Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.”
Wow! Think about it… How would you handle these situations? Although they are definitely different—a rainy day is a lot less challenging to deal with than losing your luggage—I believe that that key ingredient needed here is perspective and gratitude.

For example, if it’s pouring you could perhaps think of it as the universe’s way of watering the earth and giving the sun a rest J. One big lesson that I’ve learned over the years is to never let the weather dictate your mood. The point is to find a way to look at the positive side. If your luggage disappears, maybe be grateful that you arrived safely (even if your bags took another route). As for tangled Christmas tree lights, they just require patience and perseverance to fix.

Each one of these situations is an example of the many kinds of challenges that we all face in our lives and none of them should derail you. Remember: You always have the ability to choose your perspective and practice your gratitude every moment of the day. It’s up to you!

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More

We seem to be so busy all the time—always going, doing and distracting ourselves, that we rarely consciously connect with our bodies. When was the last time you asked yourself, “How do I feel right now?”

Do it now. Ask yourself how you are feeling. Hungry? Tired? A bit of pain in your back? It’s a good practice to notice the sensations of your body and breath (without judging them as good or bad) at least three times a day.

Take the opportunity during those three body check-ins to purposefully relax: Take three long, slow, deep breaths (in and out of your nose). Then, relax your body, whether sitting or standing. Feel your feet on the floor; notice your weight and balance; relax your arms and hands; straighten your spine; relax your shoulders, face, eyes, jaw, and forehead.

This little exercise helps to slow down the reactivity center of the brain. It wakes up your parasympathetic nervous system and can alleviate a lot of stress. Choose your three times (for example 10am, 2pm, 6pm)—you can set reminders on your phone. Stop what you’re doing and ask yourself how you feel… then give some attention, relaxation, and appreciation to that amazing machine called your body!

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More

One of the advanced techniques that I’m learning in my meditation teacher training program is to notice the kinds of thoughts we have. My instructor told us: Be ridiculously in charge of your attention. I love those words.

Of course, everyone’s “ridiculously in charge” means something different. So think about what it means for you. Whatever will help you be more in control of where you place your attention is a win-win.

The way to put this into practice is by noticing. You can begin by stopping yourself at various times during the day and evening and asking yourself, “where am I placing my attention right now? What am I thinking about?” The key here is just to notice.

It may sound simple but most of us don’t do this. It takes some effort to remember to question yourself. The first step toward any kind of positive change is awareness—and it’s an important step toward living a more mindful, peaceful life.

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More

Discipline is remembering what you want. I love the meaning of those words.

We often associate discipline with toughness, sticking to rules, something that’s difficult or unpleasant. But discipline can have a much more positive vibe. I love thinking about it in terms of remembering what you want—with every choice you make.

It fills me with hope—with excitement and motivation, too— to accomplish what I need to do to get what I want. For example: If you want to lose weight, you need discipline to make healthier food choices, and discipline to follow an exercise routine. If you want to meditate, you need the discipline to learn how to do it, and to make the time for it on a consistent basis. You get the idea.

But… here’s where discipline comes into play: When faced with the choice to eat a cupcake or go for a walk, you need to remember what you want. When you have just enough time to meditate or empty the dishwasher—remember what you want! The only thing holding you back is forgetting what you really want and allowing poor choices to take control, such as eating foods you know won’t make you feel good, drinking too much, staying in toxic relationships, or simply not listening to your gut.

If you need reminders—and we all do—post photos that inspire you, follow people online who inspire you, or write down what you want on post-Its and stick them around your home. Try to ignore the naysayers as much as possible! Any (or all) of these tactics will hopefully help you stay on track with your discipline!


To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More

How do you exercise your creativity muscle? Do you cook? Knit? Make beautiful flower arrangements? Play an instrument? Take great photos? Make amazing playlists?

Seventy-five percent of people feel that they are not living up to their creative potential—how sad is that? Life is not meant to be so hard that there is no time for fun! No matter how busy you are or how hard you work, it’s so important for your mental and physical health to enjoy yourself and express your innate creativity.

Shout out to my sister-in law Marci Garson, who realized only a year and a half ago that she has the amazing artistic gift of painting! She now is creating, sharing, and selling her work so that other people can enjoy it, too.

