I spoke to my dear Aunt Clara a few days ago – the Aunt Clara who is my WOW (What an Old Woman) and is busy planning her 100th birthday party next April (she’s not sure yet whether it will be at her home or a hotel … but will let me know).  Throughout the conversation, Aunt Clara repeated 3 things over and over.  I believe that if we pepper all our conversations with these phrases, we will come to embody this way of being.  Can’t guarantee that you will live to be 99+, but you WILL LIVE your life as a blessing. Here are the 3 phrases:

1. I am not complaining
2. I don’t take it on
3. I am just grateful

But it’s not just the words – it’s also how she says it – always with a laugh or a giggle and prefaced with a term of endearment, usually “My dear”.  In this way, Aunt Clara vests her words with love and caring, positive emotions which magnify the results.   There is also power in her voice – after each phrase is a FULL STOP.  The sentences don’t fade away as if she is certain – she speaks as if she is absolutely certain that she is not complaining, not taking it on and being grateful.  FULL STOP.  She does not go on to explain what she is not complaining about – don’t we do that sometimes?  “I am not complaining at all but this hip yada yada yada ….”.  Nor does she amplify what she is not taking on – we do that too “I am not taking on this problem at all because if I do I think yada yada yada …..”.  And she doesn’t even expand on what she is grateful for.  She is just grateful – full of grace.

Try  speaking these sentences today whenever you are facing a challenging situation.  Make sure to season them with laughter and love.

just did for something that has been weighing heavily on my mind over the past few days.  Already I feel lighter, knowing that with these words I have let go and am allowing the right solution to manifest.

I came across an interview with author Mary Pipher.  Here’s what she shared about books:

‎”If you live 70 years and aren’t a reader, you will know maybe 3,000 people over your lifetime. But if you read books, you’ll go all over the world and know all these wonderful people you could never have met in one lifetime”

I love to read.  When I am into a book, I am totally consumed by it.  I will stay up all night to finish it.  And when it is done, I feel a little lost, as if some wonderful event has now finished and I am taking a little breath.  Why does this happen?  Because when I am into a book, I am totally present.  I come to know the characters, to feel their joys and sorrows, to enjoy their experiences, to share in their learning.  They become my family.

So my question today is: Where have you visited through books?  What experiences have you had?  Here are some of mine:

• Ancient Egypt
• Trekked through the Himalayas
• Lived in Tibetan monasteries
• Wandered through daffodils in the Lake District
• Kenya in the early 20th century
• Occupation of Chile by the Spaniards
• Native American Indians before invasion by Europeans
• Trekked across the Sahara
• Crossed the Middle Passage (as a slave
• Just followed Jesus throughout his life on this earth – all 86 years!
• Was in prison with Nelson Mandela
• Hidout with Anne Frank
• Rode with cowboys across the Prairies

Oh – and by the way – do we now see how really important it is that ALL children learn to read, have access to and enjoy books?  It’s not just about being able to get a job – it’s about being able to see the world!

I just received word of yet another disappointment.  I had submitted a proposal to work  in Dominica, one of my favourite places in the world.  It was not accepted.

As I graciously acknowledged the rejection – oh have I come a long way to be gracious in the face of rejection – I remembered the quote that I shared a few posts ago: “Every disappointment leads to an appointment”.  I have been having a string of disappointments lately, and am not seeing the appointments.  Why, I wondered.  Then, this came to me:  God, the Universe has something great and wonderful in store for me.  I am not ready for it yet.  I have some more work to do.  Some more letting go, some more releasing, some more accepting, some more trusting, some more loving.  I don’t yet know what this goodness is, but all these “disappointments” are the prodding of the Universe to guide me away from distractions and towards these grand and wonderful things that my mind cannot yet even visualize, verbalise or comprehend.  The disappointments are to stretch and help me grow in awareness and consciousness to be able to accept the grand goodness of the Universe.

So today, I open to whatever God has in store for me – bring it on God!

I am delighted to be featured on the Postcards from the Diaspora Corner of the Jamaica Cultural Exchange e-magazine.  Click HERE to enjoy this interview!

I am always happy for any opportunity to add to the freedom and laughter quotient in the world.  It is my belief that if enough people are free, then there will be more love, joy and happiness.  Freedom is an inside job and an important and easy step is laughter.

