1. Free personal trainers :)

My favorite yoga student < Dawn > is currently about 8 weeks from getting her certification in fitness training and nutrition and she needs people to train. I'm one of those people!!!YAY! So grateful and I need this really bad.   I've been going to the gym for two years...I eat healthy and cannot lose a pound. HELP ME. I have high hopes Dawn. Thank you :))

2. Belly dancing. Loving this class. I'm going to continue taking it whenever it is offered. I like the teacher and the other students are fun! It's a great workout too.

3. "The Diamond in your Pocket" the book I'm reading by Gangaji. Here are a few parts I've highlighted so far.

*Every thing is subject to change. All objects, thoughts, feelings, states of mind, health and governments. Every circumstance changes. pg.64

*As long as we settle for the superficial truths, we tragically miss the deeper revelation. pg.66

*Language is an incredible power of the mind. But if we look at it carefully, we see that it is still in the very primitive stages of development. Everyone can recognize this, just from the experience of trying to communicate with someone else. You know what you said, but they think you said something else. pg.93

*When you meet suffering head-on, you make the exquisite, paradoxical discovery that suffering holds the very jewel that was sought in the attempt to escape it. pg. 159

*I invite you for just this moment to stop searching for relief from suffering. The invitation is neither to become oblivious to suffering, nor to give up in despair. It is an invitation to stop searching for something to rescue you from yourself. pg.167

*To be supported, you have to choose to receive the support fully and completely. pg.169

*What a strange creature fear is. It exists only when there is resistance to it's existence! pg.175

*Spiritual maturity has little to do with how people usually conceive it. It is not related to the years you have devoted to spiritual practice, or the number of years you have prayed, gone to church or been good. pg.177

4. Both of my children are enrolled in college and will begin classes in Jan. I by NO MEANS believe that you must have a college education to succeed in life ..as our society would have us believe..but I am a fan of continued education.   

5. Discussing life with my husband.

6. Asking tough questions.

7. It's November!! I'm madly in love with the month of November. One of my favorite months for sure!

8. Surrender: You are either in a state of surrender or in a state of war.

Surrender to your current life circumstances humbly and gracefully.  What does this mean, exactly?It means stopping the struggle.  Giving up the fight.  Awakening to the realization that the more you fight something, the stronger and more pervasive it will become in your life.  Fighting is not the way to peace - surrender is.

When you read the word "surrender," you probably relate it to "defeat" but the two are entirely different.  Defeat means you've lost the battle; it denotes weakness.  Surrender means you've chosen not to fight and struggle anymore, and this decision comes from a place of POWER. 

Ah, winter in Huron County. For the snowmobilers and skiers, this is paradise. But why do the rest of us suffer so? Why do so many of us count the weeks till spring? Why are we dying to trade in our shovel for the lawn mower? Why can’t we make the most of our winter wonderland?

The biggest problem is that as a species, we human beings don’t like to roll with the seasons. Regardless of what season it is, we want to maintain the same routine, the same levels of productivity, and the same life. And a lot of this comes from the shift to living in town from living on the farm.

When we lived on the farm, our lives naturally shifted with the seasons. In the spring, we tilled and sowed the land. In the summer we harvested hay and watched our crops grow. In the fall, we harvested the crops for winter. And then, when winter came and the snow fell, we rested along with the land.

But when we work in offices and businesses, we expect the same level of productivity all year long regardless of what month it is. As far as the business is concerned, the month of the year is irrelevant (unless of course you’re in retail). There is no downtime.

Then we take this mentality home with us. Regardless of what month it is, Sarah has to get to piano lessons, and Charlie has to get to hockey. There are meetings to go to, events to attend, and so on and so on. We lead busy lives regardless of the season – and sometimes we’re even busier in the winter!

We honour no cycle of the seasons. There is no winter downtime for us. There is no rest and regeneration time. It is simply go-go-go.

But in effect, this isn’t reasonable. We are just carbon-based life forms on this planet like the bears, the birds, and the soil that rests all winter. We are connected to the same yearly cycle. We are not separate from it.

Having these great big brains makes us think that we run according to a different set of rules. But it isn’t true. We are connected to our environment whether we like it or not.

If you close your eyes, you can feel the difference in the seasons. You can imagine what spring FEELS like. You can feel the newness, the freshness – you can almost FEEL the greenness of the grass. Then imagine what summer FEELS like. It feels different. It is dryer, hotter, “yellower”. We know it right “down to our bones”. And when we then imagine what fall or winter feels like, it feels different again.

