Shine: November 2015

With a month to go until Christmas I've been thinking about ways to be even happier this holiday season. I love Christmas. But I know a fair few people who get very stressed about the whole thing. Applying the same ideas of mindfulness, kindfulness and thankfulness to the pre-Christmas rush will help to cultivate calm well-being and ensure a stress free time everyone to enjoy.

Happy Christmas thoughts in no particular order:

1. Happy thoughts bring happy things – why waste thoughts, time, and energy on worrying about whether something may not be perfect.

2. Care and share – relationships are what it is all about.

3. Look for the best in everyone – we all have good in our hearts.

4. Make magic moments – it’s up to each and everyone of us to create the world we want to live in.

5. Be your own person – your unique so be as different, as individual, as YOU as you can be.

6. Love – always, in as many ways as you can. ( see 17)

7. Simply be happy – don’t make things unnecessarily complicated. A sunny day is a reason to celebrate.

8. Appreciate the good stuff – notice , become aware of the world around you; it’s all pretty amazing

9. Kindness is free – a simple gesture of friendship, an offer to help, a nod and a wave; there is no cost to consideration. ( see 17)

10. Look around with wonder – really take the time to look at the everyday things that you may have seen a hundred times but not necessarily have savoured before.

11. Shine your own light – be the best you possible and don’t hide your talents.

12. Trust your heart – we all know what is good for us, our body gives us signals all the time. Our heart will always tell us if we are on the right path.

13. Smile – it realises fizzy hormones that make the world light up. (see 17)

14. Sprinkle everyday with silliness – sometimes we need to go back to the lightness of being a child and add a bit of sparkle.

15. Believe In wonderful – it exists for us all.

16. Joy full – start every day with the thought that you will fill it with all the things that make life good; the people that you love, the sights that give you pleasure, the tastes that make you come alive, the sounds that inspire you to sing out with joy.

17. Give (unconditional love) – give a smile, a hug, a kind word, a seat on the tube, a hand with the shopping. Give lots of love, sprinkle your whole day with it, just because you can and have so much to give.

18. Plant happy seeds – some seeds take longer to germinate than others, be patient they will flower when the time is right.

19. Laugh – get those endorphins flowing. (see 14 which should get the laughter going if it needs reigniting)

20. Choose to be happy – it’s your choice how you perceive things. You can choose to look for happiness, to see the good in life, to find HAPPY in all kinds of places.

21. Kiss – not just for lovers but for friends, children, pets, blow a kiss to the postman… kiss to let them know you care.

22. Hug – See 21

23. Gratitude opens doors – when we show our appreciation, when we are brimming with thankfulness the world responds with kindness

24. Thank you – so easy to say, so special to show, so lovely to receive.

As a reminder to keep positive why not download a 10toSHINE colour-your-own calendar with 24 ways to Create Christmas Happiness.

Front sheet - numbers

Sheet two - words

I’m a big fan of mindful colouring in, so if the idea of the holiday season is already making you tense get out your pencil case, print off the 2 A4 sheets and absorb yourself in a bit of playful relaxation.

Step 1: Colour the top sheet, the one with the numbers.

Step 2: Carefully cut around the heavy marked lines that make the windows. Only three sides per window, not the dotted line.

Step 3: On the second sheet apply glue to the areas around the boxes.

Step 4: place top sheet on to sheet two and smooth down so firmly glued together.

Each day as you open a window you will find a positive prompt to guide your day. I'm going to colour-in my ‘affirmations’ as they appear each day, just to reinforce them a little more, but there are no rules so do as you wish.

And of course you could get even more creative:

You could print off the sheets, cut out the sayings and the numbers then stick them to card back to back, to create a 24 pack of handy happiness hints.

Or make them into tags and tie them to a happiness branch for a blossoming of positive inspiration.

Or make two sets and turn them into a game of happy snap.

Play. Have fun. Share with friends. Get out the glitter…… that’s what Christmas should be about.

I’d love to know your suggestions and to see the myriad of ways you have chosen to Create Christmas Happiness. Please share them with me.

Thank you R x

When I was very little I loved

colouring books.But I didn't love rules; I have at least one clear memory of being told my 'creative' technique wasn't 'right'. One infant teacher held my picture up to the whole class as an example of 'wrong' coloured sky (I had made it pink).But this didn't stop me.I drew things my own way and created my world with all the colours I wanted.

I understood at five years old that a new packet of felt tips and a blank sheet provided all I needed to be happy,so I totally get why adult colouring is so popular.

This is why you should give it a go:

it's a calming and soothing - we all know mindfulness works, colouring-in creates that feeling without having to try.
You can purchase felt tips and a pencil case!
There are no rules; no one will tell you the sky isn't pink !
When we access our creativity it produces changes in our brain that makes our thinking clearer and we become more productive.
If we combine colouring with affirmations we are using the relaxed focus to seed the ideas in our minds.
We can do it when other people are watching TV and disappear into our own world without going into a different room.
its joyful to see the colours on the page.
When you have completed a colouring-in it leaves a lovely warm glow of satisfaction.
If you add a bit of folding, cutting or even sticking you can carry your inspirations around in your bag, or put it on the bed side table, anywhere you will catch a glimpse of your work and remember....
Remember how creative, clever, brilliant, fabulous, wonderful and absolutely as happy as you can be in a world of your own making.