allow abundance

 

let it be

I finally got around to posting my newest Abundance series on my Pocket Inspiration site. It took a while because I wanted the cards to go together organically. During the photo shoot, I realized I had put together two of my faves in this set — Today, Just Allow and Abundance is Your Birthright. Powerful messages on their own, but put together…wow! Dynamite! 

We tend to block our own good, perhaps with old ways of thinking that sabotage these wonderful blessings to flow into our lives. My challenge is this: Today, just allow abundance to be your birthright. How? Carry cash in your wallet, and feel the feelings of prosperity (instead of focusing on lack). Give money away — it’s a way of detaching from being so tight-fisted about it. Even if it’s simply allowing someone to keep the change. Say thank you to even the smallest of provision (for me, nothing is too small) and allow a person the privilege of even buying you a cup of coffee. You deserve it, after all.

Say it with me: “I allow abundance to manifest in my life. It is my birthright.”

 

be amazed. be very amazed.

my sentiments exactly, mr bird

This post was inspired by my friend’s recent, amazing recovery from narrowed vision…see my vision quest entry in my other blog, walastik holistic. I feel that I could pull many a card from my different boxed sets. But I picked this because I feel like Mister Bird: when I think of God’s goodness yet again, I feel in awe of how He blesses us with everyday miracles and reasons to be in awe. 

We are taught to expect no less than the best from the God we worship. In fact, I remember someone telling me I shouldn’t be so surprised when my prayers are answered for it doesn’t show faith. But I think it’s good to constantly be amazed by His grace — it keeps our love for Him fresh and new every morning.

 

seeing is becoming

 

 

from my Yoga, Girl! series

My dad taught me early on — through his words, his life, his choice of literature (Og Mandino, Jose Silva, Dr Wayne Dyer) — that the mind is a powerful ally in manifesting our dreams, our potential. Visualization was a concept I grew up with. In our family, we used images to connect with the desires of our hearts. 

“What you see, you can be” is my way of saying “What you see in your mind as already happening, can come true in your reality.” The secret is in feeling the feelings of the situation you desire now, as if it were already happening. I have seen this happen many times over in my life, which has taught me the value of choosing the right thoughts — ones that edify, that bring joy and that wish for my highest good and that of others — over those that are mired in negativity. 

Today, start the morning by spending a few minutes in bed envisioning the perfect day: What are you wearing, doing? Who are you meeting? How do you feel? Engage your senses, experience the joy, and then say a prayer of thanks to God for granting that which you envisioned (or something better) to grace your day.

Check this card out, as well as six other inspiring designs from my Yoga, Girl! series on www.pocketinspiration.etsy.com. Namaste

 

just say yes

Today, I put this in action.

I made plans, but gave room to allow things to run their course. 

I set a time for my art director and I to leave the office for our occular inspection of places by the river to shoot a cover. But when she asked for more time to complete a requirement, I said yes. In the meantime, I tidied my desk. When we got to the restaurant we were to eat at prior to our walkabout, it started to pour. Longer than normal Singapore standards, which is 15 minutes. But we allowed the weather to just be, instead of sticking to schedule and braving the showers with an umbrella and eventually wet feet.

We waited for the rain to stop inside the comfort of the restaurant, having coffee and red bean ice cream. My AD and I allowed ourselves one full hour for lunch! We said yes to the rain and the opportunity it presented for us to get to know each other better.

Afterwards, we walked and walked and I snapped my camera (the sun was out now) and just said yes to every possible nook and cranny that presented a photogenic angle. Yes (click), yes (click), yes (click). Now we have at least three possible places to do the cover shoot.

After work, I said yes to do reiki on a friend who wasn’t too happy about  a doctor’s diagnosis. I offered it as a gift two weeks ago, and although I was tired from all that walking today, I went home and showered. I confirmed my yes. Afterwards, my friend beamed. She wasn’t stressed anymore. She then decided to treat me to dinner – delicious wanton mee noodle soup (I had planned to have dinner at home, but said yes anyway) and great conversation. As if that wasn’t enough, she sent me on my way with a basket of juicy gala apples from New Zealand (yes).

