“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.”
- Oscar Wilde

With the ability to cut off your feelings, you have found it hard to open your heart. You deal with life mostly from your head. There is a certain disconnection about you that others can sense. Others may even call you cold. You believe it to be mostly true for you do not recall shedding a tear even while watching the most tragic scene of a Korean movie drama.

Very likely, your difficulty stems from past trauma. You have been hurt real bad previously. So your resourceful subconscious mind protects you with a shield around your heart. It is so thick that little love can penetrate through.

The shield might have served its purpose ever since you were a child. It has protected you through the years. Because you dislike feeling vulnerable, helpless and weak, your shield comes up at the slightest threat.

Yet, not to love is not to offer the self the opportunity to be nourished by it. You cannot claim to be living fully if you do not engage your heart. You would have sold yourself short. Buddha also pointed out that, “The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.”

To live wholly is to be in touch with the joys and sorrows of life. It does not mean that you become an “emo” but it means being able to connect with many aspects of love such as compassion. Your ability to tap into your intuition also becomes hampered when you are not able to open your heart.

The following are ways that you can open a heart that is closed……

Do Things that You Love

Things that make you happy are things that put you in the flow experience of love. You are able to build the connection with your heart, where it is not possible to at other times. And so, your guard comes down. You allow yourself to feel.

Activities that make you happy give you great joy. Time goes by quickly. Such activities can include painting, flying a kite, dreaming, singing, dancing or scrapbooking. It is also a great idea to be doing work that you love, because you would be spending a great part of your day feeling wonderful.

Let Go of the Past

Tell yourself that whatever is past is past. You are only hurting yourself in the end if you bottle yourself up in anger, frustration and bitterness. It is hard to move forward in life, with a heart that is heavy.

To open your heart, practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is the spiritual ointment that heals your wounds. It releases you into the present, thus freeing you from the burdens of past. You are in the now, feeling liberated. Space has just been opened up for you to live life anew.

Be Open to Receiving

If you have been refusing to accept compliments, gifts and assistance, then make a change to being open to receiving. Perhaps you have been brought up to believe that you should never receive anything from another. Saying yes to receiving makes you feel uncomfortable, shameful or “not good enough”. Or perhaps, the refusal to accept is part of your cultural habit. Whatever the reason is, your refusal to accept denies you the opportunity to open your heart.

You may not have realized the significance but compliments, gifts and assistance are all manifestations of love in its various forms. Everyone is deserving. No exceptions. When you say yes to these, you are also saying yes to life.

You may not have liked the idea about receiving previously because you have been afraid that you need to give as well. You do not like being indebted. However, this form of thinking is indicative of poverty consciousness. You are operating from lack. Abundance is meant to be shared, not hoarded. In fact, the more you receive and give, the more you have to give and receive. You end up with more!

Embrace Your Fears

The tip “embrace your fears” may seem like an absurd idea. After all, your heart is probably closed because you are fearful of opening it. More often than not, we prefer to bury our fears. We do not look forward to putting ourselves in pain.

However, embracing your fears simply means acknowledging them as they are, so that you can have the opportunity to release them. When you acknowledge our fears, you are allowing them in your presence. You recognize that you are human and that it is okay to have them. In self-acceptance, you allow love for yourself to enter. This process inevitably leads to healing.

Love and acceptance gives you the space for courage. You feel the fear but you are now able to muster enough strength to overcome your challenges. You realize that you have got vast potential. You discover who you are.

Help Others without Any Expectations

Helping others with random acts of kindness or even people who are close unconditionally can fill you up with love. It does not have to be a big act. You can start with something small such as making time to provide assistance, writing a note or taking out the rubbish chute.

When you perform the act of service without expectations, you are operating from the level of your heart. You give genuinely. You are not expecting a gift or anything in return. You open your heart to provide that service.

Love In Many Ways

Life’s experiences offer you plenty of feedback. They come in the form of disappointments, challenges, hurts, traumas and separations and so on. You learn about acceptance, trust, compassion, and kindness. You learn about what it means to love unconditionally, layer-by-layer.

When your heart chakra is blocked, your ability to give and receive love is impacted. There are energetic ways that can help you remove the blockages. These ways include using reiki, crystals, yoga, heart chakra meditation, and past life healing.

Ultimately, you need to find love for yourself within yourself. You meet yourself at the very center of your spiritual heart. But first, you will need to open it, if it is closed.

The Theme is Love

This being the month of the Valentine, the theme on my blog is love. I will be sharing articles on the many aspects of love, from loving the self, loving others and loving life. I also share an inspired tip on a daily basis on my FB page: Abundance Tapestry. Do subscribe or join my page if you haven’t already done so.

Read previous articles on Love, such as,
The Practice of Self-Compassion
101 Ways to Love Your Life
Self-Love Story: Lessons from the Heart

I am happy to announce that my book, Self-Love Secrets, is finally out on Amazon. If you like to have a printed copy, head on over here to make a purchase.

Abundance Always,

Author. Adventurer. Life Coach. More About Me.

Share Your Thoughts
What has worked for you with opening your heart?

“The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.”
- Earl Nightingale

If you are one of those who often find your life a struggle, you may want to reverse the situation through harnessing the power of your subconscious mind. You do not have to settle with constantly being in self-sabotage, having a dark rain of cloud following you or living an uninspired existence.

Think of the subconscious mind as like a hard drive on a computer; virtually everything you see, hear, smell, taste, experience, learn, and even imagine gets stored in this internal hard drive. It also has a huge capacity. It stores archives of the past that you may not consciously aware of.

The subconscious mind can also influence actions. Reportedly, it drives 90% of your outward behavior, especially during stressful situation. Soldiers, for instance, do “what they are trained to do” in combat with little or no conscious thought as to what they are doing or even happening to them. On an everyday basis, you access your subconscious when you do things on the automatic, such as when you are driving or cycling.

The main thing to keep in mind is that the subconscious has no analytical ability. It simply stores what it is fed, then either provides back information as it is requested by the conscious mind, or influences the conscious mind based on what it has stored in it. Thus, it can be said to be the case of “garbage in, garbage out”. So, if you are to take charge the untapped power of the subconscious mind, you have to start feeding it good information.

If you have never tried to unleash this power, much less even heard of it, now is the time to do something. You can do so in the following ways:

- Remind Yourself Constantly of What You Really Desire
- Condition the Subconscious Mind to Focus on Why You Desire
- Avoid Letting Negative influences get in the way
- Access Creative Channels

Remind Yourself Constantly of What You Really Desire

“Only one thing registers on the subconscious mind: repetitive application – practice. What you practice is what you manifest.”
- Fay Weldon

Most of us want more money, but our subconscious often sees money as scarce. We have been programmed to perceive lack because of past conditioning and/or upbringing. So maybe we have the belief that “it is hard to make money” or that “life is a struggle”. If we want more money, we must remind ourselves that money is instead plentiful.

Many self-help gurus will tell a new student to get a money clip, and always keep a $100 bill on the outside of the clip. They may only have a $5 or a couple of singles inside, but their eyes see, and the power of the subconscious mind picks up on that $100. This creates an illusion of, which then forms an affirmation in the subconscious that money is plentiful, and will automatically influence the conscious mind to attract more.

