Monday, December 14, 2009

Monday, December 14, 2009 - Today's Words of Inspiration and Great Giveaways!



Reason for the Season

Over the weekend the 12 days of Christmas Official Countdown begun.  I hope the countdown finds you ready in the ways that matter to you! And hopefully with enough energy to actually ENJOY the fruits of your labors!

There were quite a few celebrations over the weekend! My Jewish Friends celebrated Hanukkah, while my Mexican friends were celebrating the day of 'La Virgen de Guadalupe'. Many years ago I visited Mexico during this time of year and the celebrations for the Virgin there are especially memorable. Watching the processions of the faithful making their way to the the original Basilica of Guadalupe (completed in 1709 and holding, according to tradition, the original tilma (a rectangle of muslin worn as a cape) of Juan Diego) next to the huge modern church built in 1976. There is a shrine at the very place of her apparition, and a well, decorated in talavera tiles, which holds the miraculous waters of the spring that gushed forth at her feet. At this place, and at all the churches with her name, thousands of the faithful gather on December 11th and 12th, to give tribute to her, to petition for a miracle, or to give thanks for one already received.

I remember witnessing the processions of the faithful not just on TV but in person, and the visual impact it had on me watching people make the procession on their knees or walking backward the entire way or even barefoot has remained a powerful reminder to me, even to this day of the importance of faith. The way it is expressed, the ways it is shared. The ways we express our gratitude for prayers answered and favor received.

What is the reason of the season for you? What part does your faith play in your holiday traditions? Do you find yourself stifled sometimes from expressing the 'faith' side of your holiday, at school or at work? How does that make you feel? Has our society really become to 'politically correct' for it's own good?

Today, re-connect with *YOUR* reason for the season.

Use 'Today's Words of Inspiration' as a breathing meditation to still your mind, quiet your thoughts and bring in positive energy. As you inhale bring in only positive energy by saying in your mind, I breathe in positive energy (or you can say creative energy if that is what you wish to create more of) and as you exhale, Affirm out loud today 'I will connect with the true reason for the season in my decisions today.'

Spend some time each day enjoying focused breathing AND soul guided meditative visualization, in doing so, you can bring about amazing, profound and powerful changes in your life.

Visualize yourself manifesting something unique, guided by universal forces that emerge spontaneously from within your soul. Do this at least twice today and see how by taking a moment away from the hectic pace and breathing in positive energy and affirming what you wish to create, your thinking will become different.

Remember, attitude really does determine altitude.

It is OK to *Re-Tweet* the link to this post and You can find me (@Tracy_Iglesias) on Twitter here! twitter love: re*tweet by copying and pasting the following into your update field:

OK to RT: @Tracy_Iglesias Today's Words of Inspiration and Great Giveaways! - http://tiny.cc/n4Thx

Make this your best day ever, Bless and Be Blessed!

Don't forget to enter the great giveaways on the upper right hand side of the page! We will be offering multiple giveaways all throughout the season! It's just our way of saying Thank You! for choosing to spend part of your day with us. We are really happy you landed HERE!

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a NING group with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?

NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will have no way of informing you if you win, and we will have to select another winner. Make sure your entry or your profile have your email address!

Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow Using Google Friends Connect:

Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)

1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it

2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'

3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

3 comments:

  1. What a wonderful idea. It is so easy to get lost in the gift giving madness. It's no wonder some people are so jaded when it comes to the holidays.

    I have to say my favorite tradition is going to midnight mass on Christmas. They turn off all of the lights and there are candles lit all around the Church. It's beautiful, reverant and reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas. I'm not great at meditation but I'm going to give your suggestion a try.

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  2. Good Point Vivanne! It is very easy for people to become 'jaded' this time of year. Disconnecting with our purpose and our source will do that. (And understandably we sometimes feel like outside circumstances cause that disconnect, like losing a loved one, or the ending of a relationship!)

    Midnight Mass is a great way to connect with the reason for the season! And there really is something especially magical sitting in a church lit by candlelight!

    With Meditation, start off slowly, in small increments and allow the meditation to feel comfortable for you. It's often very difficult to 'still and quiet' our beings to get comfortable doing it. So instead of trying immediately to force yourself into a half hour or hour, start with 5 minutes, twice a day if you can. Use mantras/affirmations to work your way into it. Eventually with persistence, enthusisam and sustained effort you can build to longer levels of meditation. Some people even find that it is easier for them to meditate standing in the shower!

    Thanks so much for sharing your ways to stay connected!

    Remember you can connect with other members at Ascending Butterfly's NING group, there is live chat and forums there as well! You can link to the NING group here: http://ascendingbutterfly.ning.com/

    ---Ascending Butterfly's Editorial Team

    ˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙

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  3. Hi there...great blog! I'm visiting from FFF @ MBC! I'm a new follower...I'd love for you to come visit and follow me :)

    Shelley at www.shelleysswag.blogspot.com

    Have a great day!

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