Awaken To Joy

Radio Show Challenge: Love!

Show topic:  Self-Love

Quote:  "Love is the overflow of what you have after self-love." David Viscott

Other Show Quotes:
"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary.  What we need is to love without getting tired." ~ Mother Theresa

“Generosity…is an act of self-interest.  And I have seen it too many times to doubt I; as long as I remember that the love I seek can only be found as I extend my love to others, then peace comes fairly easily.  It’s when we forget that that all hell breaks looks.  Love extended is the key to happiness; love withheld is the key to pain.”  ~ Marianne Williamson

"What would love do now?" ~ Sri Harold Klemp

Do you love yourself?

• Do I take care of my basic needs or do I ignore them for the sake of saving time, or giving to others instead?
• Do I say things to myself that I wouldn't say to others?
• Do I act out of love and desire or out of guilt or shame?
• Do I needless suffer when I could do something to change my situation?
• Do I get enough sleep, water, exercise, healthy food?

Radio Show Challenge: Gratitude

Topic:  We discussed gratitude and how gratitude affects your joy.  We also discussed the importance of receiving.  (Curious how receiving applies to gratitude?  Listen and find out...)

Challenge:  Cultivate a gratitude practice.  Can you write in a journal each day?  Contemplate your gratitudes once or twice a day?

Ideas for cultivating gratitude:

• Gratitude Journal
• Begin and end the day with a moment of gratitude: Marya does it laying in bed right when she wakes up and just before going to sleep for the night.
• Celebration of Joy dinner:  Spend the dinner say what you are grateful for.

Blog Post Mentioned:  http://www.mycupcakemafia.com/2009/06/invitation-to-explore-thankful-life.html

Quotes:

"To receive everything, one must open one's hands and give." ~Taisen Deshimaru

Radio Show Challenge: Judgment

Summary:  On today's call, we discussed judgment, the negative critique of others. 

• How is "assuming" what others are thinking or are going to do judgment?
• Why do we judge?
• And most of all, what can we do to change our judgments?

Challenge:  Can you interact with one person without any pre-conceived notions?

Just Feel Good:  MuseLaura just released her free e-book on the importance of "feeling good":  http://muselan.typepad.com/studieswithlaura/2009/06/ignite-your-life-just-feel-good.html

Great Quotes:

"Whenever you judge another human being, you do not define that person with your judgment, you define yourself as someone who needs to judge."
-Wayne Dyer

“We don’t see things the way they are but we see them the way WE are.”
-    Anis Nin

Radio Show Challenge: Words

Retreat:  Register today for the 10% discount on the July 17-19 retreat.

We discussed Words and how they affect your joy.  Find out how you can literally feel better by changing some of the words you use. 

Challenge:  Find a negative word or phrase you use and begin to bring more awareness to it.  If you aren't sure of what you say, ask a friend or family member -- they will know! 

Masaru Emoto:  Messages From Water  Water crystal researcher:  http://www.whatthebleep.com/crystals/

Some great words:  “Peace, love, joy, bliss, beauty, compassion, gratitude, beautiful, grace, yes, awesome, fabulous, inspire, believe, faith, trust, appreciate, welcome, enthusiasm, dream, honesty, respect.”

Radio Show Challenge: Self-Judgment and Fear

Challenge:  Ask for awareness of at least one judgment you have of yourself.

What we discussed:

• We are tired of the fear!  Listen as we discuss ways to uplift yourself.
• Change your paradigm around fear
• Then, do you judge yourself? 
  
  • Using judgment to keep you stuck in your consciousness.
  • Staying small to make sure others feel good around you.
  • Creating confidence in yourself.

Bumper Sticker:  "Fearful people make stupid decisions."

Fear post:
    http://muselan.typepad.com/muselan/2009/05/monday-morning-musing-getting-past-fear.html

GREAT QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF:  "What is the best thing I can do for myself right now."

Quote we used:
“Yet I’ve learned that you don’t serve the world by taking on its judgments, hanging your head in shame, and saying, ‘Yeah, you must be right. I must be bad.’ Take responsibility for your part in your own disasters, yes – but take on every projection of guilt from every unhealed person? No! For whatever reason people may need to project their own anger and guilt on you, you don’t have to accept it if it’s not yours.”
-Marianne Williamson

Radio Show Challenge: Eating

Challenge:  Look at the yin and yang of your diet.  (Okay, so you kind of have to listen to the last 15 minutes of the show to really know what that means...it is worth the time...the information could literally jump you light years in your joy space!)  Can you reduce or eliminate one food this week that is not nutrient dense and might keep you out of balance?

