Breathe

The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.
- Sydney Harris

Persevere. Plan. Strategize. Focus. Breathe. Write.
Let go: relax. Forgive. All this failing: take a nap.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

They don't call them DEADlines for nothing - keep breathing.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Let this season of joy truly be a season of joy. It is far too easy to get caught up in the DOing, and forget to relax, to love, and to enjoy. Stop, look around, breathe, be grateful for everything.

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Further reading: Conscious Breathing to Relieve Stress

Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now

Say NO to Stress

Seven Tips for Stress-Free Living

Breathe Quotes

Relax Quotes

Quotes about Inner Peace

Quotes about Serenity

Quotes about Simplicity

Albert Einstein: He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.
- Albert Einstein

From wonder into wonder existence opens.
- Lao Tzu

*** Are you ready to take the next step? Read the praise from those who have taken my Regaining Your Happiness in Seven Weeks e-Training Program. Consider beginning the Happiness e-Training now.

Further reading: Visualize a kinder world

Lao Tzu: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished

Rabindranath Tagore: Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.

Feel Your Connection With the Infinite - a Meditation

I Am One With Spirit and All Creation - I give thanks for the unity of all creation and for everything that has brought me to this moment. I release my entire being to the gentle nurture of Spirit.

Whenever it appears that life's troubles are conspiring against me, I find great comfort in this simple meditation...

Choose a quiet place and sit comfortably but erect in a chair with no arms. Remove your glasses, watch, jewelry and metal objects.

Place your feet flat on the floor. Lift your arms off your lap and extend them slightly to the side.

Close your eyes and begin to breathe deeply and rhythmically. Keeping your eyes shut, raise your chin slightly and focus your inner gaze upward.

With each in-breath, visualize clean white energy streaming in through the top of your head. Feel the renewal, the strength, the connection with Spirit and all creation. Feel the wellbeing, the relaxation, the sense of peace. Let the corners of your mouth form just the slightest smile of contentment in the knowing that all is right with your world.

On each out-breath, visualize dark clouds of stale energy leaving from the soles of your feet. Feel the tensions, the angers, the frustrations draining from your body. Feel all your fears and stress falling away as the dark cloud drifts toward the center of the earth.

As you continue breathing slowly, in and out, visualizing the new energy entering and the old energy leaving, the energy leaving through the soles of your feet will grow lighter, changing from black to dark gray to a lighter gray.

When the color of the energy you are exhaling has become almost as bright as the clean new energy that you are breathing in through the crown of your head, the process is complete.

Feel renewed and at peace with Spirit, with the world, with all people and beings, with yourself, with your past, your present and your future.

Give thanks for all that ever has been, all that is, and all that ever will be.

Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now

Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now

1. Smile. Raise the corners of your mouth. Soon your smile will become genuine. The smile that begins as an effort and a pretense quickly grows to become genuine, and given time, a habit of happiness. In the words of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, "Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."

2. Breathe deeply and slowly. Focus your entire attention on each in-breath and out-breath. Imagine drawing new clean energy in through the top of your head on each in-breath, and expelling old stale energy out the soles of your feet on each out-breath.

3. Take a quiet walk by yourself. Focus on each step and on your breathing. As stray thoughts enter your mind, thank each one, and quickly release the thought and return to a focus on your breathing and your steps.

4. Count your blessings. Make a gratitude list. You have thousands of reasons to be thankful. Be thankful for those who serve you. Make a list of those you depend upon. Everyone has many people who help along the way. Don't forget those who grow and deliver your food, keep your electricity and telephone running, provide emergency medical care, and protect the safety of your community and your nation.

5. Forgive someone for something right now. Release the resentment and anger. This practice is for you to become happier. Telling the other person that you forgive them is completely optional, and is merely a bonus.

6. Stretch your body. Do yoga, do qigong, or just stand and stretch. As a simple stretch, stand and hold your arms out to your sides forming a cross. Gently bend each hand back at the wrist until the fingers point straight upward. Twist each hand and arm in a wringing motion as if you were operating a screwdriver.

7. Turn on happy music and dance. Don't stop 'til you're tired. Dance with someone or dance all by yourself. Choose music that makes you want to move and keep moving such as Latin Fitness Dance music.

