I am pleased to announce that I have a new blog site.  PLEASE come over and visit me at...

I am Alice

I believe you really can find beauty in everything, if you just take time to see it. While we were at Pere Lachaise cemetery, I looked down and there was a rock in the shape of a heart. I thought it was beautiful so I took a picture to share it with you... 

The phrases, "Be here now" and "Be in the moment" is how I choose to live my life and because of it, I feel more alive than I ever have. So much joy to be found in the little things...

Wishing you a beautiful weekend...

Oscar Wilde

This past weekend my husband and I visited the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France.  We saw the tomb of Oscar Wilde.  I was very moved as I stood there reflecting upon how many of his words have left an impression on my soul.  I took a moment to say, "Thank you for touching the hearts of many lives including mine with yours."  

"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance."

"To live is the rarest thing in the world.  Most people exist, that is all."

~Oscar Wilde~

I really love Dr. Seuss books.... They have wonderful simple truths that as we grow older often times we forget....

Thoughts

Our thoughts are as important as each breath we take, so we should be mindful of which thoughts we allow to keep and which thoughts we should release.

Grateful For Today

Written by Alice Hocker, author of Finding Inner Peace

Today let’s raise our level of awareness to be in the here and now being grateful for each moment of this day.  As you are focused on what you are thankful for, your vibrational energy simultaneously elevates.  Your energy level will soar today! 

You will be a bright light that radiates wherever you are.  You become a magnet as you draw others toward your positive energy.  Have you ever had the experience of walking into a room and you immediately feel the energy of others and you find yourself drawn towards the person or persons whose energy level is elevated?  Today you ARE that person.

As you stay tuned into the abundance of blessings in your life today and acknowledge them, you will find yourself in a state of gratitude and you will love the feeling.  Do you know why?  I believe it’s because this is when we are in alignment with our source and we are living in harmony with our true selves.  We are in a state of allowing.  Allowing to receive, to take in the beauty of being alive, of being present in this day, in each moment of this day.

I call this level of cognizance, living on the super-conscious level of life because you are not resisting anything today and you are giving yourself permission to take in the little things that we often notice but do not really see.  You FEEL gratitude and love because at the core of each one of us this IS who we are.

The smiles you give today and the smiles you receive today go directly to the heart of each other, to the soul of one another which is where we are all connected.

May your today flow into your tomorrow with a continued state of gratitude seeing with eyes of a child, the beauty in everything around you.

With much love,

Alice

You may be wondering why I haven't posted over this last week.  Well, my husband and I attended the London Book Fair and I was unable to acess my laptop to update daily.  Now that I am back home, I will be able to post daily inspirational quotes once again.

The London Book Fair was truly an amazing opportunity to meet fellow authors and participate in sharing with one another different ideas and thoughts.  It was genuinely an awesome experience and I am thankful we were able to attend.

HAPPY EARTH DAY

"Humankind has not woven the web of life.  We are but one thread within it.  Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.  All things are bound together.  All things connect."   ~Chief Seattle, 1855

Living Mindfully

Written by Alice Hocker, author of Finding Inner Peace

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk who practices through meditation the art of living mindfully.  Thich Nhat Hanh is 86 years old and he lives in the Plum Village Monastery which he founded in 1969.  It is located in the South of France.  He is also the author of more than 100 books.

Thich Nhat Hanh says, “It is essential to keep peace in yourself.  Deep intention is your beginners mind and from here you begin to nourish your passion.”  His attention is continually aimed on what his purpose is in life and abstains from moving away from that mindset.  Through the practice of living mindfully he has developed his mind, his thoughts remain centered without wavering. 

Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh states, “Intention is so strong that it can protect and keep you alive.  Enlightenment is always there when you breathe in and if you are aware of it; that is already a miracle.”  Through mindful walking meditation he says, “You touch the ground with every step and you say I have arrived in the here and now to touch wonders of life, as you breathe in.  As you breathe out you say I’m home, in the here and now.  Free from regret of past and free from fear of the future and you can touch life deeply with every step.  And the greatest miracle is to be alive.”

