Note to Self

TODAY ONLY — Sat, June 13, 2020 — Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth is the featured eBook deal on BookBub. Grab it on Amazon, Nook, Google Play, or Kobo for 99𝇍

Winner of six literary honors, including Foreword INDIES Self-Help Book of the Year, Note to Self closes the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

AMAZON
https://www.amazon.com/Note-Self-Seven-Step-Gratitude-Growth-ebook/dp/B01M63I2EM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1592029065&sr=8-1

NOOK
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/note-to-self-laurie-buchanan-phd/1123466904?ean=9781631521140

GOOGLE PLAY
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Laurie_Buchanan_Note_to_Self?id=SThjDQAAQBAJ

KOBO
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/note-to-self-23

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What Are You Reaching For?

Person, place, thing, event, or opportunity—it’s important to know what it is that you’re reaching for.

To aspire is defined as something you actively desire to reach, a goal you’re working toward. 

What are you going to do with it once it’s within reach? Will you grab hold, or will you let it slip by?

In my experience, the act of reaching out sets everything in motion. That’s why I plan before I reach out, so when I do catch hold, I know my next steps.

[bctt tweet=”What is it that you’re reaching for?” username=”@TuesWithLaurie”]

What are you reaching for?

© TuesdaysWithLaurie.com

Official Pub Day

Today is the official Pub day for my second book, The Business of Being: Soul Purpose In and Out of the Workplace. I’m pleased to say that it’s a 2018 International Book Awards Finalist in the Self-Help/Motivation category.

The Business of Being is available wherever books are sold, but if it’s not currently in stock at your favorite bookstore, they can order it for you.

If you’re not able to attend one of the following author events, but you’d like a signed copy, please call my local bookstore (Rediscovered Books, details below); and they’ll ship it to you within 24-hours.

July 11 — San Diego, CA
The Book Catapult
She Writes Press author panel
7:00 pm

July 27 — Boise, ID
Rediscovered Books
Book launch party with French Hors d’Oeuvres and wine
7:00 pm

August 12 — Crystal Lake, IL
Veteran Acres Park
Picnic and book signing at the Rotary Shelter
Noon-2:00pm

If you read The Business of Being and enjoy it, I hope you’ll post a brief review on both Amazon and GoodReads. Reviews are the lifeblood for authors.

What book are you currently reading?

© TuesdaysWithLaurie.com

Stars in My Eyes

When I was a little girl, I was motivated by stars. I loved earning them in elementary school and by memorizing Bible verses in Sunday school. When I’d acquired a certain number of stars, they equated a larger prize.

When our son was little, he too was motivated by stars. He loved nothing more than the adrenaline rush of licking and sticking a star on the errand chart affixed to his bedroom door. An avid reader, once he’d earned a certain number of stars, they translated into a trip to the bookstore to select a book of his choice.

Imagine my delight when my mother-in-law made this star quilt for us!  I love the colors that she chose, and I can’t even begin to imagine the number of painstaking hours it took to complete this gift.

This coming Friday I leave for Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas where I’m hosting a writing retreat. Each of us will be inspired and motivated by the turquoise water during the day, competing with a star-studded Bahamian night sky to write, Write, WRITE!

What motivates you?

© lauriebuchanan.com

Bare Naked

Contrary to popular belief, ambition and spirituality aren’t in opposition to each other.

  • Ambition is a strong desire to achieve something.
  • Spirituality is connection with our essence, our spirit that’s already whole and perfect.

From my perspective, the important thing is understanding the motivation behind our ambition.

The externals (academic achievement, upper echelon title at work, bling, financial status, the super-duper whamodyne car in the garage) isn’t who we are.

When we remove the externals—strip down and get bare naked to the internals—we reach our essence, our being. That’s where abundance resides: peace, joy, compassion, gratitude, inspiration, creativity, and grace—our basic wealth.

It’s from our essence that we pursue our passion—an expansion of who we are. Living our passion fuels both the internal and the external aspects of our self.

It’s from our essence that we utilize our talents, achieve our ambitions, and live our potential—to make a positive, uplifting, constructive, and healing impression on those in our sphere of influence.

