Have you heard the saying “Go with the flow”?

When I looked up the definition of this statement, there were a few versions and none of them were that great.  Here’s how the dictionary defines this statement.

“To do what other people are doing or agree with other people because it’s the easiest thing to do.”

“To cope with adversity; to accept one’s lot.”

Ok. These are not empowering definitions at all!

But going with the flow can be an empowering statement and actually give you a lot of freedom!!  Here’s why.

Go with the flow, the way I definite it, is all about lining up with your own internal energy and the energy of the universe.  When you are in alignment, there is peace and ease in your life.  On the flip side, when you are out of the universal flow or even your internal flow, resistance shows up.  Resistance actually takes up a lot of energy.  There’s another saying by C.G. Jung.  “What you resist, persists.”

So, how does this relate to you and where you are?

I invite you to take a deep look at your life.  Notice where you are in alignment with what you want to do and where you are.  Notice where you are out of alignment with what you want to do and where you are.

For example, in my life, I used to work at a big multinational food corporation.  It paid well, but it was out of alignment with what I wanted to do.  I dreaded going to work each day and had trouble getting out of bed.  I didn’t want to deal with the corporate politics.

I started to notice I was happiest when I was helping people and practicing yoga.  This became really apparent when I went to Nepal on a trip called Yoga for Freedom.  I was practicing yoga every day and we were able to help these amazing kids at Nepal Orphans Home.  Those two weeks were magical – I didn’t want the trip to end.

When I got back, the reality of my situation became more apparent.  I was not happy.  I was not in alignment with who I really am.  I was suppressing my own desire to leave the company and do something that aligned with my own truth and beliefs.  Yet, I didn’t leave right away.  I was paralyzed with fear.

It took a year for me to muster up the courage to leave.  When I finally did, a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders.

I bring this story up because we all have a choice.  We can all choose to fulfill our own destiny and purpose in life or not.

Yes, the road to starting {the JOY depot} and turning it into a business was not easy.  I’ve made countless mistakes.  But I am truly thankful and blessed.  Because I am able to go with the flow and allow beautiful opportunities to come my way.

Being open to letting your inner voice shine is a beautiful thing.  And you don’t have to quit your job to achieve it.

Maybe you’ve always loved to draw, but haven’t in a long time.  Trying adding an art class to your weekly routine.

Maybe you love to run and talking to friends, but you just don’t have the time to do both.  Try bringing your friends along for a run.

Whatever it is, be open the the flow of life and allowing the loving energy come your way.  Allow yourself to receive the beautiful self wisdom speak to you and guide you towards your own truth.  Create that beautiful flow in your life and begin to create a life you love.

As Wayne Dyer once said, “Everything in the universe has a purpose.  Indeed, the invisible intelligence that flows through everything in a purposeful fashion is also flowing through you.” (You can tweet it).

And I also invite you to post a daily gratitude around your successes on our Facebook page.

And comment below and let me know how you are going with the flow this week! And if you have friends who could use a little reminder about listening to their own internal wisdom, please share this email.

*Photo Credit:

  by  ` TheDreamSky 

The post Flow with life to find your joy appeared first on the JOY depot.

Do you have a big, bold, courageous dream that is aching to come true?

Write a book, backpack through Europe, go back to school, run a marathon, quit your job, become a yoga instructor, start a business, or rent a cottage by the sea.

We want to break free from the expectations laid out by society and go after our audacious and sparkly goals. We want to live a life we love. Going big fills us with confidence and courage and makes us feel invincible.

It means ignoring the voice inside our heads that says we’re not good enough, not strong enough, not thin enough, not smart enough, and not experienced enough. It means getting really clear about what we want, making sacrifices, and taking small steps every day to make it happen.

But it can also be a time consuming and anxiety-ridden journey. We can become overcome with self-doubt and held back by fear. It can make us feel inadequate and undeserving because we are scared we will fail and scared of what other people will think.

Then there are days when it’s all too much and we just want to pull up the covers, hide in a pillow fort, and escape from the rest of the world.

When we reach this point, it is easy to forget that we already have everything we need to begin living an extraordinary life. Here are five simple ways to inject your life with more joy today.

5 Ways to Lead an Extraordinary Life

1. Stop

Stop taking yourself so seriously. Stop comparing yourself to others. Stop caring what other people think. Stop trying to control everything. Stop worrying so much about your weaknesses and embrace your strengths. Stop trying to be perfect. Stop believing that taking a risk means you will fail. Stop letting fear run your life.

