Ancient Chinese Secrets to Good Fortune

How can you create good fortune?  Luck you long time.  That's right.  Believe that you are lucky.  Think that the good stuff is coming your way.  There's scientific proof it works.  In the  book The Luck Factor, by Richard Wiseman, there are oodles of studies on how mindset determines our fortune. 

In case you don't get to it, he outlines 4 principles:
1.  Maximize your chance opportunities.
2.  Listen to your lucky hunches.
3.  Expect good fortune.
4.  Turn bad luck into good.

Below are a a few more ideas to create good fortune that are tried and true.  They are life tested from my time involved in a women's empowerment group for ten years, and from 47 years of what I consider a life of great fortune.  Not really ancient Chinese secrets but they'll make ya go, "AHHHHHH, Calgone, take me away."  These ideas were presented at a speech I recently gave to a fab organization, FemCity DC.

More Ways to Make Good Fortune:

• Focus on what you want, not what you don't want.   This is the law of attraction here people.  It is the foundation of The Secret.  It is advice given by Conversations with God.  It is a principle I've learned in pursuing my positive psychology coursework.  And if that is not enough, Gandhi said it, "What you think, you become."

• Let the Bad Air Out – How do you stay joyful?  Know how to let the anger out. One way is to get physical.  Workout.  Move your body.  Hit the wall with a towel.  Some people need a more thoughtful process.  Journal.  Breathe.  Meditate.  Pray.  Drink.  Just kidding about the last one as a way to manage anger.  Might work for a while but not so good at really defusing the fuse.        

• Make Time For Yourself – Recharge your batteries. As they said in the Calgone commercials...ancient Chinese secret, ahhhhhhh.  We get depleted when we over serve others.  It is imperative to fill up with self care. Take baths. Manicures.  Walks.  Movies.  Lunch with a friend.  Art.  Fill up your cup with goodness.  
      

 • Have gratitude – Studies show the simple act of thinking grateful thoughts increases your serotonin and dopamine levels - those are the hormones that make you feel good.  When you get down with where you are and what you have, you make room for more goodness.  A few years back, I disliked being  a SAHM (stay at home mom), coming off of being a TV executive with nanny.  Then I got down with it and ate bon bons while I folded laundry and watched The View.  I embraced the time to BE, and became the most envied SAHM I knew.  Thereafter, it became the premise of my first standup comedy set.  
        

• Laugh – People who laugh seem happy.  One would think that about comedians, right?  In my travels at Showtime working with comedians, and more recently performing stand up at open mics, I've found that comedians are often highly cynical people.  Not a lot of joy.  But that is one of my goals at the mic...spread the joy.  If you've ever been to one of my performances, you know I have a good time laughing about my hillbilly relatives, my gray hairs, and my minivan.   Research shows that people who have big beams live longer.  Whoo hoo, that gives me more time to create good fortune.  

 

   Whoop POW!

10 Ways to Whoop POW Your Life!

1.  Never let anyone dull your sparkle.  Was in NYC last weekend and waiting in one of those velvet rope, poser lines to buy tix at Comedy Cellar.  Doorman said we couldn't get in.  My friend and I went upstairs to the cafe where there was a band and proceeded to dance in the aisles.  Next thing we knew, a man asked if we wanted to go downstairs to the comedy club and see Chris Rock!  I said hi to the doorman as we walked by with the owner!   Whoop POW!

Comedy Cellar w/Beth Elliott

2. Stand up to injustice!  March in the streets- or just yell at the dude illegally parked in the handicap spot.

3.  Give hugs!  Research shows that 8 hugs a day make ya feel happier. 

4.  Play dress up every chance you get -  jewelry, feather boas, body glitter, lipstick, pretty lingerie.  Lots o options!

