Lesson 2 - ENERGY!

We are all "energy". And the simple lesson I learned here is that we, each of us individually, are responsible for the "energy" we bring to a place or a person.

I can only speak for myself and therefore will share this in the "I" form.

- I am responsible for my words, my actions but most importantly, my thoughts!

- I have realized that I am powerful. How so? Well, I don't need to have an audience like Ms. Oprah to make a difference. I have an audience and that is my immediate circle of family and friends.

- I make a difference in the lives of my children and my parents and even my pets. The energy that I put out with my children influences who they become. Even the energy I approach my pets, influences their mood and personality. I am blessed to have the most amazing boys! They are literally night and day! Aly was born in June and Zayn was born in Dec. Aly is calm and relaxed and quite while Zayn is full of energy and LOVES to talk!  Aly looks like a "desi = brown from India /Pakistan" boy but does not touch desi food, while Zayn is my "gora=white" boy who cannot live without desi food. I enjoy them both for their uniqueness! They both have very different "energies" and my life is richer for it!


A few pictures of my babies.

So I deviated...:)

Let's remember to be mindful of the energy we bring to our loved ones and to all areas of our lives.

love and light,

From one sufi to another,

anita

A few lessons - Lesson 1 - GRATITUDE!!!

So I was watching the last Oprah show a few minutes ago and was once again, humbled and delighted by the incredible wisdom of this woman. I ALWAYS learn something from her show and this last one was no different. So as tired as I am...missed Friday Jk to veg out at home...I still found myself being inspired to share a few thoughts before I jump in the shower and crawl into bed! :)


- Gratitude is the most powerful prayer any of us can pray. It affirms our belief and faith in HIS plan for our lives. I find myself saying a prayer of thanks not only in the good times of my life, but especially in the roughest parts of my life


It's easy saying thanks to God when things are going great. But when we feel beat up, lost, hopeless, alone, confused or worst, unloved...this is when I have realized the power of surrendering to God and saying a sincere and heartfelt "THANK YOU". 


Thank you God for bringing me through this time in my life. 


Thank you for loving me enough to giving me the opportunity to overcome this difficulty and learning the lessons I need to learn. 


Thank you for keeping me on the path that I chose for myself before I was even born and not letting me slip up and take it easy in this life. 


Thank you for blessing me with my health, the breath that I take, my family, my loved ones and my friends.


Thank you for being able to afford my hobbies, my passions, my desires.


Thank you for being born in this faith and for holding my hand as I walk this path.


Thank you for using my life to serve others!


Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!


I love you God! and I trust you completely. You alone know what's best for me and yet trust me to make my own choices, and to live my life on my terms.


Thank you.


Wishing you love and light on this journey of life...


From one sufi to another...


Anita

Some more pages from my art journal...

So these are some of the lessons that I've been working on as part of Soul Restoration 1 - from the Brave Girls website I had mentioned a few months ago.

This next one was called "labels". Simple yet powerful!

Sanibel Island 2011 - some pictures

The view from our room...

 The beach is littered with shells...

More shells...

My Zayn ...busy at work...

Aly is just chillin...

Checkin' out the view...

So it was about 6:30 pm..and this man was stumbling on the beach with a beer bottle in his hand. He was drunk. I felt kinda sad for him...but the boys thought it was funny to see a man actually epitomize "drunkenness."  His wife finally came looking for him and escorted him back to their room.

Isn't this beautiful? The waves, the sand, the shells....and the sunset...

Clouds and more...

So I love photography but at this time, I don't even own a working camera. My simple little Sony digital camera died on me a few months ago. I can't really blame it...it worked hard for over 5 years. Now as much as I want to invest in a good camera, 1. I don't have the time to figure out which one to buy. So i have a few friends who have spent some time educating me but I am still confused. and 2. I don't have the time to actually learn how to use it. It'll be simply too easy for me to just buy another point and shoot camera but I refuse to do so. Therefore, in the meantime, I am using the camera on my Blackberry to take pictures EVERYWHERE I go!


