Wisdom With T

You Know What's Really Awesome?

2012-02-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

What I like to do is sometimes be grateful. Finding what works in your life is far better than what's wrong. Being around positive people and taking time out for your goals and dreams. Sometimes its hard to know where to start.

Sometimes you just have to start out by doing.

Awesomeness Fest Update

2010-12-06T18:20:00.000-08:00

Sad to say there was little content posted online for what went down at Awesomeness Fest this year. I would like to attend if they do another one next year. With more planning I hope to be able to provide more content for everyone.

One of the speakers was Chip Conley and I thought I would at least share his TED talk which I found to be quite inspirational.

Awesomeness Fest: Sean Stephenson

2010-12-02T15:13:00.000-08:00

Sean Stephenson is an amazing man and he's on stage over at Awesomeness Fest as I am writing this. Expected to die at birth and having suffered 200 bone fractures by age 18 Sean's height is only 3 feet. Confined to a wheelchair he has worked in the White House as a Presidential liaison for the Cabinet of Affairs. He now works as a motivational speaker working to help others achieve success.

He is inspiring people right now as he is talking some quotes are being tweeted as we speak (Isn't this technology exciting?) Here is some of what he has to say.....

"What might be a passing smile to you, could save another person's life"
"We connect with people when we feel they care about us"
"We want to be heard more than we want to talk"
"It's okay to celebrate you, but make sure you celebrate other people in the process"

Awesomeness Fest 2010

2010-12-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

Awesomeness Fest is an event to bring together people who are by nature, driven to change the world. Entrepreneurs, authors, teachers, mavericks, artist and visionaries. Here, you get powerful training, mind shifts, ideas and connections so you can play an even bigger game and significantly expand your ability to accomplish bold things. It’s about powerful ideas to take your life to the next level, connecting with brilliant minds, high-level training & awesome parties – all in the midst of paradise. - Awesomeness Fest Website

A Party in paradise sounds great doesn't it?

Up here in Canada we are experiencing our December snowfall and cold weather. The idea of a Party and Paradise appeals to me but alas I do not have the ability to attend this amazing event. This weekend I am having an Online Awesomeness Fest here to mirror the event in Costa Rica. I will be sharing the ideas of the teachers at Awesomeness Fest by sharing great links to blogs, videos, and whatever else I can find.

About 2 months ago I came across the work of an Amazing man Vishen Lakhiani an entrepreneur working to spread enlightened ideas with his business MindValley. His webinars and videos on the Theory of Awesomeness has reshaped how I think and inspired me to greatness. His ideas are so great I had to share them.

The idea is that their Awesomeness will rub off on us. I truly believe that being surrounded by positive ideas and people will raise us to new levels of awareness and success. But don't take my word for it. Listen to Vishen yourself.

To hear Vishen's Theory of Awesomeness (Must check this out!) Its about an hour worth of quality information that will set the tone of what you can expect this weekend.

Webcast Awesome!

Vision, Voice and Vocation

2010-11-26T20:29:00.000-08:00

I have not been online in awhile as I have been busy getting my life in order. I am looking to develop my skills as a Life Coach and I am researching options to get educated in this exciting field. I have a lot of Big Ideas for this website and my life making a dedication to self development and growth. I have interest in developing multimedia events that will enlighten and transform lives.

I will keep you guys update as I keep working on these endeavours and you can look forward to more posting from me!

Thanks to all who have been reading and showing their support!

