Sexually Active--choices, (not just for teens)

This is a PostSecret postcard from Sunday, April 3, 2011

How many people wish they could go back in time and tell themselves something? Lots of people would do things differently if they could go back in time, while others have no regrets since their past choices got them to where they are today. 

Here's the piece that some people don't get (yet): You may not get to go back in time to change things, but just because the past is what it is, does not mean you are stuck in that past right now.  You have the power of choice to create the you of right now. 

You can change your mind. 

You can change your attitude.

You can change your clothes.

You can change your goals.

You may redefine what is important to you in any moment.

You are a living, breathing being and your opportunity to blossom into the best  you is fresh with each breath. Ready? Set? Be true to you! (Even if it means surprising people. Even if it means surprising yourself.) 

Change means stepping out of what is familiar. That's OK, you are not alone. You can change and change again. Experiment with saying "no" when you mean "no" and see what happens inside over time.

I practice what I preach and this week I deepened my commitment to pay attention to the way I speak (or hopefully don't speak: no gossip). 

There is true power in self restraint (that serves you in positive ways).

Pick some thing in your life that you wish you could change. Be true and honest because no one else is in on this. Then take the risk of doing something simple, especially if it's hard for you to think of doing. Take heart. You CAN do this. 

Love,

Aunt Laya

You Are Not a Fly

I know the sound isn't that great, I'm still learning about movie making. :-)



Love,
Aunt Laya

Relationship Help

This is one of the best videos I've seen in a long time.
I hope you are as inspired as I am by this one.


Love,
Aunt Laya

Mini workshop: $37.99 value, FREE!

SUCCESS FORMULA!

What do you want to accomplish?

It's your life. What's important to you? Have you made your list?

Dream big, write it all down and then ask yourself, "If I could only do ONE of these things, which one would it be?" Now you know what's important to you, really important.

So how do you accomplish what you want?

Here are four pieces of the puzzle--four elements you need to get together:
Attitude
Do you have right thinking? Do you believe in yourself? Do you know you are worth it?
Tools
Do you have what you need? If you don't, make a list and get it together. If you want to go rock climbing, you'll need the right equipment. What do you need? What do you need to get those tools together?
Skills
Do you know how to do what you need to do? Want to be in a triathlon? You gotta know how to swim. If you don't know how to swim, then even with goggles and the best attitude in the world you can't get in the water. No one can know how to do it all, that's where learning from others comes in: read, take a class, practice. This is called growing! (It's a good thing.)
Action
Once you know what you want, believe you can accomplish it and have a strong desire, gather the tools you'll need, and learn the skills, you can take the steps to create your dreams. Break it down into small bite sized pieces. Create a time line or a new habit.
Persistence
Be relentless. Move forward. If you fall--that's OK! Get back up. Take another step forward.

You CAN do this!
Love,
Aunt Laya

The Power to Create Happy Relationships!!!

I learned something interesting. It's something I've heard before in different ways and I've heard it enough times now that I understand its importance and know it's something that needs to be passed on to others. This is the balance of 5:1:

For every one negative thing that happens in a relationship (criticism, harsh look, reprimand, etc.) it takes FIVE positive actions to balance it.

What that means to us in real life is that for every unpleasant thing we experience or do in our relationship, we need FIVE kind or loving acts to balance the scale.

Do you get what that means? This is very empowering for us all!!! Now that we know this (which has been studied through observations of many relationships) we can heal and direct our relationships for the good.

Being aware of this will improve any relationship. Parents, kids, employees, students, friends.

Experiment of the day:
Talk to the people you live with and set up this experiment: Put out two little dishes for each person. Fill one dish with pennies or marbles, doesn't matter, any small object will do. For each compliment or kind act move one object into the second dish. For every criticism remove five. The goal is to (as naturally as you can) fill up the second dish and keep it full.

Keep shining.
Love,
Aunt Laya

Thank you to southernfried at Morguefile.com for the perfect photo!

Aren't porcupines cute??

Well, we all know how cute porcupines are, right?

And we all know just how they defend themselves, right?

But that sure doesn't mean that we each have to get blasted by a porcupine in order to know for ourselves that it would hurt. Right? Right.

That is exactly why I wrote "You Don't Have to Learn Everything the Hard Way--What I Wish Someone Had Told Me". (You can read sample chapters for free at http://www.auntlaya.com/ and also at Amazon by clicking on the photo of the book to the right. ----->)

Be smart. Learn from O.P.M. (other people's mistakes). Asking trusted sources is one good way to make your journey through life smoother. Enjoy the journey!

Love,
Aunt Laya

The Lion, the Donkey and the Fox

I just heard this story:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a lion, a donkey, and a fox that went rabbit hunting one day. At the end of the day, they came together and there was a big pile of rabbits in front of them. The lion said to the donkey, "Why don't you divide the rabbits fairly among us." So the donkey made three nice piles of rabbits at which point the lion killed the donkey, ate part of him, and threw what was left on the pile of rabbits.

Turning to the fox, the lion said, "Why don't you take the rabbits and divide them fairly between the two of us." The fox made a big pile in front of the lion and took one scrawny rabbit for himself. The lion asked, "Where did you learn to count so well?" To which the fox said, "I learned from the donkey!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's called learning from other people's life experiences!

Love,
Aunt Laya

P.S. If you haven't read my book, "You Don't Have to Learn Everything the Hard Way--What I Wish Someone had Told Me" go ahead and click the link to the right with the picture of the cover to learn more!

Photo from Morguefile.com, by monosodium, thank you!