My favorites are of clouds or the sky as I'm driving! I usually have my son take the pictures so that I can concentrate on the road :) Here are a few pictures I've taken around town!

I call this one, "HOPE!"

Check out the rain clouds!

This next picture was on our drive to Sanibel Island. It was raining soooo heavy in some spots that I couldn't see 10 feet in front of my car. This was just cloudy and threatening to rain. 

So the next few were taken this morning 9/6/11 on our way to school at 7:15 am. We took pictures as we kept driving towards it.

So the next two were taken earlier today also. What does it remind you of???

So it reminded me of an eagle with a prey in it's claws/beak...:)

That's it for now...until next time...:) 

Sanibel Island 2011!

So we started a family tradition last summer! My boys and I came to Sanibel Island for only 3 days last summer and we LOVED it!!! My boys take numerous trips during the year with their dad who is a pilot. They've literally travelled halfway around the world with European Disney cruises, Costa Rican beaches, Mexico getaways and ofcourse the annual ski trips! But it was our 3 day trip last summer with just the three of us that they cherished and looked forward to. This year we almost didn't make but we're finally here again. Sanibel Island is one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It's most famous for the limitless shells that grace the beaches here. Last year, we left here with 3 large buckets of em and I have them displayed in large, clear glass jars. I love them!!!! I love the act of picking up shells! It soothes my soul! The shells displayed around our home, bring me a lot of joy and happiness!
So of course, now that we're back here again, I made sure we packed a few of the plastic beach buckets to collect shells. But surprisingly I found myself NOT wanting to collect shells. I mean I started to pick em up and place them in the bucket, but I realized that I didn't want or need or desire anymore shells! I realized that I had plenty of them at home just like the ones I was seeing on the beach and I was just happy to be here to enjoy the abundance of the shells! So I took a deep breath and smiled and allowed myself to just be in the moment and enjoy the sun, the sand, the water,  the pretty birds, my boys and ofcourse, all the millions of shells gracing the gorgeous beaches here.

It was a GOOD feeling! I experienced abundance, contentment, joy, peace, gratitude, love and laughter!
IT WAS A GOOD DAY!

Summer is over...art journaling is here...

So I have had an amazing summer but it's been very busy! Between my 12 year old going away to Kansas University for a 3 week Duke Tips Camp aka"Nerd Camp" to running around with my 9 year old and his baseball camp, doctor's and dentist appointments and simply trying to keep cool in this ridiculous hot summer...simply put...I've been busy and I'm glad school has finally started. Not that my schedule is any easier with school starting. But I've been escaping and reconnecting to myself through the "Soul Restoration" classes. This online class is FUN!!! I'm working on an "art journal" and playing with paint, Mod Podge, glitter, stamps, glue gun etc and during all of this, I am working on "restoring myself" one step at a time! So here are a few photos of my art journal. 

SO I STARTED WITH AN ARTIST'S SKETCH BOOK! 

 And then I covered it with this fabric and modpodge, and crystal beads and some of the print outs that I mod podged on some chipboard! What is chipboard...it's basically cardboard of different thickness! Also, the pretty ribbon you see toward the bottom of the cover was part of the fabric. I did cut up the gold border of the fabric and used it to cover the binding! 

   Here is a close-up...so the crystal beads you see on here are my favorite. I applied a thick layer of ModPodge and simply sprinkled the beads on here making sure they were NOT one on top of another, and then I had to wait like 3 days for the ModPodge to dry completely and TA DAAA.....i love the way it looks...like pretty jewelry sparkling on my cover!!!  And thanks to Mod Podge, it is stuck for good!!!

So here is a side view of the journal with only about a dozen pages done...there are over a 100 pages in this book....hmmm....i wonder how this is going to work out...i need to stop embellishing and keeping my pages simple and "flat". :) but boy am i having fun....:)

So I am bookmarking my favorite pages with some pretty ribbon that coordinates with the pages! 

This is one of the last pages I worked on just a few nights ago!!! Although it may look simple, I LOVE THIS 2 page spread!!! It's very therapeutic and it was sooo much fun just playing around with it until I loved the look!!!