Arwa Stone's Blog, page 7
November 11, 2019
Daily Confessions 1
I'm sitting on my bed, waiting for donuts/cronuts to arrive and listening to The Box of Oddities podcast Halloween edition 1, because I can't get enough of Halloween already!
Since this is a confessions blog, I decided to do this on a daily basis and share my writing/life struggles with you. On this Monday, it's my day off work and I'm enjoying the sunshine indoors. Anybody relates to that? Besides, it's cold and I'm cosy with my blankets, podcast and a blueberry donut which just arrived.
I really enjoyed this past Halloween. I was meant to go to a Frankenstein play, but I didn't really feel like it so I stayed in and got ready. Using a lot of eyeshadow, my face was blue and my cheeks were shimmery gold. An alien hunting for children to eat. The kids who came to the door appreciated it. I love it when they come up to the door and say, "trick or treat!" They're so cute!
Today is Armistice Day or Remembrance Day. I always send my wishes to the families that have lost those brave soldiers. 11/11 also has a different meaning for different people. If you're into spirituality, it may mean that the universe is telling you to be more aware or that your angels or spirit guides are trying to communicate with you, or you are about to manifest. There are many reasons/meanings for this number. Believe what you wish. I use it to remind myself to stay positive and that I'm on the right path.
Something freaky just happened. I was listening to The Box of Oddities podcast Halloween edition 2. A lady was telling her story and she mentioned 1111 and today is 11/11. The podcast was published on 30/10. The host was also talking about 1111 while I was writing/typing 11/11. I don't know what to think about that. Coincidence? I'm not sure.
I took a break from blogging to write a 1,000 words for Keepers of the Crypt. I feel good about where I'm going with the book.
I'll leave you tonight. Take care,
Wonder Woman
XXXX
Since this is a confessions blog, I decided to do this on a daily basis and share my writing/life struggles with you. On this Monday, it's my day off work and I'm enjoying the sunshine indoors. Anybody relates to that? Besides, it's cold and I'm cosy with my blankets, podcast and a blueberry donut which just arrived.
I really enjoyed this past Halloween. I was meant to go to a Frankenstein play, but I didn't really feel like it so I stayed in and got ready. Using a lot of eyeshadow, my face was blue and my cheeks were shimmery gold. An alien hunting for children to eat. The kids who came to the door appreciated it. I love it when they come up to the door and say, "trick or treat!" They're so cute!
Today is Armistice Day or Remembrance Day. I always send my wishes to the families that have lost those brave soldiers. 11/11 also has a different meaning for different people. If you're into spirituality, it may mean that the universe is telling you to be more aware or that your angels or spirit guides are trying to communicate with you, or you are about to manifest. There are many reasons/meanings for this number. Believe what you wish. I use it to remind myself to stay positive and that I'm on the right path.
Something freaky just happened. I was listening to The Box of Oddities podcast Halloween edition 2. A lady was telling her story and she mentioned 1111 and today is 11/11. The podcast was published on 30/10. The host was also talking about 1111 while I was writing/typing 11/11. I don't know what to think about that. Coincidence? I'm not sure.
I took a break from blogging to write a 1,000 words for Keepers of the Crypt. I feel good about where I'm going with the book.
I'll leave you tonight. Take care,
Wonder Woman
XXXX
October 14, 2019
The 5AM Club
I once decided to get up at 5:00AM for a week to get ahead on my writing. On the first day, I was so excited that I got up before the crack of dawn to write by candle light. It sounds so romantic. In a way it was. Every morning during that week, I lit three or four candles and wrote for about forty to fifty minutes. Not quite an hour, I know. I lit candles because it was so dim at that end of my bedroom. I now have a cool blue and green sequin lamp. The struggle of getting up early was so hard. By the time I got to work, I was jacked up on adrenaline. When lunchtime rolled around, I was struggling to stay awake. You'd think I'd get used it by the end of the week. Nope. It was much harder. When the weekend came around, I was writing for about thirty minutes.
