Fun sayings, positive affirmations and powerful quotes:

A private railroad car is not an acquired taste. One takes to it immediately.
-Eleanor R. (Mrs. August) Belmont (1879-1979)
 English actress and philanthropist



Never travel faster than your guardian angel can fly.
-Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
 Nobel peace prize winner 1979




There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.
-Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
 American motivation/success Author




This is one of my favorite positive affirmations statements:

Faith is trusting in the good.

Fear is putting your trust in the bad.

People can go through their whole lives chasing everything in the material world, and they fail to discover the greatest treasure of all, which is within them.  Shut your eyes to the outside world.  Direct your thoughts and words to the inside of you.  The Master within you is the key to all the treasures in the world.

~Rhonda Byrne
 Creator of "The Secret"




Here is an excerpt from Deepak Chopra M.D. book Creating Affluence~Wealth Consciousness in the Field of all Possibilities

"P" stands for purpose in life and for pure potentiality. We are here to fulfill a purpose.  It is up to us to find out what that purpose is.  Once we know our purpose then the knowledge of one's purpose leads to the insight that we are true potentiality.
We must be able to state our purpose in very simple terms.  For example, my purpose in life is to heal, to make everyone I come into contact with happy, and to create peace.
Knowing our purpose opens up the doorway to the field of pure potentiality because inherent in our desire are the seeds and mechanics for its fulfillment.  The Vedic seer states, "I am the immeasurable potential of all that was, is, and will be, and my desires are like seeds left in the ground:  they wait for the right season and then spontaneously manifest into beautiful flowers and mighty trees, into enchanted gardens and majestic forests."




A lovely quote by Author, Louise L. Hay

I speak and think positively:

If you could understand the power of your words, you would be careful about what you say.  You would talk constantly in positive affirmations.  The Universe always says "yes" to whatever you say, no matter what you choose to believe.  If you choose to believe that you are not very much, and life will never be any good, and you will never get anything you want, the Universe will respond, and that is exactly what you will have.  The moment you start to change, the moment you are willing to bring good into your life, the Universe will respond in kind.

Start listening to what you say. If you hear yourself using negative or limiting words, change them.




Have a beautiful day,


Photo: "dream" PKM



Joy,


Rena


www.talktotheturtle.com

Seven Wonders of the World and silver charms

Last night as I worked on a gift that was designed around two silver charms my mind started to wander.  I had uploaded  my blog entry post  earlier in the day  with the 100 things I want to do before I go.  On that list I included visiting  the Seven Wonders of the World. 


For whatever reason I woke early this morning thinking to myself, what are the Seven Wonders of the World? I realized I could only remember one and that it was the Pyramids in Egypt.  I quickly turned on my computer to wikipedia and started to read about the most notable places on earth.

When I was younger you would have had to run and get your hard copy encyclopedia that your parents would have most likely purchased from a door to door salesman.  I just sat back in my chair with coffee in hand and thought how amazing it must be for students in today's public schools. The fact that they can surf the net for information must be so time saving.  

I had to search through several sites as the information about the Seven Wonders of the World had some varied  information.  For example the Egyptian Pyramids were listed under the Ancient Wonders of the world or The Original Seven.


I read on to discover that The Seven Wonders of the World has historically been a listing of seven sites known to the Ancient Greeks as the most remarkable locations in their known world.  I also found it interesting to read that the limitation of the list to the seven sites was attributed to the special magical meaning of the number 7.  


You can click on this link: Wikipedia.org-Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to read about each of these original ancient sites.  The only one that still exists is the Great Pyramid of Giza.  

Original Ancient Seven Wonders of the World:

The Great Pyramid of Giza
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Mausoleum at Helicarnassus
The Colossus of Rhodes
The Lighthouse of Alexandria



In 1997, CNN introduced a listing of Seven Natural Wonders of the World and you can click on this link to read about these sites: 7 Wonders of the World

The Natural Wonders of the World:

The Grand Canyon - U.S.A.
The Great Barrier Reef - Australia
The Harbor at Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Mount Everest - Himalayas
The Northern Lights - Aurora Borealis
Paricutin Volcano - Mexico
Victoria Falls - Southern Africa



In July 7, 2007 (7-7-07) the new set of Seven Wonders of the World was introduced based on online voting from around the world. You can click on this link to read about the new sites: new7Wonders of the World.