When our schedules and ideals keep us hopping regardless of the season, we end up working against our own bodies. We end up with an inner struggle between the expectations that we’ve set up for ourselves and the body’s natural tendency to attempt to adjust to the seasons. We end up exhausted, sick, depressed, and just generally feeling blah.

So what can we do about it? How can we adjust to the seasons? How do we synchronize our bodies and minds with wintertime? The great thing is that we instinctively already know how.

This is the time of year when we want to curl up in a blanket and read. We want to go to bed earlier. We want to eat thick soups and hearty foods that stick to our ribs. But overall, we just want to slow down – we want to rest and recuperate. Deep down, we know that we need some down-time – time to repair from the last season and time to build up our stores to get ready for the next.

Maybe it’s taking time for a bath. Maybe it’s cutting out a couple of extra-curricular activities (but not my yoga classes!). Maybe it’s simply allowing ourselves to go to bed half an hour earlier – or even an hour earlier with a nice book.

This is a time to just let the mind and body rest – just like the ground underneath all that snow. The soil isn’t stressing about the snow. It’s just using the snow as an insulating blanket while it rests and gets ready for spring.

Hmm… Enjoying winter’s insulating blanket of snow to rest as we relax, recuperate, and get ready for spring… Hmm…

Sounds good to me.

Katrina,

www.katrinabos.ca.

1. Books. I cannot imagine a life without books. I just ordered 9 books from my Amazon wish list. I plan on sitting by the fire and reading this winter. GLORIOUS!

2. New Baby Kitties.Kittens are theraputic. We haven't named him yet. We're taking suggestions.

3. PBS. Ken Burns’s latest project airing on PBS: The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. Fabulous. Set your DVR.

4. Good Questions:

You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay? Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change."
 
- Jim Rohn

5. Random pic's of my guy posted on blogs by fans all over the internet:

6. My business is picking up again. I only have one full time opening. When I first started this business 12 years ago there were over 200 licensed home daycares in my town. Lot's of competition. Today there are less than 10...and I'm sure that most of them went under in the past 2 years. I'm grateful to have survived.

7. Mom is home from the hosital. Recovering well and getting stronger everyday. Grateful.

8.  Still Small Voice:

Your still small voice is still not because it lacks conviction. On the contrary, this is your most passionate voice. The still voice cares passionately about what happens in the world. It’s still because it accepts reality. You have nothing to defend or protect. You state your case calmly and respectfully, and genuinely look for win/win solutions.

1. We had a lovely long Labor Day weekend in Marquette, MI. The upper Pennisula is magical. We will return in the future with more time to explore. Some of the Coastal Lake Superior water was reminiscent of the beautiful blue caribbean I visited a few months back. WHO KNEW!

Miners Cove at Pictured Rocks

Me and The Rev. We had a picnic dinner on this Lake Superior beach

Miners Beach

2. The Rev played the Marquette Blues Festival Sunday afternoon at 2:30.

After a Saturday night we all need some Sunday, right...Amen!!

And they kicked ass as usual.

I love this shot ...you can see the crowd in his sunglasses.

I'd like to Thank everyone from the Marquette Blues Society for all their incredible hospitality. We have never been treated so well...like royalty. We seriously had to pinch ourselves several times...it was like a dream. VIP to the max. Thank all the fans. During this bad economy we SOLD OUT of  CD's that day. They bought every last one. WOOT. And the Rev was honored that he had a line waiting for him and he signed autographs for about an hour after the show. We are grateful for the LOVE. Amazingly good time. We hope to return next year. MANY, MANY THANKS MARQUETTE.

3. This Saturday will be our last Summer time Hoorah before fall ushers in.... dinner downtown, followed by a romantic Detroit River Walk and then a Tiger baseball game with Fireworks at the end!!Grateful for another fine Michigan Summer :)

Speaking of Fall...Lets us remember:

1. Everything I need is within me.

2. There is only NOW.

The past is over.

The future is a dream.


3. Love is the only game in town.


4. It's easy to forget.

But it's also easy to remember.


5. Eventually we all have to let go

(so why not let go now?.

6. Everything changes.



7. I am not the doer.



8. It feels good to release stuff

I don't really need.



9. I am never more

than a breath away from fulfillment.



10. If I die today, I'll die happy.

..
11. Everything happens for the best.