So I do hope you enjoy the interview (click HERE) and look forward to your comments!  And make sure to travel around the Jamaica Cultural Exchange website – lots of fun things happening there!

Every morning for the past 6 months or so I have written 10 things I am grateful for in my journal.  It used to be 5, and one day I decided to double it.

I have, and continue to recommend this highly to everyone – it is so powerful and important to the quality of one’s life that I included it as one of the exercises in my e-book “Free and Laughing in Crisis Moments” (available as a free download when you subscribe to my blog).

My sister and I were talking one morning this week, and she noted that sometimes it’s hard to find 10 things to be grateful for.  Having experienced this myself, I pointed out to her that it is exactly when we are stuck at #7, that we MUST push through to do the 10.

The lesson?  It’s not WHAT we give thanks for – it’s THAT we give thanks!  This is what keeps us in a state of grace – giving thanks for everything, even and especially when we think we have little to be thankful for.

Here are some of the things I have given thanks for when I am “stuck”:

• The beautiful morning
• A sunny day
• The rain
• My children enjoying what I cooked for them
• Finding my favourite lingerie on sale
• My doggie coming into the kitchen and licking my hand
• My breath
• This moment

There are no limits to the grace of God – so there are no limits to our being grateful.  Make SURE that today, you give thanks for at least 10 things!

“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.”
-  Catherine Ponder

What wise words from Catherine Ponder.  Today, ask yourself:

• Who am I holding resentment towards?
• What effect is this having on my life?
• What would I want to be different in this situation?

Now, forgive – the person AND most importantly yourself.  You will be cutting that emotional chain and setting yourself free!  Relax and allow the magic of freedom to manifest in your life!

Last night I bought a new journal.  I spent a lot of time in the bookstore trying to decide which one to buy – did I like the cover, the size, and the feel of the pages?  All these are important to me as I spend so much time journaling.  I finally settled on a Moleskin journal, but was a little dissatisfied with the fact that the last 16 pages of the journal are detachable?  Why ever for I wondered?

I found out this morning.  A few weeks ago I attended the “I Can Do It” conference staged by the Hay House.  The speaker who most resonated with me was Sonia Choquette.  She had us dancing, singing, laughing and crying as she exhorted us to “travel at the speed of love”. I felt like I was truly flying miles high and at joy speed!

Of course I bought her book “Travelling at the Speed of Love” and have been reading and working with it ever since.  This morning, it was time to face “The Guilt Trip” chapter.    The exercise to do was this:

“Your Top Ten Worst Mistakes and Regrets:

In your notebook or on a separate pad, make a list of your top ten worst mistakes and regrets ever.  Include everything as far back as you can remember, even the names of all the people you’ve hurt with your mistakes.  Next, write down what you learned from each mistake, as well as what you would do now knowing what you know.  Write down the name of the person you hurt and ask the Universe for forgiveness.  Next, forgive yourself.  Finally, tear up your list and throw it away.  Refuse to look back or ever mention, or suffer for, these mistakes again”.

WOW!  Now I know why I needed those 16 pages to be detached.

So I started writing.  And finally finished #11 in tears.  As I ripped the pages into tiny shreds, I had to laugh – for so many of these mistakes and regrets (no longer mine I must note) happened over 30 years ago!  And I had been carrying the guilt about them all this time!  What a burden to put on myself.  I laughed even more when I realized that some of the people I believe I had caused hurt have long left this earth.  They released and let go of everything, including what I did, and I was still holding on to it.

Well, that is all finished. By writing them down I acknowledged that they existed (some I had not even been able to acknowledge to myself before this).  By reflecting on what I learned and what I would do now, I recognized and accepted that I had acted as best as I could AT THE TIME.  By noting what I would have done differently, I acknowledge how far I have come since those actions that I labeled mistakes.  And by asking the Universe for forgiveness, and forgiving myself, I have let go.  I no longer need these lesson books.  I have moved on now to a different class.  I threw away those texts this morning. I feel light now, and am truly free!

