Jeff and I made our annual pilgrimage to the Renaissance Festival in Apache Junction, Arizona. I think this is our fourteenth year to do so. It’s a flight from the everyday to a fantasy land of humor, fun and frolicking. Here are some of the photos Jeff took with his new digital camera. He was in hog heaven with it.

This is a comedy duo, Don Juan and Miguel, who entertain with sword  fighting and whips. We make sure we always see one of their shows. Miguel is holding pasta in his mouth in this bit. Notice the pieces of flying pasta that Don Juan has cut with his whip.

This gentleman is Adam Crack, who holds the Guinness World Record for the most whip cracks in one minute. Here he’s preforming with flaming whips.

And no Renaissance Faire would be complete without jousting.

This is a picture of me in my old dress, the one my mother made for me in 1996.

And here is my own Renaissance man, Jeff.  HUZZAH! You can find more photos of the Faire on his blog, The Creative’s Corner.

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I’ve been working on projects, some professional, some personal. One of the personal projects has been to sew a new costume for the Renaissance Festival that Jeff and I attend annually. My mother, a dress designer and seamstress extraordinaire (among her many talents), designed and made my original dress in 1996. It’s beginning to show its age.

I’d bought a pattern several years ago, and this year decided to take my courage in both hands and embark on this adventure, the first big sewing project I’ve attempted without my mother’s expert guidance. And I have to say, I succeeded. I know she would be proud of me and the result. Now I have two costumes to wear, one for each day that we attend the Faire.

P.S. The colorful fabric belts I’m wearing are inkle belts that I made years ago. The white thing hanging from my right hip is a purse/bag that Jeff and I designed on the fly. I like the design, but it’s too big.

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I received these quotes by email, and loved them. They highlight spiritual and universal principles. The first one is the corollary of “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.”

“To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.”

The second one addresses our feelings when you normally feel you’re not receiving what you desire. It feels like you’re being deprived, that you don’t deserve it, that you’ve done something wrong because it’s not manifesting or has been taken away. Instead, the Universe is keeping your Highest Good in mind and wants to give you something better.

“When God takes something from your grasp, He’s not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.”

This last quote reminds you that the will of the Universe is for your Highest and Best Good. And that when you seem to be traveling along a difficult path, you are being Divinely Protected.

“The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.”

I hope you’ll take these ideas to heart, and use them to lift up your awareness of who you truly are.

inspiration

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Here’s a mind-blowing video about how fast technology is moving and our world is changing. If you have trouble viewing it, visit Did You Know..?

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Prosperity Plus by Edwene Gaines

Edwene Gaines is a well-known teacher of prosperity, and this is a wonderful live recording of this seminar. She’s a hoot, meaning that she’s a fun and humorous. She explains the principles of prosperity well and uses examples from her own life to show how it has worked for her. Describing her bumpy, first exploration into metaphysics, she lets you know that she had to learn these principles the hard way.

She touches on such topics as how to manifest your desires (including money), creating abundance, what you need to avoid to manifest more good, the touchy subject of tithing, raising your prosperity consciousness, and much more. Holding nothing back from her history, she shows how she’s had knocks along the way, and what she’s learned from them. She uses her own stories to teach the mystical basis of true abundance and prosperity.

I listen to this audio regularly, to keep me on track with manifesting prosperity. You can download it as an MP3 and transfer it to your IPod or MP3 player.

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by Linda-Ann Stewart

Do you remember how your mother used to tell you, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything?” Well, unfortunately, she was right. But not just so that you’re nice or considerate. Not being critical is actually a spiritual principle. It’s the Law of Attraction in action.

Wherever attention goes, energy flows. Whatever you focus on expands, whether it’s a positive or negative, and whether it’s in your life or the lives of others. Criticism is not only negative, there’s usually a lot of force associated with the observation. That power  gets the attention of the subconscious. And your subconscious doesn’t distinguish between the condemning of others’ actions and what’s going on in your life.

When you’re critical of others, the subconscious recognizes the image you’re holding and energy connected with it. Whatever you put your attention on tends to grow because the subconscious thinks you want more of it in your life. When you judge others for some infraction, you’re restricting the flow of Universal good into your life.

In her audio “Prosperity Plus,” prosperity teacher Edwene Gaines tells the story of when she first began attending a metaphysical church. She complained to the minister about  every aspect of the service, the people, and the activities. The minister, very kindly, told her something like, “Be quiet. Your highest spiritual lesson right now is not to complain.”

The Law of Attraction works by attracting what it is that you have your attention focused on, through feelings, what you think about most, and what image is predominently in your mind. When you’re focusing on what you disapprove of, you’re attracting more of that into your life. Your negative feelings and thoughts have shut off your mental magnet for good. Instead the Law of Attraction is bringing you more of what you don’t want.

Ask yourself, “Why do I feel the need to disapprove of that person, situation or thing?”
Some people think that the only way they can feel better is to tear others’ down. It makes them feel superior to the ones they’re judging. It means that their inner critic is incredibly strong, and they thrust their own feelings of inadequacy on others’s to achieve some relief from judging themselves. If this is the case, then you might want to work on your sense of self-worth. List the ways that you criticize yourself, and begin to respond to those statements in a more supportive way.

Is the situation one that truly needs changing?
Sometimes you need to recognize and acknowledge the 800 pound gorilla in the room before you can decide what to do about it. You don’t need to direct hostility towards the gorilla, though. That just perpetuates the situation by continuing to passively observe and judge. Instead, use that energy to be pro-active and determine what you need to do to make it better.

Put yourself on a criticism diet.
No matter how tempting, don’t criticize, condemn, judge, or disapprove of others’ statements or actions, or situations or conditions in your life. This helps you become aware of how much you do it, and guides you toward avoiding it altogether.

Find one thing to appreciate about the person or situation.
To paraphrase what your mother said, “Find one good thing to say about them.” If you’re stuck in traffic, you can appreciate that you’re having time to relax and take deep breaths. Suppose your boss yells at you, give thanks that at least you still have a job. What is one thing that you like or can value about the person or condition?

As you stop criticizing others and condemning situations, you’ll notice that your life starts to brighten. Finding something good about it gives the Universe, and your subconscious,  the intention to bring something beneficial into your life. The Law of Attraction works whether it’s negative or positive. Make the choice to put it to work in a much more beneficial way for you.

Affirmation

I know that the Universe attracts to me that which I focus upon. Therefore, I now place my attention on positive, uplifting and generous ideas. Whenever I’m tempted to criticize someone, condemn a situation in my life, or judge myself, I say to myself, “Stop that.” Immediately, I find something good, positive, or valuable in it. In doing so, I am directing my creative mind to attract more Universal good into my life.

self improvement, self help, personal growth, personal development, motivation, productivity

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Last month, at the American Psychosomatic Society’s annual meeting, a research study was presented that showed that optimistic women had a considerably lower risk of death, from any cause, than pessimistic women. The study consisted of almost 100,000 women over 8 years, it was found that those women who had an optimistic viewpoint lowered their risk of death by 14 percent than those women who were pessimistic. Men weren’t studied, so it’s uncertain whether the benefits would be as great for them.

Read the full story at Trust Me-The Glass Is Half Full.

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