Feel Good Friday: Your Laugh + Kid President = Happiness

Feel Good Friday: Who are You Not to Be?

The other night I was fortunate enough to catch the movie Akeelah and the Bee on television. My seven year old daughter was with me, and I thought this was a great opportunity to inspire her. As we watched, I saw her light up, but also felt something in myself begin to stir. Here's the famous quote from the movie. Read it and remember your greatness. 

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Marianne Williamson

 You can find this in Marianne Williamson's A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles". I also love her book Illuminata: A Return to Prayer.(This is not Illuminati, please be clear.) It has prayers for everything from healing emotional pain to amend prayers, that seek to make amends to Native Americans, African Americans, and others who have experienced large scale injustice. If you're like me, and sometimes can't come up with the right words to articulate your prayers, this is a great ally. 

Announcing the HN Book Club!

If you know me, you know I think in books. "Did you read?" is probably the most used phrase in my vocabulary. I can't deny it; I LOVE books! They course through my veins and the lessons have help form who I am. I am a true believer in the power of story, and think there is nothing better in this life then the connections we can make through the sharing of our journeys and the journeys of others be they fictional or concrete. This being said I am starting an online book club. 

I have always wanted to be a part of a book club and figured that nothing could be better than creating one right here. 

Here's how it going to work: Every month we read one book. I will announce the book about a week before the month starts so you will have time to purchase, borrow, download, get the audio book (yes, audio books count!) or steal the book(Just kidding, if you do this you will def have a lot of time on your hands to read!).

 I will choose the first book, but hope that others will chime in with suggestions for subsequent reads. At the end of every month Hellanatural.com will host an online discussion of the book on this page of the blog. If you have already read the book, you are also invited to join the conversation. 

"No two persons ever read the same book" - Edmund Wilson

So who's coming on the adventure with me? In March we will be reading Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile. I have read really good reviews for this book in O magazine and Essence, so I think it will be a great first book.  I am putting a link to this below, but feel free to get it where you can. I will be downloading the Kindle version.

Happy Reading!
-Riss

- See more at: http://www.hellanatural.com/p/hn-book-club.html#sthash.h8XtPKsZ.dpuf

New Name, Same Awesomeness!

Greetings!
I am so excited to back in action. I have changed my blog's name to represent the changes I have undergone. The new name epitomizes how I feel. Hella Natural! If you don't know what hella means see the definition below I nabbed off www.urbandictionary.com:

hella

"Hella" is an all-purpose word. It has its roots deep in the soul (I meant to type soil, but soul works here too, haha) of Northern California. It means something along the lines of "very" or "really," but it's much more than that. It's not just a word, but a statement of cultural identification, of a long-standing bond of trust and respect for fellow Northern Californians, and of a mutual understanding between you and the rest of the world that you are from (or, in the case of anyone who has lived with kids from NorCal, that you are an honorary resident) NorCal. As the subtle innuendos of the word can only be understood by absorption, one must experience and be engulfed by it (as Northern Californians are from birth) to truly understand when its usage is appropriate. Hella is a word. It's a symbol. It's a way of life. Hella.

Correct:

This is hella whack.
I just ate hella brownies.
I'm hella going to the library this weekend.

Incorrect:
I'm going hella to the library

That being said, look out for new hella fresh dopeness as it relates to you, and I achieving supreme awesomeness through love for the mind, spirit, body, and hair (I know hair is a part of the body, but if yours is like mine, it is an entity all its own)! 

Love, Light, and Hella Freshness

~Riss