Thoughtful Thursday – Mirror Neurons

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What are mirror neurons? Mirror neurons are the part of the brain that cause us to mimic or reflect back what we are seeing in another person. For example when you see some one hurt themselves, you may winch and feel their pain. Or when some one yawns, you’ll have to yawn yourself even though you’re not tired. The same also holds true for when some one is in a bad or good mood. Their mood may rub off on us. This is because of the mirror neurons in our brains.

When I first started my morning walks I’d smile at strangers and most often I didn’t get much of a response, much less a positive one. But I didn’t let this stop me because I was determined to share my happiness.

As I continued my walks day after day, I’d smile bigger and longer. If that didn’t work I’d follow that with a twinkling wave and a cheerful “Good Morning!” I completely understand that not everyone wants to be happy and that’s ok.

But smiles are contagious and are universally understood. If you smile at some one long enough, you’ll most likely get a smile back due to the mirror neurons. Whether you’re in a good mood or not, the fact that you’re smiling instantly raises your energy and you can’t help but feel uplifted.

After a couple of weeks something magical started happening. These strangers who were not the happiest little campers suddenly became friendlier. I began to get big smiles, twinkling waves and morning shout outs of “Good Morning!” So much so that some would go out of their way to greet me. It made me feel even happier that I was able to share my positive energy with others. I may not have changed the world, but I changed my corner of it, just a bit.

Imagine if everyone tried to “Share the Happy” with those around them. Life isn’t always perfectly happy but when we put more of that positive energy out there, it will surely come back to us ten fold. So what are you waiting for, get out and share a great big smile with some one today 😊

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Share the Happy 💖

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” ~Buddha

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Thoughtful Thursday Book Review

Discover Your Dharma: a Vedic Guide to Living Your Best ...

Sahara Rose is an author, inspirational speaker and host of “Highest Self Podcast” which I enjoy listening to. In her latest book, “Discover Your Dharma,” Sahara shares her ancient wisdom but with a modern day flair. I recently finished reading her book and loved it!

When I started reading, I didn’t have any expectations as to where it will go. But I have to say, that I was quite surprised in the accuracy of finding my Doshas and using them to fulfill my Dharma.

In Ayurveda, Doshas are the 3 energies that make up every human being, Vata (air), Pitta (fire) and Kapha (earth). We have all three but in varying amounts. Your Dharma is to find your soul’s purpose.

The physical imbalances we experience in our minds and body are a reflection of what is going on at our soul’s level. So having a better understanding of your Doshas and Dharma will help you to heal your body and move forward which Sahara does an excellent job of explaining in her book. She gives you the tools and knowledge you need to better understand your soul’s purpose.

I also learned that your Dharma is not set it stone. You may end up taking a completely different path than when you started on your journey or you may just make minor changes to the path you’re on. But ultimately you need to live a life that makes you happy and share your special gifts and talents with the world in a positive and fulfilling way.

I highly recommend reading “Discover Your Dharma.” It’s a well written book that is easy to understand with tools to help you find your soul’s purpose. To find out more about Sahara Rose, visit her site at iamsahararose.com.

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Share the Happy 💖

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give your gift away.” ~ Pablo Picasso

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Thoughtful Thursday: Attitude

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I’ve been listening and reading a lot of inspirational works. There’s one thing I’m noticing that keeps coming up and that’s “Attitude.” Attitude is defined as: A manner of thinking, feeling, or behaving that reflects a state of mind or disposition.

Attitude seems to be the foundation of our lives and is a reflection of what is going on in our minds and where we our in life. Our success or lack of, is based on our attitude, and it is tightly woven in with our thoughts. The two are pretty much intertwined.

It stands to reason then that a Good Attitude gives you good results. But if you have a poor attitude towards learning something new that could move you forward in your life, you’ll just get stuck in the mud and won’t go anywhere. If your attitude is one that all the cards are always stacked against you, then you’re powerless to change anything.

All of these negative attitudes make you a magnet for attracting more negative situations into your life. Have you ever had a day that starts with one thing going wrong and then there seems to be a domino effect of one thing after another that keeps going wrong? By allowing yourself to dwell on the negativity in your day, you allowed your attitude to become negative and thus made yourself into a human magnet for attracting more negative situations into your life.

