Back To Creativity, Back to clarity

I have a little more life experience, a little more clarity, a little more Growth....

I am planning for two up and coming Shoot's, I like to see them as a working progress though, who know's if they will end at a shoot.

One shall be surrounding my friend's brand 'UgleBoy', concentrating on the Self-Made attribute behind the brand.

The other is an issue I hold close to my heart, from personal experience, both witnessing it in my family, childhood and going through it myself... Emotional Abuse. It is every where and there are different extents of it, a lot of abusers don't understand what they are actually doing, and a lot of victims don't understand what is or has happened to them. It is confusing, like with any mental struggle, because you can't see it. Every individual has a different life path and personality, therefore some are effected more deeply than others. It can cause depression, suicide, psychological damage and stay with, and change people for life. I want to make this invisible and rarely understood yet commonly suffered part of life into a visual. An editorial piece that looks like your every day piece of media, yet tells a story; a real story, a deep story, possibly your story.

Emotional Abuse

Stab my heart or break it?

Are you my friend or faking?

Cloud my view or Clarity?

Go away or marry me?

I want to cry but you make me smile

Killing me softly and in style

Ino, Ino, skin problems, cry to much...

I'm the 'baddy', deserve to crush

I'm begging now, I feel the shame

I've lost myself, you're to blame

I take you back through my pain and you let me

Kiss the wound of our angels once more, then kiss her n forget me

The trauma robbed me of my memory

You feed me your story 'to set me free'

If freedom is to be silenced by sheer ignorance

Then we shall fly like butterfly's into the distance.

'Love is the emblem of eternity; it confounds all notion of time.' Anna Louise de Stael

'Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.' Mother Teresa

'Don't go Changin'to try and please me...I love you just the way you are.' You already know

'The love we give away is the only love we keep.' Elbert Hubbard

'The ideal situation for really understanding another is not so much how a person reacts to extreme stress, but rather how he or she suffers the vulnerability of falling in love.' Aldo Caratenuto

'The mystery of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances. If there is any reaction, both are transformed.' C. G. Jung

'Being a friend to yourself is no mere metaphor or purely sentimental idea. It is the basis of all relationship, because it is a fundamental recognition of soul.' Thomas Moore

Bubble Wrap

Are the majority of us satisfied with a life without depth? without understanding? without answers? or questions? ...I don't get it, I thrive off thought and live through questions. Is ignorance really Bliss? I propose the possibility of ignorance being nothing more than bubble wrap, keeping the enclosed being protected, untouched, safe from the daunting experience that is to be vulnerable. And therefore numb to everything that is real life. Personally I would rather be exposed, I would rather live.

This leads me to the question of do we even have a choice? Are some of us wrapped in bubble wrap from day 1, having no idea that life could be any other way? Whilst others could only dream of being bubble wrapped? & how many types of bubble wrap are there?

The Prophet – Love

“Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.

But if you love and must have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.”

'PANDEMONIUM in TOTTENHAM... police are tired of youth with guns... & the residents are tired of police with guns '

Be the love that you are, Be the bliss that you are <3

"God is love; His plan for creation can be rooted only in love. Does not that simple thought, rather than erudite reasonings, offer solace to the human heart? Every saint who has penetrated to the core of ?Reality has testified that a divine universal plan exists and that it is beautiful and full of joy."

"You can spend, minutes, hours, days, weeks or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could've, would've happened - or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move the fuck on."

Last Day At Work

So excited to start this next chapter...

Everyone at work has been so lovely! I had a fab work leaving do last Thursday, which nearly the whole office made an effort to attend!! (Michelle had organised it for last Thursday as the crazy Juney is away this week). They had ordered me a cake with a picture of me printed on the front, booked a gorgeous restaurant with a fab singer performing, who acknowledged the occasion and got involved. Today they surprised me by leaving presents at the front gate, so as i received a call saying there was 'a package' for me, obviously i assumed it was the usual test samples that i sometimes order in, only to arrive and have the lovely Sid present me with a bag of really thoughtful gifts!! The office had bought me a really pretty and huge suitcase, full of everything you could possibly need on your travels, from a passport cover to a rape whistle lol. We then went off to Starbucks on our lunch. Has been so nice & really touching.

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/local/gym_work_outs_save_knife_victim_1_3434102

My 'Brother from Another mother' got stabbed. Just like that. He is now fine, and enjoying his time off lol, but i hate to think what could of happend! You really do have to live in the moment and cherish every feeling and person involved in it, everyday, no excuses, be where you are.

Practice Makes Perfect So Be Careful What You Practice.

The acronym for 'fear' can mean one of two things: 'Fuck Everything And Run.' or 'Face Everything And Recover.'

