Birthday

This is an abstract drawing I did up in ink. It represents my birthday today. I see a heart in it which represents love. I see lungs which represents the breath of life or chi or prana and energy. I have candles or lights to represent happiness, joy and celebration of life. There is flow and design to the art piece. I usually create to the sound of music playing while I free flow my creative work to the inspirational music.

Thanks in advance for liking, commenting, sharing and purchasing. Thanks for all positivity.

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Blossoms in Heart Formation

I was looking at these flowers I took and thought they look as if they create a heart-shape formation. I took out the background and it became more visible. It is as if they were made as a center piece for an wedding arrangement bouquet.

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Valentine Rose

Here is a beautiful red rose from me to you! I have left the essential rouge colour as it is and took out the green background to make it black and white. I love what you can do with computer design nowadays.

It was taken at the Rose Garden in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

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Balcony Love

Here is a silhouette of a couple in love enjoying the sunset in Waikiki part of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. They are on their balcony seeing the last remnants of the night sky turn a beautiful orange and yellow hue into the night sky as the sun disappears behind the horizon.

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Date Time Original: Apr 29, 2012
ISO Speed Ratings: 125
FNumber: 5.6
Exposure Time: 1/250
Aperture Value: 4.971

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Death and Dying

Book: “What the Dead Are Dying to Teach Us: Lessons Learned From the Afterlife,” by Claire Broad, Watkins Publishing, 2019.

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

Book available September 10, 2019

Claire Broad tries hard and for that I have to give her some credit. She has written a basic book about mediumship and what the dead are trying to teach us. It is a good beginner introduction but if you are aware of anything about what decease spirits are saying, it is repetitive from other sources. If you watch Long Island Medium, Mama Medium, Mom’s a Medium or have seen John Edward, Colette Baron-Reid, John Holland, James Van Praagh you should be aware of the major points spiritual people are making.

I found myself becoming quite busy and so had to leave the book mainly read but not entirely. It was a mistake because I was not “called” back to the book. I eventually came back to it to finish it off and give it a proper reading. I am sorry to say but much of what has been said in this book has been said by many others beforehand.

Here are the seven main points. “You are spirit or conscious awareness. Death is an illusion because consciousness is not confined. You are never alone. You can rise above fear. Love never dies as your life has purpose. Ask and it will be given. And nobody dies alone.”

To be fair, I went over my notes and I found that I liked Claire’s Call to Action sections.

To conclude, I would have to say that if you are dealing with death or are curious about the afterlife, this is a good introductory book. I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. If you interested in life between lives, I would recommend the hypnotic work of Dr. Michael Newton of the Newton Institute.

Tags:  Claire Broad, Waktins Publishing, death, medium, mediumship, dead, spirit, spiritual, psychic, Long Island Medium, Mama Medium, John Edward, Colette Baron-Reid, John Holland, James Van Praagh, spirit, consciousness, illusion, fear, love, purpose, Dr. Michael Newton, Newton Institute, Mary Mikawoz, Mikawoz, Book Review

Living Forever Young

 

Book: “Living Forever Young: The 10 Secrets to Optimal Strength, Energy and Vitality” by Skip Archimedes, Watkins Publishing, 256 pages.

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

Right away when you learn about the author Skip, you have to be amazed. He was a gymnast but had an accident and broke his back. He was told by doctors and specialists that he would never walk again. Within 18 months, he was back on his feet and winning a championship, the English Sports Acrobatics Championship. He has helped change many people including his mother who walks her dog and swims a 100 lengths every day. What is also very important to note is that the forward was written by David “Avocado” Wolfe who is well known in the natural health industry.

The ten main chapters of the book are:Breathe, Move, Nourish, Rest, Love, Shine, Believe, Learn, Commit and Live. This book is not an exercise or nutrition book but more of a life-enhancement book. It is important to have an alkaline body – not one based on acid.

With the first element breathing, it is important to breathe deeply with the exhale longer than the inhale. Interestingly, breathing deals with 70% of toxins. Breathing during exercise or while outdoors is important. Try to exercise for 30 to 45 minutes of good breathing. The second element, movement is important to your body and Skip offers up his Mom as an example. At 69, she had physical troubles, then she went on one of Skip’s retreat and lost 28 pounds and soon afterwards took up swimming and walking her new dog. At 74, she is in great shape and is active. Try aerobic, anaerobic exercise and yoga. The important thing to do is to find an activity that you enjoy.

