February 15: Chocolate Potions, Sacred Mornings, and Starting Revolutions

It seems I've been feeling the whiplash of content as my dreams begin to unfold. I get so tickled, and just ecstatic, and grateful- but then the next day it's like all I can think about is that no matter how awesome my life appears now, I will never have the opportunity to return to the life I once loved. I get scared that I won't treasure my life as dearly as I would have if things would have played out differently. And I'm scared my dreams are too short of the opportunities I had planned for myself by now.
It gets discouraging. The harder I pursue the vortex, the heavier my heart feels when I am not present within it. I don't want to be sad, but somedays, I just can't shake it.

For healing I turned to a couple of articles this week. Very interesting reads. Feel free to comment what you think!

• "Phenylethylamine triggers a degree of excitement, quickens the heart rate, and arouses feelings similar to those of being in love." -Tanita de Ruijit, author of Tonic. This chocolate potion features phenylethylamine, otherwise known as our body's natural 'love drug'. Made with cayenne pepper and cinnamon, this spicy hot chocolate recipe helps boost the healing/"happiness properties" of the cacao while balancing blood sugar levels. Click here to learn how to make this magical cup of Aphrodisiac Vegan Hot Chocolate.

• If you haven't picked up your copy of Gala Darling's almanac for 2018, you need to asap! I have found nothing more relatable, helpful, creative, inspirational and just downright magical since I've followed along with her book. Every page is empowering, and one topic that I just can't get over is her idea of Sacred Mornings. The theory here is that every morning should begin purposefully. When you finish the day, you fall asleep- where your energy kinda dwells into a neutral state. It's important to charge your batteries first thing in the mornings, and to set your intentions for the day. I've just kinda fallen in love with this whole idea of turning your bed into your temple. It sounds way more complicated then it is. I just wanna wake up and feel good- then, and the rest of the day. SO, here's a couple ideas I've really taken to:
• Guided Meditations on Spotify. I personally follow the Abraham Hicks + Esther Hicks + Fearless Soul -Law of Attraction playlist by Fearless Soul. My favorite one right now is Releasing Resistance (Law of Attraction telling a new Story) by Jess Shepherd. Look it up, you will not regret it.
• I like to wake up, roll over, flip open my Mac, and read my daily horoscope from horoscope.com. I'm not sure why, but for some reason this act opens my mind and kinda prepares for me what to expect that day. 
• Bed Yoga with Tara Stiles is a great way to wake up and stretch your muscles!
• Oddly enough, I prefer journaling before I go to bed, but adding to your diary in the morning is another great way to practice gratitude and begin your day with a happy heart. Click Here for tips on keeping a journal according to TheGuardian.com.

• When I feel like life is just kicking my butt, I just read this article on starting my own revolution. No matter how little. My favorite excerpt from this is when it says, "It's no one else's fault that you feel like shit." Yes, it's very aggressive, but wow. Very true. It's important to be authentic about how you feel, or what you want. That is where the revolution begins. Read the full article: When it feels overwhelming to revolutionize your life, where and how do you begin?

I wish you all another blissful and awe-inspired week.

Thinking of bagels, beads, and bumblebees.

-Hannie

Vision boards: Manifest Your Dreams for 2018

So my girl friend and I sat down on our Saturday off work with 2 magazines, an old cardboard box, scissors, and an unopened roll of scotch tape. I told Courtney about some of the recent articles I had been reading on Manifestation and the Law of Attraction. Basically, turning your dreams and intuitions of what you want into your reality. Courtney and I wanted a visual way to remind us of how we want to feel, what we want to do, and how we want to create ourselves to be the best version we can be.

Mine was a lot of pink (are you really surprised?). Pink is very empowering and feminist for me. It's my favorite color. I had a couple chandeliers because I think chandeliers are lavish, and I just signed on my first apartment- so you know this babe cave is about to be boujee af. I have lots of clothes and doodles and cool quotes that make me feel magical. I even found a collection of retro hats like the ones I used to buy at antique malls when I was in high school. They always made me feel so different, and special- and I felt a closer connection to history by sporting such retro styles.

The littlest pet shop with the doodles reminds me of the toys I used to play with in elementary school, but I had never thought to doodle on them. That was a really creative, innovated idea. I have some music because I still see music as the focus of my energy. I got my vegetarian pride with a big, green clip out of "VEGGIE BURGERS."

