Inspirational

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November 30, 2010

Part I of III Redefining Spirituality

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Most people define spirituality in terms of religion, others ignore the subject all together and then there are a select few (like myself) that revere spirituality as the authentic journey in discovering one’s self.

The process of identifying one’s values, understanding likes, loves and passions, happily letting go of dislikes, unfulfilling obligations and societal responsibilities.

Since 2007 I started on a personal journey both consciously and unconsciously. In 2011 I will be turning 30 and lately I’ve noticed I’ve been experiencing some internal conflict. My intentions and messages to the universe do not always align. I do not want to wake up one morning when I’m 54 and say what the hell.

Noticing and trying to map together the interconnectedness of all the things in my life I’m serious about making a BIG change. The type of change that moves mountains, think Eat Pray Love meets The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. I sometimes say things with the best of intentions but end up with unfulfilled vows and a bucket full of excuses and I’m genuinely tired of traveling the same circle. Am I alone?

I’m craving…

1. A deeper journey of inward reflection.

2. Connecting with the right people.

3. Taking more worthwhile trips.

4. Getting clearer…ensuring my intentions align with my message.

5. Making a couple of steps everyday (forward or backwards as long as it leads to some kind of learning) 

6. Making a genuine difference, touching a soul.

7. Basking in true beauty

And when I say beauty, my definition of beauty may be slightly different than the one you’re thinking of. I perceive beauty to be multidimensional. It is everywhere, in the act of unconditional kindness, in the shape of clouds, in the memory of an encounter many years before, in the smiling face of a loved one, the magic of dance, in the colours of a painting, in an elegantly worn outfit, in the smell of a flower, in the experience of walking barefoot in grass or sand, in a dream…

And when I made a post about my vision for The Real Beauty Journey, it was my intention to capture this beauty that exists around us. But I’m starting to realize my journey is deeper than that.

What kind of journey are you on?

 

November 16, 2010

Your Style At Every Stage

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For those of us without a natural love of shopping, it can be easy to drift into the scary depths of style lag. What’s style lag? It’s when you’ve found yourself with a closetful of clothes and a look that’s just not right for where you’re at in your life right now. It happens to the best of us. The years slip by, and suddenly you’ve gone through a life change. Maybe you’ve graduated from college, and your drawers full of tank tops don’t exactly make you look and feel like the young professional you are. Or, maybe you’ve come to middle age, and you’re not ready for mom jeans, but the current fads aren’t designed for women who are a little older. Evaluating your personal style at every stage of your life will keep you looking and feeling your best, and help prevent this dreaded style lag.
 
While the clothes you have from five years ago might still be functional, they probably don’t reflect the authentic you and where you’re at right now in your life. Clothes are a huge part of how we view ourselves, and the face we show to the world. While that face doesn’t have to be incredibly expensive or updated every three months, holding onto a look that doesn’t reflect who you are today may subconsciously be holding you back.
 
No matter how smart and savvy you are, you’re not going to feel like a businesswoman if your clothes are presenting the wrong image to your clients. Likewise, if you’re a new mom trying to fit into the clothes of your college days, you’re going to be hurting your self-esteem for no reason at all. You’re at a new life stage, and you need clothes that highlight who you are right now; it doesn’t make sense to be grasping at the high style moments of your younger years.
 
Letting go of the style you developed as a younger you and embracing where you’re at right now will leave you with a new, invigorated energy. Choosing a look that is suited to your current life stage will help you discover clothes that fit both with your physical body and your spirit. Facing the day in great-fitting clothes will always make you feel better, and make it just that much easier to show your true self to the world.
 
Joy Paley is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on Online computer science degree for Guide to Online Schools.

 

November 10, 2010

One Love Toronto

Posted by befaithfulbefabulous under Events, Inspirational, Spiritual | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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I decided last minute that I want to participate in a great event next month called One Love Toronto and help raise money for a very deserving cause. With less than a month to build my donations I have a goal to raise $250.

On Sat Dec 4th I am doing 108 sun salutations led by 12 inspiring yoga teachers to help raise money for South African humanitarian efforts focusing on children and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We are supporting a halfway house, a community center a bakery and an orphanage.  By supporting me you are changing the lives of children in South Africa.  

