Tag: happy

Gratitude experiment

emyminzel

Surfing through social media, I saw a meme picture of a pumpkin with words written all over it. The premise behind it was that each day, you write one thing you are thankful for. You can use the pumpkin as a fall centerpiece or just enjoy it as a visual reminder of all the blessings we wrote down throughout the month. Our pumpkin was gifted to us by my aunt, which is something I can already be thankful for!

I thought this was a lovely idea, and since starting this thankfulness practice, it seems to have had a splendid effect on my daily life. Each morning when I open my eyes, I have started my morning by giving thanks for the day before me. There were days I woke up grumpy, but after making it a point to give thanks for my blessings, it turned my mood around remarkably.

What I didn’t expect was that even random interactions with the world around me seemed to benefit. Was my face reflecting the peace of the gratitude I felt? Helping strangers feel welcome to show kindness, smile, or give me a compliment? I started to enjoy my work even more than usual when I made sure to send gratitude for the opportunity to help my clients before each session. Random people at the grocery store would start up conversations or compliment me.

Kindhearted interactions seemed to be a pleasant byproduct of the self-inflicted attitude adjustment I needed. I had been feeling frustrated and down about things beyond my control. It occurred to me that it is my responsibility to manage my attitude and I can change how I was looking at things. I decided I must do something to transform my negative ruminating. I needed a positive push and this Thanksgiving pumpkin idea came around the perfect moment.

I did not know how profoundly my shift in gratitude would move me! That is how it goes sometimes, isn’t it? One random choice to change something seemingly small turns out to be precisely what you needed all along! My new attitude of gratitude has remarkably helped lift my mood and the quality of my days. Instead of looking only for what’s wrong in each situation, I look for the blessings too.

Giving myself permission to be happy for no reason other than I decided too, was liberating. I found when I show thanks for life, family, friends, work, and all the blessings I sometimes take for granted, it is almost contagious. That’s my experience anyway. I know it sounds a little Pollyanna like but there is wisdom in choosing to be grateful!

Last week I bumped into a client while in town who said to me after a short chat. “You know, sometimes you just have to be thankful!” I said. “Yes! Yes!!!” That client did not know of my thankfulness experiment. Still, it was like she was a messenger from above confirming my findings. I love it when synchronicities happen! It’s like a sign from the Universe you are on to something useful here.

It seems it would be wise to continue this habit of saying grace every morning and throughout the day. Counting my blessings regularly has been a catalyst for better days and a lighter mood, which raises the vibes I bring to the world. It’s been such a lovely experience that I wanted to share this idea with you. I genuinely hope you have the same benevolent response from the world that I have felt.

Wishing you an abundance of blessings to be thankful for!

Love,

Emy Minzel

 

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EmyMinzel.com

EmyMinzel.AdventureSister@gmail.com

@EmyMinzel

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Stacy Crep ~

https://stacycrep.com

 

Photo credit – Emy Minzel

Are you already there?

emyminzel

 

“There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.” Dr. Wayne Dyer ~

We as humans have a lot of things in common. Like the desire to always want more or get something better than what we already have. Though, even once we get more of what we wanted, we start all over again. The need to want more and have better just seems to keep growing. So, when is what we already have, enough? I think it becomes enough once you learn to be thankful for what we already have and practicing appreciation for how blessed we truly are.

If we have a wonderful marriage and family who loves us unconditionally, why do we complain about their antics instead of speaking to the good they bring to our lives? Do we spend the time maintaining those relationships or is it always the other persons’ job to appease? Do you make others responsible for your happiness or blame them if you are not happy? Do we expect others to entertain us and keep us content?

I read something recently that was very poignant, not only in love but every relationship we are blessed with. It said. “Everyone is always looking for the perfect partner. Yet nobody seems to try and be the perfect partner.”

Are we holding ourselves up to the same standards we hold our loved ones too?

Happiness is an inside job. When it comes right down to it. If you take away all our money, jobs, titles or stuff…. All we ‘have’ to give others and ourselves is love. When you think about it harder; the thing that brings us the most happiness is love!

