Saturday, June 30, 2018

Gathering 2018: The Voice

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures.

It is Day 2 of the Mountain Gypsies' Gathering 2018, and as I'm sure you've seen by now, I'm speaking this weekend. The name of my talk is Finding My Voice, and this song popped into my head as I was writing my speech, providing me with much inspiration. Never one to ignore the Capital-V VOICE, I'd love to share it with you all, and I'd love to know what you think of it after you've heard it.

Please enjoy The Voice, beautifully sung by Eimear Quinn (Songwriters: Brendan Graham
The Voice lyrics © Peermusic Publishing). This song was the 1996 Eurovision contest winner. There have been various covers of it since, but the impact of the original performance by Ms. Quinn cannot be disputed.






Want more? This video of the winning performance introduces you to Eimear Quinn and the backing musicians, plus, seeing it performed live is just amazing. I'm impressed by her control and accuracy under such potentially nerve-wracking conditions. May my own voice being even half as strong! ☘🐝

 ~positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~






Sunday, June 24, 2018

Gathering 2018 is almost here!

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures


We are now entering the final lead-up to Mountain Gypsies' Gathering 2018, and I'm so excited! 


I can't wait to be back in the mountains of Tennessee, enjoying the quiet and beautiful surroundings of the Roan Mountain State Park. Come join us in Roan Mountain, TN this coming weekend—June 29th through July 1st—for a unique event featuring speakers, workshops, and so much more!

I will be a speaker at the event, and below is the ad our host Cat Young made for my appearance. I love what she did with it!

created by Cat Young


Why don't I introduce myself the way I've introduced other speakers?

I have a background in using my voice from the time I was a child. I've been a singer, voice actor, radio show co-host, and trainer, and in one of my former jobs, I trained machine learning algorithms to understand language.

And yet, I'm not sure I ever realized until recently just how much the voice is an effective tool for healing, provided we develop and employ certain skills and habits. Therefore, the title of my talk is Finding My Voice, but really I hope to inspire you to find yours, too.

While at the Gathering, I'll have a table representing positively b.e.e. My table will feature unique, inspirational jewelry and other handmade items, including a bracelet I designed especially for this event (pictured above) and pieces inspired by my spiritual journey.

This is your last chance to get tickets, so get them now if you've been considering it at all! I believe cabins in the state park are sold out unless there are cancellations, but there is also the Roan Mountain B&B and potentially other B&Bs, or else hotels in nearby towns. Check out the Gathering's page for more information, and feel free to reach out to Cat Young through the page if you have any questions about the event or where to stay.

I'm not sure what type of connectivity I'll have from there, but if I can get enough signal, I hope to do some updates from the event on positively b.e.e.'s Facebook page so you can see what's going on if you can't attend, yourself. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled!

And just a reminder: there will not be a Fortune Cookie Friday this week due to the Gathering.

See you June 29th-July 1st! 💛🐝

 ~positively b.e.e. is on FacebookInstagramTwitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~

Find out more about the Mountain Gypsies and visit their online store.

Friday, June 22, 2018

Fortune Cookie Friday: A Clean Conscience

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures


Hi everyone! A little housekeeping before we get to this week's fortune: there will not be a Fortune Cookie Friday next week due to my travel plans. Instead, I hope to be able to make an update or two from the Mountain Gypsies' Gathering 2018, either on my Facebook page or here. I hope you'll tune in for some updates instead of a fortune next weekend. :)


Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's look at our fortune for this week:

A clean conscience is a good pillow.
I love that I got this one this week, because the other day I was fretting about something that was making me mad, and it was getting pretty late at night. I didn't want to go bed angry, so I just... LET IT GO!

I slept great, too!

You see, while I believe having angry feelings may be normal, it does not need to take up my brain space or my soul space beyond the initial moments in which I have that feeling, so I just stopped. Once I empowered myself by setting some emotional boundaries and decided that I get to choose my reactions, I was able to clear my mind and rest.