2. Practice

Practice radical acceptance towards yourself and others. Practice genuine kindness. Practice finding your sweet spot of deliberate action and spontaneous fun. Explore your spirituality and practice what makes you feel most sacred. Practice balancing your input with your output. Challenge the status quo and practice being you.

3. Share

Speak up and share your story. Let others speak, but don’t be afraid to raise your voice if something needs to be said. Set boundaries with your time, your energy, and your money. Ignore the haters and do more of what you love. Celebrate your successes. Celebrate other’s successes. Just celebrate.

4. Play

Sing loudly. Dance as if no one is watching. Go outside. Get dirty. Laugh. A lot. Paint with your fingers. Imagine the possibilities. Wear clothes that don’t match. Bake a cake. Have a frosting fight. Spin in circles. Play hide-and-seek. Blow bubbles. Make a mess.

5. Love

Treat yourself kindly and allow yourself the space to grow. Create meaningful relationships and nurture the heck out of them. Love with abandon. Connect with something larger than yourself. Take amazing care of your body. Get clear on your values and honor them daily. Listen to your inner voice. Believe in your passions and take your dream seriously.

Going after your big goals is a sure-fire way to live a life you love, but when you’re feeling overwhelmed and burnt out, remember these five simple ways to begin living an extraordinary life today.

*Photo Credit:

  by  john millar 

The post 5 Ways to Lead an Extraordinary Life appeared first on the JOY depot.

However, you have the key to choose what you want to believe each moment of the day.  Do you want to believe your self limiting thoughts or do you want to believe in your success?

*Photo Credit:

  by  Symic 

The post How you can attract success appeared first on the JOY depot.

Life; a simple 4 letter word that houses everything we are, everything we believe and everything we dream of within it. Life is the journey of a soul, for an undisclosed amount of time, through the human experience.

If you believe you are here to simply bumble along in life for no apparent reason, then this article may not be of interest to you. I believe we are here to do something, be someone, share our wisdom and learn.

Each of us is uniquely prepared to bring certain wisdom, certain awareness and a certain perspective to this world. When we take a detour and become disconnected from our truth, we will also prevent our message from getting to the world.

Everyone has their own message and no message is grander or less grand than another. A person may not end up being known worldwide for their message; still their message is extremely important to whomever it touches in life.

To live life fully you must engage with it fully. Unless you engage with your life fully, your life will merely happen to you rather than happening with you and for you.

Each time you take a step in the truth of who you are and who you are driven to be, you allow yourself the space to touch the lives of others who are here to learn from your wisdom.

Take some time every day to reconnect to the truth of who you are. Meditation and/or prayer are excellent tools to connect to this message, however if you do not meditate or pray, there are other ways that you can connect to your deep knowing.

Try taking time to journal about your feelings and your life, or take a long walk and contemplate your life, take a warm and soothing bath to be with your own thoughts or dance and feel what your knowingness is sharing with you. Whatever you choose to do, do it with the idea of reconnecting to the deepest knowing of who you are and why you are here.

When you do this and the more often you do this, you allow yourself to be taken on a magical journey, your magical journey called your life. Listen for the internal voice that says, “I really love doing this! I wish I could do it all the time.” And then put your attention to doing that very activity as often as you can make it happen. This is how you learn to follow your purpose for being here and to share your unique message.

When you do what you love, what you love will love you. What this means is, your unique purpose will drive you to love certain things. When you allow yourself to do and enjoy the things that you love, throughout your life, you will instinctively follow the path you are meant to follow.

Then, what you do will love you, by bringing you the revenue that you require to experience all of the experiences that you are here to have.

I believe that when we follow our passion in life, we are more than looked after. We are rewarded for listening to the wisdom within, which is guiding us to create the life we are meant to live. The rewards are profound and numerous. When we listen to our knowingness we are gifted with all of the wonderful things that life has to offer, including money!

I encourage you to take time to listen to your own knowingness, listen to your heart and what you love and follow what you learn. Each time you do this, you will be brought the extraordinary gift of living the life you are meant to live and you will get to enjoy all of the pleasures that go along with that.

Not only will you enjoy the pleasure of your life, you will also help many others through the message that your life brings and they will then enjoy their lives even more as a result. Then the circle is complete and you truly have accomplished what you came here to do.

*Photo Credit:

Karen Popoff

The post Life – not another 4 letter word appeared first on the JOY depot.

Do you feel like you can’t keep up with all your to-do’s: projects, work, family obligations, and chores?

Do you crave stillness and silence and a way out of the stress that comes with too much? If so, it’s time to quiet your mind and reassess why you have so much going on. You need to simplify and go into Spring fresh and clear.