But this idea is not limited to your money clip. Putting up pictures of houses you would love to live in, cars you would like to drive, places you want to visit, things you want to do all enter into and stoke the power of the subconscious mind. In short, create a vision board. Put up pictures on your bathroom mirror and your desk at work. With a clear picture of what you seek, your subconscious will silently but powerfully influence and guide you toward those desires.

Align with Abundance Consciousness

“Our subconscious minds have no sense of humor, play no jokes and cannot tell the difference between reality and an imagined thought or image. What we continually think about eventually will manifest in our lives.”
- Robert Collier

Doing this is different from the previous tip, as this involves using internal methods to tap into the power of the subconscious mind. Most people focus on the negative, or the lack they experience. And just as the subconscious can influence the conscious mind, the opposite can occur, but with greater result.

Remember, the subconscious does not analyze or filter the information it gets in any way. If all it gets are thoughts of how broke you always are, how much you hate your job, or that your significant other is out cheating when they are 20 minutes late from work, it will begin to feed back that negativity when you are not thinking about it.

Instead, align with abundance consciousness by reprograming yourself with beliefs that are positive. One way that you can also do so is by framing your thoughts as questions. Instead of bemoaning how broke you are, ask, “how can I make more money” or even better, make it a concrete number such as “how can I make $5000 this month?”. Your subconscious will not be fed with the words “broke” or “poor”. Instead it will be fed with “make more money”.

Avoid Letting Negative Influences Get In the Way

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Avoid letting outside influences and people affect your energies. People who are close may turn out to be the worst offender. Their negative attitude may affect you, especially if you are not aware. Note that the idea is not to blame these people but to create awareness that you need to establish clear personal energy boundaries especially where relationships are toxic.

Remember, the subconscious has no analytical ability, and it will let negative words, energy, and images right in where they will begin to exert their influences. While it is impossible to avoid all negativity, minimize it if you want to truly harness the power of the subconscious mind. Better yet, work on addressing your negative emotions such as anger, hurt, shame or frustration. As you gain strength, you will invariably find yourself less affected by others.

Access Creativity

“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”
- “Edward de Bono”

If life seems dull for you, it may be because you are not accessing your creative channels sufficiently for inspired living. Your subconscious mind is the powerhouse for creativity. It is where you can access ideas for problem solving, new inventions and breakthrough solutions.

Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, Alanis Morissette said, “I saw music as a way to entertain people and take them away from their daily lives and put smiles on their faces, as opposed to what I see it being now, which is a way for me to actually communicate, and a way for me to tap into my subconscious.” Then, there are also many talented people such as Thomas Edison, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Klee and Beethoven who are known for tapping into their subconscious mind to enhance their creative abilities.

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind

“Infinite riches are all around you if you will open your mental eyes and behold the treasure house of infinity within you. There is a gold mine within you from which you can extract everything you need to live life gloriously, joyously, and abundantly.”

The first time I was introduced to the idea that the subconscious mind holds much power is through reading The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy. I recommend reading the classic, if you have not done so.

Ever since I learned about how to harness the power of the subconscious mind, I have been living in greater empowerment. I found out that there are many ways to access the subconscious; namely via dreaming, meditation, visualization, intuition and so on. Obviously, nothing beats learning it through practical application.

A big problem with our education system is that it does not teach our students to avail themselves of their subconscious abilities. Now that we are adults, we have to learn to harness the power ourselves. In addition, as parents, we need to learn to apply it before we can hope to teach our children. It is a great gift that we can offer to our children. For a start, I highly recommend the comprehensive The Silva Life System. Do check it out!

Abundance always,

Author. Adventurer. Life Coach. More About Me.

Share Your Tips
Share how you have been using the power of your subconscious mind for inspired living. What specific technique has worked for you?

I am featuring Lance Ekum in my Love and Light Luminary Interview Series today. I have known Lance for a few years now. He is the founder to the site, Jungle of Life. I believe that he has many qualities that make him a force of inspiration in his own right.

So let’s find out more about him, his site and his thoughts….

Q. Can you explain why you name your site Jungle of Life? What convinced you to start blogging?
A. In early 2008, my wife and I were talking about our “bucket lists” – things we wanted to do before our time here on earth was finished. And from that conversation, the idea of writing came up for me. I dismissed this thought at first…except that it just kept hanging around in my brain (and in my heart)! A couple of months later, I began to look at how I could write and get some feedback. Blogging was relatively new to me at the time, yet it just seemed like an easy entry point into me putting words onto paper (figuratively speaking!).

At that time, I began to see what names were available – choosing word combinations that I found meaningful. It felt like I was striking out on finding something – and then, as I looked at the many words I had scribbled onto a piece of notebook paper – two words jumped out at me. The words…”jungle” and “life”. And it was like that name “Jungle of Life” just came instantly after that…and it was an available domain name! It just felt “right”, Evelyn, and I knew that was the name I would use (even though I was still figuring out what my voice was).

[My Comment: I think the "Jungle of Life" is a name that suits you very much! It depicts adventure, possibility and courage - values that are often espoused on your site too!]

Q. What overall message do you hope to share with readers?
A. Having been doing this now for nearly four years – that message has shifted a bit (although not too much) over time. Today, the message I hope to convey to Jungle of Life visitors is one of inspiration and belief in what is possible. I believe that very much – that we are limited only by our beliefs.

If I can, in some way, provide inspiration, hope, or guidance in moving forward in life – then I have succeeded.

In recent months, the site has again shifted – and I’ve brought on eight other writers, who contribute monthly. I choose a theme for the month, and then each writer writes to their expertise (which closely models something called the Wheel of Life).

[My Comment: Hey - I have been doing my own Wheel of Life exercise in the past few days. More info coming up on this site!]

Q. What challenges have you gone through that has now contributed to your success?
A. The one that has had a bigger effect than I ever imagined – happened many years ago – when I was still in college. I was driving, briefly fell asleep, and drove off the road (before waking up). At the time it felt like the worst thing that could have happened. Gradually that shifted to a deeper gratefulness for being able to not only walk away from this, but to drive away – with almost no damage done.

I have often asked myself – “why me?”. And that’s a “why me” in terms of why, when anything thing could have happened that would have been much worse – why was I able to walk away unscathed?

What that has left me with – and what continues to be with me – is a belief that I have a purpose here on earth (as I believe we all do). And I’ve been given a wake up call, of sorts, to live my life with purpose.

Some days…I’m fully there (living to my purpose). Other days, it’s a challenge (perhaps we all can relate). And still – this journey I’m on in this thing called life – it and I keep evolving and becoming more fully what is meant to be.

And I continue to hold that moment from many years ago close – knowing that life can be fleeting…

[My Comment: I am so glad to know that nothing untoward happened to you in that driving incident. Oh yes, I definitely can relate to the ups and downs of everyday life. Like you, I believe that it is staying the course and that I am here with a purpose.]

Q. I have noticed that you are great at networking with other coaches, bloggers and teachers. You also seem to have an amazing family. What is your secret to cultivating healthy and loving relationships?
A. Thank you, Evelyn! For me, the first thing I think of in all of this is “what matters, here”. And what matters…is the relationship. I really try not to go into something with ulterior motives. When I do this – I believe that I come across as genuine and real. In a world where that can sometimes be lacking – I believe there is a real “want” to be in that space. And that, alone, has created some wonderful relationships.

