1.  Develop your own personal operating system. Carve out and define your own reality, philosophy, values, and interests rather than automatically accepting those of your family, peers, religion, or culture.

2.  Begin to let go of the need for validation. Don’t be motivated by the opinions or others or the desire for recognition. Be driven by what is important to you and what you value.

3.  Trust your instincts and allow for experimentation. Get to know yourself and discover what you enjoy and find exciting, even if you have to fail a few times.

4.  Accept others as they are. Begin letting go of judgments and criticism of others. Focus on people’s strengths rather than their faults. Learn to deal with difficult people without diminishing yourself.

5.  Really hear people. Go beyond just listening and understanding. Let people know that you really get them.

6.  Take care of unresolved matters in your life. Restore your integrity. Forgive and ask for forgiveness where necessary. Reclaim the energy you have given to these matters.

7.  Embrace a healthy lifestyle. Get some form of exercise daily. Eat healthy foods that support your body, not your emotions. Do this because you respect yourself, not to impress others.

8.  Cause things to happen. Don’t wait for them. Be a creator, an instigator, a collaborator. Share your enthusiasm.

9.  Show people you care. Don’t just talk about it. Show them in ways that are meaningful to them, not you.

10. Require the best of people. See them not only for who they are, but who they can be. Lovingly reflect that vision to them.

11. Ensure your own needs are met. Discern your primary needs, and communicate fully what is important and valuable to you in your relationships. Don’t compromise these to keep peace or hang on.

12. Speak constructively. Use your words to uplift, inspire, motivate, and encourage. Don’t offer “constructive criticism” or subtle digs.

13. Laugh easily. Have a lightness about you. Take life less seriously and choose to find and create fun and joy.

14. Cease gossip. Choose not to talk about others in ways that are openly or subtlety critical. Don’t share information for the feeling of power or intrigue.

15. Make requests, not complaints. If you need something from someone, ask for it directly. Don’t whine or complain to them or others.

16. Handle situations fully. Kindly but clearly deal with negative issues as soon as possible. Don’t tolerate anything if it causes resentments.

17. Be done with arguments. Smile and walk away until healthy communication is possible.

18. Offer help only when asked. Don’t assume that others want you to fix them or that you know best for them. Be available and give help only when asked.

19. Care deeply, but remain detached. Let others know you care deeply about them when they have problems, but don’t get caught up in their problems.

20. See with your heart, not your eyes. Look beyond superficiality when seeing someone. Financial status, appearance, notoriety, all mean nothing. Look for the authentic person inside.

21.  Don’t say yes when you mean no. If you mean no, your yes will be harnessed with resentment. Say yes only when your yes is given freely.

22. Let others know you are grateful. Tell them and show them that you feel blessed to have them in your life.

23. Never play the guilt card. Don’t try to manipulate or hurt someone by trying to make them feel bad about their choices, decisions, or actions.

24. Give more than is expected. Don’t over-commit, but freely give more than you promise.

25. Be inter-developmental in your relationships. Don’t be controlling, dependent or co-dependent. Create relationships that are mutually uplifting, reward, and satisfying.

26. Be a big person. Don’t try to take credit, diminish others, or hold back on praise. Offer acknowledgment and power when it is needed and deserved.

27. Be confident enough to be humble. Be able to laugh at yourself, acknowledge your flaws and failures, and accept that they don’t define you.

28. Be open to learning. Don’t flaunt your intelligence or superior knowledge. Recognize that there is always something to learn, even from those who appear “less than.”

29. Be more engaged than engaging. Show your sincere interest in others. Use the word “you” more than “I.” Listen intently and reflect back to others who they are.

30. Give gifts that others want. Not just gifts to impress or that are important to you.

31. Challenge yourself constantly. Don’t settle for mediocre. Don’t languish in past accomplishments. Keep moving forward and exude enthusiasm about possibilities and the actions to make them happen.

32. Detach from adrenaline. Simplify your life enough so you are not rushed, stressed, cluttered, or distracted. Allow yourself time and room to focus.

33. Embrace the incredible power of now. Nothing is more valuable than this moment. Make it the best moment you possibly can right now.

34. Don’t fight the flow. Don’t struggle against people or situations you can’t control. Move effortlessly in a different direction.

35. Keep evolving. Stay on a path of self-improvement and stay alert for opportunities for shifts and growth.

36. Accept that you won’t be attractive to everyone. As you evolve and become more attractive, fewer people will be attracted to you — but what an incredible group they are!

http://liveboldandbloom.com

http://www.barriedavenport.com

 

WHAT is a liquid therapy lamp FOR, and WHAT ELSE CAN IT DO?

