Osheaga!

 O-SHE-AGA!!! One of the greatest experiences of my life! This past summer from August 2-4, 2013 I went to Osheaga with three friends in Montreal, Quebec. I had an amazing time and would encourage anyone to go so I want to tell you about my experience as well as give you some helpful tips to ensure you have the best time!

Firstly, Osheaga is located on Parc Jean-Drapeau which is an island on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. To get to the island you either drive or take the subway. Osheaga offers a metro pass for the three days with unlimited trips so you can also use it to see Montreal as well. We chose to take the Metro and although is was sometimes very crowded as 40,000 people attend Osheaga every year, it was a quick and effective mode of transportation that was inexpensive. You also then don't have to worry about designated drivers, parking and the traffic to the island. 

The main station that goes to the island is called Berri-UQAM and is right in the heart of Montreal so to minimize travel time you will want to book a hotel near this station. Unfortunately, to book one of these hotels you must do so 6+ months in advance. My friends and I were unaware of how quickly things booked up so we ended up having to get a hotel further away by the Montreal Airport. As the metro didn't extend all the way to our hotel we decided to drive to a closer station in Montreal, park the car and take the metro the rest of the way. All traveling time added to about 20-30 min which was not unreasonable considering the money we saved on the hotel. It would have been nice to completely eliminate driving though so next time I would try to book more ahead of time to get a room right in Montreal. 

Band poster vendor tent

As for the festival itself it was very well done considering the size. There were six stages located at different areas around the island so you do a lot of walking. We brought a blanket so we could take a seat in any of the grassy areas which turned out to be quite helpful and relieving after all the walking and standing at stages. There were also lots of fun decorations as well as vendor and sponsor tents where you can win prizes, play games and get freebies! There were a ton of options for food that catered to all cultures and lifestyles such as vegetarian and vegan. It was also readily available and I never had to look long to find a food truck. 

Grass mats to sit on (always crowded, bring a blanket!)

Decor

Decor

There were a couple of things the festival didn't do so great though. Firstly, even though there were lots of bathrooms which was good, they were not kept clean at all and the toilet paper was not replenished throughout the day so by lunch each day it was gone. Luckily I brought wet naps with me, but next time I would also just bring a whole roll of tp! The wet naps were also helpful as no matter what you do, you will get dirty. I was also very upset with the number of water stations to refill your water bottle. There were only about two or three with 6 taps at each so there was always a line up at the water stations which was inconvenient. 

The majority of the Osheaga staff was useless as well and could not begin to answer any of my questions including where the closest washrooms were, where the water stations were or where any of the vendor tents were. It was extremely frustrating as they had info shirts on and were clearly just standing there to answer questions. Lastly, I want to warn you the festival is 40,000 people and although there are six stages, everyone goes to the major shows which this year included Imagine Dragons, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and Mumford and Sons, so you are literally standing in a crowd of 40,000 which can make you feel very claustrophobic at times so just be aware of that if you have never been to a large music festival before. 

Here are some pictures from my trip!

They had 3 huge screens setup at the two main stages to ensure everyone was able to see, came in very helpful as I am 5'4"!)

Lumineers came out into the audience to play

 

Macklemore

Mumford

Mumford played an intimate cover of I'm on Fire by Bruce Springsteen around one microphone

Marcus Mumford! (He was so humble, he was smiling because he couldn't believe he was headlining such a large festival)

Confetti after Mumford!

 

We met some characters! ("Cow-boy")

 Overall we had an amazing trip and it went relatively smoothly for our first music festival. The key to having a good time is bringing whatever you need to ensure you are comfortable, being wet, muddy and cold all day isn't fun for most so bring prepare properly and think ahead and you'll have an amazing time! I would be happy to answer any questions about the festival or my experience, just comment below! :)

Peace Osheaga... until next year!

The Big Push to Prevent Prostate Cancer 2013

I recently caught wind of "The Big Push" through a mutual friend of James Osmond. James is from Thornbury Ontario just a short drive from my home town in Collingwood. James is an avid longboarder and has embarked on a journey to longboard across Canada to prevent prostate cancer. I wanted to show my support so I am writing this blog post to help spread the word of James' journey across Canada. 

His journey is inspired by his grandfather, Maurice Gordon Rafuse, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the summer of 1999. After having his prostate removed he underwent a year of chemotherapy treatment in addition to many medications. In 2004 he suffered from congestive heart failure and was hospitalized several times. The cancer spread and James' Papa ended up suffering from bone cancer and in April 2005 and went through extensive radiation treatments and blood transfusions until he died on August 1, 2005.
 