The other part of that, though, is follow up. This definitely takes time, but is so worth it in cultivating these relationships to an even deeper and more meaningful level.

[My Comment: I am guilty of not following up at times. It can be quite hard to manage with busy schedules and all. That is why I admire you greatly for your commitment to keeping in touch. I am blessed by the grace and the strength of your friendship ]

Q. What self-improvement area are you hoping to focus on in the new year and why?
A. It’s right there in your question – FOCUS!

Each year, I choose one word (or phrase) that I use as my guide for the year. This is something very intentional and thought out. This word is something that is meaningful to me at a deep level.

So this year, I am choosing FOCUS – and will be purposefully keeping that in the forefront. As I sat down this year to think about a word of the year – this just came easily to me…because I know, in my heart, it’s time to step up my focus.

Is it easy? Some days, yes. And others, not at all! Here we are, though, almost a month into the new year – and it’s definitely something I have thought about more – and even more importantly – chosen to act upon.

[My Comment: I love the word - Focus. It is what a lot more of us need to learn. And my word is Vision - check out the post here!]

Q. What is your dream? Can you please share with us your vision going forward?
A. It’s interesting – my dream feels fluid and ever-changing. Perhaps, maybe all our dreams are that way – as we journey on through this life we are living…

Today, that dreams feels very much like one that involves more fully experiencing life. And to that, I’ve been very actively removing things (physical, mental, emotional) that no longer serve me. At times, I wonder if I’m shifting too far – and yet, when I stop and look more deeply at this place I’m at…it feels right (just maybe not always in alignment with what the world sees as “right”).

As I go forward, my dream involves being of service in this world, while at the same time experiencing more meaningfully what this life – this one life I’m living – is truly about.

[My Comment: You could not have better articulated what I wanted to say for myself too. It's great to know that we share so many similar thoughts!]

Evelyn, thank you for so graciously inviting me here into this space you have created. I find much comfort, guidance, and love whenever our paths cross – and it’s an honor to be here today, and sharing a part of my story.

Lance, thank you very much for agreeing to the interview. I pretty much enjoyed how your answers have flowed with the questions. Finally, I am honored to have your presence on my website.

Love and Light Luminary Bio

Lance Ekum is a t-shirt wearing guy, living in Wisconsin with his wife and 3 kids. For fun, he throws popcorn in the air and tries to catch it in his mouth. He’s expecting a call from the Olympic committee as soon at popcorn tossing is officially accepted as an Olympic sport. If all that popcorn weren’t enough, he also authors the Jungle of Life blog.

Shine from the soul,

Author. Adventurer. Life Coach. More About Me.

“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”
- Woodrow Wilson

Creating a powerful personal life vision has many benefits. It offers you guidance in charting the way forward. It also drives the actions, decisions and behavior that you undertake. Where it is lived into, it basically sums up who you are, your life story and the meaning you have created.

If you are like most people, you cannot envision what you are going to do next weekend, much less form a life vision for yourself. But here is the thing. Not to have or at least be able to form a life vision leaves you like a boat without a rudder; subject to the currents of life. You are more likely to paddle along (which makes your progress slow) or go around in circles. However, if you hope to lead a life that is more than mediocre, then you will need to take charge.

The Wright brothers had the vision of powered human flight in 1903. Many modern day conveniences that we enjoy today had roots in the vision of Thomas Edison. Touched by God’s profound love, Mother Theresa had the vision of bringing light to the poor in the “dark holes” of Calcutta. Walt Disney had the vision of “making people happy” with theme parks and movies.

Visioning does not have to be an exercise reserved for big corporations. Anyone can come up with a personal life vision. It involves some thought. Here are some tips that you can keep in mind:
- Inspires you to be your highest potential;
- Connect with passion;
- Invoke imagination;
- Remove fear
- Align with higher purpose;
- Inspires action.

Inspires You to be Your Highest Potential

“A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more.”
- Rosabeth Moss Kanter

A vision is big-picture. It offers a long term perspective. It inspires you to be the best of who you can be.

A vision does not necessarily offer you guidelines on how to reach the desired goal or destination. It just gives you the final snapshot. Yet, if you are able to hold focused attention and put energy behind your vision, the steps to take will reveal themselves.

Connect with Passion

“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.”
- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Passion is among the most powerful of human emotions, and it must form the basis of any life vision. In fact, it also plays a part in making your life seamless for passion comes in when you love the work that you do. And so, work does not feel like work but becomes very much part of who you are.

Put simply, passion is something that makes you excitedly jump out of bed in the morning or what you would love to do on a Friday night. Most definitely, it has to connect with your heart. A desire based on whim and fancy does not last because it is fleeting. Your enthusiasm fizzles out after a while.

If you are not able to connect with passion, then your vision will fall short. This is because without strong heartfelt desire, anything you do will be like swimming upstream. On the other hand, passion will make the effort involved a downstream one. Obviously, swimming with the current is a lot easier than going against it.

Invoke Imagination

“All the breaks you need in life wait within your imagination, Imagination is the workshop of your mind, capable of turning mind energy into accomplishment and wealth.”
- Napolean Hill

To create a powerful life vision, you must invoke imagination. Through imagination, you paint an ideal mental picture of what you would like to see in the future. You introduce possibility. Imagination provides the fertile ground for creative seeds to take root.

Your consciousness also becomes expansive because you are no longer limited to seeing what-is. Your subconscious is now actively activated by what-ifs. You dare to dream the impossible, and if you focus on your vision without a waiver of energy and attention, it eventually turns to reality.

Remove Fear

“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.”
— Robert Fritz

To envision yourself in your highest potential, you must be able to remove fear. Doubt, which is a form of fear, can cause you to limit your life vision. You hold yourself back. You cave in because you start to believe what your skeptical friends say.

You would not want to shortchange yourself because of doubt. Psychological fear, which is really False Evidence Appearing Real, can be addressed. Hence, do not be afraid to set a big vision. As Napolean Hill of the best-selling classic Think and Grow Rich said, “whatever the mind can think and conceive, it can achieve.”

Align with Higher Purpose

“The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose.”
- Richard Leider

You discover an inner strength that you have not known before when your life vision is aligned with the higher purpose of serving the community. Your desire to serve arises from the unconditional love in your heart. The vibrational state of your being rises accordingly. It is also how you activate the Law of Attraction to work in your favor.

An aligned life vision naturally receives support from the universe. You will receive a wealth of spiritual resources, unsolicited help and unexpected connections. Others who know about the benefit that you are intending to bring will want to render their assistance. A vision based on collective energy is bound to succeed.

Inspires Action

“An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

If any life vision is going to bear results, action is needed. It does not matter how well laid the plans are, or intention, or even have a desire so strong it could light a camp fire. Without taking action, nothing will happen.

Perhaps the greatest pitfall where it comes to taking action is many people simply cannot figure out where to begin. But this is where having a vision that inspires action comes in handy. You do not have to worry excessively about the how to bring it about, though.

If you know the exact goal, start by visualizing the end result. With that end result in mind, simple start going backward from it, and the actions to take will reveal themselves. Of course, there will be times that things do not easily fall into place. That is fine, it is more important to get started. Once you have taken some actions towards your vision, later steps will become known.

