Happy Anniversary, Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s the week of Thanksgiving. Seriously, I celebrate it every day. Many of you do too, I know.

Me - I simply thank God, The Great Spirit, Source for every breath I take, every face I see, every tear I shed. I’ve said it before – it’s worth saying again – When I open my eyes in the morning, before I even put my foot on the ground, I take a deep breath and say “Thank you for another day – Thank you for the opportunity to serve”.

It’s also the one year anniversary of Welcome to Blissville at Empoweradio.com. THANK YOU to Brent Carey, Founder and Creator of Empoweradio.com, for this gift of being the voice that brings you so much joy. What we focus on multiplies! Joy, joy, joy!

What a year it’s been! I’ve had the opportunity to deliver 50 of the world’s most incredible, dynamic people, from all over the globe, from Detroit to Melbourne - Marc Allen, Marci Shimoff, Brenda Strausz, SARK, Dr. Bernie Siegel, Lori Lipten, Sharon Salzberg, Shawne Duperon, Gene Stone, Judy Davids, Amanda Gore, Jon Katz, Lori Bryant Woolridge and Catherine Hilker are only a handful of the guests we’ve heard. What an amazing array of topics – love, grief, intimacy inspiration, pets, Feng Shui, intuition, meditation, miracles and of course, bliss.

My guests have given a lot of their personal tips for living a blissful life, here's a sampling:

Susyn Reeve – Take the time to acknowledge what you love and honor about yourself and then experiment with being the world’s greatest lovers – share that love with the world!!

Judy Davids – “All things are possible, believe in yourself and seek out support of others. People want to help you!”

Lori Bryant Woolridge – “True masters learn through joy – there’s a lot of joy to be found.”

Shawne Duperon – "It’s not that deep…take a deep breath and play."

Bernie Siegel – “Love yourself, love your body, and then contribute your love to the world. It’s the only thing that makes you immortal – love someone and you’ll be here forever.”

Marc Allen – “Don’t forget your dreams, keep going for them – dream your most expansive dream, you’ll never regret it.”

There has been one common thread, besides bliss– Gratitude. Each of these remarkable people feels a deep sense of gratitude to life. You'll hear that in every interview, over and over again.

I am over flowing with that same grateful spirit, thankful to be the bridge that brought their message to you; messages with deep meaning, yet seemingly so simple; thankful to be bringing even more bliss to you in the next year.

Thank you all for tuning in and empowering yourself with their wisdom, for taking a few minutes each week to tune in and tune up your life – for bringing me into your home, your office, your world, your heart. You are all on my bliss list and I am grateful beyond words!

A deep sense of gratitude brings you closer to living your bliss…

A decade of growth, change and love

This year I did something completely out of sync for me - I spent the better part of the month of December "playing". It was an amazing ending to the decade of growth and change I've experienced. It was also the beginning of a wonderful new decade, one that will bring even greater joy.

Oh, I worked a little, if that's what you call interviewing amazing people who shared the best of themselves with all of us. If you haven't tuned in yet, visit Empoweradio.com and listen to the interviews. Each guest shares incredible insight on the road to bliss. More work - if that's what you call writing my next book, cooking, baking, and shopping for my family. Mostly I took time to hang out with my family, my friends, my pets and my husband.

At the beginning of 2010 one of the intentions I posted on my Bliss Board was that I wanted to strengthen the bonds of the relationships that brought me the greatest joy. Over the course of the year, I focused on creating more opportunities to love, to be compassionate, to share kindness and to celebrate with awareness. Those 4 words have made an incredible difference in my life, especially in this last decade, and I am so grateful for every moment.

As I wrote the story of my year, thanks to the great advice of Lori Lipten, I realized that the story really began 10 years ago. January 1, 2011 was the 10 year anniversary of a devastating house fire my family and I experienced. Many of you have heard my story or read my blogs. My family and I were fortunate to have literally escaped death on New Year's Day. The Fire Marshal said, "Lady, someone up there is watching out for you. 99% of all people that experience the type of fire you did, don't make it out alive." I believed him then. I believe him now. Of course, I write this with tears of bliss streaming down my face. So grateful to be alive; even more grateful that my family is all here with me.

Shortly after that fire, I ended my 2nd marriage. I remember sitting on the bathroom floor one morning, before the fire, praying for a miracle, praying for the strength to move on. That fire was my miracle and changed the course of my life. Never again would I settle for anything less than love, kindness, and compassion. From that day on I choose to live by practicing being mindful and aware, living in the moment, honoring the past and looking forward to the future.

For almost 8 years now, I have been married to my best friend and partner. When we first married, I said, "As long as you are addicted to me, we'll do just fine!" You may laugh at that statement, but it has proven to be the foundation of our relationship. Most of you know how damaging living with someone that is addicted to anything can be for everyone involved. We turned it around and honor each other and our space, holding our relationship and our family, as something sacred, something worth cherishing.As I began this new decade, I set the intention to again create more opportunities for love, compassion, kindness and awareness, shining a bright light on my blissful path. Anyone wishing to do the same can download an official "Bliss Certificate" on my website at TheBlissNetwork.com or this link http://theblissnetwork.com/Bliss_Certificate.html

Your "Bliss Certificate" is a gentle reminder that you choose bliss! Yes the road can be bumpy. Yes, sometimes I'm the Pissed Lady instead of The Bliss Lady. It's OK - it's just an excuse for more bliss breaks!

Here's to living your bliss and celebrating your life. Bliss on!

Just Connect - Share your bliss

Yesterday I had lunch with a new friend, Brent Carey. Brent has created a wonderful, inspiring Internet Radio Station called Empower Radio. Each of the hosts and guests provide something to enhance, uplift and inspire your life. As we ate fabulous Thai dishes, prepared by my friend, Nokki, owner of Sukhothai Restaurant in Oak Park, our conversation naturally led to 3 things: happiness (bliss, of course), love and connecting.

The Dalai Lama says happiness can be found in 2 words - Just Connect. That's exactly what we were doing. In fact, we met by connecting on Facebook. Facebook alone has empowered millions of people to connect more than any platform ever has. Many people have escaped loneliness simply by "friending" someone on Facebook or joining any one of the thousands and thousands of groups and pages.

Each of us yearns for happiness and love. We begin our journey in life knowing nothing less. Through time, society plugs in, bombarding us with untruths and negativity from every direction. One can't help but get caught up in that flow. We can, however, choose a "different" station, a "different" path, by connecting with others who radiate within them joy, peace and love - thus bringing us closer to living and sharing our own bliss.

The Dalia Lama Says "Life dominated by misknowledge will always be unsatisfactory, but that is not a final destination; it means that we can develop wisdom to eliminate misknowledge and then live free in bliss and share that bliss with others."

If you're feeling anything less than "empowered" in life, stop what you are doing right now, take a deep breath, and say to yourself, "I choose a different path, I choose bliss" and get connecting. Not sure where to start? Connect with me on Facebook, Linked In or Twitter! I'd be happy to share a little bliss!