vanae (happier you* guide)

i came across this quote by Margaret Young, “Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you love to do, in order to have what you want.”

it really called out to me because it’s a realization that i’ve absorbed through the years. understanding and being the real you. and i AM doing what i love. and i’d add this to my list of ‘what makes you happy?”

vanae’s tip of the dae: today, spend time thinking about someone in your life who has passed. it’s okay to miss him/her. but be sure to spend more time thinking of good stuff…memories and what that person meant to you.

already at 9:30am and i’ve already had 2 highlights of the dae.
1) my sis telling me that my brother is here and is protecting her (which brought me to my ‘tip’)
2) someone asking me about my highlight and then we had silly morning convo

who did you think about today? and what is a good memory you’ve shared?

HOT SINGER & ANIMAL LOVER (Date a Rockstar) from vanae on Vimeo.

Bid on Katy!http://tinyurl.com/6ysr3l

She’s hot! She loves animals and can sing her heart out. Don’t miss out on a special date with the lovely Katy!

Click tinyurl.com/68zty8 to bid on Jamie!

She’s a hot female DJ, plays music for good and she can play the guitar.

Money raised goes to Rock Your Awareness.

Happy Bidding!

sometimes we don’t realize how our childhood impacts who we become, but this DailyOM article makes you reflect…

“(Healing Childhood Wounds) Events from childhood, our first experiences, have the power to shape our lives. Some do so immediately, offering us challenges to overcome and encouragement to make use of our talents and interests…Other events seem to lay dormant until adulthood, when our closest relationships help to bring out the deepest aspects of ourselves. This is when unexamined lessons can be put to use and untended childhood wounds make themselves known in a call for healing.

We may discover issues of trust coming up, or perhaps we find ourselves mirroring actions from our past instinctively. No matter the case, we have the power within us to heal ourselves at the deepest level. With the wisdom of an adult, we can be the loving parent or guardian we needed as a child. Knowing that we are each whole spiritual beings having a human experience, we can nurture ourselves from that wholeness, and then reach out to others as well. We can recreate scenarios in our mind’s eye, trying different outcomes and following them to their logical conclusions. In doing so, we may be able to imagine possible reasons a situation occurred as it did, and even accept that it could not have happened any other way. With the wisdom born from age and experience, we might be able to see events from a different perspective, bringing new understanding and freeing ourselves from any hold the past may have on us.

Life offers opportunities to clear these weeds in the gardens of our souls. However, when we want to focus on easier and more pleasant tasks, we are likely to pass up the chances, leaving the wounds to continue to drain our energy and resources for living life fully today. We might find we need support to face the events of the past, so turning to a trained professional who can offer tools for healing can be a valid choice. As long as we remember that the child we were lives on within us, we are always free to go back and right old wrongs, correct mistaken perceptions, heal wounds, forgive, and begin anew.”

when was the last time you reflected and digged deep? what did you discover about your childhood and the person you are today?

an unbelievable takeover in 2008 olympics, in the men’s swim relay 4×100:

notice the announcers biting back their tongue and yelling in astonishment when america’s took it by surprise.

so whether you’ve met someone great, and early on think he or she is the one…
say that you’ve never received a speeding ticket…
predicting a winner before the game ends…
NEVER SPEAK TOO SOON.

after a breakup, you wonder if you’ll ever be friends again…considering all the pain, mistakes, intensity, love, happiness, and sorrow that you went through.

two highlights of my year are:
1) forgiving my most recent ex-boyfriend, BT
2) more significantly, forgiving the man who broke my heart in 2005, JB

it took me some time to get to this place of zen and realization that holding negative energy, makes your life heavy..it weighs it down. it was a major move to forgave JB, when got in contact with me after 3 years.

then, one of the main things that helped me come to forgive BT, is reflecting back to my most recent relationship with him and realizing how healthy it was. it was the best relationship i’ve ever had. we shared our lives, our love, our friends, our compassion for people, our love for music and our growing pains. WE WERE BEST FRIENDS.

then we lost that closeness once we broke up, because i had resentments for the mistakes he made. now, i think about those mistakes and they are a speck of sand compared to what we can absorb from this world, from each other. to lose a best friend because it didn’t work out romantically…it’s a shame.

but i do have to mention, in order come to this point of forgiveness and peace, you must have spent enough time away from each other to reflect, understand and be at peace with yourself. it took me 3 years to respond to JB and let him know that i forgive him. and tonight (after more than a year), i also forgave BT.

but when i did, it meant the world to me. as it did to them.

have you forgiven your ex? how did you let them know?

vanae (feeling light as a feather)

you know i’m always sharing badass music. this is the latest track on repeat on my mind…
boys noize kill it on top of already sweet feist track “my moon, my man”.

can you listen to this and not feel sexy?? not move to the beat? yeah, i thought so.

a man whistling a happy tune, when i passed by him.

everyone who knows me, knows that i love asking ‘what’s your highlight of the dae?”.
i believe in it.
i believe it’s an important question to ask and think about.
the few moments it takes to think about your highlight makes all the difference to make your day even better. and you don’t dread the coming day..because there’s another highlight waiting to happen. every. day.

so what’s your highlight of the dae?

are you subscribed to ‘pick the brain‘ blog? you totally should! it’s a great blog on self-improvement and awareness. here’s a video sharing their tips on ‘how to be extroverted.

have you been to vietnam yet? it’s a gorgeous country with rich culture and deep family roots. a culture that has survived many colonizations and changes through the centuries.

‘together’ is theme in vietnam. from living together, eating together, bonding or sharing together. the culture is rich yet lifestyle is simple. barefeet, honesty, sharing family dinners, working hands, and low red chairs..vietnamese culture keeps you grounded. it keeps me grounded with the values that make up who i am.

vietnam is special and i wanted to share it with you. what’s your cultural background?

your dreams

and

your gut