Be Happy

I was a little late discovering this song since I listen mostly to music in my collection that I have amassed since the 70’s. I’ve become that old fart that plays his music from back in the day and wonders what kind of crap the kids are listening to (autotune for instance).

Since I stumbled across “Happy” by Pharrell Williams I just can’t get enough of it. Go ahead you cynics roll your eyes and make a snarky comment, I don’t care. There’s something about the song that touches me so deeply that I can hardly explain it. It’s my belief that life at it’s core is inherently simple and we as humans make it more difficult to make ourselves seem smarter. Be nice to others, share, love, be happy. Sounds pretty good. But somehow us humans come along and fuck that up.

When you get right down to it it’s happiness we are all after. It shouldn’t come from money, success or at the expense of others but from within. If you’re a miserable fucker before you get rich when you get rich you’ll just be a miserable fucker with money. The people in the video are a cross section of America, just walking or dancing down the street. They could be on their way to work, at work  or just out kickin’ it. There are celebrity cameos but hey, they’re just people too.

In an interview Pharrell said writing this song was just a “halfcourt shot”. It’ll probably be the biggest swish of his career. The best things start simple.

Galos Cave Spa- Relaxing & Unique

Me at the end of a Galos Salt Cave session, after the lights came back up

Both Lorenzo and I love going to Galos Cave Spa in Chicago and we went there again today.  $15 per person for 45 minutes of total relaxation.  Here’s a link to the Galos Cave Spa yelp page.  Lorenzo and I have gotten pretty lucky and get the salt cave to ourselves.  They probably have around ten chairs in there, I have been once with other people, which is fine too.  We always make sure to request a child-free hour.  Appointments begin every hour, and basically you can walk around in the salt cave in the beginning if you want, then you recline in relatively comfy chairs with blankets, and meditate and/or sleep.  They play pretty relaxing music with wave sounds, but I think next time we’ll use our iPhones & ear phones for music.

photo of inside of Galos Cave Spa in Chicago
Love the sea horses!

With this photo you get a sense of the overall look inside the room which has man-made salt formations everywhere.  I say if you need to relax, and/or enjoy meditating in new environments give it a try.  The photo also shows that you need to bring clean white socks.

Does the salt in the environment give health benefits?  I say probably.  Plus going there relaxes me in a way that surely carries health benefits.

Have you been there?  Are you planning to go?  Let’s hear your salty comments!

Help a business – with a blog comment?

blog comments
On the right blog post - your small comment makes a huge positive splash!

Recently I have realized how huge blogging can be in promoting one’s business.  Google loves blog posts.  Furthermore, Google really loves blogs that have user comments.  Since google is not human and cannot tell if a blog post is great or not, it judges by keywords you post with your blog and if they are repeated within the article’s content, and also if there are reader comments.

To use myself as an example, I am a psychic reader and healer, specializing in personal growth readings.  The phrase “personal growth psychic readings”  is a phrase someone may use in a google search, someone who may end up loving what I do!  2,920,000 results come up when you search this phrase on google.  Today I am on the first page of results for this search, the sixth result that is not an ad.  6 out of 2,920,000.  Why?  Thanks to a blog post I wrote on this topic less than a week ago that has one user comment.  Here is the actual post about creating lasting personal change.  If you view it, notice that I listed among the keywords for the post “personal growth psychic readings.”  I suspect that if I did not have that one user comment google would not have taken the post as seriously.  Who knows how high it may rise in google results if I get two or three comments!

If you would like to support one of the businesses my husband and I have, please comment directly on any blog post that relates to the business you would like to support. Even one simple comment can make a massively positive splash in today’s world of google and other search engines, so it doesn’t have to be the most profound observation you have ever made.  For your reference, the blog post subject categories are easy to find on the right hand side of this page.  So happy positive splashing, either for your own services or one of ours.

A Psychic & Psychological Look at How to Create Lasting Personal Change

photo of a small sprout growing in dirt
You can sprout new growth at any age!

It is possible to create lasting personal change over time, if you are 22 or 62.  As a psychic reader I specialize in helping people to create real and lasting change in their personal lives.  Effective personal growth begins with self-knowledge of both a given problem or issue, and the right-for-you steps to take forward.  Here is a basic outline of how to create lasting personal change.

1.  Accept that this change, even for you, is possible.

2.  Figure out small, doable steps you can take to move towards this personal change.

3.  Take those steps, and do not allow yourself to stop or give up.

4.  If you are stuck in inaction, get help.  Of course, I would humbly suggest myself as a psychic reader in this case since I specialize in helping people with their personal growth goals, but you could also try a well-recommended psychotherapist, or a friend that is gifted in their ability to inspire you to positive action.

baby walking in grass
Baby steps are positive "doable" steps YOU actually DO, not just THINK about doing.

