How to Be Happy In Life

I love my Work and Life Balance subscribers... they are wonderful people.
(If you're not already subscribed, go to http://www.life-balance-success.com/freebalancetips.html ). I hear from many of these readers, who write either to compliment me, comment on something I've written, share about their lives or to ask me questions.

I am humbled beyond belief to hear from them... and amazed to think that they believe I may know the answers for their lives.

One of my subscribers just wrote me, expressing how much worry he carries about aspects of his life, his job, his relationship and the security of his future. His request of me was to answer his question, "Please tell me how to be happy in life."


Goodness! Here's what I said to him, and now you...


... Carolyn's profoundly simple answer on how to be happy in life...


"How I wish I had the magical answer to your life… and how I wish I had it for my own life, too!


Your language gives clues that you are living in the past and in fear of the future… so much so that you are undermining today. The most profound tip that I can offer you (that I am doing my best to practice myself) is to live in this very NOW moment.

This means working diligently to let those worrisome thoughts and feelings go (like in the messages I’ve already sent you) and be here and now in this moment. Yesterday is in the past and tomorrow will always be "out there" ahead in time. NOW is the only moment there really is... and it's usually a pretty decent place to hang out, when noticed.

How to come into the NOW?

• Meditation helps


• Yoga helps
  
• Physical fitness helps
  
• Releasing fears and focussing on joy helps


• Focus on the good!!!


• See the beauty surrounding you.

This is the best wisdom I can offer you… how you will use it is up to you.

Personally, I hope you choose happiness!"

P.S. Pick up a copy of the incredible book, "The Power of NOW" by Eckhard Tolle... it will definitely help!

Warmly, Carolyn
www.life-balance-success.com

The WAY You Work vs. WHERE You Work!

"Your happiness ultimately comes from the WAY you work, not WHERE you work."

Quotation by Russell Simmons (1957 - ) American entrepreneur

Many letters come to me from my Work & Life Balance subscribers who express their dissatisfaction with their place of employment.

(P.S. If you're not receiving my great and free balance tips yet, sign up at http://www.life-balance-success.com/freebalancetips.html )

Intending no disrespect, I suspect that for some workers, much of their dissatisfaction is self-inflicted.

• Some do not have their work space set up to work as effectively in as possible.


• Some have distracting co-workers who impose into their time and space, without adequate boundaries set up to enforce new ways of working.


• Many feel under-utilized or appreciated.


• And of course, even more are simply overworked, trying to do the job really meant for more workers.

Certainly not to trivialize the dissatisfied employee's experiences, the above quotation does have some merit.

There is a direct relationship between those workers that ritually attend to their personal self-care practices each day (exercise, proper nutition, quiet time, meditation, reading or a form of creative expression) having a MUCH higher threshold of ability (and quality of experience) in their work.

Those workers that align with a positive "glass is half full" attitude have a much higher patience and persistence ability, plus a greater sense of reward in their endeavors.

So, I challenge you to consider the WAYS you align in attitude and the WAYS you approach your work! Here are 4 places to start...

1. Maybe you best set new spacial boundaries in your workspace.
   


2. Maybe you best reorganize your workspace to optimize more effective work.
   


3. Maybe you could afford to clean up your attitude.
   


4. And, maybe you best implement self-care practices each day, so that you can feel good about your work life and your personal life.

These are, at least, good places to start if you are feeling unhappy at work.

But, if these issues do not apply to you and you're doing everything right in these regards... then, maybe you DO need to consider a new work space, one that would allow you to be happier!

If you want some great ideas on how to improve your workspace and use your office devices more efficiently, the BEST YOU eBook has a 27-page "While At Work" bonus chapter that will REALLY help you!
www.life-balance-success.com

Wishing you the very best... at home and work,

Carolyn Clarke

Stop and Smell the Flowers

I know you've heard the phrase... "Stop and smell the flowers!"


(C) 2007 Photo by Carolyn Clarke, all rights reserved.



Since my participation in the Coming Alive program at The Haven Institute recently, I admit that things are changing for me. The important self-work I did in the group has helped me to realize some important things about myself, what motivates me and and what changes I desire to make to be an even better person.

