FunZen Girls Jump Back In!

Grace and I at Pic at Nick!

Jill Matthews and her daughter Ellie and son Liam

Bringing our A Game of Appreciation, Authenticity, & Army of Angels Support 

Jill, Missy (little sister) and Stevie Wonder

Finally it's here, 1 year later a new blog (scroll below) by Grace in her voice of a mindful teen, born to lead from her heart with art in smart... I took a year long spiritual sabbatical to write a couple of books with my daughter, Grace, about teaching kids of all ages FunZen and parents to be Mindful. The real magic was reconnecting with my birthday girl  7/13 Jill Matthews who is also my awesome student, friend and my first Dreams of a Child Jewelry customer when she was a child star in the industry 25 years ago. Her mother Karen is an earth angel who has kept all of us in touch. I actually met Jill and Missy when Jill was about 7 years old, she had just done a Japanese commercial with Stevie Wonder promoting his song; "I just called to say I love you." Jill has helped me to re-ignite my true purpose and passion to share the practical magic of mindfulness with ARTitude. Consider the word Art implies discipline (practice) and Science indicates the study of something.

Without further ado Grace is going to kick off her first entry with her short, sweet and savory words about how FunZen has helped her shift from a worrier to a warrior to handle being in the industry, get through 8 years of homeschooling. Now, Grace goes to CHAMPS Highschool of Performing & Media Arts. 

This is only the beginning of sharing what works for us and hopefully will inspire more of you to join us and jump in to the spirited perspective of my latest quotelicious sweet tweet❥
"The world is mud-licious and puddle-wonderful." e.e.cummings 

May these whimsical yet wise words zencourage you to empower and help yourself through the good, bad, beautiful, and ugly moments that threaten to ruin our days. However, in the words of angel warrior, best-selling author, Sue Patton Thoele of "The Mindful Woman", " A few mindful moments can make a world of difference." 

Here's a ShoutOUT to some of the awesome people that have helped or inspired us to stay on pointe. Remember Ohana means family in Hawaiian, where no one is forgotten or left behind, in pure love we are One human family. I've also included some valuable resources (websites) to share a few of the illuminating people that have helped shape our lives. 

ShoutOUTS to our Army of Angels:

We are honored to know the Beautiful, Brilliant and Blessed Family Lyric, Zephyr, Robby and Karla DeVito Benson  http://lyricslovelightrevolution.com/?page_id=142 ;

Angel of Wisdom Warriors:

LeeAnne Taylor My angelic spiritual mentor;  http://leeanntaylorstory.com/ 
Destiny Diva, Michelle Casto  http://brightlightcoach.com/brightmichelle 

Celebrity Trainer & BFF's Dion & Melinda Jackson http://www.dionthetrainer.com/  

Nature's Angel Mariel Hemingway http://marielhemingway.com/

Jenuine Ward http://www.jenuinehealing.com/

Crissy Bayless http://baylessphotography.com/the-scoop

Enlightened Leaders straight from the heart: 

Wendy Winks (our rock star angel) http://rockschoolfund.org/

Valencia Ray M.D. http://www.valenciaray.com  

Mallika Chopra  http://intentblog.com/
Julie Shanti http://www.julieshanti.com/ ; 

RobbieKaye http://www.robbiekaye.com/works.html  ; 
Rita Ross http://www.pocketpeople.net/
Lori Lite http://www.stressfreekids.com/resources/about-lori-lite 
Zen Audrey Li, LaLicenciada http://www.blogger.com/profile/15155116476790680637

Anne Merrem BFF brilliant lifelong friend ;) http://www.anne-merrem.com/index.php?L=1

Be on your A Game with the Best of the Best:

Julie Stevens, Grace's fave studio teacher, Vocal and Acting coaching: http://www.juliestevens.com/  

Lynnanne Zager awesome VoiceOver Coaching http://www.voclass.com/
Miss Linda DeFilipo, Grace's amazing manager, http://dctalentmanagement.com/home2.html

Grace discovered Andy Puddicombe, our favorite meditation guru who makes becoming mindful and getting some Headspace a curiously delightful experience; http://www.getsomeheadspace.com/

Cesar Millan (Dog Whisperer) Thanks for asking me in person what I teach? and I said FunZen, that was a game changer moment that has stayed with me. http://www.cesarsway.com/

  

Click Here to order my Clear Your Mind Manual "Mental Fitness" Foreword by Leonard Cohen, endorsed by Louise Hay, Dan Millman, Iyanla Vanzant, Penny Peirce, Michael Beckwith, O.C. Smith, Richard Carlson and many more...