I chose to rest.

So while the word in this fortune is "conscience," I'd take that one step further and replace it with the word "mind." If you have something on your conscience or mind, don't let it fester.

Before you go to bed each night, consider some of the following:
  • Saying I love you.
  • Saying I'm sorry.
  • Being grateful.
  • Not going to bed angry.
  • Asking for forgiveness.
  • Forgiving YOURSELF.
  • Smiling.
When we engage in simple steps like these, we raise our positivity and gratitude quotients, leaving less room for the ugly stuff. We can truly let our souls and our minds rest and rejuvenate while we sleep.

What are some of your tips for a clean conscience or rested mind?

Drop me a line and let me know! I'd love for you to share them. Have a great weekend, everybody! Get some rest! 💛🐝✨


 ~positively b.e.e. is on FacebookInstagramTwitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~

Monday, June 18, 2018

The Buck and Us

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures

Tonight the local wildlife gave me a good reminder to put down the phone and enjoy events as they happen without having to document them with photos or video. I decided to write about it, instead, after the fact.

So there I was, washing produce at the kitchen sink, when something caught the corner of my eye. I looked up, and was startled to see a young buck staring right at me through the kitchen window!

Not the actual deer. Photo by Ken Treloar on Unsplash

I managed to not suddenly move or shriek, despite the fact that he really did give me a good fright. I stage-whispered to my husband, "Fred! OMG there's a deer outside the window! He just walked down the walkway and is right here!"

Fred came over swiftly and silently—I'm still not quite sure how he managed that and didn't scare off the deer—and put his arm around me while we watched the buck and he watched us. Eventually he went around the corner, while we followed him from the inside, then the deer stopped to stare at us again through the front window. And there we all were, deer and humans, gazing into each others' eyes.

The moment was SO profound.

We found ourselves wondering: what is he thinking? Is he really seeing us through the window, or sensing us in other ways? He did seem very cautious and young, like he wasn't too sure he should be out wandering the streets or he'd get into trouble, LOL.

He then proceeded to walk down our front lawn, across the street between our two cars, then over to the neighbor's yard. He walked up her front steps, down her side walkway that goes between her house and the house next to hers, and then peered around the corner of the house next to hers.

And then we realized, things were about to get REALLY interesting! Yep...PANIC! CHASING!

The neighbor whose house he was peering around has a big, gorgeous, black German shepherd named Lilo. Lilo chased that deer right back out of her yard, around to the front of the house, and the buck took off like flash right back across the street, past our cars, up the hill to the side of our house, down the side walkway, and into our back yard. Thankfully, Lilo is well-trained, and didn't leave her yard. Once the deer was gone, she went right back to her back yard. I'd have been concerned about both dog and deer getting hit by a car.

Anyway, we ran to the back of the house and peered out the back window, but the buck was GONE. Can't say I blame him. He probably ran all the way back to the park he lives in, as we're near a large, wooded parkland where a lot of deer live.

Throughout this whole thing, had I stopped to grab my phone, open an app, and get a shot, I'd have missed out on the experience entirely, or at least not to the same level as the experience I ended up having. That I could share it with my husband was even more special, and he didn't reach for a phone, either. I'm so glad we didn't miss one single second of this!

This is a great reminder to experience more in the moment and not worry so much about documenting with video or photos. I think sometimes I like to reach for my phone because I'm afraid I'll forget something, or that I want to always remember something, but believe me, I will not forget this at all!

Drop me a line and let me know what you think, or tell me a story about a time when you experienced something profound and didn't bother to memorialize it in photos or video, but just accepted the moment for what it was. I'd love to hear your stories!


 ~positively b.e.e. is on FacebookInstagramTwitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~




Friday, June 15, 2018

Fortune Cookie Friday: Change of Scenery

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures

Hello everyone! Today's fortune was sent in by a reader:




Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes.

