New Blog

For the sake of keeping everything organized, I've moved my blog to http://www.irisbenrubi.com/blog. See you there!

The Zahir

I picked up my first Paolo Coehlo book at the airport in Paris on my way home from Israel last month. My daughter had bought two of his books to take on our trip to Israel and loved them.

The Zahir, Paolo explains, means "'visible' present; incapable of going unnotice.' it can refer to an object or a person, and that object or person gradually takes over our every thought until we are unable to think of anything else. this could be considered a state of holiness or a state of madness."

This also means that the focus on 'something that gradually takes over our every thought' can cause us a lot of grief and suffering. For some people it may be income, others it may be the elusive romantic relationship of their dreams, fear for the safety of loved ones, looking for inner peace or may be avoiding all the people in their lives that are difficult.

For me my zahir can be my weight loss goal. You may want to notice where you are so focussed on an outcome or a wish that it is negatively impacting your quality of life.

Happiness Teleseminar

I am developing a teleseminar on how to be happy. I have included my four pillars of happines which are Peace, Passion, Play and Perspective. The date for the teleseminar has not been set yet, but will be this month.

I have had many responses to my survey on what the greatest obstacles and biggest questions are around having happiness in your life. If you haven't had a chance to do the survey, I'd really appreciate it if you could click on:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Vwyh_2fpDIaS3otPAkLYoqEA_3d_3d

and take 5 minutes to answer the 10 questions. ALso, the answer I like the best to #10, will get a $25 gift certificate to Amazon. Good luck and I look forward to your answers so that I know how I can best serve you. Keep checking this blog, I will soon have the dates and the winner of the gift certificate.

Clouds

I am up north this weekend at my country home with my boyfriend. In the afternoon I decided to go out to the dock, lie down on my back and look up at the clouds. I realized that I have never 'really' looked at clouds.

I always thought that clouds move in puffs or bunches across the sky. When I looked today, it was like cotton candy being pulled apart or cotton padding that was being pulled and torn. It was awesome. Something so simple, when I paid attention was awe inspiring and truly fulfilling.

The more I slow down and be in the moment, the more I enjoy and feel a sense of calm and inner peace!

Transformation

Yesterday, I went to see the movie "Transformation". It is a documentary about Werner Erhard. Werner Erhard is the founder of the EST movement which eventually became Landmark Education. I have been involved in education at Landmark for about 5 years. I have found their education, strategies invaluable and have truly transformed who I am and how much I enjoy life.

The movie talked about Werner's life. He dropped out of high school at 18 and didn't continue any formal education. Much of his knowledge came from different disciplines including Zen and the church of scientology. Werner was able to take all of the information that he learned and was able to create an educational platform that helped people look at their lives and transform it.

I am very impressed by what Werner Erhard was able to create and his impact on the world. As my mom would say "Chapeau bas" - "Hats Off". He has impacted my life and 100's of thousands of others' lives. Wishing him continued success and the acknowledgment he deserves for making this world a better place.

Tai Chi and Inner Peace

Yesterday I attended the Richmond Hill Chinese Community Church Family Event. My Tai Chi instructor invited me to participate in the many activities and festivities. Besides the many foods and games available at no cost, my favorite activity was the Line Dancing Activity and the Tai Chi/Chi Kung.

I am a novice at Tai Chi. I started participating and learning about it at my gym about 3 months ago. In the '48 forms' there is a specific move that really grounds me. You watch your hand move from one side of your body, across your body to the other side and then watch the other hand move in the same pattern. You do this 4 times. In the space of the 10 seconds it takes to perform those moves, I am totally present. I am focussed, relaxed, at peace and calm. Everytime I perform those moves, I feel a sense of Inner Peace.

The Queen

A few months ago, my coach dubbed me the 'Queen of not Leaving myself enough Time'. She was right. I was always finding myself rushing from one thing to the next. Trying to get one more thing done on my to do list before leaving for the next activity or appointment.

Since coming back from my vacation in Israel, I have really been relaxed. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have been waking up at 5:30 - 6:00 am and that has left me lots of time to get my work done in the morning before starting with clients. I find that I am relaxed, have enough time to get everything done that I intend to and am really enjoying this easy-going time. I am committed to making this a full-time experience!