On December 28, 2016, I woke up and did my “good morning glory”ritual. It is a super-charged energy workout I call michi-kung. During the moving meditation, I declare and say prayers. These centering charms keep my attention focused on my intention. That is to get centered, stretched, strong, and stress free like a deeply rooted tree. On that particular day, I recall affirming my 3Gs. First,  “I am Grounded.” By loving our lower body and nurturing our roots and wings of light, we begin to know where home is. Second, “I am Grateful.” We count our blessings, not our stressings. And thirdly, “I am Gorgeous.”Know that you are enough. Be comfortable and joyful in your own skin and radiate authenticity. This helps you find a fearless confidence and the courage to be brilliant and be-“you”-tiful.

Suddenly, a question popped in my mind regarding the Gratitude Challenge video that I shared. The  video was about how Leonard Cohen helped me find my hallelujah voice when he wrote the foreword to my first book Mental Fitness: Workouts for Body, Mind and Soul. The question, I curiously asked myself, was “What did I actually say in the gratitude video about spreading heart wings?” I let the thought go, like a cloud passing through my mind, and finished my meditation in motion. Later, on my walk with my zen pup Chado, the answer popped up, by spreading our heart wings to experience H.O.M.E. “Heaven On Mother Earth.” Precisely at that moment, Anita Moorjani’s book title, What if this is Heaven? danced across my mind. I knew I had to check it out.  After my walk, I took Chado home and followed my heart.

I went straight to my local Barnes and Noble to buy Anita’s book. I started reading it right there in the Starbucks B&N Cafe. I immediately loved it and finished it within 24 hrs. The next day, I felt inspired to spread the word and share What if this is Heaven? with a picture on twitter. I also tweeted it to Anita Moorjani herself, and was delighted when she retweeted  with “Yay, Thank you.”

Being born into a famous zen family,  and carrying on the legacy of Sokei-an Sasaki, Zen Master, my great grandpa. I found that Anita’s inspired words resonated with me and rang true to the spirit of zen. For example, when she speaks of “Oneness,” she says, “after all, we are all connected, all part of one whole.” To that point, it is meditation or zen that reconnects us to our spirit of oneness. “Only to learn upon death that all that matters in life is to love, laugh, and shine our light brightly.” Anita Moorjani

Before committing to share this blog, I bought Anita’s wonderful Deep Meditation for Healing-Audio CD and read her first book, Dying To Be Me.  As with the other book, I read it, loved the insights, and highly recommend it. Both of her books are catalysts to realize, as her subtitle suggests, How Our Cultural Myths Prevent Us from Experiencing Heaven on Earth.

“Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make, not a place you must find.”

Wayne W. Dyer

I have not had a near death experience or claim to know what it is like to come back from the great abyss. But I have experienced multiple situations that killed my spirit. (don’t get me started) But after each one, after a period of inner reflection, I came back with a stronger backbone, more resilient, as if I survived a near death experience. I shared some of these experiences in earlier blogs like, My Mistakes, Miracles, and Most Treasured Gem,  and Storytime, Being The Hero of your Everyday Stories.

I love sharing resources, quotes, books, blogs, etc. because I love to reach more like minded souls. New ideas inspire creativity and can rewire us for miracles. May this blog encourage and support you to make choices that allow you to be on the same music page, experiencing more of heaven here and now on mother earth, and to celebrate the pure joy of vibrational harmony.

I recently encountered a challenging situation and tapped into what martial artists call “authentic mastery,” demonstrating grace, precision, and strength. This secret of zen strength is cultivated through meditation. Here is a tale, The Fighting Cock, by Chinese sage Chuang Tzu. It is a parable that will clarify the notion of authentic mastery from a Daoist martial art perspective.

Here’s what happened to me. On Saturday morning, January 14, 2017,  I was sitting, waiting at  McCafe, a newly remodeled McDonalds, while my car was getting a routine check up. I first ordered a hot tea. After sitting a while, I got up and ordered a breakfast sandwich and yes, fries. I returned to my table and got back to reading Anita Moorjani’s Dying To Be Me. I heard a man’s voice behind me greeting people and asking them if they enjoyed their meal. When he arrived at my booth, tucked away in a quiet corner in the back, I observed non judgmentally that he was slightly disheveled and quite anxious. He told me his name was “G for God, Allah, Jehovah…..and Todd.” I remained calm, smiled, and listened. Todd glanced down and commented on what he saw on the
table. He said, “You stole my gift card. Give it back to me.” His voice started getting louder and he stated that he had to kill me. It would be “bloody like a war” if I tried to walk out the door. No matter what, I was prepared to shift from worrier to a warrior. With enough self compassion, I stayed centered and grounded in my breath. Seeing my resolve, he hesitated and then said, “You’re not afraid of me.” I kept repeating the Hawaiian Ho opono pono magical mantra to myself, “Thank you. I love you,” to neutralize the stressing of  being stuck in a corner with Todd and no one else was around.  I simply smiled, mindfully aware on a deeper level that Anita’s book, Dying To Be Me, which I was reading when Todd showed up, was divine timing.

Her words, “Affection for the self and others is the same thing.” That was my Aha blessing. What happened next was, I gathered my things, pressed my zen button to reset and mentally start over, refocus, reboot and relax solidly into the present moment. I said to Todd, “Thank you for sharing.” and walked straight to the front door and outside. With a deep breath and much gratitude that all was well, I walked, maybe a bit faster, back to the Toyota dealership to pick up
my Prius. As I mentioned in the gratitude challenge video, the zen genius sleeps in everyone of us and demands to be awakened. And on that Saturday morning, my zen spirit definitely had a bit of a wake up call.

