#anyway have my controversial take of the day xo

[lingeringscars]

hope is not as in control of her ( physical ) aggression as she likes to believe she is. she tends to repress most of her emotions, filtering them into anger. she then takes her anger out on either the nearest bad guy, a punching bag, and sometimes other people at the salvatore school. on more than one occasion, her repressed emotions have come out in physical aggression, beyond her control. however, there are also moments where she is in complete control and still chooses this path. on more than one occasion, she has asked when she can start punching things, usually as a way of venting her own anger. 

in the musical ep, it’s really important to note that she was angry with landon. she took one look at him and then threw a dodgeball as hard as she could, with all of her super strength at jed, someone who could handle the impact unlike landon. this is a form of displaced aggression, and also a type of physical abuse. her main target wasn’t jed but landon and that’s not okay? i don’t think hope necessarily realizes this though. jed can take the hit, and she doesn’t know any other way to process or manage her grief or anger. it consumes her, and she feels like sparring, training, hitting is the only form of release. while there isn’t anything inherently wrong with this, as long as she’s in a controlled environment, but when other people are involved it can end in unintentional damage (ie: when her grief over her father is bottled up and she ends up accidentally knocking alaric & landon across the room). 

hope has a lot of bottled up trauma & grief that she needs to process and work through; otherwise it leads to negative reactions to stimuli that can further hurt herself and others. she frequently makes decisions for other people in an attempt to have control ( and the school also rests the weight of protection on her shoulders !! it feels like she’s the only one that can do anything because the school has this mindset that hope will always save the day and is their savior. so when hope fails or almost does or doesn’t show up, people either don’t know what to do or hold it against her. none of that is fair or okay either !! ). hope’s fear of losing people, though, does sometimes come out either in isolating herself and pulling away from the people that care, or making decisions for them and taking away their own autonomy ( she does this frequently to landon in an attempt to protect him as she sees fit ). hope is so afraid of losing people and has the weight of being the hero on her, that she oversteps and alienates the people she is closest to.

[gimme-my-mammoney]

Request Rules and FAQs

Hey everyone! So, seeing as I’m getting a LOT of requests (which I adore - please keep them coming) I thought I’d make a post with the submission rules and also take this time to answer a few FAQs. I hope I don’t upset anyone with what I’ve written below, I truly do treasure every interaction I get and I adore this community. I hope you’ll all understand. Love you! xo

Request Rules ~

Firstly, and I’m shocked I even have to make this a rule, but I will absolutely not do romance/ smut with underage characters. The amount of requests I get to do this are actually disgusting. I know de-aging the brothers is a popular trope in this community, and for the large part it is completely fine and innocent, but the few that think it’s okay to ask for romance with an underage version of the brothers ruin it for everyone else. If you do request de-aging and it does fall into the inappropriate category, it will be a straight up block from me. The Devildom might have no laws, but the human world does. 

Secondly, I can refuse to do a request whenever I want. I may not be fond of your idea, I may not have time to do it, it might be similar to one I’ve done before, or I may feel like I’m not the best person for this particular request. Whenever I do decide to reject a request I ALWAYS send a private reply to the asker and explain my decision. If you haven’t had one of these from me, I either haven’t received your request or haven’t got around to writing it yet (sorry!). I try my best to be fair and open minded but sometimes I just can’t find the inspiration with some requests and I don’t want to put something out there that I’m not happy with. It’s not fair to me, the readers, or the requester. I hope everyone can understand this, I truly do love writing your requests and hate having to refuse one, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. Usually, this taken really well and the people have gone on to request alternative ideas (which I adore, request as much as you want!) but I’ve received horrible messages on two separate occasions. Both those accounts were reported and blocked. 

If I haven’t done your request the justice you feel it deserves, please message me politely. I am happy to receive criticism, I work in the entertainment industry so trust me, I can take it. I am largely happy to edit a piece so that you can enjoy it more. After all, without your requests I’d have less content. I want to do everyone proud and make sure that they trust me with their ideas and headcannons. However, if I cannot edit it to your satisfaction (or you are insulting) I have every right to leave it as it is or delete it entirely. 

You can request new things as many times as you want. I have no limits on the number of requests I receive. However, please be considerate that I might move you request to the back of the line if you have already had multiple done by me. I want to ensure that I am able to do as many requests as possible for as many different people. I hope you can understand this.

Regarding the timeline from requesting work to me completing and uploading it: there is none set in stone. As I’ve frequently mentioned, I work freelance in the entertainment industry. This can mean I have no workload one day, and a tonne the next. I also have to travel and complete impossible tasks to very tight deadlines. I have no plans to ever close my requests, but please be aware that it may take a while for me to post them. I promise I am trying my best to stay on top of them but the attention this blog has received in such a short space of time has been huge (and thank you for it!). I started this as a small hobby to relax and never expected to get more than ten followers, never mind the hundreds of you that I currently have. 

I have very little topics that I won’t write about (providing they’re both legal and ethical) but I also have the right to refuse your request if I don’t feel comfortable with its content. I try to keep this blog as welcoming as I can, so I don’t write smut or anything too dirty. If you’re not sure how dirty is too dirty, feel free to send in your request anyway and it’ll either be posted or I’ll message you asking if you can alter it to make it cleaner. I hope you understand that I want this blog to open to everyone. 

FAQs ~

I often get asked a lot of questions about me and this blog, which I love to receive! I love this community and how people try to get to know each other on a personal level, it’s so wonderful! I have got a few of the same questions so I thought I’d answer them all here! 

What is your name/location/gender/age? 

So, while these questions are harmless enough, I won’t be answering them directly. As I mentioned, I work in the entertainment industry and a fanfic blog could damage my reputation (it’s silly, I know). The industry relies heavy on the value of your name and I can’t risk having mine associated with anything that isn’t work. I do share my first name with a few friends I’ve made on here, so I’m not against doing that in private, but I won’t be posting it on my blog. As for my location; I’ve mentioned that I travel a lot, so it can be wherever work is. I was born in England, though. I’ m female and in my mid twenties. 

What other things do you enjoy?

I love cutesy games like animal crossing, pokemon, and stardew valley. I also love reading and writing. I’m a huge rock music fan but I’ll listen to anything. 

Do you have any other social media?

See the answer to my first question. I’m afraid I can’t share it with you. 

Who is your favourite Obey Me! brother?

Mammon owns my whole heart, but I do have a huge soft spot for Beel and Satan.

Have you got anything you dislike about Obey Me!?

This is controversial, so forgive me, but I really do not like Belphie. I thought the whole time travel storyline was weird too. 

[imagininghq-blog]

The link to your rules seems to be broken, or it could be that I'm on mobile. Anyways, good luck on your new blog!!

oh, sorry! my bad, here you go! also, thank you very much!!in terms of imagines:✿ please only request up to 3 characters for these! they are probably the most challenging to write and will take the longest.✿ try to include as much detail as possible! i don’t want you to be disappointed. if you find what i wrote wasn’t quite what you were hoping for, you can always send in another request!in terms of headcanons:✿ you can request up to 5 characters for these! that, or one full team or group (for example, nekoma, managers, etc.)✿ once again, the more detail, the better i can do!in terms of matchups:✿ your sexuality (or romantic orientation), if you’re comfortable, or simply what gender you want me to match you with!✿ if it’d make you more comfortable, you can also send an age range you’d like me to follow, like teachers, first years, whatever!✿ include your most prominent personality traits! plus some of your likes, dislikes, and hobbies! any information you’d find helpful would be great.✿ feel free to send as many asks as you want! just be sure to sign off and number them!✿ i’ll do poly matchups as well!in terms of what i‘ll write:✿ there aren’t many things that put me off, but i will not write incest, abuse from any haikyuu characters, pedophillia, rape, or human trafficking. there are probably other things too. to put it bluntly, nothing that would spark discourse or controversy, please!✿ that being said, i’m willing to write darker content to some extent- for example, yandere requests are fine.that’s all! i apologize if this was too long. if you have any further questions, feel free to send me an ask! have a great day and thank you for reading! xo

[survivorkochang]

Rites of Passage

Here are Anna Janes and Tobis’ Rites of Passages!

Anna: Cullan! Aka Mercury! Man you were a trip, ok I just opened our messages because a lot has happened this game and I’m having a hard time remembering everything. AH, so I really liked Goodman and you wanted him out over Jayden and I hadn’t talked to Jayden a lot so I wasn’t down for it. Then I think you went for Mitch who was my ride or die and I wasn’t gonna have that. Then there was controversy of “who said Goodmans name!” but regardless, I think if you got further you would have been sooooo entertaining! I wish you nothing but the best and hope you continue to play orgs!

Tobi: Different tribes and we never talked but sorry for your early boot

Anna: Hi! I didn’t get to meet you this game :( 

Tobi: Hihi so actually louise and I both knew you were leaving no matter what and we just voted with you so that our relationship in BAR wasn’t affected and it didn’t really matter in the end bc I flipped anyway LOL

Anna: Hi! I didn’t get to meet you this game :( JK but wow were you inactive lol, i mean you were in like 5 games and I’m sure Seamus forced you to play/wouldn’t let you withdraw your app so thats probably why LMAO uhh yeah i’m glad you were inactive because you scare me and i think we totally would have butt heads. Your vote out was pretty simple because tobi had got screwed over by his OG tribe and was looking to come over to my side, and you weren’t there so it was really easy. You’re an icon and i’m sure if you were active you would have easily made merge

Tobi: Hey sistur yes I did throw you under the bus and I apologize because it was either you or me and I didn’t want to leave so ya hope ur doing okay tho <3 icon

Anna: oh goodman, how i adored you. It was so obvious this was your first game and i really wanted to just tuck you under my wing and bring you to the end with me LOL but i think you had a hard time keeping secrets…. Like you told Frankie about the plan to blindside him and leave him out of the 2 tribal fiasco and i was like GOODMAN WTPPP but you were so sweet and genuine with me. I think once you get a hand on these orgs you’ll totally be able to rock them out! 

Tobi: Different tribes and we never talked but sorry for your early boot

Anna: a LEGENDARY MESS wow, so like i don't know where to start, it was so funny because we hadn’t even had a conversation yet and you created an alliance with me nicole and mitch. I would like to THANK YOU for starting that alliance because with that, came the me/mitch and nicole alliance that lasted LITERALLY all the way to like f7. But the way you talked to me in the alliances was just very demanding and made me feel icky. I don't rly love being told what to do and in these games i will pretend like i’m following the orders of the people who are doing the demanding just to like boost their ego but in reality im just gonna do my own thing and do whats best for me. The minute u were like really demanding towards me was when i was like ok yeah this isnt gonna work. I like alliances to be a team effort and everyone can speak their mind and do what they want and idkkk it just wasn’t that in ours which is why i flipped on you. You’re truly an icon though!!

Tobi: Okay like noah fence but like you didn’t save me during that f14 tribal I saved myself by my own efforts and u kinda just tried to use that as leverage LMAO but I appreciate ur somewhat help <3

Anna:  Jayden! So you were an easy vote out at this point because it was 3-3 i believe, so it was me u and nicole. Zach was very controlling and i was doing the thing where i like pretend to listen to demands. I knew you were an easy vote out and you leaving wouldn’t impact my game later on so i allowed zach to pick you off. I knew that voting with zach would give me some trust with him so i figured why not, IM SORRY LOL but ya that's why i let you go. You’re a super cool guy and i had a lot of fun during the endurance challenge

Tobi: We didn’t get to talk much but you seemed really sweet and like I hope you’re doing good!!

