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As women, we’re more prone to taking on too much which means we’re usually moving at such an unbalanced speed we seldom take a moment to breath, much less take time to think about ways to increase our joy & happiness.  Many of us are so aligned with our realities and we don’t allow time to have a pity party about how stressed our lives can be, we just do what we have to do and expect to have a slow leak of joy.  But, I believe that many of us are seeking the kind of contentment that puts a smile on our face no matter how low our spirits may be.  The problem is that happiness can be so elusive.  Research shows that happiness isn’t just a great hope; it’s a quest and a state of being that is within our ultimate control.  We must take time to understand that happiness is not about having a perfect life; it’s about taking the necessary steps and making choices to increase your joy & happiness.

I believe that happiness is a feeling of overwhelming peace, calmness that comes from within.  It’s when you figure out what important to you, when you have absolutely nothing to prove.  It’s giving 100 in everything you do and everything you’ve got and being satisfied, regardless of the outcome.  Happiness is when you’re willing to surrender to joy, giving yourself permission to feel it.  Not holding yourself hostage for any past mistakes you may have made, it’s doing what you love, learning to embrace and respect the beauty of living in the “now”.  Finally, it’s when you can make yourself smile and laugh without depending on anybody else.  Cheers to your happiness!

Getting to still begins with physical behavior.  The first is simply to just sit still or lie down without moving; second is simply breathe.  This is very simple (but not always easy) that it’s hard to believe how central it is to inner peace and the ability to navigate safely through life.  Breathing patterns have the ability to change our brain states, allowing us to create simply by inhaling and exhaling the calm and peace necessary to make it through difficult circumstances.  Cheers to stillness.

Getting to Still – If you have recently suffered pain, loss, confusion or depression, becoming still may feel threatening.  Many of us entertain high level of what I call “mental noise” so that we won’t fully experience the difficult emotions of fear, anger or sadness.  Getting to Still requires being willing to experience these feelings without doing anything too quickly.  You don’t have to do anything in while in stillness mode, except fully acknowledge what you are feeling, without judgment.  You’ll find that if you can sit still with strong emotion for just a few minutes, even the worst emotional pain rises, releases and moves on……………… Staying mentally and physically still as we watch this process gives us the experience and courage to face whatever our lives may bring.  Cheers!

Inner stillness is the key factor for hearing our best lives calling to us.  Of course, if we can’t get still, our lives still communicate with us, but they often have to shout with such deafening voices that we can’t ignore them.  Our true selves are always whispering instruction about what we should be doing next, even if it’s just changing our attitudes.  If we’re still enough to hear our own inner voices at this subtle, almost silent stage, we tend to choose the course through life that feels most blessed and less traumatic.  Cheers!

It simply means that you must be able to consciously acknowledge what is happening to you, and what is happening within you, your life circumstances and the thoughts and feelings you have released to those individual life circumstances.

There are many aspects of the truth we hide from ourselves, because they would make us uncomfortable or necessitate change.  Hidden truth actually seals negative situations in place.  At the moment we finally own our truth, almost miraculously, positive change begins.  The truth really does set us free.  Once we accept and voice our truth, life begins to work well, because you were able to acknowledge truth!   Cheers to truth!

Think of all the times you said yes when you really wanted to say no.  Now is the time to stop stressing about what you really wanted to say.  Just say no!  Saying no can be hard especially when it someone near and dear to us and the need seem real, regardless of who, what, where and how we must start taking a different approach and it starts with saying no!  Try it, you will feel so much better. 

Remember when you say yes, you are accepting everything that comes along with it.  Cheers!

Do you wish that you could live without the internal and external storms, for at least one day?  The truth is, that if you are a child of a higher power, you have the free privilege to live this way each and every day of your life.  It’s yours for the asking, so just ask!

If you break down the meaning of PEACE.  Peace is living in…….

Wholeness (complete, not fragmented)

Health (wellness in your mind, body, soul & spirit)

Prosperity (security, ease, without fear)

Quietness (stillness, being undisturbed)

It’s that simple, yet so profound.  This peace allows you to rest in the assurance that although things may feel and indeed be out of your control, you have the “favor” to reside in a place of spiritual, emotional and mental rest regardless of any and all external circumstances.

To live in peace we have to recognize that 24/7 DRAMA IS NOT NORMAL.  We all have challenges, and some of us may have our share of drama (personal, family, relational, work etc;), but please understand that we should not be consumed every day, every minute with chaos.  It’s just not normal.  Check yourself first and rid yourself of all unnecessary drama& baggage, this may require you to re-evaluate your inner-circle, forgive people and let go.  Your focus should be to create a new calm in your life.  Stop letting drama block your peace!  Cheers!

The ability to self manage and continue moving forward, despite difficulties, challenges and seemingly impossible situations.  Facing our fears, being brave enough to do something you’ve never done before.  Standing up for yourself when no one else will.  To change when you know it’s time for a change.  Courage is being afraid but doing it anyway.  Things won’t always be easy but you must be ready and willing to stand behind your decision.  Cheers!

In the day and time we live in, it’s easy to become distracted by the ever present negative news.  We must get back on track in our lives.  We must reconnect with our purpose.  Reconnect with who you are and what’s important through things that give us inspiration, empowerment and we must take the time to soul search.  We must make time to find ourselves, our joy, our peace and happiness.  Take time to get to know the real you!  You are fabulous and there is no one like you, and no one that can do the things you do, the way you do.  When God made you, he only made “one”, you are an original.  Cheers!

The true meaning of love is found in the word “unconditional”.  Loving someone through their flaws and all. Accepting and embracing each other’s differences and compromising.  Love.

There is no power or energy, greater than Unconditional Love.  There is no reality that I desire to know more than God’s Unconditional Love.  God’s love is the guiding force in my life, today and forever.  I am thankful to have experienced being in love, for being loved, for knowing how to love, and for all of my loving experiences!  I realize there are people who have never experienced the joy of being in love or being loved, this is a blessing from God.  Live life, be open to love, and embrace being loved.  Most of all love YOURSELF, if you don’t love yourself you will not be able to welcome love into your life.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it does not keep record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices when truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love is forever. Love is eternal.  Cheers!