Some of the best ways to destress is to declutter and simplify. Simplifying takes conscious effort, and consistent small steps can get you there quickly. Here are a five ideas I share with my clients to clear the cobwebs of stagnation:

Purge — Start with one room at a time. Clear a few hours and don’t stop. Although there is no rush don’t let yourself off the hook.  You are making new habits that you are going to incorporate into your lifestyle by doing it in Autumn as well (twice yearly).

• Clear up your computer including your inbox by getting rid of old email and files.

• Clear your desk and home office space. Do the same, shred or burn files that are older than 5 years old. Keep important documents and tax returns.

• Clean out one drawer at a time.

• Unsubscribe to any email that you don’t read. You are giving all these newsletters a piece of you every month even if you aren’t reading them.

Free Your Space = Free Your Mind

Don’t overthink what to keep and what to toss. Make quick decisions about all of the things you need to deal with in each area. Leaving it for another day is not an option. Go methodically through piles and file it, trash it, or add it to your To Do list to take care of right away.

Shorten Your Daily To-do’s List — Do you have more than 10 items on your To Do list? This is too much!  Reevaluate and prioritize the list and either cross off or delegate those things that are least important to you or don’t net the highest return. Get in the habit of doing this regularly. I have 3 things on my list each day, that is it outside of self-care and cooking. If we run out of food, tough! I only shop on certain days and outside of that, they have to make due.

Have an Open Day once a week – This may sound crazy to some of you. I have a day once a week that has nothing planned at all except lunch with my husband and a little exercise. It’s my “see how it goes” day and for me is usually Friday. I am plenty busy, but the focus is taken off of the “must-dos” and I find I can catch up, have space to plan next week, write, do website maintenance, take a bath or whatever.

Making this space in my week has completely shifted my stress level down. What changed was that I wasn’t over committing myself every day.

Give up Something — Or for some of you, give up or quit more than one thing. I understand it may take time to untangle you from all of your commitments. Chose the things that suck every last bit of energy out of you.  Again, either delegate or just say “NO”. Think about those that you love and pay close attention to how that thought feels in your body.  If you don’t get that good feeling, its time to consider clearing your plate of things you should have quit along time ago.  It is easy to send a polite messages explaining that you no longer have the time to give. If they don’t understand, that is a sign that your energy needs to be spent elsewhere.

Ditch Multi-Tasking — This is my biggest pet peeve in life. Multi-tasking was invented by clever corporate folks to get every last bit of mental and physical energy out of workers.

Our brains are not meant to handle 5 things at once.  When you focus on one thing at a time and group similar tasks, you are much more productive. It takes practice to stay focused in the present but once you start seeing success you will be amazed at how great it feels. In the end, you’ll get more done without the scattered side effects of ADD that often accompany multi-tasking.

Learn to say NO — There is only one YOU and there are only so many hours in the week. When you look back from your deathbed what are you going to remember? Is it going to be rushing around to get your kids to all the extracurricular activities, or spending extra time at work? I hope not. We are pressed to give everything of ourselves and by not making ourselves available we feel and are perceived as selfish. When you don’t care for you by setting clear boundaries and giving yourself free unscheduled time you are cheating you and everyone you care about.

All these steps are practical, achievable and will pay off in decreased stress, a freer mind and a decluttered space.  Before you know it, the boundaries you are setting will actually second nature and ready you to take these steps to other areas of your life.

*Photo Credit:

  by  mullica 

The post Make De-clutter and Simplify Your Spring Mantras appeared first on the JOY depot.

  by  VinothChandar 

The post Why perfection is overrated and how you can achieve more JOY appeared first on the JOY depot.

What is beauty?

If I asked 10 different people, I’d probably receive 10 different answers.

Each person has his/her own definition of beauty.

Now…

Do you think you are beautiful?

Really answer this for yourself.

I can tell you mine…

I’m not going to lie. It depends on the day and how I’m feeling.

You might be wondering why I’m asking all these questions about beauty.

It’s because of the video below.

You have to check it out for yourself (I don’t want to spoil the video by explaining the video to you in this post). Trust me, it’s worth it. In fact, it’s already received over 700,000 views!

You are actually more beautiful than you think.

I will also venture to say that you are also smarter, more talented, funnier, wittier, etc than you think too!

Sometimes you may be more critical on yourself than others are on you.

It’s ok.

But every once in awhile, remember to look at yourself from another person’s point of view.

You might uncover something about yourself that you didn’t even know was hiding.

Just take a few minutes and ask yourself, “If I was someone else who saw the beauty and good in all people, what would I say to myself?”

