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Little Pleasures… a journal writing session

Published May 13, 2013 | By Debra

Tonight’s journal writing exercise is a fun one… life’s little pleasures. Not the big stuff (or perhaps the little stuff is the big stuff…), but the little things that truly make life and daily existence worthwhile.

Writing in our journals is a wonderful chance to focus on things we love.

Remember, what we focus on grows.

What we appreciate, appreciates.

Life’s little pleasures is one of those things that just makes it all worthwhile, y’know? I even have a Pinterest Board devoted to life’s little pleasures.

What little things put a smile on your face? Little things that you look forward to? Your guilty little pleasures…? Hmmm? It’s okay. This is a safe place to share.

As always (or most of the time at least), I will start my own entry and then you write too. I invite you all to comment at the end of your post to share a few of your little pleasures. It is fun to share with each other.

Ready to start? I know I am! Let’s see…

Little Pleasures…

1. The sound of the birds singing as I sit here on my back patio writing in the early evening…

2. The smell of my roses interwoven with the honey suckles that are in full bloom right now this wonderful May evening. I am breathing the intoxicating fragrance now as I write this…

3. Going for a walk and saying hello to the friendly neighbors (I live in the South and everybody is so nice and friendly here)!

4. Being out in public and enjoying the babies and toddlers (I remember when my children were that little once and it makes me happy to remember those precious days)

5. Knowing I have a great dinner planned for my family (I love to cook)!

6. My back patio garden.

7. My first cup of coffee in the morning.

8. When we first turn off the light, melting into my husband’s arms and resting my head on “my spot” (his shoulder) that is just right.. and falling asleep…

Your turn, Dear friends. I am not by any means through with my entry. This is a really fun one. Enjoy and remember to share a few little pleasures on your list with all of us by commenting in… don’t be shy now…

Much love and peace to all of you. I am so glad we are sharing a sweet sliver of this life journey together.

Debra

How Twitter can help you sleep better at night

Published November 24, 2012 | By Debra

Yes, you read that right. Being on Twitter helps me sleep well at night. Before you begin to think I have gone completely off my rocker, let me explain.

First of all, like everything else in life, moderation is key. I am not advocating that we should be on our computers or posting Tweets 24/7. Nor do I believe that any communication or relationships we form online should replace real in-person contact with people,

That said, anyplace where we find ourselves affirmed and supported is a good place to be. I know I sleep better and have less anxiety when I feel supported.

For me, Twitter helps me in many ways such as:

1. Finding a place where supportive people cheer me on daily

2. If I need to find out anything, I just need to ask.

3. Find my voice and my audience

4. Connect with people of similar values and interests

5. finding something that tickles my funny bone for a good laugh

6. Network with people and businesses for The Warm Milk Journal

I am also on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram and those sites are nice too. The difference is while I may have hundreds of people with me on those other sites, I have at this writing 15,130 followers on Twitter.

If you have never tried Twitter, give it a try. It’s easy to open up a free account and get started. If Twitter is not your cup of tea, I do hope that if you have anxiety and insomnia issues, you have a solid network of support in place for yourself.

I remember when I was younger and a stay at home mom in the Seattle area, it was very important that I had those friends, family, and opportunities to get out of the house and be a part of the community. You never need to feel alone.

In Peace,

Debra

Does the use of social media cause us social media anxiety?

Published September 13, 2012 | By Debra

We are “plugged in” now more than ever before. It is not only emails that we have to keep up with. Now we also have our various social media accounts with Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and more.

Is all this time on social media good for our social lives and well being or is it becoming harmful to our mental health?

In other words:

Are we thriving or do we wish to crawl into our caves as a result of all this social media exposure?

With moderation, I believe it is the former! As many of you know, I do love it here on the internet. It has been great fun developing this site and interacting with all of you. I also enjoy my time on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. I find all of these sites to be fine platforms to connect with other people, promote your business and cause, and just simply to relax and unwind.

I can, understand, however, why spending time on these sites can give one anxiety. If we are not careful, we can get kind of “sucked in” and feel too plugged in. That is not a good feeling.

Here are a few signs that may tip you off that you are spending too much time on social media:

1. You are at the beach, park, or a romantic restaurant with your spouse and you are on your phone posting and tweeting…

2. You are getting a headache from being on the computer, phone, or tablet too much

3. You are bringing your laptop, tablet, or smartphone to bed with you.

4. You can’t just enjoy an experience such as a book, magazine article, concert, movie, or just sitting in your backyard without blogging, tweeting, or posting about it.

5. You are worrying about what you posted or tweeted and this is causing you anxiety and loss of sleep.

6. You are bringing your phone into the bathroom with you.

Photo credit monkeywong.com

Any of these above behaviors do have the potential to make you anxious, an insomniac, give you a headache and just a “blah” feeling.

How do we,then, enjoy social media without succumbing to “social media anxiety” and total burnout?

I have a few suggestions:

1. If you are the owner of a smartphone, don’t bring it everywhere with you. Yes, that means actually letting it stay upstairs in your bedroom charging while you and your family are enjoying dinner and a movie downstairs. You can leave it off during your work day and it can stay in the car when you and hubby go out to dinner….

2. Schedule times of the day that will be your time for social media. I find if I don’t do this, tweeting and posting can take over my day!

3. Don’t fret about not posting and tweeting something every minute of your day. Let your friends and followers miss you a bit (it will get their attention when you do plug back in).

4. Tweet and post things with care. Be careful if drinking or emotionally charged. Always reread for typos, etc. Always ask yourself: would I want my boss, children, mom, customers to see this? Does this communication represent me the way I want it to? Following this advice should prevent a lot of suffering, anxiety, and just plain “oops”! What have I done? (not the best stuff for a good night of sleep).

