Manifest your Happiness

The universe works in mysterious ways... I'm telling you.

It's funny how you can find a person to talk to and somewhere in that conversation that person will say the exact thing that you know you have been needing to hear.

Recently, I was speaking about such universal things with a person and they said something that resonated with my soul. 

They said, "your reality is created from the inside out, not the outside in."

I found that completely lovely. So often I think that there cannot be this many things to be negative about, or upset about or even worried about. But I think what happens is that we forget we are even being negative and so we begin to do it throughout our life subconsciously. 

As humans, we are all running around frantic about things and if we begin to have negative thoughts, it somehow turns into negative results. 

I guess what I am speaking of is manifestation.

Manifestation is the idea of "think and it shall be so" in a sense. It says that if we think positively about ourselves and situations, many positive things can come from it, but if we constantly dwell on negativity then those negative thoughts actually become our reality.

Sometimes I think that people need to make that conscious decision to be positive rather than negative, and we would all be much better off. After all, we're in all of this together.

I know from personal experience that sometimes I feel this wave of "depression" coming for me. And I could very easily let it overtake me and consume me bit by bit. I will sit there alone and bored and nothing good comes from that for me. 

BUT what I've been trying to do instead is that every time whenever this negative feeling comes, instead of succumbing to my own negativity, I make the conscious decision to think about the positive stuff instead!

Now, I'm not saying I succeed 100% of the time, but I am becoming much better. It's so easy and anyone can do it!

So next time you start to feel down, think if you are the one making it that way. If so, do a quick 180 and bring on the fleet of positive vibes to conquer the negative ones!

Positive thinking can make the world go round :)

Until next time... manifest good and share it with those around you!

True Talent from Amelia Photography

Amongst other things, my friend Hannah is a photographer. Her talent for finding beauty in common objects and her visualization is jaw dropping. She once told me "I don't even know if I want to be a photographer." To which I replied, "Well you don't have to have a job as a photographer, but you have an unbelievable talent for it so whatever you do, it has to be part of your life, perhaps as a hobby if nothing else."


I first met Hannah during my first year at college, she happened to be living in the room across the hall from mine. On move-in day I saw her moving into her room from mine and I noticed that we had brought the same quilt, different colors. I then proceeded to notice her outfit. She wore cut off blue denim shorts, a white V-neck tee which it appeared she had cropped herself, black slip on sneakers and an interesting buffalo nickel pendant necklace that had been crafted so that just the Indian head remained in the circle, leaving other parts cut out. It was something I would have never thought to put together but it was chic in every way. I wondered to myself if we would get to be friends, I hoped that we would be, but wasn't sure if she'd find me interesting. 


Well, lucky for me, over the course of the year I got to know her and her photography as well. Even before she began to work on her photography at school the photos that she brought in from her high school and previous summers floored me. She made common items look extraordinary, landscapes wowed with color and there is always this feel of unexpected juxtapositions which never doubts to mesmerize. To me she is a true surrealist.

Now, I don't know anything technical about photography, so I will not pretend I do. But I do know that talent has a way of moving people, and what is usually funny is that the artist did not even have to break their back to achieve it. While some photos grab me more than others, I was looking through her flickr (which I will share with you) and I could not find a single photo that wasn't captivating in some way. 

I also love to watch her work. Sometimes when she tells me about her idea I'm not really sure what to expect. Next thing I know I see it all unfold and the ideas are tirelessly brilliant! I still might not have any clue what is in the frame of her camera when she clicks the button, but once the images are up and loaded on the computer I'm usually freaking out because they are exquisite! 


So in light of all this, I wanted to share some of them with you because I never get tired of experiencing her photos so I brought some of my favorites.. because if I would have brought them all I wouldn't be able to ever fit anything else ever again on this blog haha. So because I couldn't bring them all... it is impertinent that you visit her website in order to view them for yourself!


You can find the rest of her photographs HERE on flickr under Amelia Photography here are some favs of mine:

                     

Some Gallery Updates

Hello der peoples! Today is my 4th day of being facebook free-- and I'm finally beginning to feel just that! In fact, I barely thought about facebook at all today! It feels awesome! And the best part is I know it's only going to keep getting easier! Anyway that's all I have to say about that!

So tonight, like any other Thursday night I went to galleries with my friends from school. Every Thursday of the month the art galleries have their openings. I wanted to share a bit of the art I saw tonight with you. 


This first picture is a piece of art from one of the galleries tonight. It was painted and it was incredibly precise. I don't know about you but I could easily get lost in this piece of art.