Examples of Personal Life Vision

Your vision statement can be made up of single power words or one or two sentences. Most importantly, it has to be authentic. This means that you must feel a connection with it. It cannot be what someone else say it “should” be. Rather, it must matter to you.

The following is an example of a vision that I have:
My vision is to assist others with loving themselves in mind-body-spirit, so that they can become empowered to live their best life yet.

We can also adapt from the visions of well-known leaders and founders of big corporations in order to create personal ones for ourselves. Here is the one by McDonald’s founder…

“McDonald’s vision is to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile.”

The end goal of making others smile is certainly a great vision to have

Share Your Life Vision
Do you have a life vision? What are you working towards? Please share in the comments below.

Abundance always,

Author. Adventurer. Life Coach. More About Me.

I am no expert on the Chinese zodiac signs but I have been reading up on the Year of the Water Dragon. I thought it will be interesting to find out what the New Year heralds for us. 2012, being the Year of the Dragon, is an auspicious year to begin with. It starts from January 23, 2012 and ends February 9, 2013.

While it occupies the 5th position of the 12 zodiac signs, the Dragon is the mightiest of all signs. A mystical beast, it is the symbol of the emperor in China. Thus, it is connected with royalty and richness. The Dragon loves to do things on a grand scale – big ideas, big picture and visionary.

Being a Dragon Year, things are expected to be magnified this year. This also means that regardless of what zodiac sign you are, you are likely to experience events of major proportions in 2012. On a personal level, successes can either be spectacular leaps or crashes.

There had previously been numerous alarming predictions that 2012 would bring about the end of the world. However, many now say that the “running out of numbers” of the Mayan calender had simply meant the end of an old era and the beginning of a new more conscious one. In fact, conscious awakening has already been taking place and accelerating in recent years. So there is no need for panic!

Notwithstanding, from a Feng Shui perspective, the year of the Yang Water Dragon offers possibilities for good fortune. The element of the Dragon is wood. Water supposedly nourishes wood. In the year of the Water Dragon, the water will nourish wood. Thus, this generally means that the Dragon will soar. Even though the stock market is likely to be unpredictable (just like the unpredictable nature of a mystical beast), there could be opportunities to venture into.

The Dragon is historically associated with great festivities. Hence, expect lots of celebrations in the year. This makes 2012 the great for starting new businesses, launching new projections, engagements, weddings and baptisms. With the Water Dragon, ideas are expected to flow easily like the rush of water. The Dragon is associated with Spring. Therefore, spring is the best time for anything new that you hope to celebrate or get into.

The Chinese love to have babies in the Year of Dragon. It was not because I wanted a Dragon baby but my elder daughter, Hui, was coincidentally born one. She was born before CNY in year 2001. However, that was the year of Metal Dragon. Water Dragons occur every 60 years.

Metal dragons are known to be courageous, determined, obstinate and can be unyielding as a leader. On the other hand, for the Water Dragon, it is said that Water will cool down the fearless temperament of the Dragon. This causes the Dragon to take a step backwards in order to gain a better perspective. Additionally, it also does not desire the spotlight like other Dragons. So if you like the sound of a baby Water Dragon, this is a great year to have one!

You may be interested to know that famous personalities born in the year of the Water Dragon include Gregory Peck, Cliff Richard, Jeffrey Archer, Michael Barrymore, Neil Diamond, Matt Dillon, Placido Domingo, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, Julie Christie, James Coburn, Marlene Dietrich, Tom Jones, John Lennon, Nick Nolte, Al Pacino, Elaine Paige, Martin Sheen, Ringo Starr, Shirley Temple.

Power Word for 2012

Last year, I selected three power words for intention setting: integration, inter-alignment, and patience. Bearing in mind that 2012 is also the Year of the Water Dragon, I have decided to choose the word “vision” as the driving intent for the new year.

“Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be. Your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.”
— James Allen

Whether this is going to turn out to be a year of challenges or not, let’s be guided by the vision of a higher calling. Visioning propels us to bring our dreams forward. And so, for the next 12 months, I will be publishing more articles on visioning, dreaming, success, leadership, and purpose.

Chinese New Year begins on January 23, 2012. Traditionally, it lasts for 15 days. It is a time for feasting, visiting friends, and get-togethers. I will also be catching up with relatives from overseas too. My schedule is already packed with planned outings. Thus, I hope to be back on my blog only the end of next week.

To all my readers, have a Happy and Prosperous New Year! May you meet with breathtaking success in The Year of the Water Dragon!

Fly and soar magnificently,

Author. Adventurer. Life Coach. More About Me.

Share Your Power Word

A power word is the single intention driver to what you hope to achieve for the year. What is yours for 2012? Please share it.

When you love your life, everything works. You become happy. There is a skip in your walk, a song in your heart, a shine in your aura, a joy in your being. Others are attracted to you. You find yourself supported by the universe. Success, invariably, becomes easy.

(See Tip #100 below)

Just imagine if the opposite is true. Life appears bleak and that there is nothing to live for. And you believe that you are right in holding on to the pessimistic view: your life sucks. You have enough evidence to prove that life has little or no meaning. Everything has been a struggle so far.

Obviously, you want to lead a life that is worth living. For one, love makes it worthwhile. It gives life meaning. You become alive. There are many ways to love life. Here are 101 suggestions….

Life without love is like a tree without blossom and fruit.
- Kahlil Gibran

1. Do work that you love. If you spend a big part of your day at work, it is important to do work that you love. Otherwise you will lose out to someone else who will love the same work. When you do work that you love, you increase the chance of success because you are passionate and have greater determination to succeed.

2. Stop self-criticism. When you are no longer attacking yourself, you will experience acceptance even of your faults and imperfections. Ultimately, you learn to love for yourself.

3. Be positive. It is hard to love life if you have a negative attitude. When you adopt a positive attitude, life changes in its meaning for you.

4. Count your blessings. When you count your blessings, you automatically remember that there are lots of things to be thankful about. Start a gratitude journal.

5. Be in touch with nature. It is possible to forget there is more to life than just your office cubicle. Go for a walk, play on the beach, watch the sunset and so on. Being in touch with nature helps you to connect with your soul.

6. Dream. If you no longer allow yourself to dream, you are living a dull existence. Dreaming keeps hope alive.

7. Travel the world. Traveling the world opens up your world. You become aware that there is life beyond the border and that there are many interesting places and people all over the world.

8. Paint. When you paint, life comes to a standstill. You are an artist involved in creative work, in the moment of now.

9. Sing. Singing puts you in touch with your soul. You sing in celebration of who you are.

10. Believe in yourself. When you have self-belief, you know that you have what it takes to build a great life for yourself. You are not feeling helpless, hopeless and weak.

11. Do inner work. Stop moping. If there is something that you do not like about yourself, either accept or change yourself. Use Emotional Freedom Technique for inner work.

12. Volunteer. When you serve humanity by volunteering, you discover purpose. Purpose gives your life meaning.

It is not what we get. But who we become, what we contribute… that gives meaning to our lives.
- Tony Robbins

13. Find work/life balance. If you are not having work/life balance, chances are you won’t enjoy your life. Find the balance that works well for your well-being.