The "New" Seven Wonders of the World:

The Chichen Itza, Mayan City - Mexico
The Christ Redeemer, Statue - Brazil
The Great Wall - China
Machu Picchu - Peru
Petra, Ancient City - Jordan
The Roman Colosseum - Italy
The Taj Mahal - India

There were 13 finalists on the list  in addition that made finalist mention classification  that you can read about on the above link.   

I also read that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also lists some amazing designated Heritage Sites as well. 

Wow, I had no idea that my desire of something I listed as a dream would involve so much worldly thought.  Today's students researching for information have volumes of information to wade through now, which they can reflect on  and have their own opinions about.

In keeping with that thought I would like to share with you the most notable Idea that I have find to be very inspiring.  I have included a video by the First Lady of The United States, Michelle Obama on her introduction to DonorsChoose.org.

This unique charitable organization has an online donation page where you can choose from a list  of ongoing public school projects that the teachers have listed for their independent classrooms.  This is the future of the true wonders of the world in my humble opinion.  


In my desire to learn and reach out more than what I knew I was led to this video. 


I introduce you to DonorsChoose.org  - It speaks for itself.









Have a beautiful day,



Photo: "Gods work" PKM



Joy,


Rena


www.talktotheturtle.com

Unusual gift ideas for you; List 100 things to do before you go.

I most recently was inspired with the idea of listing 100 things to do before I go.

I feel this sweet concept falls under the heading of unusual gift ideas for yourself. Dreaming of the attainable and then just plain old dreaming.  I really like the Mighty girl list written by Maggie Mason and was really inspired to start thinking if I really could even come up with 100 things I want to do.  Maggie Mason's lifestyle site is pretty impressive and you can view her list and let it inspire you as it did me. 

I have always loved the beauty and splendor of watching a horse galloping over an open field.  I believe it goes back to the memory of me  as a young girl and riding our neighbour's horses. Spunky and Dottie were their names; two welsh ponies that were as different as night and day.  Spunky was white and had blue eyes and a temper to go with his name.  Dottie was a lovely brown and white pinto mare and was as gentle as a summer's day.  The main thrill of these two horses was that there was only a bridle to ride the horses with for me.  There were  saddles but my neighbours (o.k. they were way more than neighbours-they were basically family) used the horses to compete with and so the saddles were a highly coveted item. I was invited to ride when I wanted but only using a bridle.  

How hard could this be I would ask myself?  I would watch the ponies and I would talk to them.  I had this inside feeling that I should be able to talk to the ponies and then bridle them up and be able to have your classic glorious ride. Girl and pony riding in unison, people in awe of us as to how connected the horse and I were. 

It actually never really went that way however.  Basically I was thrown, bucked, stomped on and bitten.  I remember thinking as I flew over Dottie's ears with the reins in my hand;   all in slow motion,  how could this be happening to me because I loved that horse and had spent hours talking to her.

Spunky was actually not a very nice horse to me on a consistent basis, and he would throw me sideways by taking a quick turn to the left and of course I would go flying to the right.  It was something I always wanted to be good at, riding a horse, plain and simple. 

Forever the optimistic I never gave up on my love of horses. In my teens over two summers I went riding at a stable on the beach.  My leased horse was a strawberry appaloosa and his name was Jack. While all the other horses would run back to the stable on the turn around path Jack would take my lead. He would walk and canter with such ease.  He had a gentle mouth, and a pink nose to touch and I loved him.
The second summer I had no money and I would go and wait for him to come back from the ride just to see him. Then one day I went to the stable and he was gone.
I had talked to my parents about owning Jack for a solid year, but it was a luxury and not a necessity to my parents. That is not how I felt about it at all.  All these years later I still get welled up inside with happiness when I think about that time spent with that rented horse Jack. 

Not to give up on my love of horses, I applied at the local horse track and showed up at 4:30am to help  a trainer that I had begged to give me a chance to show how good I could be with horses.  I lasted one day.  After the race I was given a horse named Hank to walk, and things went pretty well during the first walk around the barn  but on the second turn he slid just so slightly on the cobblestone got spooked and yanked his head so hard he basically lifted me up off the ground.  I was so embarrassed and was relieved to be told it was o.k. that I didn't have to come back the next day. 

In my early thirties I was flush with cash and I thought I would take English riding lessons. It looked a lot easier than just riding bareback and I had still the dream of

horses and riding. That didn't go so well either.  I would talk to my rented horse in the stall prior to my lesson, and feel confident that things would go well. I really loved my riding pants and black velvet helmet and boots.  Each lesson started out all right  but inevitably the horse I leased "Lady", would slam me into the sideboards of the ring. 