8. Spend some time with a furry friend. If you don't have your own, borrow a cat or dog to love today.

9. Be of service. Find someone who has worse troubles than you and do something nice for them today.

10. Have a conversation with God (or whatever you call your Higher Power). Approach the conversation with an attitude of gratitude rather than neediness.

Further reading: Go With the Flow - Six Ways to Live a Happier Life

Gratitude itself is a source of joy. - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Stop Anger Before It Stops You

How To Stop Worrying By Using the Qigong Release Exercise

What To Do When Your Whole World Is Falling Apart?

How to get over regrets and resentments

Having a Bad Hair Day?

I call the bird in the photo "Bad Hair Heron." Ever had a bad hair day - a day when everything seemed to be going wrong? Perhaps today is a day to soothe your ruffled feathers, take a deep breath, and reaffirm that the weight of the world is really not on your shoulders, unless you choose to assume that burden.

Let me bring peace into moments of chaos - jlh

Let me bring peace into moments of chaos.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

How often we have times that try our patience and our sanity. Our boss is having an angry day and makes unreasonable demands. The driver in the next lane gives us the finger. Our neighbor rants how if he ran the town, he would just kill off all the dogs and cats, and if he were president, he would just bomb all the SOBs. Our instinctive reaction is to get angry and fight back.

In times like that, pause, and consider how life looks to that other individual. Although they are acting belligerent, in truth they are very much afraid of life. In their reality, life is a dangerous and fearful undertaking, and their instinct is to respond aggressively to that perceived danger.

At such times, consider breathing deeply and slowly, and thinking compassionate thoughts about that person. If it fits your belief system, pray for the anger, pain, hatred, and fear to be washed from their souls. If it fits your belief system, have an intention for their well-being, and send them healing energy. Whatever your belief system, know that they are troubled and wish inner-peace for them.

I strongly recommend that you express your prayers and intentions silently. Saying openly to an angry person, "I pray for you to receive inner-peace." is almost certain to provoke an even angrier reaction.

By establishing a compassionate intention toward an angry person, you can then maintain your own inner peace as you interact with them.

UNITY - the eighth Point of Simply An Inspired Life

UNITY - the eighth Point of Simply An Inspired Life

I Am One With Spirit and All Creation - I give thanks for the unity of all creation and for everything that has brought me to this moment. I release my entire being to the gentle nurture of Spirit.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing,
there is a field. I will meet you there. - Rumi

As we light a path for others, we naturally light our own way.
- mary anne radmacher

When the vast cathedral of our being becomes a sanctuary for all creation, we become the face of God.
- jonathan lockwood huie

Feel Unity with Spirit and All Creation
All things share the same breath the
beast, the tree, the man... the air
shares its spirit with all the life it supports.
- Chief Seattle

When I see Spirit in Everything, Peace is at hand.

UNITY ‐ we are all one ‐ the web of life.

You are never alone. Your Higher Power, whatever that means to
you, is a constant support ‐ never hesitate to ask for guidance and
blessing. Remember that Spirit knows better than you what is best
for you, so ask for comfort and affluence rather than the affections of
a particular person or a higher paying job. Whatever your
circumstances, and however often you may have felt rejected, there
are many people in this world who live in the tradition of the "Good
Samaritan." When troubles weigh upon you, do not hesitate to find
and rely upon these people ‐ they are far more numerous than you
think.

Know Unity With Spirit: There are as many ways to connect with
Spirit as there are people ‐ each of us has our own way to receive
strength and serenity from the Infinite. Your life will be happier if
you acknowledge that you are not alone, become open to that
presence, and create ritual to celebrate your connection. You may
feel your bond with Spirit at the Lord's Supper, in Songs of Praise, in
Calls to Prayer, in Meditation, while doing Yoga or Qigong, or while
walking in the woods. However you connect with Spirit, do it today.

My wish, today, for each of you is Joy, Honor, acceptance of diversity,
and Unity with Spirit and All Creation.

May your spirit soar throughout the vast cathedral of your being.
May your mind whirl joyful cartwheels of creativity.
May your heart sing sweet lullabies of timelessness.

