As writers, we had
many influences.
From our favorite
authors, like Nicholas Sparks and Paulo Coelho, to globally-known bloggers such
as Leo Babauta, Barrie Davenport, Corbett Barr, and Joshua Fields Millburn.
Each can be credited on how Plain Haven has taken its shape, from
conceptualization, site building, and now its launching.
Local Inspirations
Aside from these
foreign writing gurus, of course, we were also influenced by fellow Filipino
writers. These are the people whose writings we read both for information and pleasure.
Some of them have
even become close acquaintances, although we still haven’t seen each other face
to face.
We really enjoyed
the process of completing this post. Getting in touch with these bloggers was a
pleasure. All of them are sincere and down-to-earth people, full of energy and
enthusiasm, and highly cooperative.
We take our hats
off to these guys!
Your Quiet Refuge from Daily Confusion
As this site’s tagline
suggests, we all need some peace and quiet from time to time, if not every day.
With that came the
idea of asking our favorite online friends, these 8 influential Pinoy bloggers,
one simple question:
How do you find your personal Peace and Quiet
every day?
Their insights have
brought amazing simplicity and inspiration to us, and we are happy to share
them with all of you.
Friends, from their
minds to yours, here comes our 8 Filipino blogging influences…
************************
It all actually begins with a good sleep.
When I wake up refreshed and happy, that's a good start for me. Since I'm a
teacher, I reflect daily on my vocation and since it's aligned to my values and
goals, I feel peace inside me. I'm an introvert so I need regular personal time
to reflect. I read plenty on my spare time as a result. This is my daily quiet
time.
Raymund & Denielle’s favorite post from
Pinoyminimalist: The Secret to a Successful Life
I find that I get more peace and quiet as I
try harder to be more honest with myself and others. It's a very small price to
pay in exchange for waking up in the morning free from living a life behind
pretention and knowing that I have nothing to hide.
Sometimes it gets difficult. Sometimes it's
much easier to just wear a mask, give out excuses, or make a white lie. But the
increasing peace I'm getting as I go through the process is worth it.
Raymund & Denielle’s favorite post from
RaeBreak: Image-Consciousness
Carlo Alado Lessons of a Dad
What do I do to have peace in a hectic life
(and I have a VERY hectic life)? Two things.
The first is Jesus’ secret to success. As busy as our Lord was…
“In the morning, long before sunrise, Jesus went to a place where he could be alone to pray.” (Mark 1:35)
Just as a musician tunes his instrument before the concert, secluding myself for prayer gets me in the right frame of mind before the day’s chaos.
The 2nd way I find peace is to fill my emotional tank. I’d rather leave the explaining to one of my favorite authors and speakers, Dr. Wayne Corderio:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/roZWOwS22R0
The first is Jesus’ secret to success. As busy as our Lord was…
“In the morning, long before sunrise, Jesus went to a place where he could be alone to pray.” (Mark 1:35)
Just as a musician tunes his instrument before the concert, secluding myself for prayer gets me in the right frame of mind before the day’s chaos.
The 2nd way I find peace is to fill my emotional tank. I’d rather leave the explaining to one of my favorite authors and speakers, Dr. Wayne Corderio:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/roZWOwS22R0
If I can consistently start my day with prayer and I make sure I fill my emotional tank even just a little bit, then it would be a good, peaceful day for me, no matter what happens.
Raymund & Denielle’s favorite post from
Lessons of a Dad: People with Great Marriages are Both Healthier and Wealthier… and That’s Not All
Life is a series of various rituals. Once
you’ve established your ritual, finding peace and quiet will come naturally.
Personally, waking up at 4:00 in the morning sets the tenor of my day. Upon
waking up, I stretch for a while and then run for 15 minutes -
releasing endorphins feels good! I know, I know, it seems ironic to
mention exercise while answering a peace and quiet question, but I feel you
can't settle your mind if you can't settle your body first.
I meditate and pray also. After this, I make
myself some tea and read inspirational blogs while also savoring my oatmeal.
Planning your “Me Time” in advance gives you the liberty to enjoy life with
yourself first, before spreading the goodness to others.
After all, how can you share what you don’t
have, right?
Raymund & Denielle’s favorite post from
The Wise Living: Splurge to Invest
It's easy for me
to find peace and quiet everyday, as I work from home. My husband and I have no
kids yet, so we get to spend a lot of stress-free, quality-time together as he
works from home, too.