Fun at Sax Restaurant in DC

5.  Walk up to the speaker at the meet-and-greet and say, "Hey, you're my hero.  Can we have coffee?"

6.  Invite an oddball to drinks with your friends and sit next to her.

7.  Always wear your invisible crown...unless you have a real one in your purse!  Treat yourself the way you want others to treat you.  Buy yourself flowers, value what you think, enjoy being alone, trust you know best.  Here's a pic of me and the fabulous Yoga Nag Daisy Whittemore at lunch.  Tiaras were in my purse fluttering to get out.

8.  Go big or go home!  Have stand out hair:  streaks, spiked, pixie, glam, wig or BIG.  "Higher the hair, closer to heaven."

9.  Say NO.  When you don't want to do something, do not do it!   Best line ever:  It's just not going to work. If ya can't make it fun or something that fills up your cup, let someone else do it.  Hire someone to help, pass on it, or flat out say NO.  This is your life and your one time to run around on the planet. 

10.  Find your cape - either at the craft store or deep inside yourself.  Or both!  Whoop POW!

I HAD A DREAM AND I WROTE IT DOWN

DREAM BIG!  

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS YEAR?  Instead of focusing on what you need to stop doing this year, think of what you want to DO, what you want to BE, what you want to HAVE.  For inspiration, visit a site of wishes. http://beforeidie.cc/    It started because a woman named Candy Chang from New Orleans lost someone dear to her.  She grieved and decided to do something that would celebrate life.  She painted an abandoned house with chalkboard paint and a movement began.  She has a TED talk, book, and newsletter.  

In my studies to practice positive psychology (POSITIVE PSYCHO here), research shows that writing down your goals, your wishes, your desires is the best way to make them happen.  In the best-selling book, What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School, author Mark H. McCormack describes a Harvard study conducted between 1979 and 1989. Graduates of the MBA program were asked to set clear, specific, written goals for their future, together with written action steps to accomplish them. The most interesting finding was that the 3 percent of graduates who had clear, written goals were earning, on average, 10 times more than 97 percent of their graduating class.

A friend asked me to write down my BEFORE I DIE.  Here goes:

Before I Die I want to tour the pyramids, dance around Stonehenge, be a contributing correspondent for a TV show on a regular basis and get paid lots for it, see my kids grow up to have great self esteem, have a life-long love affair with Dan, have crazy mad fun, create a movement that encourages others to whoop it up to live the sweet life.  

What are your BEFORE I DIE wishes?

Whoop it up...we only have one chance to be on this planet.   The video below is from a TV appearance I did on how to keep resolutions and goals.  enJOY! 

Creative Bubbles and the Art of the Bath

The bath is liquid psychotherapy.  When I was living in London many moons ago, I had an English boyfriend who liked to take baths.  He would sit in his bathtub for a really long time, running hot water at intervals to keep warm.  It seemed really odd to me that he would be in there for an hour, all alone.  I wondered if it was some British pass time that the young chaps fancied.  Routinely, he would emerge from a steamy room, all a-flutter in a terry blue robe, and write notes for a production he was directing.  It took years for me to realize that this lad's behavior was, as they said in Londontown, brillo pads.  A luxurious soak is known for relaxation, and it is also good for producing creative bubbles.  When your body unwinds, mind blocks come down that allow you to be innovative and solve problems. Enjoying a bath is an art that has lots of benefits.
 
20 years later, I discovered the true gift of the bath.  They say public speaking is one of man's biggest fears.  The truth about public speaking isn't really fear of getting up in front of others.  It is about the possibility of being shunned, ridiculed, and alone.  Try stand-up comedy.   Fear in comedy is bombing.  My most uncomfortable bomb was at a local restaurant where a group of my friends came out to support me.  It was pouring, torrential, with weather advisories to stay home, however, five of my buds were there to cheer me on.  The place was a bit icky, evidenced by my friends showing me how their hands ticky-tacked to the table.  I felt bad for inviting them to a dumpy place.  They were soaking wet and sticking to the furniture.  Let's just say it wasn't a good set.  One of the gals even said afterward something to the effect of better luck next time.  Feeling rather blue the following day, I decided to try a cleansing bath.  Lo and behold, in my foamy steep, a meditative trance occurred and new material came to me.  Ever since then, weekly creative immersions occur.  It is a quiet place to write speeches, comedy routines, blog posts, work out conflicts, and brainstorm ideas.  It is my liquid psychotherapy.  And I never bomb in the tub.