Since my return home, one thing that I've noticed is how my senses seem to be ultra-sensitized! The early morning smells of earthiness almost bowl me over as a take my long walks. The colours around me seem to have become more saturated, with deeper greens and blues than what I seemed to notice pre-Coming Alive. It's almost like I put on a pair of polarizing filters over my eyes, bringing out the crisp clarity of colours and extra in-focus detail.

I am delighting in nature SO much and, as a result, I have been gifting myself with more time to express my photographic passion. Have a look at a few of "my new eyes" finds...

(C)2007 Photo by Carolyn Clarke, all rights reserved.

This lovely (tail-less) butterfly allowed me to come within two inches to capture five images of it, before it flew away. Too bad the light wasn't a little brighter, it would have made a better photo... oh well. I felt tickled with this experience.

(C) 2007 Photo by Carolyn Clarke, all rights reserved.

The beautiful beach outside of The Haven was not your typical sandy or pebbly beach... it was mostly shelves of mssive volcanic rocks thrust up with the earth's changes over time.

Occasionally I came across what looked like impressions of a big bucket having been set down (as in the above photograph) which were, in fact, where a volcanic bubble had burst leaving a rather Zen-like permanent mark in the landscape. I smiled each time I saw one of these Zen circles, for it was like I was being reminded to move slowly, be mindful and be observant... as in meditation. Nature is so wonderful for its reminders.

My greatest joy in this past week, though, has come through watching the new mother and father Robin that nested outside our diningroom window and are now busy feeding their three newborn hatchlings. What a sight to behold! I steal frequent gentle glances at their routine of flying out to search for wriggling worms and ripe salmon berries to bring back to the hungry brood... such proud and devoted, responsible parents!

Nature is all abounding us all day long... if we "stop long enough to smell the flowers!"

May you awaken to the bounty of life around you, too... a vital ingredient to life balance.


Warmly, Carolyn

Our eBook, "Becoming the BEST YOU Possible" is full of ways to get more in touch with Life Balance...
go to http://www.life-balance-success.com/official-ebook-launch.html

Awe Is Present Each Day... If Our Senses Are Attuned

The morning light's arrival at the early hour of 5:30am has become my time of awakening these days... and it pleases me. Being a morning person, I adore getting up (quietly while the rest of my sweet family sleeps) and going for a walk on our mountainside.

At that hour of the morning, it is like I have the world to myself and the stillness is incredible. It sounds silly to say this, but the silence is actually "loud." There are no people sounds anywhere! No automobiles, no lawn mowers, no children, nothing except me and the happily chirping birds.

Last week in my blog entry, I attached this amazing quote;
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." Quote by George Carlin

This quote touched and stayed with me all week! It is my early morning walks that are currently filling me with the greatest moments of breath taking awe recently. For example, as I climbed our steep driveway this morning, I caught the heavenly scent of something before even realizing that it was the apple blossoms on our tree... amazed that I'd never noticed how fragrant they are before.

((C) 2006 Photograph by Carolyn Clarke, all rights reserved)

I made the steep decent down to the local beach and perched myself on a big boulder looking out on the incredible stillness of the inlet... the entire body of water (10 miles long) just like a sheet of glass! Not a sound... not a single sound stirred for approximately 6 or 7 minutes, before a small fishing vessel fired up its engine a few miles up the coast. Nature offers such a surreal meditation. This is the incredible beauty that I am talking about...

((C)2006 Photograph by Carolyn Clarke, all rights reserved)

How fortunate that spring in full force is what pulls me into my greatest life balance "tool"... the outdoors with my Self.

As I huffed and puffed the entire way back up the mountain after my beach meditation, I thought about the dramatic difference we'll see in vegetation between the lush greenery that is abundant here right now, to the stark dryness of the Arizona desert we will experience next week.

Richard and I leave next Monday to teach another seminar for the Core Training Summit Conference, always a great experience. We LOVE the dry climate of the desert country and look forward to our time with the group, as well as the playtime we'll take after the event.

Set your senses out for the little awe-inspiring moments in each of your days. These moments are everywhere around us, IF we have our senses out to experience them.

Happy Day, love Carolyn!

www.innerfitness.ca

P.S. Upon our return from Arizona I will have the quirky kinks worked out of my first-built website and will have a launch date (with a Special Offer!) for our eBook to tell you about. We are THAT close!

Self-Hypnosis / Meditation for Stress Relief

Thanks for visiting.