In loving memory of his Papa and to raise awareness and money to prevent prostate cancer James set out on May 1, 2013 in Price Rupert, British Columbia longboarding 9020km to Cape Spear, St. John's, Newfoundland. James' goal is to raise $25,000 for prostate cancer. To date he has raised $2,690. Please spread the word and help support James in his amazing journey across Canada.

Check out The Big Push Facebook page for pictures, more information, updates, as well as updated information on James' location throughout his journey.

If you wish to make a donation to the cancer society for this cause please click HERE!
 
To contact James directly e-mail him at admin@thebigpush2013.ca
 
Below is a list of Sponsors:

Kin Canada

Kebbek Skateboards

The Athletic Club Brantford

Health, Wellness & Fitness Mohawk College

Distinkive Art Studio

River Sportsman

Spinners

Indecks

Landyachtz Longboards

Switchback Longboards

Johnston Outdoors

Brant Communications

Ageless Athletes Personal Training and Facilities Consulting

The Link

Knights of Meaford JR A Hockey

Mother Nature Designs

B&K Photography & Graphic Designs

Tri Links Golf Ltd

Radical Rod Rides & Restorations

Brandon Mitrovic

Endeavours Tattoo & Piercing

Palm Beach Mega Tan

Staples

 

 
 
 
 
 

Russell Brand Rant and Open-mindedness

I am sure many of you have heard of Russell Brand's latest interview turned political rant and I would love to hear your comments! For those who have not, please take the time to watch the video below and tell me what you think :)

I personally absolutely love when celebrities or people with social power speak out about controversial issues. I imagine millions of people feel the same way as Russell but since the majority of them have no social power their ideas and points will never be heard let alone taken seriously. I am all for people having their own beliefs but along with that I believe people should always be open to new ideas and different ways of thinking. 

The fact of life is that things are constantly changing. Humans are made to adapt as proven by the way our bodies have adapted over the years. If our bodies were made to adapt I believe our minds and thoughts were too. If everyone is just hell bent on their own beliefs, we will never grow as a society. Many people young and old are stuck in the past and believe their parents way is the only way and just continue going through life doing everything their parents did and teaching the same ways to their children. This includes tradition. There are so many insane traditions across religions. At one point in time, when these traditions were created, they may have made sense, but today people are stuck in traditions and have no idea why they even do them. This to me is a really low level of thinking as there is not even a question to why some of these traditions are executed. Anyways before I start a rant like Russell, Ill just wrap it up by saying people need to be more open minded and welcome change because at this point, in the state of our world, open mindedness and change is crucial to our success as a race. Also, good on you Russell, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Tiny House Movement

The tiny house movement is something I am continuing to hear more about and with my belief that people should be revisiting a simpler lifestyle I am naturally very intrigued. I am 21 years old sitting in my room at my parents house I contemplate the facts. I have spent the last 4 years working to pay to attend University and will come out of University at 22 with not only no savings but an astounding amount of debt regardless of the fact I been working in addition to school. This made me wonder how I will ever be able to get out of my parents house before I am 40. If your like me, a young independent 20 year old who yearns to be on her own with a great desire for adventure the idea of being at your parents house another year, let alone until your 40, is terrifying. On my search for alternatives to buying a house such as a trailer, living on a boat or owning an income property I came across tiny houses. 

I found this website http://www.thetinylife.com/what-is-the-tiny-house-movement/ and it gives a great description of tiny houses as well as the benefits to tiny house living. Check out the site if you have time, but I have summarized most of the key points below!

The tiny house movement is a social movement where people are downsizing the space that they live in. The typical American home is around 2600 square feet, while the typical small or tiny house is around 100-400 square feet. Tiny Houses come in all shapes, sizes and forms but they focus on smaller spaces and simplified living.

People are joining this movement for many reasons, but the most popular reasons are because of environmental concerns, financial concerns and seeking more time and freedom.  For most Americans 1/3 to 1/2 of their income is dedicated to the roof over their heads; This translates to 15 years of working over your life time just to pay for it and because of it 76% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

So what is the alternative?  One might be to live smaller.  While we don’t think tiny houses are for everyone, there are lessons to be learned and applied to escape the cycle of debt where almost 70% of Americans are trapped in right now.

Tiny Living Encompasses:

• Tiny Houses
• Life Simplification
• Environmental Consciousness
• Self Sufficiency
• Sound Fiscal Plans
• Social Consciousness

Here is a video if you would like to know more details about the process of building and what its like to live in a tiny home.

Take a look at Tumbleweed Tiny House Company to view some great designs and get a better idea of prices to build these great homes! http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

Make a Vision Board!