I came across the Five AM Club book by Robin Sharma on YouTube. The main thing I got out of it was that getting up early gives you time for yourself to exercise, work on yourself, improve your life through reading/watching videos or going to workshops. Many of the most successful people in the world wake up at 5AM to meditate, workout or journal. He's right about having that extra time for yourself makes the day flow better and decreases stress. He uses storytelling to give us information on meditation, getting more sleep, personal growth and how to use creativity in business. There's a lot more in the book. When I finished reading it, I felt like I had to go through it again to capture all this knowledge. Anyway, if you'd like to watch what he's all about, here's a link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj5gf47UxhI
Robin Sharma is a #1 bestselling author. His most popular book is The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. His other books are The Greatness Guide and The Leader Who Had No Title.
Check out his book if you are into self-improvement and leadership.
XXX
Wonder Woman
I came across the Five AM Club book by Robin Sharma on YouTube. The main thing I got out of it was that getting up early gives you time for yourself to exercise, work on yourself, improve your life through reading/watching videos or going to workshops. Many of the most successful people in the world wake up at 5AM to meditate, workout or journal. He's right about having that extra time for yourself makes the day flow better and decreases stress. He uses storytelling to give us information on meditation, getting more sleep, personal growth and how to use creativity in business. There's a lot more in the book. When I finished reading it, I felt like I had to go through it again to capture all this knowledge. Anyway, if you'd like to watch what he's all about, here's a link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj5gf47UxhI
Robin Sharma is a #1 bestselling author. His most popular book is The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. His other books are The Greatness Guide and The Leader Who Had No Title.
Check out his book if you are into self-improvement and leadership.
XXX
Wonder Woman
Stress Less, Accomplish More
If you'd ever dabbled with meditation, you'll know that you'd probably felt anything from boredom, falling asleep and bombarded by your thoughts. I decided to give Z Meditation ago when I came across Emily Fletcher on Mindvalley, on YouTube. Here is the link if you want to check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy6uO0MzbPg&t=19s
The science behind meditation and how stress affects the body fascinated me. I was intrigued by what Emily said about how sleep is not enough for recharging the body. Here is a passage from the book based on science and how meditation thickens the corpus callosum when people meditate regularly. The corpus callosum is the thin strip of white matter that connects the gray matter of the two hemispheres of the brain.
"In 2012, a team of neurologists at UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro-modulation and Neuroimaging published a study that clearly demonstrated the thickening of the corpus callosum in people with regular meditation practices. Even more interesting, in 2015, a team from Harvard published findings from an experiment in which they conducted baseline MRIs on participants before starting half of them on a regular, daily meditation program. The subjects were selected on the basis of their overall health; all subjects, however, reported dealing with the effects of stress on their lives. During the course of the experiment, subjects answered questions about their mood and emotional states; those in the meditation group reported more positive overall feelings and a reduction of stress. At the end of eight weeks, the scans were repeated, and the brains of those who had begun meditating showed unmistakable physical changes, including shrinking of the amygdala (that is, the brain's fear center), which expands when the brain is steeped in cortisol or other stress hormones, and expansion of the brain stem, where dopamine and serotonin-the chemical responsible for feelings of happiness, love and contentment-originate."
-Chapter3 Stress Makes You Stupid, page 43.
Emily encourages us to meditation twice a day for fifteen minutes. There are three parts to this type of meditation. Mindfulness, Meditation and Manifesting. The three Ms. I'll spare you another passage on what this all means and how to do it and leave you a couple of links. If you are interested in more, you can try out the book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy6uO0MzbPg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBmgHX2e2OQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TIJRWVcv8Q
My personal experience with Z Meditation, if I do it properly feels amazing. And I do end up with more energy, more positivity and feeling that everything is going to be OK.
I hope you've enjoyed this blog post.
XXX
Wonder Woman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy6uO0MzbPg&t=19s
The science behind meditation and how stress affects the body fascinated me. I was intrigued by what Emily said about how sleep is not enough for recharging the body. Here is a passage from the book based on science and how meditation thickens the corpus callosum when people meditate regularly. The corpus callosum is the thin strip of white matter that connects the gray matter of the two hemispheres of the brain.