 
 The picture in the middle is also from a gallery. This artist was great at playing with the field of depth. I quite enjoyed his art a lot. I believe his medium for this was film.

The last is one of the buildings that the galleries were inside. I thought it was a very interesting building architecturally.

There were many other photos that I took tonight that were just as great, but I have limited space on here. If I ever go back to facebook (who am i kidding?) they will be posted on there. 

I really hope everyone enjoyed these pics and I also hope that you yeah you! the one reading this-- I hope you get to observe some art of your own because art is unique in that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Every piece of art can be experienced as something different based on the person who is viewing it. That is the magic. 

Until next time.. create some art of your own.

John Butler Trio - Ocean

The name of the song is Ocean... The name of the man is John Butler.
This song is just absolutely incredible. I have never seen anyone play guitar the way he plays! It is absolutely breathtaking!!! 
He just released a new album called April Uprising. It is a great album along with his previous others. I think that John Butler really knows how to move someone with his music and he is one of my favorites! Saw him at Rothbury and I hope I will see him again in the near future.

Please enjoy! And check out his other songs!

Beautiful Tree

This is a beautiful tree that I passed in New York.. if you have the ability to see in in NYC before the blossoms die comment me and I will let you know its location. It really is a great sight to behold. :)

and so it stays...

Welp, hello there reader! If there is one...

Today is my 3rd day of attempting to live facebook free. On the positive side, yesterday I finished all of my homework with time to spare and because I still want to be on the computer I am actually driven to write a blog post everyday. I also took time to realize that there are a plethora of other websites available to me and so yesterday I also spent some time reading on matters of interest to myself. Unfortunately, I am still feeling that I want to rip my hair out haha. But, it's still early and so the feeling of withdraw is still present.

I remember back in May 2008 I had an iphone and one day I was sitting on my boyfriend's couch which happens to be a sectional. And my phone fell down into a part of the sectional that you couldn't move apart. I had the idea that if I pulled out the leg rests that the phone would be freed and would fall down onto the floor where I might be lucky enough to grab it. Well, needless to say things did not go exactly as planned. As soon as I pulled the lever I heard a discerning CRAAACK! Not only that horrifying sound, but no dropping sound after either further signaling me that I had failed miserably. 
Well, after this, I still needed to rescue my phone and so my boyfriend got a pair of scissors and managed to pry it out from between the mechanism that way. When he handed me my iphone, it was no longer able to lay flat on a table. It was bent so that it actually rocked back and forth. The screen had also been shattered, which rendered it useless. 

SO WHAT AM I TRYING TO SAY?

Well, the first week of my life without my phone was HELL! I was absolutely miserable! I couldn't stand not having the ability to reach any number of my friends at my fingertips. But, slowly and surely as I went on more and more without a cell phone I became happier and happier. I was able to do what I wanted and no one could bother me. I didn't have to worry about screening someone's calls that I didn't want to talk to and worrying about running into them later and having to explain myself. I had a legitimate reason-- my phone was broken. I was untouchable. I could go where I want, and do what I want and I didn't have to worry about people reaching me.. and by July that summer... I didn't care. I was free from my "lifeline." It started to get to other people though.. so much so that sooner or later the person who I would be hanging out with would get a phone call.. but the person calling would be asking to speak with me.

SOO I am hoping that this prevails the same way and that after so long it won't matter to me anymore about my facebook. And so if you are one of those people that relys on those things to keep in contact with me.. Well I guess there is just going to have to be another way. Like oh my god. You might actually have to have a face-to-face conversation with me. I KNOW! What a thought!

Anyway.. until we talk again.. I hope that your technology is everything that you want it to be. And chances are if the phrase "Ugh they are calling me again" is part of your vocabulary... then maybe it's time for you to reconsider some things yourself. 

An Experiment

So, recently I have decided that I am going to try a new little experiment in my life. I have decided to try and live without facebook. It sounds so completely trivial, but fact of the matter is, it's not as simple as it sounds.

Practically every person is on facebook now days. This includes parents, professors, and finally businesses are jumping on board. 

Facebook started out as a great idea-- a way to keep in contact with friends that you don't see everyday in order to find out what is going on with their lives. However, now it has turned into an obsession where you can practically stalk people and nothing in anyone's life is a secret anymore.

Also when you think in terms of our government. Facebook could very well be a government program where every single person is tracked because they submit themselves to such tracking willingly. With statuses that tell people their every move and pictures that show them in places near their homes. Although it has its advantages...I think that there are many negatives to be said about facebook. 

