Smiling into Happiness

Smiling and laughing can provide multiple benefits to overall health. When you smile, your body releases hormones such as dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin, which can trick your brain into feeling happier.

Get good vibes for more happiness, aesthetic print available at: Fineartamerica Always Smiling

 

Smiling can trick your brain into happiness!

Smiling can also lower stress levels, boost your immune system, and potentially prolong your life. Smiling physically activates pathways in the brain that influence your emotional state, and it can trick your mind into feeling happy, regardless of whether it's real or not. Additionally, smiling triggers a chemical reaction in your brain that releases small proteins called neuropeptides, which maintain immune tolerance and may help fight potentially serious illnesses.

Smile at others!

Smiling is a form of nonverbal communication that can communicate positive feelings and intentions towards others, leading to a stronger relationship. A natural smile shared with another person can make someone else smile, feel better about themselves, and feel better about their situation, even if the smile is just for a moment! 


Are you ready to smile more often now? Put on your happy face - gray skies are gonna clear up! 

Have a happy, sunny, warm, cheerful, cheery, bright, grinning, smiley, genial, beaming day!

Tenrikyo - Joyous Life

Tenrikyo (Tenrikyō or Tenriism) is the name of a Japanese religion which is neither strictly monotheistic nor pantheistic. It is founded on the teachings of a 19th-century woman named Nakayama Miki, also known as Oyasama.

Reaching a Joyous Life 

Tenrikyo Joyous Life

Get this inspirational wall art at: Fineartamerica: Joyous Life

This is the central principle as it is believed to be the original and intended state of mankind. The Joyous Life refers to living with a bright and spirited mind, and harmonious relationships with one another.


Tenrikyo is one of the fatest growing religious faiths in Japan, and in the world as a whole, with 1.75 mill. followers in Japan and over 2 mill. worldwide.


Nakayama Miki was the wife of a poor peasant farmer, at the age of 40 the deity Tenri-o-no-mikoto spoke through her and endowed her with healing and prophetic powers. 


“Whoever comes to this house shall never leave without being filled with joy. To Me, the Parent, all human beings in the world are My children.” Nakayama Miki


Learn more about the religion here: http://en.tenrikyo-resource.com/wiki/Tenrikyo

Reincarnation - a Magic Journey to the World Beyond.


If you ask what is reincarnation, it´s a magic journey to the world beyond! 

Also known as rebirth or transmigration, in other words, the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Meaning, the soul of a human being is immortal and does not disperse after the physical body has perished. 


Depending on the individual religion or philosophy, the soul can appear incarnate in humans, animals, or even plants as it works its way toward an eventual escape from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. 

A book that will change your perspective! A best seller and must read on Amazon: 

Many Lives Many Masters

Dr. Brian Weiss, who is a psychiatrist and hypnotherapist, tells the true tale of one of his patients. In order to find the root of the patients problem in the past, he used hypnosis. He was shocked to hear about the patients past lives.


For most religions that believe in reincarnation, it is the path to purity and salvation. Reincarnation has old, ancient roots and is vital to classical Buddhism and Hinduism. While the noun reincarnation comes from the Latin roots re, meaning again, and incarnare, meaning to make flesh.

Photo thanks to rawpixel.com

Mysterious Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who lived 1809 – 1849. He is best known for his poems and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the gothic macabre. Edgar Allan Poe led a life filled with sorrow and pain and understandably his works tend to reflect his lifestyle by incorporating dark mysterious and melancholic elements.

Edgar Allan Poe Art Raven Nevermore Poem Poster
Edgar Allan Poe Art Raven Nevermore Poem Poster by MoonWoodsShop on Etsy

Edgar Allan Poe is maybe best remembered for his mysterious poem ‘The Raven.’, which was published just 4years before the poet’s mysterious death at the early age of 40. 

Named after a talking raven, the main character of the poem is a distraught lover, torn between the desire to forget and the desire to remember.

Find more unique Edgar Allan Poe art right here on Etsy.

Or have a look at the Greatest Works of Edgar Allan Poe on Amazon.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.  Albert Einstein

Mysterious Dark Academia

Dark Academia describes a sub-cultural aesthetic that has established itself primarily in social media. Dark Academia started as a top trend in 2020 and it shows no signs of slowing down in 2022 and the following years.