Anna: oh BOY. first of all you were ROBBED of jury and that is terrible, the hosts should be shunned for that because that was gross. But zach, i enjoyed every conversation we had and you are SO charming. Unfortunately i could see right through it all because i've played too many of these games. I’ve also played with ppl like you so i know how you function LOL omg that sounds mean but like, you were playing like someone who needed control and needed people in his pockets and the way you did that was charming them and being very on top of it all. Does that make sense? The minute we had one world and i could talk to agus he said “zach is controlling my tribe, he has dylan/bo and jones in his pocket” i was like okay i understand. I had to allow myself to seem like someone who was less than you so that you didn’t see me as like a bigger threat than you. So i did that, i voted jayden out. I pretended to give you idol guesses etc. i couldn’t give you all of my trust because i knew that we could NEVER work out together. You were the leader of your tribe and i could be seen as the leader of mine. So if we had gotten any further together, it would have been an all out WAR like could you imagine??? AND i had an idol and SO DID YOU like we were going to go head to head at some point. So when the move presented itself i knew i had to take it so that i could gain the trust of the people that were in your pocket and remove a huge threat to my game. You leaving was so beneficial to me omg, i got jones as an ally from it! But anyway, my gosh are you a great player and i don't think i got to ask about your org history but there is NO way you havent won a game before. You are strong and well spoken and again SO CHARMING like well done, i’m sorry i had to blindside u lol but jones told me about your idol and she told me that you were catching on to me and like wanting nicole out so i was like it is time!! I hope ur doing well and i wish 1 day i could be as cool as u tbh

Tobi: Oh Zach, sorry for playing you as hard as I did but I was planning it ever since you and dylan lied to me at the double tribal thing and I reveled in getting revenge hehe…  I flipped wayyyy back at f14 and started to plan to take you and dylan out ever since then and it worked hehe but you’re definitely a cool guy and we had some awesome convos it was just a shame that the double tribal went the way it did but alas it was fun!

Anna:  :( i don’t know what to say. I was very transparent and honest about your vote out because you are such an awesome person and i value you very much. I do think if you weren’t taken out at this point, it would have been bad for me. I think u had allies in places i didn’t even know about and you are very strategic and just a smart person. Im gonna be honest though and say the main like nail in your coffin was the way jones was pushing me off of you, so in these games its important to separate relationships and like not be obvious about who you DON’T want out. Which is why i dont think many people knew mitch was my ride or die. Maybe because no one really wanted him out so i didnt have the opportunity to campaign for him? But the way jones was campaigning for you to stay was very very intense and made it very obvious that if you had stayed, i would be second in jones’ mind. So voting you out allowed me to become super close to jones and allow her to rely on me more than she would have if you had stayed. I guess you could credit jones for your vote out LMAO because like at first i was fine with going for bo over you because we are friends and i adored you but then jones was like crying and freaking out over you leaving so i was like yaaaaaaaaa sorry friend

Tobi: Ok hi so like we had like one conversation the entire season and you didn’t bother to message me back so that’s on you…  Anyway like if you read zach’s rop you’d know the reason that I flipped was because both of you lied and expected me to be okay with it (which i obviously wasn’t then yall got merge boots lmao) and on TOP of that you throw me under the bus to louise who was the only person i could have a sense of trust with at the f14 tribal… like you reap what you sow sis idk what else to say bc that combination of actions really set me on a mission to take you and zach out xo

Anna: BO!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW you were honestly one of my favorite people in this game because you were so entertaining holy shit like the definition of a messy player, if they have a messy player season than wow are you ON IT. so your vote out was really funny because i was moving into my apartment so i was NOT online. I actually thought there was a chance that i could get voted out at that point. So the whole time i was like yes we can go for david its fine lets do it no problem. I had the votes and it was going to work out but THAN YOU OPENED YOUR MOUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You literally went and told david that i was gonna vote him YOU SENT A QUOTE! So then ofc i flipped the switch back onto you and it was no problem but oh my gosh if you had just not gone and told david the plan you wouldn’t have gone home! That move 100% was the reason you received my vote, i hope u play more games because you’re such a character and i had a lot of fun playing with you even though you made me want to rip my hair out at some points

Tobi: You’re a sweet kid and you did good for your first org but you also shot yourself in the foot at your vote out… like literally you weren’t the one who was supposed to go… david was but you HAD to tell david about it which made zero sense considering that vote was between you and david lol… but i dont really hold it against you since im sure you were trying your best hehe!! Hope you’re doing good and you play in more orgs!

Anna: i would like to thank u for ruining my potential perfect game (im writing this before FIC so hence potential) r u d e. BUT my love for you extends so far it could reach where you live and come back to where i live and go back and forth 20834324320842 times. You have been a close friend of mine since JPORG but unfortunately this game we just weren’t on the same side of the tracks. And unfortunately, my side had more people lol but yeah your vote out was simple. We went into that challenge knowing that if you lost, you would go home. If you had won, david would go home. I was lowkey really nervous when you started to like pitch against me lol but i really knew that 1 of the people on my side would tell me so i could idol so i wasn’t like waste my idol nervous if you know what i mean. But i adore you, you’re a scary player and the minute i saw your name on the cast reveal i thought “oh no” because you play like i do, you aren’t afraid to be the big dog and you aren’t afraid to make the moves you need to make when you need to make them. I could sing your praises for days Agustin and you know that.

Tobi: Yoo like i liked talking to you and all and we were on the same page for a lot of the season BUT in my plans to get revenge on zach and dylan i aligned with a group that sadly didn’t include you in it but yeah it was really fun playing with you and omg i LOVED when you called me out in tribal like that was so fun and i really enjoyed it!!