I mainly started this process because I spent way too much time on my facebook when I could have been outside enjoying a nice day, or when I should have been doing my homework. 

This is offically my second day being free of facebook and I must admit I am struggling. It really is a hard thing to let go of. To be honest, the habit had gotten so bad that sometimes I still turn on my computer and click the facebook link where I am brought to the homepage and I go YIKES! How did I end up here? I didn't mean to. haha.

But it really is hard. I miss talking to my friends, and seeing what they are doing. I miss sharing what I am doing with others. But I think it is important to be without this technology for some time because just 5 or 6 years ago it did not exist. 


We become so sucked into technology and dependent on it that we lose our real connections to lives-- as in face-to- face. Also, let's face it. I do not need to know every single step that you take when you go to the bathroom, sleep, or school. 


These next 1-2 weeks (minimum) I am devoting myself to cleansing myself of facebook and its rediculousness. Maybe after the initial hard part of withdraw is over, who knows maybe I will have no desire to go back! Let's hope! Here I go! I am going to be free! (Well more than before anyway)


P.S. What kind of word is deactivate anyway? Doesn't sound human to me. Think about it.

Times Like These and Times Like Those

When things in your life are happening... that you can't explain..

just trust in the universe and believe that everything is happening for a reason.

That's what I am trying to do..

It's what I need to believe..

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.

A Bit From My Past

Today I am bringing a special treat to those reading this. I've just gone over my most recent journal and I decided I'm going to share a few excerpts from my thoughts past that really got me thinking again...

enjoy.

3/18/09 9:54 PM

...Ugh. Death. It's just such a huge concept and so unknown and so.... inconvenient. That sounds horrible doesn't it? Of course death is inconvenient what else is it going to be? I wonder why life is the way it is. Why do you learn how to cope with one tragedy and then receive another? It really makes me wonder if everyone has a final date already set and thats it for you, that is your DAY, the day death is yours. Or, is it just random? You don't have a time, things just happen and they are unlucky. Of course no one knows, or do they? What about those people who die, and are officially dead but are revived back to life. Do they know what death is like? Can they remember? Can they tell us? When they were dead I wonder if a voice told them it was not their time yet and they were allowed to come back to life. I want to meet one of these people. Maybe they know more than the rest of us. I don't want want to deal with all this. It's so frustrating. Sometimes when I think about life and death, living and dying the concepts are so wide and abstract and they are real. Or are they? I don't really like it when my mind wanders to these places because it is such an intense thing to grasp. There's a lot I think people don't realize like time moves incredibly fast, and a person's lifetime is an eternity to them, but nothing in the sense of overall time. Everyone is going to get older and eventually they will die. It's so odd. These concepts all seem so upfront until you really explore them. Life, Death its so uncertain. If you live in fear of dying isn't a part of you already dead? I don't know. This probably doesn't make any sense. Who knows....


7/7/09 9:37 PM


....WHY am I so angry? I didn't know I was that angry. I guess now I know. But what's next? I don't want to be angry anymore. I can't be angry anymore. I just can't do it. I've got to start over. I've got to let it ALL go. Everything. And start new. I've got to try at least. I HAVE to be different....


....Life is so confusing. I don't know what I want anymore. Things I used to dream of don't really make sense anymore. But part of me still wants them. Most of us (humans) are all fake. We act like we are golden and we do so much but secretly we're selfish. The world is selfish. Human wants are infinite. Nothing and no one is/are what they seem....


7/19/09 11:53 PM

Detached from the world is how I spent my day....

Today I had a thought about cars. They are so strange. It's like we're all driving our own little capsules! Odd Odd Odd!

The book Be Here Now= extraordinary absolutely mind blowing!


8/1/09 2:45 AM

Why is it that I'm always up late? I don't like to sleep late.....


...this isn't all about me. It is about us.
America, the world, we all need to wake the fuck up! Stop being oppressed. 
People need to FEEL again. The world has been too NUMB.


That is what is happening. People are becoming numb.


I will not be numb. I always want to feel the world, the universe. I want to interact.
Everyone should interact!!

I work at Barley. Do you know what I notice? I notice people avoid eye-contact and become nervous around people (myself and others) greeting them at the door. It is so odd. Most people would rather just walk by and ignore the person.


A very imporant movie: Waking Life
A good game: scattergories. I can't believe I haven't played in so long, it's great brain exercise! I love it.








Well that's all folks. I hope you enjoyed.
Until next time.. relive your own moments, you'll find yourself revealed in them.