Love Always Wins

It's been a long time since I posted anything on this blog, but I've been thinking about bringing it back to life for a while now. Today is that day. And today is that day because I want to share my two cents on this whole thing about Marriage Equality

I watch my Facebook news feed and I feel proud, proud to be European, proud that I have so many people in my life that believe in love. Because love is what this is all about. It has nothing to do with God, Allah, Buddha or whatever you believe in, and it has nothing to do with politics. At least not if we get to the core of things, into the depth of it. When we dig deep we find that it is all about feelings. It is about feelings of love; for the people that want to marry the person they love that happens to have the same gender. It is about feelings of love for the people who support those people. It is about love and belief in that everybody is equal on this earth.

I see my Facebook wall fill up with colourful profile pictures to celebrate the decision that same-sex marriages are now legal all over the United States. And I feel proud to be European. Because 99 % of those colourful profile pictures are European. A few are Canadian, or Australian, but very few are American. I am proud I am European. And yes, for obvious reasons I have a lot of European friends, but I have a lot of American friends too, maybe even more than European.

I believe in every person's right to believe what they believe even when it doesn't line up with my views or beliefs. I am not saying that one is right and the other is wrong. If it works for you, please, go with it. If it makes you happy, you can believe whatever you want to. This is a right we have in most parts of the world. The right to believe in whatever we want to believe.

The same goes for the rights to think whatever you think about same-sex people getting married. you have the right to believe what you believe. Isn't that a fantastic feeling to know that?

Now, the way I see it this is all about love. Love for one another. Love for life. Love for a person, or love for people in general. To me there is only one kind of love, the unconditional kind. If you truly love someone you do it unconditionally. If you have conditions for loving someone it is not true love. Loving one person or loving people in general makes no difference. It is not love if you have conditions.

If you say you love people, as long as they are straight, or as long as they believe in what you believe in, you do not love people, you love your opinions.

If you say you have nothing against homosexuals, but you don't believe they should be allowed to marry each other, you have something against homosexuals, and you don't love people - you have conditions, and love comes without conditions.

If you love someone, no matter who that person is, you want that person to be as happy as can be. Even it breaks your heart the happiness of someone you love is what matters. If you love someone you support them in what they want even if it doesn't line up with what you believe or want.

Because love is unconditional, otherwise it is not love.

Now, even if you do not agree with me, I am not going to stop loving you. Even if you believe in a God, and I don't, I don't judge you. You believe in what you want, and I believe in what I want. Even if I don't want to marry someone of my own sex, I think that you should have the right to if you want to, or I should have the right to if I want to. Even if I am white, female, straight, European, non-religious, meat-eater and short doesn't mean I do not love you because you're not. You can be green, transgender, an alien, have 54 gods, eat only seeds and be shorter or taller than me. I simply do not care. I can still love you. I will still love you in general until I get to know you in person, then I will love you specifically.

I have been watching my Facebook news feed shine with all the colours of the rainbow today, and I do not know why but it's been mainly the Europeans painting my world. Maybe it is too sensitive for Americans to show their support, I do not know.

All I know is that it is about love, and that true love is unconditional.

No matter who you are, what you believe in, or who you love I urge you to think about what makes you you. My belief is that it is how you love that makes you you.

Do you have conditions, or do you love unconditionally? That is the big question here. Do you hide behind a religion, or fear of the unknown? Then you do not trust in true love, or you do not understand what true love is.

Take a leap of faith, not in a God, or in a political view, but in love.

Believe in love. Unconditional love. Because unconditional love always wins.


Love//Carina

It's a wonderful life!

Almost three months ago I started a new job, and I love it. Not just the job itself, but my collegues and the company are all fantastic. I am well paid and I am now going through the process of spending money on material things I wanted for a while, but don't really need. And I'm loving it. I can already feel that the urge to spend in decreasing. Another month or two and I will be content enough and I will start saving.

I have got a few trips to look forward to next year. First up will be a short trip to Sweden in January with my son, after that a trip to Italy with my Sweetie, and hopefully there will be another trip to Sweden during the summer. Hopefully for a family reunion, but it all depends on wether my cousins that are shattered all over the world can all join at the same time. Time will tell!