14. Be curious. Adopt a child-like curiosity towards life. Be willing to go out and explore. You will discover treasures when you open your eyes.

15. Play. It is easy to forget about play when life centers on work, work and work. Introduce some play.

16. Be a lifelong learner. Learning does not stop even though you have graduated from school. A love for learning keeps you inspired, motivated and going.

17. Be open to possibility. Holding on to old ideas stunt your growth. Allow your paradigm to expand with the question: what-if.

18. Make a difference. When you know that your creations can make a difference to someone else’s life, you become alive. You desire to give your very best.

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
– Abraham Lincoln

19. Demonstrate courage. Overcome your fears with courage. You discover that you have great inner strength to meet the vagaries of life. Be bold!

20. Address your self-love issues. It is hard to love life if you do not love yourself, to begin with. Learn to love yourself unconditionally and fully. Check out my book Self-Love Secrets >>>

21. Address your self-esteem issues. When you are feeling worthless, you are in the trap of “I am not good enough”. Address your self-esteem issues and you will love life a lot more!

22. Stand up for yourself. You don’t stand a chance if you allow yourself to be bullied. Let go of toxic relationships. Learn to stand up for your values.

23. Accept responsibility for your life. Stop playing the victim and take charge. Thus, take an active role in the steering of your ship.

24. Celebrate every occasion. Take the opportunity to celebrate every opportunity you get. Of course, many special holiday occasions have become commercialized over the years. But that should not stop you from enjoying the spirit of it. You can choose to celebrate it in a meaningful rather than an extravagant way.

25. Take up photography. Taking photos compels you to notice the many things around you. You stop to take in the details. You realize that there is much about life to behold.

26. Be big-picture. Don’t sweat the small stuff. See things from a bigger perspective.

27. Smile. When you smile at life, life smiles back at you. Smiling is a great way of lighting the world around you and generating a positive response in return.

28. Be spontaneous. It is easy to lose a sense of spontaneity when you are caught in habit patterns. Be spontaneous – seize the moment.

29. Go for your dreams. You will live in regret if you do not give yourself the chance of going for your dreams.

30. Change the size of your dreams. Avoid limiting yourself with a small dream. As best-selling author to the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, says, “If you want to change who you are, begin by changing the size of your dream. Even if you are broke, it does not cost you anything to dream of being rich. Many poor people are poor because they have given up on dreaming.”

31. Be successful. The more successful you are, the more likely you are to love your life. Success is a state of mind, rather than what you have acquired as possessions.

32. Surround yourself with loving people. Obviously, when you are surrounded by people who constantly put you down, it will be harder for you to feel good about yourself. Consider hanging around people who are positive, caring and compassionate.

33. Forgive your enemies. Avoid getting stuck in the past. Forgive your enemies and move on.

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
Lewis B. Smedes

34. Practice mindfulness Become more present by practicing mindful awareness over your thoughts, emotions and actions. You learn to stop old and limiting habitual patterns. You no longer react unwisely. Loving your life involves living wisely.

35. Stop complaining. When you complain, you are really focusing on your lack. You also blame others for the plight that you are in. It indicates your unwillingness to take responsibility.

36. Stop arguing. Peace arises when there are no more conflicts in your surroundings. Stop pointing fingers and pushing blame and you will find more love with the people around.

37. Exercise regularly. You become healthy and fit through regular exercise. You are taking care of your body. Great health, after all, is wealth.

38. Eat healthy meals. When you eat healthily, you naturally feel better about yourself. Eating junk food brings down your energy levels.

39. Stop addictions. Addictive behavior can rob you of vital life essence. Giving up on your addictions allows you to take charge. You are back in control.

40. Adopt self-care. Undertake self-care and love your life.

41. Do things that make you happy. Find out what activities makes you happy. Do more of these activities for more happy moments.

42. Cultivate a spiritual connection. For some, this means connecting with God or Jesus or Allah or Buddha. For others, it just means being in touch with your inner being. Cultivating a spiritual connection can bring more meaning into your life.

43. Fulfill your bucket list. Your aim is to check off as many items on your bucket list as possible. You check off each item upon its accomplishment. Find out more about bucket list here >>

44. Learn from your mistakes. So everyone makes mistakes. You are human after all. Rather than inflicting self-punishment, look at mistakes as learning experiences.

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.
- Oscar Wilde

45. Apply feng shui. Feng shui is a way of balancing the energies of you in relation to your environment. Apply feng shui to increase your abundance, love and wealth.

46. Connect with your intuition. Connecting with your intuition allows you to access an inner resource for empowered living.

47. Go on adventures. Here is good motto to go on: My life is one big adventure; I live it well.

48. Cultivate healthy relationships. Take time to cultivate healthy relationships. When your relationships are healthy, you discover that there is more love in your life.

49. Make your life an art. Make your life come alive by incorporating creativity. Introduce elements of beauty, style and design into everything that you are and do.

50. Be open to receiving. Do not be too quick to reject gifts and blessings, such as compliments, from others. Be open to receive to allow more abundance in your life.

51. Be authentic. It always pays to live with authenticity rather than wear a mask. When you are authentic, you are not putting up false appearances. You are not lying to yourself. You are feeling connected with your inner being.

52. Relax. Reduce stress by allocating time for relaxation. It is hard to love your life when you are constantly tensed.

53. Meditate every day. Meditating for 15 minutes a day can help reduce stress levels. You are better able to calm your mind. Being at peace lays the foundation for love.

54. Spend your life with that special someone. Your life is filled with love when you spend it with life that special someone who loves you for who you are. Your burdens are lighter because there is now someone to share them with.

55. Add more color into your life. Black may be classic but adding a dash of color can shift your energy. Consider updating your wardrobe with more color.

56. Get support from others. Life can appear dreary if you believe that you are all alone handling your problems. Learn to ask for help.

57. Begin each day with a fresh start. Start each day on a fresh slate. Don’t let what happened yesterday or in the past hold you back from living anew.

58. Rejoice often. Rejoice in being alive, well, and in abundance. Celebrate the start of a new day; it is another opportunity to learn, grow and love. Rejoice at the end of each day for having lived it well.

59. Create your own luck. As former President Thomas Jefferson once said, “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have it.”

60. Embrace change. Nothing stays constant. When you embrace change, you learn to flow with life. You unstuck yourself from holding on to outdated patterns.

61. Let go of worry. When you let go of worry, you become more light-hearted. You are no longer weighed down by anxiety. Learn about detecting daily anxiety symptoms here.

62. Remind yourself with inspirational quotes. Consider reprograming your mind with constant positive reminders. Subscribe to the posts on my Facebook Page: Abundance Tapestry.

63. Live in the moment. If you are living in the moment, your mind is not in the past nor in the future. Being present allows you to live the moment fully.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
- Buddha

64. Take ownership. Instead of letting external events run your life, take charge. When you are responsible for your own happiness, you will find more ways to love your life.

65. Adopt the 80/20 rule. Focus your energies on what is important. Time is too short to spend on things that ultimately do not matter much to you. Live a life that matters.

66. Physically declutter. Holding on to too many things clutters up your life. A physical cleanse automatically allows you to feel lighter. You also gain increased clarity.

67. Have a buffet. Savor the various cuisines of different countries. Delight in the diversity of life through gastronomy.