Polish your miracle diamond of mindfulness.  To spiritually awaken, consider using what you already have, inner wisdom or insight to keep calm, hustle (do the work) and sparkle on living in the light.

Wayne with Anita, Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra

I say a little prayer from me to we got this. Yes, my wishes have been fulfilled sharing this blog with you. As I wrote this just now, I recalled that Wayne Dyer graciously mentioned Anita Moorjani in his book, Wishes Fulfilled. Since the moment is the perfect teacher, I was meant to read Anita Moorjani’s books and share them here. Now is a gift called the present moment, the precious present. Gifts are meant to be unwrapped, opened, and enjoyed. They’re even sweeter when shared with YOU. ZenJOY the moment.

Please share, Tell a friend! 143 you are loved

“The Ho’oponopono process…used to clean and ‘reset‘ the mind, leaving it free and open to the positive influences that are constantly being sent to it from the Divine Universal Consciousness.”

Paul Jackson, Author of Ho’opono pono Secrets

Update: 9/25/18 What the Heck is Ho’oponopono? by Betty Phillips, Ph.D

“Ho’oponopono consists of four phrases: “I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you.” Why would you start out “I am sorry; Please forgive me” when you need to forgive someone else for a transgression against you? Ho’oponopono teachers call this practice “cleaning,” you clean yourself of your own negative feelings to erase from your memory or consciousness whatever negativity is not working for you. You are expressing the fact that you no longer wish to suffer from a current or past problem. In this kind of situation it is normal to want the other person to change. A normal response, yes, but impossible! The only person you can change is yourself. Furthermore, in a two-person situation you will have played some role in the relationship problem even if it’s just a victim. You will be using Ho’oponopono to obtain forgiveness for yourself: forgiveness for whatever is within you that helped to create the problem.

The next two phrases are “Thank you. I love you.” The “you” could be yourself, the other person and/or the Divine. Conjuring up gratitude and love will help you anchor into a heart-based response. The mind by itself is never able to solve negativity and distress, whereas the heart is the repository of positive emotions. Feelings of self acceptance and self love are increased during this process. Ho’oponopono is also a mindfulness technique helping you to live in the present, not in the distressing past.”

Check out FunZen Girls favorite bedtime story for kids of all ages,  Heba the Ho’oponoponoist by my friend, author, Charan Surdhar:  Heba, a Hawaiian fairy, takes you and your child through an interactive, magical and fun journey teaching Ho’oponopono, a healing tool that allows your child to recognize how powerful he or she is and opens up wonderful possibilities for healing. Every child is here to shine!

FunZen Girl, Grace Rolek’s Viewing Point: 

If you don’t control your emotions, they will control you. Being a teenager (17 years of age) there is a lot going on, and sometimes I don’t mean to be disrespectful or dismissive, but sometimes it happens anyway.  Sometimes I get stubborn, and distracted, and then stubborn about the fact that I am distracted. When I tell my mom that we’re going to work on something, but I’m not actually ready, it can cause a conflict between myself and her commitment to the right effort. This struggle between us can get unpleasant, and it disappoints and discourages my mom to see time that could be used constructively dwindle away. But, after a little bit, the storm will pass, because my mom and I know how to use our tools to create harmony. We will say our H’oponopono mantra, I love you, I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, and let it absorb and release the negative emotions to transform them into loving vibes, keeping happy-calm to sparkle on and go from  a worrier to a warrior.

Beginner’s Mind Pointer: Read more at the funzen bakery blog about making that mindful shift from”worrier to warrior”. When you connect the dots by reading more and learning more, you activate your creative spirit. In the words of Steve Jobs, “Creativity is just connecting things.”

Thank you Joe Vitale and Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len and Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, kahuna lapa’au (healer) for sharing your brilliance re. unity with Divinity through Ho’opono pono, The Missing Secret, “The miracle of Ho’opono pono is that it is an easy way to delete what is between you and Divinity.” Zenjoy our Ho opono pono song (below) straight from our heart to yours.

Check out Joe Vitale’s new book The Miracle, Six Steps To Enlightenment

“Even if you have heard the concepts before, Joe has a way of presenting them in new, understandable ways. You are going to love this book.”

Dee Wallace~ Actress, author, healer

I love taking Ho opono pono Silence Pills daily to activate my Hello Ho’opono pono Ti Amo Spirit. ♡X

Hello Kitty doesn’t have a mouth because she speaks the universal language of love from her heart. She reminds us to be mindful, living in the moment. By using our miracle diamond of mindfulness, a mindful posture tool, we’re empowered to find our balance in this dance called life. Our mindful posture tool helps us to feel embraced and uplifted on point. The best part of activating the miracle diamond of mindfulness is non-judgmental awareness, which helps us to silence our inner beastie (inner critic) and be our own bestie. ♡X

“Over time I realized that this “cleansing” takes place in three stages. First we must open our hearts; then, we welcome “what is” with love. Finally, we have to learn to let go of the veil, stop clinging, and trust in the God we all carry within ourselves.” Marie-Elisa Hurtado-Graciet from The Book of Ho’oponopono The Hawaiian Practice of Forgiveness and Healing

The Ho’oponopono Phrase: “I’m sorry, forgive me, thank you, I love you.” You can say it out loud or quietly to yourself.