Topic:  How to bring more positive energy into what and how you eat. 

Our Gift to You -- Please enjoy the first module as our thank you for reading and listening!
Initial Module:  Focus and Awareness

Hear about:

• Do you judge what you eat?
• Do you "should" yourself around food?
• Why do you crave your comfort foods?
• How can you use food to help you evolve...
• How can you bring in positive energy to what you eat?
• Yang and Yin foods:  How can this information can help you maintain balance.  This information is from our guest and it was spectacular!

Our guest:  Julie McNearney, Holistic Health Coach

Julie's interest in health and nutrition really grew when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 29.  After retiring as a teacher, she studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York and now is certified by that school and the Columbia University Teachers College as a Holistic Health Counselor.  She is also a member of the AADP, American Association of Drugless Practitioners.  Some of her teachers included Barry Sears, Mehmet Oz, Deepak Chopra and Andrew Weil.

Sign up for Julie's monthly wellness newsletter at her website:  www.ashealthyaspossible.com.  To schedule a consultation call 612-716-2624.

Radio Show Challenge: How does what you eat make you feel?

This show was about eating!  In particular, you will hear three ways to change your paradigm around food to joy!

Challenge (we have two this week!): 

1. Pay more attention to how you feel after you eat.  Can you identify food that leave you feeling good?  Not so good?
2. Spend one week (or a day, or a meal) not judging what you (or anyone else) eats.

Happy Dance:  See Zack's happy dance!!

Feel Good List:  What can YOU do to feel good?  Here is a worksheet to help you create your own list.  (Need some ideas?  Here they are.)

Positive Food Affirmations:
"This is going to nourish me!"
"I love the taste of this!"
"This food is going to taste good!"
"I am excited to taste this!"

Books mentioned:
Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

Coconut Curry Sauce
1 T olive oil
1/4 t curry
1/2 c coconut milk
1/2 c water
1/4 t salt (or to taste)

Heat oil in large skillet.  Add curry and stir for a minute.  Add the rest of the ingredients until hot.

Radio Show Challenge: Expectations

Expectations...positive..negative?  Do they bring you forward or backward?   That's what we discussed!

Definition:  expectation |ˌekspekˈtā sh ən|noun:  a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future

Challenge:  Expect something good to happen every day.  At the end of the day, look back to see what your "good thing" was!

Suggestion:  Write down an expectation you have.  Imagine how it would feel if you didn't have it...

Here is the post on beliefs we mentioned on the show.

Great Quotes on Expectations:

“Our limitations and success will be based, most often, on your own expectations for ourselves. What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon.”
~ Denis Waitley
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Nobody succeeds beyond his or her wildest expectations unless he or she begins with some wild expectations.”
~ Ralph Charell
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“Anger always comes from frustrated expectations”
~ Elliott Larson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“The quality of expectations determines the quality of our action.”
~ Godin
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“Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.”
 ~ Earl Nightingale

Radio Show Challenge: What is Your Spiritual Practice?

Here is your challenge:  What is your spiritual practice?

Today's show was on Spiritual Practice.  Listen as I (Laura) flew solo without my fabulous co-host, Marya!  I discussed topics such as:

• What does "Spiritual" mean to you?
• What is a "Spiritual Practice" for you?
• How do you know if your practice is working for you?

Here is a podcast with fellow muses, Karen and Tammy on Spiritual Practice.

I love this quote.  It is the reason for Spiritual Practice being in the Awaken to Joy program.

"It takes mental discipline to retrain our minds, yet such retraining is imperative if we really want our lives to change.  With every inspirational reading, time taken to meditate, or act of forgiveness or charity or love, we are shrinking the influence of fear in our lives."
~Marianne Williamson

Download the first module to the Awaken to Joy program for FREE as a gift from us.  Or listen to Laura read it.

Radio Show Challenge: Relax!

Today on the show we talked about stress and learning to relax.  Challenge:  Spend 5 minutes everyday doing something to relax.  We want to share with you some ideas for relaxing:

A Yoga Moment: Releasing the Spine (Video)

A Yoga Moment:  Shoulder Release (Video)

Feel Good Moments

Back Care Basics

Meditation:  Following your Breath

Visualization:  Letting Go

"Researchers at Bell Laboratories estimate that there is more information in a weekly edition of The New York Times than a person in the sixteenth century processed in a lifetime."
~Lawrence Shainberg

The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr