visualisation

I don't believe in The Secret. I know that I wrote in a previous post that I was "embracing" the law of attraction, but that is only because I believe in the concept, in an abstract sense. I believe that being purposeful, having clear goals and direction and working towards something helps us to achieve our dreams and aspirations. I don't think that there is any magic involved at all, but I do think that it is more likely that your life will evolve the way you want it to if you can picture the way you would like your future to turn out. This way, your path will be more direct.

So these are a few, somewhat materialistic, things that I am "visualising" right now...

A bicycle

Or, to be more specific, looking absolutely adorable on a bicycle, preferably somewhere in Europe. New York will also do quite nicely.

Cute vintage caravan

For travelling around Australia with my boyfriend Andy, à la a memoir I recently read called Love and Other U-Turns by Louisa Deasey. Some friends, including Andy, have expressed their doubts about the likelihood of this ever happening...

Prism glasses

A writing career


Sarah Wilson on the Mumbo Report, talking about her covetable "portfolio career".

Like I said, I don't believe that just visualising these things will "attract" them to me. I know that I actually have to take steps to grab them for myself. But I think that it helps, in a way - if only to justify all the time I spend dreaming.

Here is some food for thought: the darker side to positive thinking, by Barbara Ehrenreich. In animation. Warning: these videos are dangerously addictive (in a good way, unless you have work to do).

And a few intriguing quotes from another Barbara, Barbara Kingsolver...

"The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance, but live right in it, under its roof."

"Your dreams, what you hope for and all that, it's not separate from your life. It grows right up out of it. "

"It's the one thing we never quite get over: that we contain our own future."

life's little luxuries

1. A spritz of Fracas parfum.* 2. Curling up on the couch on a rainy night to watch Mad Men. 3. A fluffy little dog to cuddle. 4. Applying the perfect shade of Chanel lipstick.** 5. Lying in a hammock in summertime, reading and eating green grapes. 6. A fresh, glossy blowdry. 7. Spring water with a slice of lemon, served in a wine glass. 8. New Garance Doré posts and romantic text messages. 9. French kissing. 10. Being wrapped in a warm towel, fresh from the dryer, after a long bath.***

* outstanding note of tuberose, a variety of flowers (mostly white) - jasmine, jonquil, lily of the valley, white iris and a touch of pink geranium, top notes of bergamot, mandarin and hyacinth, infused at the heart with a whisper of orange and a base note of sandalwood, vertiver and musk... so lovely!
** mine is the rouge allure laque in "ming"
*** here is an opportunity for a boyfriend/lover/partner/ fiancé/husband to prove himself useful

things that inspire me

These things warm my heart.

• Joshua Radin

His music is just so incredibly heartfelt and beautiful - here is "Today", which he sang at Ellen deGeneres and Portia de Rossi's wedding (and will be playing at mine).

"Closer" is another favourite of mine, if I had to listen to one musician for the rest of my life it would be this man.

• Miss Dior Cherie

This tv commercial by Sofia Coppola is so pretty and refreshing.

It never fails to make me smile or long to don a pretty pastel dress and ride a bicycle around Paris.

• Frankie magazine

One of my favourite Australian magazines, this bi-monthly inspires me to look outside the box and take pleasure in the small things in life.

http://www.frankie.com.au/

• Elias Tahan

This photographer captures the most captivating, poignant images of women.
http://www.eliastahan.com/

• Scrubs

Scrubs is one of the only shows that can make me literally laugh out loud, and I love that it can also make me cry.

• Tim Minchin

Tim Minchin is my favourite comedian in the world, he is just so intelligent and hilarious (as is everybody from Perth, Western Australia!)

Here is my favourite skit of his, a nine minute beat poem entitled "Storm".

Religious belief ≠ meaning or morality.

• Adrian Grenier

Need I say more? (Click to zoom in and truly appreciate his undeniable sexiness.)

(Photographed by The Sartorialist)

• Elizabeth Gilbert

I loved her book, but I love her even more in this lecture she gave about creativity.

• Viral YouTube videos

Have you noticed that viral YouTube videos are always the ones that can't help but make you smile?

The wedding dance to "Forever", Christian the lion, Susan Boyle - the fact that all of these are positive and uplifting makes ME smile and restores my faith in humanity considering all the ugliness that is unleashed via the internet.

Forever

Christian the lion (gosh, this one gets me every single time!)

Plus a recent one-take amateur music video by university students in Quebec.

• Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

I read this book when I was 11 and it changed my life. Every young girl should read this (I still read it once a year).

It's about being yourself, standing up for what you believe in, the profound impact of family and the importance of forgiveness.

It is just as relevant as it was when it was written almost 20 years ago (back when The Wiggles were The Cockroaches).

• Barack Obama

I adore this man and I don't care what anybody says - he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.

The world will not change overnight but he has brought so much hope for peace and that is an achievement in and of itself.

Martin Luther King won the award a year after his "I have a Dream" speech - a time when the fight for civil rights was far from achieved.

Alfred Nobel established the prize in 1895 for "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses" - the prize is awarded, not for lifelong achievement, but to the one who has done the most to create an atmosphere of peace and reconciliation over the past year.

As Desmond Tutu eloquently put it: “it is an award that speaks to the promise of President Obama’s message of hope”.

(Source: Greg Beals, "Why Obama Deserves the Nobel Peace Prize")

• 500 Days of Summer

My single favourite movie: it makes me smile, cry and think.

Love is real, love is complicated.

If you liked the movie, you will love this (starring Zooey and Joseph).

• Garance Doré

She is my favourite blogger: so talented, beautiful, humble, funny and honest.

Make sure you read what she writes as well as take in her breath-taking photographs and gorgeous illustrations.

http://www.garancedore.com/

• So You Think You Can Dance

I don't know why I love it, I just do.

It makes me happy!

Kayla and Kupono, "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles

• Jack's Life Lessons

I don't know where I found this or where it comes from but I love it as a light-hearted life mantra.