The last lesson I took I had actually graduated to small jumps. I am not really sure how it all happened but the horse while in mid-air and then on the way landing dumped me.  I never let go of the reins and unfortunately my right foot was caught in the stirrup.  Lady the horse stopped. We were both breathing pretty heavy.  However, my trainer started yelling and with that off took the horse with me entwined in the stirrup.  I grabbed those reins so hard I could feel the hurt from my hands to my arms and back.  When Lady the horse stopped I got up and limped out of the ring bent over like the letter L.  

So when I saw Stacy Westfall 2006 ride with her quarterhorse Roxy I was yelling at the video. "I knew it - I knew it could be done"! When I scrolled through Stacy's blog comments, everyone's  comments include their emotions expressed with tears.  You will be too I am sure when you see the video, it is so amazing and inspiring.  For me though, it is a solid confirmation that there could be such an honest communication between horse and rider.  Roxy the horse died February 8, 2012.

It is with this video that I kick off my 100 things to do before I go.

01. Meet Stacy Westfall

02. Take riding lessons with Stacy Westfall

03. Meet Maggie Mason

04. Have a blog that is Mighty Girl league

05. Have another dog that lives a long life

06. Stretch everyday

07. Visit the 7 wonders of the world

08. Write a story that inspires people to laugh

09. Paint beautiful portraits of landscape and animals

10. Develop an app

11. Knit a scarf

12. Learn qi gong

13. Own a white pantsuit

14. Learn to speak Mandarin

15. Learn to speak Spanish

16. Have a party with my childhood cousins

17. Rescue a llama

18. Learn how to play a Brahms piano piece

19. Be blessed with a  cat that can match Lapinsky

20. Spend a winter in Sedona Az.

21. Ski Aspen 

22. Learn to sign language for the deaf

23. Make a rack of lamb

24. Visit the Smithsonian

25. Design a product for a worthy charity like Red/Gap

26. Win a millionaire lottery 

27. Donate a water/well for a village in Africa

28. Teach kids how to play the piano

29. Shoot, Cut and Edit my own video 

30. Take Dad to a art show in Jackson Hole, Wy.

31. Make a pie

32. Make perogies from scratch

33. See a bottlenose dolphin (aka Flipper) in the wild

That is as far as I can get, at this one sitting. 

I will pick this up again, and enjoy the process of the final entries. Dream, Dream, Dream... What does your list look like?

Have a beautiful day,

Photo: "Reflection" PKM

Joy,

Rena

www.talktotheturtle.com

Fun sayings, positive affirmations and powerful quotes:

It is terribly amusing how many different climates of feeling one can go through in one day.

~Anne Morrow LIndbergh (1906-2001)

American writer & aviator

We are tomorrow's past.

~Mary Webb (1881-1927)

Scottish writer

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

~Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Indian Statesman

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

This is one of my favourite positive affirmations statements:

Never let a day pass without looking for the good, feeling the good within you, praising, appreciating, blessing and being grateful.

Make it your life commitment, and you will stand in utter awe of what happens in your life.

-Rhonda Byrne

Creator of "The Secret"

Here is an excerpt from Deepak Chopra M.D. book, Creating Affluence~Wealth Consciousness in the Field of All Possibilites:

"O" stands for the fact that life is the coexistence of all opposite values. Joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, up and down, hot and cold, here and there, light and darkness, birth and death. All experience is by contrast, and one would be meaningless without the other.

A wise seer once said, "A man born blind from birth will never know the meaning of darkness because he has never experienced light."

When there is a quiet reconciliation, an acceptance in our awareness of this lively coexistence of all opposite values, then automatically we become more and more nonjudgmental. The victor and the vanquished are seen as two poles of the same being. Nonjudgment leads to quietening of the internal dialogue, and this opens the doorway to creativity.

"O" also stands for opportunity and open and honest communication. Every contact with every human being is an opportunity for growth and the fulfillment of desire-onehas only to be alert to the opportunities through increased awareness. Open and honest communication opens the channels to realize those opportunities.

A lovely quote by Author, Louise L. Hay-

Each one of us is always working with the three-year old child within us. Most of us, unfortunately, spend our time yelling at that child, and then wondering why our lives don't work.