Here are benefits to a good soak, according to Huff Post:
Boost Brain Power
Soaking in warm water with essential oils can do wonders for your body and your mind. Using sage oil can sharpen your memory, calm your mind and act as a natural mood-booster. 

Calm Ya Down
Warm baths are the perfect way to unwind. For an extra calming effect, try adding in eucalyptus or lavender essential oils, which have been proven to help reduce stress.

Aid Sleep

Taking a bath is a natural way to induce sleep. Relaxing in a warm tub slowly increases your body's temperature. When you hop out and it returns to a cooler state, your brain releases melatonin, triggering bedtime.

Fight Cold Symptoms

Can't stop sniffling? A warm bath may be a good tool to help relieve your symptoms. Steam from the water can help moisturize nasal passages, help with dizziness and relax achy muscles.

According to Food Matters, epsom salt baths are very beneficial. 

Epsom salt is rich in both magnesium and sulfate. While both magnesium and sulfate can be poorly absorbed through the stomach, studies show increased magnesium levels from soaking in a bath enriched with Epsom salt.! Magnesium and sulfate are both easily absorbed through the skin. Sulfates play an important role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. They stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are thought to help detoxify the body of medicines and environmental contaminants.

Add baking soda to bath water if you have dry, itchy skin in the winter months.

Add oatmeal for skin rashes, poison oak and poison ivy, and dry skin.

Take a mud bath for detoxification. This might not be as relaxing as an herbal or salt bath, but it is a great way for the body to get rid of toxins. You can buy red clay or mud bath mix at your local health food store. Lather up in the mud or red clay and soak for at least 30 minutes.

Aromatherapy (essential oils) is a great way to calm the mind and adds to the therapeutic benefit of a bath. Add 15 drops of eucalyptus to help with a common cold or sinus problems.

My favorite bath infusions, available at your neighborhood Target.  Just don't throw a cart down the escalator like I did once.  
                  

 

Happy bathing!

Cyndy, The Whoopie Queen

 

Enjoy the Every Day in January

Take up your FUN factor by celebrating random holidays in January.

1/3 Festival of Sleep Day, Catch some Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz's.
1/4 Trivia Day
1/5 National Bird Day
1/6 Bean Day, the more you eat...
or celebrate 
1/6 Cuddle Up Day
1/7 Old Rock Day - bring on the Stones
1/8 Bubble Bath Day - I'm def honoring this day!
1/9 Play God Day - hmmmm
1/10 Peculiar People Day - do something crazy on an elevator
1/11 Step in a Puddle Day
1/12 Feast of Wild Men Day
1/13 Make Your Dreams Come True Day
1/14 Dress Up Your Pet Day
1/15 National Hat Day
1/16 National Nothing Day
1/17 Ditch New Years Resolutions Day
 1/18 Thesaurus Day
1/19 Popcorn Day
1/20 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
or celebrate
12/20 National Buttercrunch Day (eat all the leftover Christmas bark)
1/21 National Hugging Day
1/22 National Blonde Brownie Day
1/23 National Pie Day - whoopie pie!
or celebrate 
1/23 National Handwriting Day - have your scribbles analyzed
1/24 Compliment Day
1/25 Opposite Day
1/26 Spouse's Day
1/27 Chocolate Cake Day  - Mmmmk!
1/28 Fun at Work Day
1/29 National Puzzle Day
1/30 National Inane Answering Message Day
1/31 Inspire Your Heart with Art Day