Blissalicious Blog

Have you ever wondered how to bring more joy into your living?

One thing I know about myself is how much joy I receive from being surrounded by beauty and elegance.  It offers a sense of peace and calm.. like a mesmerizing oasis in the midst  of a crazy world where so much ugliness is created when we are unaware of what else is possible. 

Some days I love to create beauty, some days I simply be beauty.  What if we could all know how beautiful we truly be?

I love the unexpectedness of the beauty we find in nature...an eagle soaring overhead as I fly down the highway, the total stillness of the forest as I walk in full presence along the coastline... the happy buzziness of dragonflies and bumblebees as they create their own brand of magic in each moment.

Immersing ourselves in beauty is a treat too... have you noticed how a well-designed building can make you feel good?  How a beautiful painting expands your possibilities?  How fresh flowers can add a certain something to your office?  Or how a great massage creates a sense of space and joy in your universe?

What if you could immerse yourself in whatever is beautiful for you?  Would your world change at all?  Beauty is a contribution to us in every moment... if we will receive it!

xox Lisa

 

What is bringing you bliss today? I'm making spirals out of pretty things! 

These were my Nanna's pearls - I got inspired and made them into something just a little more funky a couple of weeks ago.  There is always bliss in creating something that has never existed before :)

What are the simple pleasures that immerse you in a state of bliss?

xox  Lisa

Artist Kate Hartman takes us on a tour of communication that makes the world look just a little different to the everyday... Her TED talk is quirky, creative and offers an intriguing underlying message about how we can all connect with each other and the things around us in unexpected ways...

Some of us already recognise that everything has energy... Kate takes us to a place where we can visually tap into that energy and see different possibilities for communication.  I found the part about glaciers especially insightful... how do we connect and communicate with people who have a glacial exterior?   Enjoy!

It's raining here today and I'm feeling creative...  when we immerse ourselves in the energy of our dreams and send out little trickles to everyone who would like to have that adventure with us... magic shows up!

Today the energies of beauty and elegance feel like they would love to be added to my life... so I'm having a little clean up (truly universe, what would it take for me to be naturally tidy??), breathing the beauty and elegance in (burning some lovely vanilla candles) and looking creatively at where I can bring more beauty into my world :)  Bliss!!

What sensorial delights are you creating to bring bliss into your living today?

xox
Lisa
(Image via Pinterest)

I had a great giggle at this... it made me ask a lot of questions :)



I loooooooove how this girl gave each of these people the opportunity to see the world differently!!

• How much do we have fixed points of view about how things 'should be'?
• How much do we love to control the outcomes rather than go with the flow?
• How much do our expectations dictate our responses?
• How much judgment are we willing to receive for doing things 'my way'?
• How much joy is there in having no point of view about something being 'right or wrong'?
• How much freedom could we have if we found the humour in everything we experience?
• How much fun can we have NOT meeting everyone else's expectations?

Just a few of the ideas that came to mind as I giggled my way through this playful video... enjoy your Friday!!
xox
Lisa

My Facebook friends have seen my recent obsession with getting words on the page.  I have less than 20,000 words left to write for my new book The Mojo of Flow (launching in July!) and I am often posting on Facebook when I’m writing because I love the conversations that develop around different topics!

In writing this book, it's been interesting to see where my thinking has been influenced, and how intensely words can contribute to our lives.  As a child I spent immeasureable joyful hours reading and became both a prolific reader and a fairly competent writer as a result.  I have kept these habits as I have grown up and still love to get my hands on a good book, disappearing off deep into other realities.

This week I have started playing with another new project (still top secret!!) and was making a list of the many books I would consider essential if I had the perfect library.  I love books almost as much as I love chocolate and have read thousands.  I thought I’d share a few of my life-changing favourites with you!

When I was 16 my Auntie Anne gave me a hardcover copy of Kahlil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’ – I still have that book. There have been many moments when I have been grateful for its beauty and wisdom!

There are two books that had a huge impact when I had burnout:  ‘The Highly Sensitive Person’ by Dr Elaine Aron – mostly because I didn’t know I was one and when I read it my entire life made sense for the first time!  ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron also had a huge impact because I was a recovering workaholic and creativity was my new drug of choice!

I couldn’t think of a single title from either of my university degrees that had a significant impact, but can definitely say that Seth Godin’s ‘Tribes’, Jason Fried’s ‘Rework’ and Michael Bungay Stanier’s ‘Do More Great Work’ have made significant differences to my businesses.

The self-development field is vast and I have been reading books in this genre since I was 14. Some of the classics created change for me but I always knew there must be more. The books from Access Consciousness opened up whole new universes of change and possibilities with an ease I had never imagined!  Hard to choose favourites here, but ‘You Are Magic. Be It.’, ‘Right Riches For You’ and the novel ‘The Place’ have all allowed me to be way more of me! I used to think money would give me this freedom, but really I just needed to rediscover the joys of being me!  