I'm going to start by saying this: If you're content with life and are happy with your role, job, what-have-you, then read no further. Congratulations on being fulfilled with what you have! Contentment is something I hope all of my readers will have, and if you are happy, then I am happy for you! This fortune may not be as interesting to you. :)

It's worded so aggressively, too, which—I'll admit—makes me cringe a little. Sayings like this may give the impression that the only valid place to be is in the front of the pack, and I don't think that's the case at all. I have a lot of thoughts about leadership and roles and contentment and influencing from within instead of from in the front, but I think that's also another post all by itself.

That said, if you're NOT content with your lot in life, this one's possibly for you! It does what it says on the tin: if you don't like the scenery you're in, change it.

Don't like your job? Look for another one.

Don't like your career? Learn a new one and then switch.

Don't feel like you're the best at whatever your role is and want to stand out? Get yourself some training in that role and become the best at what you do.

We tend to make a lot of excuses, too, as to why taking those steps to "change the scenery" won't work for us. Excuses are worth what you pay for them, though, which is...? Yep! You guessed it—NOTHING. If you really want to change, then work on effecting that change. It doesn't just happen by itself.

All that being said: not everyone needs to be the "lead dog." If you're happy where you are, rock on! Enjoy it!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 💛🐝 I'd love to hear your thoughts on this or any other fortune, so drop me a line! If you have a fortune cookie you wish to share, please send a clear photo of it through the Facebook page. Oh, and by the way, I was looking for inspiring books about making changes and this one looks interesting! I haven't read it yet, but I'm going to! You can get your own fortune cookies, too.


 ~positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~


Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Gathering 2018: Introducing Dana Wingerd

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclaimers & Policies on my About page.


The Mountain Gypsies' Gathering 2018 gets closer every week, and just like I have in previous posts, my goal this week is to introduce you to another awesome person you'll see there.

Introducing Dana Wingerd!




I first met Dana at a paranormal convention she ran for 7 years: Phenomenology. Dana's journey began as a paranormal investigator because ever since she was a child, she could see spirits. Her journey includes undergoing an exorcism, being healed spiritually, and coming back to God. Dana has trained with the Mountain Gypsies and has certificates as a Reiki Master and Mountain Magic Healer.  She also started her own business with her daughter, Julia: Like Mother Like Daughter—Shining Light on the Darkness.

Dana will be speaking at the Gathering (entitled Breaking the Religious Chains: True Love), and she and Julia will have a table where you can sign up for a healing and/or purchase any one of their gorgeous handmade soaps, lip scrubs, bath salts, etc., all of which have been prayed over.

Gathering 2018 is a laid back event and a great way to decompress. Come be surrounded by the beauty of Roan Mountain, hear some inspiring stories, attend some fireside chats, be treated to an amazing party, camp out in the Mountains (or get into a B&B or a cabin), and connect with others who are also on their spiritual healing journeys.

Get your tickets here! It's only $30 for the entire weekend of lectures, workshops, and a party at Sorrento's in Banner Elk. (Other incidentals are your responsibility.) Then mark yourself as "going" on the event page, and share with your friends.

To learn more about our hosts, the mother-daughter team The Mountain Gypsies, click here, or check out their Gypsy Stones site.


 ~positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~

Friday, June 8, 2018

Fortune Cookie Friday: Have a Vision—Be Demanding

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures.

Time for another fortune already? Alrighty, then! Let's get down to it. I love this one! 

Have a vision. Be demanding.

This is a GREAT follow-up to last week's fortune isn't it? In that one, we discussed having a plan for success and putting that plan into motion.

Part of the success formula is having a vision in the first place. But how do you create that vision? What if you're feeling stuck or uncreative?

Inspiration sometimes hits us when we least expect it. Or we get a glimmer of an idea and then need a little push to get the ball rolling. I often use a notebook and start doodling. Sort of my own version of a storyboard. Or I use a vision board to inspire myself—a board where I put images, notes to myself, etc., to start to put a plan into action.

