Harness Your Power: Make Fun a Priority!

As we focus on creating the lives of our dreams, it is essential that we remember to make FUN a priority. My daughters, Maggie (pictured on the right, age 5) and Skye (on the left, age 2 1/2) have mastered the art of having fun. They remind me all the time that smiling is essential to life and that playing can be integrated into everything I do. (Just check out Maggie's hair -- if that's not fun, what is?)

As part of the life coaching process I suggest to my clients that they make a point to have fun as they are walking life's journey each day. Why not celebrate each day and make each day something special? Why wait until a future date or until a goal has been achieved to have fun? Each moment of our lives can be filled with laughter and enjoyment if we remember not to take ourselves and our lives too seriously.

Having fun should be something we plan into each day. Fun means different things to different people -- for some it means getting to Barnes & Nobles to read books and magazines for a few hours, for others it means looking around for wonderful treasures to find in thrift shops. Some of my clients schedule time to get together with a good friend for coffee and others try something new like Belly dancing, pottery or painting.

A client I have been working with since August forgot to prioritize fun during the holidays -- she got so wrapped up in taking care of her family, getting to Christmas parties and getting the gifts together that she forgot to schedule time for herself. As a result, she ended up feeling angry and resentful about her holiday experience. As she entered the New Year she took the time to reflect on why she was feeling out of sorts -- and it occurred to her that she had forgotten to schedule time into each day for having fun. She told me that taking time for fun each day, even if it is just a few minutes a day, has helped her to feel greater joy and satisfaction in her life.

I do my best to practice what I preach. I set an intention for 2008 to find a Hip Hop dance class in my area so I could literally and symbolically dance my way through this year. I love how the Universe conspires with us when we set our intentions. I went to the grocery store a week ago and there was an ad on the cart for a local School of Dance. It was an obvious sign to me that I should call them. Later in the week I called 411 to get their phone number. I called and left a message describing what I was looking for. That evening the owner of the school called me back and said, "Guess what? We have exactly what you are looking for!" They sure did -- and the best part of it all was that the time of the dance class was the perfect time for me -- it is the evening of the week when my husband watches the kids while I host my group life coaching call. Just after I finish that call each week I will head straight to dance class to feel the excitement of learning new dance techniques! The funniest thing about it all was that I told the lady how I had found her school. She laughed and told me that her school didn't advertise on those carts-- it was a different school in the area on the carts. So, 411 gave me the perfect # even when I didn't know who I should be seeking out.

Set the intention to have fun all day long. Why not set aside 5 minutes each hour at work to invigorate yourself -- play a practical joke. Stop by the cube of a friend you haven't spoken with for awhile. Do your best to make whatever work you do playful. Life is only serious if we approach it that way. I've learned that the hard way -- and I now choose to make fun my lifestyle.

Will you dance with me through 2008? Will you find time for fun? Will you stop your housework for a few minutes and tickle your children instead? Will you pick up a comic book or your favorite magazine and put your feet up and relax for 10 minutes this week?

Create the time for whatever feels fun to you. As you do, you will feel your energy return. You will feel young again. You will begin to harness your power with fresh, light energy.

With a laugh, a tickle and a smile,

Trish aka Thought Dr.

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Open Your Wings and Fly!

I have always been serious in nature and extremely focused. Part of it stems from the way I grew up -- my Dad was always stern and if my brother and I started to joke around or get too silly, he would tell us to "stop that nonsense." Another part of it is the personality I arrived with -- from the time I was little I was organizing my mom's life, making sure my brother was behaving (well, ok, I was bossing him around), and trying to figure out a project schedule for our family and all my friends in the neighborhood.

The last few years I have been rediscovering the fun that is possible in life! It feels good to "lighten up" on life and simply enjoy myself. I used to think having fun was a waste of time -- it was at the bottom of my priority list. I believed work was serious and that if I wasn't serious, then I wasn't focused enough on getting the job done. I felt I needed to concentrate on what was important in life -- and yes, be serious about it. Then, if there was some time left over, I might crack a smile, have a laugh with friends and spend time on a fun activity. But that happened very little.

I now know that I can have fun while I focus on what is important to me. I can get my work done and have a blast. Because I have "lightened up" about life, I am so much happier. By lightening up, a load has been lifted from me. I feel physically lighter when I am smiling and enjoying each moment. I feel that I can soar through life when I release the heaviness that became my habit.

One day while having a session with my music / massage therapist an image came to my mind: I felt that as she massaged my back she was opening up the hidden wings that I had. I began to realize that I was an Earth Angel and that to fly to the heights I desired, to experience and share love to the extent I imagined, to bring peace to the World and hope to everyone I encountered, I needed to open those wings up wide so I could fly. My wings opened that day. And, I display those wings proudly now. I believe that we are each Earth Angels at heart but most of us have just gotten so bogged down with life that we forget to open our wings.

With my wings now fully open I started to understand that if I felt heavy about life, I was unable to fly through my day. I couldn't take off to soar if I was weighed down by fears, worries and perceived problems. I am determined to allow nothing to hold me back from flying high every day through my life. To do that, I now make a conscious effort each day to simply lighten up. I visualize myself releasing any fear that has built up on my wings. I release seeming problems to the Universe and ask for miracles to appear in my life. I only put those things into my mind that remind of peace, hope and love -- and leave the other dramatic and sensational inputs from the media out of my life.

My life is play now. If I'm working with life coaching clients or speaking to audiences, I am full of joy and having a great time. When I create a new product or write a chapter for an upcoming book, I am full of enthusiasm for my work and the joy bubbles within my heart. If I'm vacuuming my house I make it an activity that raises my energy -- putting music on or being silly with my children as I do the chore. If I have to do something that I don't typically enjoy doing, I find a way to make it pleasant. As I've practiced having fun in all I do, it has now become my habit.

This week I offer you a wonderful challenge -- focus this week on lightening up about your life. Give thought to how you, as an Earth Angel walking the Earth, can bring about more joy to your life. As your joy increases, you will bring joy to those around you. As love fills up your heart, it overflows and touches people you encounter on your path.

To create the changes we all long for in our World, we must focus first on bringing about those changes within. We are all equipped with wings -- all we must do is Open Our Wings and Fly.

If you have stories of flying high through life, I'd love to hear from you. If you are spreading love as an Earth Angel, let me know about your journey. I love to connect with others who know they have wings;)

With Love and Light,

Trish Omoqui

p.s. The name I use when I perform my poetry is Earth Angel. It's my favorite nickname!