Did you know that jogging, skipping, circuit training and rebounding can stimulate bone growth and reduce the risk of osteoporosis, especially in women?

With nourishment, the third element, it is important to drink 2 litres of water a day. Skip is a vegan but indicates this is an individual choice. He does suggest a plant-based diet is best. Skip suggest juicing and making smoothies from scratch so that you know what goes in them. He has a number of Morning Green Juices to start his day before breakfast. Superfoods such as wheatgrass, barley, chlorella, spirulina, hemp protein, chia, and cacao add to your smoothies and boosts your nutritional intake. Eating a raw salad helps too. Fruits and vegetables are alkaline foods which are good for dealing with you pH levels. If you are going vegetarian, there should be enough protein in a diet filled with fruit, vegetables, nuts, beans, pulses, seeds and grains.

The fourth element is rest or regularly scheduled sleep which is important to the body. A change is as good as a rest such as a change in routine or small vacation. A meditation or guided visualization is a good option for changing a mood.

Love is the fifth element. As Lucille Ball said “Love yourself first and everything falls in place.” It is important to love yourself first and foremost before loving others. Esther Hicks says that what you give out is what comes back to you whether it is negative or positive energy. Consider also how love will imprint your DNA to affect future generations in your family.

The sixth element is sunshine both in terms of vitamin D requirements and also a metaphor for your internal sunshine – of light emanating from inside of you out. There is, after all, no life without sunlight. You should be exposing 40% of your skin 20 minutes daily. Rats had more serotonin when exposed to more natural sunlight which deals with depression.

The seventh element is believe so that you can live an authentic, valuable and rewarding life. It is important to find your purpose and passion and combine the two if possible. For this to happen, you need self-belief and a lack of doubt. As Confucius said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

The eighth element is to learn that stimulating your mind is also nourishing your body. Likewise in a similar fashion, Plato emphasized exercises as being important for the mind.

The ninth element is commitment and being able to visualize the end goal that you desire. It is your beliefs, passions and purpose that define who you are. It is important to have thankfulness and a positive attitude in reaching one’s goals.

The final and tenth element is to live. You have your inner world of body and mind and now you need to deal with the outer environment that you physically live in. Your spirit is vitally important. For internally, you should do a detoxification, such as a 3 day juice fast of fruits and vegetables (5 pints or 2.5 litres). Failures are only lessons so continue on your way with trying everything from A to Z.

These in a nut shell are the ten elements to a successful life. This was a good read and I recommend it to be people would like to be encouraged.

Tags: Breathe, Move, Nourish, Rest, Love, Shine, Believe, Learn, Commit and Live, Self-help improvement book, broken back, mother, gymnastics, champion, fast, detoxification

Happiness Now!

Book: “Happiness Now: Timeless Wisdom for Feeling Good Fast” by Robert Holden

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

After finishing this book, I took some time to reflect upon it. It is a good read. It makes a lot of common sense. Ultimately, it is important to love yourself now – not in the past or some time in the future but now. It is the sacredness of loving yourself that makes you more loveable and special. The world is a mirror. You only can see what you are prepared to see. If you have guilt in your life, you will see guilt. If you see failure, you will see failure. If you see goodness, you will see goodness. To find joy, you must uncover the guilt, the fear, the doubts, past conditioning and your history. True happiness, on the other hand, is an inner power which is “…natural, healing, abundant and always available.”

Interestingly, the EGO can be seen as Edging God Out or Everything Good is Outside. The ego or the conditioned self sees you as being in the wrong; as having something inherently wrong with you. One way of thinking about the ego is to think of a bird flying high in the sky trying to find the sky. Thy are already in it. It is like a fish in water being thirsty.

Robert Holden mentions a lot of psychological schools from Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Fritz Perls, Roberto Assiagolio, R.D. Laing, Janov, Eric Berne and Dr. J.L. Moreno. He indicates what the schools calls the ego and the unconditioned self or spirit. Even Sigmund Freud changed his mind towards the end of his life and said “In the final analysis, we must love in order not to fall ill.” Psychology is finding its soul.

Robert Holden further looks at Eastern Mysticism for enlightenment. He even searches Christianity Sikhism, Islam and Buddhism. He quotes “Search not in distant skies; in man’s heart God lies” and so forth. “Ye are Gods,” Jesus said to the people.