I have noticed a drop in my creativity during the summer, probably due to the heat, but I am now feeling an increase again. Hoooray!! I think a part of the drop had to do with my laptop becoming extremely hot adding to the already existing heat. But, it has now cooled down a bit, even though it is still very warm and nice outside, and also I bought myself a tablet whkch makes it a lot easier to write and post new posts frequently. Even though the writing itself it a bit more time consuming the total amount of time is less.

The pic is of the home made pizza I made for the monthly Girly Night this past Saturday. It's a low-carb pizza, with the base made of almond flour and grated cheese, and it is abdolutely delicious!

Love//
Carina

"Waiting to develop courage is just another form of procrastination. The most successful people take action while they're afraid!" - Bev James

How true this is! I am an expert procrastinator sometimes, especially when there is something I don't want to do, but also when there is something I am scared of doing for one reason or another.

I might want to do it, but I might be afraid that I won't do it well enough, or that I might fail completely. Or I want to do it but what will happen if I actually managed to do it, will it change my life, or even me? Will people look at me differently if I fail or succeed than they do now? Maybe I have expressed strong opinions about something, but along the way of life I have come to realise that it might be as I thought, and maybe people around me will judge me for changing my opinions? Maybe you are afraid that if you do this thing you keep avoiding to do you will lose yourself and who you are?

The list why we put up doing something can be long, but it almost always comes down to fear of some sort. But here's the thing; If you don't do it, you will never know what could come of it! This thing will be an important step in your life. Everything you chose to do, and everything you chose to not do are important steps in your life. It will change you even when you decide not to do something. It is always a matter of choice, and every choice is life changing. Even choices to not act!

The difference between putting something off and doing something is huge though. When you put something off, or when you chose not to do something because you are afraid of doing it, it will keep hanging over you for a long time, maybe for the rest of your life. But when you something, no matter if you fail or succeed in doing it, you can always feel proud for having tried. And that is success, right there!

In other words, if you try you succeed!

So if you have got something you want to do, or need to do, or should do just do it. Now that if you at least try and do your best, you will never ever go wrong.

And of course, always, always, always keep your main goal in sight. Never lose track of who you are inside even when you do something that you might not want to do. Everything you do will help you forward, will you reach your goals as long as you have your main goal in focus while doing it.

This means that you can NEVER go wrong! EVER!!!

"Waiting to develop courage is just another form of procrastination. The most successful people take action while they're afraid!" - Bev James

The results might not be what you expected, but it will always be good for you in the end if you keep this in mind.

Carina

Diary

I just love my new life!
I love my new job, my new friends, my new wages!
I love the new me!

Because I feel like a brand new person. I have more energy and are able to actually enjoy my free time now, before I was always so tired that I hated even thinking about doing something. Now, I enjoy doing things.

This past weekend I was a busy bee on the Saturday, I did some washing, I cleaned the house, did the shopping, baked a cake and cooked. All before my monthly Girly Night with films, face mask, foot bath, nice food and popcorn with my good friend C. It was an amazing feeling to have that kind of energy. It has been a long time.

And today I got my first wage, "only" for half a month, but still it is more money in one lump than I have had for a year and a half. Nice.

I'm feeling alive again. Not only do I feel like I can enjoy the times I am not working, but I also have the money to actually do something during those times as well.

The only thing I haven't been doing much of lately is writing, but I think I just need to settle in this new life first.Also, I have an "old" laptop, and it gets extremely hot this time of year, and since I have it on my lap I get extremely hot too. Right now I am sweating like a pig. Hahaha, nice ha! It is 30 degrees (Celsius) in here as it is anyway, with this laptop on my lap it gets warmer than that. So, only a short moment at a time. And also, I do sit in front of computer screens all days, so some days I just don't feel like sitting in front of one when I come home.

Anyway, I am sure the inspiration will show up when it gets cooler again.

Tonight will be pizza night, a simple way to celebrate.

Love
Carina

Diary

I just realised that I haven't said anything about my new job yet, and how it is! But first I want to mention the fact that I have posted two music videos in a row, coming from sadness. Just because you have a positive view of life doesn't mean you can't be sad when sad things happen. Of course you can! And you should! All emotions are of importance. Death will remind you of living. Tears will remind you of laughter. And so on! Not at that exact instant, but when it starts to settle.

The important thing to remember is not to get stuck there. It is important to remember to look forward and remember your bliss.

