In This Issue:
June 1, 2015 - Issue 16



Welcome to our sixteenth issue of Living in the Miracle Zone! 

Here you'll find knowledge, techniques and inspiration to live a life where miracles are simply the order of the day!

The theme of this issue is Deep Happiness and Hidden Gifts.
 
Your Year of Miracles 2015          Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter 
News From Marci & Debra


 

Hi there,    


Since the middle of May Debra has been in Haiti with an LA-based non-profit www.AidStillRequired.com (ASR) traveling to locations across the country that are still recovering from the 2010 earthquake which killed over 200,000. ASR is committed to helping those who have been left behind after natural disasters - and after the big NGO's have moved on. ASR's guiding axiom is: "Just Because It Left the Headlines, Doesn't Mean It Left the Planet."

 

A few of the 250 children at the ASR ODEAN Children's Center - all dressed up for the arrival of their special guests ;)

Debra was there helping find suitable living situations for orphans discovered in horrific living conditions, meeting with engineers to finalize plans for a school ASR is building in a remote area for children who would otherwise receive no education because their families can't afford the $6/year it costs to send them to public school, instituting a sustainable crop program for farmers whose land has been devastated by the on-going deforestation and resulting uncontrollable flooding, overseeing a literacy program for adults who were never given the opportunity to learn to read and write until now, and more.
 

Debra was absolutely in awe of these people's spirits. Although the majority live in tiny, one-room cinder block "homes" with dirt floors, no windows and no running water or electricity, they are happy. They don't complain about their circumstances. They look for ways to make them better. They don't want handouts. They want opportunity. They don't want you to give them food. They just want the seeds to plant and cultivate and harvest their own. They don't ask for money to support their children. They want the opportunity for their children to get an education and create their own productive life. They don't blame anyone for not having taught them to read and write. They are grateful to be part of thASR literacy program so that now they will gain these basics skills and will soon be able to support themselves and their families to have a better life. 


And they don't believe it when someone tells them that a better life is a pipe dream

 

Participants doing their Sahaj Samadhi practice for stress relief
When Debra taught a stress relief program (that was originally developed for soldiers returning home with PTSD) in one of the poorest villages in Haiti, it was announced by going through the village with a megaphone. It does no good to put up posters when the people can't read or to even tell people it starts at 4 pm since no one 
has a watch or clock. She was told that these people wouldn't be interested. Yet, almost 100 men and women showed up for the course and almost everyone came back for days 2 and 3...dressed in their best clothes that they had just washed in the river and dried on the rocks. After the 3 days, their lives had already shifted and their gratitude overflowed. 

Dignity, pride along with humility, resilience, a never-say-die spirit and a contagious joy are qualities of the Haitian people that we can admire and emulate - as these are qualities that will attract the miracles we all deserve.


Always miraculously yours,


 

Marci and Debra

 

Debra and friend
Miracle Message
More on Being Happy for No Reason

Being known as the "Happy for No Reason" lady has its interesting moments. Sometimes people watch the way I act and react in life, wondering if I really practice what I teach. Well, a few years ago, I was given a pop quiz to see just how well I was doing in the "happy for no reason" department.


My computer was stolen from a hotel room during a conference I was attending. I'm not particularly attached to computers, so losing it was not a big deal. What was a big deal is the fact that it had been 5 � months since I'd backed up my computer (I know, a really bad idea), so the thousands of emails I'd received and all of the writing I'd done in those months were now gone.

After a bit of grieving and chastising myself for not backing up my data, I took a deep breath and reflected on what I'd discovered about people who have lasting happiness: They look for the lesson and the gift in every situation. So I asked myself, "If this were happening for a Higher Purpose, what would that be?" The lessons came through loud and clear:

1. Listen to your intuition and follow through. Before that trip, I had a strong feeling that I should back up the computer. I just never followed through.

2. Slow down. The day my computer was stolen, it contained 1200 + unopened emails, and every time I looked at them I thought, "I just wish they would all go away." Well, that wish came true. Clearly, it was time for me to slow down and catch up.

3. Trust. Most of what was stored on my computer could be recreated, but if I lost anything vital, I had to have faith that the information would come to me in another way.

4. Pay attention to signs. Interestingly, I received a clear warning a few weeks before my computer disappeared - a note from a colleague, who shared the following:

Here is a personal experience from this week...proof that happy for no reason is in play.

My life, my work, and most of my most personal efforts have resided on a computer over the past many years. I have three computers in my home. For protection, I acquired a central backup system for them all. I felt safe.

Two days ago thieves broke into my home and stole all three computers and the backup system. They didn't take my high-end stereo, big high-definition flat screen monitor, iPODs, or even the cash lying around. All they took were my computers. 

After arriving home and realizing what had taken place a great peace came over me. In that moment, I realized nothing external to me defined me, my state of being, my happiness. By contrast, I was thankful. I was thankful that they didn't take my music, my guitar, my drums, or my PA system. I was thrilled immediately with me...being happy. It was a great event to show me how much I have grown in my life where circumstances, events, and all things external to me have no influence on my peace, my joy, my chosen state of being.

Now I'm not sure that my initial reaction was quite as graceful as my colleague's, but I could say that my inner core of happiness stayed intact. While I lost some emails and other data, I found something even more valuable: I could be happy for no reason in the midst of it all.

So, in the coming weeks, when you find yourself in a challenging situation, see if you can find the hidden gifts that the situation is making available for you.

And of course, back up your computer!

 

Quotes

"Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient."

 

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself-and be lenient to everybody else."
~ Henry Ward Beecher



About Marci

 

Marci Shimoff is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a world-renowned transformational teacher and an expert on happiness, success, and unconditional love.  Her books include the international bestsellers Love for No Reason and Happy for No Reason.  

Marci is also the woman's face of the biggest self-help book phenomenon in history, as co-author of six books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. With total book sales of more than 15 million copies worldwide in 33 languages, Marci is one of the bestselling female nonfiction authors of all time. 

Marci is also a featured teacher in the international film and book sensation, The Secret and the host of the national PBS TV show called Happy for No Reason.  

President and co-founder of the Esteem Group, she delivers keynote addresses and seminars on happiness, empowerment, and peak performance to Fortune 500 companies, professional and non-profit organizations, and women's associations. Dedicated to helping people live more empowered and joy-filled lives, Marci's current passion is mentoring people to create miracles in their lives.

 

About Debra

 

Debra Poneman spent the decade of the 70's teaching meditation to thousands and studying with some of the greatest spiritual Masters of the east - often in deep meditation for 10 to 12 hours a day and silence for weeks at a time. In the early 1980's, she began examining the knowledge of the great Masters of western metaphysical thought and founded Yes to Success Seminars to bring to the masses then "radical" ideas like everything is energy and your thoughts create your reality.

Within a few short years, Debra's seminars were established in cities across the US and internationally on four continents. Debra's infomercial was the first to ever to offer a "self-improvement" product and was broadcast in dozens of major US markets. She regularly appeared on TV, radio and in print from coast to coast. Her client list included Fortune 500 companies - at a time when there were only a handful of women corporate trainers - and her students went on to become mega-successful entrepreneurs, New York Times bestselling authors, renowned transformational leaders, millionaires, billionaires, and even household names.

In 1988 in the midst of negotiations for her own daytime TV talk show and with a contract in hand with a major publisher for her Yes to Success book, Debra chose to follow a different passion. For 20 years she disappeared from the public eye to be a stay-at-home mom.

Debra, now a best-selling author, is back once again sharing her knowledge with the world on what it takes to create a life of success, happiness and miracles.

 


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