Anna: david, david, david. Your vote out was the craziest and most intense tribal of the game for me. It opened my eyes to so much and allowed me to really dig deep and see what i had to do to get further. So we connected since the beginning and i made sure to watch out for you BUT i saw you as a threat. I saw you as someone who could beat me at challenges and i knew from the beginning of merge that i had to pick off the people that could stop me from winning mandatory immunities. So with that in my head AND the thought that you would be the first to flip on me in the u/me/mitch/tobi/nicole alliance, i knew that you had to go sooner than later. So you found out about nicoles idol and jones and tobi both told me. And then you WOULDN’T tell me who told you about the idol so i went to mitch and was like “hey david told me you told him about my and nicoles idol” even though you didn’t just so i could bait him. It worked, he admitted it. THAT MOMENT WAS CRUCIAL TO EVERYTHING OH MY GOD but yeah i knew that tobi and jones were with me and tobi did NOT benefit at all by voting out nicole. Thats what i dont think a lot of people understood, ya’ll kept trying to pick nicole off to get at me but tobi’s only win con was sitting next to nicole……. So thats how i knew he wasn’t going to do that all the times ya’ll tried it. But yeah, i told you i was voting you out and you know i adore you as a person. I think you’re a bomb ass player and you def gave me a run for my money lol

Tobi: Hey bud so like i know i played you and mitch pretty hard at your vote out and like it was absolutely nothing personal but it was kinda obvious that you and mitch were closer to together than you were to me so like working with you two wasnt super optimal for me and like taking you out helped me achieve a few things like taking out a challenge threat and it threw mitch under the bus which let me last another 2 rounds so like ya that was my thought process behind it and I hope you’re doing well 

Anna: mitch. My GOD did you play me good. You were in my DMs saying how you want me to win and you are so dyingly loyal and blah blah AND THEN YOU FLIPPED ON ME BUT NOT ONLY DID YOU FLIP ON ME BUT YOU FLIPPED ON MY TOOOOOO EARLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh, 

i think of all the ppl that were like GET ANNA OUT GET ANNA OUT u were the person who i think could do it. But regardless, you were my person in this game. Like yes nicole was too but nicole wasn’t online enough to rly RLY be my person that i strategize with and talk to all the time. Like i told you all of my plans and we made moves together. I would NEVER say you were in my pocket and i can honestly say sitting at f3 that i don’t think you were. We were a team and we made moves together. We made plans together, we got the idols together. You and me did this together and i will never take that for granted. I had SO MUCH FUN playing with you mitch and becoming FRIENDS with you and really getting to know you. Our friendship is something i will take away from this game and i am so happy about that. You’re a bad ass mitch, thank you for playing this game by my side

Tobi: Lord like honestly our relationship is so rocky KJHLKJ like im gonna be real and say like I lied maybe a lil too much BUT it was for strategic reasons and letting david go and letting you take the hit for it really let me get through a few rounds with one move and like I also apologize about your own vote out like okay honestly i was already pretty leaning towards voting you out already but then when aj told me you wanted to vote me out (a plan which neither you or jones told me about) really sealed the deal and like i also was in a peculiar situation because nicole is the only person I have a real chance of beating in that f5 so it would've been really dumb for me to vote her out so yeah okay like i always feel like i wanna work with you but our plans never seem to work with each other KJHLKJ but i definitely hope we can work together if we meet each other again!!

Anna: jones, im getting exhausted writing all these but i really want to like be genuine and honest in all of them so here we go, I adore u wow, u are such an honest genuine soul that i know is seriously going to do amazing things in orgs and just life in general. Like i told you, you remind me of myself when i first started playing (which is a good and a bad thing LOL) but you are intense, you are confident in your game, and you are powerful. You should be proud of the way you played and excited for the games you play in the future. Your vote out was actually wild because at no point at all was i ever considering voting tobi out. So you were FLOODING me with messages, emotional intense messages that made me want to rip my hair out. Because you were telling me you weren’t gonna vote tobi, and then you were, and then you weren’t again and i was so confused because your ONLY argument with me was voting tobi out because i told you i was never ever going to vote nicole. NO ONE SHOULD EVER HAVE WANTED TO VOTE OUT NICOLE FOR SO MANY REASONS. But thats neither here nor there lol but yeah you were very aggressive and i was sooo taken back by it. It pretty much solidified my vote for you because tobi wasn’t begging for his life lol which like shows me that YOU were going to fuckin woop my ass at FIC and give the same amount of effort that im about to give to it, like girl you did the logic puzzle for 3 HOURS!!! you just dont give up. You would have fought tooth and nail to wipe the floor with me at that FIC and you cant deny that! But yeah, the begging and the emotional messages def helped ensure me voting for you. AND THEN FUCKIN NICOLE WASNT ONLINE. So this is actually wild what i did here and im sorry in advance but she wasn’t on and i knew me and tobi were voting you so i went to you and was like yo…. Tobi doesn’t have any votes against him you should make him join the votes club OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND YOU SAID YES SO MY LITTLE DEVIL BRAIN WAS LIKE YES BITCH 2-1-1, if you voted nicole it would have been fire making and nicole would have possibly lost. It was genius, it was cruel and i am sorry but i had to do it……… tobi knew too!!!! Ok im tired this was dumb i hate ROP, i adore you, you’re gonna kill muxloe but my one little snippet of advice is to NOT invest yourself into these games in an unhealthy way. I know this from experience because when i first got 4th my first game i SOBBED, the second time i got 4th I SOBBED the first time i got 2nd I SOBBED the second time i got 2nd I SOBBED and like when i say sobbed i mean it tore me up and i was mad and sad and just hurt emotionally so i GET IT. i get it, but its not good for your health!!!! Like once i learned to stop playing like that it helped me soooo much (it took me literally until this game sooooooooooooooooooooo im trash but still) I LOVE U JONESY GUACEY POOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Tobi: Ahhh jones you were honestly a joy to talk to and like I really enjoyed working with you!! Especially on that vote where we successfully flushed nicole’s idol which was honestly like 200iq stuff KLJHKJ and I feel like I came into f5/f4 being like the second least likely person to win with you and AJ being the most likely to win so at f4 the pressure was really on me because it was a choice of definitely making final tribal council but probably losing or having to work so much harder to make final tribal council but also having a real chance to win… and in the end i did what was best for my  game and i’m glad you understood that… but highkey i felt so bad that you voted for me bc if you voted for nicole you legit would’ve put firemaking into play KJHSDF but anyways it was really nice getting to meet you and know you hehe

Anna: I love u with my whole heart and I hope ur okay, I had to write this very fast so I can’t write it how I want to but just know I’m so appreciative of you and am glad I got to know you through this game

Tobi: hihi so like i really do appreciate everything we've done here together and like i really enjoyed our talks and stuff but you just went inactive (for personal reasons which i understand) but like you getting removed at f3 completely fucked over my game LKJHDSLFKJHA but like all that's really important is that you take care of your own stuff okay hehe luv u beecole <#

[oovitus]

Weekend Reading, 2.11.18

In February, it’s not unusual for yoga classes and studios to place an emphasis on the 4th chakra, or anahata chakra. My studio is no exception, and even if Valentine’s Day weren’t around the corner, the heart chakra would be on my mind.

