Kristen Marie's Blog

Meditation Alters Brain

Here is a link to an article that is a few years old but it shows that there is scientific proof that meditation alters the human brain.  I found this in my files and wanted to share it.  Have a great day.

Power Napping: How To Fall Asleep Anywhere

The trick is the use sleep MP3s. They are essentially MP3s that play white noise for the duration of the nap, and then slowly wake you up by playing a variety of sounds. What's great is that you can play them on your computer speakers, or make them portable by putting them on your iPod or cell phone.

read more | digg story

Gratitude Monday!

WOW! What a weekend. For the past 3 days I have been immersed in “The Mental Journey to Millions” with Matthew Ferry and Thach Nguyen. These guys are so committed to serving others and sharing the power of contribution. It’s just a joy to be in a room with 1000+ people who think big and choose to have their lives make a difference for others.

Here’s what I got this weekend - and I am grateful for it!

1. Grasping the distinction ‘being’ from ‘doing’. As a big doing kinda gal, my brain literally hurts when it’s suggested that I do less to attract more. In the brief moments that I CAN fully get that concept, I see total flow and freedom. And then I get in my own way. I’ll be working on transforming that.

2. Getting how lucky I am to have a huge community of people who support our vision for Affirmagy. The realization of our dreams lies in others. Without one another none of us would have the opportunity to live our best lives. This weekend I got reconnected to that powerful idea in a really really big way.

3. Choosing to declare miracles on a daily basis. Things are moving so fast around here, sometimes I forget to do the happy dance. And it’s in the feeling good about what we’ve each attracted that creates the space for MORE of that happy dance material to show up. Whew. Thanks for reminding me guys.

Today is a great day. Period. And I am so grateful for all the parts of my life.

Announcing Gratitude is My Attitude Day

Kirsten Harrell of ipopin.com had this GREAT idea that I am borrowing - weekly Gratitude Day. Isn’t that brilliant?! Thanks Kirsten.

So, starting now, let’s all begin the week grateful for the people, experiences, information, wisdom, opportunities, and ah-ha’s that makes life such an adventure.
Here is something I am grateful for today:

My good friend Nancy Juetten shared this inspirational movie with me today. Her email said to grab the tissue, and I didn’t listen. That was a mistake. Start to finish this piece is 2 minutes max. If you are into making a difference, this is must see. http://www.stservicemovie.com/

Life is good.

Affirmagy Summer Sale!

Have you seen it? Have you heard? Affirmagy is having a Summer Sale. Everything is 25% Off (except our Exclusive Book and Blanket Bundle) . This is the first and last sale we will have all year. No kidding.

And the fleece is flying. This is the perfect time to get a jump on all your fall gift giving needs. Grab your credit card, and click to shop your heart out.

Diary of a fundraiser

Creating the Book and Blanket Bundle to benefit breast cancer education and research was an easy decision. Doing good in the world is what our company is all about.

Spreading the word about our vision to raise $400,000 by October 31, 2007 in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a totally different conversation.

Today I want to thank and acknowledge several people who are helping spread the word and encourage folks to spend $39.95 to make a big difference in the lives of many. We are grateful for their support.

Shannon Bruce, CPCC and Founder of Your Greater Purpose included a wonderful article about Affirmagy in her May enewsletter.

Nancy Juetten, Kathe Shaw Basset, Elke Siller Macartney  & several other ‘Affirmagy Angels’ who will remain anon at this time.

Thank you all for finding inventive ways to help us raise $400,000 for breast cancer education and research.

If you have an idea, a insight, and action or an ah-ha that you believe will help us reach our goal, please email to kristen@affirmagy.com. And please, share us with your world.

Click here to learn more about why we are doing this.

The Power of Pink!

I discovered Play for P.I.N.K. cruising the internet, researching organizations that I could ‘put my name to”. That’s one of my standards for the charities we align with - would I personally write them a check.

During my years as a board member and president of Washington Women In Need, I learned a great deal about non-profits, how they run (yes, they are businesses) and what to concern myself with as a donor.

I was impressed with Play for P.I.N.K. for many reasons, so I decided to give them a call (see my post on the The Task is to Ask). Boy am I glad I did. What a great group of powerful women totally dedicated to raising money for cutting edge breast cancer research.

Today you can donate to this great organization by designating 20% of your purchase at Affirmagy by entering “Play4Pink” in the promotion code box as you check out. It’s easy.

We have also decided to give a portion of the dollars raised from the sales of our Book and Blanket Bundle to PFP. Together, we’re making a difference!

Raising Money for Breast Cancer, part 2

April 16th I was in Washington DC at an event and I got it! Raise $300,000 through the sale of Affirmawraps in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

It was so clear!

Now all I needed were some strategic partners, one hell of a PR campaign and a ton of word of mouth to propel this idea to success!

I also knew from other brainstorming we’d done, that creating a gift pack with a Chicken Soup for the Soul book was a winning idea. And so the Book and Blanket Bundle was born!

After collecting our thoughts, and sharing the idea, the team at Chicken Soup embraced it. And I couldn’t be more grateful to have them on our team. Remarkable!

Next, what organizations shall we give $400,000 (yes, in the process our goal grew $100K)?

Great question…..

Raising money for breast cancer

One day it dawned on me that two of the most influential women in my life were breast cancer survivors. One more a survivor of colon cancer. My life would simply not be what is it without these women in it. Period.

Back in November I received an email from a woman named Erin whom I have never met. Her email floored me. That week she’d lost her best friend to breast cancer. Reading her email, I cried and cried at the prospect of losing one of my dear friends. The pain would seem unbearable.

Then I began connecting the dots. How could Erin have the courage and poise to write me a thank you letter after her friend lost her battle with this awful disease? What strength. What grace. What a perfect example of women all over this country who face cancer everything it is to be human.

So, the light bulb got brighter. An idea began to take shape. And I knew what I had to do.