What do these words mean?  “I’m sorry” is acknowledgment that I created whatever pain I’ve caused or errors I’ve made. “Forgive me,” because I did not know I had that inside me. “Thank you,” for allowing me to release and cleanse this memory. “I love you,” my inner divinity, meaning, “I love me.” Luc Bodin, M.D., Nathalie Bodin Lamboy, and Jean Graciet from The Book of Ho’oponopono The Hawaiian Practice of Forgiveness and Healing

Ho’opono pono Quotables

What do these words mean? from At Zero, The Quest For Miracles Through Ho’oponopono by Dr. Joe Vitale

“Ho’o means to make, do, create. Pono means balance, goodness, correctness, perfect order.  Ho’oponopono is a method of creating perfect order and balance to heal a situation.”

“A clear intention stated without desperation or need but with a childlike spirit of trust, faith, and fun leads to opportunities nobody could have predicted or orchestrated.”

“In 1976, Morrnah Simeona adapted the traditional Ho’oponopono practice of healing in a group to healing within yourself. Morrna was considered a Kahuna, or keeper of the secrets.”

This book ought to be a movie, a masterpiece of storytelling and a revelation on how the Hawaiian healing system of Ho’oponopono works. Barnet Bain, author, movie producer, director, Milton’s Secret, Story by Eckhart Tolle

Ho’opono pono song lyrics by Grace Sakura Rolek 2008

I love you, I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you. Just be here, be now, Home sweet Shal-OM.

Check out my illuminating conversation with Tom Bergeron. In the short video, he shares a couple clues on how he makes his “off the cuff” delivery  look effortless. And, Tom gives brilliant pointers on mindfulness, and TM meditation. Find out how you too can get a zen tune-up on the spot, in one breath. Below you can check out the entire transcript of our meaningful chat.

 It was an honor to sit down at Starbucks recently with the host of “Dancing with the Stars”, Tom Bergeron. He is also the author of one of my favorite books, I’m Hosting as Fast as I Can! Zen and the Art of Staying Sane in Hollywood. When I first read it, I resonated with how he made zen and mindfulness applicable to our everyday lives, with simple wisdom like, Stay present, Breathe, and Be yourself.

When I first sat down with Tom, we started talking, time was going by and then he set a time limit. Suddenly I felt a little nervous. My mind started to spin like a tea cup. I quickly discovered that my Disney inspired Mulan approach of making it up as I go needed to be adjusted. To adjust is to fine-tune and harmonize. I knew I needed to balance the opposites by tightening my focus in the moment, and simultaneously finding my flow by trusting my intuition. I realized I needed to get on point fast, focus on my purpose and ask a few signature questions to empower others to find their voice, trust their vibes, and thrive under pressure.

 George Gershwin once said, “Life is a lot like jazz…it’s best when you improvise.“ And, Tom is a master at that. In order to learn from (Tom Bergeron,) the king of “off the cuff,” I needed to make sure my cup was empty. And I did learn alot. There were many teachable moments.  One in particular, is a quote from Tom’s book  from philosopher Alan Watts, one of my great grandfather’s students, “If you hold your breath, you lose it.” At that moment, those very words became my funzen rock of stillness. I embraced my vulnerability and was encouraged to shift from a worrier to a warrior on the spot.

In his book, he mentions his Zen tune-up which he expands on in this blog.  As I sat there, engaged in the moment, discussing ideas, and seeing life from a new perspective, I had an Aha moment. Sitting there with Tom, I started to feel  like I was getting a zen tune-up just by being in his presence.

Here is his Keep Calm and Bergeron Zen tip for you to stay focused and cool under pressure with courage and fearless confidence.

“What is the art of staying sane in Hollywood? It’s no different than staying sane anywhere.

Be. Here. Now. Don’t forget to breathe. When all else fails, grabs a clown nose.”

What a lovely blessing!

Thank you Tom

Here’s a bit of our Q&A conversation…

******************************************************

What inspired you to write your book, I’m Hosting as Fast I Can! Zen and the Art of Staying Sane in Hollywood

I had no intention of writing a book. My agent at the time had brought it up to me. She said, “I think you have a book in you. I’d like you to think about writing a book.” I said, I don’t know, and she said I have a meeting already set up with somebody at Harper Collins. Oh, do you now!? So I met with this woman at Harper Collins, charming woman. She said, we’re interested. Dancing with the Stars had just become a major hit, and I said,  I’m still not convinced. Let me go off and write about 30 pages and let me see if I feel like I’ve got something to say. I didn’t want it to be a bunch of anecdotes. I wanted it to have some take away. That’s where the meditation and zen aspect was an important through line for the book. So what I did was, I wrote about 30 pages and sent them to my friend, Carl Reiner, who created the Dick Van Dyke show, and directed Steve Martin’s first few movies. And if there’s a better comedy writer in town, I don’t know who it is.  I sent it to him and his wife Estelle, who has since passed away. The two of them read it and liked it. Carl wrote back and said, “All I have to say is more, more.”   I had his badge, seal of approval, so I went back to my agent and said alright, “Let’s do this.”

That’s brilliant. I love that. And the subtitle, Zen and the Art of Staying Sane in Hollywood, did that go along with the feeling?

Yes,  if i’m remembering correctly. It goes back to 2008. That was the suggestion of the editor. Because of the focus on meditation and being present, she thought it would be a nice idea to make that a subtitle; to kind of underscore that that’s an important facet of the book. It’s not just about hosting TV shows.

You give a lot of examples too of how zen has helped you keep that diamond sharp clarity. How do you improvise such witty commentary? Where does it come from? You make it look so effortless.