When was the last time you got bare naked—right down to your essence?

© lauriebuchanan.com

K is for Karma

What goes around comes around - the boomerang effect

What goes around comes around – The Boomerang Effect

You’ve heard the saying, “What goes around comes around,” on a surface level, that’s one way of defining karma. Often referred to as The Law of Return the Sanskrit word means action. I call it The Boomerang Effect.

There are multiple camps of thought on this topic, but my perspective is that we’re spiritual beings on a human journey; we’re here on a temporary layover in the classroom called life for the specific purpose of learning lessons before continuing on. Some people refer to these lessons as karma.

Enzo, the old soul and canine narrator of Garth Stein’s book, The Art of Racing in the Rain said, “I know that karma is a force in this universe and that people will receive karmic justice for their actions. I know that this justice will come when the universe deems it appropriate and it may not be in this lifetime but in the next, or the one after that. Their current consciousness may never feel the brunt of the karma they have incurred, though their souls absolutely will. I understand this concept.”

The philosophical explanation of karma differs somewhat between traditions, but the general idea is basically the same. Through the law of karma—cause and effect—the result of every action creates present and future experiences, making each of us responsible for our own life and the pain and joy it brings to those in our sphere of influence.

I believe the karmic litmus test is to examine the motive that underlies our present actions. Despite how the past may account for many of the inequalities we see in life, the measure of a human being is not the hand dealt. Rather, it’s how the hand is played. Because we’re all interconnected, our decisions affect everyone.

What’s coming back at you?

© TuesdaysWithLaurie.com

YELLOW – Boost Your Personal Power!

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For those of you who are just joining us, welcome to the University of Life. In the previous “classes” we laid the groundwork for this course—The Color of Wellness, and looked at the therapeutic properties of the colors red and orange. Today’s palette features the color Yellow.

Yellow is associated with self-definition, personal power, and social wellness. It enhances awareness, wisdom, and clarity. It’s the color of a shiny rain slicker. Think of the downy feathers on a prothonotary warbler, or the vibrant skin on a lemon or banana. It’s the lively color of daffodil bonnets that herald spring, and the dazzling color of finches at the feeder on an early summer morning. It’s the flamboyant color of bumble bees showing off as they dart from blossom to blossom.

The positive properties of yellow are expressed as motivational, happy, radiant, social, lighthearted, mental activity, clear thinking, rational, and detachment from negative emotions.

The negative properties of yellow are described as critical, argumentative, opinionated, evasive, and restless.

The healing properties of yellow are uplifting and supportive and can address physical symptoms that include intestinal and digestive issues such as constipation, diarrhea and flatulence, water retention, skin problems, all mental processes, and negative states of mind such as depression, low self-esteem, short attention-span, “exam nerves,” and writer’s block. Yellow increases awareness, perception, and understanding. It also stimulates the appetite.

When you need a boost in the areas of personal power and self-definition, indulge yourself with this color. Its frequency resonates with the solar plexus chakra, the wellspring of our power—the hub, the very heart—of our body’s electrical system. It promotes vigor, and improves memory. Yellow energy stirs feelings of well-being, positive thinking, and triggers the outward expression of inner joy.

Closest to sunlight, pure yellow conveys hospitality and promotes deep feelings of well-being. The muted hues make quiet backgrounds for busy lives, while the shaded yellows have a soft, glowing presence which speaks of home, harvest, and abundance.

What we do with our physical environment—our personal space—speaks to our heart and helps us to flourish. Add a dash of yellow to your wardrobe. Wake up your bathroom with a dazzling yellow shower curtain. Cheer up your kitchen with a bright yellow cookie jar or ceramic teapot. Take advantage of the healing frequency of yellow crystals such as citrine, golden tiger eye, or imperial topaz.

A special thank you to Joseph’s Market for allowing me to take photographs in their produce department.

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
               – Laurie Buchanan

www.HolEssence.com

Copyright © 2010 Laurie Buchanan — All Rights ReservedNo part of this blog post may be used in part, or in whole, without written permission from Laurie Buchanan.