HINT:  If you are not actually practicing your steps, it could be that your initial steps are too ambitious, and that you need to find even simpler, smaller steps that get you moving in the direction you want to be moving.  The first step is to get moving forward at all, even if it is slower than you’d like.

SUPER IRONIC HINT: Everyone is different, so what motivated one person, or what were good initial steps for one person to take might not be effective for you.  That’s why this is ironic.  I am listing steps then telling you that generalized steps can get you into trouble.  If they don’t work for you, you may get discouraged and give up totally.  That’s why step #2 is so open ended, because you have to figure out what initial steps are both helpful and doable for YOU as initial steps.  That’s also why step #4 is to get help.  Getting discouraged and doing nothing is seldom going to resolve your issue.  After all, you may have already extensively tested the “doing nothing” method and received unsatisfactory results.  😉  I think we all have!

Psychic Readings & Receiving

Can you receive?  I am a clairvoyant psychic reader, helping people with wellness and personal growth issues.  I read the present and the past when relevant, and do not read the future.  Sometimes if I read someone new who doesn’t know much about my psychic reading work, they are thinking I might say something shocking, something they really didn’t expect.  This happens sometimes, but more often I am saying things they already know would be helpful, but are not doing.  Often I read unique imbalances they have, and specific things they can do to give to themselves an experience or energy that would be healing and centering.

desk size water fountain with plant
What sounds are pleasant for you? What music?

Somehow amidst the to-do list that is many people’s day, receiving takes a back seat to doing.  Receiving can be very balancing, particularly if your days are normally about doing and giving.  Can you scale down what you think you need to receive in order to fit it into the daily reality of your life? For example, you may think you need two weeks at a remote beach resort.  Well, how about listening to ocean wave sounds as you check emails, or get ready for work in the morning?  If you have a smart phone there are many free or cheap apps you can get to play all sorts of pleasant sounds.  For example, I have an iPhone and I upgraded to the paid version of “Sleep Machine” app for only $1.99 which gives me probably over 80 different sounds I can combine at various volumes.  I am currently listening to “Beach 2 (small waves)” at medium volume and “Wind Chime” at lower volume.  For me it’s very pleasant, centering, and relaxing.  There are enough different sounds that I am sure you could find something you enjoy.  If you are more old school you could actually purchase a simple water fountain for your home, which I’ve done too, online at Overstock.com.  Of course if you are fully old school, you would get one at a local store.

two blue glass dolphin figurines
I love dolphins. What animals do you love?

Perhaps you feel you need to go swim with dolphins, but since you are not about to do that today, you could have an image of a dolphin somewhere in your work or home space to remind yourself of your love of the ocean and dolphins.  Sure you would receive a lot if you went to swim with dolphins, but realistically today you could have a beautiful dolphin and/or ocean image that would make you smile and feel a little peaceful.  Surrounding yourself with images of things that you love is a great way to help you to receive in the present.

If you feel you need to do yoga every day for an hour, but you never do, how about just starting by breathing in and out four times?  If you feel your breath, inhale deeply, then allow yourself to exhale with awareness, it’s a lot better than the fantasy of an hour of yoga but doing nothing.  Again, of course an hour of yoga is great, but if it’s not going to happen what is the scalable version that you will and can do today?  One stretch?  Three different deep breathing moments at various times in the day?  Often when we are stressed our minds decide we can’t possibly receive or give to ourselves. Being creative and downsizing that good idea to fit and actually happen is a great way to gradually transform your life.

Often the “homework” people get from a psychic reading with me has to do with these small steps to allow themselves to receive as part of their every day life.  This is another reason why I do not read the future.  Generally people are already so fixated on the future that they are stressed and not receiving and giving to themselves.  So if you already know where you can start to create receiving moments today, then I’d say give it a try!  If  you have no idea where to start, you could get a reading from me.  I promise to give you lots of simple, do-able psychic homework!  For more information about my psychic readings, check out my website www.JanetWrightReadings.com.

What do you need this spring?

yellow crocus photo
Spring crocus flowers show inspiration can come from tiny things too.

So now that it’s spring, how do you feel?  Do you feel inspired to make changes in your life?  Do you feel tired and ready for a nap?  However you feel, it’s OK.

I think if you try to acknowledge how you feel, and nurture yourself, it can only help.

Often spring is a time of change.  Winter is finally over.  It’s nice to feel a more obvious vitality from the earth.

What do you need now that it’s spring?  More inspiration, relaxation, less worry, more creative opportunities, a few naps?  Sometimes people don’t make personal goals for themselves because they pick huge impossible ones then don’t achieve them.  Why not take a deep breath and make a simple, tiny, approachable goal or two for yourself this season?

Creating Positive Structure – Magazine Day

photo of magazines
a new plan so we start to read our magazines.....