68. Switch off the TV. There is more to life than just sitting on the couch and watching soap operas on TV whenever you are free. There are many suggestions in this article on what you can do.

69. Stop spending excessive time on Social Media. Being on Facebook or Twitter can be addictive. You can waste a lot of your precious time by checking up on your exes or enemies. Unplug regularly.

70. Go outside. Don’t stay cooped up in your house. Shut down your PC and go out in the rain or sunshine. Experience life.

71. Simplify your life. Avoid complicating your life by taking on more stuff that you can handle. Simplifying your life allows you the space to breathe.

72. Spend time with your children. Children are great teachers. They show you how to live in the moment fully. Spend time playing and having fun with them.

73. Get a coach. If you are going through a difficult period, don’t hesitate to hire a coach. A coach can provide the proper guidance for overcoming your challenges and facilitate some positive perspectives. Contact me if you need more information about coaching services.

74. Release your attachment. Pain can be inevitable at times but suffering is entirely optional. To be free of suffering, practice non-attachment.

75. Manage your finances. It can be hard to enjoy life if you are not able to meet your loan instalments. Live within your means and learn to manage your finances well.

76. Give yourself a treat. Don’t wait for the perfect moment to be happy. Give yourself treats along the way.

77. Cultivate new interests. Cultivating new interests puts you in touch with the options that life has to offer.

78. Have fun. Having more fun allows you to enjoy life. Tell jokes, play games and find creative ways to do things that are routine.

79. Overcome perfectionism. When you hold yourself to unreasonably high standards, you find it tough to relax and go easy on the self. You can still strive for excellence but do not allow your desire for perfection cripple you. Read more about overcoming perfectionism here.

80. Stop procrastinating. Don’t let fear hold you back from taking action. Address your fears with Emotional Freedom Technique >>>

81. Be a leader. It is time to step up the game. Instead of being a team follower, take on a leadership role. Becoming a leader stretches your comfort zone. However, the more you live in discomfort, the more you grow.

82. Live life on your own terms. It is time to stop seeking other people’s approval about things concerning your life. You need to know what your guiding principles are and live them accordingly.

83. Keep a balanced perspective. When you adopt a balanced perspective, you are less critical and judgmental. You become more loving and all encompassing. You also realize that there is a place for everyone.

“Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute.”
- Gil Stern

84. Go on a hot air balloon. Take a scenic tour of planet Earth on a hot air balloon. You get a bird’s eye view of the magnificence of the world.

85. Go parasailing. Parasailing is an alternative to going on a hot air balloon. It can be lots of fun too!

86. Pay it forward. Pay it forward with a random act of kindness. You find life more meaningful because you are spreading love.

87. Spruce up. Spruce up and give your energy an uplift.

88. Gain knowledge. A thirst for knowledge keeps your brain active.

Beauty isn’t worth thinking about; what’s important is your mind. You don’t want a fifty-dollar haircut on a fifty-cent head.
- Garrison Keillor

89. Slow down. When you slow down, you see more. 100%.

90. Eat chocolate ice-cream. I don’t know anyone who does not love chocolate ice-cream. Then again, eat in moderation. Yummy!

91. Blow soap bubbles. Blowing soap bubbles may sound like kiddy fun but it conjures joy.

92. Fly a kite. Seeing your kite take off is like launching your dream.

93. Swing on a swing. Do you find yourself lightening up when you go on the swing in the playground? It is like you can reach the sky. I notice the exuberance of my daughter whenever she swings high.

94. Have a vision. Without a vision, it is possible to go around in cycles. Visioning helps you to bring your dreams of abundance forward.

95. Focus on what you want. Maintain your focus on what you want rather than what you do not.

96. Review your life. Review your life by looking through your photo album. You will realize that there has been many happy moments and things to be grateful about.

97. Publish a book. Many people have the dream of publishing a book. Writing a book is meaning making.

98. Work smart. Find ways to working smart rather than working long. Look for ways to increase your productivity and efficiency constantly.

99. Develop compassion. Develop loving compassion both for yourself and for those around. You are being gentle. Love begats love. You eventually also discover that life is also gentle towards you.

100. Make an intent. Make the intent to love your life. Live according to the motto by Ashley Smith: “Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”

101. Cultivate abundance consciousness. When you cultivate abundance consciousness, you rest in the knowing that your life is and will be full. Because of the deep inner knowing, you love life fully.

Loving Life Fully

I was once headed for depression. I could not cope with the stress of having quit a well-paying job, becoming a first time parent, not doing well in my ventures and relationship issues with my husband all at the same time (I shared more about these in both my books, Abundance Alchemy and Self-Love Secrets). Luckily, I managed to pick myself up. It has been a major turnaround ever since.

As I review the points I have written in this post, I realize that I have already been applying almost every single one of them. I am true to my vision of creating a life that I’d love and that will matter. It is a life filled with purpose, presence and passion.

What about you? What has helped you love your life?

Abundance always,

Author. Adventurer. Life Coach. More About Me.

“This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, love to complete your life.”
- Lynnie Buttercup

Dear friend,

I wish you nothing but the best of what life can offer. If life has been a struggle, a dread or a disappointment for you, then things are about to change. There is no need to fear.

I see you. I feel your despair, sorrow and pain. Just like you, I have my difficulties, doubts and problems. I have encountered situations when courage has failed me. I have felt my spirit sank.

And one fine day, I realized that I was not alone. The Universe started sending Earth Angels and Earth Mother, in response to my heartfelt wish. And so, through its special messengers, I have been enjoying comfort, smiles, rainbows, laughter, sunsets, hugs, beauty, friendships, faith, confidence, courage, patience and most of all, love.

Hence, it is not money that I wish most for you. But aspects of love that connects, transforms and heal. They may not be what you are expecting but will be just what you need. In case you miss the signs, take a look around. Be open to the many unexpected ways of how blessings may arrive for you. You are worthy in every way.

Just a note, my wishes often do come true Watch your life change when you make the same wish for yourself and others too. In fact, the more you believe in wishes, the more resounding support you get from the Universe.

Abundance always,

Author. Adventurer. Life Coach. More About Me.

P.S. If you like what you are reading today, don’t forget to share it with your loved ones

“What scares me is that I’m going to ultimately find out that at the end of my life that I’m really not lovable, that I’m not worthy of being loved. That there’s something fundamentally wrong with me…and that I wasn’t wanted in the first place.” – Demi Moore

In a recent interview on the February edition of Harper’s Bazaar Magazine, Demi Moore shared that her worst fear is finding out that she is not being loved. Demi has just ended her six-year marriage to actor Ashton Kutcher. It was her third marriage.

Demi is someone who is seemingly accomplished and blessed. You have seen her act in Ghost, A Few Good Men and Indecent Proposal. According to one report, she was the highest paid actress in Hollywood in the 90s. She was also once married to Bruce Willis. Through the years, she has appeared in various magazines looking radiant in gorgeous gowns on red carpet events. She even managed to capture Ashton’s heart, a heartthrob 16-years her junior.

You might have perhaps thought that one of the most beautiful looking actresses on this planet would have little issues with self-love and insecurity. However, in the recent interview, Demi was very forthcoming in her share of unworthiness and feeling unlovable.