Take care of your inner child. It is the child who does not know what to do. Be there for your child. Embrace yourself and be sure to let your child know that no matter what happens, you will always be there. You will never turn away or run away.

Have a beautiful day,

photo: 'perfect light' PKM

joy,

Rena

www.talktotheturtle.com

Vision boards & Feng Shui for your Happy New Year

Happy Chinese New Year which was January 23, 2012. The Celestial animal that the Chinese share with us for this year is The Water Dragon. The Dragon is the only mythical animal in the Chinese horoscope and points to a year that is filled with dreams coming true for all of us. With relationship to Feng Shui and working with elements the Dragon's natural home element is wood. This year 2012 has the water element fueling the happy lucky Dragon's twelve month tour of auspicious luck and energy.

Working with the nourishing elemental energy cycles:

Fire nourishes Earth element.

Earth nourishes Metal element.

Metal nourishes Water element.

Water nourishes Wood element.

Wood nourishes Fire element.

I don't know if you noticed or not, but water nourishes wood. The water element nourishes wood - to make it grow and flourish. It is on this basis that we can recognize the harmonious aspects available to all of us through this Chinese New Year.

What a wonderful time to start with a Vision board and create your intentions for the New Year.

A Vision Board is a process of images and photographs and words that mean and hold powerful emotions for you personally. It is a very enjoyable way to consciously and unconsciously manifest these images and objects on your vision board into a living breathing reality that will enhance your life.

Here is a quick step by step explanation of how to do just that:

1. Gather images. This can be photos you have collected throughout the years, or magazines. Do not rush through this step, honour yourself with time. You can make your vision board in one sitting or add to it thru your year. In addition to images from magazines and personal photographs, you can also include objects like keychains, necklaces or important pieces of jewelry. Whatever you can imagine is a big yes.

2. Words. Choose the words you want to happen in your life and include them on your Vision Board. Create a question with Why being the first word in your sentence. Is there a question that you want to live into? Is it an empowering, positive question?

3. Make sure everything on your Vision Board you are available to say yes to.

4. Spacing. Breathing room - your vision board needs it. The easiest way to explain this is a video I saw with John Assaraf being interviewed by Ryan Higgins for the new vision board system Mind Movies. What is really interesting when you watch this video is that John Assaraf's vision board (seen at 3:46 min) only has a few images on it and there is a lot of space between the images. When you crowd your images it does not leave any breathing space, and lends to a more chaotic energy pattern. When you leave the images almost in a floating placement it allows for space in your unconscious to unfold these images into reality.

5. Shape. Your vision board can be as big or small as you feel. Some people will have a large one on their wall that can be three feet wide. Other choices are much smaller and the good news is that whatever size and shape that you choose for your vision board will be right for you.

6. Change. You can change your Vision Board anytime. If you want to add images or check off an image that you have been joyfully able to manifest is also an idea. If you place a piece of jewelry on your vision board, it will encourage you to touch it. This participation helps in keeping the relationship with your yes images alive for you!

A brand new idea to hit the Vision Board idea bank is Mind Movies. This is how the system MInd Movies works. The site offers a collection of images, powerful affirmations, and music to choose from in their extensive library and resources. You click on the choices in each of these areas and create a very positive and personal vision board. It is the law of attraction brought one more step forward into our information age by creating a video that you watch everyday. I am just surprised that someone did not think of this idea and format earlier. It is a little pricey, but for the person who is looking for a vision board that is most current and high tech this is definitely worth viewing. From looking at their website, there is a one time set up fee, and a monthly servicing fee.

Enjoy the video: Ryan Higgins interviews John Assaraf for Mind Movies and Vision Boards.

Have a beautiful day,

photo: 'water' PKM

joy,

Rena

www.talktotheturtle.com

Lucky charm "woof" Dakota 1997-2012

Christmas day 2011 started out on the happy note of waking up to the wafting smell of coffee brewing. It did not last that long however as I made my way downstairs to discover that Dakota our beloved dog of fourteen and a half years was not sitting at the bottom of the stairs. He was always waiting for me when I woke up and he would greet me with his tail flapping and some form of singing dog talk. "Where is my lucky charm dog?" I asked Brian who was sitting on the rocking chair, fully dressed with coat and hat on. "I was just going to come and get you". Dakota was missing when he had gotten up earlier and after driving around for half an hour on the way back to the house he saw a white nose sitting in the woods.