I’m going to try not to quote from Melody Beattie’s Journey to the Heart (which I mentioned last week) every single Sunday, since I don’t want to spoil its surprises for those who haven’t read it. But I was moved enough by a recent affirmation that I can’t help but share. The day is February 9th, and the entry is titled “Keep Your Heart Open”:

“Keep your heart open,” Beattie writes, “even when you can’t have what you want.”

She goes on to say:

It’s easy to keep our heart open to life’s magic and all of its possibilities when we have what we want. It’s more of a challenge, and more necessary than ever, to keep our hearts open when we can’t have what we want.

Even on the best journey, things happen. Plans change. Things shift and move around. This shifting and moving causes doors to close, relationships to end, blocks and frustrations to appear on our path…

Keep your heart open anyway. Consciously choose to do that. Yes, you can go away, you can leave, you can shut down, but you don’t need to. Now is a turning point. If you choose to open your heart, even when you can’t have what you want, miracles will unfold.

As I read these words, I was surprised to find them bringing tears to my eyes. I thought about how much more likely I am to give thanks, practice gratitude, stay open, and share my love when things are “going well,” or when I’m getting my way. My default when life doesn’t take the course I’d like it to is often—more often than I’d like to admit—gloom, sadness, frustration, or resentment. Sometimes a combination of them all.

It feels so constricted to practice loving, giving, and receiving only from the safe environs of things being just so, the pieces falling into place exactly how we’d imagined. But it’s something I do, and Beattie’s short meditation made me aware of it.

For a long time I assumed that the word “anahata” must refer to physiology, and that it was probably translated as “heart” or “chest.” Not so; anahata is translated as “unstuck,” “unhurt,” or “unbeaten.” I love this. Rather than referring to the heart as a biological entity, it refers to the essence of what the heart can do: love and keep loving, boundlessly, no matter what hurts come its way. It’s an amazingly resilient organ that way.

In the last few days, when my impulse to shut down and lick my wounds and feel sore at the world around me was the strongest, I practiced staying open and loving instead. I won’t pretend it felt like instinct, but I was actually surprised at how good it did feel, once I’d made the choice to do it.

I think I’ve always feared a soft, open, and loving posture when I’m in pain; consciously or not, it’s easier for me to connect and share myself when I feel composed and strong. Now I wonder how much more readily healing and resilience might find me if I could practice lovingkindness when I’m broken open, whether giving love when I’m at my most vulnerable could be a source of strength, rather than a liability. My experience in the last few days suggests that it is.

With all of this in mind, I’m sending you all my most loving, warm, and grateful thoughts. Happy Valentine’s Day to you, but know that thoughts will extend well beyond February 14th. And in the meantime, here’s my roundup of recent recipe discoveries and reads.

Recipes

First up, all the heart eyes for Lauren’s scrumptious looking hemp crusted tofu cobb. And I’m equally excited about her new cookbook, which is packed with creative, yet classic vegan comfort food dishes.

I can never get enough simple, wholesome vegan grain dishes, and so much the better if they’re also loaded with leafy greens. I’m bookmarking Alex’s easy, nutritious Swiss chard and ancient grains salad.

I’ve never tried my hand at a vegan tuna noodle casserole, but Ameera and Robin have inspired me with this recipe.

It’s only appropriate to share a heart-shaped dessert today, and what better pick than Kathy’s sweet and pretty vegan sugar cookies?

Double desserts today. I’m sharing a dark chocolate pear cake in a couple days, so I smiled to see that my friend Hetty is on a similar wavelength. Her sticky date olive oil cake with chai poached pears looks spectacular.

Reads

1. Karen, who wrote a lovely green recovery post some years ago, shares humble and loving thoughts on honoring the body, eating intuitively, and finding peace.

2. I’m a big fan of Danielle Ofri’s books, and I was interested to read her thoughtful (and practical) primer on how to make the most of a doctor’s office visit.

3. Also via the New York Times, new research implicating the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of colon cancer.

4. Sasha Chapman probes deeply into rope entanglement, which is a leading cause of whale deaths, and the politics surrounding efforts to address the problem. I was glad to be made conscious of this, though my heart ached not only for the whales, but for all of the other ocean creatures who are targeted by fishing ropes in the first place.

5. Sham surgery is incredibly rare in the U.S., because incisions or invasive procedures without delivery of medical treatment are regarded as ethically problematic. This article looks at the potential benefit of sham surgery as a means of uncovering the futility of costly, risky, and often ineffective treatments. It’s an interesting controversy, especially for healthcare practitioners who take interest in the placebo effect.

Alright, friends. Happy Sunday. I’ll be back on Tuesday, with chocolate!

xo

The post Weekend Reading, 2.11.18 appeared first on The Full Helping.

Weekend Reading, 2.11.18 published first on

[gardencityvegans]

Weekend Reading, 2.11.18

https://www.thefullhelping.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/weekend_reading.jpg

In February, it’s not unusual for yoga classes and studios to place an emphasis on the 4th chakra, or anahata chakra. My studio is no exception, and even if Valentine’s Day weren’t around the corner, the heart chakra would be on my mind.

I’m going to try not to quote from Melody Beattie’s Journey to the Heart (which I mentioned last week) every single Sunday, since I don’t want to spoil its surprises for those who haven’t read it. But I was moved enough by a recent affirmation that I can’t help but share. The day is February 9th, and the entry is titled “Keep Your Heart Open”:

“Keep your heart open,” Beattie writes, “even when you can’t have what you want.”

She goes on to say:

It’s easy to keep our heart open to life’s magic and all of its possibilities when we have what we want. It’s more of a challenge, and more necessary than ever, to keep our hearts open when we can’t have what we want.