On that note it is time for me to tell you how incredibly happy I am at my new job. I am still in training (for 4 weeks), but the job I will do is fascinating and I know I will enjoy it tremendously. But it is not only that I love (yes I use the strong word love already) what I will be doing, it is everything. When I walk in through the doors I feel at home, I feel embraced by warm welcoming feeling. People are nice, helpful, pleasant and relaxed. Happy. The values and the attitude are completely in line with my own personal beliefs about life in whole. It's the Fish Philosophy; Play (Have fun), Make their day (leave the customers and the co-workers happy every time), Be there (be present where you are NOW), and Choose your attitude (make a deliberate decision). Everybody is equal, it is One for all and All for one.

A couple of months ago I stumbled upon a company called Mindvalley. They have the same kind of attitude and they are one of the best workplaces in the world according to some competion. While reading up on them I said to myself, and my son, that that's the kind of company I want to work for. Well, my new job is not one of the best workplaces in the world (yet), but it is one of the best workplaces in Spain. I am sure they have the possibility (and the ambition) to be on the top list in the world. And I for one is planning to be a part of it.

This just goes to show that you should dream. Not dwell on your dreams, just notice them and let them go again, and soon enough they will come true!

I am so happy!

Love
Carina

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad should have turned 65 today, sadly his last birthday was his 60th. We played this song at his funeral for several reasons. He really liked Smokie, and their version of this song is absolutely wonderful, but he was also a sailor in his youth. I am sure he is sailing the energies to be near all the people he loved.




Happy Birthday, my sweet, loving Dad! You are forever in my heart. You are a big part of who I am today, without you I wouldn't be me, in so many ways. I miss you every day, even though I also feel that you are present every day. I love you until Eternity, just as I know you love me until Eternity! Thank you for being my Dad!

Love
Carina

Sunday Music Time - Sorrow

I woke up this morning to the news that my favourite Glee actor, Cory Monteith, is dead. And for some reason it hit me straight in my heart. I told you a few weeks ago that I am a Gleek, and Cory is the biggest reason why. I love his charisma, his voice, his vulnerability, his acting, his charm and his cute looks.

My plan for today was to post a happy song, because I am very happy. Yesterday was my last day at my old job at the café, the end what has been for the last two plus years. Tomorrow is my first day at my new job, at the customer service, and the beginning of what is to come. But I decided to dedicate this post to Cory instead.

This is the first song I ever heard him sing, he is rough because he wasn't a singer before Glee, and  love it. It is far from his best performance, but it is a song I really like.





My thoughts go out to his co-star and girlriend Lea Michele, his family, friends and the rest of his fans.
Rest In Peace, Cory, and thank you for bringing a lot of laughter, singing and tears into my life.

Love
Carina

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude" - Maya Angelou

I mentioned the other day that I was hoping to share some good news with you this week. And indeed I do have good news, although not the exact good news I was planning on sharing with you. Anyway, good news are good news.

I have done a lot of work on my attitude for this good news to come my way. A few months ago I would have had split feelings about it, but now I absolutely love it. So, what is it?? I just landed a new job. It is an ordinary job, working at a customer service. But it is a good job, a good company that has a lot of focus on both costumer care and staff care. Exactly how I like it! And I start on Monday already.

So what did I have to work on to get this job? Well, I had a lot of negative feelings about phone work, due to a previous job I've had. But I have felt more and more for some time that it is time for me to move on, from my current job. However, I do not believe in leaving things to move from them, I believe in moving towards something new and better. I still love my current job, and my bosses are some of the best people in the world, and I have had such a great time working with and for them. So how do I move forward to something better than that. All I knew was that I felt stuck, and even though I love my job there is nowhere to go within it. That was a fact that I couldn't change. But leaving there was a thought that scared me, so I had to change my attitude about it.

I sat down and gave it a thorough thought what I wanted that I do not have at my current job. And I thought about what I like with my current job and would love to improve even more with my next job. And I realised that I wanted to send my CV in to this company.

However, like I said I had a lot of negative thoughts and feelings about that kind of job. So I started out by comparing this new job, with the job that gave me all those thoughts and feelings, to see what actually is the same. And not many things are, as it turns out.

