“It Really Boils Down to This…”

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Quoting  Martin Luther King:

“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality. Did you ever stop to think that you can’t leave for your job in the morning without being dependent on most of the world? You get up in the morning and go to the bathroom and reach over for the sponge, and that’s handed to you by a Pacific islander. You reach for a bar of soap, and that’s given to you at the hands of a Frenchman. And then you go into the kitchen to drink your coffee for the morning, and that’s poured into your cup by a South American. And maybe you want tea: that’s poured into your cup by a Chinese. Or maybe you’re desirous of having cocoa for breakfast, and that’s poured into your cup by a West African. And then you reach over for your toast, and that’s given to you at the hands of an English-speaking farmer, not to mention the baker. And before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half of the world. This is the way our universe is structured, this is its interrelated quality. We aren’t going to have peace on earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality.”

 

10 Books I Read in 2014 Left Lasting Impressions

by Daphne MacNeil

I have recently been asked the following questions:

What is one book that left a lasting impression on you?

What are some books that you recommend to others?

Who are your favourite authors?

These questions sent me on a journey.  A journey that caused me to search high and low for the not so obvious hiding places of all of my books.  Upon reviewing my collection,  I began to list the  names of the books that I had read in 2014.  As I scanned the growing number of  stacks of books,  key themes/categories begin to jump out at me.  My book collection begins to tell its own unique story  ~ a story that will form the bases of another 1, 2 or 3 future posts.

For now I will leave you with a short-listing of books that I have read over the past year (2014) and a bit. Books that have left a lasting impression upon me for a variety of reasons. Books whose authors share something in common with me;  authors who in some way shape or form, became mentors along the path which I have chosen ~ my life’s journey.

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Power vs Force by David Hawkins
• Return to Love by Marianne Williamson
• A Woman’s Worth by Marianne Williamson
• Quiet by Susan Cain (I have signed up to the Quiet Revolution which Susan is leading)
• Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
• The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra
• Super Brain by Deepak Chopra
• Drive by Daniel Pink
• The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer

I leave you with this quote:

“Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

This quote speaks to me today as I appreciate the amount of time I invest in writing and researching each post before publishing .

Practice makes perfect ~ Happy Sunday!

 

Daphne’s Daily Affirmations for 2015

By Daphne MacNeil – Mindful Leadership Coach

Hi Folks,

I have developed the following affirmations while participating in a comprehensive (12 week) program of self-growth which is part of John Assaraf’s Praxis Now suite of programs.  I am currently completing week #7 of the Retraining Your Brain: Winning the Game of Money Program.

Having access to two highly skilled, knowledgeable and experienced professionals (John Assaraf – Author, Entrepreneur, Mentor and Coach and Mark Waldman – Neuro-Coach) along with a large community of Praxis Now members located throughout the world, is one of the many highlights of this program.

The following affirmations inspire me and motivate me to:

• begin each day by tuning into the present moment; meditating on what is important to me
• exercise mindfulness which helps increase my focus and generate space to create and do my best work
• commit to achieving my goals by taking planned action
• feel good about the life I am creating and leading; guiding me towards pathways aligned with my life’s passions and purpose
• achieve success in the areas of my life that are important to me

Spirituality

1. I am living a life that is in partnership with my creator.
2. I am  surrounded by a large community of like-minded people whose energy vibrates at the level of love, peace, kindness and compassion.
3. I shine my light brightly offering it as a beacon to others.

Health

4. I am healthfully feeding my mind, body and soul.
5. I am healthy and living a well-balanced, fun-loving, high energy, focused life.

Leading Self

6. I am creating a life that aligns with my passions, my purpose and destiny.

7. I am living the life I love.

Financial

8. I am intelligent, creative and highly skilled.
9. I am using my wisdom daily to create success, happiness and prosperity.
10. I am graciously receiving abundance and giving abundantly.

Growth and Development

11. I am consistently attracting all the right people, tools and resources to help me grow personally and professionally.
12. I am developing critical skills needed to live my best life while supporting others to live their best lives.

Family/Relationships

15. I am mindful, curious, creative, fun-loving and am experiencing dream adventures .

Inspiration

16. I am a beautiful, deserving, mindful,  peaceful, successful woman, who gently accepts and loves herself now!!

Enjoying the journey…with much gratitude.

22 Powerful Quotes to Inspire Self Leaders

Curated by:  Daphne MacNeil

The following quotes are from individuals who have inspired me throughout my lifetime.  I hope their words of wisdom will inspire you as you reflect upon: your life; the year that is coming to a close; and the New Year that is filled with untapped potential.