Self-respect is not a function of size, age, or wealth. - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Self-respect is not a function of size, age, or wealth. Breathe deep, sing loud and sweet, "I am me, I am unique, I am magnificent."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Stop Anger Before It Stops You - 7 Secrets - jonathan lockwood huie

Stop Anger Before It Stops You - 7 Secrets
- jonathan lockwood huie

Being angry is as close as a human being can come to experiencing hell on earth.
- jonathan lockwood huie

Anger is something that each one of us has experienced - some of us only occasionally, some almost daily. Can we eliminate all anger? Probably not. We will always have expectations, and those expectations will often be unmet. Disappointment is the principle cause of anger. When we are disappointed, we look for someone to blame. Declaring someone to be at fault is the nature of anger. Anger is always directed at someone - possibly God or the non-specific they, but some animate entity.

You've told yourself a hundred times that you aren't going to get angry - really angry - ever again, but wham, you start to feel that telltale heat, locked shoulders, clenched jaw, shallow breathing. Someone has just done something really awful and you are angry at them. What now?

Here are my 7 Secrets to Stop Anger before It Stops You:

1. Recognize when you are angry: It may not immediately occur to you that you are angry. You know that you have been wronged, and you can see everyone around you take a step back, but especially if you are really angry, it may take a while to gain the clarity to acknowledge your anger. Anger clouds perception and thinking, so make a special effort to spot it early and put it into words, "I am angry."

2. Breathe deeply: Concentrate on taking slow deep breaths. Sometimes this is all it takes to break out of anger and gain clarity on the issue. At other times, breathing deeply is just a beginning, but it paves the way for the rest of the secrets.

3. Focus your anger: Get clear what you are angry about and who you are angry at. Talk to yourself, "I am angry at Joe because he ..." Don't let your anger expand onto innocent bystanders, especially those trying to help calm you down. Don't refocus your anger onto everything that Joe has ever done or failed to do.

4. Remember that you are in charge: Anger is an expression of frustration and helplessness. Remember that you always have options - you can design your own life. No one can steal your happiness - unless you let them.

5. Look for the silver lining: There is a silver lining to every disappointment. Your boss fired you and you are furious. Probably it was a blessing. Now you have the opportunity to get a better job that you really enjoy.

6. Consider forgiveness: Angry and happy don't mix. Flush out the angry, and the happy has a place to put down roots. Forgive everyone for everything in order to give anger and resentment a chance to fade. Forgive and you can become happy. Forgiving is not a gift to someone else - Forgiving is our gift to ourselves - a great gift - the gift of happiness.

7. Accept that Life is NOT "Supposed to be Fair": Know that there is no single way that life is "supposed" to be. Demanding that life meet our expectations is a sure fire recipe for a miserable existence. Life is a game with no rules. Life just happens to us regardless of our best intentions. To choose happiness, be open to receiving whatever life throws at you - with Gratitude. Have NO Expectations of life.

Chief Seattle: All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man... the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports

All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man... the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.
- Chief Seattle

UNITY - we are all one - the web of life.

"Hurry up" ranks right up there with "you need to" as a destroyer of our humanity - jlh

"Hurry up" ranks right up there with "you need to" as a destroyer of our humanity.
- jonathan lockwood huie

Why hurry? Why the urgency? What is the worst that could happen if you didn't meet someone's deadline? Is a deadline worth your health and happiness? Consider a gentler, quieter, slower life. Pause to smell the roses, to breathe, to take quiet moments for yourself.

It's a beautiful world

It's a beautiful world.

Take time today to appreciate beauty - natural beauty, art, people. Slow down, breathe deeply, smile. It's a beautiful world.

Choose Inner Peace

Choose Inner Peace.

Nothing is worth losing your inner peace. Take action as circumstances require, but never surrender your inner peace. Stop. Breathe deeply. Close your eyes and breathe deeply again. Then, and only then, take action - from a peaceful heart.

Angry? Pause. Breathe deeply.

Being angry is as close as a human being can come to experiencing hell on earth. - jonathan lockwood huie Angry? Pause. Breathe deeply. Step back and look at the issue from a new perspective. If you want more, read Jonathan's article Stop Anger Before It Stops You - 7 Secrets

Jonathan's article 7 Secrets for a Happy Life was selected for the 11/3/08 issue of the 200,000+ subscriber Daily SelfGrowth.com Motivational Newsletter.

Fly Life on Free Wings, and Sing to its Glory. - jlh

Fly Life on Free Wings, and Sing to its Glory. - jlh Like a bird in flight, your life can soar above the troubles of the world. Breathe deep, choose, and break the shackles of your past.

A quote from LIVE BOLDLY An "always been" does not mean I must choose "what must be." - mary anne radmacher