Book Review: Life's Little Rituals, by Alexandria

2010-11-26T20:13:00.000-08:00

Life's Little Rituals: Celebrations for Everyday Living

Author: Alexandria

Publisher: Citadel Press

Page Count: 206

Summary: (from back of book) Bring extraordinary depth to each ordinary day by adding rituals to your lifestyle. High Priestess Alexandria draws on ancient ideas to help you celebrate the events and changes that color your journey through life. Whether you want to make a child feel special or add awesome motivation to starting a diet, you'll find the means within these pages. Along the way, you'll discover a wealth of rituals for:

Morning, evening, and bedtime routines
Seasonal changes
Relationships
Parenting
Work and career
Personal finance
Home and food
Physical fitness
Firsts ... and lasts
Thoughtful descisions
Fateful happenings
Love and loss

This book is filled with all sorts of ideas on how to make life more meaningful and magical. There is a power in rituals and this book is filled with many. But it is also filled with really good ideas that aren't really rituals at all. The book is organized into areas that pertain to many areas of life. Family and friends, career and work, health and finance many areas are covered with great effort made to incorporate all the milestones of life.

First word, first tooth, first day of school, decision to have (and to not have children), loss of a pet, divorce, even paying off your mortgage. All sorts of little things we take for granted in life can be made into magical moments. This book is filled with ideas.

My favourites would have to be.

Mealtime: Give gratitude, the act of saying grace or a prayer each meal is a ritual that will put you in the flow of being thankful. We often rush through eating and do not take the time to really appreciate what we are putting into our bodies. If we did take our time more with this we might be able to listen to our body and make the right decisions of what we should be eating.
Birthday: Make a list of goals, and what you want to accomplish for the next 10 years. Then on a separate sheet of paper write out your past successes. Then on another page write out your regrets. On your birthday read your lists as you light your candles toasting your past successes and looking towards your goals. Before you blow out your candles light your Regrets list from your candles. Make sure you have a firedish or somewhere safe to let it burn. That way your goals can extinguish your regrets. Make your wishes (goals) and blow out your candles.
First Day of School: Before school starts make a treasure map of different items needed for school. (Pencils, lunchbag, notebooks etc.) Hide the items throughout the house and give the map which will lead them to each item and then to the final greatest treasure of them all the School itself.

The book is written by Alexandria a Wiccan High Priestess however the book does not follow any specific set of "ritual rules". The nice thing about the book is anyone can do these "rituals" and they don't even really feel like a "ritual" in the religious sense.

I recommend the book for anyone who wants to make the little things in life special and magical.

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Books I Want To Read

2010-08-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

1.) Start Where You Are, by Chris Garnder: This book is by the man who inspired the movie The Pursuit of Happiness. The title really sounds appealing as I often have trouble knowing where to begin. Where should I start organizing? Where should I start in my goals? How do I get my life on track?

2.) Conversations With God, by Neale Donald Walsch: If you were to talk to God what would you say. This is a story and dialogue between one man and God. I have seen the movie, but I know the book is quite a different experience.

3.) Andy Kaufman Revealed, by Bob Zmuda: Andy's best friend Bob Zmuda's tells of his life with Andy. It is a glimpse into the life of an entertainer who was innovative and ahead of his time. Andy was good at illusion. You never knew for sure what was real and what was not but you were emotionally moved by his performance.

4.) Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill: Regarded as one of the best books of success and I still have not read it. This is the one book in business that keeps coming up and recommended as an addition to any sucess library.

5.) Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin: I started reading this book but let family borrow it before I was done. I still want to finish it. Real life stories are in here of the authors attempt to bring more Happiness into her life. It has chapters on Parenting which looked interesting (and I am not even a parent) as well as other areas of ones life. Its Worth a look.

6.) Savor, by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung: This book is more than its nutritional value. It also covers mindfulness while eating. It seems to be about taking the time to enjoy your food and the experience and being more in touch to your bodies needs.

7.) What Would Buddah Do?, by Franz Metcalf: What a great question! What would he do if his child misbehaves, or if he is stuck in traffic? These day to day things (and more) are covered in this book I saw at Green Earth once. I always seek to emulate the great wise ones and so insight such as this seemed quite interesting.

8.) Alter This!: Radical Ideas For Transforming Books Into Art, by Alena Hennessy Bowers: I love the idea of Altered Books and Art Journalling. I have one book about this exciting crafting hobby and its something I want to work on and develop more.

