A to Z Blogging Challenge – Tea Leaf Reading Symbol Dictionary: Letter O

———- This post may contain affiliate links —————

Welcome back for another week of A to Z Blogging Challenge: Tea Leaf Reading Symbols Dictionary. This week begins with the letter O. But before we get started I want to share 10 quick facts about Oolong Tea – which is suitable for tea leaf readings – that you might not have known.

Organic Oolong Tea Available on Amazon Now

1. Stabilizes blood sugar
2. Alleviates skin problems
3. promotes healthy hair
4. Prevent osteoporosis
5. prevents tooth decay
6. strengthens the immune system
7. aids digestion
8. increases mental alertness and focus
9. boosts metabolism
10. lowers cholesterol.

These reasons alone should be initiative enough to make you add some more of Oolong tea into your daily regiment!

Let’s get to our Tea Leaf Reading Symbol Dictionary:

Letter O

Oaktree: symbol of strength and endurance. A powerful and positive symbol that speaks of strong relationships, wealth, and achievement. A prosper and abundant marriage

Oil-Can: You are worried and concerned about something

Onions: Hidden beneath some layers are secrets that need to be revealed. These secrets will bring some discomfort and sorrow.

Organ: Not a symbol that reads well on its own. Musicians will find this a positive sign, as it speaks of achievement in their field.

Owl: This is an unfortunate symbol. Do not expect any positive movement forward at this time. If the owl is flying grief is involved. Someone is speaking ill behind your back. If you are asking about a upcoming change, this symbol is a warning to be careful as you proceed.

Ox: Your house and home is filled with abundance and domestic bliss.

I hope you enjoyed today’s symbols. See you again tomorrow!

Tea-Lightful Blessings!

Claudia

Check out Aloha’s Beauty teas, and their free trial tea boxes today! No Coupon Code Needed for the free trial! Cancel anytime!

Also makes a great Mother’s Day Gift!

 ALOHA – Say Hello to Healthy Happiness

Finding Happiness In Gratitude

Happiness can not exist in the absence of gratitude.
If you are looking for happiness, you will not find it in the search for new experiences, nor in the absence of desire. Happiness is found within the moments of appreciation, the time when we stop and express with every aspect of our being, a deep felt thank you.
No need for a deity or special place, just a simple act of thankfulness for what is right in front of us, can be the most profound spiritual act of your daily routine.
Taking a few moments of deliberate gratitude throughout the day, not just a part of your morning routine, brings back a more level-headed approach to live. When there is so much recognition of what there is to appreciate, there is less worry, less stress, less fear.
At no point and time, does this imply not thriving for more. The opposite is more the truth. In these moments of gratitude, we make space for more, more life, more kindness, more openness for ideas, a deeper focus.
When gratitude is chosen, the happiness it brings with it can be life changing. All we have to do is start with a simple “Thank you”.

I recommend the following books about Happiness and Gratitude

Gratitude and Happiness by Bree Miller available on Amazon

 

This blog post is a part of the following blog hops

Celebrate The Small Things
Thankful Thursdays by PepiSmartDog
Thankful Thursdays by Frog Lilypad
No Rules Weekend Blog Party
Monday of Many Blessings
Be Inspired

Disclaimer: The above post contains affiliate links, see Disclosure page for details.

40 Things That Make Me Happy – And Why You Should Make a Happiness List, Too

There are times in our lives when trying to remember those little things we usually enjoy, becomes a difficult feat. May it be, because we experienced loss, are suffering from depression, going through marital problems or have financial trouble, a list of things that make us happy, can remind us of what we have, and help us for a moment to create a more hopeful state of mind to work from.

Here are 40 Things That Make Me Happy  – No Matter What

1. Hugs from my kids
2. The excitement of my dogs, when I get home
3. Coffee
4. Thumbprint cookies
5. Great, fresh bread
6. the scent of rain
7. Ducks upon a pond
8. the sound of a horse breathing
9. Drama television shows
10. a good romance novel
11. getting a text message from a friend
12. online banking
13. blog groups and link ups
14. taking pictures
15. designing/creating/working on a piece of my art
16. warm socks
17. flannel sheets
18. hibiscus tea
19. the sound of birds in the trees
20. spring time
21. black and white photography
22. inspirational quotes
23. flowers
24. the theater
25. a fresh, new notebook to fill with ideas
26. typing “The End” after a long short story, or a book
27. Jared Leto (yes, I am weird, lol)
28. being “cleaned” by my cat
29. A comfortable sofa
30. Nutella
31. a smooth-writing pen
32. Irish Dance
33. traveling
34. German chocolate
35. strawberry cheesecake
36. Happy Endings in stories
37. thick, white snow
38. trees
39. squirrels eating peanuts
40. my dog barking in her sleep

What do you have on your list? Why not create your own post and share it with us in the comment section below!