What enables you to understand your reality?

'Every culture is based upon mythological substrate that provides a particular basis for understanding and interpreting reality. The ancient greeks gave us zeus, athena, hermes, and a pantheon of quarrelsome Olympians who interject themselves into the human as a kind of aristocratic blood sport. The Hindus embody their cosmic principles in colorful multi-armed divinities such as Brahma, Vishnu, Shakti, Kali, and Shiva-creators, protectors, destroyers, and serene contemplators. The Mesoamerican cultures personified their metaphysic in a dizzying array of figures who enfold and interpenetrate one another: Omeototl, Quetzalcoatl, Itzpapalotli, Mixcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, to name but a few. Christians worship the Trinity of father, son and Holy Ghost, embodying the feminine principle in Mary as well as long-neglected sophia, goddess of wisdom known to the Gnostics. Is it far-fetched to suggest that the deities of our secular age include the superstrings, selfish genes, Black Holes, and big bangs described by our scientists, that define the limits of the materialist worldview?' Graham Hancock

Will To Ignorance

Our thinking tends to circle around established conventions whose basis is forgotten or obscure. Friedrich Nietzsche proposed that the attainment of knowledge requires a "solid granite foundation of a far more powerful will: the will to ignorance, to the uncertain, to the untrue! Not as it's opposite but as it's refinement!"

How people treat you is their karma. How you react is yours <3

People spend a lifetime searching for happiness. They chase idle dreams, even other people, hoping to fill emptiness that plagues them. The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within.

Positive Provocations

How do we go beyond all the negatives that afflict us to experience the childlike blissful state of what “Just is”? Thinking about that question I experienced the total absurdity of trying to push away what was before us; of ignoring the obvious present. And how much we hurt ourselves when we pit our stubborn heads against its wall. For a few days I experienced the state of being in flow with life, of surrendering to its every whim and command, of joyous and willing compliance with the will of The Divine. For a while out there I even thought I had become enlightened! I snapped out of that particular illusion quickly enough, but every now and then out pops the question, what is it like to be in the state of what- just is? How can we go beyond the judgments and resistances, the doubts and fears, the anger and sorrow that strew our path like so much rubble and make the walk of life such a labored, difficult process? How can we simply let go and fly with the moment as swiftly and lightly as a bird? One of the key requirements to access what “just is”, I believe, is to be able to go beyond all emotions. It is our emotions that trap us in the cocoon of resistance, of interpretations, of reaction and judgments.

• Eg. 1- When a friend fails to return our call and immediately the interpretation machinery swings into action. Does this mean he is offended with us? Did we do anything to displease him? Then comes the anger venting… How dare he? Reaction follows: either an angry silence, coldness or hot intemperate words.

• Eg. 2-The bus comes later than its usual time and again, interpretation kicks in. I’m going to be late. The boss will yell. How tiresome to have to work. Why couldn’t I have been rich? And so on…which is actually a lot of blah blah and blah!

• Eg. 3-We appear for an important interview and fail the test. Interpretation is huge and devastating. I’m a total failure. I’ll never amount to anything. I’m so stupid. I hate myself….again blah blah and blah!

Everything- every provocation, every event, every thought, triggers off an emotional charge, because we are a complex network of emotional and psychological needs. We want approval, acceptance, peace, happiness, ease. Each time anything goes against our wishes and wants, we cannot help but protest. It seems so unfair that parents should be unreasonable or that people we like should not like us. So mired are we in our needs, wants and self-centered expectations that we fail to see the obvious. Life is not wired to go along our wishes. We are wired to go along its! Its called going with the flow or being in the blissful state of what ‘just is’. What kind of a world would we live in if we could relate to life without an emotional charge? As far as I can see, it would be a clean, spacious, sunlit world, utterly simple, utterly essential. All stories, interpretations, judgments and resistances would cease, because things are simply the way they are. They are neither good nor bad. They simply are.

• Eg. 1-A dog biting me is simply a dog biting me. Without emotions and thoughts to jerk us around and inject complexities into the issue, we quietly take our shots and go on our way, peaceful even in the midst of pain.

• Eg. 2-Working till 2 a.m. is simply that. It does not mean that we will be tired the next day or that we are overworked or that we need a raise or that we are hardworking.

• Eg. 3-Walking amidst the broad expanse of humanity we no longer busily divide and classify them according to their appearance, gender, the clothes they wear and the language they speak. We cease to lean towards some and recoil from others. We embrace each individual as a totally unique manifestation of the Creator, whole and perfect just as they are, needing nothing at all to embellish them further.

• Eg. 4-A rich and moist chocolate cake is simply that. It is not an invitation to plunder and consume.