I don’t know. Where does it come from? It comes from I think the universal pool right? It comes from the same place where a  jazz musician finds a good riff; the same place where anybody whose ever had that flow feeling, that being in the zone. It comes from being connected, being present. Between dress rehearsal that we do and the live show that we do, I’ll meditate in my dressing room from anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes; just to hone that muscle of being in the moment. By way of illustration,  I think I wrote about it in the book. There was a time years ago, I was doing Improv theatre. I think it was a club setting. I would ask one audience member to give me a character idea and  another audience member to give me a situation and I would improvise something. So I did that.  I improvised it and if I must say so myself, it was brilliant. It was just as if it had been written, honed, and performed countless times. It just happened. The audience was like big response. For my agent at the time, it was jaw dropping. Then I thought I’m pretty good.  And in that moment, I f#@!<d it up. The moment I made it about me, instead of the feeling that somehow tapping into that universal pool that I really feel it comes from, the very next improv was horrible. It was horrible because it was my ego. My ego got into it. I was puffing my chest up you know, instead of appreciating  that somehow we had done all this together.  I made it all about me after I was basking in the applause and the very next improv was terrible. It was like I was a different guy on the stage. I couldn’t connect anything.

It was like you paid tuition to use your intuition.

That’s nice, I like that.

When you say “Take a deep breath”, you’re giving away a secret right there. Did you learn that from mime?

I think not so much directly but maybe intuitively or as a byproduct of it; more from the meditation, the TM meditation I’ve done over the years. I had very serious temper issues. That’s why I started meditating initially, to keep my temper in check. All of the other benefits presented themselves over time but that was the initial impetus for it.

 How does Tom keep calm with the Zen Tune-Up? How did you get into TM meditation?

To me, I don’t mean to sound like I’m denigrating TM or any other form of meditation. To some degree it’s like Coke or Pepsi. It’s branding. In my mind, whether I’m using a Sanskrit mantra that someone gave me, which is the case with TM, or a word that means something or breath focus, or whatever, it’s building that mental muscle which is the key of all forms of meditation that I’ve encountered.

You’ve done your homework.

TM became something I was interested in.  I was doing it on my own and I was aware that there was a TM teacher in the area where I lived at the time in the sea coast of New Hampshire. So, I took the course, got my mantra and have been doing that particular form ever since. What I tell people who ask, “Do I have to do that?” No. You don’t. What you have to do, I  think the cornerstone of how to make meditation successful in your life, is not to judge yourself when thoughts intrude as they always do. Just don’t judge them, just….

Be mindful.

Yes… and come back to whatever it is, whether it’s your mantra, your breath, a flickering flame, anything. Come back to that.  Move the thoughts aside and just keep doing it, with the repetition.

 Repetition is the mother of skill mastery.  So, when did you start to call it a zen tune up?

That may have came to me when I was writing the book. One of the lovely things about the process of writing was I had a deadline, which I like obviously. I set a deadline with you. You know I like deadlines.

I need them. (laughter)

It helps focus my energy.

YES. It keeps us on point.

I would wake up in the morning at 2 am. If I wanted to go from one chapter to another chapter, you might note in the book that at the end of each chapter, I tried to lead you into the next one. Something that kinda was a carrot on a stick. So, I was always looking for ways to be concise. It’s not a very big book. The chapters are small. I wanted it to be an easy read. So the zen tune-up, I think, became just a shorthand  way of saying, every so often we have to take a breath. Take a moment, assess how our lives are going and see whether we need to be more in the moment, be more present, be more mindful about what we’re doing and the impact it’s having in our lives.

That’s what I love about talking to you because you’ve intuited it. It’s what you do. Mindfulness is the attitude that you bring in on your meditation. The formal part is the meditation. The mindfulness is you are being present, non judgmental.

Exactly. That’s very true. That made me think you can live in a house, but it’s how you build it, what did you use to build the house that makes the experience being in the house better or worse.

…and a lot of people try to put the top of the sand castle on before they build the foundation.

In your recent TV Guide article you mentioned Jerry Seinfeld. I had a short and bright Starbucks moment with him a couple of years ago. He graciously  welcomed me after I intrigued him by saying “this is a shy to hi moment,” I heard this quote from the zen master of comedy, Jerry Seinfeld,  “Zen is just looking at something from a different perspective, and that’s what comedy is.” During our brief chat, he basically confirmed that zen is all about perspective.

Very true.

That is also what you’re saying as well. When you’re in the moment, the same thing can happen to somebody else but they wouldn’t handle it like Tom who zenify’s the experience as if by magic.

FunZen girls say, “when things fall apart, we make art with wholehearted ARTitude exercising playful discipline.”

“The high priestess of self confidence for the self-doubting. A must read for-well, for everyone.”

Susan Cain, author of Quiet

Updated: 1/31/22

FunZen girls are honored to share the magic of Amy Cuddy’s  Bold, Beautiful, and Brilliant book “Presence  Bringing your Boldest Self to your Biggest Challenges.” Zen teaches, to have presence, be present in the moment with your centered breath and posture. In the words of Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi, “If you stand upright where you are that is enlightenment.” Social Psychologist Cuddy, has researched and discovered with impeccability the sweet science behind what the zen masters, great dancers, and authentic performers, have done intuitively. She engages us by sharing inspiring stories, that both encourage and empower us to help ourselves in challenging everyday life situations where it counts.

What a bright blessing to hear Amy Cuddy utter, “Fake it not just to make it, but Fake it to become it.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Continue reading→

 Artwork, Kiki #LoonLife

  “Charting your own course isn’t just more necessary than ever before.

It’s also much easier — and much more fun.” Pink’s quote inspired this updated blog title.