1. “Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them.” ~ Sir Winston Churchill
2. “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” ~ John K. Kennedy
3. “Would you like to save the world from the degradation and destruction it seems destine for? Then step away from shallow mass movements and quietly go to work on your own self-awareness. If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself. If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.” ~ Lao Tzu
4. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?” ~ Martin Luther King
5. “Leadership is not magnetic personality – that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not “making friends and influencing people” – that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” ~ Peter F. Drucker
6. “It’s not the absence of leadership potential that inhibits the development of more leaders; it’s the persistence of the myth that leadership can’t be learned. This haunting myth is a far more powerful deterrent to leadership development than is the nature of the person or the basics of the leadership process.” ~ James Kouzes and Barry Posner
7. “I think we need the feminine qualities of leadership, which include attention to aesthetics and the environment, nurturing, affection, intuition and the qualities that make people feel safe and cared for.” ~ Deepak Chopra
8. “We don’t need giant personalities to transform companies. We need leaders who build not their own egos but the institutions they run.” ~ Susan Cain
9. “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
10. “Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.” ~ Brené Brown
11. “Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.” ~ Paulo Coelho
12. “Truly inspiring leaders get results by their own example: They encourage others to be responsible and do the right thing, but not by proclaiming and bragging about their unimpeachable management. They create space for others to be inspired and to achieve their own greatness.” ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
13. “At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it.” ~ Thích Nhất Hạnh
14. “Only do what you feel called in you heart to do, and then give all of yourself to the task.” ~ Marianne Williamson
15. “Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment” ~ Eckhart Tolle
16. “We all have the extraordinary coded within us, waiting to be released.” ~ Jean Houston
17. “As you take a few minutes each day to quiet your mind, you will discover a nice benefit: your everyday, “ordinary” life will begin to seem far more extraordinary. Little things that previously went unnoticed will begin to please you. You’ll be more easily satisfied, and happier all around. Rather than focusing on what’s wrong with your life, you’ll find yourself thinking about and more fully enjoying what’s right with your life. The world won’t change, but your perception of it will. You’ll start to notice the little acts of kindness and caring from other people rather than the negativity and anger.” ~ Jack Canfield
18. “Where globalization means, as it so often does, that the rich and powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker, we have a responsibility to protest in the name of universal freedom.” ~ Nelson Mandela 
19. “How we see and hold the full range of our experiences in our minds and in our hearts makes an enormous difference in the quality of this journey we are on and what it means to us. It can influence where we go, what happens, what we learn, and how we feel along the way.” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
20. “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.” ~ Maya Angelou
21. “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” ~ Helen Keller
22. ” Be very careful what you say to yourself because someone very important is listening… You!” ~John Assaraf

Happy New Year!

What Makes You Happy?

I had made a connection with Leslie Bridger in recent months by attending such events as Momondays – St. John’s (hosted by Barry Lewis Greene and Joel Sweeney) and events organized by “I Am Genie” (hosted by Joshua Dawson and Ingrid Thornhill).  I am so grateful for having made a connection with a growing community of like-minded people who live in and around the greater St. John’s area.

It was at last month’s Momondays event (held at Yuk Yuk’s – Uptown in St. John’s, Newfoundland) when Leslie asked me,  “So what makes you happy Daphne?” To which I quickly responded “It is the little things that make me happy. ‘Being’ here (meaning at MoMondays) makes me happy.”  I like being surrounded by like-minded people who raise one another up as they share stories about who they are, their life’s journey, lessons learned and how they have grown to create better lives for themselves, their families and/or the communities they serve.

Like many others,  I use to think the next big job, a new home, a fancier car would bring me happiness but these days it is all about the little things.  I have come to learn that at some point in time we awaken to the fact that we have all been conditioned (some refer to it as being brainwashed) to believe that we need to acquire many things in order to feel a sense of accomplishment in our lives.  Like a child on Christmas Day, our intrigue in the next new thing creates a level of excitement for a short while; yet these feelings often quickly subside the moment we see the next new thing our friends, colleagues or neighbours have acquired.

I have learned that happiness does not come from the next big purchase or from someone else or something outside of me. Happiness is an inside out job; it is up to me to make decisions and take actions that make me happy. It is up to me to observe my thoughts and reflect upon my behavior to determine whether I am going to serve up greater light or darkness in our universe.

Yes, happiness is all about experiencing the little things that show up in this very moment and being present to receive them. For me, it  can be as simple as taking a mindful walk in nature with my dog, watching as one single bright yellow leaf falls from a tree and gently floats to the ground, listening as birds sing their unique songs, watching as a cat hides in the woods preparing to attack my little dog, Misty; listening to the sound of the river flowing alongside the path I am walking on.  During these mindful walks I am often inspired to write a blog or a poem or to create a meal for my family and friends. This is happiness and peace on earth for me.

I am very blessed to live in a peaceful province (Newfoundland and Labrador) and for aligning myself with a marvellous community of like-minded, mindful and peaceful people.

What makes you happy?

Thank you Leslie, for being the inspiration for today’s blog post.

The Wizard of Awe – Leslie Bridger

 

Quote

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”
Anais Nin

Quote – Vivian Greene

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.”~Vivian Greene