Even on the best journey, things happen. Plans change. Things shift and move around. This shifting and moving causes doors to close, relationships to end, blocks and frustrations to appear on our path…

Keep your heart open anyway. Consciously choose to do that. Yes, you can go away, you can leave, you can shut down, but you don’t need to. Now is a turning point. If you choose to open your heart, even when you can’t have what you want, miracles will unfold.

As I read these words, I was surprised to find them bringing tears to my eyes. I thought about how much more likely I am to give thanks, practice gratitude, stay open, and share my love when things are “going well,” or when I’m getting my way. My default when life doesn’t take the course I’d like it to is often—more often than I’d like to admit—gloom, sadness, frustration, or resentment. Sometimes a combination of them all.

It feels so constricted to practice loving, giving, and receiving only from the safe environs of things being just so, the pieces falling into place exactly how we’d imagined. But it’s something I do, and Beattie’s short meditation made me aware of it.

For a long time I assumed that the word “anahata” must refer to physiology, and that it was probably translated as “heart” or “chest.” Not so; anahata is translated as “unstuck,” “unhurt,” or “unbeaten.” I love this. Rather than referring to the heart as a biological entity, it refers to the essence of what the heart can do: love and keep loving, boundlessly, no matter what hurts come its way. It’s an amazingly resilient organ that way.

In the last few days, when my impulse to shut down and lick my wounds and feel sore at the world around me was the strongest, I practiced staying open and loving instead. I won’t pretend it felt like instinct, but I was actually surprised at how good it did feel, once I’d made the choice to do it.

I think I’ve always feared a soft, open, and loving posture when I’m in pain; consciously or not, it’s easier for me to connect and share myself when I feel composed and strong. Now I wonder how much more readily healing and resilience might find me if I could practice lovingkindness when I’m broken open, whether giving love when I’m at my most vulnerable could be a source of strength, rather than a liability. My experience in the last few days suggests that it is.

With all of this in mind, I’m sending you all my most loving, warm, and grateful thoughts. Happy Valentine’s Day to you, but know that thoughts will extend well beyond February 14th. And in the meantime, here’s my roundup of recent recipe discoveries and reads.

Recipes

First up, all the heart eyes for Lauren’s scrumptious looking hemp crusted tofu cobb. And I’m equally excited about her new cookbook, which is packed with creative, yet classic vegan comfort food dishes.

I can never get enough simple, wholesome vegan grain dishes, and so much the better if they’re also loaded with leafy greens. I’m bookmarking Alex’s easy, nutritious Swiss chard and ancient grains salad.

I’ve never tried my hand at a vegan tuna noodle casserole, but Ameera and Robin have inspired me with this recipe.

It’s only appropriate to share a heart-shaped dessert today, and what better pick than Kathy’s sweet and pretty vegan sugar cookies?

Double desserts today. I’m sharing a dark chocolate pear cake in a couple days, so I smiled to see that my friend Hetty is on a similar wavelength. Her sticky date olive oil cake with chai poached pears looks spectacular.

Reads

1. Karen, who wrote a lovely green recovery post some years ago, shares humble and loving thoughts on honoring the body, eating intuitively, and finding peace.

2. I’m a big fan of Danielle Ofri’s books, and I was interested to read her thoughtful (and practical) primer on how to make the most of a doctor’s office visit.

3. Also via the New York Times, new research implicating the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of colon cancer.

4. Sasha Chapman probes deeply into rope entanglement, which is a leading cause of whale deaths, and the politics surrounding efforts to address the problem. I was glad to be made conscious of this, though my heart ached not only for the whales, but for all of the other ocean creatures who are targeted by fishing ropes in the first place.

5. Sham surgery is incredibly rare in the U.S., because incisions or invasive procedures without delivery of medical treatment are regarded as ethically problematic. This article looks at the potential benefit of sham surgery as a means of uncovering the futility of costly, risky, and often ineffective treatments. It’s an interesting controversy, especially for healthcare practitioners who take interest in the placebo effect.

Alright, friends. Happy Sunday. I’ll be back on Tuesday, with chocolate!

xo

[Read More ...] https://www.thefullhelping.com/weekend-reading-2-11-18/

[shanannigansthebibliophile]

Happy Friday friends and fellow cinephiles! 

I hope everyone has had an excellent week, and is ready for the weekend. God knows I am and where I live, it happens to be a long weekend. WOO HOO!

Anyway, let’s take a look back on this week shall we?

Well, I’ve had the walking plague for the last week so that’s be loads of fun. But seeing as I’ve had less motivation than your average garden slug, I was able to get in quite a bit of reading and even a few movies. Remember that zombie series “The Zombie Girl Saga”? It started out with so much promise. The first book was so good, I tried to turn it into a feature but unfortunately as the series progressed, the storyline nose-dived for me and I was so disappointed. Feel Me Fall (Read Review) on the other hand, was fantastic!

I also saw Atomic Blonde (Read Review) and that was a pretty great flick, and the now controversial Netflix movie, To the Bone. I will share my review of that today. Of course, there were countless viewings of Frozen and Moana sprinkled in too, but that wasn’t my choice 😉

Fun fact about me: I’m obsessed with dinosaurs. Always have been. Also sharks, but that’s for another day. which brings me to this week’s movie choice for the showdown.

This Week: Jurassic Park (1993)

Not only is this film about dinosaurs, but it is also based on a book by one of my absolute favourite authors, Michael Crichton. Jurassic Park blew people away with its revolutionary SFX and made dreams come true for dinosaur enthusiasts like me. To this day, I can rewatch this movie and still be impressed.

A

B

C

D

E

F

H

I

J

K

L

So many amazing choices! I really love fan-made posters! They show so much love and of course talent. For me, it was an easy choice though I liked quite a few of them. I mean how can you not?

The Winner: J

I think this poster really captures the beauty and imagination of the park and its creator. Focusing on one of the special, happy moments of the film.

Which one do you like?

  Shanannigans XO

Movie Poster Showdown #Movies #JurassicPark #Adventure #Friday #WeeklyRecap #Dinosaurs Happy Friday friends and fellow cinephiles!  I hope everyone has had an excellent week, and is ready for the weekend.