Thich Nhat Hanh teaches the meditation of mindful walking.  After becoming aware of this form of meditation, I have begun to implement this mindset into my daily walks and I must say they are powerful!  You genuinely feel with each step that you are in the here and now and because you are so focused on that moment, that step, you are free from everything and it is an awesome experience.  Mindful walking has taken me to an even higher level of living authentically. I encourage you to try it.

Thich Nhat Hanh says, “With practice you can always be in the present moment and be happy in the here and now.  Present thinking/ present walking helps you to go home and be in the present moment.  Being aware of being alive.”  This was exactly the experience I had in practicing mindful walking.  I practice mindful living, I just had not been aware of implementing mindful walking.  I am grateful for the knowledge to now do so.

Thich Nhat Hanh states, “People sacrifice the present for the future and life is only available for the present moment.  Mindful walking teaches you to live life happily every moment of our life.”  That is a powerful and a very true statement.

In the practice of Buddhism, absolutely everything from walking, eating and drinking their tea, is a practice of meditation to be completely present in the here and now.  We can definitely learn from the meditation of mindful walking which elevates our consciousness to a state of mindful living and truly live in the here and now.

I would encourage you to give mindful walking a try.  It really has expanded my consciousness to live with an even deeper sense of living daily with the mantra, “Be here now.”

With much love,

Alice

The Importance of Setting Your Intention

Written by Alice Hocker, author of Finding Inner Peace

Do you know why it’s so important to set your intention in every aspect of your life?  If you aren’t sure, this post will definitely provide insight on the result of doing so.  Personally, I lived a large portion of my life unaware of the value in setting one’s intention.  I am grateful for the awareness in placing my intention on what my goals and desires are as it has brought great abundance. 

My husband and I set our intention on moving to France and within four months of doing so we were moving….to France!  My heart is filled with such a desire to share that when one places their intention along with a no matter what attitude staying focused, your intention quickly manifests to fruition! 

I believe we have within each one of us EVERYTHING needed to create the life that we desire.  When we expand and develop EVERY component that is within us, we are living the life that was uniquely designed for us.

What this means is that when you place your intention on cultivating the gifts that are inside of you, you are connected to the God within and you are living in harmony with your source.  You are in God’s will; therefore you’re living your purpose-filled life.   You are living a life filled with genuine inner peace and happiness.

There is a process in setting your intention and that is to train yourself to “let go” of the need to be in charge of everything in your life and train yourself to “let it be.”  Don’t you see that you and I hinder the flow of God’s blessings in our lives when we feel we must be in control of all aspects of our life?  If you truly desire to have an authentic inner peace this process is a must.

Once you “let go” and “let it be,” what you’ve allowed is the flow of God’s opulence back into your life.  Now you are facilitating abundance and you are in harmony with your source.

This complete change will reshape your life in a most magnificent way.  It’s really not easy to explain other than to say it is a spiritual transformation.

I wrote “Finding Inner Peace” because I truly believe that for each person who is seeking to live their life from the realm of extraordinary, this book provides all the tools needed to embrace the shift from ordinary to extraordinary.

The techniques have certainly worked for me!  I share in detail how our life in France morphed from one of intention to fruition.

With much love,

Alice

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!

Freedom: What It Means to Me

Written by Alice Hocker, author of Finding Inner Peace

The word freedom means something different for each one of us.  For me, freedom means living every day of my life with a peace that passes all understanding, living in a state of tranquility, a life free from stress and worry.

On the fifth of this month I celebrated by fifty second birthday.  I share this with you as I have been the recipient of inner peace for one year.  That means that for the first half of my life, it eluded me.  For as far back as I can recall I have yearned for what I’ve now come to know as inner peace. 

Since receiving the gift of inner peace, I see with clarity that it was within me all along.  What I found is that I searched externally for only what can be found from within.  I asked myself this question: “Why didn’t I connect to it before?”  The only answer that I kept coming back to was, “Because that’s too simple.”