Every little bit helps, if you’d like to donate (no obligation) I’m collecting money (cash or cheque made out to The Engage Network) or you can donate online with three simple steps.

Thank you in advance for your support, it is much appreciated. 

http://onelovetoronto.org/Donate_Now.html  - click Donate Now button

Step 1 – choose Global South Africa from the first pull down list.

Step 2 – Put SAFINA KHIMANI in the “Comments” Section

Step 3 – choose One Love Toronto from the second drop down list

 

August 10, 2010

Getting Creative with Your Style

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Style is meant to be a fun process, in which you can take it upon yourself to do just about anything. Not sure what your style is exactly? Or maybe your lifestyle has changed and you’re not the Chic Urbanite you once were. The best way to forge a path to your new Signature Style is the process of discovery. Opting into in a few fun activities to get your creative juices flowing will do just the trick.

Go on a sensory shopping experience and become a connoisseur for your unique beauty. Here are some of my favourite style hunting activities.

1. Visit a museum; notice what catches your eye. Maybe that translates into a new colour palette.

2. Go to your local fabric store, play with pattern. Maybe you pick up a unique fabric for a one-of-a-kind dress.


3. Attempt a DIY project, get crafty. Maybe that turns out to be your signature element.


4. Venture into a vintage boutique, discover a story. Maybe that opens up the door to a new passion.

What do you adore? What do you love? Let your interests lead to your style. Have faith in the process. You may not find an entire outfit that communicates your style. But you will find something that makes your heart sing, your eyes see fireworks and your soul do a happy dance. Take that as a Style Sign. Maybe you come across a beautiful vintage rhinestone brooch that you can’t take your eyes off of…ask yourself what about it do you love so much? It is the fact that it has a story? Does it have clean lines? Does it sparkle? Come up with 3 adjectives that represent it. Take those words and look for the same qualities in a blouse or skirt. Once you’ve found a selection of items that communicate those core adjectives, the second step is making sure there is some contradiction/conflict. A little drama always sparks the curiosity of others. If there is flow add some structure, if the outfit is predominantly black add a punch of colour. Step three is putting the effort into the details. Your fragrance, jewelry, accessories, makeup and hair all unify your look making it more interesting.

Take a deeper look, explore the meanings and venture outside the box to create something unique. Translate that into a wearable outfit that emulates your essence and is an authentic representation of your soul.

 

July 24, 2010

Crafting a Spirit

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This was a speech made by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Anna Quindlen at the graduation ceremony of an American university where she was awarded an Honorary PhD.

“I’m a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don’t ever confuse the two, your life and your work. You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree: there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk or your life on a bus or in a car or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank accounts but also your soul.

People don’t talk about the soul very much anymore. It’s so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter’s night, or when you’re sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you’ve received your test results and they’re not so good.

Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the centre of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and them to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cut out. But I call them on the phone and I meet them for lunch. I would be rotten, at best mediocre, at my job if those other things were not true.

You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So here’s what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger pay cheque, the larger house. Do you think you’d care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon or found a lump in your breast?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough.

It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the colour of our kids’ eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is so easy to exist instead of to live. I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned. By telling them this: Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the fuzz on a baby’s ear. Read in the back yard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived”.

 

July 3, 2010

Brick & Mortar

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Hard. Stressed. Overwhelmed. Can’t.
I started to listen. I mean really listen to the conversations I was having…the thoughts that would run through my head in certain circumstances, the WORDS that made up these ‘thoughts’.

What we say (to ourselves and others) reveals who we are and what we believe.
Hard. Stressed. Overwhelmed. Can’t. The thoughts, choice words of Olympic athletes? How about a CEO or a baby just learning how to walk?
Hmmmmmm…I’m thinking that a gold medal, success or even walking, not close to possible with these choice words/beliefs.

Is it any wonder then, that not only was I thinking these things…but FEELING them as well!
Using limiting words we set ourselves up…FOR limitation. We don’t give our mind credit for how incredibly powerful it really is.
If hard becomes experience, can replaces can’t and we see stress not as overwhelming but an opportunity…doesn’t that already FEEL better?