• Eg. 5-All the misery and poverty that you see around you is just that. It is no longer capable of sending you into a vortex of anguish, guilt, rage or resistance.

Free of reactions we can get down peacefully to see what we can do about it. If there is nothing, we move on; if there is something, we do it. But we do not work ourselves into a lather of self-righteous indignation or smugness. Becoming CEO at 30 or whatever fantasy you may nurse is simply that. It does not make you the master of the universe or entitle you to walk six inches above the ground. Imagine the beauty of this state of what “just is”. No pain because things simply are. Being rejected in love is simply that. It does not make us not-good-enough or unworthy. An illness is just that. It is not a visitation of evil or a punishment. Carried to its logical extreme it means that we can look at even the most extreme situation like torture or death without flinching or converting the physical discomfort into psychological pain. We experience the moment to the fullest, both its pleasure and its pain, and then we drop it for keeps. In the state of what “just is”, the past and the future simply do not exist, they are completely consumed by the present. Yes, we will access the future sufficiently for the purpose of planning and envisioning, but our feet will always be firmly in the present, disinclined to fast forward either into worry or fantasy mode. Nor will we be tempted to visit the past to rewrite or resist it. What has happened has happened and through the focus of what “just is”, we direct all our energies like a powerful laser beam upon the single task of doing what we can about it. Focusing on what “just is” helps us to see clearly and discriminate between what we can do and what we cannot. We can do nothing about changing other people – the way they behave, their opinion, dispositions and how they feel about us. We can change ourselves. We can do nothing about the past and the future. We can do something with the present. In the state of what “just is”, we earn the gifts of acceptance, clarity and peace. What bliss! Zeenat - Counceling phycologist/spiritual counceler.

'Anyone who interferes with the personal legend of another thing never will discover his own.'

On the other side of your greatest fears lives your greatest life. - Robin Sharma

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but there echoes are truly endless. ~ Mother Teresa

Enthusiasm has its roots in the Greek language; it literally means "the God within"

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain 
way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
-Thomas A. Edison 

What are we without Controversy.

“Far from the glamorous Sasha Fierce, the beauty posed for the magazine with amazing fashion designers clothes, but also in a dress created by her mother. [It is] A return to her African roots, as you can see on the picture, on which her face was voluntarily darkened.” A statement releaseed by L’OFFICIEL

Decoding the controversy around Beyonces photo shoot as Blackface :
History of “Black face”
Popular during 19th century, “Blackface” was a theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows where charcoal paste or burnt cock was used to paint a dramatic black skin tone on the faces of white or black performers. These blackface paint and exaggerated red or white painted lips were said to represent the Black Race. Blacks in general were not allowed to perform unless covered in the blackface. These racist caricatures created stereotypes on the Black race with characters and acts such as the “happy-go-lucky darky on the plantation” and “dandified coon”. William Henry Lane, aka Master Juba, who invented “tap dancing” was said to be the first Black performer in blackface. He was later allowed to perform in his own skin as he became popular. An uprise of civil rights movement in the 1950′s allowed protests from the NAACP which brought an end to “Blackface” scenes on TV shows such as Babes in Arms and Holiday Inn.
With that said you can well understand the emotions flaring around the controversial Beyonce image. It might look artistically appealing but the negative connotation it brings is not welcoming in the eyes of the Black race in the US.
The Culture of Face Paint in Africa?
In Africa, face painting is used in cultural ceremonies like weddings, rituals, drumming and dancing events, traditional festivals and various special occasions. It is also used for expressions like “happiness of giving birth to a child” and many others. Face painting has for centuries been used to identify a tribe. In this modern day and age, we take pride in those aspect of art and culture as you see in many African model photo shoots. Face painting in its rightful representation is the pride of being “African and embracing the rich culture.”


Statement by theFrench fashion magazine “L’OFFICIEL in regards to the image?
“L’OFFICIEL is very proud to present its March issue featuring Beyoncé in African-inspired dresses and jewelry by top designers, including Gucci, Azzedine Alaia, Fendi, Pucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Rodarte, Dolce & Gabbana, Cartier and Lanvin. Designer Tina Knowles, who is also Beyoncé’s mother, created a one of a kind couture piece. The designs are all reflective of the African influence on fashion this season. Miss Knowles poses with royal allure. A queen, a goddess, Beyoncé is a bombshell beauty with a divine voice. We’re thrilled she’s opening a season of celebrating the 90th anniversary of L’Officiel de la Mode. The series was conceived as using art and fashion in paying homage to African queens.
Beyoncé mentioned the artist Fela Kuti in the interview as one of her musical inspirations. It was later misquoted as the inspiration for the shoot. We would like to clarify that it is not the case. As for the artistic makeup, the inspiration came from several African rituals during which paint is used on the face. We find the images beautiful and inspiring.
L’Officiel would like to thank Beyoncé for her outstanding contribution to this celebration of African influences in Fashion.”....... hmmm!?