The LTL is used for two purposes. One, to shed light on the situation . . . literally. It's a real lamp that can light up the room (for example: when used as a chandelier over you dining room table), or just the little reading nook next to your couch or favorite recliner. 

And two, it is used as a self-centering device. It will be there to activate at any moment to help you focus on one thing, even if for only a minute. Tests are at the beginning stages, however initial reports have proved that they can help reduce stress levels.  And it goes beyond that, early test have shown that LTL's have a calming effect like an aquarium, not just with people of all ages, but has proven useful with children who suffer from Autism. So hopefully, this will provide another tool to help keep them from reaching meltdown-level anxiety. And all without the upkeep of an aquarium.

 

WHICH CAME FIRST? THE TANK OR THE LAMP?

March 23, 2017

Stress, is a Monster. It's an imaginary creature that is large, ugly, and frightening, and it enslaves each and every one of us in different ways.  No matter who you are, you have some degree of stress.  MAYBE you're in your teens, and you feel the immense pressure to be perfect just to get into a college, OR let's say, your 20s, and you feel the weight of starting out a career for the very first  time. How about you 30 yr olds out there, who have a growing family who rely on you more and more and more, or MAYBE you are in your 40s and older family members and friends are being unexpectedly taken away from you. FINALLY you could be in your 50s, 60s, or older and you realize that retirement, is simply going to take longer than expected. The point is, everyone has their own stress and sometimes they can be piled on top of each other to the point that it's suffocating. 

In my case, an emotionally draining, fertility struggle for my wife Jamie and me, is what was the catalyst for this unique, yet admittedly odd, type of art. Who would have thought that not being able to have a child would be so stressful? But when you are married to a 1st Grade teacher who drives an hour and a half from Pittsburgh to Youngstown then back and gives more than she has to give, every day, even into the night for her kids, it's gut wrenching to see her put her body through so much just to fail over, and over, and over again. IVF is no easy road, especially for someone who had cervicle displasia, endometriosis, and a bicorneate uterus.  And even though we went to Shady Grove Fertility in Frederick MD, who had a "baby or money back guarantee" program, the road still took 4 years of torture, where she had to give herself two inch long needles shots repeatedly, among other hormone manipulations, and preparations. It's easy to feel sorry for yourself, but when all you can do is console your wife, it's almost unbearable. I'm thinking to myself, "I'm the husband, it's my job to make it all better" . . . and I simply couldn't.

This helplessness drove me to make a place that could just melt the stress away. A unique man cave, although, I wanted anybody to enjoy their time down there, men and women alike so that's why I dubbed it the Sanctuary.  The only rule was that there was no negativity allowed when you are in the Sanctuary. Naming it was the easy task, coming up with art for it that can lower stress, that's interactive, and quite frankly something no one has ever seen, was a different story.

Well one day, I came across a video explaining how to make your own lava lamp in a two liter bottle. It was so neat, I wondered what would that look like on a much larger scale with a few modifications...

Thus, The Treasure Tank came first.

 

THE SANCTUARY 1.0?

March 23, 2017

The Sanctuary, our work studio, was originally the name for our Man-cave, which is what inspired the whole idea for "Relaxation Art".

Sean's desire for an environment (originally put together in 2009) where you could go to relieve your stress and leave the negativities of the world behind, is what gave him the drive to invent Treasure Tanks and Sphere Lamps (AKA Fireball Lamps). Originally he felt the name "Man-Cave" was a little vulgar, especially considering that it alludes to a men only environment.  So he renamed this environment the "Sanctuary" since anyone should be welcomed, the only rule is that NO NEGATIVITY is allowed. And the name for this type of man cave stuck from there.

There were several key elements that Sean felt needed to be present in this unique environment in order to provide a calming and relaxing effect. First and foremost, COLOR! A Minnesota State University study shows that deep blue colors have a calming effect on people. So he choose LED strips to achieve that affect. LED technology is relatively new in the market place but over the last several years, several lighting companies have made them very affordable and easy to obtain. And it's a snap to provide mood lighting to an entire room with just one or two strips. But changing the color of the room clearly wasn't enough, there needs to be a positive stimulant in the environment to provide enjoyment.  So he looked into different types of artwork and paintings. However, he needed to find objects that were bright enough to stand out over the blue hue of the room. After months of tests, nothing provided the vibrancy of blacklight reflective colors. In particular, blacklight reflective posters. Although most of todays new blacklight posters can be crude and even childish, he found that there was a multitude of Vintage 60's and 70's Blacklight poster "Art" out there on Ebay that was very artistically talented and reasonably priced.