And my new iPod is connecting me to endless Bliss!

I couldn’t wait to get rid of my old phone.  The audio was jacked, so voices came across as either too soft or too loud.  But due to a series of writing deadlines and other circumstances, getting to the store to upgrade took longer than I’d planned.

But finally, great things come to those who wait!

While it’s exciting, tackling the sometimes intimidating tricks of new technology can be frustrating, even annoying.

Today though, I figured out a lot of things on my own!  I programmed the phone to get The New York Times (free!) at my fingertips, along with Facebook and Weather!  I also succeeded at downloading music from iTunes for the first time (don’t laugh) and uploading them into the iPod function on my iPhone!

What a tremendous sense of accomplishment!  I literally giggled and laughed out loud throughout this process.

I picked an iPhone over a Blackberry because I’m a Mac person, as is my whole family and many of my close friends.  My sister and I were introduced to computers at the University of Michigan in the mid-80s… all computer centers had Macs.  We also used them when I was a reporter and editor at the campus newspaper, The Michigan Daily. 

Likewise, my college-aged and twenty-something cousins — and their parents who are in their 50s and 60s — are also Mac enthusiasts.  When one cousin brought a Dell laptop to Thanksgiving Dinner a few years ago, he was playfully ridiculed.

Apple products are superior.  The Apple laptop that I bought 8 or 9 YEARS ago still functions perfectly!  I’ve written many books on it, and it’s served me from L.A. to New York.
So getting my touch-screen iPhone was natural.  It’s connecting me to endless news, emails, text messages, and of course, phone calls.  I can even watch movies on it!
So today, Find Your Daily Bliss by trying something new — especially if it involves tackling a technological challenge.  Once you connect to new information, new music, and new ideas, you’ll be laughing out loud, too.  Enjoy!

They’re not ignoring the economy; they’re seeking the tremendous opportunities that turbulent times generate.  For example, MANY people finally want to write their books NOW.  Why?  Because they realize that entrepreneurialism is a great way to generate new streams of income and secure their futures.

They believe their investment of time and money into their books will pay great dividends.  And they’re right.  Book sales, paid speaking engagements and media attention are just a few of the awesome perks that authors enjoy.

But those perks don’t come to folks who hunker down, get scared or parrot all the bad news.
Instead, the overwhelming optimism that I feel today has marked this Monday as one of the best days of my life.  Not because I won my Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.  Not because I built my dream home.  Not because I got that 550SL that I want.
No, today was phenomenal because my mind is right.  It’s amazing.  I am shutting out all the negativity and focusing on the positive.  Being productive and prosperous.  Working hard.  Focusing.  Giving it my all.
It’s so simple!  But we make it so hard.  We let worry and doubt creep into our thoughts like poison vines, choking the hope from our dreams.

Fear is the opposite of faith.  And all those days in recent months and years when I believed the negative hype, I had let fear smash my faith.

Guess what?  My faith is back.  I feel like, with the simple changing of my mind, I have stepped into a whole new dimension where only the most wonderful things can happen.

I love this time and space.  And I’m stayin’.

So today, Find Your Daily Bliss by deciding to shut out the noise and go for the gold!

But the most enchanting dream enticed me into a tropical sanctuary. I’m sure I was smiling in my sleep as dreamwaves swept me away to the deck of a luxurious yacht, anchored near a Caribbean island. I was sprawled on a fluffy lounge chair, sipping a pina colada. The hot sun on my skin, the salty breeze, the gentle splash of waves against the hull and the gentle rocking motion all lulled me into the most decadent euphoria. When I tried to think of anything that’d been worrying me, my mind was blank.

Suddenly I believed again in the magic of life. The magic that sparkles suddenly and unexpectedly, when we need it most. Magic that restores our faith that all we desire and deserve will come to us in time.

The power of our dreams during sleep and our imaginations while awake are what build our realities. When everyone around us is echoing the gloom and doom that bombards us in the media, when we feel discouraged or disappointed or all alone, that is the time when we must savor the euphoria of dreams to brighten our waking hours. We must believe that those dreams will someday come true.

So Find Your Daily Bliss today by daring to dream your most opulent vision for happiness, serenity and love. Then smile with the knowing that it’s all yours for the taking.

This morning, as we drove to school, an angel in the sky assured us that our prayers were heard.

The golden sun was the head, surrounded by a soft, buttery glow against the pale blue sky.  Triangular cloud formations, glowing in gold-pink symmetry, were the wings.  The body?  A column of yellow descending from the sun in an ever-widening band toward Earth.

Another Inauguration Day angel re-appeared at sunset, as we drove home from school.  She had moved to the western sky, but the yellow column was brighter, almost too bright to look at.  The wings were darker clouds.  And the setting sun was the head, glowing with the golden symbolism of better times to come for America and the world under the leadership of our new President.

I found some of my Daily Bliss in those moments, when the heavens sent Angels to show the power of prayer.