In Marianne Williamson’s “Return to Love” she references parenting and our ability to dramatically effect the experience of our children just by the WORDS we choose.
NO! and DON’T DO THAT! generate a feeling that one has done something wrong. TRY THIS…a guiding alternative to a new direction.
Shame and fear vs. encouragement. Which do you prefer?

When things are going are way, using empowering words is easy. A determining factor in success, greatness and achieving our dreams however is our ability to still use empowering words…even when times are tough.

The words we use and the results we get…powerful connection.
What kinds of conversations are you having? What words do you use?
Have you confined yourself to your own limitations?
Choose wisely

xo
Guest Blogger, Jodi Renee
 

June 24, 2010

My Philosophies

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I think it’s extremely important to know yourself on the deepest level and sharing what it is you stand for. Today I’d like to express my philosophies, the things I try to emulate and encourage on a daily basis.

Positivity breeds positivity. “The fact that there is always a positive side to life is the one thing that gives me a lot of happiness. This world is not perfect. There are problems. But things like happiness and unhappiness are relative. Realizing this gives you hope.”– Dalai Lama

Hope creates a smile that is intimate and real.

Peace: Let it seep into your bones and project it out through every outlet in your body, because it brings ultimate joy and happiness.

Do good. Be a good person. Check out the Daily Challenge to create profound change through small and simple daily acts of kindness.

Live every moment with complete intention.

Satya: is a Sanskrit word that means “the inner truth permeates all”. Be honest with yourself and others.

Love. A wise woman said “Love knows what’s best for every situation. Love transcends policy and history. Love innovates. Love is everything we’ve been asking for.” Thank you Danielle.

Change. “Be the change you want to see in the world” Gandhi once said. If you want to see change you must start with yourself.

Balance. Try to create it in work, in life, in love, in friendship – in all aspects of your lives.

Connect. Grow. Laugh. By understanding ourselves better, we can evolve into beautiful, authentic people. Experience the journey more so then focusing on the final transformation and remember to laugh along the way.

What are some of your philosophies? How do they help you create a rich and authentic life?

 

June 22, 2010

Don’t Be Afraid to Have Style

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Have you ever received negative messages about the things that you love? In my life there have been two things that I’ve received some real negative messages about: style and performance. I’ll talk about performance another day but with my wardrobe consultation coming up Thursday, my mind’s on style.

Ever since I was a little girl, I loved clothes. I remember my red shirt with the frills down the front, my pink blouse with the ballooning sleeves, my crazy yellow oxfords, my red skater dress with the twirling skirt – all of these I wore in public school. I remember spending hours pouring over pattern books my mom brought home, choosing from each page which sleeve I liked best, which collar, which length, expressing my preferences and honing my taste. Clothing was a daily act of creative self-expression.

I don’t just remember how my clothes looked. I remember how I felt in them – both how outfits amped up a particular aspect of my personality and also how they sensually felt against my skin. The mood of a flouncy skirt and sandals was so different from a pencil skirt and heels – and I loved them both. Over time, my changing wardrobe expressed different periods of my life. They represented me as a dancer, as a student, as an artistic director, as a club chick.

It came as a shock to me in grade 7 when I discovered that clothes could also define your status, and that people could use clothes to pigeonhole you. That was antithetical to my take on fashion but it was certainly a popular view. Over time, it also became clear that in many people’s view, being concerned with fashion meant that you were materialistic, superficial and quite likely, a snob. And if that wasn’t bad enough, we all know the impact that a limited view of beauty has had on the self-esteem and confidence of countless women and girls!

How could I in good conscious love fashion?

I think the answer comes in taking a stand for love. It’s crucial to our expression of ourselves that we be allowed to love what we love. Fashion can be a way of expressing our love for colour, for texture, for shape. With fashion we can celebrate our uniqueness, our sexiness, our sensibilities, our sense of humour. Where fashion turns against us is when we let someone else dictate what is loveable and what is not, the latter often being our poor, tender bodies.