When I was a child I really did believe anything was possible.  I absolutely adore “child-like faith” because it is simple!  You believe it, so it is… Then somewhere along the path of “growing up” you listen to the voice of other people who may not believe that anything is simple and life is certainly not easy according to them.  You take in what you hear and before you realize it, you have now begun to think maybe they are right, maybe life isn’t easy or simple. 

Now you are grown up and often times it feels as though your mind has no clarity, let alone peace or happiness.  You are just “getting by” and I can tell you that was a real disappointment for me.   I always felt that little tug from within and today I know that was the connection to my soul which links you to having inner peace.  It’s just that I didn’t take the time to listen to the still small voice that greatly wanted me to acknowledge it. 

So, instead of listening and being guided from within, I looked outward for this peace.  I shopped, oh I shopped and I found great happiness in buying things.  I found that my happiness, my peace was temporary.  It didn’t fill the void I was looking for.  I also tried to please others in the attempt to once again find joy and peace from the inside only to find that when I was alone, I was empty.  I kept trying and trying and trying to find this peace.  Where was it and how could I get it?

I’ve come to know that authentic inner peace and happiness costs nothing…it’s free and it WILL FREE YOU!  It’s my belief that you and I were created to enjoy all the abundance that is our natural birthright through the endowment that we were born with.  Inner peace is a gift and the only thing each one of us must do is accept it and receive it.  It really is that simple. After trying everything else I could possibly think of to have true peace and happiness, I thought I would give it a try by claiming the inheritance.

I had no idea how this precious legacy would change my life and change my life instantaneously!  I let go of trying to be in charge of everything and everyone around me and just let it be…  Life is once again simple and I have reconnected to that child-like faith that I had as a child.

It’s never too late to acquire the heirloom that is yours!  Since this transformation has taken place in my life, truly I have connected to and live from the place of inner peace.  My life is lived with an authentic happiness that I longed for.  I am indeed grateful for the spiritual awakening that has plugged me into not only living life but enjoying every day with a heart filled with an overflowing abundance of gratitude.  This is what freedom means to me. 

With much love,

Alice

Why I Wrote "Finding Inner Peace"

I am pleased to share a short video with you on why I wrote the book, "Finding Inner Peace."  I am speaking straight from my heart to yours.... Please click on the tab titled, "About Alice" to see the video.

Tyler Perry

A Man of Inspiration

Written by Alice Hocker, author of Finding Inner Peace

The first thought that comes to mind when I hear the name, “Tyler Perry” is…. MADEA, of course!  Everyone LOVES Madea!  Then my thoughts turn to a man that did not let anything prevent him from living his passion.  A man who knew what his purpose was and with a “no matter what” attitude brought his burning desire to fruition.  

As a result of the intentions he continually set and focused upon, Tyler Perry not only lives an extraordinary life, he brings a lot of joy into ours!  I encourage you to visit www.tylerperry.com.  Tyler Perry’s website has a tab titled, Inspirational Corner.  Personally, I have been very inspired by his videos.  The vibe his website exudes is one of genuineness.  It’s a happy site to visit!  I believe that feeling you possess when you are on his website, is an extension of the person Tyler Perry is.  

I watched a documentary titled, “Inside Tyler Perry’s Creative Mind” and if you haven’t seen this, I encourage you to watch it.  Wow, what a creative genius Tyler Perry is!  I first saw this film on the Oprah Winfrey Network as they had a series on “Visionaries: Inside the Creative Mind.”  After viewing this documentary film, I felt such an appreciation for Tyler Perry!  

I believe that we are a mirror image of one another.  Tyler Perry has set an amazing example for all of us by living his life with purpose!  He is grounded in the belief that his career choice was the only option for him and as a result his life is filled with an overflow of abundance in every area!  You and I have the same opportunity to live our lives with intent and purpose.  Let Tyler Perry, a man of inspiration, be an inspiration to you as he is for me and let’s live each day inspiring one another.

With much love,

Alice

Everyone LOVES Madea! Check out Tyler Perry's 4 DVD collection