So, I used some EFT on the areas that I needed to change my attitude in. Like, working full time. Or, doing daytime job monday to friday. And that a job sitting down will make me fat. After using EFT on these areas, I started to look at things differently. And I realised that I am actually quite bored NOT working full time, and if I work monday to friday I will have the whole weekends off with my Sweetie, instead of only Sundays as it has been for almost all of our relationship. And I realised that it is not the sitting down that makes me "fat", because I spend a lot of my days off (I've hade 4 days off every week for the past two and half years) sitting down and I am slimmer on those days than I am on the days I work (when I stand up the whole day).

So, having started to realise those things I sent my CV in. They weren't currently looking for staff, but the hire every now and then. And on Monday this week I got a call asking if I was interested in coming in for an interview on the Tuesday. And after that interview it took only half an hour until they called and offered me the job.

I will be working Monday to Friday! Welcome free weekends!! I will more than double my wages! Welcome savings account, and spending time! Welcome shopping! I will not even have to work the same hours every single day, but will work in a weekly three shift (early, middle, late one week at a time). I have always wanted to work that way because I get bored when it is the same routine day after day. And I will have to either walk or ride my bike two out of three weeks, since it will be either too early or too late for the bus. This means I get my daily exercise built in in my daily routine.

So, to sum this up! I didn't like my situation, so I change it. But, at first I didn't like my options, but I couldn't change them, so I change my attitude about them. And because I did, I am now heading to a new bright future that will change parts of my life, in a oh so good way. Hello manicures and nice, colour full clothes. Goodbye dish water and black clothes. It will be a change in the quality of my life, not just in what I can get for money but in time with my Sweetie, my social life, daily exercise and so much more. The only thing I will get less of is free time, but I will still have plenty of that.

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude" - Maya Angelou

Love
Carina

Sunday Music Time - Because I'm Happy

It's Sunday again, and it's time for some music. Today I want you all to clap along! A Happy tune by Pharrell Williams, perfect for a Sunny, or rainy, Sunday afternoon/morning/evening. Actually, it's perfect for every day! It is the soundtrack from the animated film Despicable Me 2 and it is called.... Happy!




As always on Sundays I am not doing anything in particular. Today has been spent reading, Agatha Christie, again. Did I ever mention that I love reading, and Sundays, and doing nothing, and my life? Well, I do, all of it and more! Tomorrow I am expecting good news, and if all goes as planned (and it will) I will be sharing them with you during the coming week. The excitement is high, as it should always be!

So, Clap Along and be Happy! Life is fantastic!

Love
Carina

What do I do to feel good today?

What can I do to feel good today? What can I do to love myself today? How do I best take care of myself today?

Do you ever ask yourself any of these questions? I just realized the other day that I actually ask myself one of them every day, without even realizing it. I think it's pretty cool that I do. Not too long ago I would never ask myself that, and now I find myself automatically asking myself that question in all different sort of situations.

Are you taking good care of yourself today, and every day?

On my days off, I always ask myself "how can I best take care of myself today?". Some days it is by doing nothing special at all, other days it is to write, some days it is to clean the house and other days it is to spend time out in the sun.

When I finish work I tend to ask myself what would make me feel best; to walk home or to go for a coffee, read and take the bus home. When I come home, if I have taken the bus, I ask myself what would be best for me to do. To rest after having been on my feet for 6-7 hours at work without a break, or to do some sort of exercise. Surprisingly often that answer will be to do some exercise.

When I am asked to do something, no matter what it is, I ask myself "would it be best to do it, or would it be best not to do it?".

But it is about more than using these questions in situations like I described. It is about implementing things and routines into your daily life that make you feel better.

I made a new years resolution, the first one I've had in a lot of years. The resolution was to only do things that makes me feel better, that makes my life better. I started by using some EFT on the subject, and from that came the idea to start taking nice baths a couple of times a week. So I put some candles in my bathroom and I used some shampoo for bubbles and put some olive oil in the tub and then I soaked for as long I felt like it. Now, I have never really been a huge fan of bubble baths before, but I have always envied those who could really enjoy it so I knew I had it in me to enjoy it. And now I love it!

I also started to meditate, I found some nice ones to follow, and I started to combine my baths with meditation. It is absolutely lovely and a fantastic and cheap way to take good care of yourself. It will most certainly help you feel a lot better, and will make you relaxed. You can find some nice mediations for free, as well as a lot of useful information about meditating, here.