So many wonderful things in this world can turn into cages when they’re accompanied by ‘shoulds.’ Fashion, work and life can all become oppressive when we feel we must follow rules that someone else prescribes. And fashion, work and life can be fulfilling and expressive when we define for ourself what is beautiful, what expresses our sensibilities and our spirit.

So, don’t be afraid to have style…

Your style.

Guest Blogger
Jamie Ridler MA CPCC is a creative living coach and founder of Jamie Ridler Studios.
 

June 17, 2010

An Italian Education in Style

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I traveled to Italy to rest and rejuvenate from the challenges of running Aradia Uptown Toronto, my pole dancing for fitness business. I got rest and relaxation but I also got an unexpected education in style! After completing Safina’s Full Package Signature Style series I discovered I had a lot of ground to cover when it came to updating my style to match the professional business owner I had become in my 30s. I started to pay closer attention to style magazines and to what people were wearing on the street. I found glimpses of the signature style I hoped to create but found myself still on the look out for real inspiration.

Inspiration often finds you when you aren’t expecting it. Arriving in Italy I had my usual travel wear ready to go… comfy shorts, plain tank top and running shoes. When traveling comfort is king for me as my partner and I tend to walk from sunrise to sunset. But it didn’t take long for those comfy clothes to start to feel really uncomfortable as I found myself in the middle of one of the most stylish capital in the world. All around me both women and strutted their stuff in polished shoes and the latest in clothing and accessories. I have never seen anything quite like it. These people wore stilettos like they were their favourite pair of well worn flip flops. Everyone looked so fresh, vibrant and energized. Women flaunted layered outfits adorned with unabashed accessories. Men wore tailored tops and pants and carried fancy brief cases that rivalled even the most expensive designer purses. When walking down the streets I found myself ignoring the historical architecture and instead drinking in the beautiful people that adorned the sidewalks like wild blossoms in an open field.

I had found my signature style! These women were pulling it off effortlessly. Its free flowing breezy cottons tops and bottoms in air light colours adorned in lace detailing and accessorized in petite blossom scarves and long falling pearl necklaces. Its red hot heals that are actually comfortable! No kidding! I’m the queen of runners and I found a pair of heels that are beautiful and unbelievably comfortable from day one! There’s no having to “work them in” and I’m telling you they are stylish as hell! Its unbelievable but true!

Coming home was a bit of a culture shock. Everyone is dressed as I do when I travel. The energy feels grounded but lower. I look at all us Torontonians and think… we’re so uninspiring. I even ventured into Yorkville where women are dressed to the nines and felt the air to be more pompous than crackling and energized as it was in Italy.

When I got home I laid my new found pieces on my bed. My closet felt unworthy of such royalty. I immediately completed the clutter cleaning Safina and I had started months ago. All of a sudden all the old pieces I couldn’t part with seemed undeserving to lay in the same drawer as my Italian wear. I whittled an entire drawers down to one top leaving a ton of new empty space to be filled by beautiful pieces that make me feel crackling and energized.

A couple of days later I wandered into Au lit fine linens at Yonge and Davisville, a specialty store that serves a mix of vintage french furniture and fresh flowing clothing styles. I had wandered in just before closing but was drawn in by its crisp white feel. I wanted to breath in the energy I hadn’t had a chance to taste since Italy. As I was running out the door a cute pink cotton top with floral bunches adorning the neckline caught my eye. I didn’t have time to stop and check it out but I thought to myself… maybe there’s hope here in Toronto. I hope to keep my italian inspired signature style alive. I hope to embody the free flowing passion, beauty and breathlessness of this magical culture. As before, i have a lot more to learn but finally I have a point of reference and inspiration for my newly evolving signature style.

Guest Blogger, Alishia Sala is owner and head instructor of Aradia Fitness Uptown Toronto, a pole dancing for fitness company located in the heart of forest hill at Allen rd and Eglinton. Visit her website at www.uptownto@aradiafitness.com or contact Aradia at uptownto@aradiafitness.com or 647-284-6424.

 

June 15, 2010

A Compelling Video – Did You Know?

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