Life is too short to spend it on guilt trips.  You can come off at any time.  All you need to do is decide that you have had enough of re-living and holding on to the particular issue.  Mistakes are important: they happen to teach us things – they are the learning aids in our personal life curriculum.  Releasing mistakes allows us to move on to even bigger and better mistakes … and lessons.  It allows us to move on to the more advanced courses.  However, we cannot progress if we are on a guilt trip, as that keeps us reviewing the same chapter over and over.  I urge you to step up to the more advanced courses for your life.  Do this exercise today.  And do it as often as you need to.  I certainly plan to do it whenever I find myself on the guilt trip train!

On Tuesday, I had 3 very important appointments – a job interview, a meeting about my next book and a telephone conference call with a client in Barbados.  I also was in the throes of preparing a proposal that had to be submitted by Thursday and organizing the midterm examination for my students at Ryerson.  Busy, busy day …..

That all changed in an instant – rushing to go upstairs to get ready, I slipped and fell, hitting my head against the wall. One pair of broken glasses and 3 stitches later, I headed to bed.  A call to my appointments yielded understanding and concern with my wellbeing and a willingness to reschedule at my convenience.  When I called Barbados to have the meeting, my client asked if we could reschedule the call for the next day.   All of a sudden, all the things I “had” to do, were not going to get done that day.  And it was OK.

As in everything that happens in my life, I try to see the lesson.  As I lay on the ground holding my head, I heard my mom’s voice clearly “Marguerite, you are doing too much”.  And I realized that I had overloaded my life with tons of “have to dos”.  This experience taught me that there is NOTHING I HAVE to do.  Everything is a choice.  Not everything needs to be done.  Everything can wait.  Everything will be done in the divinely ordered time.

As I calmly floated to the rescheduled appointments yesterday, I observed how relaxed I was, how unhurried as I arrived in good time and great mood.   I was in a state of ease, grace and joy – I was present.  What’s the rush?  None at all.  Just Divine Time.

This has been a difficult post for me to write, but writing it has made it so much easier.

Last week the results of Round 2 of the Next Top Spiritual Author competition were announced.   I have not advanced to the next round.

I have been through the gamut of emotions since the announcement:

• Disappointment  – I was really looking forward to Round 3
• Anger – how dare they reject me?  Can’t they see how brilliant, how spiritual and how wonderful I am?
• Guilt – did I do enough?  Should I have been more aggressive in my marketing?  Should my book proposal have been longer?
• Shame – how do I face everyone who voted for me?
• Fear – what will happen now?  Is this the end of my dream to be a published author of a Free and Laughing series?  Is this the end of the dream to step up on the world stage and help millions rather than hundreds?

In my heart I knew that I had to shift from these fear-based emotions.  They would only lead to inaction at best, and destruction at worst.

Easier said than done ….. So I allowed myself a few days to wallow a little, to explore these emotions and to clear out the underlying beliefs.  The first thing I had to do was to follow my own “Free and Laughing” principles of firstly being present.  I moved myself to the present moment where rejection does not exist and neither does hope.   The present just is.  Now I could observe the emotions I was experiencing without attachment.  And once I released the attachment, I was able to accept them – which is why I can now write about them and share them with the world.

The turning point was my trusting that this is all for my greater good.  It is said that “every disappointment leads to an appointment”.  What is the appointment here, I am wondering.?  While I joyfully await this revelation, I realize that there is so much to be thankful for in the competition:

1. I finally wrote a book proposal!  After months of researching and procrastinating, I was forced to write my book proposal.   Now I know what to do and how to do it
2. I expanded my subscriber base to www.freeandlaughing.com – the first step to spreading my word globally
3. I met many new friends on Facebook and Twitter
4. I received so much support from friends, acquaintances and strangers
5. I was asked to do an interview with WL Lillard of www.starplanettv.com
6. I was asked to do an interview with a new magazine in Jamaica
7. I connected with 3 of the other authors
8. I learned so much more about the book publishing industry
9. But mostly, I was able to clarify and expand my vision of who I am and what I am about. More than ever, I am determined to spread my message far and wide.

WOW!  What a multitude of blessings for this Top Spiritual Author!

Tune in on Thursday July 1 at 11.00 a.m. EST – for my interview with WL Lillard on Star Planet TV in Chicago!

Topic?  Free and Laughing of course!

www.starplanettv.com