[anything-advice-blog]

(1/2) Time sensitive(?) I sent an ask a while ago about how I have selective mutism and social anxiety and how I wanted to get stickers for my laptop but I didn't know if I should. I ended up getting the stickers and they came in a few days ago. One of them is a sticker that says "Love animals, don't eat them," (I'm a vegetarian). I only got it because I know a few other veg classmates who I might want to make friends with, but my brother (who's not a vegetarian) said if he saw that on someone's

(2/2) laptop, he'd think they were just beingan ass about it. I've seen other people walking around with controversialstickers saying their pro-life, but my school is Catholic, so most peopleprobably agree, and the school probably doesn't care, but since most people eatmeat, I feel like people will think ill of me or an authority figure will tellme to take it off or something. I also got an "Adopt, don't shop,"sticker, and my brother said the same thing about that one. I need some input.

Hello there hun,

I am so sorry that we didn’t see your previousask earlier! I’m glad that you decided to get the stickers though, because itsounds like they will help you to make conversations with similar-mindedpeople. Anyway, I think your brother is just being a butthead. You are allowedto express your views however you would like to, which includes puttingstickers on your laptop.

I am also a vegetarian, so I may be a bitbiased, but I don’t see a problem with putting that sticker on your laptop.Vegetarianism really isn’t anything controversial and people are obviouslyaware that vegetarians exist. It’s not anything inappropriate, so I doubtanyone will ask you to take it off. If they do ask you, argue that those withthe pro-life stickers got to keep theirs on and that’s more controversial thanvegetarianism. With the “adopt, don’t shop” sticker, I really don’t thinkanyone would have a problem with that because it’s a pretty well known factthat people should adopt from animal shelters rather than buy from potentialpuppy mills.

I disagree with your brother. If I saw thosestickers, I would just think someone was expressing their opinion, which issomething you’re completely allowed to do. Put the stickers on and see whathappens. I’m sure everything will be fine.

I’m here if you need anything,

Michaela xo

[oovitus]

Weekend Reading, 2.11.18

In February, it’s not unusual for yoga classes and studios to place an emphasis on the 4th chakra, or anahata chakra. My studio is no exception, and even if Valentine’s Day weren’t around the corner, the heart chakra would be on my mind.

I’m going to try not to quote from Melody Beattie’s Journey to the Heart (which I mentioned last week) every single Sunday, since I don’t want to spoil its surprises for those who haven’t read it. But I was moved enough by a recent affirmation that I can’t help but share. The day is February 9th, and the entry is titled “Keep Your Heart Open”:

“Keep your heart open,” Beattie writes, “even when you can’t have what you want.”

She goes on to say:

It’s easy to keep our heart open to life’s magic and all of its possibilities when we have what we want. It’s more of a challenge, and more necessary than ever, to keep our hearts open when we can’t have what we want.

Even on the best journey, things happen. Plans change. Things shift and move around. This shifting and moving causes doors to close, relationships to end, blocks and frustrations to appear on our path…

Keep your heart open anyway. Consciously choose to do that. Yes, you can go away, you can leave, you can shut down, but you don’t need to. Now is a turning point. If you choose to open your heart, even when you can’t have what you want, miracles will unfold.

As I read these words, I was surprised to find them bringing tears to my eyes. I thought about how much more likely I am to give thanks, practice gratitude, stay open, and share my love when things are “going well,” or when I’m getting my way. My default when life doesn’t take the course I’d like it to is often—more often than I’d like to admit—gloom, sadness, frustration, or resentment. Sometimes a combination of them all.

It feels so constricted to practice loving, giving, and receiving only from the safe environs of things being just so, the pieces falling into place exactly how we’d imagined. But it’s something I do, and Beattie’s short meditation made me aware of it.

For a long time I assumed that the word “anahata” must refer to physiology, and that it was probably translated as “heart” or “chest.” Not so; anahata is translated as “unstuck,” “unhurt,” or “unbeaten.” I love this. Rather than referring to the heart as a biological entity, it refers to the essence of what the heart can do: love and keep loving, boundlessly, no matter what hurts come its way. It’s an amazingly resilient organ that way.

In the last few days, when my impulse to shut down and lick my wounds and feel sore at the world around me was the strongest, I practiced staying open and loving instead. I won’t pretend it felt like instinct, but I was actually surprised at how good it did feel, once I’d made the choice to do it.

I think I’ve always feared a soft, open, and loving posture when I’m in pain; consciously or not, it’s easier for me to connect and share myself when I feel composed and strong. Now I wonder how much more readily healing and resilience might find me if I could practice lovingkindness when I’m broken open, whether giving love when I’m at my most vulnerable could be a source of strength, rather than a liability. My experience in the last few days suggests that it is.

With all of this in mind, I’m sending you all my most loving, warm, and grateful thoughts. Happy Valentine’s Day to you, but know that thoughts will extend well beyond February 14th. And in the meantime, here’s my roundup of recent recipe discoveries and reads.

Recipes

First up, all the heart eyes for Lauren’s scrumptious looking hemp crusted tofu cobb. And I’m equally excited about her new cookbook, which is packed with creative, yet classic vegan comfort food dishes.

I can never get enough simple, wholesome vegan grain dishes, and so much the better if they’re also loaded with leafy greens. I’m bookmarking Alex’s easy, nutritious Swiss chard and ancient grains salad.

I’ve never tried my hand at a vegan tuna noodle casserole, but Ameera and Robin have inspired me with this recipe.

It’s only appropriate to share a heart-shaped dessert today, and what better pick than Kathy’s sweet and pretty vegan sugar cookies?

Double desserts today. I’m sharing a dark chocolate pear cake in a couple days, so I smiled to see that my friend Hetty is on a similar wavelength. Her sticky date olive oil cake with chai poached pears looks spectacular.

Reads

1. Karen, who wrote a lovely green recovery post some years ago, shares humble and loving thoughts on honoring the body, eating intuitively, and finding peace.