Levi's hit the headlines recently for its promotion of the new Curve ID jeans line, which reportedly provides denim options for "80% of women around the world" based on their curves rather than their size. Emblazoned with the tagline, "All asses were not created equal," the ads have attracted criticism for "seeming to privilege some body types over others". Levi's argues that it was simply trying to provide jean options for all body types. "Women are so frustrated trying to find the perfect-fitting pair of jeans," said Mary Alderete, Vice President of Marketing. "This is a really personal and emotional subject for women. When the jeans don't fit, they often blame themselves, as opposed to the insight we found: it's really the offering of the denim that's out there that's making [them] feel bad about themselves."

Calvin Klein's racy ad depicting a nearly naked Lara Stone being straddled and held by the hair was banned in Australia, with officials stating they were concerned it sent the wrong messages about rape and violence. The Advertising Standards Bureau ordered the controversial billboard be removed after declaring it "demeaning to women" as it appeared to suggest that Stone was a plaything of the men

What are we without Controversy.

Italian clothing company Cambia Style came under fire earlier this year after it used an image of Hitler in its ad campaign to promote the message, "Change style. Don't follow your leader." Locals reportedly found the advertising campaign offensive and called for the billboards to be taken down, with Palermo city councillor Rosario Filoramo telling press, "The use of an image of a person responsible for the worst chapters of the last century is offensive to our country's constitutional principles and to the sensitivities of citizens."

Jessica and Lisa Origliasso of the Veronicas recently appeared in an ad campaign for PETA in support of the organisation's anti-fur stance, with the pair saying they were motivated to do the shoot after watching videos of a Chinese fur farm. Jessica told press recently that the use of fur in the fashion industry is ignorant, unnecessary and unacceptable. "We don't want to be an ignorant generation, we want to inform people. We can be the generation that makes a difference."

While Diesel's controversial "Be stupid" campaign won a Grand Prix in Outdoor at Cannes, the above executions were banned by the UK Ad Standards Authority, which stated that the images were likely to cause "serious offense". In response, Diesel humorously deconstructed the ads in an effort to defend them. The top ad, the fashion brand said, "tackled society's preoccupation with 24/7 camera surveillance in a light and non-threatening way," while the bottom ad "portrayed a very strong and unexpected image of femininity, aligning it with typically masculine themes."

What does it mean to be truely alive?

What does it mean to truly live?
Am I living because I'm breathing?
Just because my heart beats steadily,
my lungs fill and empty,
my chest expanding and contracting,
does that mean that I'm alive?
Am I alive simply because I can think or because I can love?
Am I living because I can speak, I can scream and shout?
I can cry and laugh and yell,
I can bleed and I can feel pain,
and my heart can be broken,
do any of these things mean that I am living?
For without my heart and lungs I would surely die.
But if I couldn't think and dream or love endlessly and openly,
what would be the point of living?
If I couldn't speak
or shout
or cry
or laugh
or bleed
or feel pain,
if my heart could never be broken,
then I would not be truly alive.
Living is not simply existing,
with a body full of functional organs.
To live you must express yourself to the world around you,
let them know who you are,
cry when you are sad,
laugh when you're happy,
you must get your heart broken and recover so that you can learn the lessons of life.
What does it mean to truly live?
It means discovering yourself,
exploring whats there beneath every forced smile and ache in your soul,
and being the very best person you can find it in your heart to be.

Zeenat Merchant Syal

'It is difficult to believe in self because the idea of self is an artificial construction. You are, in fact, part of the glorious oneness of the universe. Everything beautiful in the world is within you.' Russel Brand.

We are always getting ready to live but never living.

If you have one eye on yestaurday, and one eye on tomorrow, you're going to be cockeyed today.

We are here and it is now. Further than that all human knowledge is moonshine.

Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee.

You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.

Today is life - the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today.

One should count each day a separate life.

If you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven't done much today.

Learning is movement from moment to moment.

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.

I have memories - but only a fool stores his past in the future.

Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.