Hello my friends :)

So now that you know what the law of attraction is, you may be wondering how to use it to your advantage. To help you get started I advise creating a vision board. A vision board is a visualization of the things you want to attract into your life. It could be a cork board, magnetic board or even just a britol board that you pin pictures or meaningful words to. You literally just pin anything you want to attract into your life from a picture of that new car you've been eyeing, to your dream home or simply a dollar sign to represent money. ANYTHING YOU DESIRE!

You will want to place your board in a place you will see it frequently as the more you think about your desires the faster they will become your reality. Use your vision board to keep yourself on track and always working towards your goals. Your vision board can also be used as a tool for positive thinking. Pin lots of pictures that bring you joy or remind you of happy times so whenever your thinking negatively you can look to your vision board to turn your negative thoughts into positive thoughts, which in turn leads to more happy experiences.

I attached a picture of my personal vision board below to give you an example. I went and bought a cork board for $10 and a whole whack of push pins. On it you will see pictures of places I want to travel, some of my favourite quotes, people I admire and love, my favourite car, pictures of homes I really like, and my favourite, a picture of my best friend and I right after seeing Mumford and Sons at Osheaga 2013, one of the happiest moments of my life. I continually add things to my board as I find them or take things down as I grow and my needs and desires change. If you have a board already or your just starting I would love to see them!!! If you would like to share your vision board with me you can email me a picture at amandaproject2013@gmail.com or tweet a pic and make sure you tag me @spiritualhippy, can't wait to see them :) Much love, thanks for reading and good luck with your vision boards!

Key Points - "Did I Ever Wake Up?" - Mod Sun

Here is the book summary I promised of “Did I Ever Wake Up?” by Mod Sun. I have highlighted what I feel are the most important parts of Mod’s book. Although I have highlighted key points here I still urge you to read the book as it is very inspiring and he does a great job of explaining how to use these principles.

You must know what you want and you must believe without a doubt you will obtain it

• The sooner you figure it out the better
• This includes relationships, occupation, happiness, health, financial well-being
• Consider what you enjoy most in life and focus on those
• Thoughts must be paired with affirmation  “I want to be happy” –> “I am happy”
• Takes imagination and self-control to truly believe you will obtain what you want

The power of new environment

• We have no past to those we haven’t met
•  When people don’t have a pre-conceived idea of who we are, we can let go of what we don’t want to be and become whomever we intend on being
• May become necessary to leave behind people or things that are holding us back from the destiny we are creating
• We are here to be happy
• Being happy will spread happiness to others

Everything that happens in your life was born first within your mind

• Every thought that enters your head also leaves it
• Your solely responsible for everything that happens to you, good or bad
• The universe is completely unbiased
• Doesn’t differentiate between want or don’t want, just focuses on your words and thoughts
• The universe believes we want everything we think about, so think about what you want

You must prove that when faced with rain you can still shine bright

• Universe tests you with bad days, you have to pass these challenges and continue to think positively and the universe will begin to hand you nothing but good fortune
• Bad days are propelling you towards a series of never ending good ones; that is, if you deal with them correctly

We need the opposite and it needs us

• If the opposite of what you believe in didn’t exist, you’d have nothing to believe in
• Always be accepting – take what people say as insight
• You decide whether or not to look up or down at every situation that occurs
• Let unexpected incidents roll off you like raindrops dancing down your bedroom window
• Within one second you can completely erase any negative thoughts by simply thinking about things that make you happy 
• Mod uses an analogy of a dresser, as thoughts enter your mind either put them in the top drawer with all your happiest thoughts and experiences and all your negative thoughts in the bottom drawer, slam it shut and never open it again.

“selfish” – has been abused and misused since its origin

• Negative connotation attached, we should put ourselves first, be selfish
• Until you’ve helped yourself, you’re not helping anyone else

Everything is easy – some things just take longer than others

• Anytime someone tells you to “be realistic” reply back: “enjoy your flight”
• The innovation and technology advancement that make flight and air travel possible wasn’t realistic in the beginning, this proves every is possible, things just take time
• You can do anything, especially if someone else has already done it

Your worst mistake is your best advice

• Knowing something someone else doesn’t know will not make you more intelligent than the next person
• Only means you’ve experienced something the other person hasn’t yet encountered
• No one is superior to anyone else, but we can all learn from each other
• There is a reason we have two ears and one mouth – listen more than talk
• The people that surround you are either working for you or against you, and how you interact with these individuals will be the deciding factor 
• You can essentially build up an entire team of people helping to make your life great by simply being kind to them

Always Remember…

• You are in control of your body, emotions, thoughts and manifestations – take responsibility and use this to your advantage
• The more time you spend thinking about what you want, the faster you will get it
• Stop hoping for things to happen and make them happen
• Figure out what you love to do and dedicate yourself to it entirely

Mod Sun - Did I Ever Wake Up?