So how can we change? Start each day with gratitude and the intention of how you want the day to go. Don’t jump out of bed, rushing through your morning and responding to the day as you go. Instead, take a minute to set a clear intention on how you want your day to play out. I mean really think about it and allow yourself to feel how wonderful it is to have such an awesome day!

Do this every day and you’ll be surprised at how your life improves when you set a daily intention to maintain a positive attitude.

I hope this inspires you in some way today. Thanks for stopping by!!

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“A great attitude is not the result of success; success is the result of a great attitude.” ~Earl Nightingale

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Watercolor Journal Golden Hair Angel

When I finished painting this angel the first thing that came to my mind was the song by America, Sister Golden Hair. With that being said, I named her Golden Hair Angel. It seemed to be a fitting name, lol. She is my latest angel in my Strathmore 5.5″ x 8.5″ watercolor journal. I didn’t think I would like her yellow hair that much, but it grew on me. What do you think?

Have a great week!

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Watercolor Journal Angel Ariana

While I loved doing the Color Lovers Challenge, I really missed painting my angels. Before we get too far away from summer and hues of blue, I thought I would post Ariana which I made in my Strathmore 5.5″ x 8.5″ watercolor journal. I love all the blues and violets in this one. What do you think?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Have a wonderful week!

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Watercolor Journal Angel Ana

Having lots of fun painting angels in my Strathmore 5.5″ x 8.5″ watercolor journal. I named her Ana and thought I’d try keeping her more simple. Love how the colors blended on her wings.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Have a wonderful week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Share the Happy!!

Thoughtful Thursday – The Magic of Autumn

Photo taken by Maria Vidaurre

Summer is officially coming to an end on September 22nd as we welcome the Autumn Equinox. Here in South Florida, we don’t really experience a change in scenery. The weather cools a bit but there is no major change in season visually.

This was a photo I had taken while hiking 10 miles on the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia with my husband. The air was cool and crisp on the morning we embarked on our hike and the scent of wet leaves permeated the air. Mother nature had graciously painted a stunning canvas of yellow, red, orange and brown for us to enjoy. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking on the trail.

It was a magical hike where I found myself again and remembered what I was made of. There were parts of the trail where I had to dig deep to find courage and endurance to push on. One section had a small brook covered with leaves which were very slippery. Even though I was super careful, I ended up taking a fall but luckily it was nothing major and just ended up with a bruised knee.

The most treacherous part of the trail was a section that was covered with large boulders from an avalanche that wobbled and moved as we crossed them. This part slowed us down considerably and the sun was setting soon.

To say the least, I wasn’t too keen on the idea of getting stuck on the mountain, at night, out in the cold. I much preferred my warm bed that was calling my name back at the lodge. So with all the grit and determination I could muster, I forged on to reach the end of our hike.

As the sun started to set in the horizon, the temperature began to drop pretty fast and darkness was setting in. Just when I thought we wouldn’t make, we came to the end of the trail. I was so happy and soooo relieved. We did it 😅

Looking back on our hike I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride. It was quite the adventure and I loved every minute I spent with my husband. Time on the trail renewed my energy and sense of wonder. It was a great recharge for my mind, body and soul.

We’re going on another hiking trip on the Appalachian Trail this fall but it will be at a different section of the trail and a shorter hike. Really looking forward to seeing all the beautiful colors again!

What do you like most about autumn?

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“Notice how autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.” ~Freidrich Nietzsche

Photos taken by Maria Vidaurre

Thoughtful Thursday History of Labor Day

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In the late 1800’s, during the industrial revolution, workers were subject to some pretty fierce working conditions. The average adult worked everyday of the week for about 12 hours which gave them just enough for a mediocre life. Children as young as 5 and 6 years old also worked in the mills and factories but for a fraction of what the adults made.

The environment in the workplace was normally not safe nor did workers have sanitary conditions. Labor unions became more popular and more vocal as a result, and they organized workers to carry out strikes and protests. Some of these rallies became violent and sadly even led to death for some.

The first Labor Day parade was held on September 5, 1882. There were approximately 10,000 workers who marched from City Hall to Union Square in New York City. It caught the attention of industrial centers all over the United States and as a result, many states passed legislation recognizing the first Monday in September as the “Workingmen’s Holiday.” However, Congress did not legalize it as a holiday for another 12 years which was under President Grover Cleveland.