"Skinny Love" - Birdy

March will always be your month xx

Conceived In Peril

Beautiful, you would both have been
But my angels faces remain unseen
Not a day goes by when i don't ask myself what if?
But i have accepted that to be nothing but a failed mans wish
Every day i feel you both, a part of me you will always be
Don't be fooled by the smiles, i smile only when you smile with me
The love i hold for you is undying and real
Your physical presence may be no more, but your existence remains in the way i feel
Your energy is alive in everything around me
The people, the breeze, the nature, our family.
Every success i make is for both of you
I will achieve in your honor to prove i had to do, what i had to do
Stay with me my angels, i know you always will...
My flesh and blood, my reason, my babies conceived in peril.

I'm sorry.

'If you can concentrate always on your present, you'll be a happy man.'

The First rule of focus is 'Wherever you are, be there.'

"It`s not how smart you are. It`s how you are smart" (Walter Mckenzie. 1999)

Heart goes out to those effected in Japan.

Lets Get Motivated!!! :D Smile and the world Smiles with you xx

'Excellence is in the details. Give attention to the details and the excellence will come.'

'Keep Your eyes On The Stars And Your Feet On The Ground.'

'Aim at the sun and you might not reach it, but, your arrow will fly far higher than if you had aimed at an object on a level with yourself.'

'The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.'

'Perseverance is not a long race, it is many short races one after another.'

'Great people talk about ideas. Small people talk about others.'

To get what you want STOP doing what isn't working!

Blessed are those who give without remembering & blessed are those who take without Forgetting

Food For Thought 7 'Slave To Society?'

Why is it so much easier to spend your every moment working, than it is to spend your every moment with loved ones?

Apparently money cant bring you happiness, so why do we all feel so inclined to earn as much of it as we can?

What are the pressures making us feel that we need to be this way? Surely the days of Social Class controlling our lives don't still exist?

Back 3000 years ago we would work to survive in a natural way, we would be out doors, hunting for our food, exercise, adrenaline. We would be up with the sun, sleeping with the moon, always with our loved one's, sleeping when we needed rest. Yes we may have evolved slightly but we still have the same needs. How is it ok to work indoors all day, barely spend times with those we care for, become accustomed to being sleep deprived, live to be obsessed with a perfection we cant achieve and feel embarrassed to discuss the reality's of being human. Maybe it isn't like this for everyone..

I look around and realise that although we may not have black and white; rich and poor anymore, we still have clear divides. We still have so many small minded people and we are still defined by our career, family and bank balance. Is this human nature?

I have began seeing laws, politics and media as a machine, i find it very easy to forget that it was created and can only exist because of us. This is something that is easily forgotten because it is so powerful. Something that worries me is the huge resemblance that it has to 'God': You don't completely understand it, no one does, it isn't obviously visible in your life but you know there is something there and you don't want to upset it.

I find other people's lives so interesting, even just seeing another family in there home, just being a family. Everyone has individuality and what i call soul and that is clear, you can feel that in there presence, but in our society the basics are always the same, our culture has evolved and that is obvious even just looking back 100 years, we don't have time to get to know our families through and through and therefore create our own means of domestic bliss. We have become accustomed to accepting our every day 'minor' stresses as life; traffic jams, bills, fine's, work deadlines, chasing that 'better' job or 'better' life, fitting all errons into an hour lunch break, basically living on a timer, the unexpected break down of your car, the TV breaking (your means of 'relaxation'), i could go on, and these are every day stress's that people don't even recognise as unnatural pressures. Emotion is lacking, stress is excelling. The fast pace of today is clear in our every action, or lack of. Again i am not denying the individuality of many but most family's now will bond with each other through watching TV, arguing; making issues out of things that aren't necessarily important in order to feel some sort of emotion, getting drunk at family events they don't want to be at. For a family to sit down at a table, eat a meal, communicate and be interested in the communication and want to do it is a real rarity and something i haven't personally witnessed in a long time.

Why would we want to sit down and embrace our family when everything around us tells us that our energy's should be focused on becoming more beautiful, more popular, more ambitious, richer... It isn't possible to be perfect, so everyone who is trying to be is going to be exhausted. You can never please everyone as everyone has different views of perfection. Individuality is natural and beautiful and every second the individual spends trying to be a popular view of perfection is another second wasted on becoming the same as everyone else i.e. boring, normal, replaceable, shallow, brainwashed.

People fear what they don't understand, and we were never taught to create our own life, our own views. We were only taught to understand the way our society runs and to abide by that. Like slaves we are told not to question our worth. If stress and the side effects of stress are such a common thing today then our lifestyles aren't healthy, that is fact and undeniable. So why is it compulsory to live this lifestyle on our planet that is free and belongs to no one? Its not!

To not notice the suffering everywhere can only be labelled as ignorance. Love is pure and natural and there is also so much of that around us, to me it is the warmth in a cold room.