Spun pink gold~ Aha moments, When Pink was a guest adviser on The Voice, season 10, she shared an Aha zen moment; she said, “clench your butt cheeks” to hit the high notes.  Sounds true, Pink is on point, when we clench our butt or pelvic floor muscles aka a root lock we’re activating our miracle diamond of mindfulness to unleash our brilliant performer.  Our miracle diamond-mindful posture tool embraces and uplifts us on point. This adds supercharged breath supporting power.  Pink  (more bad ass quotes)

My Aha zen moment to switch my user name from @zenmommie to @mindfulposture was inspired by re-defining my purpose. In 2009  I was working with the Schofield family and Jani called me zen mommie. She experienced me sharing zen tools to help her and the family find their quiet center during the inevitable daily storms.  Read more and check out Oprah’s interview re. Jani’s mental illness, her story has had vast media coverage. (Jani and Oprah in Photo)

Now, my passion is spreading the word about The Miracle Diamond, A Mindful Posture Tool. The Miracle Diamond effortlessly helps us align our posture and breath with mindful awareness. When these 2 come together (posture and breath), we can glide into the zen eye of the hurricane. Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind says, “The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment.” My pure intention is simply to clarify how being mindful of posture is the essence of zen.  We can all benefit  from learning how to stand tall, light, and firm from the inside out. Once we make gravity our friend, we can experience levity (lightness of being) effortlessly.

 In the words of Gary Zukav, author of Seat of the Soul, “The most that we can do is comment on the movement, the thought and the form, but those comments are of great value if they can help people to ~learn to move gracefully, to think clearly, to form ~like artists ~the matter of their lives.” 

Legendary ballet choreographer (American Ballet Theatre) Antony Tudor, president of my family Zen Institute in Manhattan, NYC, drew the best out of his dancers.  He intuitively knew the inner dancer’s mantra, “when the body lifts, the mind shifts, and the spirit soars.” Now, this mantra is yours too.  Activate it by wearing your mindful posture tool, (the miracle diamond) to maintain feeling embraced and uplifted on point.

“When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.”

Howard Schultz – Starbucks CEO.

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” Albert Camus

In the words of Oprah Winfrey, “Everyone has a soul story. And there’s something to be learned from every experience.”  It’s a documentary in and of itself to share how long it took us (from winter 2014  to summer 2016) to get this blog written. We’re all in this struggle of life together, and perhaps sharing these innovative tools will ignite your “we got this” creative spirit to begin seeing yourself as the superhero of your own story.  Having a zen perspective is looking at things differently, so we can start to make sense of what we’re going through. Instead of labeling a situation as a misfortune we can see it as a learning experience in the moment, and neutralize it with appreciation. Did you know that new ideas inspire creativity?  Gary Zukav, author of  The Seat Of The Soul, says, “The universe backs the part of you that is of clearest intention.” Turning knowledge into action steps, requires a game plan (strategy) and roots of blisscipline (self discipline, self love and self respect) to manifest your vision. 

“When you choose to respond to life’s difficulties with compassion and love instead of fear and doubt, you create a “heaven on earth”-you bring the aspects of a more balanced and harmonious level of reality into physical being.”  Gary Zukav, Seat of the Soul

Why not start now, to feel that what you want is coming into manifestation. Watch how children often stay magnetized to their wishes until their dream is realized. The one thing children need is our ongoing support and encouragement. Without support, the seed lies dormant until it receives nourishment. The best conditions for your ideas to bloom is to feel grounded, nourishing roots of self love to love others.  And grateful, spreading your wings to celebrate seen and unseen gorgeous blessings on the way.

 Check out Lululemon’s Manifesto to get the conversation started so you feel inspired, and rewired, to start your own inner fire.

“Our manifesto is one way we share our culture with the community. It’s an evolving collection of bold thoughts that allow for some real conversations to take place. Get to know our manifesto and learn more about what  lights our fire.”

“Creativity is maximized when you are living in the moment.” Lululemon

“The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.”Nobel Prize Winning Chemist, Linus Pauling 

Food for Thought: If you find one idea here that resonates that’s fabulous. Just being willing to learn to see the world in a new light plants new seeds.   You are always free to make your own choices. This is key, in the words of Bruce Lee, “absorb what is useful,” use it, make it work for you. Consider being an artist of life, and this is a brilliant buffet of creative ideas to inspire your creative genius. Take what you need, to water the seeds of intention. We’re serving your spirit in bite-size pieces. You are welcome 24/7 to come back to the FunZen Bakery again, and again, and again, for more soul treats. I hope you zenJOY!

“Creativity is just connecting things.” Steve Jobs 

So here goes, FunZen girls took our time to make sure that this blog gets across the message we want it to- the message that you can be the author and hero of your own story. To show you how, Grace and I are sharing some of our own real-life examples of how we use FunZen tools in our day to day lives to share what helps us can help others.  I’m motivated by Steve Jobs words, “I like making tools  that are useful to people.”  In the spirit of nurturing your soul, and serving your human spirit we want to build an online community or Ohana (family in Hawaiian) one person at a time, where no one is forgotten or left behind.  Learning mindfulness with a beginner’s mind creates possibilities to be our best doing one thing at a time to spread hope, deepen faith,  practice self love, self trust, and  remember love is sustainable.

 Warrior Within Strategy: We have both an anxious worrier and an enlightened warrior living inside of our heads.  To apply our spiritual strategy of  shifting from a worrier to a warrior on the spot, we simply need to remember that the warrior is decisive with intention to get to the heart of the matter and be part of the solution, not stuck in problem.  S-he has a zen or spiritual perspective and practices a Tibetan compassion practice (tonglen) that en-courage-s us to BREATHE and smile at fear (and watch it disappear) to activate enough self love to have compassionate clarity for ourselves and others.