In addition to reading classical literature and a soft spot for Gothic decor and ancient Greek architecture, it revolves around classical literature, higher education, as well as the pursuit of knowledge. 

 

dark academia decor by MoonWoodsShop on Etsy
Find more inexpensive Dark Academia poster sets on Etsy. 

It is greatly inspired by the upper-class European culture and the romanticism of the 19th century.
 

Mysterious Dark Academia Room Decor

Need some dark academia decorating tips? Imagine vintage Victorian mixed with Oxford or Cambridge! Think of old universities, sprawling libraries with unending bookshelves, and vast museums. Dimly lit offices with rich textures and vintage furniture, and deep dark colors.


Stick to dark, earthy tones combined with creams, browns, greys, and blacks.
Wall decor and wall art plays an important role in achieving your dark academia room aesthetic feel. 

Get some artsy vibes, surrounded by an air of mystery, fantasy and melancholy.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is seen by some as the archetypal Dark Academia novels. 

Marry Shelley Frankenstein art by MoonWoodsShop on Etsy

Besides on having the novel in your library you can put Mary Shelly Frankenstein Art on your wall too.



Yoga At Home - Workout Step By Step

Learn Yoga at home - step by step workout.


The benefits of Yoga are well know to everyone who has ever tried the discipline but if you are new to Yoga let me recap.  Yoga is a fantastically popular and effective way of strengthening you physically as well as mentally and spiritually. This last 'spiritual' aspect may turn some people off, but it's not something that needs to be associated with religion.  

Yoga essentially means: “that which brings you to reality.”

Really the best alternate word for the spiritual strength of Yoga is contentment or happiness.  It allows you to be a calmer person and more happy with yourself.  Put like that it sounds pretty great doesn't it
Watch at home yoga for beginners:


So you've probably heard a little about Yoga and wondered what it's all about. you probably have a few preconceptions and maybe an image of an old man with a long beard sitting in the lotus position springs into your head in automatic association with the word.  Let's go through step by step what you can expect in a typical Yoga session.

Tip: Yoga blocks deepen and elongate your stretches to help you get the most from your yoga workout, providing you with a safe and comfortable foundation. They are a versatile and stylish addition to your yoga at home.

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Step 1:  Introduction and Preparation.

Most Yoga classes begin in a standing position and so can do you at home too.There are both mental and physical reasons for this and they are closely connected.  The standing position is the most natural Human position there is.

Leonardo Da Vinci produced a famous scientific picture of the symmetry of the human body when it is in it's natural standing position.  The outstretched arms and legs can have a perfect circle drawn around them and this is true of everyone regardless of their height or weight.  What this means is that a standing pose comes naturally to us - we are not worried about getting it wrong and we can concentrate of the state of the body.  Breathing exercises will be a key part of the warm up stage for your routine.  This is the only time in your life you will be 'taught' to breath and it's a skill which allows people to restore calm to their bodies and thoughts.

Watch the at home yoga workout video:


Step 2:  The Main Routine

This is the art of your Yoga session which will vary the greatest depending on what forms of Yoga you are learning.  While the individual exercises you will be doing are going to be quite different, the nature of them will be very similar.

This will mean moving into certain poses and positions and holding those poses to allow the body to stretch out muscles and muscle groups that in many cases haven't been given much attention during the week.  Some Yoga teachers will talk to you about energy points of chakra's.  These are important junctions in your body where congestion occurs and stretching them out allows energy to flow freely around your body.

Watch at home pilates workout:



Step 3:  Ending the Session

While the main session is about releasing pent up energies, this stage of your Yoga workout is all about allowing that energy to flow around your body.  Many people have trouble with thinking about some strange mystic force that is flowing through you and driving it to certain parts of your body.  If you are one of them just mentally substitute the word 'energy' with the word 'blood'.

We know that the job of blood is to carry nutrients and oxygen around our body, and we know that if any part of our body is lacking in this supply that we will become ill, so it's not a huge stretch to think of blood as the mystic energy force that brings health around our body, and exercises such as Yoga as being the method of ensuring the smooth and successful flow of that blood.