2. I’m a big fan of Danielle Ofri’s books, and I was interested to read her thoughtful (and practical) primer on how to make the most of a doctor’s office visit.

3. Also via the New York Times, new research implicating the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of colon cancer.

4. Sasha Chapman probes deeply into rope entanglement, which is a leading cause of whale deaths, and the politics surrounding efforts to address the problem. I was glad to be made conscious of this, though my heart ached not only for the whales, but for all of the other ocean creatures who are targeted by fishing ropes in the first place.

5. Sham surgery is incredibly rare in the U.S., because incisions or invasive procedures without delivery of medical treatment are regarded as ethically problematic. This article looks at the potential benefit of sham surgery as a means of uncovering the futility of costly, risky, and often ineffective treatments. It’s an interesting controversy, especially for healthcare practitioners who take interest in the placebo effect.

Alright, friends. Happy Sunday. I’ll be back on Tuesday, with chocolate!

xo

The post Weekend Reading, 2.11.18 appeared first on The Full Helping.

Weekend Reading, 2.11.18 published first on https://storeseapharmacy.tumblr.com

[oovitus]

Weekend Reading, 2.11.18

In February, it’s not unusual for yoga classes and studios to place an emphasis on the 4th chakra, or anahata chakra. My studio is no exception, and even if Valentine’s Day weren’t around the corner, the heart chakra would be on my mind.

I’m going to try not to quote from Melody Beattie’s Journey to the Heart (which I mentioned last week) every single Sunday, since I don’t want to spoil its surprises for those who haven’t read it. But I was moved enough by a recent affirmation that I can’t help but share. The day is February 9th, and the entry is titled “Keep Your Heart Open”:

“Keep your heart open,” Beattie writes, “even when you can’t have what you want.”

She goes on to say:

It’s easy to keep our heart open to life’s magic and all of its possibilities when we have what we want. It’s more of a challenge, and more necessary than ever, to keep our hearts open when we can’t have what we want.

Even on the best journey, things happen. Plans change. Things shift and move around. This shifting and moving causes doors to close, relationships to end, blocks and frustrations to appear on our path…

Keep your heart open anyway. Consciously choose to do that. Yes, you can go away, you can leave, you can shut down, but you don’t need to. Now is a turning point. If you choose to open your heart, even when you can’t have what you want, miracles will unfold.

As I read these words, I was surprised to find them bringing tears to my eyes. I thought about how much more likely I am to give thanks, practice gratitude, stay open, and share my love when things are “going well,” or when I’m getting my way. My default when life doesn’t take the course I’d like it to is often—more often than I’d like to admit—gloom, sadness, frustration, or resentment. Sometimes a combination of them all.

It feels so constricted to practice loving, giving, and receiving only from the safe environs of things being just so, the pieces falling into place exactly how we’d imagined. But it’s something I do, and Beattie’s short meditation made me aware of it.

For a long time I assumed that the word “anahata” must refer to physiology, and that it was probably translated as “heart” or “chest.” Not so; anahata is translated as “unstuck,” “unhurt,” or “unbeaten.” I love this. Rather than referring to the heart as a biological entity, it refers to the essence of what the heart can do: love and keep loving, boundlessly, no matter what hurts come its way. It’s an amazingly resilient organ that way.

In the last few days, when my impulse to shut down and lick my wounds and feel sore at the world around me was the strongest, I practiced staying open and loving instead. I won’t pretend it felt like instinct, but I was actually surprised at how good it did feel, once I’d made the choice to do it.

I think I’ve always feared a soft, open, and loving posture when I’m in pain; consciously or not, it’s easier for me to connect and share myself when I feel composed and strong. Now I wonder how much more readily healing and resilience might find me if I could practice lovingkindness when I’m broken open, whether giving love when I’m at my most vulnerable could be a source of strength, rather than a liability. My experience in the last few days suggests that it is.

With all of this in mind, I’m sending you all my most loving, warm, and grateful thoughts. Happy Valentine’s Day to you, but know that thoughts will extend well beyond February 14th. And in the meantime, here’s my roundup of recent recipe discoveries and reads.

Recipes

First up, all the heart eyes for Lauren’s scrumptious looking hemp crusted tofu cobb. And I’m equally excited about her new cookbook, which is packed with creative, yet classic vegan comfort food dishes.

I can never get enough simple, wholesome vegan grain dishes, and so much the better if they’re also loaded with leafy greens. I’m bookmarking Alex’s easy, nutritious Swiss chard and ancient grains salad.

I’ve never tried my hand at a vegan tuna noodle casserole, but Ameera and Robin have inspired me with this recipe.

It’s only appropriate to share a heart-shaped dessert today, and what better pick than Kathy’s sweet and pretty vegan sugar cookies?

Double desserts today. I’m sharing a dark chocolate pear cake in a couple days, so I smiled to see that my friend Hetty is on a similar wavelength. Her sticky date olive oil cake with chai poached pears looks spectacular.

Reads

1. Karen, who wrote a lovely green recovery post some years ago, shares humble and loving thoughts on honoring the body, eating intuitively, and finding peace.

2. I’m a big fan of Danielle Ofri’s books, and I was interested to read her thoughtful (and practical) primer on how to make the most of a doctor’s office visit.

3. Also via the New York Times, new research implicating the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of colon cancer.

4. Sasha Chapman probes deeply into rope entanglement, which is a leading cause of whale deaths, and the politics surrounding efforts to address the problem. I was glad to be made conscious of this, though my heart ached not only for the whales, but for all of the other ocean creatures who are targeted by fishing ropes in the first place.

5. Sham surgery is incredibly rare in the U.S., because incisions or invasive procedures without delivery of medical treatment are regarded as ethically problematic. This article looks at the potential benefit of sham surgery as a means of uncovering the futility of costly, risky, and often ineffective treatments. It’s an interesting controversy, especially for healthcare practitioners who take interest in the placebo effect.

Alright, friends. Happy Sunday. I’ll be back on Tuesday, with chocolate!

xo

The post Weekend Reading, 2.11.18 appeared first on The Full Helping.

Weekend Reading, 2.11.18 published first on