2012 Affirmations # 3 - Simplicity

Simple and easy are not the same thing.

Easy is the instant solution - do this and you get that - the magic bullet - that isn't always so magical.

Simple is more organic. More complex. Simple is something we seek with our hearts as much as our heads.

This year I am affirming simplicity by making the choices to clear clutter (inner and outer), making the time to meditate (got off track over the holidays and felt the loss of grounding immediately) and making the things that are most meaningful to me a priority.

Simplicity is not about reducing ourselves to a smaller size - it is about clearing the clutter and chaos to create the space to grow into our true selves.

* beauty in simplicity print by bubby and bean

2012 Affirmations - # 2 relaxation

"every now and then go away and have a little relaxation - to remain constantly at work will diminish your judgement - go some distance away because work will be in perspective" ... leonardo davinci

(some words of wisdom from the master)

A good affirmation for this might be - I take time away from my business and responsibilities. I take time to relax.

I take time for me.

* relax hand screened tee by jonnycobra

2012 Affirmations - faith builders for our reluctant minds - # 1 finding solutions by staying open

I just re-started A Course in Miracles - some of you may be familiar with it. I took this course a few years ago, but like so much else in my life, it went unfinished, so I decided to start again from the beginning.

We also have some family drama which I have not really talked about on here. Some of you may have seen the video or heard the story about a homeless man being beaten up and the kids filming it and proudly putting his beating on youtube. It was all over the internet and television just before Christmas.

We even woke up one morning to see Anderson Cooper talking about it.

The man in the video is my husband's brother. He has been mentally ill, unmedicated, alcoholic, in and out of jail and homeless for decades. We had not seen him in many years.

My husband and I brought him to a rehab center in Pennsylvania on Christmas Eve for a 21 day program - he is being released on Saturday and at this point we have no idea what we will be doing when we pick him up. It is a stressful, crazy time.

Probably part of the reason that little blue book showed up in my life again.

So, I am starting my 2012 affirmations by affirming that I create wonderful solutions by being open to new ideas.

I focus on solutions instead of problems - I choose to see every problem as an opportunity.

Affirmations are a wonderful way to speak abundance into our lives. They are the faith builders (and I am not talking religion here) that encourage our hearts and coax our reluctant minds of the truths that are larger than the life we have experienced in the past.

So rather than focus on the "problem" which keeps us tangled in the energy of "problem"

(which might work if the problem is small and easy to fix, but this focus just seems to make big problems even bigger)

we focus our attention on opening our hearts and minds to the possibility that something or someone can bring about solutions that are greater than anything we can imagine when we are mired in the problem. We are not here to force solutions - but to trust enough to let them unfold naturally.

Trust ... letting things unfold unforced - these are not things that come naturally to me - but I am trying them on for now - the side effects are a little scary at the moment.

(and I don't usually take any medication with side effects - unless they include rapid weight-loss)

* 99 problem print by sweet perversion