Next step for me was to start exercising, and as soon as I had decided to it I found a Zumba class that turned out to be both cheap, and on perfect times of the week for me.

A couple of months in to the Zumba classes I woke up one morning with the idea to give myself a 10-week challenge. I felt that I needed to implement exercise into my daily life, make my body crave it and make my head realise how good it made me feel, because I knew that if I didn't I would most likely stop exercising when the classes ended in early June. I made a chart where I every Monday morning wrote what possible types of exercise I had do choose from, inside or out doors, every single day, and  a check box to check it off once I'd done it. Do boost my motivation even further I weighed and measured myself on that very first morning, which happened to be a Monday, and I continued doing it every Monday morning for the next ten days. The results were great. I lost 5-6 pounds and 10 cm around my waist.

After the Zumba ended I took a break for a couple of weeks, but I am now back into exercising again. This is one of the things I do to make myself feel good.

It is so important in this stressful world that we live in, to take the time to do things that makes us feel good from the inside. Exercise will make you feel good on the inside if you do it for the right reasons. For me I stop exercising as soon as I feel like I have to, or need to, or if I do it to lose weight. For it is important to exercise because it makes me feel great on the inside, as is the case with bubble baths, or meditation. It is all about feeling good on the inside. That is where it all starts, and then it works it's way out!

"The real question is not whether life exists after death. The real question is whether you are alive before death." - Osho

And this is what I ask myself; Am I alive today? Am I enjoying this day in my life? What do I do to feel good today? Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions? Maybe you should?

Love
Carina

Sunday Music Time!! Yaaayyyy!!!

A few nights ago I was cruising Facebook on my smartphone, and I was just about to log out as I stumbled upon this video. I am not sure why I clicked it, but somehow I felt like I had to. I spent the next hour on youtube, listening to this young man. I love raw, crispy voices. Always have and always will. And this one is no exception. This is simple, raw, crispy, genuine and in Swedish, but listen anyway. It will be worth it. There is something about this kid that makes me think he will have a brilliant future ahead of him. Listen, and enjoy!




This week is full of good things I am dying to tell you about, but this is not the time to do it. I might tell you further on though. I find life just simply amazing and I have got such a nice feeling in my body. I know that a big part of that has to do with meditation. It is really helping me keep in touch with my inner feelings of love, safety and peace. I have a feeling that all is well!

Today I am extremely lazy! The weather is fantastic, hot and sunny outside and I am inside reading on my Kindle. I love my Kindle by the way! Since the end of last summer I have been reading up on Agatha Christie, one of my all-time favourite writers. But, since I don't really spend that much time reading anymore I still have more than half of them to go. But, I don't mind, because I think they are brilliant in so many ways. There is a depth to a lot of them that a lot of people don't understand.

Who are your favourite writers? What are doing a Sunday like today?

Love
Carina

"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it"

Yesterday I had a breakdown day. I was really tired, and spent my day sleeping, watching films, crying and thinking about this whole Empath thing. Of course, being me, I realized that it would only last for a day, or maximum two days. And I started to feel better last evening, already. Naturally, because that is how I function now a days.

"No problem can be solved from the same level
of consciousness that created it"
Albert Einstein

During last night I had a dream about a house. It was a big, white, wooden house of two or three floors. It had a lot of big open windows everywhere, and the feeling inside the house was that of love and harmony. Peace. But then came the winds. Hard and strong, and they swept in from all different directions, through all the windows and whirled around in the house. The house tried to close the windows, but they were all stuck. And then the winds died out again. Leaving the house in chaos, with leafs, broken branches, dirt, rubbish and wall papers coming off the walls. The love and harmony could still be slightly felt, but it was hidden underneath all the chaos. It took a few days for the house to get back to what it was. And the winds came back again.

Houses in dreams are said to represent the dreamer, so the house was obviously me. The winds I am sure represents the energies around me, that I take in, being an Empath. The windows that were not able to close felt significant after the dream had ended, but I wasn't sure in what way.

In the morning I usually meditate, and so I did this morning as well, and during this mornings meditation the thought came to me that instead of thinking of the winds, aka the energies, as intruders and enemies, I should see them as friends that come bearing gifts.

