Bollywood Charity Night October 2009

On the 16th October 2009 my friend Nicola Kelly (MIMTA) and I were very excited. We were taking part in a charity fundraiser for the Hope Foundation for the street children in Calcutta. After distributing fliers, sending emails, collecting donations and selling lots of tickets we were making good progress. We organised a team of fellow complimentary therapists to participate so we had a variety of practitioners.

Our venue was the Glenview hotel and all therapists were based in the Library. Gentle soothing Indian music was piped into our room which was bathed just in candlelight. Incense filled the air and we all took our positions. A few of us dressed in Indian costume to enhance the fun of the night. The room offered mini sessions of Indian Head Massage, Hand Reflexology, Amatsu and subtle Healing. The treatments lasted approximately 20-30 minutes. We raised over €400 in the therapy room alone as we were very busy even though we stopped at 10.30pm to avoid people who may have consumed alcohol by then. The overall total raised was approx €9000 which was fantastic.

The hotel was decked out in colourful garlands and decorations. Fire eaters and fire jugglers were stationed in the long dark driveway and greeted guests as they arrived. The room opposite our therapy sanctuary was showing Bollywood movies like Monsoon Wedding and Slumdog Millionaire. Across the hall was scrumptious fragrant Indian food, dream boxes, silks and spices. A henna tattooist painted many a hand and arm with impressive delicate artwork. In the main function room Indian DJ’s took to the decks while professional Bollywood dancers took to the floor. Lots of guests dressed according to the Bollywood theme so there were lots of sparkles and jewels everywhere. Some Indian people came in traditional magnificently embroidered garments that were really spectacular to the eye.

There were prizes for the best dressed, a raffle and an auction. Many people danced the night away at an amazing alternative evening that was great fun but more importantly for a great cause.

Did you know that 250,000 children live on the streets of Calcutta? They are born into extreme poverty and many are abandoned and abused. They eat, sleep, wash and go to the toilet in the streets and in the slums of the city. The Hope Foundation was founded in 1999 to help these street children.

All donations go directly to project’s working with these children and their families, e.g. providing vaccinations and antenatal care to the poorest people and providing safe and caring homes for abandoned children. HOPE also funds schools and coaching centres, clinics, crèches, HIV/Aids programmes, vocational training and a Children's Hospital. The goal is to provide supports and skills that will enable children and their families to build a better future for themselves, free of poverty.

No matter how great or small a gesture is, whether it is volunteering of your time, making a donation or taking part in one of the events, it will make a positive difference to the life of a street child. Please see their website www.hopefoundation.ie

We all felt that we contributed to a great night, had an enjoyable experience, raised a lot of money for charity and gave something back with little effort. We are blessed to have the gifts to share with others at such an event and will certainly look to volunteer again.

The Power of Positive Affirmations

Hi Everyone,

I thought this was a useful article to share,

The Revolutionary Power of Affirmations Written by Scott Armstrong & Jafree Ozwald

Affirmations are a simple, powerful way to transform your life. Anytime you choose to be in conscious control of your thoughts, you are taking the reigns back on what you determine to be reality. Whenever you say or think an affirmation that resonates deeply within your being, it becomes the framework that creates the world you see around you. By repeating special affirmations to yourself throughout the day, you are choosing to pave an inner highway towards manifesting the life you most want to have, instead of being run over by the life you are trying to avoid.

"We cannot always control our thoughts, but we can control our words, and repetition impresses the subconscious, and we are then master of the situation." ~Florence Scovel Shinn

Research has shown that we have between 45,000 and 51,000 thoughts a day. That’s about 150 to 300 thoughts a minute. Research has also shown that for most people 80% of those thoughts are negative. Now, we have been taught to think that most of these 51,000 thoughts are “sub-conscious” thoughts, meaning they are below our conscious level of awareness. Affirmations make you consciously aware of your thoughts which actually make your sub-conscious thoughts conscious. When you start making conscious positive thoughts, you actually become more aware of the negative thoughts that are attempting to dominate your life.

"One comes to believe whatever one repeats to oneself sufficiently often, whether the statement be true of false. It comes to be dominating thought in one's mind." ~Robert Collier

When you’re not aware of your thoughts, they can tend to flow in a negative direction since 90% of the thoughts you had yesterday are carried over into your mind today. Thinking negative thoughts only because you to think more negative thoughts. To get out of this rut, you need to take conscious control of your mind and AFFIRM the thoughts you want.

To make something "firm" is to create an affirmation. When you assert something to be true in your life your entire body resonates with that feeling and sensation, causing you to attract similar feelings tomorrow. In order to make something happen in the physical universe, you first have to have the positive thought that says, "I am going to make this happen." Think about it. In order for you to start manifesting whatever you want in this physical universe, you first need to a-firm that it is going to occur for you.

"It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen." ~Claude M. Bristol

Affirmation Action Step

-Pick the most important thing that you want to change in your life. Is it

being more financially secure? Is it having more time or being more at peace

with yourself?

-Find an affirmation that resonates with you best about this area. There are lots

of free affirmations on the Web, or you can find our pick of the best on

www.BestAffirmations.com. (For Example I have an abundance of wealth, health, and happiness.)

-Say this affirmation at least 100 times throughout the day. Have it

become part of who you are fundamentally. If you can’t keep track,

say your affirmation 10 times every hour for 10 consecutive hours.

Reflections

Read and write on the following questions:

What are the three best things that happened to you today?

What are you most grateful for?

Do you feel any differently now than you did yesterday?

Did anything fun or important or unexpected happen today?

Good luck,

Loretta.