12. Life is a gift.



13. I can't clean a muddy pond

by poking at it with a stick.



14. Every time I point a finger,

three are pointing back at me.



15. Rapport and trust

must be created

before anyone is willing

to listen to us.


16. It's a blessing to serve.



17. I am not here to teach anybody anything.

I am here to love -

and the love will do the teaching.



18. There will never be peace on Earth

until the people on Earth are at peace.



19. Worry is optional.



20. When I stop projecting

my stuff on the universe,

I begin to enjoy the real movie of life.

21. Marriage is a yoga.



22. Life is not supposed to be a struggle.



23. We are either in the forest of love

or the forest of fear.

We are always in one or the other,

but never both.



24. Doubt is a killer. Give up doubt.


25. Time flies like an arrow.

Fruit flies like bananas.

26. I am not taking anything with me

that I don't already have.


27. It's impossible to understand truth

exclusively with the mind.

The mind can know about the truth,

but it cannot experience the truth.



28. Life is not what you think.



29. Take more time

to smell the roses

(and plant some, too).



30. There is a feeling deep within my heart

that is absolutely exquisite.........


31. Be mindful of which wolf

you are feeding.



32. There is a difference

between want and need.

Need comes from lack

Wanting comes from abundance



33. The world appears more beautiful

the more beautiful I feel.



34. Time is an illusion.



35. Let go of letting go.

Then let go of that, too.

36. There is nothing to be afraid of.



37. Drink more champagne.



38. Trust that which is trustworthy.



39. Stretch more.



40. Don't turn my point of view into a religion.....



41. Be kinder.



42. Get enough rest.


43. Slow down.

Less is more.



44. I am not a victim.

No one has power over me.



45. I am responsible

(and so are you).....


46. Money is not the root of all evil.

Ignorance of the truth is the root of all evil.



47. Most conversations are about the past,

the future, or unfinished business.



48. Honor thy incarnation (Ram Dass)



49. When I'm not on the path,

it's razor thin.

When I'm on the path,

it's a million miles wide.



50. One man's ceiling

is another man's floor. (Paul Simon)........


51. All Masters

have said the same thing

in different ways.



52. Everything I need is coming to me,

and I already have everything I need.



53. Keep it simple.



54. We're all in this together.



55. When a pickpocket meets a saint,

all he sees are pockets.

56. Ideas are sometimes more than ideas.

They are inspirations from the beyond

that need to be honored.



57. We all have a story to tell.

Let's tell it already.



58. Learn from your mistakes.



59. Enjoy this "come as you are" party.



60. The goal is not perfection.

The goal is to become fully awake.

61. Eat more sushi.



62. I can only take one breath at a time.



63. Life is a dance.



64. I am both the center of the universe

and an extremely small particle of dust.



65. Drink more water.

66. The people I don't like

often teach me more

than my friends.



67. Lighting a candle

is the best way

to remove darkness



68. Life is not so much about the what,

but the how.



69. Be careful not to get addicted

to my own story.



70. When you meet the Buddha on the road,

ask him if he wants a foot massage.

71. Celebrate more.



72. Learn how to say no without being negative.



73. Each step is also an arrival.



74. There's nothing wrong with inconsistency.

Yes there is.



75. Peace is possible on planet Earth.

76. Not everything that counts can be counted;

and not everything that can be counted, counts.

(Einstein)



77. Read all contracts carefully

before signing them.



78. The mind is a chicken

with its head cut off.



79. Breathe deep.



80. Ask for help.


81. Life is an open book.

Write it.



82. Stop trying so hard.



83. Write a letter, by hand,

once in a while.



84. It's not about what others think of me.

It's what I think of myself.

(PS: Who's doing the thinking?)



85. Confusion is just a word

for an order that is not yet understood.

(Henry Miller)....


86. Be the same in a room full of people

as I am when alone.



87. 50 is the new 49.



88. Every moment of life

has the potential to be the best one yet.



89. Stop complaining.



90. Whatever I do,

give it my best.


91. Listen more deeply.



92. Treasure my friends.



93. Be happy for others' successes.



94. Gratitude is the most authentic prayer.



95. God cannot be googled.


96. Practice Knowledge



97. Pause.



98. I have no problems.


The only problem I have

is thinking I have problems.



99. Every cloud has a silver lining.

Every silver lining has a golden lining.



100. Be a field big enough

for others to dance in.