"In 2012, a team of neurologists at UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro-modulation and Neuroimaging published a study that clearly demonstrated the thickening of the corpus callosum in people with regular meditation practices. Even more interesting, in 2015, a team from Harvard published findings from an experiment in which they conducted baseline MRIs on participants before starting half of them on a regular, daily meditation program. The subjects were selected on the basis of their overall health; all subjects, however, reported dealing with the effects of stress on their lives. During the course of the experiment, subjects answered questions about their mood and emotional states; those in the meditation group reported more positive overall feelings and a reduction of stress. At the end of eight weeks, the scans were repeated, and the brains of those who had begun meditating showed unmistakable physical changes, including shrinking of the amygdala (that is, the brain's fear center), which expands when the brain is steeped in cortisol or other stress hormones, and expansion of the brain stem, where dopamine and serotonin-the chemical responsible for feelings of happiness, love and contentment-originate."
-Chapter3 Stress Makes You Stupid, page 43.
Emily encourages us to meditation twice a day for fifteen minutes. There are three parts to this type of meditation. Mindfulness, Meditation and Manifesting. The three Ms. I'll spare you another passage on what this all means and how to do it and leave you a couple of links. If you are interested in more, you can try out the book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy6uO0MzbPg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBmgHX2e2OQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TIJRWVcv8Q
My personal experience with Z Meditation, if I do it properly feels amazing. And I do end up with more energy, more positivity and feeling that everything is going to be OK.
I hope you've enjoyed this blog post.
XXX
Wonder Woman
October 3, 2019
The Magic
The Magic by Rhonda Byrne is all about gratitude.
She goes into how using gratitude every day can make you more positive, help with manifesting and becoming healthier.
The Magic of gratitude may help your relationships, improve your health, heal past or present relationships, attract more money to you and change the way you see yourself.
The main thing that I got out of it is that being thankful made me more positive and grateful for the small things in life. Try it, you may like it.
Wonder Woman,
XXX
She goes into how using gratitude every day can make you more positive, help with manifesting and becoming healthier.
The Magic of gratitude may help your relationships, improve your health, heal past or present relationships, attract more money to you and change the way you see yourself.
The main thing that I got out of it is that being thankful made me more positive and grateful for the small things in life. Try it, you may like it.
Wonder Woman,
XXX
September 27, 2019
Becoming
I recently finished listening to Becoming by Michelle Obama. I really loved it. She's thoughtful, hilarious and makes me feel grounded. I've learnt so many things about her and Barack that gave me perspective on them as a couple and when they were the first family of America. I've learnt that she is so smart, kind, nurturing and funny.
There were moment when I cried. When her dad got sick and how she felt about that. How her mum deals with everything, and how her parents sacrificed everything for her and her brother. She sticks to what she believes in and is honest in her communication.
There's so much more I can say, but I want you to read/listen to it and experience it yourself.
There were moment when I cried. When her dad got sick and how she felt about that. How her mum deals with everything, and how her parents sacrificed everything for her and her brother. She sticks to what she believes in and is honest in her communication.
There's so much more I can say, but I want you to read/listen to it and experience it yourself.
September 19, 2019
100 Books by 40
Hello!
I haven't posted in a while. I hope you're alright and enjoying the change in the weather.
I'm back to let you know that I have decided read 100 books by the time I'm 40. 😅
It's a steep challenge but I'm excited about it. I'm 5 books deep and about to finish a couple of them today. 🙆
I'll be back to update you on what I thought of those books later tonight. Have a good day!
Wonder Woman XXX 💜
August 8, 2019
For The Love of Writing
Dear Thursday,
I'm really loving werewolves today.
I edited a chapter today and noticed how Eva is growing in her own skin. How she is getting stronger as a creature and a vampire. The people in her life are mainly strong women with cool personalities. Sometimes I think miss these creature if I don't work on my books for a while. I like most of them. Not so much the bad guys. They piss me off. They're annoying and dangerous. Although Eva and her gang are dangerous too.
When I think of them compared to humans, I see the fragility of a human life and the brief time we have on this blue planet. I'm so glad that I'm a writer. I love creating a whole new world and controlling the characters in it. Sometimes it seems like they have a life of their own.
I don't think I could ever not write. My writing journey started with poetry, song writing and short stories. Then I got super inspired to write my first book. Moth isn't my first book, but my second. A natural transition to this deep, dangerous cool world of creatures. I still write poetry, a song here and there and short stories.