But today I saw one of the most spectacular things EVER!

Two vertical rainbows, flanking the bright sun!

Now let me set the scene:  I was driving near the water.  As soon as I turned onto that street, I felt immediate serenity.  Then I looked at the sun, the sky and the water.

And I gasped.  Because I saw a rainbow.  Not the arced kind.  It was vertical, like a pillar of colors against pale blue.  Then I gasped again.

Because the rainbow’s twin shot from the water up to the sky, on the exact opposite side of the sun.

It was like these pillars of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet were DANCING on the frozen water!

I drove slowly.  I couldn’t understand why the other cars were whizzing past.  Didn’t they see how Mother Nature was delighting the world with the breathtaking beauty of a sky show?  Were the other drivers so busy griping about winter that they missed it?  Hunkering down, instead of gazing up?  The symbolism of those moments of pure bliss for me this morning are wildly symbolic about how we choose to experience life.
That jaw-dropping vision set the tone for pure magic for me, all day long.  Never mind the record-breaking 15 degrees below zero last night.  Or news about the economy.  Or any other negative thing.

Those moments of staring in awe at the rainbows dancing before me were a profound reminder that life is absolutely phenomenal.

So today, wherever you are, gaze up.  Delight in Mother Nature’s creations.  And know that in her awesome majesty, you can celebrate magic moments that light up your whole life!

When I’m writing, the world fades away.  Time seems to stop, except every time I glance up, more hours have whizzed past.  Or all of a sudden I realize, It’s dark and I’m still in my pajamas.  Some days, I’m writing from 9 a.m. until 1 a.m.

“Oh, so you’re just a writer,” a professional man said to me at a recent event where I was autographing books.

I wanted to sass back:  “YOU sit at my desk for 16 hours and see what YOU come up with!” I was polite, of course.  Because his oblivion to the immense concentration required for writing… well, I just didn’t care what he thought.

Because I know what goes into crafting an excellent novel.  The plot, the setting, the characters, the research, the long hours of concentration.  I know the amazing sense of fulfillment and pride that I feel after writing a scene, a chapter or a whole book.

It is PURE BLISS.   It’s so blissful that I did it on one of the most celebrated days of the year.  Of course I enjoyed the family festivities just as much.

I hope that today you can Find Your Daily Bliss by doing something you love so much, you’d do it on Christmas.  Celebrate!

He then used a plastic sword to lift various items from the pile into the drawers.  In-between, he whacked at a plastic bag that went airborne after holding socks.  Rather than go directly from the laundry basket to the closets and dressers, he leaped over beds, jumped up and down, even did a few stunts with an imaginary sword-fighting opponent.

Laughing, all the while.

When’s the last time YOU had that much fun with a mundane household chore?

His playfulness was a great reminder for me to nix the begrudging attitude about loading and unloading the dishwasher again.  Once I decide to enjoy it, that usually translates into gratitude that I have a dishwasher.  Then I invite my son to help me so that it instantly becomes more fun.

So, the next time you’re grumbling about chores, invite your child or grandchild or niece or nephew to help put a fun spin on it.  I guarantee, their playful approach will help you Find Your Daily Bliss.

When I sit here and make up characters, create conversations and orchestrate scandalous scenes, it’s literally all in my head.

But something magical happens when I write a book.

Other people read it.  That’s when all those characters, conversations and scenes are literally in their heads!

I was delightfully reminded of this on Christmas Eve, as I did two readings at a party in a colleague’s home.  There I met a woman who’d read Dark Secret when it first came out in 2000.  It’s now in its second printing and it’s being shopped for movie rights in Hollywood.  Well, this woman vividly recalled the characters, settings and scenes — which had popped out of my imagination!

Wow, what a thrill to experience the phenomenon that my words and ideas made such a lasting impression!

Today, you can Find Your Daily Bliss by knowing that your creations can touch a person’s life and stay with them for many years to come.

And the coolest part?  The prices!  I routinely spend $20 on fruits and veggies that would cost at least twice that at the grocery store.  Walking out with bags of pineapples and green grapes and pomegranites, made me smile.

So if you live in Metro Detroit… check out Eastern Market on a Saturday, even in winter!  If you don’t live here, make a point to visit our farmer’s marketplace when you visit someday.

Because once you open those old doors, you will Find Your Daily Bliss!

It happened yesterday when we went to see Bedtime Stories.  Oh my goodness, it is hilarious!

Somehow Adam Sandler has a way of pulling off the goofiest humor that would be downright ridiculous if lesser actors attempted it.  But with him, it’s magic.

And all that laughter in the movie only enhances the already great time with family.  Going to the movies forces us to sit still, whisper, hold hands, share snacks and enjoy something together.  When those lights go down, it literally transports you to a peaceful place where the world fades away and gumballs are raining from the sky and a mermaid is dancing and people fall in love.

So, today, Find Your Daily Bliss with by seeking some movie magic!