The morning ritual

I used to wake up in the morning in a state more dead than alive. Opening one eye, looking all grumpy and stuff, hating the world, hoping for the morning to be over already. Not to mention all the morning drama that comes with it such as delayed trains, stumbling over own feet and losing keys.  I am sure I am not the only one around with these daily errors and people reading this, nod while thinking, I feel ya. 

This all changed when I made a conscious decision to change my ways and therefore to change my days. A good start in the morning is half the battle to a happy day and in the long run, a happy life. All the good you send out comes back to you in tenfold. This doesn't mean that slow grumpy starters aren't happy people, I am merely saying there are easier ways to get your day started. Positive thinking is a habit that runs on autopilot by repetition. The first couple of times when you wake up in the morning and say to yourself: “this is the happiest day of my life!!" Your subconscious mind objects: “No it's not you liar, this morning stinks!" As Josh Shipp points out perseverance is stubbornness with a purpose. Don't give up!

I support my daily happiness habits with a morning ritual starting the night before. Right before I fall a sleep I mumble to myself: “tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life." That thought alone is enough to fall a sleep with a smile on my face. Since I am not a morning person in general, I replace my hit by a truck feel with feelings of gratitude. Realizing I have had a good night sleep and good health is enough to start my morning in bliss. I will never be an out of bed jumper, and that's ok, changing your habits doesn't mean you have to become someone you are not. So, I slowly open my eyes, cuddle my cat, and make my way to the bathroom where I serenade the day by playing my happy music playlist. The cheesiness of the playlist itself already gives me the giggles. This ritual alone is enough to start the day with a smile, but there is a cherry on top of that cake, the ode to the morning coffee. Full of love I stare deep in the eyes of my cup of happiness realizing life can't get any better than this. That's it, start your day differently by changing your state of mind and a whole changed world will welcome you with open arms. 

Be Happy, 
~Ilona~

The power of thought

When created my happy to-do list at the beginning of this year, fun cycling trips were amongst the things I listed. I knew very well that I didn't own a bike at that time and I either had to borrow or get one. In my mind I saw myself hopping on my bike at any time to go to the beach, a festival or any other fun event. This meant that owning a bike was what I wanted, so I quickly changed my list and added a bike on it. I also decided I wasn't planning on spending a lot of money on it, the less the better.

I live in a country with bicycles in abundance, surely there has to be one bike that has my name on it. I had all the faith in the world I would get my bike, the only thing I didn't know was the how and the when. I didn't care about the how and the when, my thoughts where only about the joy I would have riding my bike. Everything else wasn't of any interest to me. I truly knew and believed that I would get a bike no matter what.

Time passed by and I went on with my life, but in the back of my mind there was this strong belief that one day I would have my bike. My thoughts would drift to visions of me on a bike, smiling and having fun on my awesome looking bike. The joy that it gave me was overwhelming. Whenever I had the chance I would look for pictures of bikes, picking out the ones how I wanted my bike to look like. This was also pure bliss.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in May my desire became my reality. I was talking to my uncle and out of nowhere he mentioned that a friend had a bike she no longer wanted. One phone call and a car drive later I was in possession of my bike. Not only did I get a bike, I got it for free! I pimped my ride  with a few accessories and now it just looks like the one in my dreams. My desire became my reality because I believed in it with all my heart and I never gave negative thoughts a chance to cloud my belief. You too have the power to make your desires a reality, you only need to believe.

With love, Ana

Ten (TH)INGS to dreambuilding

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams" ~Eleonoor Roosevelt. If you wish it, become it. Keep your dreams alive by dream building on every occasion. To give you some inspiration we have made a top ten list of all the (TH)INGS we do on a daily basis: 

- Scripting our dreams

- Pinning pictures on Pinterest

- Putting wishes in a wishjar

- Creating a vision board

- Dressing up for the occasion 

- Visualizing before falling a sleep

- Sticking Post-its on a wall

- Burning a candle

- Making a dream plan

- Playing a happiness music list

Be happy, 

~Ilona~

About manifesting your desires

Your thoughts as well as your desires emit frequencies. In order to manifest you need to vibrate on the same level as your desires because according to the law of attraction like attract like. How can you put this into practice?

First of all, clearly define what you want and choose something you know you can believe in. From the moment you have decided the manifestation has been set in motion. It is there, just not drawn into your physical reality yet. The key is to focus on what you want with intensity and power. You do this with feelings and anticipation, as if you already have it. If you want something you automatically have a high desire for it. All you have to do is to let the good thoughts about it flow. Duration is important, try to focus on it for as long as possible. Believe in it without a doubt. The way the universe works is mostly outside your vision, therefore just trust the process. Look at it as filling a bucket with water, when the bucket with water is filled and flows over, that's when the physical manifestation occurs.  