9.) A Complete Guide to Faeries & Magical Beings, by Cassandra Eason: I was able to browse this book and it looked to be a very detailed encyclopedia of Fae Lore. There are several types of these books out there but this is the best one I have seen. I have not read through it but from what I have seen it looks to be very extensive.

10.) Wizard of Oz Series, L Frank Baum: Not just the one book but all of them seem to be an interesting read as you don't see or hear about them so much. I love owning older copies of books with their antique old look to them. It adds e`xtra personality and age to a library.

11.) SAS Survival Handbook, by John Wiseman: The definitive guide to surviving is something I have looked over but not really read. I find that book to be the most value with lots of information. First Aid, Tracking, Shelters, all sorts of climates are covered int his book written by a soldier in the Special Air Service (SAS)

12.) A Year of Living Generously, by Lawence Scanlan: The author takes a journey answering the question does volunterring really make a differnece. Its a global voyage from Africa to New Orleans after Katrina and Canada (possibly elsewhere) selecting twelve different charitable organizations and spent a month in each. The idea sounds very interesting and I look forward to being able to read about it.

13.) Maus,: A Survivors Tale, by Art Spiegelman: Yes its a Graphic Novel (Comic Book) widely regarded as one of the best stories told in this medium which is usually known for superheroes. It is the story of Vladek Spiegelman, survivor of the Holocaust told in a cartoon-like format with cats as Nazis and the Jews as mice.

1. First list item starts here…

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Monday Musings: The eye of the world is watching Canada

2010-06-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

Monday Musings

Were you shocked at this weekend's news reports of violence in the streets of Toronto? As we approach Canada Day and celebrate being Canadian I reflect on our image as being the friendly nation and how our image in the worlds eye on the weekend was not a good one. I feel saddened by the violent protesters at the G20 summit as I watch the news reports of vandalism as downtown Toronto tries to rebuild itself. I am told that these summits always end in violence, which is why perhaps they thought Canada was a good place to hold it. I am not politically minded and don't really know what the summit was all about While watching the news they referred to the replies appearing on Twitter. The one that stood out was a Toronto native visionary named Lon who said "World leaders! Next time 20 of you want to get together, use Skype." Why was all this money spent on security, why did we not use technology or seclude the meeting unknown to the public? All sorts of questions are raised.

When will people realize that violence is not the answer? I was glad however to hear of other people having their own G20 summit if you will. Peaceful gatherings coordinated on the same weekend. The fine people at Grail Springs chose that weekend to host their own symposium to world change. It was an opportunity for world leaders to get together and discuss ways we can impact our planet and really make some changes. Sadly I was not able to attend. Apparently though they have these events every so often so perhaps another one will come up and I will be able to go.

I also heard through friends on Facebook that they had their own G20 Summit by having a peaceful BBQ with their friends representing Canada, United States, Mexico, Colombia, Serbia and Chile. We have to remember that even though the news tells us of all the violence we still must focus our efforts to Peace and look for the positive that is seldom seen in the news. It is easy to quickly get lost in the news negative outlook because as humans we thrive on chaos. There were countless people in Toronto going down to see what sort of violence might break out. Imagine that!

What I do know is we need more like minded people gathering to discuss peace and focus on solutions rather than focus on all the negatives. Take some time out to let your leaders know how you feel. Don't think that your voice does not matter. We need to start standing up and being heard.

Flickr photo by Commodore Gandalf Cunningham

Freebie Fridays: Grail Lady Faire

2010-06-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Freebie Fridays is a weekly post I do about free offers, giveaways, contests and prizes.

This week I present...

The Grail Lady Faire!