I put it to you that next time you feel down, exhausted or stressed that you look at your life and open your mind, are you really just unlucky and have bad skin or is it a result of dreading that phone bill next week? Do you need to use that phone as much or would you be happier making more time to spend in the presence of those you love? How could you go about making that happen? Are your family really annoyances or are you unhappy in the job you do everyday before you see them? What other direction could you take? Is it really going to make that much difference if you wear the same dress out tonight as you did a week ago? Is it going to make you any less of a person to not resemble those rich and famous? Are those that are rich and famous as a whole even happy? What type of people are these efforts even attracting? Does it once again come down to money? Are you achieving a buzz around those with money because they are more exciting people? or because sitting in VIP is more comfortable than sitting on a couch a foot away? Why are you achieving that temporary buzz? Can that high knock you down lower than you where before just as quickly as it brought you up? Would you rather the fragile and temporary respect of those around you who are also stressing in order to achieve and maintain that image, or be happy?

I understand in this country we need money in order to survive, i am merely suggesting you find your balance, your lifestyle, your career, even your country! you don't have to live here and by these rules unless it makes you happy! Recognise what is important to you as an individual and meet those needs, it doesn't matter if they seem extreme or unusual wants from life, there is no reason for you to want the same as everyone else, except for the fact that you are expected to. Happiness is as much a natural part of life as upset, if you are far more familiar with upset then changes need to be made, two people could live identical lives with one miserable and the other ecstatic, not everything makes sense.

We’re only young and naive still. We require certain skills. The mood it changes like the wind. Hard to control when it begins.
The bittersweet between my teeth. Trying to find the in-betweens. Fall back in love eventually. Yeah yeah yeah yeah <3

Never Underestimate mind power; re-frame your thoughts and re-frame your life <3

Feeling Rebelious!

Powerful make up... Proof that sometimes less can really be more, even when trying to make an impact.

Feeling Rebelious!!

Statement!! stunning!! I love this image, so powerful! Amazing styling and make up!

So much time for dry humour!

'Sarcasm: just one more service i offer'

'Make it idiot proof and someonce will make a better idiot.'

'I can see your point, but... I still think you're full of shit.'

'What am i? flypaper for freaks?'

'Try a little kindness, as little as possible.' '

'No problem is so large or so difficult that it cant be blamed on someone else.'

'I'll try to be nicer if you try to be smarter.'

'This isn't an office. It's hell with fluorescent lighting.'

'A boss is like a nappy: always on your ass and full of shit.'

'Never put off till tomorrow what you can ignore entirely.'

'If i gave a shit, you'd be the first person i'd give it to.'

'If i want to hear the pitter-patter of little feet, i'll put shoes on my cats.'

'Not all men are annoying, some are dead.'

'There is no excuse for the way i am about to behave.'

'Woman who seek to be equal to men lack ambition.'

'If men had periods, they'd brag about the size of their tampons.'

'When god made man...she was only kidding.'

'If you think there is good in everybody, you havn't meet everybody.'

HA <3>

If you want something that you have never had, then you should do something you have never done.'

'Failure is divided into two classes: those who thought & never did & those who did & never thought.'

Everybody Dies But Not Everybody Lives

"There are four obstacles. First: we are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible. But it’s still there.
If we have the courage to disinter dream, we are then faced by the second obstacle: love. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream. We do not realize that love is just a further impetus, not something that will prevent us from going forward. We do not realize that those who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey.
Once we have accepted that love is a stimulus, we come up against the third obstacle: fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. We who fight for our dream suffer far more when it doesn’t work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse: “Oh well, I didn’t really want it anyways.” We do want it and know that we have staked everything on it and that the path of the personal calling is no easier than any other path, except that our whole heart is in this journey. Then we warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know that the Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how.
I ask myself: are defeats necessary?
Well, necessary or not, they happen. When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes. The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.
So, why is it important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people?
Because, once we have overcome the defeats – and we always do – we are filled by a greater sense of euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. Each day, each hour, is part of the good fight. We start to live with enthusiasm and pleasure. Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives.
Having disinterred our dream, having used the power of love to nurture it and spent many years living with the scars, we suddenly notice that what we always wanted is there, waiting for us, perhaps the very next day. Then comes the fourth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives.
Oscar Wilde said: “Each man kills the thing he loves.” And it’s true. The mere possibility of getting what we want fills the soul of the ordinary person with guilt. We look around at those who have failed to get what they want and feel that we do not deserve to get what we want either. We forget about all the obstacles we overcame, all the suffering we endured, all the things we had to give up in order to get this far. I have known alot of people who, when their personal calling was within their grasp, went on to commit a series of stupid mistakes and never reached their goal – when it was only a step away.
This is the most dangerous of the obstacles because it has a kind of saintly aura about it: renouncing joy and conquest. But if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument of God, you help the Soul of the World, and you understand why you are here.”