Being an Empath is a part of who I am. I owe it to myself to love all parts of that I can't change. I am not supposed to hide within a shell, or close those windows. I am supposed to build my house so the winds can sweep easily through it, taking what needs to be cleared out with them, leaving the good stuff that belongs in there.

This is a very nice realisation, because fighting against who you are never leads to anything good in the end. Now, I can walk into these situations with curiosity and love, and a will to learn from these energies.

Becoming aware of something that has causing you problems is a huge step towards solving it, but as Albert Einstein so wisely said: "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it". 

Sunday Music Tradition!

Another Sunday, another sunny day! And I love it! Today I went for a coffee with my very good friend C. It's been a while since we saw each other since she's been away so it was very nice to catch up on things. There's nothing like a bit of sunshine, a nice cold ice coffee, a good friend and some proper girl talk on a Sunday afternoon.

Afterwards I came home and decided that I should make it a Sunday tradition to post a music video. I'm not really fond of must-dos, but this is a nice one to (have) to do, I think. I started out with an idea of what type of song I wanted, but couldn't find anything that felt right, so I clicked something else, search something different and have now spent hours listening to music, from Frank Sinatra, Etta James and Louis Armstrong to Maroon 5, Queen and Lady Gaga, and I almost forgot why I was doing it in the first place.

So, this is where I ended up. With one of my favourite Glee mash-ups, of two of my favourite 80's songs, from two epic 80's films (Risky Business and Top Gun), with the one and only Tom Cruise, who back then was incredibly hot. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with boys in this video either. Enjoy and please sing and dance along with it, so I don't have to be alone doing it!




And, yes, I am a total Gleek, as in a fan of Glee. Glee is absolutely brilliant, it makes me cry and laugh at the same time. So, shoot me, or better yet, join me!


Love
Carina

"I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet"

Well, this post isn't really about your mind, more about your energys and mostly about other people's energy's effecting you, but I still think this quote by Mahatma Gandhi kind of says it all.

"I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet"

I am an empath. I just learnt that, although I have heard it before, and have worked on some of the issues I've had because if it before. I just never really put them all together, but now I have. And you are probably wondering what an empath is, so let me explain it to you; an empath is someone who is overly empathic and overly sensitive to other people's energys (feelings, pain, health, thoughts, mood and so on). An empath often knows how someone else is feeling even when they are not showing it, or even if they try to lie about it. An empath might often find him- or herself pulled into strong emotions when watching the news, or films.

I remember when the Tsunami happened over in Asia some years ago, I was completely hooked. I was up all nights watching the news and I bought every newspaper I could find about it. I sucked in all the feelings, both the tragic feelings of fear, loss and death, and the positive feelings of joy, love and life. And afterwards I felt empty inside. Empty because those feelings were no longer there. This is a typical empath occurrence.

Empaths can also:

• Feel overwhelmed in crowds, and drained on energy after having been in a crowd.
• After having been amongst others an empath is often fatigue. This is true for having been to the grocery store, on the bus or a café, or maybe at work.
• Have I high need for solitude, often close to nature of some sort (beach, water, sky, woods and so on).
• Have a high need for the truth, because lies literally hurts them since they often just know when someone is lying to them. And being lied to hurts, as we all know.
• Dislike rules, routines and control, but will feel a lot less weighed down in organised and clutter free areas.
• Have a problem with fat around their stomachs, even though they are not overeating and are eating healthily. This is a way for our bodies to protect us from threats (and other people's illnesses, stress and negativity are interpreted as a threat)
• Appear to be disconnected or moody, and does not like to put on a happy face for others if they have taken on too much of other people's negative energy.
• Be free spirits, in to all things holistic and metaphysical, and are often daydreamers.
• Have an addiction, it helps them block out the energies from the outside.
• Be very creative people, and are often in to writing, music, painting and other creative stuff.
• Be great listeners, and are often the person people turns to when they need to talk.

I am most of these things. There are tests you can do, questions to answer, to find out if you are an empath or not. I found this one to be a good one for me. I did it twice, the first time I answered the questions from the view of before I hit the wall and crashed (emotional breakdown) in 2005, and the second time I answered the questions from the view of where I am today. Maximum score is 80. I scored 78 the first time, and 63 the second time. Both well within the limit of being an empath. 

So, how did I manage to get from 78 to 63? What have I changed in my life? What can you do to keep all that energy out? 