What are your favourite books and why?
xox
Lisa

(PS, I will be sharing two chapters of my book with you for free in a couple of weeks – keep an eye out for the email!  If you aren’t on our list, please sign up!)

I woke up this morning with a head full of stuff... so many little things need attention over the next week and I was having a 'where to start' moment!  Because, actually, I didn't feel like working, I felt like messing about in the kitchen... an earlier trip to the Noosa Farmers Markets had put me in the inspiration zone!

One of the fastest ways to find your serenity (besides breathing deeply) is to do something you love.  So, I made some marinated feta... beautiful creamy danish feta, rich fruity virgin olive oil, and some fresh herbs from the garden... 10 minutes of creating bliss for my tastebuds!

Now I can imagine at least 10 luscious things I can do with this feta... and those creative thoughts are going to keep me happy and serene for quite a while (yes, I'm a food lush - just thinking about the possibilities makes me drool deliriously!!)

And now I'm ready to look at what really does require attention today if I want to have a free-flowing productive week!  So if you are looking for a little more serenity in your day... do the thing that will make you drool love and feel nurtured first... and once you feel more than a little bit happy, go and do the thing that really needs your love in this moment... pure bliss - I promise!!

xox
Lisa

So this week I discovered that an addiction to the Words With Friends iPhone app isn't quite enough for me... now there is Unblock Me!  Oh my darling heart!

This simple game is all about moving the red block through the gap on the right by rearranging the blocks.  I started playing as a way of unblocking my creativity when writing... the simple actions of moving the blocks about creates some sort of natural flow.  How does it get even better than that?

What was interesting to discover as I got progressively more and more addicted to playing, is how Unblock Me is like a metaphor for everything that is blocked in our life!  Here's what I see:

• Sometimes you have to move the red block 'backwards' to make progress.
• Whatever linear answer you come up with will probably not work. Go for the next easiest move instead.
• When you least expect it, the solution appears.
• When you hit a really annoying traffic jam, its easier to start the game again, taking a different route.
• When you come to a conclusion about what the solution looks like you go round in circles and get nowhere.
• It doesn't really matter how many steps you take, as long as you're enjoying the game ;-)
• No matter what the journey looks like, the last few moves are always fast and easy and you wonder why you didn't see the solution sooner!
• When you focus on moving the red block through the hole rather than what's in the way, it's a fast game!
• Some of the hardest looking puzzles can be solved the quickest if we don't take the point of view they are hard. None of it is ever as hard as we think.(Time to stop thinking? lol)
• Mostly we don't have to move nearly as many blocks as we think ;-)
• If we really get stuck, leave that game and go play another, when we come back the solution will be effortless!
• When you go with the flow and play intuitively, solutions appear out of nowhere (love that!!).

I have been talking to lots of people feeling blocked in different ways lately, maybe its time for a whole lot more play in your life??

Somehow play makes our world look completely different. Maybe because when we play, we give up all the fantasies of what things 'should' be... and just allow them to BE? (And when we BE, we can see what else is possible!!)

It's Friday... go play some games and unblock yourself so you can have a gorgeously blissful weekend! 
xox
Lisa
(PS. What's your favourite app for relaxing your mind?  Share in the comments below for the rest of us to add to our addictions please!!)

Today I have a day at home by myself - a rare occurrence and one I'm grateful for - it is rejuvenating for me!  While I did skip off to my brother's this morning for a few hours of easter egg hunts, chocolate hot cross buns, making easter egg paper collages with my niece and nephew and joyful conversation, I'm home now and in a peaceful flow.

Playing with my Soul Coaching cards... here are the messages I received when asking for some beautiful serenity insights to share :-)

Peace...True peace is not static and boring...it's full of grace, enthusiasm and vitality! Serenity is within.  (I'm sure this one was especially for me... I will never think of peace as boring again!!)

Power...Reclaim your inner abilities and divine strength... use your wisdom and grace to bring healing to others.

Acceptance...When you are not in allowance of ALL of you, you deny who you truly be.  There are no wrong experiences.

Inspiration...Creativity and inspiration are a blessing... are we willing to receive stimulating ideas that revitalize us?

Silence...The silent still place within is our source of potency... in the silence our full awareness becomes conscious.

What choice could you make today that could contribute more serenity to your blissful living?
Happy Easter, I hope you have been able to enjoy some serenity and rejuvenation!
xx
Lisa

Image via Pinterest

This weeks Tuesday Treat comes from our first ever Bliss Lounge event where we had conversations around 25 unconventional questions relating to creativity.  Conversations create aha moments in our lives... what are you willing to discover today?

Here's three of the best creativity questions for you to play with in your most deep and meaningless (but really fun!) conversations this week...  What else can you creatively include in your life that will enhance your experience of bliss?

Download your creativity questions here!

If you have any questions about living creatively, post them in the comments section below and I'll share some ideas in future posts... 

x Lisa