A piece of our own hearts as currency. To give love is to receive love, it’s simple but complex. Have you heard of the love languages? We all differ in how we can feel and receive love. What makes me feel loved is different than how my husband needs to be treated to feel loved.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I recommend reading The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. The love languages are: Words of affirmation, Acts of service, Receiving gifts, Quality time and Physical touch.

I found it very helpful in doing my part to maintain a happy marriage. It helped me learn that the way we are able to feel and receive love is different for everyone. But my point is that, no matter where you are in life, the grass is always greener on the other side if you aren’t watering your own lawn. You may find that once you start tending to and nurturing your life, you are able to see just how blessed you really are!

Here is an example: Do we expect our husbands to always cut the grass or shovel the snow while giving nothing in return? How do we show our appreciation for doing his part in taking care of the household duties? Do they need a present or what if we tried to make his favorite supper that night? Would this be a fair give and take exchange of energy and love?

If acts of service aren’t your husbands/partners love language, you may want to try a different approach and buy him a present, sing his praises or maybe even give him a back rub instead.

When we want more happiness, love, opportunity, or success, it helps if we appreciate what it is that we already have. The Universe/God is listening to your vibrations and does not deliver your opportunities when you aren’t appreciating the ones already in your lap!

If you aren’t thankful and appreciating your life as it is, or taking steps to improve it, it just not going to change. As it goes, the Universe delivers more of what you are asking for. If you are perpetually complaining, it’s going to give you more to complain about. If you are forever giving thanks and counting your blessings, it would pose to think you will get more of what you are thankful for.

When you are frustrated and tested, remember that the more you look for the good in the situation the more likely it will turn out good. Your life may not be perfect. But if you take a closer look and see you have love in your heart, family, and friends, a safe warm place to sleep, food on the table and a way to provide this security… you are already there!

You are already at the point in life where you can choose to be happy!

Psst… remember, the feeling is the prayer!

“There is no way to happiness. Happiness it the way” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

Wishing you the magical soulful healing you need right now to be the best you can be.

With love,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

My daughters laugh

emyminzel

My favorite sound is laughter. Specifically, the sound of my daughter’s laughter. From the very first giggle to now, 25 years later, her laugh is still a sound that makes heart swell and my soul beam. Sure, I love the singing of the birds, great music of all sorts, listening to ocean waves or a thunderstorm but the sound that moves my soul, and I will never have enough of, is my daughters laugh.

(Then and now.)

She probably doesn’t know I pay that much attention, but I do. I can tell you when she laughs to be polite. If she is joking around or being sarcastic. Oh, and trust me, you don’t want to cross her path when she is vocalizing an angry laugh! She has lots of laughs and I think I know them all.

My favorite though, is her sincere, kind and loving laugh. It is the genuine laugh that comes from her belly and out her eyes and smile. I love it when she is laughing at something funny or just having a great time with family or friends. When she is playing on the floor at Christmas or the birthdays of our littlest family members; my daughter is good with children and her patience and kindness shows as she laughs at the little one’s cuteness and innocence.

She doesn’t know this but her smile and laugh brighten any room. When I hear her laugh, I hope with my whole being that she is as genuinely happy as the twinkling laughter that comes out of her. As a mom, I understand what it means when you say. “I just want you to be happy.” I don’t care what she does for a career or how much money she makes. I don’t care if she gets married or not, wants children or instead blesses me with furry grandbabies.

I only care that her heart is full of joy and she is happy with however she chooses to live her life. I only care that her laugh is real, and that she can be as liberal with it as often as she likes. The mom in me wishes I could help her with all the adulting challenges, we all have to face, but that’s not fair to her either. Everyone is supposed to have their own journey to live and learn from.

I pray for my daughter’s journey to be so full of joy she gets to share her wonderful laugh with as many people as she possibly can. She really has a great sense of humor and I love when she uses it to make others laugh with her. I hope she finds delight in the small everyday moments and gets the chance to have thrills and experiences so wonderful, she cannot hold her laughter inside.

Danica family reunion 2015 (This is my daughter, having fun teasing her grandma who she adores!)