Answers do these questions, and more will come in later posts. This is something that explains so much about why things are the way they are sometimes in my life. Like why I was always slim while working in bars, but have excess fat around my stomach working where I do now. Or why I feel so bad on the bus if I don't have someone to talk to or music in my ears. Or why I feel so much better living here i Spain than I ever did in Sweden.

Do you have questions? Are you an empath, or think you know someone who is? Let me know what you think about this post.

Love

Carina

Diary

I had a really nice and relaxed Sunday. My Sweetie and I were invited out for lunch by a couple of friends of his. I had met them only briefly a couple of times before, so this was the first time we really hung out with them.

Anyway, we met down to a restaurant in the village we all live in for a drink first while waiting for another couple to come to show us the way to the place we were going to. I was talking the other woman, B, and it turns out that she is interested in holistic, mind-body, thinking just as I am. I am always surprised when I meet people that anything at all about stuff like EFT or that are all just big energy fields. My life lacks of people that I connect with in that area, (in real life that is, online I have whole communities) so it is nice to actually get to talk about such things.

View over the valley.

Eventually we were on our way to this tapas place up in the hills. Well, up the mountain. Up, up we went on this simple road, whirling our way left and right to avoid the wholes in it, and free walking cows on the sides of it. After about ten minutes we spotted a place, in the middle of nowhere, with parasols, tables and chairs. Sort of set on the top of a hill in the mountain. A lot of thoughts went through my head, and I am sure through the other's heads as well. Images of axe murderers, don't ask me why, and food poisoning came to me. But, hey, at least it was something new and different for us. The place was not new.

Another view, this time with the Sea in the background.

We walk in, and to my surprise there were probably at least ten people in the bar, and even more surprising was that there were about 15 people out on the terrace in the back. All sorts of people. I would not have been very surprised if the people had been farmers or mountain people, what ever that is, but again I was surprised that they were all sorts of people; young hip girls in their 20's, fashionable women in their 30's, men of all ages, different nationalities, you found them all there. But then again, that is the way it is here. Just our group of 6 had 4 different nationalities. The man in the other couple was a Frenchman, who spoke in a mixture of French, Spanish and English, and sometimes a little bit in Swedish. Very funny and almost impossible to understand except for Dutch guy in the company, probably because Dutch is a mixture of languages too. (Be careful ever saying that out loud to a Dutch person, as they tend to take as an insult.)

The food (well, tapas) was really nice, they had all the drinks we asked for and the bill ended up being on 40 euros for the six of us. The view was spectacular over the valleys with the Mediterranean Sea and the horizon in the background (unfortunately, my pics does not tell the beauty of it), and we had a really nice time with a lot of laughter.

Cows out on an afternoon walk in the sun. 

On the way down, back to our village, we had to slow down to get past the cows that had now decided to go for a walk on this already small road. We all felt like tourists going; "oh, look at that", "there's a pregnant one", and "wow, they are really big".

After a coffee and Baileys at the place where we met up a few hours earlier, I made my way home, up the hill (a nice 5 minute walk), to continue doing nothing at all.

A surprisingly nice afternoon, at a surprisingly nice place. In the middle of nowhere. This is one of the things I love about Spain. You never really know what will happen, if you are only open to the possibilities.

Love
Carina

Today I'm not doing anything

One of the things I love about living in southern Spain is Sundays! More or less everything is closed and it is a chilled atmosphere hanging in the air. Sundays are lazy days. A day to catch up on your reading or hang out with the family. I tend to spend most of my day in bed, just because I can.

I love Bruno Mars, and I just love this chilled out video. Enjoy him, it and your Sunday!

Love
Carina

Setting myself up for success!

"I've never tried that before, so I'm sure I can do it" - Pippi Långstrump (Pippi Longstocking)/Astrid Lindgren

This is one of my absolute favourite quotes, said by one of my childhood role models, Pippi, who was created by one of my writer role models, Astrid. Pippi is a strong, independent girl who do things her way, no matter what everybody else thinks. I related to that even as a little girl. I felt drawn to it. (I also related to Pippi because her dad, who she adored and loved more than anything, wasn't there with her very often. Although he was always on her mind. Much like it was with me and my dad. It was safe to know that if Pippi could handle it, so could I.)