Enlightened author, Pema Chodrun, elucidates the practice of Tonglen brilliantly in her articles, books, and seminars. As Kristin Neff, author of Self Compassion makes clear,”self compassion is a more effective motivator than self criticism…love allows us to feel confident and secure (in part by pumping up our oxytocin) while fear makes us insecure and jittery (sending our amygdala into overdrive and flooding our systems with cortisol)” stress hormones. The enlightened warrior chooses to be  mindful, non judgmental and responsible, the ability to respond. By choosing to be “present centered” with difficult emotions like our first reaction- anger, annoyance, anxiety, and impatience we practice having a spiritual or zen perspective. Simply put, we recognize we can get look at things differently.

By staying centered we can gradually transform difficult emotions into unconditional self acceptance, empathy and forgiveness. Gratitude is our magic wand to activate magical control follows mindful awareness. The moment we say “I choose” self compassion we are taking control of our mind. Zen or meditation training can be seen as the art of mental self control or self discipline. The power of our spirit is self control, grit or poise. (Galatians 5:22-23) 

Each moment is a zen second to recognize that we can activate Audrey Hepburn’s quotable, “impossible means i’m-possible.” Here’s  a short, sweet, and to the point Zen tool to mindfully walk your talk;  marrying deep breathing with your intention or any illuminating idea or quote will center you in the here and now. For example, using the simple is powerful  message from Audrey Hepburn’s quote; Let’s reset and focus, Ahhh, Inhale, ~ I’m ~ Exhale slowly ~ Possible ~w/ purpose, positivity and peace.~

Search Inside Yourself Leadership Insights:  “Listening is magic: it turns a person from an object outside, opaque or dimply threatening, into an intimate experience, and therefore into a friend. In this way, listening softens and transforms the listener…And, it turns out that sustainable happiness is achievable by simply bringing attention to one’s breath…positive qualities to nurture, Attention training, Self knowledge, Self mastery, Creating useful mental habits.”

Chade Meng Tan, Author of Search Inside Yourself Leadership

Mindfulness: To remember or check in.  Centering Charm, press zen button: Breathe out ahhh or whoosh to mentally start over, instantly reset.  Now, close your eyes or lower eyelids, smile at fear (and watch it disappear) Focus on Breathing in white light  slowly and deeply to your core or  quiet center,  pixie pause,  reaching stillness,  Long breath out ~Ahhh~zen pause, relaxing all over, radiating white light from your center, dissolving pain, calming  the anxious mind to help you quiet the zen monkey mind chatter to stay focused, clear, present centered, repeat throughout the day to be strong  all day long.

Zen heart note: Pressing our zen button, right below our navel is an instant stabilizer to help us reach the zen eye of stillness in the hurricane. It works like a mantra, to re-focus when we need it most, in the spinning tea cup moments   What we’re really doing by reaching stillness is releasing any ego static to clear the soul channel. Inspired author, Dr. Wayne Dyer, says there are three things that clog our soul: “negativity, judgment and imbalance,” such as regrets, anxiety, shame, blame, guilt. When we accept and feel the dark feelings we can heal them, and return to our original nature (authenticity), and nurture ourselves by detaching from them and letting them go.

 Quotable by Reba McEntire to Activate Tri-harmony:

“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.”

 “If you concentrate on breathing and posture, the attitude of mind automatically comes right and wisdom is manifested spontaneously” Taisen Deshimaru, Roshi -Zen Master

 Anxiety to Serenity Now: Andrew Weil M.D., reminds us “Breathing is the master key to self healing.”  Don’t wait to exhale! to breathe is to feel, when negative or positive emotions arise, feel  the feelings that arise and let them go, release them. This rut buster tool is what our warrior within uses to detach from unhelpful thoughts without getting stuck in habitual reactions.

Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Feelings come and go…Conscious breathing is my anchor.” The gift that we receive is learning to value what we feel.  Trusting our vibes or gut awakens what Ralph Waldo Emerson calls our “creative genius” or intuition.

Brene Brown’s quote, “We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we numb the positive emotions.”  Brene Brown

Zen heart notes: This too shall pass: “Emotions are like passing storms, and you have to remind yourself that it won’t rain forever.

You just have to sit down and watch it pour outside and then peek your head out when it looks dry.” Amy Poehler

Martial Arts Legend, Sensei Benny Urquidez, and his beloved student, Ukidokan warrior, Sensei Nadine Champion remind us that it takes up to 10 seconds of courage to shift from a worrier to a warrior, in the moment, on the spot with internal training.

 Author, Coach, Cheryl Richardson, shares the samurai secret to being “present centered” with a short, sweet, and to the point guideline to help us elevate our potential to keep calm (pause) to weather any storm. 

  Cheryl Richardson says, “If you learn to be still with yourself, you’ll be able to make better choices.” 

Success is a Choice: “Preparation and research are two keys of staying away from stressful moments…It’s all about preparing to face pressure…you’re confident in your strategy (plan of action) and ability to handle whatever is thrown in your path. ” Rick Pitino

Zen heart note: other words that imply still or stillness are, calm, pause, peaceful, quiet, wait.