Then start looking for the good and beauty in you and your situation.

Watch the video and comment below to let me know 1 reason you are beautiful. And if you have friends who could use a little reminder about how beautiful they really are, please share this post!

You can also tweet: “I AM BEAUTIFUL”!

Because, YOU REALLY ARE BEAUTIFUL!

*Photo Credit:

Dove – Real Beauty Campaign

The post Remember, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! appeared first on the JOY depot.

First of all, I’d like to start off by saying, my thoughts and prayers are with the people in Boston and all the victims.

It seems as though there are more and more of these types of senseless acts happening all over the world.

Innocent people are dying for no reason.

As I watched the events unfold on Monday, I couldn’t help but think why and what?

Why is this happening?

And, what can we do?

First the why…

I recalled a lecture from Marianne Williamson where she talks about why there are so many acts of terrorism despite the fact most people want love.

The reason why terrorism is winning can be summed up in two words…

Conviction & Courage

Those who terrorize have the conviction to see that their point of view is heard AND the courage to act on those convictions.

This leads me to what…

What can we do?

If all it takes is conviction & courage, then let’s band together with conviction and courage to spread love, peace, and joy!

And I’m being serious here.

If we want show that hatred and terror will not win, we have to show them!

We have to show them that we have the courage and conviction to love no matter what!

This starts with forgiveness.

To be at peace, we must forgive. Without it, there is a dark spot on our heart and we end up letting them win.

It’s not easy to forgive when you’ve been wronged or hurt. But if there is no forgiveness, there is no love, only sadness, hatred, and potentially revenge.

So let’s forgive…

“Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” – Jesus

“Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law.” – Buddha

“Dispelled anger as forgiveness is grasped.” – Guru Amar Das

“Although the just penalty for an injustice is an equivalent retribution, those who pardon and maintain righteousness are rewarded by God. He does not love the unjust.” – Qur‘an

Next, it’s spreading so much love and joy to everyone around you that they cannot miss it. You live and breathe love and joy!

To the stranger on the street, to your friends, to your family, to your co-workers, to you classmates. It doesn’t matter who, but that you have offered them love.

See how many people you can help bring a smile to their faces.

Make it a game.

Have fun with it.

See how many people you can text “I love you” or “Just thinking about you” or anything else.

See how many people you can smile to as you walk throughout the day.

Write out “I love you” on post it notes and place them in random places for people to find.

It doesn’t matter what action you take. The point is to have the courage to show love…even if no love is returned, even to people who don’t want love.

Deep down, everyone wants it, but they just don’t know how to show it and are afraid of what people may think.

You have to be a stand for it if you want love, peace, and joy to rule! Don’t worry about what others think. Just go for it!

Let go of your fear and step into your power!

So if you’re with me, let’s start spreading love now!

Comment below to let me know you’re in and how you plan on spreading love! You can even start by sending this post to someone you want to send some love and joy to!

We are all in this together!

Let’s let love, peace, and joy WIN!

*Photo Credit:

  by  ashley rose, 

The post When tragedy strikes, spread LOVE! appeared first on the JOY depot.

I wrote goals and affirmations, sketched pictures, snapped photos, and pasted dozens of magazine pictures onto huge, intricately color-coded collages. My  ”vision of the future” had to be precise, and represent all the things I was determined to attract.

How else would I get from here to there, and attract everything I desired to experience in this journey of life?

Dozens of mainstream media writers and authors focus on this global phenomenon: the belief that thoughts become things, and only through thinking of what we want can we attract it into our lives.

I agree but disagree. Let me explain:

On average, we think 60,000 thoughts a day. This in and of itself can pose some serious challenges. Unless you are the Dalai Lama, personally taking inventory of, managing, and controlling every thought is near impossible. Not to mention your subconscious, which is constantly active too.

That’s where meditation comes in. To manifest effortlessly, you actually have to STOP thinking.

Before learning meditation, I did seem to manifest things, but not effortlessly. There were bumps in the process and the results were less specific than I imagined. I manifested with huge delays in time, or after completely forgetting something tucked under dozens of other images at the back of my vision board.

About a year and a half ago, I learned–really learned–to stop thinking, and I now practice meditation every single day. Through my daily meditations, I have manifested things into my life faster and easier than ever before.

I am sure you’re thinking, “Maybe you just had a lot of good karma that came your way?” But I truly believe it is much more than that.

Here’s why:

For those precious minutes every day, you are free to have complete trust in the power of the Universe and what it can bring forth in your life.

Meditation connects you to Source–the Universal power that we are all connected to.