I took this a few weeks ago, on my way home from work. This is part of my
success. In the front is some beach art, part of someone else's success! 

"I've never tried that before, so I'm sure I can do it". 

Isn't this the way we should be thinking? I think so. Instead we are somehow, and for some reason, more often than not taught to think quite the opposite. "I've never done that before, so I don't think I can do it". Isn't that the way you think in a lot of situations facing something new? I know I do. I know that it is usually my first reaction if put in front of a new task. I have had to re-teach myself. I am still re-teaching myself. I am a work in progress, as is my life.

Take this blog as an example. When I first started to think about starting a blog, this voice kept telling me that "you've never done that before so you will not be able to pull it off", and "why would anybody ever read your blog, you've never written anything big or important before". Well, I did start the blog and in the (soon-to-be) 2 years that have past since I have had almost 29 000 visits. Far from all of them have taken much notice of it, but then again, neither have I really. Why haven't I? Because I've never done it before, so I was sure I wasn't going to be able to do it. Or my move to Spain! If I had kept thinking like I used to think I wouldn't be living what in a lot of ways is my dream life.

But, times are changing, I am changing, and here I am with visions, dreams and hopes for this blog, and my life. And I am starting to believe that because I have never tried this before, I am sure I can do it! I mean, nobody can tell me I can't because no one can know. So I am thinking that I can. I might as well. It is more likely to bring me success than thinking that I can't. Since I have had almost 30 000 visits without really putting any effort in to it, just imagine what can happen when I do put some effort in! The difference between success and failure is your mindset!

I am definitely going to set myself up for success! I can do it, because I have never tried it before!

Are you setting yourself up for success, or for failure?

Love
Carina

Diary

Scented candles, bubble bath,  mediation and
 EFT is a great way to relax both mind and body. 

I have been working today, and I spent a lot of the time thinking about what I want to do with this blog, and what I want to write in it and other very important stuff like it. Every time I think about the Quality Inside And Out now I get goose bumps and feel a nice chill up my spine. I love that feeling!! I love having that feeling! Does anybody else ever get like that?

I am in pain today though, my muscles in my shoulders, neck and upper back are all tense and very sore. I must have slept in a very bad position last night. I made it through work thanks to EFT, I hid in the restroom every now and again to tap a bit on it to get the tension and pain down a bit. When I came home my son gave me a massage, and I put some tiger balm on. It helped for a while.

In a bit I will light some scented candles and get into a nice, warm, soothing and bubbly bath and after that I will do some more EFT and meditate. That should help relax my muscles!

I meditate every day now, it is so nice. I love it! It helps me connect with my inner self, and it gives me a clearer mind. I mostly use guided meditations so far, but eventually I'm hoping to be able to do it all on my own.

How was your day? What do you do to relax?

Love
Carina

I am back!

It's been over a year since I last posted anything on this blog. Last year I decided to move the blog to another host, for different reasons, but for some reason I never deleted this one. And for some reason I never really got into the right feeling with the "new" one, which led to not writing at all in the end. Again. Yes, I tend to fall into to that place every once in a while. But, hey, yesterday I made the decision to close down the "new" blog and move back to this.

My view at breakfast up on our roof terrace! 

I have changed the looks on it a bit, and I will probably keep changing it for a while until it feels completely right for me. Please bear with me!

So what is new? What has happened this past year? Well, inside I have grown a lot, I have collected more wisdom and knowledge. Do you know the difference between wisdom and knowledge, btw? "Knowledge is knowing the tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in your fruit salad" - Miles Kington. On the outside most things are the same, except that my family lost a close family member, my Sweetie turned 40, and my son moved here, all in 8 days time in October. It was an intense week during which I learnt a lot about emotions and how to focus my thoughts.

I love our roof terrace and on my days off I like having a late breakfast up there in the company of my son. I love having him here.

I have found the tranquillity and peace of meditation, and I have learnt some other useful methods to relieve stress and find calm.

I did the 5th annual Tapping World Summit in February and had some major breakthroughs and during these last two weeks I have spent a lot of time listening to interviews with some of the worlds most successful inspirational writers during the first ever Hay House World Summit. Both these summits are online and completely free and I am looking forward to next years summits already.

I think this is enough for now. Until next time, walk in love and peace!

Love
Carina

Coming up!

Will be back shortly!