Category — More Joy Spreaders

Happy Swings

A Bay Area group called Oh San Fran is doing some interesting things to spread joy.

Their Happiness Project 1.o :Swings is lightening hearts and sprinkling smiles throughout San Francisco by putting up simple, wooden board swings in public places. Brilliant.

I happen to be of the mind that anything is possible; however, I do not believe you can swing for any length of time without it lifting your spirits.

Even the process of hanging the swings looks fun.

Another fabulous project of theirs: Forever Stamp. They put up a couple of home-made containers near mail boxes with free Mother’s Day cards and pre-stamped envelopes. Love it.

Bet Mom does, too.

Write Mom

I just found the invitation to join this FREE call in my inbox tonight.  Looks like these two women, Gabby and Christine, have totally changed their lives to become two of the happiest and free people they know.  And they’re sharing their 3 keys to Having Happiness, Love, Freedom & Success.

Hey, sounds good to me.  I signed up.  And I thought you might be interested in it, too.  Visit SummerOfHappy.com to learn more and sign up for the free call on June 9th. Busy that day? Register anyway and get a link to the recording so you can listen in on your schedule.

Thanks Gabby and Christine for spreading joy!

Dana Layon's Weekly Om

If you want to be happy, there are a more than a few things you’ll need to accept, just as they are. The people in our lives are very possibly one of the most challenging things to accept “as is”.

“If only he would do this…”

“Why can’t she just see it this way?”

“I wish he was more like…”

These are not thoughts that lead us to joy.

Cultivating acceptance, on the other hand, is one way to live a joyful life. We have a lot more room for happiness when judgement isn’t taking up residence in our heads and hearts.

Dana Layon, a local yogini, beautiful soul and dear friend of mine, writes a Weekly Om sharing her insights and experiences. Last week’s does a wonderful job of expressing the value of accepting the people in our lives just as they are. Read it here.

If it speaks to you, you can sign up for your very own Weekly Oms here.

Tonight at 7:30 pm at Lucy Activewear she’s releasing book 4 of a 7 book series of her Weekly Oms relating to the 7 chakras. If you’re in the mood to connect with some wonderful people, I recommend attending. Click here for more details.

Here’s the first of several posts on Do It Yourself (DIY) Joy.

One way to be happy is to talk nicely to yourself.  Words have great power. Using positive words when talking about yourself empowers you–words like smart, kind, resourceful, beautiful. On the flip side, when you talk about yourself using words like stupid, worthless, ugly, fat, and incompetent you can bring yourself down so low you’re knee-high to a grasshopper.

Try looking in a mirror and saying both sets of words to yourself. See how you feel after each.

The forward thinking people at Think TV are promoting Talk Nicely To Yourself Week, April 11 – 17. We think it’s an excellent idea.

This fabulous message was put out by The Foundation for a Better Life. I think it speaks for itself.

Images of love from ISpyJoy.com

Valentine’s Day, Love Day, Heart Day…whatever lovey-dovey name you have for it today’s the day to celebrate all things love.

The Joy Team wants to help!  So, here are a few places you can soak up the warm fuzzies:

• Bits o’ love and joy from ISpyJoy.com
• Wisdom of love from LicensePlateWisdom.com
• Organizations working for love from the Joy, Kindness & Love directory

Happy Heart-Love-Valentines Day!

Off the Mat

The Joy Team was honored to be part of Dana Layon’s release party for her second book in a series of seven called Off the Mat: Confessions of a Yogi.

The Joy Team founder Michele Larsen (that’s me!) got to speak for a few minutes about the work we’re doing spreading joy through the amazing power of positive messaging–and billboards. Then I had the privilege of introducing Dana as the amazing, beautiful spirit that she is.

About the books (from Dana’s website):

This series of seven books, embody the growth and transformation that happens through self-inquiry. Each volume encapsulates 30 Weekly Oms from Dana’s online newsletter that can trigger, awaken and shift your life as you know it to be right now.

The title says yogini, but the book is full of guidance on how to connect with others, recognize Self and parent from a nurturing, conscious space.  The books are founded on the principles of yoga, however in a broader view, it’s focused on universal principles of compassion, patience, openness, love and truth, to which all people can relate.

The release parties will continue to be held at Lucy Activewear.  Remaining dates are March 10, April 14, May 12, June 9 and July 7. Mark your calendars for an evening of connection and inspiration.

Virtues Connection

Virtues Project Consulting: Inspiring the individual to live a more joyful and purposeful life; supporting families to raise children of compassion and integrity.

They’re just one of the organizations listed under KINDNESS in our Joy, Kindness & Love directory.

Find out who else is in there.

The Daily Love

The Daily Love aims to show you the love and make you happy. And the best part about being happy is sharing that happiness with others.

Today’s Daily Love is awesome. It talks about setting goals — a popular topic in early January. Here’s my favorite part of today’s message:

Make 2011 the year you break free of limiting beliefs and realize that you have all the internal resources you need to create a life of abundance, joy and satisfaction. … Learn. Mess up. Grow. Repeat.

You can find The Daily Love in our Joy, Kindness & Love directory in the LOVE category.  And you can also find them here.