This past month I've spent quite a lot of time on The Benefits Of Positive Thinking (TBOPT). I have added a few bits and pieces that will enhance your experience of the site:

-I wrote a September 2008 update.

-You can now participate on the site by submitting your stories or comments to certain pages, and rating the stories other people submitted. For instance, you can now rave about what you are thankful for and read what others are grateful for - don't miss Patricia's moving story, "My mom".

-I added a 'social' button at the bottom of all pages, that will allow you to share any page you like with other people via Technorati, MySpace, or Facebook, among others.

Speaking about Facebook, I've been quite active there as I have been finding old classmates and friends, and a great tool to express myself. If you feel like becoming friends through Facebook, then search for me as "Cristina Diaz Garcia" and send me a friend request with the words "Dare To Play It Big" in the message box. It'll be cool to know you! :-)

I have left my art a bit on the side for now, but I feel good with myself and with what I'm doing now; I am internally happy with everything, and that is good.

The Royal Horticultural Society of the UK has set up an interesting web site in which you can find all the information you need to grow your own vegetables: from tips and advice to what vegetables to grow on the season, a number of recipes and a useful A-Z guide to vegetables.

I find this a great initiative in promoting self-sustainable environments. I remember watching a video of a poor community in Cuba, that had started to grow their vegetables in their own gardens and shared them as a community.

Visit 'Grow your own vegetables' and start growing your own carrots... Mind you, I grow my own onions :-)

There have been times in my life when the problems have felt so overwhelming that I felt there was nobody that could really help me. I used to feel lost and alone, with no guidance.

I'm sure you know what I'm talking about: those "What am I gonna do?" cry-to-heaven sort of moments. Few and far in between, hopefully; yet still leaving us with the feeling of being somehow lost.

If you haven't found out yet, then I'm here to tell you that there is guidance. And, even better news, it's within you. All of us have an internal guidance that is simply our emotions. You've got two basic kind of emotions: those that feel good and those that don't.

When you stop and listen to your emotion, you are no longer lost. Your emotion to whatever is happening is clearly telling you what you like and makes you feel good, and what doesn't. Simply put, the thought of killing somebody will probably not make you feel very good, whereas the thought of sharing or helping those in need probably will.

It is much easier to live life listening to your emotions. Now, I'm not saying you act based upon your emotions, but rather that you listen to what your emotions tell you, and then find the best way to go about things. The saying "follow your heart" is not just words.

For this month, should you accept the game, I invite you to do more of those things that make you feel good, what my friend Deb calls "joy pullers", which only you know what they are for you. It might be painting, listening to music, writing, exercising, riding a bike, spending more time with people you love, meditating...

Listen to your heart, and bring out more of those joy pullers daily - see your life get better and better every day! Let me know how you're doing through the Contact Me form!

I purchased the audio recording "Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams" from Mike Dooley (the creator of the daily magical "Notes from the Universe") a couple of weeks ago; I've only listened to part of the recording yet I've been burning to tell you about it... Why, you'll wonder?

For starters, Mike Dooley is a Toastmaster speaker, and his speech is highly engaging. This allows you to fully relax and immerse into the knowledge that Mike offers you throughout the 12-hour audio recording - but don't worry, you don't have to listen to 12 hours at once, it is divided into one-hour sessions, and of course you can pause it and get back to it whenever you like.

Mike is very spot on: "Thoughts become things". He goes further explaining how our thoughts create our reality, how our deep beliefs about reality make us perceive circumstances in a certain way, and how exactly we can go about using our thoughts to create the reality we want. He even gives specific examples from his own life to help clearly see how it really all comes down to our perceptions and our thoughts.

I have already benefited from my hours of listening to "Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams" and I feel there are still great surprises to come through this audio. As soon as I complete my listenings, I will be publishing a formal review of "Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams" from a link on the Positive Tools page.

I believe that being grateful for something is one of the most powerful tools to feel better immediately. Here are the two thanking bits of the month:

Thankful for... each and every single day of my life. Each day is completely unique and it is a whole adventure of its own colour and taste. I am immensely grateful that I am alive to experience all that is.

Thankful for... the resilient positive attitude. When times go tough, I have discovered that not only me, but also many people close to me have an inner well of positive attitude. This positive attitude keeps on shining and brightening up difficult times. Here goes my special thanks to Marius.

What are you thankful for? Send me an email trough the Contact Me form and let me know!

Care to send me your thoughts about this issue's topics? Email me and let me know!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please pass it along to your friends, family and colleagues, or send them to the Dare To Play It Big sign up page. I thank you in advance.

Stay well,

Cristina