Looking for an at home yoga routine? These 8 routines help build strength, increase flexibility, improve your health and vitality and transform how you look and feel. The sheer number of yoga sequences offered on each of these 240 minute DVDs is a first.
#ad:  Yoga For Beginners DVD $9.74 - very easy to follow and understand. If you want to learn yoga from a great instructor who has taught yoga for nearly 35 years, I would definitely pick this one up!

4 Useful Tips For Coping With Holiday Stress


Did you know that the Christmas holidays have also been called the season of stress? In order to combat all the challenging situations, I give you some helpful tips for coping with holiday stress this year.

4 Tips For Coping With Holiday Stress

Year after year, we swear we’re going to get an earlier start, we’re going to plan ahead and yet each year, Christmas is the same frantic holiday complete with a breakneck pace of buying, wrapping, cooking, and parties all guaranteed to overextend our time and nerves.

For the kind of holiday you really desire to have, it takes a lot of planning for each aspect of Christmas. From choosing the gifts (and getting them wrapped) to all of the delicious meals, and the work related events, no wonder it can get stressful!  Add church gatherings and special services and it’s enough to make even the jolliest person wish Christmas would hurry up and just pass.

If you’re dreading the overwhelming tasks ahead of you this holiday season, don’t despair.  You can have the kind of Christmas you want without raising your blood pressure and without getting so tired you feel like you just can’t function. 
You need a game plan to map out the holiday step by step and I can help you with that game plan. 
 

Get the Charles Dickens Christmas Set on Etsy now.
 

"Christmas Is One of the Most Stressful Times of the Year"

You would think with the beauty of this holiday that it would be a time of reflection, a time to sit in front of a crackling fire and drink hot cocoa and snuggle beneath a thick, fluffy throw - but that’s usually the scene on a Christmas card rather than reality.

Reality is we’re the ones behind the scene dragging in the firewood, lighting the fire, shopping for the cocoa ingredients, unpacking the Christmas throws from the attic, airing them out, giving them a wash…well, you get the picture.

We’re busy enough already and life becomes even more hectic than usual when the holidays arrive. Thanks to all of the business, we tend to overexert ourselves and the ho ho ho can quickly become bah humbug!

With all of the activities that center around the Christmas holiday, you need a plan to keep your stress level down (as well as keep your sanity intact). You may still be working at your day job, dealing with childcare issues now that the kids are on holiday break and fretting about getting the house cleaned for upcoming relatives as well as provide them with meals.

Because the Christmas holiday encompasses so many different aspects, you need a plan that will deal with each element individually so that they work together as a whole to give you a great holiday season day after day.

The season is almost upon us (can you believe how fast the year went by?) so you can’t put off planning another day. You need to get started right now. Make a list of what really must be done in order of importance and have a second column for what you’d like to get done but can live without if you don’t get around to it.

#1 and most important of all holiday stress tips is not a surprise: get your Christmas shopping done early!

holiday stress tips for shopping

Every year, it seems the circle of people we know and buy gifts for increases. But you don’t have to rush around in the crowds and spend hours choosing individual gifts for each person on your list.

Buy the same item for multiple people, especially if they’re not in the same social circle. You can give the same gift to your elementary child’s teacher as you do your high school teen’s teacher.

You can buy the same gifts for people in your place of employment as you do your spouse’s. Some great gifts to buy in larger quantities include gourmet food baskets. The ones containing cheeses, meats and crackers make excellent ‘thinking of you’ Christmas gifts as do the food boxes with coffees and jellies.

You can buy decorative tins (no wrapping needed) and fill them with an assortment of hard candies. Just make sure you don’t put peppermint in the mix because it flavors other candies.

You can also purchase new Christmas ornaments commemorating the year as gifts. Amazon gift certificates are always a hit since you get nearly everything there and you can order these right from home without getting out into the crowds.

If you know what your friends or acquaintances do as a hobby or a group of special items they like to collect, you can pick those up well before the holidays. If you choose to go with a personal touch and shop and send out gifts, don’t waste your valuable time standing in line for half an hour to an hour at the post office.

Never go during a lunch break or right before closing. This increases your wait time. Go early in the morning or a couple of hours after lunch break. Better yet, don’t go to the post office at all. Have it come to you instead.

Right from the comfort of your own home, you can buy shipping material (you can even get some supplies free), print out the postage and arrange a pickup from your home and the pickup is done at no charge to you. If you shop online and ship online Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial, (#ad) not only do you save time and beat the shipping crowd stress, but you gain time you can use in other ways to celebrate Christmas.