These are the thoughts and prayers I send my daughter, instead of worry or concern during a rough patch. I send loving intentions out into the Universe for my baby girl to always keep and feel like sharing her delightful, loveable laugh that I love.

And so, it is.

I’d like to know, what is your favorite sound and why?

 

Thank you for reading my blog today. Wishing you an abundance of blessings and joy!

Love to you all Adventurers!

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

 

Oh Joy! Oh joy! Oh joy!

emyminzel

 

When Stacy and I decided to go on our Retreat, we both had our own intentions for the weekend. Mine was to hold the feelings of happiness and the vibrations of joy in my body and mind for extended periods of time. The point of the exercise was to get comfortable with higher vibrations. I had been use to living in a political climate that seemed to be a bit lower in frequency and happiness was becoming a fleeting weird feeling, as of lately and I was not okay with that!

It was clear to me that I had some work to do! I needed to take responsibility for the energy I was bringing to my mind/body/spirit, the world and in my writing. This concerned me so greatly that I made the intention to make it a daily practice of holding myself accountable for the quality of my vibrations. I was determined to get comfortable with being joyful and content. Just like any other skill, if I want to be good at it, I knew I must practice.

The first morning we woke up on the boat, the sun was rising slowly, and the birds were singing as the water was rocking us gently. We observed nature’s beauty in our surroundings. I gave thanks to the Higher Power for the blessing to have a time out of the Minnesota winter and this helped to encourage my peace of mind. It was proving to be easy to be joyful just sitting on a boat, watching the morning come alive with my coffee as Stacy and I sat in silence. I smiled at the day before me, feeling up to the challenge of staying happy all day.

We were doing our best to be silent, to encourage ourselves to go within and seek the guidance we were looking for. It did help to encourage me to stand in my own truth. I found it was very liberating to not have to negotiate my feelings or compromise my state of mind; just for the sake of conversation. Then again, I also came to realize I process my feelings and come to a deeper understanding of my deep thoughts, when I can communicate and look for a different point of view. Sometimes we don’t see, what is plain as day to your loved ones.

As I sat there for hours, just watching nature and jotting down my thoughts in my notebook, I found I was increasingly joyful. I sat there smiling to myself, just for the joy of if it and because I could. If I could choose to be joyful just because, then I should be able to choose joy at any moment. Right?! Of course, you and I both know that isn’t always true. Our emotions can be very powerful, but the thing is, we can choose those too. We can choose to acknowledge the thoughts they bring us and then decide if they are true or just our subconscious bringing up old fears or worries.

When I give myself time to dig deeper into my reactions, I begin to understand. Stacy would help me see that my anger, was most times, just my initial reaction to being displeased. I don’t want to get worked up over things I cannot control, like politics. I am truly a lover and not a fighter. Because of this I must find a way to make a difference in the world that allows me to be love; not war. I also find myself wondering if “I am able to be this person if I pursue a political path?”

I know it was always up to me to bring light and joy to the room with me, when I walk in. I get to choose to be happy and share joy. Yet I worried about what others might think and put pressure on myself, that wasn’t necessary, when I was a candidate. This is a thing lots of people do, I suppose, when facing unfamiliar experiences. We tend make things worse, than they truly are, just because we fear the worst instead of expecting the best.

This was the whole point of my ‘holding happiness’ exercise! I want to retrain my brain to expect the best. To look for the joy in my life, every day. I am going to remind myself that it “is” safe to be happy. I am worthy of being happy and I have every reason to be happy. So I would like to start enjoying it! I have been blessed to see my life, in a different light, after a joyous and crazy experience that kept me away from what truly matters to me. I can finally see the blessings in my extraordinary yet ordinary life and feel the joy it truly brings.

Life gives you lessons all the time if you are able to see them. I can see that I have a choice now and I choose joy. Every day I am doing my best to be joy, to be love and to be the best me. I don’t have to make it harder than it is. All I must do is make a choice to be grateful and joy will follow. I don’t have to be on a boat and in Florida to be joyous! I realize, all I must do, is consciously let joy in!