Out of stress free simplicity find clarity: Create Outer order and Inner calm: “In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.” Deepak Chopra

Reaching  Success Through Stillness,  “In short, a calm mind is a creative mind. And a creative mind is going to bring a lot of success into your life.”  Russell Simmons (@UncleRUSH)

In the words of Michael Beckwith, “Surrender, is the stance of the spiritual warrior.” We have a choice each moment.  Every upset is a set-up for our higher self to teach our lower self a life b-lesson for our comeback. Who will we feed or listen to? our  inner worrier’s voice of fear and anxiety who says, f.orget  e.verything  a.nd  r.un  or the heart’s voice of  love and courage  that whispers to the warrior, breathe in self-love and breathe out gratitude to activate Susan Jeffers famous quote, “feel the fear and do it anyway,”  f.ace e.verything  a.nd r.ise, hence, “No mud. No lotus.” Thich Nhat Hanh

I love how author, Glennon Doyle Melton,  of  Carry On, Warrior,  and Love Warrior, A Memoir, makes the brilliant point that  “We can do hard things…Just do The Next Right Thing, one thing at a time. That’ll take you all the way Home.”  

“My courage will come from knowing I can handle whatever I encounter there – because I was designed by my creator to not only survive pain and love but also to become whole inside it. I was born to do this. I am a Warrior.” Love Warrior, A Memoir

Enlightened Warrior Bruce Lee says “Simplicity is the key to brilliance” and “Knowing is not enough, we must APPLY. Willing is not enough, we must DO.”

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Hi! It’s Grace. This August, I started my freshman year of college. As the holidays approach, I am very happy to be spending some time with my family again during my Thanksgiving break, and I am looking forward to my upcoming Winter Break where I will get to spend even more time back home. As it’s my first year, I’ve had to make some serious adjustments as I get used to life as a college student living in the dorms. Luckily, I have FunZen tools to make the transition SO much easier. With my newfound independence, I really have to make a concerted effort to keep using my FunZen tools. It is extremely easy to become overwhelmed and stressed out when I let things to do pile up.

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Grace and I are thrilled to share this Q&A with beloved voice-over superstar, Tara Strong. Aside from being a brilliant, beautiful, and bold working woman, Tara is a hands on mom that makes staying in the zen eye of the storm look effortless. Trust me, I’ve seen people practice zen or meditation for years and not achieve her level of laser focus, positivity, and confidence. Grace and Tara have worked together in the past, and I am honored that Tara is a role model, mentor, and friend to my daughter.

On a fun loving note, she gets it all done like her character from the Power Puff Girls, Bubbles, “remaining sweet, but Hardcore when [they] need to be.”

Hi, it’s Grace! I’m super excited to share this interview for many reasons. For one, Tara Strong voiced many of the cartoon characters I grew up with, like Timmy Turner from The Fairly Odd Parents, Omi from Xiaolin Showdown, Melody from the Little Mermaid 2 and last but not least, Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls! As a fellow voice-over artist, I find her very inspiring and empowering. That’s why it was such an honor to be able to work with her on a project. I know you guys will enjoy hearing what she has to say.

Did you relate to your character Bubbles? 
Yes! I always loved playing her, so sweet & funny & innocent. Her nature and mine are the same.
Sweet, but Hardcore when we need to be!

What is your favorite thing about voice over acting as opposed to on-camera acting?
Probably the hours! No hair and make-up or waiting. I truly love doing both, but in VO I am blown away by talent every single day, it doesn’t matter what you look like, only how you bring characters to life.

What encouraging advice would you give to a child that wants to achieve their dreams?
If it is TRULY in you, don’t give up before the miracle. Take all the acting classes you can so that you are ready…improv, scene study, singing, etc.

How do you balance motherhood and a busy schedule in the industry?
Luckily when the kids were babies I brought them to every studio! My work hours are typically while they’re in school, so I get to do it all.

How do you keep calm, carry on, and steady your nerves under pressure?

I think when you do anything A LOT, you no longer get nervous. Voice acting is all about confidence. You have to really believe you are great and that you could do anything in that booth…I do get nervous when I have to sing in front of my peers, or even an audience sometimes cuz it’s my favorite thing to do. When you discover how to tame those nerves, please let me know!!

Straight from my heart, grateful to have Tara Strong’s signature, the voice of HK,
on the hat.

HK is for kids of all ages.

“Hello Kitty’s Zen-like calmness and faceless
expression are the major reasons for its appeal
across age groups and markets.”

Martin Roll, C. E.O. of  Singapore-
Venture Republic.

Let’s align our wishbone, our backbone, and our funny bone,
by taking  a HK  FunZen Tune-Up breath drill to be still, listen, & chill.

Stop in the name of love, Exhale
Whoosh!  Breathe in slowly~Soft Pause (paws) Ahhhh~ Clear mind, Peaceful heart, Joyful spirited!

website: http://www.tarastrong.com/

twitter: https://twitter.com/tarastrong

Hi guys! It’s Grace here. After watching Inside Out with my family on 4th of July weekend, I was left feeling extremely inspired. How great it was to see a movie that communicated healthy messages about emotional well-being. It was awesome to see that the idea of learning how to manage and accept your “negative” emotions is mainstream enough to be accessible to kids of all ages through the medium of a Disney Pixar movie. Way back when I was first starting my voice over career and my mom was helping me cope with the stresses that came with the industry, I named what she taught FunZen, and the core lessons (e.g. mindfulness, centering, breathing exercises) she imparted to me are becoming more and more popular. Even though budget-cuts stopped our Disney FunZen project from coming to fruition in 2008, the importance of recognizing that we can choose to go from a worrier to a warrior is coming into the spotlight one wholehearted step at a time.

“Zen is most easily understood as a common-sense approach to all things.” Philip Toshio Sudo

Check out the review Common Sense Media posted about Inside Out and “Handling big feelings”. Becky Bozdech https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/inside-out

Here are a few more personal stories that we were inspired to share after watching Inside Out.