In Gratitude w/Love and Hugs ❤

FunZen Girls OX

Michiko (lil mama) and Grace

Contact: (805) 490-2391 Twitter: @Zenmommie Email: @mjrolek@aol.com

Fun never ends, FunZen is for everyone.

I teach kids FunZen and parents to be Mindful.

Angels Fly Because They Take Themselves Lightly

"When we can laugh at ourselves there is enlightenment." Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi

So far, from the Triple L blogathon we've served up Love, Luck, and now it's time for a favorite of mine, Laughter. By keeping a Simple Zen approach; Be Brief, Be Bright, this will help me get to the point quickly and Be Gone.

In my book Mental Fitness, the Nourishing Roots & Wings chapter pg. 41 is where I first mention the G.K. Chesterton quote that I am using in the title of this post. "Angels can fly because..." From a life long learner point of view, many of us have heard that the only thing we really have any control over is how we choose to look at something. By keeping this outlook in mind, we can clearly see how humor heals when we lighten up, and take ourselves less seriously. Consider, as noted by Erma Bombeck, "If you can laugh at it, You can live with it."
Scientific studies have documented that laughter is the best medicine. A tiny shift in perspective is where our spirit of joy is accessed even in adversity. I will graciously remind you that from a zen perspective, you are already enlightened. The light is within us. Learning to trust it is what we must learn for ourselves.

"Every situation, properly perceived, becomes an opportunity to heal." A Course in Miracles
In a previous blog, I mention my Starbucks Kismet experience of talking to Jerry Seinfeld about his brush strokes with Zen Improv. This is a perfect example of how I had to not take myself too serious. People always ask me this question "Did you tell him about your book and famous zen lineage?" The answer is no, I forgot (just kidding) . I chose to empty my mind and just show up in the moment, unattached to my history.

This insightful gift is found in Takuan's words of wisdom, "Zen is to have the heart and soul of a little child." Watching children at play, we can see that there is no agenda to discuss affluent or non-affluent backgrounds. Kids have no need to talk about themselves or take themselves too seriously. They simply want to have fun.

And that is exactly what I experienced with Jerry. In our short and bright talk, I resonated with Jerry's words that "Zen is just looking at something from a different perspective, and that's what comedy is." So in conclusion, laughter helps us restore our perspective and Simplify to F.L.Y. F.inally L.earn to (love & laugh @) Y.ourself.

Zen Upliftment Recipe: Piece of Angel Cake

(picture from Martha Stewart)

Angel Zenergy Steps: Begin within, (dolphin smile) turning up your mouth corners to soften your focus, face, neck and shoulders.

Laughing and singing activate a long breath out: Mindfully or nonjudgmentally, kindly observe your one pointed exhalation as you build-up your Pilates 101 core strength one breath (Exhale, tighten-up Inhale lighten-up) at a time.

Mindfulness Magic Mood Tool Tip: Whenever you note (breath-holding) stress building or critical monkey chatter getting louder towards yourself or others. Press your zen button (whoosh) exhale, smile ;) LOL for awesomely catching yourself in mid-air and mentally start over, feel your feet on the ground and keep your head to the sky.

(love to hear about your angel zenergy moments please share w/us @zenmommie or email mjrolek@aol.com)


Click here for information to order my Clear Your Mind Manual "Mental Fitness"
Foreword by Leonard Cohen, endorsed by Louise Hay, Dan Millman, Iyanla Vanzant, Michael Beckwith, O.C. Smith, Richard Carlson and many more...In Gratitude w/Love ❤

FunZen Girls OX
Michiko (lil mama) and Grace:

Contact: (805) 490-2391 Twitter: @Zenmommie Email: @mjrolek@aol.com

I teach Kids FunZen and train Parents to be Mindful.