Sometimes life can be all consuming and before you know it days pass, weeks pass, and you totally forget to think about your desires or your initial enthusiasm has faded away. The emitted frequency has weakend, while it is important to put out a frequency strong enough to get what you want. Thoughts will always be drawn into your life one way or another, the wanted and unfortunately the unwanted thoughts as well. You get what you think about most of the time. The magnetic pull gets stronger with positive thoughts and good feelings. Therefore keep your positive thoughts alive by dream building everyday. I build my dreams by pretending I am already what I want to be. For example, I have dreams about going to Ibiza together with Ana. Every morning, I pretend I wake up at Ibiza, put on my bohemian outfit, have breakfast at the beach and after that I go to the market (Pinterest) to pick out hippy style goods that I love so much. I eat, breathe and sleep Ibiza. I soak up Ibiza like a sponge!

Be like a sponge ladies and gents and miracles will start to happen. Don't spend time worrying about how you are going to get it, your task is thought creation, the possible actions you need to take will be presented to you along the way.

Be happy, 

Ilona

The joy of painting

“Now then, today let’s just have some fun and enjoy it, let our imagination take us to some beautiful places and see what happens.” – Bob Ross

Last Sunday we took an empty canvas and had a little fun in creating a happy place just like Bob Ross did. Never heard of Bob Ross? Bob had a show called "The joy of painting" and it was really a joy to see him paint a beautiful landscape in just 30 minutes with a few strokes of his paintbrush. When I mention Bob Ross to people, the response is overwhelmingly positive. I think because of Bobs contagious enthusiasm. Yes happiness frontiers, enthusiasm is contagious. This is a bug you don't mind catching. It wasn't just his skills that made him so beloved. It was the way he inspired people through painting. His positive mindset and his encouragement make us believe we can create anything we want.

Painting like Bob isn’t as hard as it may look. It is all about having fun and letting go of everything else. Bob said: “There are no mistakes, only happy accidents.”  So pick up a paintbrush, watch an episode of "The joy of painting" and start creating happiness. The canvas is blank for you to create whatever your happy heart can imagine. To maximize the fun dress for the occasion. Imagine yourself painting on a patio overlooking a field of daisies somewhere in France. Quiet your mind by letting go of all thoughts and let your inner artist run free. Don’t forget to add a little tree friend to your painting because everyone needs a little friend.

With love, Ana

How to quiet your mind

"Your mind is your instrument. Learn to be its master and not its slave." ~ Remez Sasson

You are a creator of your own reality, whether you are consciously aware of it or not. When I first started reading philosophical and spiritual books and became aware or my "creatorship" I was trilled! I imagined myself being some genie in a lamp appearing on my own command anytime I felt a wish needed to be fulfilled. A bit odd when you think about it, appearing on your own command. It is basically the same as talking to yourself and expecting to be answered. Maybe we all do it, but nobody ever feels the need to mention it during a coffee break at the office and expects to be seen as "normal" afterwards.

That 'me being a genie' dream got shattered quite quickly when I had an epiphany. I realized that my awareness of my creatorship didn't just suddenly make me a creator. I have been creating my whole life, the good things and the bad. I must say that sometimes I wish that I could command the genie-me to take a big eraser and make all my errors go away in one "poof". 

Your reality is a mirror of all your thoughts and emotions. It is a reflection of all the good and the bad inside of you. Although bad feelings are a good indicator of changes that can be made, there are moments when your thoughts and emotions feel uncontrollable. Your mind is all over the place and if you can't get a hold of that clutter, your reality will reflect the unstable state of your mind in negativity and problems. However, as a creator, you hold the power to change what ever you want. You can control your thoughts by quieting your mind. Get a hold of the clutter that is clouding your reality and get back into a state of balance.

When my friends talk about their problems, I always advise them to quiet their minds. They often think about meditation when I say that and their response is that they can't sit still and think of nothing. While meditation is an excellent way of quieting your mind, it is hard for many people to lock their minds and think of absolutely nothing. It takes practice and skills and it is something that you can master over time. By quieting your mind I merely mean getting rid of that clutter, and shut down those negative voices in your head. If you think you don't have any negative voices inside your head, take a look at your reality and the things you don't like. They are the manifestations of your thoughts and we all have them. 

Enough theory on this matter, how can you put it into practice? When you meditate, let your thoughts flow. When negativity enters the mind, just let them be and direct your thoughts towards the things you do want in your life. If you are not a "I can sit and be quiet" person, keep on reading our blog because we are quieting our minds by doing many things that give us joy.

Be happy,

~Ilona~