So take this coming Monday off and celebrate. Celebrate for you and for all those in your community who work so hard for the rest of us. Also, remember those who voiced their concerns over years to improve working conditions for everyone.

I hope you enjoyed this little history snippet. Have a Happy and Safe Labor Day!

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“Success will always come down to this: Focus and effort, and we control both.” ~ Dwayne Johnson

Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/labor-day-1

https://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/resources/the-history-of-labor-day-in-the-united-states/

Thoughtful Thursday – Adverse Affects of Dairy

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As most of your know, I went vegan about 4 years ago. Not because it was the “in thing” to do but because of health issues I was having at the time. I drank lots of milk when I was a kid and I think we’ve all heard the slogan, “Milk, it does the body good.” But does it really?

I grew up thinking that cows were put on this earth to give us milk and that was that. But when you think about it, the only reason a cow produces milk is to feed their calf. So their bodies have to be in a continual pregnant state to produce milk for us.

There’s been a lot of research done showing milk may actually do us more harm than good. For starters, one of my problems with milk was that I was constantly congested. When I’d get a cold, the congestion would get really bad. I thought by drinking only organic milk and eating only organic dairy products, I was being healthy. But my congestion just kept getting worse even though I wasn’t sick. After reading an article in a magazine I decided to give plant based milk a try and found that my congestion completely cleared up in a few weeks.

After experiencing that I started doing research and found that milk contains harmful hormones which are given to the cows to increase their milk production. Even the organic milk still has hormones in it. I also learned that milk causes your body to leach calcium from the bones which in turn can make you more susceptible to osteoporosis. Not to mention, that milk and dairy products can cause cancer. Yikes! And these were just a few of the adverse affects of dairy that I stumbled upon in my research.

There are a lot of documentaries that you can watch like Food Inc., What the Health, Forks Over Knives, Plant Pure Nation to name a few. These films were a real eye opener for me and although I didn’t go vegan initially, the more educated I became, the more I realized I needed to stick with it to stay healthy. Once I did that, I was living proof that what they were expressing in these films had a lot of truth behind it. Granted a vegan diet isn’t for everyone but there’s always room for improvement no matter what diet you consume.

Please don’t take my word for it but do your own research. You may be surprised and shocked at what you find. Your diet is the foundation to your health as well as your happiness. Because the bottom line is, if you don’t have your health, nothing else really matters. You can’t bring joy to the world if you don’t take care of yourself first. Hope you found this information helpful.

Thanks for stopping by!

Share the Happy and Good Health!

“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.” ~Ayurvedic Proverb

Sources:

Forks Over Knives: “7 Ways Milk and Dairy Products are Making You Sick

The Miter: “Harmful Effects of Cow’s Milk on the Human Body Becomes More Prevalent”

Dr McDougall: T. Colin Campbell, PhD: Link Between Dairy Protein, Casein, & Cancer

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Thoughtful Thursday Vision Boards

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Vision boards are a way of putting your goals and dreams into one place so you can focus on them everyday and bring them to fruition. There are no rules for creating vision boards. They can be big or small, neat or messy, on a wall or foam board. You fill them with photos, words or both, it’s entirely up to you. Personally I like to use photos from magazines or the internet. They help me visualize my goals more easily.

Think about what you really desire in life maybe it’s better relationships, a better job, more time with the family, finding love, etc. Then find photos that relate to your desires and put them on the board. For example, if I’ve been dreaming about taking a cruise, I’ll look for an ad with a cruise ship and the destination I want to go to and put that photo on my board. If I want to get healthy and in shape, I’ll find a photo of an athlete and put that on my board.

The vision board will help you to attract the right circumstances in your life to make your desires a reality. It will also help keep you focused and on track. The photos will help you to visualize yourself in the circumstances you desire. But what is even more important is that you feel the positive emotion related to your desires whether it be joy, elation, happiness or any other strong positive emotion. And I don’t mean just think about the feeling, I want you to really feel the emotion in every cell in your body. Imagine yourself attaining your goal and think how good you’ll feel when your desire becomes a reality.

You want to keep the vision board in a place where you can see it everyday so you stay focused and have clarity on your goals and desires. The vision board will help keep your passion and energy fueled so you can attain your goals. Imagine the possibilities. The sky’s the limit so dream BIG!

Thanks for stopping by!

Share the Happy!!

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” ~Walter Elias Disney

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