But that second part is ALSO important, and this is the part that I adore: "Be demanding."

What does this mean to you? 
Who do you think you should be demanding of? 
Yourself? Or others?

For me, it's about being demanding of ourselves. Of pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones. Of knowing, without a doubt, that we can succeed at whatever we put our minds to, but sometimes we are going to have to push ourselves beyond what we think our limits are in order to get there.

Easier said than done? Nah. That's just a story we tell ourselves when the work gets hard.

Challenge yourself today: what do you want to accomplish? What is YOUR vision, and how will you get there?

YOU CAN DO IT. 🐝

Oh, and one more thing, regarding the others in the equation:

Sometimes, we're demanding of others where we don't really challenge ourselves. Nobody's going to fix whatever a problem is or create your dream goal for you. You HAVE to do the work yourself. That doesn't mean people can't help you, and that you can't establish some kind of standards, but hold yourself to those standards. It may not always be easy, but imagine how proud of yourself you'll be once you accomplish the goal.

Thanks as always for reading, and if you want to have your fortune "read," send me a picture through the Facebook page. I've got some interesting reader submissions coming up soon! :)

Get your fortune cookies here if you don't have any and want to play along.



~positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~



Monday, June 4, 2018

Monday Dance Party: Because I'm Happy!

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures.

Good Monday, b.e.e. gang! I hope this week is going to be awesome for you!

To celebrate Monday, let's all be Happy and clap along!



Thank you to Pharrell Williams for making that song and the really fun video. It always makes me feel happy!

"Because I'm happy...."
(Yeah, it's stuck in my head, too.) 

I hope this helps kickstart your week on a positive note! Want more? There's a behind-the-scenes clip for the making of the video. Looks like everyone had a great time!

Have a FANTASTIC week! 💛🐝

 ~positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~



Friday, June 1, 2018

Fortune Cookie Friday: Bide Your Time

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures.

Hello fortune lovers! I hope you have had a most excellent week!

Here is today's fortune:


Bide your time, for success is near.

This one has me scratching my head a tiny bit. Is it saying to just cool my heels and wait for success to show up? I mean, to bide your time means to wait, but I've never been good at that. :) Let's explore this concept a little more.

Imagine the following scenario:

You really want to launch a new business. You develop a product, and then put it up on the internet to sell it. Do you then sit back and wait to see if it'll sell?

NOPE!

You're going to market it, right? You're going to place ads, tell everyone you know, maybe hold an open house or pass out flyers or business cards.

That said, there is value in patiently following the steps you need in order to be successful, and not shortcutting on any of the stages or materials.

I've read many times that the most successful people are the ones who put in the time to make a written plan outlining not only their goals, but the steps they'll need to take them, and then they put that plan into action. This type of work needs patience, though. Sometimes you hear about "overnight success stories," but most of the time, successful people are the ones who know that consistent, solid effort over time will eventually net the payoff they seek.

I can think of one such example off the top of my head, actually, because I just saw a feature about her: Melissa McCarthy. Did you know she worked for 20 years before she "made it" in Hollywood? She credits her success now with all of the hard work and tenacity she put in. According to the article I linked to, she's glad nothing was just handed to her when she was 18. I love the following quote from her:

"I have a very, very high level of gratitude. There is not a single day that goes by that I don't think, I can't believe I'm doing this. 
"And there is no world where I confuse the fact that I've gotten lucky with the idea that there's something special about me. I think entitlement is a really, really scary thing to possess. 
"For me, it's like, 'No. I've gotten lucky, and I've worked hard.' "

Talk about dedication and patience—and biding time, come to think of it.

I really believe in this model of success. For me, that's the point of this week's fortune: if we do the work and are patient with the process, success will be ours.

What does this fortune mean to you, though? And what are your thoughts about success and how it happens? Drop me a line, I'd love to hear more!



 ~positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~



Reflections on 2020

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See  Disclosures  for more info.  It’s finally...