Paulo Coelho

Related Books - The Alchemist.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change; the courage to change the things i can; and the wisdom to know the difference.

An Inspirational Video 1 - The Law Of Attraction

"Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it."-Eliza Tabor

This statement is interesting and has kind of stuck with me, but i cant remember where i saw it - 'If god is going to send you down a rough path then he will provide tough boots.'

Take the term 'God' Lightly, i find a lot of people run a mile at the sight of it. Trying to define god is like trying to hold water in your hands.

God can be an unlimited amount of different things, views, role's, feelings to different people, the word doesn't have to comply with any written or recorded religion.

I believe in something bigger...something with in us all, something we are, whether that is energy, fate, love or a bigger purpose...so i do think it makes sense that something in you knows if you are equipped for the challenge your facing, and if in the grand scheme of things you will improve or come off worse. So listen to yourself / god and don't be scared of a rough road if you feel you are equipped for the journey.

I think this is a useful mentality to take on when facing potential change.

Food For Thought 6 - Spirituality

' There Is A New Spirituality penetrating our common consciousness, opening us to a greater way of being-something similar to a major upgrade for your computer. There will be new things you can do and comprehend. There will be more information, creativity, and inventiveness available to people. This energy will also cause realities, perviously seperate from our daily consciousness, to be more of an integral part of our being. For example, the concept of reincarnation, time, space and parallel dimensions are already coming into the mainstream of consciousness. The wave of energies that caused the "New Age" appeared during the 1960s and 1970s. It was a wonderful opening. However, the energies tended to be somewhat flaky and not very practical. It was harder to sort out and use those energies. The wave of energy, which began in 1999 and is continuing and increasing into the new millenium, is bringing this new spirituality, which has a greater sense of groundedness and usefulness. It is a much more practical energy and will help people make greater "upgrades" in their lives. We will be more open to new, far-reaching philosophies and concepts.' - Chakras, Auras, and the New Spirituality. (Book)

Far fetched? Make Sense? Raise Questions? Can you relate?
Food For Thought!

Warning!! Binge thinking may lead to binge drinking!!

When people are stressed they search for ways to numb there mental state. They may turn to excessive consumption of alcohol for example - tempting when you feel the need for a pick me up. It provides relief by numbing the brain. At the same time, because it works on the brain in a matter of minutes, it straight away alters the mix of neuro-chemicals, increasing the release of dopamine and serotonin - providing instant relief. So 'binge thinking' may lead to 'binge drinking'.

If not 'self-medicating' with alchohol, during a stressed state, some people use recreational (and prescription) drugs. These drugs trigger a flush of dopamine which increases a sense of feeling relaxed, so they can become highly addictive.

Others will increase their intake of nicotine as they increase their consumption of cigarettes, which again triggers an instant release of dopamine. Some indulge in overeating to deal with their state of mind.

Surveys in the UK and USA continually show that between more than 50 and 70% of people - at any one time- are extremely concerned about the amount of stress in their lives. Furthermore, a 'stress in america' survey carried out by the American Psychological Assosiation (APA) in 2007 showed that job stress is the number one stress for inderviduals.

Other results relating to our behaviours during stress in the APA survey were also interesting - although not surprising. One-fifth of drinkers reported drinking too much; two-thirds of smokers said they smoked more; half of the people surveyed said they had destured sleep; and nearly one half of the respondents admitted to either overeating or reaching for unhealthy or 'junk' food.

A stressor can be external - in the sense that it comes from your senses, something you see, hear, feel, taste or touch - or internal a thought that you hold. What's important to be aware of though is that all stressors end up being internal - in other words, they end up as part of your thought process; and a troubled one at that.

Stress tends to be classified into two areas relating to it's severity: minor and major. The minor areas are the everyday ones that we endure (Traffic Jams, Bills, tiredness etc). The major ones are the life events that tend to be more significant: illness, moving house, a new job, a promotion at work, redundancy, divorce, new baby.

It's interesting that when people are asked which of the two stressors are the most disruptive and unhealthiest, most people will say the major ones. Yet all the research - from the consulting rooms, therapist's offices and kitchen tables-shows that it is the small stressors on an everyday basis that 'break the camel's back'. This is because the minor stressors are so relentless and we get used to the assault, we tend not to take them as seriously as the major stressors - which occur less frequently and usually make us focus on getting through the problem.

