• WHAT’S NEW

  My Daily Dose

  Spiritual Books
  "Life Lessons:
  Simple Words That Matter"
  Author: Rick Tocquigny

  Semi Finalists for the Aviva Community Fund Contest 2010!

  Events/Workshops/
  Sponsorships

  2bempowered's corporate workshops

  Look For Weekly Additions

• Recent Posts

  • What happens to “stuff” from our past?
  • Forecast for February…
  • Who is supporting our “cure” runs, walks, etc.
  • Time to think creatively about worker engagement
  • What I learned from 3 funerals

• Blogroll

  • Connect Home – UK: diy power tools
  • The World Change Foundation
  • Their Opportunity
• 
  Subscribe in a reader

THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS YOU CAN DO?
My boys go to a school that are doing fundraisers and a portion is being donated to the Red Cross. Every dollar has an impact — we just need to make sure that it gets to the people.

Here are some ideas of what you can do:

* dance-a-thon: raise money by dancing
* movie-a-thon: raise money by watching movies
* bake sale
* book sale
* send lots of love energy to these people who need it
* be kind to you neighbour – appreciate what you have
* be grateful that you live in such an incredible country

Below are a list of agencies that you can give to:
I have gathered the names of different organizations/groups provided in the Canadian paper that you can trust your donations with.
1. The Salvation Army – http://www.salvationarmy.ca or
1800-725-2769
2. UNICEF – http://www.unicef.ca, 1800-567-4483
3. United Jewish Appeal (UJA) – all $ goes to Canadian International Development Agency’s Relief Fund. http://www.ujadonations.com,
416-631-5705
4. OXFAM – http://www.thehumanitariancoalition.ca – 1800-464-9154 -
5. CARE – http://www.care.ca, http://www.thehumanitariancoalition.ca – 1800-464-9154
6. Canadian Red Cross – http://www.redcross.ca -1800-418-1111
7. Habitat For Humanity – http://www.habitat.ca
8. Doctors Without Borders – http://www.msf.ca -
1800-982-7903
9. Free The Children – www.freethechildren.com; 416-925-5894X153

Please offer your assistance where you can!

All my best,

Sandra

This is a wonderful story about a woman named Mia Fleming, who twenty years ago was rescued by a man named Christopher Astle, and a woman named Emily Yanich.  Ms. Fleming decided to reconnect with her two rescuers twenty years later on Facebook.  It is a very nice and touching story to read.

Tags: astle, christopher, emily, facebook, fleming, mia, relationship, reunion, touching, warm, yanich

Do you need to be cheered up?

Watch this video….

A man starts laughing uncontrollably, soon, the entire train starts to laugh.  After watching all these people laugh, it somehow makes you want to laugh too.

Try it.

Tags: humor, hysterical, laughing, man, subway, train

Here is an email I received….great for those with children.

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN’T LOOKING

A message every adult should read because children
are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you make my
favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn’t
feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it’s all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I learned most of
life’s lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I looked at you and
wanted to say,’Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn’t looking’

Tags: children, email, learning, looking

Here is an email I received…

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1.       Drink plenty of water.
2.       Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3.       Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4.       Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5.       Make time to pray.
6.       Play more games
7.       Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8.       Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9.       Sleep for 7 hours. [plus naps!]… no more than 10.5 hours daily 
10.    Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile. 

Personality:
11.    Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12.    Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13.    Don’t over do. Keep your limits. Play within yourself.
14.    Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15.    Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16.    Dream more while you are awake.
17.    Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18..    Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19.    Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20.    Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21.    No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22.    Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23.    Smile and laugh more.
24.    You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.. 

Society:
25.    Call your family often.
26.    Each day give something good to others.
27.    Forgive everyone for everything.
28.    Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of  6.
29.    Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30.    What other people think of you is none of your business.
31.    Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch. 

Life:
32.    Do the right thing!
33.    Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34.    GOD heals everything.
35.    However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36.    No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37.    The best is yet to come.
38.    When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39.    Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Tags: 2010, checklist, handbook, what to do

This is a very interesting talk about the possibilities of integrating physical objects from the physical world to the digital world.  Mr. Pranav Mistry demonstrated that when someone wrote on a sticky note, the message was transmitted from the note to the computer screen and eventually to his mobile phone through SMS.