I started a side project. It may be a short story or a novel. It's not going to be a fantasy novel. I feel like it's going in the direction of women's fiction. I'll leave it at that for now.
I've watched a video that really inspired me today.
Here's the link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a7NRRyPkps
I hope you get something from it.
Good night.
Wonder Woman,
XXX
I'm really loving werewolves today.
I edited a chapter today and noticed how Eva is growing in her own skin. How she is getting stronger as a creature and a vampire. The people in her life are mainly strong women with cool personalities. Sometimes I think miss these creature if I don't work on my books for a while. I like most of them. Not so much the bad guys. They piss me off. They're annoying and dangerous. Although Eva and her gang are dangerous too.
When I think of them compared to humans, I see the fragility of a human life and the brief time we have on this blue planet. I'm so glad that I'm a writer. I love creating a whole new world and controlling the characters in it. Sometimes it seems like they have a life of their own.
I don't think I could ever not write. My writing journey started with poetry, song writing and short stories. Then I got super inspired to write my first book. Moth isn't my first book, but my second. A natural transition to this deep, dangerous cool world of creatures. I still write poetry, a song here and there and short stories.
I started a side project. It may be a short story or a novel. It's not going to be a fantasy novel. I feel like it's going in the direction of women's fiction. I'll leave it at that for now.
I've watched a video that really inspired me today.
Here's the link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a7NRRyPkps
I hope you get something from it.
Good night.
Wonder Woman,
XXX
August 6, 2019
It's Tough
Dear Tuesday,
This is an inspo post.
Hemingway said,
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
I'm sure he had other tips, but this is one of his famous sayings. I could quote all day, but I won't.
If you're writing a novel and working full time, keep going. This is really tough. The evenings are tough. There are distractions, you get hungry, you have to shower, sleep, etc …
The weekends are more fun. You have more time to write and create great ideas. However, the distractions are endless. Chores, food, hygiene, exercise and entertainment. I have replaced most of these things with podcasts, books and audio books, especially while I'm writing. I mean, I still eat, shower and remind myself to do those chores a million times. That's why they're called chores. Right? So boring!
Anyway, if you're a full time writer, CONGRATULATIONS! You are where we want to be. A success at writing down lies, I mean stories. Then those chores can be handed over to someone else. Joking! I do enjoy hoovering. Really. Those dusty corners.
I love writing. Especially fantasy. I'm hoping to complete all 3 books this year. So doable. Yeah. I know. It's tough. A solo journey. The lone wolf. Never stop. Keep going. Even if the laundry is high as a skyscraper.
Here's a quote that's more inspiring than Hemingway's.
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you."
-Maya Angelou
Good Night,
Wonder Woman
XXX
This is an inspo post.
Hemingway said,
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
I'm sure he had other tips, but this is one of his famous sayings. I could quote all day, but I won't.
If you're writing a novel and working full time, keep going. This is really tough. The evenings are tough. There are distractions, you get hungry, you have to shower, sleep, etc …
The weekends are more fun. You have more time to write and create great ideas. However, the distractions are endless. Chores, food, hygiene, exercise and entertainment. I have replaced most of these things with podcasts, books and audio books, especially while I'm writing. I mean, I still eat, shower and remind myself to do those chores a million times. That's why they're called chores. Right? So boring!
Anyway, if you're a full time writer, CONGRATULATIONS! You are where we want to be. A success at writing down lies, I mean stories. Then those chores can be handed over to someone else. Joking! I do enjoy hoovering. Really. Those dusty corners.
I love writing. Especially fantasy. I'm hoping to complete all 3 books this year. So doable. Yeah. I know. It's tough. A solo journey. The lone wolf. Never stop. Keep going. Even if the laundry is high as a skyscraper.
Here's a quote that's more inspiring than Hemingway's.
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you."
-Maya Angelou
Good Night,
Wonder Woman
XXX
August 3, 2019
Love Is Love
Dear Saturday,
You were great.
Today was pride. I managed to take loads of pics. Here are a few I want to share with you.