"Dakota wandered off into the woods and he won't get up" Brian said with that calm resolve I so admire in him. "Where is he?" I demanded with the complete panic mode button switched on as I was throwing my coat and boots on over my PJs heading for the front door. Brian had already set up camp beside Dakota with a blanket, his best food biscuits and water by the time I made my way to him in the woods.

Sometimes in life you just do not need any words to explain a situation. This was one of those times. Our beloved pet; big teacher spirit dog sitting there in the woods showing us in the only way he could that time was near. I sat down beside him and told him I loved him, but how I was hoping he would reach the Guinness book of records for oldest living dog of say 45. I then burst into tears and told him that he could not leave for dog heaven yet, and that he had to come back into the house.

He did. He could barely  get up and struggled with his walking but his sheer will to please me, made his way back to his favourite blanket by the fireplace in the house.

The last six months Dakota's aka "Fluffy", "Smoogy", "Mr. Big", "Moogleberry", overall ability to get around had been failing but his nose was cool and wet and his appetite never waned. He was always happy to see us.

That was Christmas day and Dakota left for dog heaven on January 3, 2012. We did get in a lot of wonderful conversations in that long week. New Years eve day was sunny and we lifted him into the car and took him for a drive to all his favourite spots.

That sniffer of his was on full throttle open and his head was propped up with his nose sitting on the car window ledge. We visited the lake, the park and then stopped to visit two of his dog friends that he liked from his neighbourhood walks that were out with their family. It was a good day and makes New Years Eve special forever.

In that week between Christmas and January 3rd 2012 he wandered off into the woods again for a second time and this time when we found him we told him that we understood.

Dakota died peacefully with us by his side at our home. He gave so much to us. We are touched to our core for the better.

I read a special blog posting on intent.com by Erik Fisher Ph.D on his family dog passing. A reader commented to his blog posting with the following:

"The way I look at it, theyr'e not really gone anyway. They live on in every single set of paws or pair of grinning chops I see every day. doG is Love."

I will add to that by quoting from my memory on Morgan Freedman in that movie Shawshank Redemption.

"You have a choice". "Either get busy Dying or get busy Living".

"Fluffy" showed us how to live. He had no regrets. He made every single moment count. There will never be another nose like him. Love you Dakota.... you're  a good boy.

Adele sings three beautiful songs at NPR:

How to: Not Regret Dying

Have a beautiful day,

joy,

photo: new years eve 2011

Rena

www.talktotheturtle.com

Fun sayings,positive affirmations and powerful quotes:

Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.

~Brooks Atkinson (1894-1984)

American theatre critic

New Year's Day is every man's birthday.

~Charles Lamb (1775-1834)

English essayist

You will never change what you tolerate.

~Joel Osteen (1963 b.d.)

Televangelist, Lakewood Church, Houston Texas

I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.

~Anais Nin (1903-1977)

American/French writer

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards. Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

~Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936)

English writer

This is one of my favourite positive affirmations statements:

The ancient Babylonians practiced a vital law that was the cause of their immense prosperity. They used the tithing law, which involves giving one-tenth of all money or riches that you receive. The tithing law says that you must give to receive, and the Babylonians knew that the practice of this law opens up the flow of abundance. If you are thinking, "I will give when i have enough money," then the tithing law says you will never have enough money, because you have to give first. Many of the wealthiest people on the planet tithed their way to wealth, and they have never stopped tithing!

Rhonda Byrne

Creator of "The Secret"

Here is an excerpt from Deepak Chopra M.D. Creating Affluence - Wealth Consciousness in the Field of All Possibilities

"N" stands for saying no to negativity. My friend Wayne Dyer, the famous author, taught me a simple technique for this. Whenever he has a negative thought he silently says to himself, "Next", and moves on.

Saying no to negativity also means not being around negative people. Negative people deplete your energy. Surround yourself with love and nourishment and do not allow the creation of negativity in your environment.

A lovely quote by Author, Louise L. Hay

"The body, like everything else in life, is a mirror of your inner thoughts and beliefs. Every cell responds to every single thought you think and every word you speak. My body loves me in spite of how I may treat it. My body communicates with me, and I now listen to its messages. I am willing to get the message. I pay attention and make the necessary corrections. I give my body what it needs on every level to bring it back to optimum health. I call upon an inner strength that is mine whenever I need it. And so it is.

Have a beautiful day,

photo: 'Happy New Year' PKM

joy,

Rena

www.talktotheturtle.com