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!