What a wonderful opportunity she has given me! I cannot resist taking the chance to look into aspects of self-love, using her history and recent interview as a case study. Incidentally, almost word-for-word of what she said in the interview, was covered in my book, Self-Love Secrets. Please note that this article was not written with her endorsement. The following thoughts are simply my own evaluations and personal thoughts.

Theme of Abandonment

Demi is probably reliving her memories of abandonment in her recent divorce situation. During the interview, she talked about feeling unwanted. As a child, she had a difficult and unstable home life. Her biological father left her mother, after a two-month marriage, before Moore was born. Her stepfather and her mother were both alcoholics who often fought. During her childhood, they changed homes a total of 40 times due to the frequent job changes of her stepfather.

I have found that those who experienced abandonment when they are young often suffer from insufficient self-love. They may have coped as a child but only to revisit the same abandonment issue as an adult. The old wounds would surface. The core issue of feeling unlovable needs to be resolved if you are to move on.

Being abandoned is a psychological threat to survival. You believe that you are exposed to danger. Feeling alone and panic-stricken, you believe that you do not have what it takes to thrive in the world. It is also when you realize that material possessions do not count as much as love. Love is the most important ingredient to your existence.

Self-Rejection: “Fundamentally Flawed”

Demi’s exact words were “fundamentally flawed”, a term that I have referred in Self-Love Secrets on cases of self-rejection. She is identifying with her ego more than being conscious that she is of the spirit. She is the ego, believing that she is rejected due to being imperfect. She perceives through the lens of fear, rather than of love.

To believe and feel that you are fundamentally flawed means that you are in rejection of your entire being. It happens when you question the whole value of your presence. You believe that nothing you ever do turns out right. It is likely that as a child, you are not seen for who you are. And so you developed the belief that you are never “good enough”.

“Non self-acceptance puts you in rejection. You believe that you are fundamentally flawed. You are convinced that there is something inherently wrong with or missing in you. You are painfully aware about not feeling whole. Self-rejection happens when you are unable to accept yourself fully and unconditionally. And so you seek to diminish your own value. You feel unworthy.”
- Self-Love Secrets: How to Love Yourself Unconditionally

Body Image Issues

In the same interview, Demi also shared about her “love-hate” relationship with her body. Thus, it is obvious that she has had poor body image issues. An investigation of your bio revealed this. As a child, she suffered from cross-eye and had to wear an eye-path before her eyes were successfully corrected by two surgeries. What is great to hear is that she is learning some self-acceptance.

Demi Moore said, “When I’m at greatest odds with my body, it’s usually because I feel that my body’s betraying me, whether that’s been in the past, struggling with my weight and feeling that I couldn’t eat what I wanted to eat, or that I couldn’t get my body to do what I wanted it to do. I think I sit today in a place of greater acceptance of my body, and that includes not just my weight but also all of the things that come with your changing body as you age.”

In my book, Self-Love Secrets, I shared about the dangers of eating disorders tied with issues of low self-worthiness. It is important to be aware that no one, or few in the world, has a perfect body. Also, no one can exempt himself or herself from aging. Thus, it is far better to learn about accepting all of your body imperfection and growing old gracefully.

The Root Cause: Insufficient Self-Love

All in, insufficient self-love can lead to problems in many aspects of your life. Demi is beautiful and successful but she faces deep security issues. She may look confident but inside, there is a sense of hollowness. The hollowness is evident when she expressed her fears about not being lovable and unworthy of being loved.

(In Self-Love Secrets, I share about the difference between confidence and self-esteem. It is possible for someone to show great confidence on the outside but suffer an extreme lack of love internally. Hence, please understand the distinction. )

Demi Moore joins a number of celebrities who have shared about learning to love themselves. Other celebrities include Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Portia de Rossi, Tyler Perry and Ricky Martin. They revealed about their issues with self-esteem, body image and acceptance. Thousands of fans have resonated with these stories.

Most of us have the same issues too. After receiving 1,000 emails and more from readers around the world, I have found out that self-love cuts across religions, sex, nationality, qualifications, or even how beautiful or successful you already are. In fact, I have come upon the realization that insufficient self-love is a root cause for the many issues that people face.

So do yourself a favor, in you are hoping to attain greater well-being. Learn to love yourself unconditionally. No matter where you are right now, you will ultimately discover that loving yourself is very much a spiritual journey that lasts your entire lifetime. If you need to know more, click over here for Self-Love Secrets.

Shine from the Soul,

Author. Adventurer. Life Coach. More About Me.

If you like this post, I appreciate some appreciation in the form of facebook likes, shares and retweets too

Share Your Thoughts
What thoughts do you have regarding celebrities and their issues on worthiness and self-love? Do you think that they have greater insecurity fears because they need to look good in public all the time?

The New Year offers an opportunity to start things on a fresh slate. It is the period for letting go of the old to make way for the new. If you have been going round in circles previously, it is time to let go of the energies that have kept you stuck. If you have been distracted along the way last year, it is time to once again set your priorities straight.

Thus, the turn of a new year represents hope. Hope is energy that renews you. It is an infusion of energy that moves you forward. Your eyes sparkle with promise when you have hope. Hope makes you come alive.

There are many ways that you can start the New Year on a positive note. Some may involve days of thinking over, whereas others a physical action. Here are 21 of my favorite ones:

1. Create a Vision Board. Making a vision board allows you the opportunity to clarify the picture in your mind that you would like to manifest. You are to ask yourself what it is that you truly want. Applying visioning techniques thereafter, helps you set the energetic alignment that will bring your dream forward. (Need to learn more? Look out for more articles on visioning in the weeks to follow.)

2. Clear out the Physical Clutter. Get rid of the clutter, in order to make space for the new. There is no way that you can shift into a more positive state if you are saddled with old energies. Consider following the traditional custom of the Chinese. With good timing, the Chinese has the custom of cleaning up the household just prior to Chinese New Year. The first day of Chinese New Year (CNY) starts on January 23 this year and lasts for 15 days. Hence, all cleaning and clearing of clutter has to be made before the Eve of CNY.

3. Energy Cleanse.There is no better time to do some energy clearing work, if you are hoping to start things on a clean slate. Identify the blocks that keep you in resistance. Address these obstacles with Emotional Freedom Technique, Reiki, Quantum Touch or an Akashic Record Clearing.

4. Create an Affirmation or Positive Script.Write out a script of positive affirmations that you would like to repeat on a daily basis. The use of affirmations is a great way to help reframe your mind, especially if you are in the habit of cultivating negative thoughts. The more you repeat the affirmations, the more powerful their effect on you over time.

5. Create a Bucket List. A Bucket List is a list of items that you would like to accomplish before you “kick the bucket”. To get your bucket list going, read this article 111 Ideas for Your Bucket List. Thereafter, during the year, check off the items on your list as you complete them.

6. Make Healthy Meal Choices. If you have been making unhealthy food choices, it is time to make a change. Do not procrastinate your plan on eating well and properly. Your resolution can be as simple as “no more candy” or “limit fried foods to two times a week”.

7. Create an Exercise Plan. So you have been sitting on your couch after work, pretty much last year? Switch off your television, stop snacking on chips and get up to exercise. Incidentally, my hubby has getting results with the P90X program.

