eggs)
-I eat mindfully

These are my Relationships: My relationships are open-hearted, unconditional, and well-maintained.
-I spend solo time with Papa Bear every day (even if this means staying up later)
-I connect with friends regularly (monthly would be GREAT)
-I communicate honestly and respect points of view. I also respect my OWN point of view.
-I parent with respect and unconditional love

This is my Abundance: I am debt-free and bringing in income in a way that makes my heart sing.
-I put extra money on credit cards
-I use up ALL groceries (no throwing away rotten leftovers)
-I share my creative endeavours
-I SUBMIT WORK TO PUBLISHERS!!!!

This is my Creativity: I joyfully create every day.
-I participate in Creative Adventure Sundays and Mission Mondays and blog about it.
-I write Something on my novel every day (one sentence is fine)
-I finish my novel draft this summer
-I finish Isadora this year
-I write a children's story for Little Bear
-I create 50 crafty-things this year.

This is my Purpose: I live my life with mindfulness and an open heart. My job is happiness.
-I practice gratitude daily
-I joyfully share my insights, creations, and struggles
-I keep energy in mind
-I seek out teachers and mentors
-I am kind to myself, but also honestly admit mistakes.
-I practice forgiveness (of MYSELF as well as others)

This is how I practice Self-Love/Self-Care:
-I focus on what Is and not what "should be"
-I take the path of gentleness
-I use the good bath stuff
-I take a complete break once a week
-I give myself Reiki regularly
-I meditate at bedtime each night
-I move every day in ways that make me smile


This is how I experience Happiness/Adventure: I experience JOY every day and with my Whole Heart.
-I cultivate optimism
-I trust the universe
-I appreciate the "small things"


When I reviewed my lists I realized that there were certain things I wanted to do daily, habits I wanted to commit to. So I created a final category: This Is My Day:

This is My Day:
-I do Energy Medicine
-I make a Gratitude Post
-I move my body
-I write Something
-I make Something
-I divinely declutter
-I listen to music
-I connect with Papa Bear and Little Bear
-I focus on the breath

Mission Monday: What do you need to say to yourself?

This week's Joy Rebel assignment is to say what you need to say to yourself. What a great mission! I snatched a minute while Little Bear had his bath, so I really didn't overthink it. I just went with my gut.

I think I'll let the photos speak for themselves this time.

Dreams Come True...

Creative Adventure Sundays Round 2: Make a list of dreams that have ALREADY come true.

I love love LOVE this idea! It's so easy to forget about all of our accomplishments -all of the challenges we've faced, the miracles we've experienced. Once the initial "YAY!" wears off, we forget to look back and think about the wonderfulness of our lives so far. I challenged myself to write down 100 dreams come true...goals achieved, miracles experienced. I thought it would be hard...it really really wasn't. :-)

Here they are, in the order they came out of my brain:

