Courage and Vulnerability

Are you courageous? Are you vulnerable? Can you be both courageous and vulnerable at the same time? Being courageous is not only about being brave - it's about acting from the heart. Heart centered actions can make you feel vulnerable. You are opening yourself to being wounded. This does not mean that you WILL be wounded -only that the action you are taking opens you to the possibility. You cannot be vulnerable if your heart is not in whatever you are undertaking.
 Heart centered relationships, stage fright, publishing videos and blogs...these are some challenges for me. I feel vulnerable with super energized "flighty" feelings inside along with cold hands and feet! I am learning to harness this energy as I understand that it is heart based. If I did not love the people involved or care about my desire to always give my best I would not experience that energy. Knowing this now helps me to ground myself and take the required courageous action. This is definitely a work in progress ;^) .  This week's video is about one of my recent adventures with courage and vulnerability.

http://youtu.be/Jhml9RVrB7Q
What are the experiences in your life that require courage and vulnerability? Please share or leave a comment below!

The Music You Choose

I am so taken with the film ALIVE INSIDE. It is about how Dan Cohen discovered that  people with Alzheimers- even in advanced stages- come alive when they hear music they have known and loved. http://www.aliveinside.us/#land  It is currently available as  livestreaming on Netflix.
It got me to thinking. Why not really listen to the music we love everyday? I mean really listen - no texting, reading, or any activity ( except maybe dancing to embody the music). Just for a few minutes every day. If music we love can bring us out of Alzheimers for awhile, think how it can enhance our daily life- if we truly listen - not use it as background noise!
Have you noticed how the music you choose can change or enhance your mood? What you choose to listen to is an excellent indicator of your current emotional state and sense of well-being.
Have you seen the film?  I would love some comments here, on Facebook , on Youtube , or email me!
Here is my video on the subject:http://youtu.be/4_08cHYKk8A

Eccentric Glamour by Simon Doonan -Advanced Style for beginners?

Some of you know I LOVE  Advanced Style both the blog advancedstyle.blogspot.com/  and the film advancedstylefilm.com/ by Ari Seth Cohen. Gorgeous people expressing themselves - not just in their dress but in the way they live full out on their own terms. Ageless Beauty Embodiment and Crazy Beautiful to the max!
 One of my Crazy Beautiful friends, Laura Madden www.laura-madden.com/ recommended that I read Eccentric Glamour by Simon Doonan. Thank you, Laura! It is  an extremely entertaining book. Rapier sharp wit  with  advice on discovering the eccentric glamour that is exclusively YOU! Why not get dressed in clothes that express the eccentric glamour that is your unique style?
 Why are so many of us schlepping around in dull, boring, often unattractive, ill fitting clothes? Admittedly this book offers extreme examples of eccentric glamour (desperate cases require desperate remedies). I found the book very funny- I am sure my abs are in better shape after laughing so hard  all the way through it. It also got me to thinking.  I really do not fit any of Simon Doonan's basic types- but still...Why not wear what I really want to wear? 
Thanks to Simon Doonan I am on a mission to sew some 1950s vintage full skirted nipped in waist style dresses for spring and summer. I have already found some vintage patterns and I can cobble some together with some patterns that I already had. I LOVE making my own designs. Now the search is on for a proper 50s petticoat to make the skirts flare out ! 
Winter is a bit more of a challenge. I need to keep warm! I do like leggings with tunics...but they need vamping up with some scarves and jewellry- and why shouldn't I wear a tiara sometimes?
I made a video about the book ( part of my 52 Videos in 52 Weeks Challenge set by Michelle White Hart http://www.michellewhitehart.com
Here is the link for the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdSsgJ2Hk_c

One Life One Purpose Challenge set by Kristen Domingue

I just finished the One Life One Purpose Challenge set by Kristen Domingue on Facebook.
The hardest part is today- writing and posting! a love letter to myself..... and posting a video about the experience.

Hi Sweetheart!
You are making so much progress becoming more visible with your videos and showing up on various groups. The One Life One Purpose Challenge took some courage!- some of the exercises were a bit daunting. This work has been excellent preparation for the Webinar /Workshop tomorrow and Wedenesday.
Continue to Dance with Life, Love What Is Now, Appreciate Your Beauty and Let Your Light Shine!
Keep listening within and your Purpose will be revealed. By doing these things you lead the way for others to make their own discoveries!

http://youtu.be/9CiuKvQYIAI

Happy Even If.. and Playing on Pinterest

YAY! I am caught up on my 52 Videos in 52 Weeks Challenge after falling behind over the holidays. This week is about being happy even when circumstances are less than optimal and playing on Pinterest. Please look at the videos and send me some constructive criticism or comments.http://youtu.be/50MtPtMvxCY
 http://youtu.be/-DIJgdq-j-A

Sunny Day in January

Here is another video for the 52 Videos In 52 Weeks Challenge  set by Michelle White Hart . It was the first fully sunny day of 2015 where I live and I thought the natural light would be bright enough. It was not :^(   - as you can see. I apologise for the poor visual quality-lesson learned!
  http://youtu.be/T2QIV76mjao

Even though we have turned the corner and technically the light is returning, the days here are still very short and most of them have been grey and gloomy. No wonder most people's resolutions to get in shape, get organized, get a major project launched  are hard (or almost impossible!) to keep.

This is not to say that we cannot begin by taking small steps in the direction of our plans and dreams now. Just a more gentle approach! It seems to me that this is a time to dream and plan while nurturing and refining our plans and dreams. It is a time to nurture ourselves as well. Time to pay attention to our bodies by eating foods that nourish us and make us feel good.Time to rest - take naps, read enjoyable books, listen to music, take walks outside on dry days - have impromptu  dance parties with ourselves on cold gloomy days, write out or doodle/draw our dreams and plans. Have a bit of fun editing our closets - letting go of some of the clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories that no longer enhance our appearance to make way for new things that fit well and look good!
 As warmth and light return to the Northern Hemisphere we will have the energy to take inspired action in the spring.

Having Fun Along the Way-Are You Having Any Fun?

Here we are in 2015! Have you made resolutions? Have you set any goals? This year not only am I not making resolutions- I am not setting any goals. Not because I do not want to accomplish things. This year I want to have fun along the way to what I want to make my life lovelier. I want to respond to opportunities and receive inspiration and then take action- not plan in advance . Does this sound crazy? I want to feel more open to possibilities and I want to have fun taking inspired action.

http://youtu.be/LSp7lRBVMjM   here is a brief video!
I am also making a double column list.
 One column of things I  LOVE to do that are FUN. I am casting my net back as far as early childhood and writing down all the fun things I have loved doing - then as well as now. Some things are constant- I still love to sing, dance, color,make things, play with dolls and paper dolls, lie in the grass and imagine or see things in the clouds....- I haven't been roller skating in a while, though ;^)
The other column is a list of things that need to be done that I do NOT find fun - like cleaning bathrooms, clearing clutter, any sort of paperwork that is not creative....etc.
I am going to see how I can choose fun things to do before, during, and/or after I do the not fun chores. This will be an ongoing experiment!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-fjoZcS3EA  the second video on the subject.
Please leave me a comment-I would love to read your views on resolutions, goals, fun!