Go ahead! Sample a variety of things or immerse yourself in the one pursuit that you have always wanted to try. Remember, you don’t have to have a specific talent —anything from experimenting with a new recipe to creating a mood board (maybe on Pinterest) can give you that creative boost. You’ll know when you feel your creative juices flowing —you’ll feel it! Above all, enjoy yourself—you deserve it!


To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More

We all need to know… You cannot please everyone all the time. If your natural inclination is to be a people pleaser, this can be tough to do but it’s so important for your mental health!

Be conscious of your priorities and stick to them. If you experience a situation in which you feel (after the fact) that you may have made a wrong choice—that’s okay! Just learn from it for the next time. And when “next time” happens and you’re faced with a similar situation, stop and ask yourself, “why does this feel familiar?”

Think about the previous time you felt uncomfortable—and make a better choice for yourself.

The most important thing for every situation whether you are happy with the way you dealt with it or not, is to avoid feeling guilty or shameful about your response or reaction. Just notice how you feel and recognize that it’s not comfortable. But… DO NOT let it seep into the rest of your day or night. Either address it (or not) when you feel the time is right, but until then get present, learn from it, and MOVE ON!

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More

We often look outside of ourselves for motivation. But the best kind of motivation is self-motivation… and you CAN find it within yourself!

Believing that you can do it, that it will work, and that it is worth it will help drive you toward your goal(s). According to research, there are three questions you can ask to determine whether you (or someone in your life) is self-motivated:

1. Can you do it?

2. Will it work?

3. Is it worth it?

If you believe you can do it, you have self-efficacy. If you believe it will work, you have response efficacy (a belief that the action you are taking will lead to the outcome you want). And if you believe it is worth it, you have weighed the cost against the consequences and decided the consequences are worth it.

Here are a few tips to help you and keep you on track:

• Spend time with motivated, enthusiastic, supportive people.
• Cultivate a positive mindset and build your optimism and resilience. (You can do this by reading my Motivational Mondays!)
• Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and work on them.
• Avoid procrastination and improve on your time management skills.
• Get help when you need it and be willing to help others succeed too.

Although it’s okay to occasionally use external sources to motivate you, keep in mind that external motivation is less likely to leave you feeling personally fulfilled. Not only do we generally do better work when we are self-motivated, but we are also better able to cope with stress and are simply happier in general!

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More

You don’t have to be controlled by your body and mind. You have the power to tell them what to do—and taking matters into your own hands can be life changing!

The secret is the vagus nerve—a main element of the parasympathetic nervous system. It influences your breathing, digestion, and heart rate, all of which can have a huge impact on your mental state. By stimulating this nerve, you can send a message to your body that it’s time to relax and de-stress, which then leads to long-term improvements in mood, resilience, and overall wellbeing.

However,what we really need to focus on is the "tone" of your vagus nerve. Increasing your vagal tone activates the relaxing part of the parasympathetic nervous system—and having higher vagal tone means that your body can calm down faster after stress. Stress is inevitable but bouncing back quicker is the key!

You can reap the benefits of vagus nerve stimulation naturally with these 9 tips:

1.Cold Exposure. Exposing yourself to cold on a regular basis can lower your sympathetic “fight or flight” response. Try ending your shower with at least 30 seconds of icy water. See how you feel. Then, if possible, try to make it a bit longer.
2. Slow, Deep Breathing. Taking slow, deep breaths are another way to reach a state of relaxation. Try taking about 6 breaths a minute. Breathe in and out of your nose, deeply from your diaphragm.
3. Singing, Humming, Chanting and Gargling. The vagus nerve is connected to your vocal cords and the muscles at the back of your throat. Sing out loud, hum often, chant (if you choose), and gargle to activate these muscles. I have always instinctively sung or hummed whenever I got a shot or blood test to take my mind off it—now I know why!
4. Probiotics. It’s becoming increasingly clear to researchers that a healthy gut microbiome improves brain function by affecting the vagus nerve. Take a probiotic supplement or eat foods that are naturally high in probiotics such as yogurt, kefir, miso, kimchee, sauerkraut, and pickles.
5. Meditation. This is a very effective relaxation technique (when you don’t judge yourself) and it can stimulate the vagus nerve. Sit in stillness and follow your breath for 5 minutes a day.
6. Omega-3 Fatty Acids. These are essential fats that your body can’t produce itself but are critical for normal functioning of your brain and nervous system. Eat omega-3 rich foods such as wild salmon, oysters, sardines, walnuts, flax seeds, and chia seeds.
7. Exercise. Aside from the obvious benefits, exercise has also been shown to stimulate the vagus nerve. It reduces cognitive decline and is extremely beneficial for brain function and mental health. Choose a sport or exercise (walking, weightlifting, yoga) routine that you enjoy, so that you will stick with it.
8. Massage. Research shows that massage can increase vagal activity and vagal tone. Try to get a massage or do a self-massage as often as you can.
9. Laugh! Socializing and laughing stimulates the vagus nerve. Laughter has been shown to increase heart-rate variability and improve your mood. Hang out with your friends and laugh as much as possible!