All those images you desire are no longer necessary for happiness. When we are connected to Source, we are experiencing all that was, is, and will be. You create a place of detachment from all earthly and material things. In this place there is no need.

Whether you feel gratitude or attachment, it will ultimately affect your ability to manifest. When you are attached to something, you fear its loss. As a result, you push it away. Meditation removes the fear, shifting you back to a place of love and gratitude.

It is extremely difficult to have gratitude for things we don’t yet have. Meditation gets us there without the obstacles of our own thought patterns. There is no battle with who-what-where-when-or-how it will happen. We are free of worries and fear-based thoughts.

When we are in a feeling of “need” or “I have to have,” we are sending a vibration to the Universe, which responds with more “need.”  As your mind tries to determine how your desires will manifest, it also pushes them farther and farther away. You are sending a message that your desires do not exist, and from this place of lacking, you cannot attract what you want.

It is also much easier to have a still, quiet mind, than to have pure, positive thoughts every second. In this stillness we also experience satisfaction, gratitude, and appreciation without doing, thinking, or having anything.

Meditation also offers a sense of peace with everything and everyone that opposes you so you can come into alignment with the solutions to your desires. And more importantly, all those images you desire are no longer necessary for happiness.

From this place of gratitude you are now sending a vibration that everything you need already exists in your life. Out of this feeling of pure gratitude, our lives can be manifested.

The practice of meditation most importantly helps train the mind to be in the present moment, leaving no need to control our 60,000 thoughts a day.When you are in the present moment, your goals, dreams, and desires can manifest because you are no longer thinking about them. Instead, you are only thinking about what is in front of you at that very moment.

The essence of manifesting your desires through meditation can be summed up in a quote from the teachings of Ester Hick’s, “[w]hen you quiet your mind you stop thought; when you stop thought you stop resistance; when you stop resistance you are in a state of allowing.”  So yes, focus on what you want. Cut images out of magazines, then put them away, and let daily meditation connect and align you to Source to actually bring the things you want into your life. When your dreams become a reality, remember to bless everything you attract with gratitude.

*Photo Credit:

Sarah Anne Stewart

The post I Used to be a Vision Board Junkie appeared first on the JOY depot.

We all have things that we tell ourselves throughout the day. They can be negative or positive and they can be in response to the good things we’ve done or the mistakes we’ve made.

The problem is that most of the time, the thoughts are negative and tend to be degrading and hurtful. And yet we continue to tell ourselves these things because we foolishly believe they are true.

But thoughts are only thoughts, they do not form anything into stone and they are not permanent. The amazing thing is that we have the power to control our thoughts and change. And when we allow ourselves to change our negative thinking, we in turn can change our whole lives.

Negative self talk is the one of the worst things we can do to ourselves, and still we are all victims of it. The 5 most common phrases that we continue to tell ourselves over and over again are:

1. I’m not good enough.

Good enough for who? We are already amazing just the way we are in this moment, and we must start believing in this. Who would you be without the thought that you are not good enough?

I would be happy and free.

2. I’ll never be like them.

Why would you want to be like someone else when you are so perfectly unique and beautiful as you are? There’s no one else like you on this Earth. That is an amazing fact, so why are you continually searching for something else to be?

3. I’m fat.

Who is telling you that? Are you just ‘feeling’ that way? What lies beneath those thoughts and feelings? Sometimes we use the word ‘fat’ to cover up the real issues. What could be the real problem? Or maybe you just need to accept and love yourself that way you are.

4. I can’t do it.

This is the worst thing you could ever say because once you declare this, it’s true. You are already believing that you cannot do something, then how will you ever be able to do it?

Start with I can and see what happens.

5. I’m worthless.

How could you be worthless if you are here? You were born for a reason and that already makes you worthy of so much. Being worthy is a birth right, not a choice or feeling.

You are not worthless.

During my eight year recovery from anorexia nervosa, these types of thoughts were what floated around in my brain 24/7 with no end of stopping in sight. It seemed as though there was no way to break the cycle of these negative thoughts, but there is.

The first step is to recognize them. Start to notice when you say these things to yourself or when these thought appear, write them down.

Once you have a good understanding of these thoughts and maybe some of the reasoning behind them, you can begin to work on eliminating them.

And the best way to do this is to talk back to them. You might feel crazy at first but it works. When a negative thought comes in, fight back to it, disagree with it and replace it with a positive affirmation.

When you say nice things about yourself, your body and mind will thank you and you will be happier inside and out.

*Photo Credit:

  by  Amy Wilbanks 

The post 5 Things You Need to Stop Telling Yourself appeared first on the JOY depot.