5. Social media should be fun. If you find yourself getting bored, burned out, or developing a headache.. take a break!(some of my highest traffic numbers have happened when I was out of town unplugged)

I think it might be time for a bath now…

In peace,
Debra

Using color meditation to go to sleep quickly

Published August 9, 2012 | By Debra

When you are ready to go to sleep or if you have been woken up in the middle of the night, the last thing you want is for your mind to start thinking about the events of the day or worries, etc.

A simple technique that I use is color meditation. It is easy and quite effective. When you are wanting to go to sleep, think of a color that is soothing for you.

I always use blue because it is my favorite color and I find it to be very pleasing and soothing. Enjoy images of anything of that particular color that come into your mind. I think of all things blue. If I notice my mind wandering a bit, I will even think to myself, the word “blue”.

I am asleep in no time. Try it. It really works!

In peace,

Debra

P.S. If you find the color blue soothing like I do, you may check out my Pinterest board, “A study in blue” for some blue inspiration

Creating a Prayer Board (I recommend doing one on Pinterest)

Published June 2, 2012 | By Debra

We have talked about keeping a prayer journal. Another great way to connect to God and our spiritual lives is to create a prayer board. A prayer board is a visual representation of our values, our beliefs, our hopes, our desires, the things we need help with, etc.

You can use a scrapbook, any kind of poster board, or even online. There are vision board programs out there and there is of course, Pinterest which I think is the perfect medium for creating your prayer board.

On Pinterest you can “pin” anything you want. It can be a scripture, a spiritual quote, and image that has meaning for you. You can get inspired from other people’s boards. There are some beautiful things posted on Pinterest.

I have started a prayer board on Pinterest and I find it to be a very relaxing, centering, and affirming activity. It puts me in touch with the good things in my life. I highly recommend it.

What we focus on grows!

In peace,

Debra

Collecting things we love makes us happy!

Published March 15, 2012 | By Debra

Do you like to collect things?

I’m not talking about the “packrat”, clutter, don’t throw anything away type of collecting…

But rather creating a group of special things. Treasures…

I can remember being a young child growing up on the island of Oahu and having the most wonderful seashell collection that I found myself snorkeling at various favorite beaches. There was such a great variety in these shells. I would on a regular basis dump my collection out on our coffee table in the living room and go about sorting and classifying all of the beautiful varieties of shells I had.

I also had a sticker collection, stamp collection, marble collection, doll collection, barbie doll collection, stuffed animal collection, t-shirt collection, 45 record collection, cassette tape collection, book collection, a grand jewelery collection made up of puka shells, jade, turquois, and pearls…

Although they weren’t my own I so enjoyed my little brother’s Lego, tinker toy, erector set, Sizzler cars, model airplanes, and toy parachute collections.

As an adult I continued with my collection passion: recipes, photos, journals, books, candles, plants, etc.

What is it about the cultivating and caring for collections of things that brings about so much pure joy?

I believe I know the answer.

When we are collecting something we love, our little “treasures”, we are focused on something positive that gives us delight and pleasure. We are in the NOW when we are with our collections. Our minds are calm and in the flow. We are creators. We are curators of beautiful, wondrous things…

I think that is why sites such as Pinterest are becoming popular. We love to focus on things we love. I remember about ten years ago when my kids were small how popular scrap booking was.

There is a lesson here:

Focus on what we love, what gives us pleasure. That’s it. Simple.

The more we can follow this simple advice the happier and more joy-filled our lives will be.

What can you do now in you busy adult life to focus on and “collect” the treasures that have meaning for you?

Just a few ideas to get you started (for I have no doubt you will come up with your own)…

1. Writing favorite “lists” is a terrific journal writing activity that will make us feel pretty happy very fast. Think: Favorite places, favorite movies, favorite places to kiss, favorite places to have a wedding, you name it. We love lists and there is a reason for that: lists of things we love makes us happy! Simple, right?

2. Open an account at Pinterest and start creating boards of your favorite things. It is simply irresistble. You will love it once you get started.

3. Organize your photos online or in traditional photo albums.

4. Scrapbooks can be great fun.

5. Art. Whatever you can afford, begin an art collection of pieces that move you.

6. Gardening. Grow and care for a collection of plants! Herb gardens, window box gardens, container gardens, vegetable gardens, wildflower gardens, “night time” gardens full of blooms that open and are fragrant at night, rose gardens, spring bulb gardens, etc… growing different kinds of gardens are a great way of growing beautiful collections that are alive and part of nature. This type of “collecting” will feed the soul and spirit for sure. No wonder gardening is so popular.

I will stop here for I am sure you have plenty ideas of your own. Feel free to comment here and add to the post your ideas.

In peace,

Debra

Four reasons why Pinterest is so much fun!

Published March 12, 2012 | By Debra

Last weekend I discovered Pinterest and I know why it is so popular.

Pinterest is fun and relaxing because:

1.

The process of organizing our boards is very fun.

Anybody who has been into collecting things or scrap booking can relate to this. Our brains like to organize and sort. If we are organizing and sorting things we especially care or feel passionately about, all the better!

2. We get our creative juices flowing which feeds the spirit and soul.

3. Sharing with others what we love is pure delight.

If we love something, we like to spread the good news and share or spread the wealth. In a way, we are really sharing a part of ourselves. It feels good to open ourselves like that.

4. When we are putting a Pinterest Board together we are focusing on something we love and care about and…

What we focus on grows!

How can we not feel good after spending time putting together and then sharing a collection of things we love? It is pure joy and positively infectious.

So far on Pinterest I have put together boards about: my favorite movies, my favorite places, my favorite books, and the small pleasures in life that are definitely worth embracing and savoring.

It’s a blast! Really!

To fun, focusing on what we love, and then sharing it with others.

Cheers!

Debra

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