I saw a sketch of a teapot with a Jane Austen quote on it. Jane Austen was such an cosmic writer. The women in her stories like Pride and Prejudice are the most inspiring, strong, role models for females- both young and old. Next to it says "Reading Tea leaves" and then I thought to myself, Wouldn't that be cool to create an Etsy shop called, Reading Tea Leaves? I could dry out whole tea leaves and carve inspiring words into them. Then, when people go to boil the leaves in their tea pots, say the word love was carved "love", it was literally made with love. Idk, it was a cool thought, so I cut it out, and taped it on. 

"But indeed I would rather have nothing but tea."

-Jane Austen

For more help with making your own vision boards, we used this one at horoscope.com. 

Peace and Positivity my nuggets, 

-Hannie

2018: The Year of the Empress

2017 has come and gone, and so much of it will be missed. For me, it was a year of dreaming boldly, loving whole-heartedly, traveling as much as I could afford, and forgiving- not for others- but for my own wellbeing. However, 2018 has arrived ready or not. My favorite blogger at Galadarling.com has drawn the tarot of card of the Empress for the year of 2018. What better card?

The Empress embodies powerful femininity, creative intuition, and fertility or abundance. She gives priority to her emotions and passions. This year is all about making "feeling good" a priority. The Empress is the Queen of the whole deck, the mother of Earth, the baddest bitch if you will.

My 2018 looks Lavish. I was challenged to choose one word to encapsulate the month of January. And my 2018 definitely did not begin the way I would have hoped it to. Recently single, young, broke, and destined for the bad news of paying off some unexpected hospital bills- I'm gonna be working hard for a little while. That's just basic math. However, if I'm gonna be working hard, I've decided that it's important to relax harder. Working is exhausting, and especially knowing that it's something that has to be done- kinda eggs on a frustrating vibe. It's important to acknowledge all the hard work that is getting done, and to love myself for the dedication. I deserve to live lavishly; and to treat myself to the little luxuries of life. To focus on the things that make me feel good, and become aware of the things that do not. To me, living lavishly might look like bubble baths and Lana Del Rey records, buying expensive, boujee nails from nailedbycristy.com to glam myself up, or fearlessly dressing myself like when I was four and I didn't care how anyone else saw me.

Forget resolutions we're just waiting to break, set some goals and desired feelings for 2018. My overall goal for this year is to aggressively and intimately pursue my music. I started rapping about a year ago and I can without hesitation admit that rapping is my one true love. I'm proud of my lyricism and the originality of every beat I master. I performed my first concert in 2017, along with printing my first official CD. I'm really proud of what I put out, and I'm proud of my perseverance to remain an independent artist. I don't want to set anything too specific for 2018 because I don't want to limit my possibilities.

My core desired feelings for this year are to feel enchanted, daring, and content. Coming up with goals however, were a little more overwhelming. To get started, I took Tony Robbin's quiz on the six essential human needs that drive us at core.tonyrobbins.com/driving-force. It's a super easy, 10-question quiz about you. At the end, you'll get to learn about what your #1 driving force is, what powers that equips you with, the kryptonite that tends to set you off, and where you can shift your focus. When I took the test, I learned that my driving force is uncertainty. I am constantly changing to feel alive. I like variety, excitement, surprise, and diversity.
This has sculpted my goals for 2018 into 2 pretty big ideas:
 
   I. Live in the moment. I've heard it said that depression is when your thoughts are stuck in the past. Anxiety is when your focus is toward the future. If you are living solely in the present, neither can exist- because all of your energy is focused on being here, right now. That's where I want to be. I want to feel every moment, and experience everything all the time.
  
  II. Pursue the Best Self I can be. All you really have guaranteed in this world is yourself. People will come and go, jobs will disappear and present themselves accordingly, and you're living situation could change in a heartbeat. If all I have is me, I have to learn to be happy with myself. Put myself first, because I deserve that. Be someone that I would love to have around 24/7, because according to my genes, I could be around for awhile.

Good riddance, 2017. But helloooo 2018. I'm excited to spend the next 12 months digging deeper into what you got planned for me. Stay hopeful, honest, and humble my nuggets.
xoxo,
Hannie