Phil Jackson who endorsed my first book, “Mental Fitness” which has been fondly called a Beginner’s mind, zen manual, served my soul a spiritual awakening with his  wise words, “The way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.” I was inspired to revisit a bittersweet life learned lesson captured from Pixar’s  Monsters Inc. “monster’s scare because they care.”  

We all have a monster (or worrier) and a warrior inside of us. We get to choose who to be, or who to listen to, our worrier fueled by doubt or our warrior side inspired courageously by challenge. Simply put, we’re all gardener’s in training, tending our heart’s garden  by watering the seeds of mindfulness,  and weeding out the rest.  

In the words of ~Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden,  “Surprising things can happen to anyone who, when a disagreeable or discouraged thought come into his mind, just has the sense to remember in time to push it out by putting in an agreeable determinedly courageous one. Two things cannot be in one place. Where you tend a rose, my lad, a thistle cannot grow.” The life lesson is using our mindfulness, the art (or practice) of being aware  or remembering to remember that we can calm down, cheer up, and chill out to make better choices.  Returning to your center doesn’t take more time, it’s a matter of choice and intent to live on point, or purpose, asking yourself what your strategy or next action step is. Like an iPhone or any smart phone, point to where you want to go and click. Where your attention goes you go, energy follows.

“There are no endings only new beginnings.” – Flavia

Looking back to Spring, 2008, Grace, myself, and a few writers had been cultivating the mindful seed called “FunZen”as a show idea. We were waiting to hear what the next step was going to be. In the Fall, a Disney executive producer who originally asked me to share “FunZen”, informed me that our project was cancelled due to budget cuts.  My heart sank, and all I recall that day was the lovely British expression from Winston Churchill, “Keep calm and Carry on” the short, bright, and to the point message helped me feel more blessed, less stressed and buoyant,  becoming my personal mantra. I wholeheartedly agree with English Author, James Allen, “Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.” Practically speaking, unless we calm our emotions we cannot hear the whisper of spirit or intuitive guidance of wisdom.  And, eastern teachings gently reminds us;  “To be calm is the highest achievement of the self.”  Zen Proverb

Now, with new eyes, I am beyond words grateful for how everything worked out. I needed time to get clear on how to communicate the living art of zen with mindful tools for kids of all ages 5 to 100 plus years. Being born into a famous zen lineage makes it a bit more intuitive for me and still a fun challenge to put the enlightened practice of learning with a beginner’s mind into words. I’m curious and enjoy creating new variations like, “keep calm to sparkle, shine, and glow with the flow” wearing your miracle diamond of mindfulness  to feel, embraced, uplifted, and inspired.  May you choose to experience living  at your pace of grace in small steps to activate your worrier-monster to warrior of light shining through those dark stormy moments. This is just one of many ways to be the change, because nothing changes until we do.

We are all honor students to each other discovering how to tap into our creative spirit or zen genius already inside each and every one of us.

Why is calmness so sought after? read more from Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits…  http://zenhabits.net/calm/

Note the  samurai depth of composure and determination known as “Fudoshin” invincibility- read more… http://zen-buddhism.net/zen-concepts/fudoshin.html?headerbar=2

–

Hi! It’s Grace again. If you don’t control your emotions, they will control you. Being a teenager there is a lot going on, and sometimes I don’t mean to be disrespectful or dismissive, but sometimes it happens anyway.  Sometimes I get stubborn, and distracted, and then stubborn about the fact that I am distracted. When I tell my mom that we’re going to work on something, but I’m not actually ready, it can cause a conflict between myself and her commitment to the right effort. This struggle between us can get unpleasant, and it disappoints and discourages my mom to see time that could be used constructively dwindle away. But, after a little bit, the storm will pass, because my mom and I know how to use our tools to create harmony. We will say our H’oponopono 10 word  mantra, “I love you, I’m sorry. Please forgive me, Thank you” and let it absorb the negative emotions and transform them into loving vibes, keeping calm to sparkle on from a worrier to a warrior.

Reba McEntire once said: ‘To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.’

The samurai cowgirl  b-lesson is aligning our wishbone, our backbone, and our funny bone, by taking  a FunZen Tune-Up breath drill inspired by Inside Out!

Let’s celebrate the spirit of  JOY with Amy Poehler who plays the emotion JOY. Here’s a peek of the  INSIDE  OUT clip and

Joy’s POV (point of view) re. FUN. “Joy, she’s the one you want at the party,” Amy Poehler

Hi guys! It’s Grace here. After watching Inside Out with my family this past 4th of July weekend, I was left feeling extremely inspired. How great it was to see a movie that communicated healthy messages about emotional wellbeing. It was awesome to see that the idea of learning how to manage and accept your “negative” emotions is mainstream enough to be accessible to kids of all ages through the medium of a Disney Pixar movie. Way back when I was first starting my voice over career and my mom was helping me cope with the stresses that came with the industry, I named what she taught FunZen, and the core lessons (e.g. mindfulness, centering, breathing exercises) she imparted to me are becoming more and more popular. Even though budget-cuts stopped our Disney FunZen project from coming to fruition in 2008, the importance of going from a worrier to a warrior is coming into the spotlight one step at a time.  Stay tuned for new blogs coming out where we interview Sensei Nadine (see below), a surprise celebrity voice over artist who was the voice of another favorite female superhero, and discuss being the hero of all of our own stories!

Here’s a quick and easy FunZen breath drill inspired by Inside Out!

Exhale Whoosh! Breathe INside ~1~2~3~4 Pixie Pause ~OUT 1~2~3~4

Music Pause ~up to 4 Beats

Ahhhh Inner Harmony from the FunZen Girls 14<3 #urloved

Sensei Nadine’s Twitter: @girlsachamp
Check Out Her TEDx talk: