Joelle Lifestyle - The World at Home

There are only a few minutes left before the arrival of 2009.  I have been looking at the sky.  Like in a movie, I am watching the old year’s retrospective of events go by.  It’s dark…a cold, very cold night in New York City.  I deliberately chose to spend this transition by myself.  Hearing about my decision, friends and family thought something was wrong with me but on the contrary, I have never felt so peaceful in my mind and at heart.

It wasn’t easy to explain to the ones I love and whose company, homes, and countries I enjoy that I needed to have a chat with the sky!  If I write about my millennial “chat” with the planets, this “night off” from Planet Earth will possibly be excused and maybe understood by many.  After all, what matters is that I am coming back into the New Year’s orbit on time for the fireworks and with a suitcase filled with answers to my solitary tarot game of questions.

Among those questions was, “How can I create Good Karma for myself and others in the new year to come, emphasizing the importance of physical health, spiritual growth, abundance, harmony and peace?” The pieces of advice I picked among hundreds I sourced are based on the principles of Buddhism, Taoism and other spiritual traditions. The result is a collection of simple, immediate suggestions, possibly resolutions created to enliven and enlighten our lives in 2009.

This collection of the following short insights encompasses four fundamental principles of spirituality: Karma (cause and effect) Dharma ( cosmic law , to be in tune with nature and the world) Yoga ( enlightenment through movement) and Tao ( harmony with the fundamental essence of everything we encounter) and Kabbalah (endless receiving light, the creation of both matter and spirit)

All these principles and the many traditions listed below are meant to open your heart, rekindle your spirit, celebrate the present, and help you gain mental and physical strength.  Many of the entries will speak to you today.  Others will ring true years from now.  Some may never fit your life.  Take what you want and leave the rest.  Here are my picks:

• wait for a door to be unlocked instead of trying to break it down
• give the best information
• stop working at your computer and place your hands in Namaste ,the centered position of respect and thanks
• believe that the best is yet to be
• surrender/trust
• give away a tenth of your income to charities and good causes
• do not take life’s experiences too seriously

• repeat the sacred words of great teachers
• make your kitchen the most comfortable place in he house
• Capture pretty pictures and send them to  all your contacts through your cell phone camera
• show personal integrity
• call or write your cousins
• put yourself in someone else’s shoes
• the more attention you bring to eating, the more interesting it becomes
• give the pet a sponge bath
• live according your beliefs

• send a hand-delivered telegram of love
• listen to the whole answer
• be comfortable with ambiguity
• respect tradition
• mist your feet with a blend of tea tree and Eucalyptus oils
• when you get home kick off your shoes
• let things unfold in their own time
• learn to be your own counselor
• master a skill
• regardless the situation, react with class

• know when to quit
• treat animals well
• trust those on whom you depend,and care for those who depend on you
• start your family’s day by making fresh orange juice
• buy two copies of a book so you can read it with your sweetheart
• begin to experience the difference between love and attachment, between loss and grief
• put your jacket around someone on a chilly evening
• make kindness your true religion
• make creativity a way of life

• write three things that were great about today
• teach a child to read
• practice the ‘ letting-go mind’
• know that you are doing the best you can- for now
• grow herbs in a window garden
• simplify
• revive a lost art form
• research your opinions
• make a difference
• write or draw your anger away
• allow your day to unfold
• believe inner peace is possible

• dance in the Summer rain
• listen to Beethoven ’s Ninth
• help ban nuclear anything
• deliver compassion
• enhance even the most mundane aspects of life
• offer someone warm milk before bedtime
• never deprive someone of hope
• bring plants and flowers with their healing yang energy into a convalescing person’s bedroom
• let go of the past
• buy coffee and breakfast for the person behind you at the coffee shop

• seek the essence of beauty everyday
• don’t mind to be immersed in the future
• develop extraordinary powers of observation
• master the moment
• be in charge of your feelings
• be a mentor to a young person who admires you
• look for possibilities not limits
• deepen your relationship with nature and find great contentment

