Showing posts with label mandalas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mandalas. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Farewell WAKEUP...Welcome Mandala Reflections!

As I wrote in my last post, I am turning over a new leaf and starting a new blog! I have not yet decided how I will handle the remains of WAKEUP...but I am okay with leaving it be on its own in cyberspace for awhile. Seems as though this site recently has been getting world attention due to the word "horus," which I used in a random post long ago. If any faraway visitors are reading this note and care to comment why they are looking up "horus" so often recently, I am very curious to know what I'm missing! I also owe you an apology, because I know that this website likely lacked the information you were looking for.

So, without further ado, here is the drafty draft of my newer and hopefully improved website, Mandala Reflections.

A few thoughts on the site so far:

1) The name is not as catchy as this one (in my opinion), but the framework the Mandala provides for discussion and blogging about the topics I'm passionate about was too perfect to pass up. I could eventually change the name, but for now I think it's a great placeholder. To learn more about why I had to include the mandala, check out the About tab. It's brief, but hopefully as I have more time to develop this blog, I can expand this section a bit more to help clarify.

2) Unfortunately, I did not have time to design it like I wanted to and have not been able to put it together perfectly. In other words, it's a work in progress--aren't we all. Hopefully this piece will develop more in the next few months.

3) I love that the birth of this blog was on October 31, Halloween. My first post will explain further why this "new beginning" and the "death" of WAKEUP are fitting to this ancient season's holiday.

Thank you always for stopping by, and I hope to see you at Mandala Reflections. I have not figured out how the following system works on Wordpress yet, but if you know, I hope you follow me :)

Much love!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

A Healthy Christmas List...

After spending some time with my boyfriend's family and hearing about their amazon wishlists (to get gift ideas for them for this Christmas),I decided to start one of my own for fun. I have to say that I enjoyed what felt like a pseudo-shopping experience. I think I have about 15 items on my public wishlist and maybe about 10 more on my private wishlist. I wanted to share some of my favorite finds for this holiday season.

I'd like to preface this short list by saying that initially I felt kind of bad making a wishlist and all, considering I feel as though I have all I need in life to lead a good life and should not ask for more...however I must say, of course I had an enjoyable time realizing there are so many cool things out there that could add even more quality to my life (dare I say) ;) And as I have been compiling my list I found that many of my gifts could be generalized to be health-centered, which makes sense. One of the greatest gifts in life is good health, so here is what I found that I think could benefit people open to the idea of taking better care of themselves.


A Zenergy Chime


This cool little chime is yes, a chime, but its name suggests its cooler than just any ol' chime, right? This little guy can be used in a session (so if I continue to ever pursue something along the lines of a holistic health practitioner or a health coach I could begin my sessions with this ring. It could also be used for opening and closing meditation ceremonies (which I will be doing come next February for class!) Or as I found suggested on Amazon (through customer reviews), it could be a good resource for a sort of quieting/dismissal/announcement in a classroom setting. As this month marks my first month of teaching Spanish language in an after-school program, I can't help but think such a gem might make class time more special.

Music to Inspire Positive Thinking by John Herbmann


So I am not going to go into a novel on each of these items, I think this one is pretty self-explanatory, and I believe there are other ones out there that are relaxation, stress-relief and creativity inspiring, but I just thought that this CD would be a good one to wake up to in the morning and one worth a try.

Coloring Mandalas book by Susan F. Fincher


Everybody needs to color, or as my Foundations of Holistic Health and Wellness class would call it, "make marks on paper." Art is something that is so important to maintaining good health and balance in your life. As cheesy as that may sound or as unartistic as you may feel, we all must take some time to express ourselves through this medium (and it can be in many forms). I happen to want to re-explore coloring and inspire myself to take some time to breathe and relax in my day. This is also something I am looking at as an activity to do with my little (and future children). We can color a mandala together and keep it somewhere safe and accessible, so when we are having a bad day we can look at the mandala and remember what is really important in life.

The Artists Way book


As taken from amazon.com's review:

With the basic principle that creative expression is the natural direction of life, Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan lead you through a comprehensive twelve-week program to recover your creativity from a variety of blocks, including limiting beliefs, fear, self-sabotage, jealousy, guilt, addictions, and other inhibiting forces, replacing them with artistic confidence and productivity.

This book links creativity to spirituality by showing how to connect with the creative energies of the universe, and has, in the four years since its publication, spawned a remarkable number of support groups for artists dedicated to practicing the exercises it contains.

So...I could go on with more details showing you this cool teapot I found or talking about hand blenders and their amazing clean-up/convenience, or the 100% silk pillowcases I have been asking for ever since I was young, but I am not going to continue, I think you get the idea and can start making your own lists this Christmas. By thinking about what you really want can shed light onto what kind of gift you might find valuable in giving to another person. I just wanted to share a few items on my list with the theme of health and healing since it has been my life lately. If you have other requests or questions about books, essential oils, natural beauty products, etc. I may have some knowledge to share from my program, so please feel free to ask. Otherwise just enjoy this list for what it is worth to you and have fun making your own.

Have a healthy day today!