Hello my friends!

If you have never heard of Mod Sun I want to introduce you to him and what he is all about. First of all, Mod Sun stands for "Movement on dreams, stand under none". MOD SUN’s mission statement is very clear, choose to be happy. Mod is a hip-hop artist (or as he describes it, "hippy hop") from Bloomington, Minnesota who has a “no fans, just friends,” motto. Mod drastically turned heads in 2011 when he was chosen by Rolling Stone magazine as 1 of the top 16 unsigned artists in the world. He began touring nationally at 17 and by age 21 he had already toured the world playing drums for two successful rock bands, Scary Kids Scaring Kids and Four Letter Lie. In the peak of these bands success, Mod decided to pursue a career as a full time emcee. In a span of 3 years MOD SUN has released over 100 songs and all but 10 of them for free.  As expressed in his book "Did I Ever Wake Up?", MOD SUN is a walking talking affirmation to the power of positive thinking. Right now he is somewhere smiling and he wants the same for you.


As mentioned before I urge you to read and re-read this book. It is only 80 pages and will change your perspective on everything you know. An in-depth summary of the book and more about Mod Sun to come, stay real!

Intro to Law of Attraction

Much of what I believe in and what has helped alter my perception of the world is the books "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (which is now a documentary film) as well as "Did I Ever Wake Up?" by Mod Sun. Both these novels are based on the law of attraction and I urge you with every ounce of my being to read and re-read and share them with as many people as possible. The law of attraction is based on the idea that what you think about, positive or negative, will bring about positive or negative results. Mentality to reality. The idea of this has been around forever but only the most aware and powerful minded individuals have put it to use and have been extremely successful with it. I have attached a video below that I urge you to watch of Bob Proctor a very successful philosopher outlining the basis of the law of attraction.

Welcome my hippies!

I want to give you a very warm welcome to my blog The Enlightened Hippy and let you know who I am and what my blog is all about. I by no means am perfectly happy. In fact, I am struggling to find ultimate happiness in my life right now as many people all over the world are. Many people go through life doing what they have to in order to survive and support their families but never find true inner happiness. Sure, we all have happy times and bad times but being ultimately happy with your life and being excited to get up every day is a whole other level of happiness many never reach. My desire is to change the way people perceive life and help them to find true inner happiness that will last. 

Why am I writing this blog?

I am currently in my fourth year of University in Business Administration. As many of you know, University is a huge commitment of time, a lot of money, and extreme dedication and perseverance. If your like me you come from a hard working family that values money and just as they were I am expected to pay my own expenses and tuition with little help. This is a huge burden and stress for a student who spends over 30 hours a week doing school work. On top of working part time who has time for fun!? This got me thinking... Is life really about just doing what I HAVE to do? I HAVE to go to school to get a good job just to work for the rest of my life to keep up this lifestyle and image I am "supposed" to have. This is what the societal norms are, it is what is expected of you and you are told from a very young age. I keep wondering when life is  going to get better or easier. Well my friends, from what I've heard and my own experiences so far it doesn't get any easier, in fact it gets more complicated with more bills as you start to acquire more assets and especially children. So this life of perpetual bills and stress is inevitable? I find that extremely disconcerting and depressing. Once I realized this around 18 years old, I sat on it awhile and just kept going through life's motions and doing what was expected of me and although I had many great times and experiences, I wasn't overall happy with where my life was headed and I realized around age 20 I didn't want to conform to society anymore and there must be more to life then working, paying and dying. This started my search for a better more simple life; one where I was doing what I want and not what I HAVE to. 

Since then I have begun to perceive life in a new way. I am by no means an expert at the things I advise nor do I have everything figured out but I have taken the first step which is awareness. If you are perfectly happy living your life according to societal norms where you go to University, maybe get a masters, work very hard for your money, get married have children and a big house and lots of toys and you will die happy in your $10,000 casket then this blog probably isn't for you. If that's what makes you happy that is wonderful and I am very happy for you but this blog is for people looking for more out of life and fighting societal norms that just don't make sense anymore for our generation. If any of this has hit home for you or you are feeling the same way I am about society I urge you to stick around and keep checking out my blog for ways to find inner happiness and the life you want to live. This is ultimately a learning environment and I always love to hear your comments about what you do for happiness and your perceptions on life. Be peaceful, respectful, and always listen, if you aren't learning you aren't living. Peace for now my hippies :)