During Robert Holden’s Happiness Project, they did everything to elicit emotion and to deal with it. They remember the truth and let go of the pain. Robert indicates that you need to be able to spend time by yourself and love yourself while doing that.

Mr. Holden, however, has the belief that you can’t do the healing by yourself. I disagree. He thinks you need a counsellor or some sort of way of releasing the emotion. He says “…a true healer helps you to remember and reconnect consciously with your inner light.” Your inner light being the unconditioned self that is loving, free of fear and creative.

He indicates that there are a lot of positive things that happen when you are happy. People will gravitate towards you and will not know why. To be happy, you must first undo your misperceptions, false conditioning and fearful beliefs. It is a road that people can and should travel. It is the journey that matters and not the destination.

The book has a number of poems and sayings that are positive and helpful. The book is a reminder to be happy now instead of a prolonged time afterwards. It is a call to action. I recommend this book for those who wish to pursue more happiness in their lives. It is an anniversary book put out by Hay House.

Tags: Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Fritz Perls, Roberto Assiagolio, R.D. Laing, Janove, Eric Berne and Dr. J.L. Moreno, psychology, self, love, soul, inner light, Happiness Project.

Until Today

“Until Today” By Iyanla Vanzant

Book: “Until Today: Daily Devotional for Spiritual Growth and Peace of Mind” by Iyanla Vanzant

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

This book will take you a year to read; at least, it should. It is daily devotional book dated each day for an entire year. I read the book at a number of sittings because I did not know if I could wait a year to read all the amazing insights that Iyanla has to offer.

Iyanla’s insights are so incredible and in depth. Her wisdom is of sage advice. I enjoyed reading her book and think it would be very good to focus on one aspect each day. Each month has a different focus. From January to December, the devotee is supposed to focus on different elements such as the following: life, love, awareness, acknowledgment, acceptance, forgiveness, understanding, faith, trust, worth, service and peace.

It is difficult to discuss everything Iyanla goes over so I will keep my comments to a minimum by quoting a couple of days in the book. On July 30, the beginning of the day starts with “I will gain more understanding when I realize…there is a place called home where I am always welcome.” There are four paragraphs that follow expounding further on this concept. It ends off the page with a focal point. In this case, it reads, “Today I am devoted to finding my way back home!”

Other example pages have poems or quotes or sayings in it. One of my favourites is found on December 29 where the following is given.

“You are here:

To gain character as you lose ego

To gain integrity as you lose dishonesty

To gain strength as you lose fear

To gain compassion as you lose disappointment

To gain discipline as you lose willfulness

To gain equality as you lose separation

To gain appreciation as you lose resentment

To gain enthusiasm as you lose hostility

To gain tenderness as you lose rigidity

To gain boldness as you lose bitterness

To gain generosity as you lose selfishness

To gain optimism as you lose inadequacy

To gain excitement as you lose embarrassment

To gain gratitude as you lose greed

To gain love as you lose ignorance.”

The book in my estimation is fantastic. Iyanla puts down in writing many of her inner peaceful secrets and understandings of God. This a a great spiritual book that could be read first thing in the morning each and every day for years to come with new insights being found all the time. I highly recommend this book.

Tags: devotional, book, 365 days, year, life, love, awareness, acknowledgment, acceptance, forgiveness, understanding, faith, trust, worth, service, peace, character, ego, integrity, honesty, strength, fear, compassion, disappointment, discipline, willfulness, equality, separation, appreciation, resentment, tenderness, rigidity boldness, bitterness, generosity, selfishness, optimism, inadequacy, excitement, embarrassment, gratitude, greed, love, ignorance.

Heart Part 2

Heart Part 2

This is an abstract acrylic painting of the heart. It involves valves and the connection between love and the true answer in life. I am influenced in my abstract art by Jack Bush (a Canadian Artist) and Lawren Harris of the Canadian Group of Seven.

Thank you for liking, commenting and/or sharing. Mary

For a bigger image, please click here.

Heart Part 1

Heart – Part 1

This is an abstract acrylic painting of the heart. It involves valves and the connection between love and the true answer in life. I am influenced in my abstract art by Jack Bush (a Canadian Artist) and Lawren Harris of the Canadian Group of Seven.

Thank you for liking, commenting and/or sharing. Mary

For a larger image, please click here.