 

Check out the following journals for your gratitude and happiness lists:

Flower Power, Ivy by Sophie Gamand
from: Redbubble

Nine by fioski
from: Redbubble

Caterpiano by Jorge Lopez
from: Redbubble

10 Journal Prompts To Start Your Year Off Right

Positive habits, like writing in our journal are a powerful way to increase happiness, reduce anxiety and to create focus. But what to write on a daily basis? While I suggest to always make a gratitude  list  a part of your daily journal routine, it does not have to, and should not be limited to that aspect of journal writing.

I have combined some powerful prompts for you, which you can use to expand your journal writing practice

 

Because it is Friday, I am sharing with you, what I am grateful for this week:

1. A quiet and peaceful New Years eve. Surprisingly New Years in Las Vegas is tame compared to some other cities around the world I have been in. A pleasant surprise.

2. I met some really nice new neighbors. Very friendly people and my dogs seem to like them too.

3. There has been a lot more sunshine. Still cold, but at least, the sun is shining. I can deal with that.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Claudia

 

“The Long Road Home” – A Flash Fiction

“The Long Road Home” by Avalon Media available here:
http://shrsl.com/?~8swh

Despite numerous diversions, I had followed through on my plans to make the trip to Santa Fe.
No matter what the Universe threw at me, I was determined to follow through, after all, I had made the promise to stand by my sisters side on her special day, even though I loathed weddings and knew it would mean I would have to encounter slimy old Uncle Thomas.
None of that mattered, nothing did, because I was happy for her, more importantly for the first time in her life, she was happy.
Diversions or not, I had to go in a hurry, and took a wrong turn that would end my life.

Copyright Claudia H. Blanton 2015

This post was inspired by this weeks prompt “Diversions” by Lillie McFerrin. The above image “The Long Road Home” is available on RedBubble here.

Gratitude – A Celebrate The Small Things Blog Post

It has been way too long since I have participated in the “Celebrate The Small Things” blog hop, even though I think it is one of the most positive link ups around. So without further ado, this shall be remedied today.

There is so much to be grateful for anyway. We are finally getting over whatever this viral infection was, that the entire family suffered from for almost two weeks. It feels good to be able to breathe, without coughing my lungs out. I am very grateful for that.

My dog (the hyper- allergic one I wrote about before) is getting her fur back! That took a while, but it is all coming back now, finally. She has made such a tremendous improvement since we went all crazy and changed, well just about everything, including me making her dog food from scratch.

I am grateful for the fact that the design part of our business is working well. I got more ideas than I know what to do with (which is a normal state for me), and I am itching to implement every single one of them.

I am also grateful that I am writing again like crazy, not just flash fiction and haiku, but also on the trilogy, but I know better to even try to come up with a publication schedule until after the move. While I do not mind taking on a lot of work, I know better than to overdo what I put upon myself. After all, we still have the transportation aspect of our business to run, and I do homeschool both of my kids.

I am grateful that I have come across so many different cool bloggers over the last  few weeks, and I had a chance to learn so much from them. Implementing these lessons will take me a little while, but that is okay. There is always something to learn, isn’t there?

So, now I am wondering what you are grateful for? What have you come across this week, that made you appreciate the world around you just a little more? Oh, and check out the other bloggers participating in this link up here! 

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Blessings

Claudia

Darkness – A Haiku

sometimes I pretend

dare to see happiness where

only pain prevails

Copyright Claudia H. Blanton 2015

The above image “Stars Can’t Shine Without Darkness” is by a talented artist named “SoaringAnchor” and is available on RedBubble.

Book Review: The Freemind Experience by Tom Fortes Mayer

Title: The Freemind Experience
Author: Tom Fortes Meyer
Publisher: Watkins Publishing
Release Date: Feb. 17th, 2015
Rating: 3/5 Stars

“If you live for truth and love, you will be provided for” – The Freemind Experience

There are many self-help books that promise a sure-fire way to create happiness and contentment in your life. The premise of this book is in that case no different.

Written in a conversational style, this book did not create a different experience for me, than the masses that already overflow the genre of self-help books in their various forms. In order to stand out, an Author has to deliver something either new, or in such an interesting style that it gets the reader’s attention from the beginning, while this book only produces a smile and a yawn, as the Author shares through many – and not very interesting stories –  how he teaches his clients and himself to become a better version of himself.
Instead of creating happiness and contentment, I was left with the feeling of having lost precious time, I could have used in a more productive way, then reading this book. If you are looking for a high quality, and informational wake up call, to serve the reader to better understand oneself and to grow through that experience, you are better off reading a different book of this genre. There are many of them out there, this is not one of them.

(disclaimer: I have been given an advanced copy of this book, by the publisher in return for an honest review, via NetGalley)

Rising Above – A Flash Fiction

Take it away from me, go ahead, see if it will break my will, as you imagined it would do.
Try me, and see, if your actions will not only fuel my desires to rise above it all.
No hateful action, desperate, painful word will break me.
Go ahead, I dare you, for you do not know my deepest truth, my hidden strength.
No matter what you do to me, I am already free.

Copyright Claudia H. Blanton 2015

 

 

Contrast

roller-coaster contrast
through the ups and downs of life
only hope remains

Copyright Claudia H. Blanton 2014

This post was inspired by today’s Daily Prompt “An Extreme Tale”.