To do this, I have started a new practice. Every morning before I get up, I give thanks and I wait until I find the vibration of joy. I stay there until I feel it and then I hold it and send it out into the world before I can get out of bed. Affirmations that help me get into this vibration are “I am love. I am joy. I am light.” I also think of who I love and even use cuddling my dogs, to help me feel those good vibes!

I am not a morning person, but this practice has helped me embrace the start of the day a bit better. It is basically a short, purposely powerful meditation; that helps start my day with love and joy. Assisting me to be the best me I can be as soon as my feet hit the floor. It has been working wonders. I hope you try it!

I am so thankful for the blessing of our short Adventure Sister Retreat. Stacy and I always have such powerfully healing experiences when we get to spend extra time together. Thanks to our visits and going within, I can see where I needed the help. We are truly soul sisters helping each other grow. I am blessed to have such a dear friend that loves me just as I am.

I am a perfectly imperfect practitioner of joy!

Oh, joy!

Wishing you an abundance of blessings and joy!

Love to you all Adventurers!

With love,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

  • Photo taken in Cassadaga, Florida

Are you scared to be happy?

emyminzel

No, it’s not a trick question. I am honestly wondering if I am the only one with this fear or not? I was standing in the kitchen this afternoon. I just had a couple of clients. I blew off the snow in the driveway and now I am jamming out in the kitchen to Bruno Mars and cooking dinner. I have had a most lovely regular Tuesday that I have had in a while.

As I stand, stirring dinner on the stove top, singing to the dogs and dancing a bit. I realized just how genuinely happy I was feeling! Isn’t that wonderful?

Except, just as quickly as I recognized this feeling of joy, I was like “Oh this is scary. I better not get to happy, I might jinx myself.” Then as I began to recognize this joy sabotaging behavior, I had just put myself through, I stopped. Thinking to myself some more. “What the heck am I doing?! No. I choose to take this joy back, right this minute.” So, I did. I allowed myself to be really gosh darn happy as I cooked and danced.

Then I thought to myself. “Am I the only person who does this? How many of us sabotage our own joy out of fear of being let down? What IF bad news comes later? That’s life. For this exact moment in time, it is okay to enjoy your life!” I am thankful that I noticed this behavior as I could have easily slipped into wondering thoughts of ‘what ifs’ instead of appreciating the moment of joy I had been blessed with.

It’s not like I don’t have any problems, but at this moment, I don’t have anything ‘bad enough’ to derail my well-deserved peace. It was almost as if this feeling of joy was uncomfortable! I never have thought of myself as an unhappy person. I like to stay positive. Yet I have not been allowing myself to truly feel free of worry or concern for some reason or other!

It’s as if I had been so stressed out that I just accepted this thinking as my way of life and “this is just how I feel now.” When my moment of happiness came out, my inner worry wart was quick to smashed it like a mosquito that had just disturbed my summer hammock nap.

I want to know, does this happen to you too?

Now that I have seen this peculiar behavior, I fully intend to change it for the better. This is what they mean by living in the now. Now just happens to be a perfectly lovely ordinary day in which all is okay in my world. I am so thankful for this blessing and the relief that I feel when I allow this joy to flood into my soul.

This big ol’ full moon must have allowed me to release the block/barrier I didn’t see that I had. I can see now that it was preventing me from truly allowing joy into my life. I am thankful for the opportunity to see so clearly and now this should allow me to grow in a positive way. As an energy worker I know that if you are scared to allow joy in, why would it show up for you?

I must not allow myself to associate happiness and joy with and uncomfortable feeling of panic! (Insert high five to my face… Duh.) But like they say, admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. I am hoping to allow my happiness to flow so large that it becomes contagious to everyone I encounter.

Let’s try an experiment together, shall we? Just how long can you and I hold on to the feeling of joy and happiness? How many hours will we allow ourselves the indulgence? Do me a favor and do not be scared that your joy may shine in some one’s eyes. If they are your friends and love you; they will be happy for your happiness.  Also, they may just be scared to be happy too?!

I love it when life sends me lessons through joy!

Please post and share your smile with the Adventure Sisters in the comments down below! We would love to see our comment section full of joy today!

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings with no strings attached!

Love to you all Adventurer’s!

With love,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com