For Women Who Care About Their Planet

June 27 to July 4

"The Enlightened Woodstock for Women"

Imagine a gathering of women dedicated to healing our planet. This event is being hosted by Grail Springs and is available to women ages 15-25 for FREE! Grail Springs is a spiritual retreat in Bancroft Ontario located north of Toronto nestled within the beautiful forests of northern Ontario. The retreat has a beautiful curative alkaline based spring lake and a stone labyrinth. The 7 days include workshops, keynote speakers, music, shopping and an opportunity for networking and connecting with other women that want to make a difference.

For more information check out their website

Bloggers Unite For Gulf Oil Spill

2010-06-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

Once again I am partnering with Bloggers Unite this time to help with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the BBC News the estimates are that the spill has killed 250,000 sea birds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbour seals, 250 bald eagles, and up to 22 killer whales, as well as billions of salmon and herring eggs.

As work continues to stop the spill so does the efforts for the relief of the damage that it has caused. How can you help? I have provided a few links to help.

How To Help The Gulf Oil Spill Response - Some phone numbers and organizations to connect with to help

The Spill Site - A list of all the organizations working to assist in the current crisis.

Dawn Dish Soap is working to help in the relief effort by donating one dollar for each purchase of their dish soap. You have to go to the website to be able to register your bottle. You can also be apart of the community by joining them on Facebook.

I invite you to take a moment to be apart of the solution as we are facing the worst oil spill disaster in history. The consequences will be felt for a long time.

Tea Wisdom

2010-05-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

Flickr Photo by jessica.garro

"Live from your heart you will be most effective"

2010-05-18T16:35:00.000-07:00

Choosing To Be (Lessons in Living from a Feline Zen master)
Author: Kat Tansey
Publisher: iUniverse Star
Page Count: 143

"I have lived with several Zen Masters -- all of them cats." - Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now

Summary: Kat journeys through her depression with the wisdom of her Zen Master teachers. (her cats)

This book takes Buddist wisdom from the point of view of the cats that live with the author. Written as a true account of the authors trials through her personal depression the book outlines meditation and how to deal with hindrances such as Clinging, Anger, Sleepiness, Restlessness and Doubt.

I most identified with this book because I too have several cats that are always teaching me. (patience in their case) Anyone who has a love for cats will be able to understand much of what the book says. No previous knowledge of Buddism is required for this book which is nice. Each chapter begins with a picture of a cat and some sort of quote to set up the next chapter.

The book is written as a story with the spiritual nuggets thrown in. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what kind of person you are. One can get lost in the story and have to really re-read and think about the message, while others may enjoy the subtlety.

The book also includes suggestions for further reading bibliography, and the sources for all the quotes that appear in the book.

Now I am off for a cat nap myself!

Go Take A Walk

2010-05-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

photo by Photo8

I took a walk to the store today and it became a magical experience just by paying attention. Sometimes we need to shift our energy and get out of the rut we are in. We spend too much time indoors it seems. TV, Internet, Video Games, are all distractions that when unbalanced can overrun our lives and leave us apathetic and bored with life.

Going for a walk can allow us to reconnect with nature and the beauty of life around us. On my walk I was able to breathe in the air, see the trees and animals (birds, squirrels, cats, and dogs) Not only that but I also saw

A girl singing along listening to her mp3 player
Waiting on the porch a grandmother playing with her grandaughter who had arrived to visit her
Several boys playing with a basketball and bouncing it on the porch trying to get it to bounce on each step
A teenaged boy sneaking up on a girl embracing her and tickling

Not only did I see these things but I allowed myself to share in the emotion of the moment. I smiled as the boys cried out "YES!" as they acheived success. I could feel the playful nature of the teenagers and of the grandmother. As I watched I smiled and she smiled back making that connection.

Thats all that life is a series of connections.

On my walk it wasn't all positive energy though there was one lady honking her horn several times waiting outside of someones house. Then she proceeded to bang on the door angry for whatever reason. While I did not share in the emotion I watched anyway sending positive thoughts towards her and the house.

