FROM JOE AND MO

I just received an update from Joe Vitale's blog and guess what it is about?
http://blog.mrfire.com/secret/oprahs-little-secret/
"I just interviewed Will Bowen, author of the best book of 2007, A Complaint Free World, for my Hypnotic Gold members.
The interview was fantastic, as I expected it to be, but the ending really blew me away.
That’s when I spontaneously asked Will what Oprah had to say about him, his book, and his movement.
He then told me the most amazing thing:
“Between takes Oprah leaned over to me and said, ‘I have nothing to complain about’.
“At first I thought she meant she had nothing to complain about because she’s Oprah and life is good.
“But we talked and I learned that her life is so great because she does not complain to begin with. She always focuses on what she wants. Her not complaining created the Oprah we see.”
I love this story."

That is exactly what I recently experienced! I just stopped complaining and convert every occasion into a learning experience. It's a great feeling and it makes you feel happier, happy for no reason :-)

YOXOMO

INVITATION

I named this picture Buddha's hand, I took it in Thailand.



It is the last day of the year...wow!
Sorry I got so busy with life and had no time left for my Blog.
My resolution for 2008: write Mo Blog! And I want to learn to be as compassionate as a Zen monk :-) I think most suffering is caused by a lack of compassion in combination with attachment to matter...

Received this from my friend Jim today and thought it would be a beautiful text for the last day of the year.

The Invitation
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day,and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.


Thank you for reading my Blog and I hope 2008 will bring you all you wish for or...something better!

YOXOMO

COMPLAIN 2

I guess you have all the reason to complain about me not posting frequently enough!
The reason I did not update you about the "no complain" challenge is because I didn't receive the bracelet yet (no complain, just an excuse).

I tried without the bracelet, but I guess the action of changing it to the other wrist really helps to focus. So, I'll make my own bracelet for the time being. I just wonder...no complain...but how do I change it when driving? Because the hardest time for me NOT to complain is during my commutes, in fact I would be changing it every second!

I think this challenge is much easier when you live on a farm for example, or are you then so isolated that you really have to gossip when in town for picking up the weekly groceries? (the actual challenge is: no complains, no gossip and no sarcasm)

I live in an area with an amazing amount of people who can not drive (no complain, just a fact) LOL. So I find myself sending love to strangers in cars around me and politely asking them to let me merge or pass the green light as well.

At work it's pretty easy, I am lucky to work with a great team, so I try to extend my no complaining with giving more compliments and inspire co-workers. One way to prevent myself from complaining is "letting go" and asking myself: " do I want to be right or do I want to be happy?"

Being in a permanent gratitude mode also helps ( as long as my permanence lasts) ;-)
ARK; Acts of Random Kindness (from Evan Almighty, great movie) also greatly contribute to my quest...

To be continued,

YOXOMO

21 DAYS WITHOUT COMPLAINS

Yes, I am warming up for this challenge initiated by Rev. Will Bowen. At first it sounds like a silly exercise (every time you complain you switch a bracelet to the other wrist until you had the bracelet on one wrist for 21 days).

So today I just tried to watch my complaining and catch it just before I would express it, to see if I could turn it into something else than just a complain. See, you already complain a lot less by getting in the "witness" mode, where you state to yourself: "Aha...Mmm...I see".

What I observed so far is that complaining takes a lot of energy, it's tiring! I could use this energy to focus on things I appreciate, and that's exactly what Will Bowen is aiming for.

I think some people are actually addicted to complaining, I come from a country (Holland) where people love to complain for hours about anything. When you ask a Dutchman "how are you doing?" he or she will likely answer: "Oh, I can't complain" which is actually a complaint by itself! Complaining in the Netherlands is an art.

This psychology professor Barbara Held said in an interview (as a response to this initiative) that people "need" to complain in order to deal with the world because: "life is hard". I think some people just look at life as the glass being half empty and others as half full, it's a choice.

We all know that what you focus on will become reality and/or grow. When you complain about something or someone you provide it with energy and so you'll get more of what you don't want. That's why it's smarter to pay attention to what you a: already have that you appreciate and what you b: would like to see manifest itself.

What it comes down to is that it just feels much better! Fact: positive people live longer!

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS - YOUR HEALTH FREEDOM

A good friend from Holland forwarded me this video and I was speechless. But also glad I have the power to take action!

In case freedom, food and health are things you do care about, you might want to see this video and check this website.

Codex Alimentarius

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2944803407975749033&hl=nl

http://www.healthfreedom.org/


Be well,

Monique

WATER MO

Back to my Blog finally! My regular job is rather busy these days and it consumes most of my energy. The little I have left at the end of the day is for my daughter, she's a smart little girl. The other day she asked me "mom will I look the same when I am older?" Well, I said the answer is yes and no, and I explained that we all change a little every day, and some days we change a lot. The content of "What the Bleep" changed me a lot.

The information about the water crystals is just one, but realizing that our body is made up of roughly 65% water, this knowledge really shakes some fundaments! Below follows information from this website https://www.hado.net/index.php to introduce you to this discovery.

Masaru Emoto was born in Yokohama in July 1943. He is a graduate of the Yokohama Municipal University's department of humanities and sciences with a focus on International Relations. In 1986 he established the IHM Corporation in Tokyo. In October of 1992 he received certification from the Open International University as a Doctor of Alternative Medicine. Subsequently he was introduced to the concept of micro cluster water in the US and Magnetic Resonance Analysis technology. The quest thus began to discover the mystery of water.

He undertook extensive research of water around the planet not so much as a scientific researcher but more from the perspective of an original thinker. At length he realized that it was in the frozen crystal form that water showed us its true nature through. He has gained worldwide acclaim through his groundbreaking research and discovery that water is deeply connected to our individual and collective consciousness. One of his remarkable discoveries is that water responds to words, whether they are spoken, written, or even thought, as in prayer. Kind, uplifting words tend to produce beautifully shaped water crystals, while angry discordant expressions have produced warped crystals.

Imagine how much impact your own thoughts can have on your body, not only your brain, but each water molecule present! Just becoming more aware is what I am mostly grateful for, I try to keep an open mind and observe rather than judge. I am now feeling grateful whenever I open the faucet and see the water running. I "send" love to the glass of water on my desk and enjoy drinking it even more...

Link for my Dutch family and friends:
http://www.cinemien.nl/whatthebleep/index_nl.html

LOVE WATER

Shaken, not stirred!
Boy...I've not been touched so deeply by anything (other than smart remarks from my 4 year old daughter, like: "This book is too short to have chapters.") as the content of this documentary. Especially the contribution by Dr. Masaru Emoto www.masaru-emoto.net He shows how water is deeply connected to our individual and collective consciousness! I am still digesting it, so I'll be back with more, getting thirsty!

http://www.whatthebleep.com/rabbithole/

YOXOMO