Eventually, the SixthSense device was developed and looked like a pendant with a camera, projector and mirror attached to it.  In addition to the pendant-like device, there were four color tabs placed on the user’s fingers.  The SixthSense device observes the user’s physical gestures and uses the digital world to augment their user experience.  For example, if the user is walking outside and sees something he wants to take a photograph, he simply uses his fingers to make a gesture.

This is similar to Augmented Reality.  Merely pointing at physical objects, people can now get real time information on it.  For example, if you held a paper towel, imagine being able to locate the store with the lowest price for that particular paper towel.  Or imagine going to a book store, picking up a book, and being able to browse user-generated reviews about that particular book realtime.   Another example was when Mr. Mistry had a boarding pass, with Augmented Reality, he could use the SixthSense to find whether his flight was delayed.

At first the internet was a breakthrough, having an incredible amount of information available at the user’s fingertips.  Then, with the growth of Web 2.0 (Social Media) people were able to share and edit various online experiences (e.g. remixing songs).   Combine the growth of web 2.0 with an increase in the number of smart phones (mobile phones such as the iPhone, which has apps that augment the user’s information gathering experience), this becomes the new frontier for possibly web 3.0 or Augmented Reality.  Productivity at work as well as finding new information has never become so easy.  The possibilities for designers would be endless.  What ideas do you have that could enhance the user experience?

Tags: augmented, mistry, mobile, pranav, reality, sixth sense, sixthsense, smart phones, TED

WHAT ABOUT MY GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS… Whenever the end of December and beginning of January comes about I just sit back and listen to people talk about their goals and resolutions only to see them go by the wayside within days, weeks and if you are lucky months.

I RECOMMEND SETTING AN INTENTION VS. A GOAL AND/OR RESOLUTION.

I want to share a story. I was just at the hairdresser getting my highlites done and this woman was sitting beside me having her colour done. She was talking to her hairdresser saying that she and her girl friends (she is mid-50s/early 60s) have decided to put in $10 each every week to see who can lose the most weight and whomever does so will win the pot.

In my mind I am thinking this will not last long — someone will get frustrated, will go on a binge and feel guilty or just does not have enough awareness of why they are holding onto their weight which is very much tied into our emotional state as well as how will they begin to lose this weight.

When the women sit down each one may declare their goal:

I want to lose 10 pounds in the next two months OR I want to be in a size 6 or 8 dress by the time I go away on my trip in March OR I want to be skinny like that model in the picture.

The goal is specific, has a time frame for the most part and in their mind is achievable.

The resolution for some is “I want to be thin, I am determined to see my waistline again, and/or I want to be in that size 6 or 8 dress again.”

There are a couple of issues that I have with this, first off the goal and resolution, while specific is really about the DESTINATION and it is the JOURNEY that will bring about their awareness of potentially why they are holding on to the weight, what are their core beliefs around the weight, perhaps it was something in their childhood – a belief that they had to finish everything on their plate even when they were not hungry for they were told there are starving children in the world – and this belief has been so ingrained in them that they subconsciously eat. Perhaps the person finds out they are emotionally eating because they are not happy with things in their life, and so on.

When we are STUCK in going from point A to point B we can become tunnel vision and just do everything in our power and belief to get there. It may mean that the person loses the weight however does it in a way that is not healthy, has compromised their health, and/or loses the weight only to find within 6 months they have put back on the weight plus more.

I look at INTENTIONS as the journey. I sat down in December and wrote out my intentions: what I want to achieve this year and broke it into three areas. In this, I specifically wrote out what I want.

For example if one of my INTENTIONS is to lose weight I may write it this way:

INTENTION: To learn to love and honour my body and accept it where it is. By doing so I can begin to look from within and discover what I am holding onto that is no longer serving me and then begin to release and let go. As a result of this I am letting go of weight that has been sitting with me for years.