A simple thing as a walk can be magical experience, and otherwise might have been an uneventful walk where I only noticed the loud angry woman. I invite you to take a walk and share your thoughts, what you saw and felt. .

Imagine what could happen "In A Day"

2010-05-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

I was at the video store and rented this one. Its an award winning (Rhode Island Film Festival and Santa Cruz Film Festival) inspirational movie starring Finlay Robertson and Lorraine Pilkington two unknown actors really. It tells the story of Ashley a woman that works at a sandwich shop whose day starts out bad. She meets Michael and through a series of events her life is transformed (as well as the life of others around her)

You could say it is a love story but it's more than that. It ties together the idea of synchronicity in a way that is subtle but effective. Michael appears as a stranger who tells her that today is her day and his motives for being so kind to her are not known until the end. Romantic interest or darker motivations, or perhaps something else entirely.

The story progresses nicely and you don't entirely know what to expect. The movie is set in the U.K. so sometimes it makes references that someone not from that area of the world may not understand. There is also a scene that contains some heavy language and adult sexual dialogue (a man berates and insults Ashley - this is what sets off her bad day) so its not suitable to children.

I enjoyed the movie and will buy it when I can.

Validation - Short Film

2010-05-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

I welcome you to check out this short movie from director Kurt Kuenne posted to YouTube. I found it at The Spiritual Media Blog. This movie really shows us the power of a kind word and a smile. I have recently been trying to decide where to go in life, as I have had a change in jobs. This movie inspired me to think outside the box on what career to pursue. This movie showed how one person doing a simple job could make a big change. I am passionate about helping others and awakening them to their full potential and in this movie we see the main character do just that as parking attendant.

Later the movie also shows how a photographer can cause change in a person and awaken their pure potentiality. I don't want to give too much away but this spoke to me because I have often thought of photography as a career idea. I have been wanting to study and learn photography as I often see beauty around me and would like to capture it.

I invite you to watch this short and let it make you smile and open your potentiality.

Validation movie

Bloggers Unite For Haiti

2010-05-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

Alright for my first post (Not counting my introduction) I would like to talk to you about something that happened the other day.

I was visiting a friend and they were on their laptop looking something up on Google. Now I don't know what exactly happened but somehow they were taken to a page on Google's efforts to help the injured in Haiti. Now this friend is the kind of person who doesn't always get along with his computer.

You know the type as I am sure you have one in your life. He watches as the computer freezes and moves incredibly slow and this person is usually screaming at it and getting frustrated. Well that's what was happening here.

My friend (Who is a genuine nice guy) was suddenly without warning taken to this page talking about helping out those unfortunate to have been hit with the disaster in Haiti. At this point he was already having issues with the computer being slow when this happened so naturally he was annoyed.

His reaction?

"Dammit! I don't care about Haiti" He was inconvenienced and he was showing how he felt aloud.

I of course inquired "you don't care?" He of course realized what he had said in that moment and corrected himself. But I belive this happens too often. We who live in areas free of natural disasters are comfortable in our little lives far away from these catastrophes we see on the news. "It doesn't affect me directly" we might say.

Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, only you can decide for yourself. I would ask you to stop and take a moment to be grateful that it hasn't happened to you. For a moment pretend you are the one in the middle of the disaster with no home, no food, and scarce medical supplies. Maybe pretend even that you are the one giving aid and helping out. What would it be like to see the disaster first hand. Search out some videos online to get an idea of what is going on there. Become educated maybe even help.

You can donate through Red Cross and several other organizations. Of course be aware of scams so be cautious and trust your instincts.

Take a moment before you go to bed tonight, take a moment to be grateful you have food, a roof over your head and are in relative good health. Are the things wrong in your life so bad as you may think they are? Could they be worse?

I am grateful for all that I have and I work to help others because its what I would want if I was laying there waiting for help. Check out Bloggers Unite for more stories and thoughts on this issue.