1. Met my true love
2. Got proposed to (not by my true love, as it happened, because I met Papa Bear through my ex...hehe)
3. Had the courage to realize that my ex and I weren't right together and broke things off with him (this was a miserable experience, but I maintain that it counts because it was Step One to a whole new life)
4. Felt myself actually Fall in love.
5. Was the Girl Someone Had a Long Term Crush On Just Like In the Movies
6. Felt more Myself with a guy (as opposed to less myself)
7. Did the proposing myself (I LOVE that I got to have it both ways!)
8. Planned a totally amazing and unique wedding that people still talk about
9. Graduated from university with honours
10. Wrote a 28-page essay in French (and got an A)
11. Won the University Medal in French (a total and complete surprise)
12. Presented a paper at a university conference
13. Toured the UK and Southern Ireland (with Contiki tours...an amazing experience and an excellent post-break-up transition)
14. Went to an arts high school as a dance major
15. Attended a summer course in NYC with the Limon Dance Company (a dream come true)
16. Performed my own choreography for an audience (several times)
17. Danced my choreography on the same stage as Evelyn Hart and Rex Harrington (I mean we were in the same show, not that they were in my pieces...but they did watch from the wings)
18. Got a compliment from each of them
19. Graduated from university with a GPA over 4.0 (because at my school they gave 4.3 for an A+)
20. Tried a flamenco class
21. Went to university in New York City (and left when I realized it was NOT for me)
22. Dance en pointe
23. Found a dance style I took to naturally (modern dance)
24. Choreographed dances that were honest emotional portrayals (and, in some cases, therapy)
25. Taught modern dance MY way (and helped myself heal old wounds)
26. Took a train across Canada on my own
27. Awakened to energy work
28. Became a Reiki master
29. Sang in front of an audience
30. Got regular shout-outs from one of my favourite bands when I went to their shows
31. Hosted a campus radio show (well, two, actually: "Moose on the Highway" at Skidmore and "Border Crossing" at Dalhousie)
32. Got a job based on my own merits as opposed to family connections (and thus avoided all of the baggage that can come with working for people who knew me as a kid)
33. KICKED ASS at said job(s) (I am a PHENOMENAL administrative assistant)
34. "Broke up with" all of my toxic mother-figures from my childhood (I had a collection)
35. Moved into a house by a lake
36. Had the courage to realize that buying wasn't right for us right now (and thus opened the way for the perfect rental)
37. Got pregnant when it felt natural and right
38. Had a healthy pregnancy
39. Gave birth to a healthy baby
40. Survived what I think was mild post partum depression
41. Successfully nursed my baby (and still do)
42. Parented against the mainstream mostly-confidently
43. Started a blog
44. Interviewed a band
45. Wrote newspaper articles for a university paper
46. Wrote 150 pages of my first novel
47. Wrote a children's story
48. Won a writing prize for a story I co-wrote with my mom
49. Discovered the link between dance, energy and healing
50. Attended a Reiki Healing Dance workshop with deeply healing and transformative results
51. Discovered Kripalu DansKinetics and attended a teacher training workshop without having ever taken a KDK class (a gamble that totally paid off)
52. Did extremely well on the final test-class of the workshop
53. Rented out space, advertised, and ran 2 terms of classes in the Halifax area
54. Was featured in a local newspaper
55. Met with a studio head to pitch the idea of DansKinetics to her (and happily released that idea when I saw that we were not compatible)
56. Happily released the business when the right time came
57. Journalled during my major epiphanies and life changes
58. Loved with my whole heart, even when I got hurt
59. Learned to knit and made a sweater
60. Re-learned to knit eight years later and made a teddy bear for my son
61. Almost got my driver's license (passed the Young Drivers of Canada course but never took the road test for the actual license)
62. Found a family doctor that I ADORE
63. Found a dentist I really like
64. Embraced shopping at the plus-sized stores, and thus have clothes I LOVE
65. Presented my dance classes at a school and a community centre
66. Did one successful Reiki Healing Dance treatment
67. Conquered crippling shyness
68. Learned more about who I am and how to be *more* myself and not hide
69. Stuck successfully to a 3-week detox
70. Lost weight by LOVING my body (twice)
71. Helped a lot of people open up and shine through dance
72. Made a website
73. Made new friends and developed older friendships
74. Bought a Mac (her name is Cynthia)
75. Bought an iPod (how did I ever live without it?!)
76. Sewed my first sock monkey
77. Sewed my first totally unique doll
78. Learned to crochet
79. Got into Harvard
80. Turned Harvard down when I realized it was not a good fit for me
81. Let Little Bear spend time without me when I realized how much I needed alone time (it amazes me how much I ADORE him when he comes back from an outing with Papa Bear :-P)
82. Took Little Bear outside most days this fall (and let him get as dirty as he wanted)
83. Began to let go of perfectionism in dance and other creative endeavours
84. Worked with a personal trainer
85. Began to get a sense of what I value and how I want to live
86. Took steps to develop that vision
87. Stayed completely away from parenting magazines
88. Only read parenting books that support my vision
89. Hung some of my own artwork in our home
90. Married someone who appreciates my dance
91. Married someone who loves and supports my "self-helpy" streak
92. Bought the wedding dress of my dreams...twice!
93. Learned to keep an eye open for teachers and mentors that the universe throws across my path
94. Surprised my parents with baby news on Christmas Day 2007 (kept it a secret for over a month)
95. Made my dad cry by putting all of his old photos into an album
96. Began to FINALLY hear some of my dad's stories (he has had an AMAZING life!)
97. Wrote down my ideas and inspiration so I can revisit it whenever I'm called to
98. Made someone so happy it hurts
99. Met a wedding/portrait photographer we ADORE (both in terms of her work and her personality)
100. Adopted two adorable kitties from a shelter and gave them a good home with lots of cuddles
101. COMPLETED A LIST OF ONE HUNDRED DREAMS COME TRUE!!

I highly recommend this exercise :-)