'Stress' really intrigues me, because i dont believe it to be something we should necessarily accept as an unavoidable factor of life, why should we? Yet, we all do, we just 'get on with it'. Numb ourselves with substances, laugh it off. This only furthers my questioning of our society, is our culture and guidelines, provided by our goverment, enaberling us to live, or forcing us to do what we have to do in order to survive? To me i see a zoo and i see rules and illusion, the rules and the illusion are keeping the people who were born in the cages, in the cages, or making it very difficult for them to brake free, but it is not impossible.

Related Books - Mind Power By James Borg

'When i read about the evils of drinking, i gave up reading.' - Henry Youngman

'If you're pretty crazy you're in good company, because the human race as a whole is out of its goddam head... If the Martians ever find out how we human beings think they'll kill themselves laughing.' - Albert Ellis. (founder of REBT ) Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy))

The Victor

If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you dont.
If you'd like to win, but think you can't,
It's almost certain you won't.

if you think you will lose, you've lost.
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will,
It's all in the state of mind.

Full many a race is lost,
Ere ever a step is run.
And many a coward fails,
Ere ever his work's begun.

Think big and your deeds will grow,
Think small and you'll fall behind,
Think that you can, and you will,
It's all in the state of the mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.

by Walter Wintle

There is no such thing as reality, only perception (you create your own reality through your perception)

'How should we regard failure? It's a perception and a belief. It's not an outcome and a fact.'

'When you spend your life thinking in a 'distorted' way, you strengthen the connections between the neurons. Result? You become an expert in distorted thinking.'

'Whether your an optimist or a pessimist may not effect the outcome. It is just that the optimist has a better time in life.'

'Men are desturbed not by things, but the view they take of them.'

I absolutely adore the make-up and styling in Kanye West's new video 'Run away'. The message i receive from both the music and the visual is that of the over powering dominance of society over nature. Everyone forced to conform to a way of life that is so fake.

This is an angle/theme i am working with in some visuals that i am currently planning for, the message seems very relevant in our modern world.

'They play it safe, and are quick to assassinate, what they do not understand, they move in packs, ingesting more and more fear on one another, they feel most comfortable in groups, less guilt to swallow, they are us, this is what we have become, afraid to respect the indervidual. A single person with inner circumstance can move one to change to love our-self and evolve.'

2011' New Years Resolution. Always to pay attention to this statement when making my decisions.

A Good Woman Knows What She Deserves And Puts That Above What She Desires.

When Thomas Edison was asked how it felt to have failed 700 times with his attempts at the electric light bulb, he replied: 'I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving those 700 ways will not work, when i have eliminated all the ways that will not work, i will find the way that will work.' Quite a healthy attitude that we can all learn from and a good illustration of perspective. One view would be critical of the self; the other looks at failure as a pathway to eventual success.

The Power Of Thought

'The way you feel on a day-to-day basis is determined solely by how you think. As far as your own life is concerned. It's make or break. No two ways about it; life's a battle - in varying degrees - for all of us. We face dissappointments, worries, frustrations, financial problems, talk of impending doom on the state of the planet, not to mention the trauma of dealing with that other 'natural disaster' - human beings.

Although it is part of the human condition that we should naturally blame other people or our own particular life 'script' for making us angry, stressed, sad, disgusted, anxious or whatever, in truth it's our thoughts that dictate how we feel and determine our subsequent behaviour.' - James Borg

No matter how much you believe in a thought, or how real it may feel, that doesn't always make it so. Control your thought's, don't let them control you. If you catch yourself spiraling into thoughts that sadden you then you are going to be sad, if you humour thoughts of failure then you are probably going to fail, BUT if you direct your attention towards memories and possibilities of happiness and success then you are more likely to be and to do so. Why? because you will have more energy, you will react to situation's more possitively, you will have less stress, you will be more present in the moment and you will naturaly move away from the chains provided by negativity.

'We may not have control over the content of thoughts, but we have control of how we assess them. Your thoughts do not have the power to hurt you unless you give them power.'

It is time to get test shooting. I have done so much research and have found so many inspiring sources, which should make for some realy 'different' shoots. 'Different' being key when aspiring for originality. I am very excited and will be sure to post any new work on here. To take a look at some of my old stuff before i took some time out then check out the link below.

http://www.wix.com/bexmakeupandstyling/bexmakeupandstyling

Keep Learning, Keep Moving, Keep Smiling, Keep bruising....Keep living

'Success is when preperation meets opportunity'

'When we try to push reality to make it the way we want it, were not happy. Anything that argues with reality is stressful'. - Byron Katie (Seen in an article inside the magazine Soul & Spirit)

I can relate to this more than i can anything i have come across in a long time. You can frame your future but you can't argue with your present. There is a difference between possitivity and ignorance.

"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world." -George Bernard Shaw