So there’s something about magazines in our home.  We haven’t been reading them.  We want to read them, but just do not make the time.  Then there’s not just one magazine to be read, but multiple issues, which become piles of issues, that have not been read.  I actually gave away months of National Geographic because I was tired of having so many lie around unread.

So tonight it hit us.  Let’s create a Magazine Day!  We appointed Lorenzo the Magazine Czar, and then he decreed that our weekly Magazine Day would be on Wednesday and our article number would be two.  This means each Wednesday we each have to read two articles of our choice and explain them to the other person.  Sure that’s only four articles per week that we would learn about, but four is a world better than zero!  I feel better already, like a nagging recurring item on my subconscious to-do list has suddenly fallen into place on my calendar.

Sometimes people have so many rules and expectations from others in their consciousness that they are too stressed.  They long to do nothing at all, as an expression of their free will.  Well even that can get old.  Sometimes you need to invent new rules for yourself to help guide yourself into new discoveries and wellness.  So here’s to your freedom and wellness, and here’s to our new Magazine Day!  I’ll keep you posted!

Groups and You- Leaving a Group

Meetup.com is a free website with tons and tons of different groups, from reading groups to walking groups, movie watching groups, knitting groups, etc.  I am in a monthly book club thanks to that website, which I enjoy very much.  This other group, which I won’t name, looked great on paper but never felt quite right for me.

photo of open hand with good bye written on palm
Are there any groups you need to leave?

I thought being in this group would be inspirational, but I ended up only feeling like I should be inspired, but definitely was uninspired.  Finally I decided just to leave the group, which I did in a few clicks on meetup, with a friendly goodbye message to the group organizer.  Phew what a relief!

Being in a group that’s not right for you can stagnate your energy, give you guilt because you are not participating, bore you, etc.  This doesn’t mean that the group itself is inherently negative or bad.  It may be that the energy of the person leading it, or the collective energy of those in the group, is not a good complement to your own energy.

Now that I quit, I feel more motivation to do something new.  I looked for something else to join, either a creative class or group.

thumbs up sign
Inspiration is priceless!

I started watching some how-to creative videos on the Paper Source website.  Paper Source is a paper and craft supply store in several states and they have classes, but also free videos on their website which are great for giving crafty sorts of ideas.  I may also join another meetup.com group.  There are so many I’m sure there’s another that would be fun for me.

Here’s hoping that you ditch the groups that don’t suit you, and find and join groups or start projects that inspire and nourish your creativity.

Creating your own waking up rituals- tea time part 1

How you start your day is an important way to improve how you feel throughout your day.  Positive rituals you create as part of your waking up process can help you to feel like this is YOUR day, and that you’re going to enjoy it.

soymilk, yerba mate tea, and honey
Taking a moment for tea time

In our house, Lorenzo and I are very much in love with our tea.  One of our favorite cups of tea is yerba mate, with Organic Valley chocolate soy milk, and honey.  Here is the wikipedia page on yerba mate.  Basically it is a traditional tea native to South America which has caffeine and other natural stimulants.  This brand we use Guayaki can be bought online or at Whole Foods and similar stores, and in bag form only at Trader Joes.  Organic Valley chocolate soy milk tastes so good you could even have a cup of it as an “I’m behaving” dessert.  🙂  Yerba mate has a pleasing smell, and with the honey and soy milk, it is very tasty.  I like to eat a high-protein breakfast, and then have a cup of yerba mate and sit and meditate.  I sit by our front windows where I have a nice view.

Many of my clients work outside their home, and their morning wake up consists of dressing in clothes that they don’t enjoy, skipping breakfast, and rushing out the door.  Their mind and energy is already focused in the future on their work and the hardest tasks of their day.  I understand this completely, but even in the busiest of days there is another way.  Most people could build two minutes into that time where you take a break, take some deep breaths, a few sips of tea, or just sit or stretch, and reflect on the big picture of your life, or something that you love.  Set the tone for your day, rather than letting your tasks and duties set the tone.  Serenity and peace of mind do not come to your life accidentally.  You have to plant it in your heart, one little morning break at a time.  Here’s to your peace of mind, and positive morning rituals that are uniquely yours.

Out with the old, in with the new!

THE OLD

OK so I think the serenity prayer for clothing from the earlier post must have helped.  I also did meditation and “read” my own energy.  I donated one box of books and two big bags of clothing today.  I was pretty amazed at the reasons why I kept extra possessions, going all the way back to childhood.  I have a feeling the energy of excess possessions will be a popular new topic for my readings with clients.

THE NEW

Our website www.BarneysHomeDogBoarding.com is finally up and running!  Please check it out, and be gentle with your feedback!  🙂  Please also forward it to the dog lovers in your life.