• see with your inner eye, hear with your inner ear
• nothing worthwhile is achieved overnight
• embrace aloneness and solitude,realizing you are one with the universe
• start a gratitude list
• buy comfortable furniture
• give books to the poor
• make time for meditation
• give the gift of undivided attention
• resolve to maintain a balance in everyday life
• develop your own philosophy
• live quietly
• use less share more
• go into stillness and wait
• make honesty your only policy

• don’t try to buy happiness
• rather than padding a river, flow with it
• share a chair
• do the least harm possible
• live your own life
• when you are truthful you will be trusted
• read a guide on money management
• care about yourself enough to set limits
• live a spiritual life and you will have less fear of death
• let events take their course

• use sunscreen
• grow old gracefully
• read about fashion trends in magazines-then wear whatever you want
• see life’s big picture
• take yourself to lunch
• stop trying change people
• take care of little details
• organize all of the closets
• practice waiting patiently
• remain open to experience and change
• contribute something unique to the world
• find the positive side of a situation
• wear clothes you love
• don’t jump to conclusions
• acknowledge the reality of times

• bake a pie for your mother-in-law
• celebrate good food from the earth
• win affection of children
• invent your own recipe for living
• focus on what’s important
• only watch TV programs you are really interested on
• listen children rehearse
• be endless curious about the universe
• make a PBJ from whole-grain bread,freshly ground natural peanut butter, and fruit-sweetened jam

• guess positively when you’re not sure
• find a meaningful career
• negotiate solutions to crises
• find a job compatible with your basis
• take a favorite friend to lunch
• see beauty in the simple
• freedom is found in a life where there is little choice
• choose the best response
• learn how aromas influence your mood
• donate to AIDS research

• love the rainy days too
• make your home a sanctuary
• change the way you have always done something
• know when to rest
• have faith in your own ideas
• surrender to what is
• put more value on people than on stuff or ideas
• tell a teenager something you wish you had known at his or her age
• behave during the day in such a way that you can sleep at night in peace
• stoke a dog’s ears

• write a letter to someone you care about who is no longer in your life
• let friends surprise you
• live your faith
• allow the flavor of goodness to permeate your life
• empty your mind during a walk
• build a cozy fire during wintertime
• try harder
• drink vegetable juice
• attend Earth Day Celebration
• don’t eat out of sadness or anger
• be your partner’s best friend and biggest fan
• respect those who have a different focus
• let people enjoy life their own way
• encourage people to share their excitement about life
• do a group project

• follow directions
• create imaginary allies
• be a team player
• one step starts a journey
• don’t get upset about confusion
• don’t look for recognition
• do not despise what you cannot have
• hire people who like people
• reconcile two enemies
• make up the bed with fragrant rose petals tucked between the sheets
• face life
• burn candles
• find religion
• use ears to explore the world
• just breath

• be wary of trendy magazines that focus on simplicity
• stop holding your breath and breath from your diaphragm
• read yoga tips to improve your practice
• spend one day in silence
• give yourself to the journey
• remain in the center watching
• meditate on emptiness
• don’t take a bad mood seriously
• massage your scalp with essential oils
• pardon errors

• be calm in front of someone hysteria
• release all suffering
• cleanse the energy in the bedroom several times a year
• live life right now
• teach kids to use their creativity
• wake up
• show affection
• be intellectually adventurous
• plant a tree for a baby’s birthday
• believe in miracles
• be a miracle
• put on your favorite cd and dance
• write a fun letter to your favorite author
• read a writing style and usage manual

• walk slowly
• inspire yourself
• sit in the grass
• take your vitamins
• pray under a cathedral of trees
• say a peace prayer
• spend today bringing happiness to your friends and family
• read scriptures and holy books
• sing a lullaby
• share
• revel in the luxury of being alive
• help save a’ lost soul’
• take nothing for granted
• start where you are

Joelle’s Tips

The Source : Instant Karma – 8879 ways to give yorself and others Good Karma – Barbara Ann Kipfer – Workman Publishing

Photography: ‘ Bergdoff Goodman Holiday season ” soon available for sale on line. Copyrights Joelle Maslaton Photography

Eric Lafforgue all Copyrights Reserved – Indigenous Tribe