Archive for January, 2011

Back in the early 1950’s, my mother would watch  the Jack LaLanne show and faithfully do her exercises.    While she would stretch and bend in the living room, I would often try to follow along.   Without any equipment or challenging moves, Jack LaLanne presented the world with a simple and effective way to maintain health and wellness.

Jack had an amazingly  positive attitude towards life  and wanted people to be healthy and happy.  Infact, the beautiful white dog he often had on the show was named “Happy”.   He was an inspiring example of living in the present moment and often would tell my mother…. “Don’t think about how old you are,  just think about today” .   Jack LaLanne, passed away last week at a sparkling 96 years young.

If you are young enough to remember Jack, enjoy a trip down memory lane:

In one of the YouTube video’s he shares with his audiance the plea for people to be happy and smile more.

In the second  video, his face exercises  made me and my mom  laugh until our stomachs hurt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEboAJf9UVc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isLJ024EdMA&feature=related

Practice the exercise of smiling and being happy.  You always have a choice and the opportunity to feel good.  Just decide that you will love your smiling self.

Be well and stay that way!

P.S.  Check out the Meditation for Beginners Class starting Tuesday February 1, 2011 at

Heartsong in East Longmeadow.

http://www.heartsongyoga.com/events/coursesforming/

When the phone rings very early in the morning, your heart skips a beat and you dash to answer the call.  My granddaughters are still in Budapest, Hungary, so the phone call comes through skype, which has that entertaining and distinctive ring.  Thinking there just might be something wrong , I connected the internet and found Aliya sitting on her mom’s lap.

My precious five year old sweetheart had a big bandage on her chin.   “Tell Nana what happened”, said my daughter. Through tight pursed lips, Aliya told me about the trip up the stairs and the stitches she had to get at the hospital.

My seven year old granddaughter, Selah, proceeded to show me how the doctor used a needle to sew her  sister”s chin .  “It was just like sewing the stuffed dolls we  made at Christmas time.”, she declared.  “And Aliya was very brave, Nana.”

We chatted a bit about how the accident happened and all along, Aliya, kept her face motionless and tried to talk without moving her mouth or her face.

“Where’s your smile?”  I asked.   “I can’t make it, Nana, my chin is too tight and I have to keep  real still”, she whispered.   “Well, I can see it in your eyes”, I told her with hope and assurance.

Her face lightened, her big brown eyes brightened as her body relaxed and there was a slight up-turn of her lips that radiated the smile I have come to know and love.  “It’s there, I can see it.” I smiled back with gentle optimism. ” No worries, Aliya, you didn’t lose your smile, it is safely in it’s rightful place and it lights up my computer.”

Is there a smile that you are holding back and unwilling to express because the stitches around self esteem are just too tight?     Realize that your precious self is indeed safe, secure and in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing.  Trust that you have the tools to  easily soften your face, relax your body, breathe deeply, radiate  self love and know you are special.  Just decide to believe you are falling in love with yourself!

When mother nature decides to orchestrate a monstrous snow storm, it is inevitable that school will be canceled , public offices will shut down, most people will stay home because traveling will be hazardous and flights will be delayed. As the fury of the snow onslaught materializes,  the world will come to a silent stillness.  Walking outside when the tempest comes to an end is like walking into a magical world of motionless, serene and quiet tranquility.

Before the children head outside for a “snow day” of sledding  and the plows begin moving the mountains of fluff, there is a moment in time that the world is quiet and the silent stillness creates a space of luscious peace.

If you have not been able to witness the magic of the space between activity and stillness, make a promise to yourself to be there the next time it snows.  Step outside for just a few moments, or longer, and be present with the world as it waits for its next breath.

Claiming your own preciousness and acknowledging the self love you have been cultivating is like stepping into your own magical moment in time.  Declare a “snow day” for yourself.  You don’t have to wait for a storm, or the news station to do it for you.

Come to know that you are  very special and deserving of love from yourself.   Relish in the stillness, in the space between the in breath and the out breath, that you are pure love.  Make time to feel the magnificence of who you are and hold on to your noble splendid self with dignity and tender loving care.

Watch for Snow Angels!

Take a look:

http://www.fotosearch.com/IDX005/349141/

As I look out my window, on a frigid January morning, I push a button two times and say the words, “Please Start” and my little red automobile engages the ignition, revs up the motor and begins to thaw out.  It’s just like magic!

When the mechanics installed the devise, it took me a while to understand that I didn’t have to start the motor again.  The car was running and all I had to do was put  in the key and go.  For some reason, I kept turning the key and grinding the motor.  Patience and a second instructional lesson, helped me figure it out.

If I let my car run for fifteen minutes,the heater defrosts the windshield , the rear window melts the frost and I get into a toasty vehicle with gratitude and a big smile.  Great way to start the day!!

Why not install a starter for your own personal self love.  Before you even get out of bed in the morning, or periodically throughout the day, click your inner magical voice and remind yourself that you are warming up to be the best you can be.  Let the realization that you do love yourself, defrost all the self criticism, self doubt and self defeating language that has become so familiar.  Use your wisdom to install the programs for success, ease, peace, well being and delight in your life.

When you are warmed up, humming along, in the flow of things, there is no need to keep starting your engine.

Warmly enjoy the glory of winter!

http://bit.ly/ftepGo

At midnight on New Years Eve, my youngest daughter, Rachael, asked me a simple but profound question.  At twenty-four, she is joy  in my life and and inspires me with hope.  Her big brown eyes sparkled as she inquired:  “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?”  Her own answer to the question opened my heart and reminded me that “infinite love and gratitude” are the words for 2011.

“If I could ask God one question”, she went on to say, “I would ask, why is it so hard for us to know love?”

When my oldest daughter was in her early twenties, she had made a statement I will never forget.  It was in the heat of an argument and she turned to me with fire in her eyes, and blurted out:  “Sometimes it is just too hard to be loved”.

Grateful to be their mom, I am always learning from these two young women whom I cherish so deeply.  We are all searching and wondering about the love for self that seems  illusive and almost unreal.  To know love means we must admit that we are lovable.   Although we might not remember coming into the world, taking in the first breath of life and being swaddled in the tenderness and awe of pure love, we spend our lives remembering that truth.

Can you make a commitment to allow yourself the miracle of knowing that you are love, that love abounds, that you are deserving of love and of loving yourself.  Make the decision to choose the abundance of endearing love which is always available simply because you are special and precious.

We are in this human adventure together and loving happiness is our birthright.

I found a video and the first answer to Rachael’s question is a wake up call for all of us.

A young women said:  “Actually I think that God is within everyone so I would basically be talking to myself”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlkIttlY0mo

Set your path for an amazing year ahead and practice loving yourself more!

In LovingKindness,

May you be safe, May you be happy, May you be peaceful, May you healthy and May you live with ease!