The number one tip to remember when it comes to gift buying is not to wait until you have to get it done. Begin right now. Shopping early not only takes the stress off by giving you more time, but it helps financially because you’re not forking over large sums of money (or putting it on your credit card) all at once and paying for last minute expensive shipping.

Make a list of everyone you feel you should buy a gift for. Beside each name, jot down an idea of something you know they like or might like. Starting today, begin to pick some of those items up. 
 
The right gifts for men are difficult to find! For last minute gifts, consider a downloadable black and white print. They are perfect for printing at home at any time.
 


If he loves historic racing cars, a vintage Formula 1 gift (a patent print of the famous Mercedes Silver Arrow for example) would be a very unique gift idea.

Some family members are notoriously hard to buy for and instead of dealing with the question of what to get them, ask them to give you a suggestions list. Numbering from one to ten, have them write down what they’d like for Christmas in order of importance to them. This idea works well with teenagers.

Have a shopping deadline in mind. One way to beat the stress is to have a goal to be finished with all of the prep work for Christmas meals and shopping by Thanksgiving. It can be done if you start now.

#2 Tip on dealing with holiday stress is much easier if you don’t wait until the last minute to plan your Christmas menus!

dealing with holiday stress plan your menu ahead

Nothing can frazzle us more than trying to rush around cooking against the clock. That frazzle factor goes up tremendously if we forget something because we didn’t plan until the last minute. There’s a way to avoid the frazzle factor.

Figure out ahead of time when all of the parties, church gatherings, special meals and work related celebrations are going to be held. Take a large calendar - the desktop ones work well for this - and in the large blocks, write down the events by their due dates and the foods you’ll need for each event.

Then once you have everything written down, you’ll know at a glance where you need to be, when and what items you’re bringing. Purchase all needed food items at the beginning of the month so that you can have them on hand. The best time to buy ham or turkey for Christmas meals is at the same time you pick up your Thanksgiving meat.

Unfortunately, some hosts only give a two week notice that an event is going to take place, but you can still work within that timeline. Two weeks before the event, purchase all of the foods you’ll need.

Pick out what outfit you’ll wear (right down to the accessories), make sure the outfit has either been picked up from the dry cleaner or you drop it off as soon as you know about the party.

If you have to bring a home baked item, bake it now and freeze it. In airtight freezer containers, foods can keep safely (and taste delicious) for months prior to use. The trick with baking goods is that you can take one day out of a weekend and bake enough goods to last the entire Christmas season.

You can bake a batch of cookies or candies all at once for every party. You can use store bought items to save the time it takes to bake, but if you do this, make sure you remove them from their original packaging and freeze them so they’ll keep, too. The night before the event, simply thaw out the amount of treats you’ll need, slip them into a large, decorative Christmas bag and you’re on your way.

Most foods for any party - whether work or personal or church related - can be prepared well ahead of time and frozen until needed. Stress comes our way when we put off preparing the dish or treat and then scramble the night before the event (or worse the day of) to get everything ready.

For church events, don’t forget if you’re bringing food that has to be kept refrigerated to make sure access to the kitchen will be available and that there will be room for your dish – otherwise you might need to plan a different recipe.

When preparing food for any event, including your own Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meal, you’ll want to start first with a guest list so that you can determine the amount of food you’ll need.

Decide who will be joining you and whether they’re adults or children because you can figure in less food consumption for children. Categorize your holiday meal according to the course - the main meats and side items and of course, the desserts.

The best rule of thumb to remember when buying meat for guests is to figure a half a pound of meat for each adult and a quarter of a pound for each child. Make as many side dishes as you can one to two days in advance of the Christmas Eve meal.

The reason most people get overloaded with cooking for the holidays is because they try to make the entire meal either the night before or the same day and then they’re too worn out to enjoy the company or the festivities. So plan ahead and don’t be shy about asking for help in the kitchen from family members!

# 3 Tip on managing holiday stress is about the Christmas decorations which can be spread out over time. 

managing holiday stress with decorations

Tradition, for most people, involves putting up the Christmas tree and all of the indoor and outdoor decorations either right after or within a week of Thanksgiving - but there’s a better way for those who feel overwhelmed. The best way to decorate inside or outside your home for the holidays is to do it a piece at a time, a room at a time, a yard display at a time.