Yes, I could have said no. But thanks to all my yeses, I enjoyed a happy, satisfying lunch break, have a camera full of lovely pictures to show my photo editor tomorrow, a friend with renewed hope in her heart and body, a satisfied tummy, and apples for breakfast.  

Just say yes.

 

“smells like God…”

My dear friend, Mariel, got her box of Pocket Inspiration cards in the mail today. In her joy (and now, mine!) she blogged about it. Here’s what she said…click on her blog, NyMinutenow.

By the way, the title of the entry is a quote from her little brother (he’s six) who got a whiff of the cards! Isn’t that soooo adorable — and profound for a child to say!

 

lessons from an acrobat

 

 

make like an acrobat...

Two days after posting my first box of cards on Etsy.com, I woke up to find an order from a dear friend based in the Big Apple. The feeling was so sweet, like I had won a million dollars! What’s more, I knew that Mariel was going to love the Just Breathe series. Like me, she is a yogini. In fact, she gave me a yoga DVD that allowed me to progress in my practice. We worked together in Seventeen magazine — she was my intern who never left after her 200 hours were up. And thankfully, she didn’t. She evolved from intern to a writer to beauty editor over several years. Since I feel that everyone comes into our lives to teach us a lesson, hers to me was persistence. Mariel was the type who made her mind up to do something, and really followed through. She wanted to improve her writing, and no matter how much I edited of her raw text, she never argued with me. I found out later on that she always compared my edited copy with her original article, and tried to figure out how to get better. And better, she did get. Much better. I now read her work, and feel the effortlessness in her gift to communicate.

I am reminded of this card in my collection: “Throw your heart over the bar and your body will follow.” This is from my ‘Travel Light’ series on my etsy site. I learned this from reading author Norman Vincent Peale, author of many books such as The Power of Positive Thinking. Whether it is to buy a car, commit to love, uproot oneself to live in a new city, do so with the bravura of an acrobat. It’s advice we could all use in whatever endeavor we set out to do — use your heart, and all else follows.

 

the story behind the cards…

 

my first version of a Pocket Inspiration card last March

I think it’s worth mentioning why I decided to open Pocket Inspiration, my online paper goods store on etsy.com.

 

Early this year, upon the positive prophecy of my dear friend Tara (she said that I would write and illustrate my next book), I decided to practice my sketching. As I did, I remembered my love for making handmade greeting cards. My sisters and I always made cards for our mom and dad using paper and crayons. When I fell in love, I continued this and created little cards for my then-boyfriend. These pocket-sized pieces were printed with “why I love m…” and I illustrated each reason. I left these cards in unexpected places: in his car, slipped into his dry cleaning, and I think even in his wallet (how I did it, I am not quite sure!). I don’t remember how many cards I gave him, but after two years, we parted ways.

Recently, however, while chatting with this ex who is now a friend, he told me that he still kept all the little cards I gave him 14 years ago. “They’re all in a box, hee hee,” he said to me. I was touched, and thanked him. I also saw this as a sign to pursue designing my cards, which I still create to this day with the same intention I did then: to express love from a warm, happy place.

Why not spread some love today with Pocket Inspiration?

 

The power of breath

 

"just breathe" card

I used to hyperventilate each time I was stressed. I remember once, when I was rushing to catch a flight to KL from Singapore: I made it to the 40-minute cut-off before the flight. But as I strapped myself into my airline seat, my heart was still racing the way it was when I was running to the check-in counter.

About a few months later, I discovered yoga, and it was through this ancient discipline that I learned my most important lesson: how to breathe. Each time I struggled while doing a pose or asana, my teacher would tell all of us in the class:” When you’re struggling in a pose, go back to your breathe. Remember to breathe and you’ll be okay.”

It’s a lesson I’ve embraced and applied to my life even beyond my yoga practice. Each time something unnerves me, I stop and take a deep breath. By doing so, we allow the body to relax – and this is the best time for us to receive wisdom and creative solutions.

This is why I drew this card for my Pocket Inspirations online store on etsy.com. When we breathe in and out, we empower ourselves to be open to receive. So go ahead, inhale…and exhale…