To do this I will begin to eat healthy and make good choices for my body. I will exercise 2 to 3 times per week for 30 minutes or I will walk in my day as much as I can. I will choose water and allow myself 1 coffee a day. I will go to bed so that I can get 7-8 hours per night. I realize that my body is my temple and I will treat it as such. When I eat I will enjoy the moment. I learn that everything is about moderation and learn to enjoy the sweets that I love in smaller quantities. For the days that I “feel out of control” I will accept it, embrace it and honour it and then FORGIVE AND LET GO. What happens in the past cannot be changed I only have the moment – in that moment I will continue to make good choices.

By looking within I am journaling how I am feeling. I realize that I am an emotional eater so I track my emotions. As I let go of certain things I begin to be in the moment and be happy and enjoy my life. I can look in the mirror and see an incredible woman who is about love and nurturing – starting with herself and then others (family, friends, co-workers).

This is an example of something I may write. I can go on .. What I share is someone who also wants to lose 10 pounds however by using this method it is baby steps and it is a process of awareness that allows you to learn to love and honour yourself, know who you are and why you have made certain choices. It allows you to take responsibility and accountability for your choices and outcome. I can tell you that the result will likely be that you grow, become happy with who you are and as a result begin to lose the weight that you have held onto all these years. So here is the question – what really had the most impact, the journey of awareness that allowed you to remember your greatness and shift your beliefs and paradigms or the destination: losing the 10 pounds?

You can decide for yourself. I am only making a suggestion. Take what resonates and leave the rest.

May all your dreams come true for you – - you deserve it.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: achieve, goals, intentions, new year, resolutions, success, vision

You hear so much about setting goals, making resolutions … I am here to say that yes, this is important HOWEVER I can tell you from experience, that the clearer you are in what you want, YOUR INTENTIONS the faster this will unfold.

Sit down, lie down, meditate, do whatever it takes, slow your mind down and really decide WHAT IT IS YOU WANT FOR YOURSELF. Then write it down.

I have listed many resources, please take a look, Find what resonates, what you like, and then make it your own.

I am here for you.

All my best,

Sandra

Sandra and I wanted to kick-start 2010 by first asking you to take a look and see what you learned last year and decide what still is missing. Maybe some things regarding your finances will remain the same while other areas need improvement. We suggest you review again some of our past articles and ask us lots of questions so we can better assist you. Let’s take the “closet approach” which Sandra and I have adopted and start getting rid of old patterns that are not working for you. Here are some questions that can assist you with discovering what to do next.

1. What do I really want?

2. Do I really understand my finances i.e banking, interest rate, late fees, mortgage loans, insurance, financial statements? If you are still having some difficulties please review our past article or please send us your questions we are here to support and empower you.

3. What is my relationship to money? Do I honor it or not? What are my beliefs around money? These are very important questions.

4. How do I take control of my finances? For example, I want to be responsible for my outcome but whom can I trust?

5. What type of resources are missing, in order for me take control of my finances?

6. What is my emotional state of being right now? For some of us we are an emotional spender. If we are serious about our finances and being abundant we must understand “why” we spend the way we do. How can we break this cycle?

By answering these questions you will begin to understand more clearly where you are at financially – FIRST TEAR APART THE CLOSET, KNOW WHAT’S IN THERE, DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO KEEP AND WHAT YOU WANT TO DISCARD/GIVEAWAY (donations??) AND THEN YOU ARE IN A MORE EMPOWERED AND AWARE STATE TO MAKE SOUND FINANCIAL DECISIONS.

Both Maritza and I have done this over the last year to give us a more clear idea of where our finances are at so that we can make sound financial decisions for each of us, and our respective families.

It’s baby steps … You Can Do It.

All our best,

Maritza and Sandra

Tags: acceptance, achieve, awareness, current situation, financial, financial control, financial goals, knowing, understanding

Check this page out…it is quite humorous!  I certainly got a good laugh at that!

Tags: do, husbands, men, should not

← Previous Page — Next Page →