Entertainment:Today is one of those nights where I need to chill out. So I started to watch a series on Prime called The Boys. It's amazing. I haven't finished watching it. 7 super heroes are signed up to this company that make them big and popular, with an agenda behind it. It's not all innocent. I think you'll like. The underdog is almost an anti super hero. Try it. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Mindvalley Talks:
You probably heard of Jay Shetty. He's one of my favourite people on the internet. I love watching his content on Instagram and YouTube. I just watched him being interviewed by Vishen on Mindvalley Talks. The video is called The Mind of Jay Shetty: An Interview with Vishen Lakhiani.
I find him really inspiring and motivates me to keep working on myself. There's no point in me telling you what he said. Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0rG5SkpSIw
I'm going to leave you for now, until tomorrow.
Wonder Woman,
XXX
You were great.
Today was pride. I managed to take loads of pics. Here are a few I want to share with you.
Entertainment:Today is one of those nights where I need to chill out. So I started to watch a series on Prime called The Boys. It's amazing. I haven't finished watching it. 7 super heroes are signed up to this company that make them big and popular, with an agenda behind it. It's not all innocent. I think you'll like. The underdog is almost an anti super hero. Try it. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Mindvalley Talks:
You probably heard of Jay Shetty. He's one of my favourite people on the internet. I love watching his content on Instagram and YouTube. I just watched him being interviewed by Vishen on Mindvalley Talks. The video is called The Mind of Jay Shetty: An Interview with Vishen Lakhiani.
I find him really inspiring and motivates me to keep working on myself. There's no point in me telling you what he said. Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0rG5SkpSIw
I'm going to leave you for now, until tomorrow.
Wonder Woman,
XXX
August 2, 2019
Hard Days
Dear Friday,
You were alright.
I'm listening to UB40 while writing this so it's seriously chilling me out.
Work:
The morning started out great until it didn't. It was challenging at work today. Somehow, I managed to get through it. It ended a lot better than it started.
Writing/Editing:
I edited 3 chapters today. 1 more than yesterday and 2 more than the day before yesterday. Yeay! I'm trucking a long a little faster this week. It does seem like it's forever to finish editing it. Aiming at finishing editing Sisters of the Moon this weekend. I can't wait. Also, I'm starting to love the journey. Writing Keepers of the Crypt makes me feel like this whole era, trilogy is coming to an end. I'm looking forward to writing my next book. I'm really excited about it.
Reading:
I read most of the 5AM Club by Robin Sharma. I'm really excited to finish it and tell you all about it. I'm going to tell you how it has helped me in a separate blog. There is so much valuable info in that book. I was surprised.
I got a new book recently. I was inspired by a couple of videos that I saw that had Emily Fletcher in it. You might recognise her name from other blog posts. The book is called Stress Less, Accomplish More. Looking at it makes me feel really excited to read it. It's mainly about meditation and how it can improve performance and other good stuff about it. I'll also tell you what I think about it and how it has affected me in a separate blog.
Anyway, I started this blog a little tonight so I'm going to bed. Sleep well.
Wonder Woman,
XXX
You were alright.
I'm listening to UB40 while writing this so it's seriously chilling me out.
Work:
The morning started out great until it didn't. It was challenging at work today. Somehow, I managed to get through it. It ended a lot better than it started.
Writing/Editing:
I edited 3 chapters today. 1 more than yesterday and 2 more than the day before yesterday. Yeay! I'm trucking a long a little faster this week. It does seem like it's forever to finish editing it. Aiming at finishing editing Sisters of the Moon this weekend. I can't wait. Also, I'm starting to love the journey. Writing Keepers of the Crypt makes me feel like this whole era, trilogy is coming to an end. I'm looking forward to writing my next book. I'm really excited about it.
Reading:
I read most of the 5AM Club by Robin Sharma. I'm really excited to finish it and tell you all about it. I'm going to tell you how it has helped me in a separate blog. There is so much valuable info in that book. I was surprised.
I got a new book recently. I was inspired by a couple of videos that I saw that had Emily Fletcher in it. You might recognise her name from other blog posts. The book is called Stress Less, Accomplish More. Looking at it makes me feel really excited to read it. It's mainly about meditation and how it can improve performance and other good stuff about it. I'll also tell you what I think about it and how it has affected me in a separate blog.
Anyway, I started this blog a little tonight so I'm going to bed. Sleep well.
Wonder Woman,
XXX
