Barbara Schmidt's Blog, page 52

Make Your Life Fun

One of my favorite spiritual teachers, mentors, and friends is Gabrielle Bernstein. I’ve been really loving her new book, Miracles Now, and in particular, Miracle #46: Measure Your Success Based on How Much Fun You’re Having. I mean, how true is that? A lot of us have engrained in our brains that fun and joy, success and responsibility cannot coexist. We think we must toil our whole lives for our existence to be meaningful, but at the end of the day if we aren’t enjoying life, what really is the point?

It’s summer time, so we have fun on the brain. What are you doing for yourself to make your life fun and actually enjoyable? I know we have responsibilities, chores, and things we just have to do to function, but it is equally as important to create time for simple pleasures and joy.

If you’re feeling like your life could use some fun, please check out some of these tips below. We really don’t know how long our time on this Earth will be so don’t wait! Find your fun today!

1. Plan your time for fun. If you’re one of those people who even after reading the beginning of this blog thought to yourself how nice it all sounds, but who really has the time? This tip is for you! We always have time. Take a look at your calendar and see where you can fit in fun time for yourself or with loved ones. If you are super busy and have many responsibilities, maybe it’s simply 15 minutes here and there, but regardless, make your time for fun a priority and if necessary, put it in your calendar!

2. What lights you up inside. Find some activities or hobbies that bring you that joy that you can remember from being a child. Maybe it is a hobby you had as a kid. Do some soul searching and find what really gives you that sense of peace and happiness.

3. Do some exploration. If there’s a little voice inside that is yearning to try something new, do it! Step outside of your comfort zone and try new things.

4. Be present in all of your fun activities! While taking your time to enjoy life, don’t allow your mind to wander back to all of the reasons why you shouldn’t be having fun. Stay in the moment; know that it is ok, and encouraged for you to spend your time this way!

I hope some of these tips can get you started into living a life that’s fun and meaningful! I’d love to hear how you spend your time, and what brings you joy in your life! Let me know in the comments below, and have a great week filled with fun!

The post Make Your Life Fun appeared first on Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life.

How to Really Love and (Completely) Accept Yourself

Do you love yourself? Like really, truly, unconditionally love yourself? We talk so much about self-care and self-love, and the importance of loving yourself, but in reality this can be a pretty hard task. We are given so many mixed messages throughout our lives on reasons why we aren’t good enough, and why we shouldn’t love ourselves. We learn how to find all of our faults and shortcomings instead of really realizing our own magnificence. I speak about this to you today, because I know how difficult this can be. In fact, this is something I work on every single day. I think we could all stand to love ourselves a little more, so this week, let’s find some tools to increase the loving self-talk, and decrease the negative self-bashing.

1. Know that you are a unique, special, wonderful person living this life for a reason. We were all born into our own lives to live out our own purposes. Your spirit chose this body, and chose all that comes with it. If you think about it in these terms, you can really grasp how amazing it is to be you.

2. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. We’ve talked a lot about comparison and why it really isn’t in your best interest. Instead of making your beliefs about yourself based on how you measure up against someone else, believe in yourself, your uniqueness, and your own power.

3. Accept exactly how you are in this moment. Sure, we go through phases in our lives where physically, we’re just not where we want or think we should be. Let that mentality go and just know that if you are in a change or flux, be gentle with yourself and love yourself anyways.

4. Trust and know your own magnificence. When you stop and really think about it, we are all living, breathing, and amazing people. Remember this often.

5. Connect and cultivate a relationship with your Self. Take time every day to just sit with yourself (with absolutely no distractions!). It could be for one minute or one hour, but by sitting in silence and listening to the breath we tap into that inner self, intuition, highest Self that guides us in this life.

6. Make a list of all that you are grateful for. Gratitude can immediately change those negative thoughts to positive. If you’re feeling down on yourself, sit down and physically write all that you’re grateful for. Instant mood booster!

7. Practice self-care; make yourself your priority. Take good care of yourself, everyday! Whatever that means for you is fine, but you should essentially be eating well, getting rest, managing your stress, and finding quiet time. When you feel good, your feelings about yourself will follow!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this, know that you are loved and I am so grateful for each and every one of you. I also hope that these tips help you love yourself a little bit more. Have a great week!

The post How to Really Love and (Completely) Accept Yourself appeared first on Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life.

Living Life in Balance

Many of my blogs stem from occurrences or situations that happen in my own life. I feel like the lessons and teachings I learn can often apply to many of you. Over the past few weeks, I have been getting the same lesson over and over again. Live your life in balance. We hear the word balance all the time, and in every different arena of life. When it comes down to it, balance, in all areas of life, is super important.

What does living in balance even mean? Well, in my opinion, it’s different for everyone, and something that each of us has to figure out for ourselves. To me, balance means moderation, it means finding the middle path, and ultimately it means letting go of being perfect. When we get on our spiritual paths we tend to go all in, leading to rigidity and perfectionism. So this week I thought I’d share with you my views on balance, how I obtain my own sense of “balance,” and what you can do for yourselves to find that middle way that works just right for you.

1. Balance in health and wellness. Find a routine that works for you, that makes you feel good, that lifts you up, but don’t be too hard on yourself in adhering to this schedule. Make sure you eat foods that work for you, move your body in a way that makes you feel alive, and get plenty of sleep!

2. Moderation with your social life. We are social beings, and so we like to constantly be with people. This is great, especially when with people that lift you up and make your heart smile! Find these people and make them your tribe, but also take some time for yourself. You are your own travel companion in this life, so cultivate that great relationship with yourself and learn to love times of solitude.

3. Find the middle path with your emotions and your spiritual practices. Life is amazing when you go inward, find that spiritual path and adhere to guidelines to keep you centered, but also, life is about having fun. We are meant to experience all arrays of emotions, so make sure you allow for it! Cut yourself some slack every now and again, break your own rules, and just go to what brings you joy. As long as you consistently follow your heart and inner guide, you will always be brought back to your center, back to your path in life.

What do you do to find a sense of balance in your life? Let me know!

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