Dare to Be Happy

Happy Marble Loaf Smiley Face
When you want to, you can see happiness in everything,
even a marble loaf slice in Starbucks. Can you see it?

This is Day 8 of the 21-day Nourish Your Spirit Holiday Challenge…I hope you enjoy this sample from the 21-Day Nourish Your Spirit this Holiday Challenge…Join the  Challenge Now!

To the woman who complained that riches hadn’t made her happy, the Master said “You speak as if luxury and comfort were ingredients of happiness; whereas all you need to be really happy, my dear, is something to be enthusiastic about.”
–Anthony de Mello

Day 8 Dare to Be Happy Part 2

Enthusiasm lies at the intersection of inspiration and promise. Newness and freshness, promise and excitement all create giddiness and joy: pure happiness…balm to Nourish Your Spirit.

Even though we are often ‘programmed’ to think that if we are happy, for too long, something bad will happen, like “the other shoe will drop” or we’ll be seen as daffy because we aren’t “serious” or buying into the drama around us we can choose to change it.

One answer to shift from unhappiness, over-seriousness, helplessness and into enthusiasm and nourishing joy is to initiate some change.

Shake it Up

Make a few changes to your environment to awaken yourself to genuine joy. Change it up and your spaces will allow you to raise the happiness factor in gatherings that may have caused tension or stress.

Feng Shui Changes you can make for a Happy Holiday:

  • Love it or Lose it: Look around you at your spaces before you decorate them, is anything there taking your energy down?  Clutter, artwork, furniture, all hold memories or feelings for us…if these feelings aren’t positive and giggly, give yourself permission to be happy and move them out of your home or office…donate, discard or discard them.
  • Don’t over ‘do’ it: our brains will overload if there is too much to look at and our bodies will be exhausted by the      overwhelm of too many things. Limit your decorations, group them into vignettes,  chose only 3 colors for the décor and wrapping. Your stress level will drop and your happiness rise!
  • Change the decorations, the menu, the snacks: move the decorations around to different places. This will unconsciously bring freshness into the environment and signal to you and everyone else that the old ways are about to leave and the new, joyful experience will be the order of the day. A new recipe or menu at a traditional holiday gathering will shift the energy and add more joy.
  • Review and shift. Take time to think about past events or holidays that may have been less than pleasant.
    • Observe. Is there a place in your home  or office where arguments mostly occur? If yes, you’ll need some space       clearing and Feng Shui to erase the negative impact that space is harboring. Starting January 10, I’ll be showing those who join me just how to remove the negative influences that cause arguments and block  harmony, career, health and money.
    • Investigate. Try to remember conversations  or incidents that led up to the drama, arguments, discomfort or anything less than happiness? Make changes to derail the past and shift to the new  nourishment. If alcohol allowed some of your guests to behave badly, limit the alcohol, serve a premade punch at those events or move the time  of the party all together.
    • Take control. If certain topics incited turmoil, have ready a few topic shifters: questions you can ask that will shift the energy of the conversation. When I do this, it is often only a nanosecond before everyone jumps onboard and leaves the old train of  thought behind.These might seem silly and random but the result is a happy experience where you move out of your comfort zone and into joy. Some possible questions to insert:
      • “Which states have you played golf in?”
      • “What are some of the best presents  you remember as a kid?”
      • “Ok, who can name the   Reindeer?”

Engage the senses  to bring joy to the season

  • Add softness. Soft textures and long needles on trees will round out the Holidays and help to remove stress. Feathers      and wispy fur pillows can ground and nourish your spaces and your spirit.    Look at your décor and round out or remove any sharp shapes, or pointed  items if you can. Try to edit the amount of décor you use, limiting the numbers, grouping items rather than scattering them about offers our minds a more peaceful, restful experience.
  • Check your colors. Colors also influence behavior.      Fresh green is a color that will signal freshness and health to our bodies  and minds. If any of your holiday events have the potential to be stressful or end in a meltdown, limit the amount of red or purple in your décor. Add something yellow or gold to the center of the table for an  extra measure of nourishment and happiness and remove the knives from sight. If you must serve dinner with a sharp knife, wrap it in the napkin to the side of the plate.
  • Scent it. Smells trigger emotional  responses as well as memories immediately, whether we are conscious of it      or not. Add new smells to your holidays to shift the energy. Consider new scents to anchor change and positive energy:
    • oranges, stuck with cloves, as  ornaments, will freshen and warm your spaces
    • a pot with of apple cider and  cinnamon and simmer it on the stove will also add cozy nourishment
    • peppermint will clear the air
    • vanilla is a round, rich scent  that will bring youthful romance to an intimate gathering
  • Anchor it. Feng Shui is about energy in everything, from physical items and their placement and colors, to the  “feeling” that you experience as you walk into or past a room or business.

Energy is real:

We can feel it and we can change it. During the Clear  Your Clutter, Change Your Life  program, starting January 10,  2013, I will teach you how to do this but for now, know that you can set the energy tone for happiness in your spaces with a few simple methods:

  • Stand at the door to your spaces and clap. Listen to the crispness…it will most likely be muffled. Clap to shift the energy…clap until the claps are crisp and resonant.
  • Use beautiful, classical, ‘new  age’ or soft jazz music played when you aren’t there to act as an energy  shifter. Try Reiki  Mountains by Sambodhi Prem..I use it and it works beautifully.
  • Light a candle and fill the  space with love.
  • Sit quietly before the events in  your home or office and image golden or white opalescent sparkles gently  filling the space. Gently ask for the space to nourish all who enter,  including the relationships between everyone, for the fulfillment of  their own hearts’ desires and happiness.

There are more Feng Shui methods and ideas coming.

Feng Shui is more than just moving the furniture around. The keys to Nourish Your Spirit, easily keep New Year’s Resolutions, a fit healthy body, finding your life’s purpose, enjoying fulfilling work and relationships, having plenty of money and true wealth is in experiencing good Feng Shui all year long.

Join me on January 10 as I personally coach a small, private group online to know exactly how to remove the blocks to your wealth, health and happy relationships of all kinds when we Clear Your Clutter and Make 2013 Your Best Year Yet. Space is limited. Sign up by December 15 and save.

In the 24-day program I walksyou through, step by step, the Feng Shui and clearing to remove the clutter of all kinds, and gives you powerful tools to shift into your best year yet.  Daily guidance, weekly online coaching and personal strategy help you move forward fast.

Join me.  Now  is the time for you to live your dreams.