But there are
days when I get anxious and I get into an emotional turmoil simply because I
worry about a LOT of things. I worry about my
husband's health. I worry about my parents.
I worry mostly
about my health. Ever since my accident and operation 2 years ago, I still feel
pangs of pain and discomfort here and there, and sometimes get panic attacks.
When that
happens, I do breathing exercises. I read, drink tea, meditate and count my
blessings :)
Oh, surfing on
cute cats work really well, too! ;)
Raymund & Denielle’s favorite post from
Geek Girl Manila
I’m easily distracted, I have a short
attention span and my interests change regularly. This is a problem when:
1. I want to work on something.
2. I need peace and quiet.
To get through this hurdle I change my
attitude by taking the following actions:
1. Quick Nap - 5-10 Minutes. It feels like
restarting my brain.
2. Head Phones - I listen to White Noise or
the sound of a Rainstorm to focus. It also has a calming effect.
3. Pray - When I pray I acknowledge that I
don’t have full control over my situation and that somebody else is. Whenever I
do so a change happens. Either in my situation or my attitude changes. I then
get a gust of fresh ideas, a new way of thinking, or a sense of inner peace.
4. Move Around - Sometimes I end up having
to physically move to get my peace and quiet and that’s okay.
Raymund & Denielle’s favorite post from
Minimal Changes: Why I’m Not After Credit
I believe that living a peaceful and quiet
life depends on the choices we make every single day -- it's either we choose
to welcome positive vibes or we let negativity in. For me, finding personal
peace and quiet in my every day life can be as simple as listening to happy
songs like The Rascals' A
Beautiful Morning. It can even be as simple as waking up beside my
husband and lovingly greeting him a good morning. Of course, I am never really
at peace if I don't get to have a conversation with God because it is through
my conversations with him that I get to give thanks for all blessings and, at
the same time, let go of my hurts and fears.
Raymund & Denielle’s favorite post from
Coffee With Kim: Today, I came back to God
I find peace and quiet whenever I breathe
more the life around me; that as I breathe, I feel that I am connected with
everyone and everything. There is peace when I see the truth beyond this
reality, that when I open my eyes and observe and reflect upon what I see, I
can always see myself. I feel my existence more through these colorful emotions
and experiences, and through all of these I can freely share my life to the
people I Love - my family, friends and companions in this life journey. And I
know who I really am. I read more with a heart and I write more from the soul.
I am just being and becoming. I learn, teach, live and share Love. Because what
I know everyday is living and fulfilling my purpose: to be more Loving and to
be Loved more.
Raymund & Denielle’s favorite post from
Pathfinder’s Commune: The Capital “L”
************************
BIG thanks to you
all for sharing your wonderful insights with us!
We really wish the
best for your blogs and we hope you continue to inspire people with them.
God bless!
NOW, IT’S THE READERS’ TURN!
Share your Peace
and Quiet practice with us on the comments. Your comments mean so much to us,
as we value learning more from the experience of others. Even just a single
sentence shared with everyone is an inspiration!
Also, if you’ve
been inspired by any of the above, kindly share this article with the people
you would want to benefit from it. Just click the email, Facebook, or Twitter
links below.
A million thanks to
you all!
Blog Post format inspired
by Joel Zaslofsky of Value Of Simple.
plainhaven- your post is exactly what i needed today. THANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteyou're very welcome, ms. rosete. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm very happy to be part of this, Raymund! You should be the ninth person here. That completes the list. =D
ReplyDeletehi, rem. :) you're too kind to say that. :)
ReplyDeleteby the way, are you anywhere near the flooding that's been going on in Luzon?
hope everything's okay.
It was an honor and a pleasure to be part of this article. I made a blog entry linking back here. :)
ReplyDeletehello, brother. :)
Deletewe want to thank you for introducing us the "emotional tank" concept.
my wife and i have been re-discovering each one's emotional tank, and it's a wonderful, exciting ride. :)
God bless, bro!
It was a privilege to be included in this blog post. :) I agree with Rem - you and Denielle should have been here as well! :D This was an inspiration so I would be sharing this to my friends. :)
ReplyDeletethank you for sharing your thoughts, lianne. :) we wish for all the best for The Wise Living.
Deleteyou're also an inspiration, so keep on writing!
God bless!
Hey, congratulations on reaching 20,000 hits on raymundtamayo.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeletethank you, rae!
DeleteGod bless!
Nice post Raymund. These tips help.
ReplyDelete