Don’t start in your kitchen, dining or living room. Those are considered to be the rooms where the majority of decorating takes place. Begin in another room instead. If you change bed linens and quilts to match your holidays, do it by the thirty day rule.

Thirty days before the actual holiday, change all linens, quilts and decorative pillows. That way, you get to enjoy the holiday flair. It’s often the expectation of the holiday that gives us the greatest sense of excitement as well as the actual day.

Change the little decorations, the flowers, the floor rugs, etc. Replace any everyday candles with holiday colored and holiday scented ones.  Within a day or two, decorate the bathrooms.

Hang holiday towels and rugs, change over any nightlights and hang holiday themed shower curtains. Remove and store any regular counter and wall decorations and replace them with your holiday ones. Replace bath rugs with holiday ones.

Once the bathrooms are done, take a break and then start on the kitchen. In the kitchen, put out any holiday cookie containers, change over any oven mitts or towel sets and if you switch curtains, do that as well. Put out the holiday stove burner covers and wash any holiday place settings - including tablecloths, runners and place mats.

The next day in the dining room, make room for your holiday decorations. Take off any everyday chair pads and backs and replace them with the ones you have in holiday reds or greens. Cover the table with the holiday runner or tablecloth.

Take a day off and then do the living room. Set up the tree, hang the decorations and wrap the base with the skirt or decorative cloth you use. Hang the stockings on the fireplace. 
 
Change your wall art with the changing season, you can do this very inexpensively with digital, printable artwork. 

snowflake wall art
 I love this seasonal snowflake wall display, it´s available on Etsy.

The next day, set out any ornamental villages. Put the decorative pillows on the sofa. Change over the ordinary lampshades for a red, green or gold one. Set the Christmas decorations on end tables. Some people display a bowl of pine cones or a bit of greenery such as silk holly leaves and berries. Never use real berries where small children can reach them.

When you’re ready to get started on the outside, do the roof lights and decorations first. That's usually the biggest job and this way, you’ll get it out of the way first. The next day, string any bushes or trees with your choice of Christmas lights. If you use more than one yard display, work on one or two displays a day until you get them all set up.

Lastly, hang a wreath on or by the door and you’re all done! Since it’s not Christmas yet, this should leave you plenty of time to relax and just enjoy the season and the decorations you’ve created to instill a sense of seasonal warmth to your home.

#4 To avoid holiday depression and stress is to remember the meaning of Christmas and to enjoy your planning efforts!

remember the meaning of Christmas to avoid holiday depression and stress.

It’s so easy to want that gorgeous, spectacular Christmas because we chase perfection. It’s human to want to put your best foot forward but believe it or not, it’s not always rewarding and it doesn’t always give you a sense of fulfillment.

Sometimes, we can get so caught up in all the planning and all of the activities that we forget the entire meaning of Christmas. The season is not about getting the perfect gift or wrapping it to look like a work of art. It’s not about having a meal so delicious it’ll go down in family history.

Christmas is a time for each of us to understand the special days we have with the people who mean the most to us. It’s a celebration of Christ and what this life is all about. During the holidays, we get a chance to make the most of those special days.

Everyone is so busy working during the year, and this is a time we can step back and reconnect with friends and loved ones. We get to relax and laugh and reminisce. We get to celebrate life together and hand down traditions from one generation to the next.

It’s important for children to see the dynamics of a family unit - the way we laugh together, love together, the way we cherish those special holidays. Remember that your children won’t be as impressed with the beautiful wreath as they will if you take time to sit down and play a holiday game with them.

The meaning of Christmas is the way we give to one another, the way we take the time to appreciate all that we have in life and focus on the good in one another. Christmas is about reaching out to our circle and beyond.

It’s about slowing down, taking a deep breath and holding fast to each and every special moment that comes our way. It’s about letting the good within us spill over into the lives of others.

Need to get into the Christmas Spirit? Find the best Christmas movies right here on Amazon. #ad

I hope with the given tips on coping with holiday stress in future your Christmas time is more stress-free and more enjoyable than ever before.

Wishing you a healthy holiday now and ever!