While I know this is a lot—YOU deserve to treat yourself well. Take care of your vagus nerve and it will take care of you!
To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More

We often think that to be valuable, we need to do or be something extraordinary. Not true! You are already valuable—you need to realize it! Once you know it—really know it—you can show it!

Michelangelo once said that when he was commissioned to create a statue, he would go to the quarry and select a large piece of marble. He imagined that God had already created the statue, and that his job was to just get rid of the excess marble.

We can apply this principle to our lives. Our job is to get rid of whatever is obscuring the light of our soul so our true self—our value—can be revealed.

How to know when something (or someone) is getting in your way? You’ll know it in your gut—that intuitive sensation that lets you know when something isn’t right. So, this week, pay attention to the various situations you find yourself in and just notice how you feel (in your mind and your body) and…… if you are allowing your soul to shine!

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More

I heard someone say this the other day and I thought how true this can be.

How many times have you responded to a text or an email while upset or angry and then felt awful about it?

DO IT BY PHONE!!!!!!

Texts or emails just don’t convey what the spoken word can. And…. As you know- you can’t undo the written word—but you can explain yourself in a conversation.

The same holds true for social media posts – be thoughtful about what you write in your on-line posts because they can be misconstrued and will last forever.

The next time you are about to let off steam in writing- think about what you want the other person to know. Find the words that express your sentiments in a way that you feel they will most likely understand. Remember, it’s not as much what you say as how you say it. Don’t write it, pick up the phone…. And give them a call!

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More

I love order and neatness both in my physical space and in my mind—you know I’m all about mental clarity! However, we all have times in our lives when we must deal with messy emotional situations and homes that have become cluttered and disorganized. Facing either one (or both) can cause uneasiness and anxiety which affects our mood and behavior.

In addition to my life’s everyday ups and downs, I’m going through a move right now (which they say is a stressor right up there with death and divorce). It most certainly is difficult for me to look at, but I’ve made the conscious choice to “say yes to the mess.”

I see the chaos all around me and instead of panicking I am accepting it and reminding myself that not only is it temporary, but I’ll soon be able to create beautiful new spaces in my next home. When we say “no” to our situation—i.e., don’t accept it for what it is—we tend to create unhappiness and angst for ourselves and others.

So, today’s message is two-fold: First, practice saying “yes to the mess” when needed, and second, use the practice of remembering that nothing is permanent (be it physical or emotional).

Acceptance is the key here. Acceptance creates the basis for inner peace, and it enables our ability to savor life with gratitude for all our blessings—even in the midst of a mess.


To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More

Would you consider yourself to be more mindful, or mindless? Do you normally feel present and engaged, or reactive and uninspired? Practicing being mindful is the key to changing up your habitual responses and freeing yourself from existing on “autopilot.”

Here’s how to practice: Choose a cue to remind yourself to be mindful. It could be when your phone rings, (or when you're going to make a call), when you first get into your car, when you begin a meal, or even when you do the dishes. Use the cue to remind yourself to take a deep breath, relax your body, and get present.

Mindfulness is when you are completely engaged in what you’re doing while you are doing it, without judging it. There are so many benefits to mindfulness including reduced stress, increased focus, and better decision -making moment by moment, and day by day.

When you are living mindfully, you’ll be aware of all the “aha” moments, coincidences, wonders, and beauty that surrounds you—and you’ll experience the world in a completely different way!


To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

Read More