Global change is under way and most people are feeling it's effects with more and more pressure. There are issues facing our countries, our peoples and our home planet that have never had to be faced ever before. And though it is an exciting time to be alive on Earth today, it is also a scary and insecure time, too.

How to stay focussed and calm and balanced in times like these?... a challenge facing most. It is predicted by the World Health Organization that stress, anxiety and depression will become the leading cause of disability in the workplace over the next 20 years. More and more individuals and corporations are now seeking answers to reduce stress, from taking yoga (at an all-time popularity level), to martial arts, fitness disciplines and meditation, too.

Self-hypnosis and meditation have powerfully positive effects on the body, including causing a slowing of the heart beat, the lowering of blood pressure, relaxation of the muscles, a gradual decline in the breathing and improved immune system.

The effects to a person's emotional and mental being are equally as dramatic, causing the quietening of mental thoughts, release of negative and depressive feelings... and infusing an inner peace in a person's soul. Self-hypnosis and meditation are the perfect remedy to eliminate stress and infuse relaxation.

Help your body to heal, your mind to become still, your feelings to seek joy and your spirit to know the purpose of your existence. We can help you with our series of Inner Fitness(R) meditation CDs to support your practice... www.innerfitness.ca/products.htm Meditate. Practice self-hypnosis. You will quickly begin to experience the rewards, throughout your entire being.

This will be my last post until November 15th as Richard and I are off to teach a Work and Life Balance seminar in Austin, Texas! Have a great ten days or so and I look forward to talking with you upon our return.

Warmly, Carolyn
Inner Fitness(R) Programs
www.innerfitness.ca

Feng Shui For Balance

Warm hellos!

I got completely bogged down working in my office the other day... something just wasn't feeling right and immediately I knew what I had to do...

... pull back from my work for a small period of time and Feng Shui my office!

What does that mean? It means that creativity just wasn't happening and I needed to "refresh" my room... then in my headspace. I know, it sounds "woo woo" but has some validity to it.

All it took was two hours... well worth the time because, afterwards, I felt SO much better. Every loose item sitting on the desks, around the computer got sorted and filed. Extra supplies that were no longer needed got completely removed from the room. No more little piles... though neat, now gone.

Next came a thorough cleaning... yes, I even moved all the furniture. Windex and a damp cloth lifted all the dust... even the windows got cleaned.

I watered my plants and freshened up my "tranquility alter" then burned some invigorating aromatherapy oils in the diffuser, so the room came alive with great mind-clearing smells.

At that point, I took a bit of time to unclutter my head through a meditation, made a delicious pot of tea then approached my work from a fresh starting point. It was like lifting a foggy cloud from my office. If you're not feeling very creative in your work space, I highly recommend Feng Shui-ing your office, too! It won't take long, but can make a world of difference to how you feel and subsequently work.

Warmly, Carolyn
Inner Fitness(R) Programs
www.innerfitness.ca

Information Overload Impairs Sleep & Health

Hi and welcome!

As you know, it is easy to become quickly overwhelmed with information in this day and age of technology with so many things, tasks, details to try and keep track of! Multi-taskers can possibly manage easier than most, but even they are susceptible to the demands of the times... and at the risk of their sleep quality and ultimately their health, too.

Thanks to Fox30News for featuring this short 4:22 minute video about how your brain may be experiencing information overload with excessive computer use.

They interviewed a professional from a sleep disorder clinic who points out that we may be wiring ourselves up so much that we’re not getting the quality of sleep for lasting health.

Have a look;
http://www.fox30online.com/mediacenter/?videoId=4707@video.fox30online.com&rss=16

Things that can help lower the risk of information overload are;

1. Become a list maker! Empty your mind of as many details as possible so that you don't carry everything internally, it unconsciously and needlessly stressing you.

2. Restrict your computer time, if possible. Take time-out breaks every hour to disengage and give yourself a rest... ideally in nature.

3. Refrain from working on the computer in the evening so that you give your mind a chance to unclutter and your body time to prepare for sleep. This is so important!

4. Practice mind-emptying meditation or listen to guided meditations to totally unhook and take the restorative rest you need and deserve.

Look after yourself when it comes to using your computer(s). They were designed to support us and make our work and lives easier... but are unfortunately costing many people very dearly, and that is NOT a good thing.

Keeping a eye on my own information intake / balance needs...


Warmly, Carolyn

Inner Fitness(R) Programs
www.innerfitness.ca