8. Sign Up for Some Self-Improvement Program.There are many programs that you can sign up for self-help and improvement. Here are some online ones that you can look into: Silva Life, Silva Intuition, Quantum Jumping or Chakra Healing.

9. Meditate. A meaningful way to start the new year is to meditate. Better yet, meditate in a group for extra vibrational power. Set up a healing circle. Send out loving energies to all. Make the intention for more love, joy and abundance for the new year.

10. Start a New Business. Economic downturns offer the best opportunity for starting a business. Costs such as rental, employee and materials are relatively cheaper. It may also be possible to get more tax breaks. If you have just been retrenched or thinking of a second career, the new year may just be the best time to get your new business idea going.

11. Celebrate with Champagne. Celebrate the new year on a joyous note. You can celebrate it with a party or just by being with your family. It does not matter if the previous year has turned out to be a lousy one. The past is already gone. You can learn from your mistakes. You start the new year with renewed vision.

12. Look into Feng Shui Elements. Learn to use Feng Shui on how you can improve your success, health and wealth. Maybe it is to do with shifting the position of your bed or putting a good luck charm in your living room.

13. Change the Color of Your Wardrobe. Start the new year by aligning with the energy of change. Used to wearing black or something dull? Well, add some color to your wardrobe this year. Experience a state shift when you play with colors.

14. Volunteer Your Time. A meaningful way to start the year is to spend time in the company of those who need some kindness and care. It may be home for the elderly, an orphanage or some charitable organization. You align with the vibration of love.

15. Be a Sponsor. Consider sponsoring someone who is less fortunate as you. The idea is to provide a specific person with resources to break free from his or her limiting circumstances. Naturally, you do it unconditionally and not expecting anything back in return.

16. Journal. Journaling is a great way to keep records about your thoughts or feelings. The process offers you emotional release. Having written records also allows you the opportunity to review the changes that you have made and to track your self-improvement progress over time.

17. Propose. Maybe you have been holding off for a while but it now time to think longer time. Bring your relationship to the next level by proposing to the person of your dreams. Make plans to start a life together. (I got this tip from my brother, who is getting married in the new year!)

18. Practice Forgiveness. Give the year a loving start by forgiving those with whom you have borne a grudge. Forgiveness releases you from the toxic energies of hatred. It heals you by reconnecting you back with the present, allowing you to experience a new beginning.

19. Choose to be a Leader. Rather than remain in the background, it is time to step-up. Go beyond your discomfort zone and be a leader for a change. It is time to wing the job promotion that you have been hoping for but miss in the last year.

20. Start a Blog. Starting a blog is not as terrifying as it seems. Sure there is lots to learn and do. But there are also many tutorials out there with getting started. Just do a google search for “start an online business” or refer to this resourceful site, Problogger.

21. Love Yourself. My favorite tip of all. To be able to live fully in the new year, you really need to start by loving yourself. Start with some self-care actions. Best of all, beat years of self-criticism, self-rejection and self-denial by purchasing Self-Love Secrets.

Abundance always,

Author. Adventurer. Life Coach. More About Me.

Share Your Thoughts

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” – Edith Lovejoy Pierce

What are you intending to write in the book of Opportunity for the year? What ideas are you hoping to pursue?

An excellent way to roundup for the year is to create a gratitude list. In your list, you express your appreciation for the events, people and things that have happened for the past 12 months. Gratitude tunes you into joy straightaway – it is a great vibration to align with while ushering the beginning of next year.

(Photo taken: A tree of starry leaves, Everland Theme Park, Seoul)

So, let’s pop the champagne. Here is my Gratitude List for 2011:

1. I am thankful that my dream continues to come true for me. My dream is help make a difference and transform the lives of others. To deepen readers’ awareness, I have written and launched a total of three books, Abundance Alchemy: Journey of Gold, Self-Love Secrets eBook and Adventures in Manifesting: Success and Spirituality (co-written with best-selling authors like Dr Joe Vitale and Dr Brian Tracy, and produced by Sarah Prout).

2. I would like to thank you for being a part of the Abundance Tapestry community. Thank you for reading my articles and your social media votes the whole year round.

3. The results prove it too. I am thankful for the surge in traffic. My site, Abundance Tapestry, enjoyed a total of 600,000 unique visitors (page views of 2.78 million) this year. Unique visitors doubled from last year’s of 298,000. And not just RSS feed numbers, the number of the subscribers to my opt-in newsletter also doubled correspondingly.

4. If you have been a client of mine during this year, thank you. Maybe you have bought a book, had a life coaching session or ordered a reading from me, whatever it is, I am grateful. Without your continued support, this site cannot continue to run. Thus, your support has not gone unnoticed but has been deeply appreciated. Going into next year, my site will continue to offer free articles that help the community at large.

5. Thanks to all my personal friends for your love and support. Also, much thanks to the following love and light luminaries, many of whom I have known over the years from blogging: Angela Artemis, Lori Deschene, Lance Ekum, Suzie Cheel, Evita Ochel, Rob White, Galen Pearl, Zeenet, Irving, Steven Aitchison, Sarah Prout, Sean Patrick Simpson, J D Meir, Aileen, Joy, Chris Edgar, Jimmy, Justin Mazza and many many more.

Note that if I have not mentioned your name specifically, it does not mean that I have not remembered or appreciated your presence. Many many have come by and spent time on my site, so I know who you are. I am also happy that while some of you are no longer blogging, we have connected via Facebook.

6. Thankfully, I was able to keep my sanity even whilst having to maintain a busy schedule. As an act of self-love, I need to give myself a pat on the back. Much of the work (from writing of books, designing graphics, photographing images and actively working to generate traffic) involved has been done almost single handedly. On the side, I have spent a fair amount of time releasing on my own internal blocks and practicing visioning. I have also worked on clients and in the process, gain further insights for myself.

All these, in addition to balancing family needs and tutoring my two children in their studies. Any parent in Singapore will know how pressurizing local schools are. I basically had to relearn Mathematics and Science, in order to teach my two girls. Well, in their examinations, they scored As.

7. Thanks to my family; namely my hubs and two lovely kids. I know that life with me can be pretty challenging at times. Thank you for putting up with my idiosyncrasies, snores and rants. Love you always!

8. Thanks to all of Singapore, the country that I live in. Without the peace in my surrounding environment, I will not be able to pursue my dream.

9. Thank you, Universe, for opening up the heavens for me. I have been attracting a number of JV opportunities, some of which will bear fruit in the next year.

10. Thanks to my spiritual team. My guides been awesome. They have been together with me whether during moments of joy or trials. Let’s have another go next year!

All in, I look forward to providing you with more tips, interesting articles and new launches next year. With this, I am pretty sure that next year will be another exciting one for the Abundance Tapestry community. (Don’t forget too to also connect with me via my Facebook Page: Abundance Tapestry.)

I would like to take the opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year. May you have a smashing year ahead! A year that brings you even greater joy, peace and light!

I will be back soon with my first post for 2012. Looking forward!

Love and abundance always,

Author. Adventurer. Life Coach. More About Me.

Contest Winner Annoucements

The results of the last contest are in! The two best comments go to Jenny and Cathy. Congratulations! Please look out for emails that will notify you about the win.

Share Your Gratitude List

Do share your list of gratitude with me. What has happened in the past 12 months that you are appreciative about?