pee-jay ♥'s quotes

Just a few of my favourite quotes.......some are quotes passed on by friends and others are self-made mantras I live by......

xx pee=jay

pee-jay hearts

pee-jay ♥'s european summer flings

Need a reason to escape the chilly winter mornings and endless lashings of rain? With the amount of rain we have had in the last couple of weeks, anyone would think we were situated in the middle of the Amazon.... If these next couple of pics don't inspire you to book a holiday crammed full with copious amounts of sunbaking, shopping, nanna naps and cocktails, I don’t know what will....

Unfortunately I'm not escaping the cold this year with a European summer fling, so I’m going to have to resort to ugg boots, dvd nights and lots of tea to keep me warm!

peace & love

xx pee-jay

pee-jay ♥'s feel good happy snaps

The well known proverb states that a picture is worth a thousand words, but these delightful framed sentences can be just enough to make someone smile. SMILE. 


xx Pee-jay

pee-jay ♥'s self help books

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It’s a self help book which seeks to bring about a transformation of human consciousness. It took me almost one hour to read the first chapter. Enough said. I don’t think it’s going to be my “before bedtime” book or Sunday afternoon chill-out read, but I think everyone should read it, or at least attempt to.
It is a little hard to get a hold of the concepts that the author tries to shed light on but it has got me intrigued…very intrigued….so I am determined to finish it (although my friends have told me its impossible). Wish me luck

Xx pee-jay

pee-jay ♥'s the archibald prize

One of my favourite things to do is to visit the NSW Art Gallery with friends to observe the annual Archibald Prize. Above are just a few of my favourite finalists, the first being the portrait I chose for the People’s Choice Award painted by Jasper Knight and the last portrait is the Archibald winner, painted by Sam Leach.

On leaving the gallery, I walked passed the Artexpress exhibition which is a dynamic and popular exhibition featuring a selection of outstanding student artworks developed for the artmaking component of the HSC examination in Visual Arts, 2009. Studying Art for the HSC you really appreciate the time, energy, blood, sweat and tears that go into these masterpieces. You work on the artworks the entire year; it almost feels like it becomes a piece of you once it is completed. I will be coming back to the Gallery next Wednesday for Art Afer Hours to check this out. Usually the standard and quality of these artworks surpasses anything you see in the Archibald so I’m really looking forward to it.


Being at the gallery last night I was flooded with memories of my painting days and how I miss it so much. As life becomes much more frantic these days I find myself using any spare time I have catching up with friends, exercising or meditating instead of painting.



So I have made point to buy some canvas and paint on the weekend and re kindle my passion for painting once again. My friend reminded me last night as we were meandering through the various portraits at the gallery, how I use to paint various flora subjects (mostly mainstream frangipanis) during University to pay for my copious amounts of overseas travel. I capitalized on the fact that most of the house- wives of Cronulla loved hanging these types of delightful paintings in their beach side homes.

Stay tuned for some happy snaps of some of my older artworks and let’s see how long it takes for me to produce some new works of art.



Xx pee-jay the painter

Pee-jay hearts Joshua Petker

Loving these paintings by a Californian artist Joshua Petker. Petker is influenced by pop culture, abstract and classical art and creates paintings that combine graphic forms and abstract expressionist color fields.

Loving the use of aqua blue through the paintings.....I think i might have to get me some printed to canvas for my new apartment.

xx pee-jay

pee-jay hearts meditation

As our lives get busier and busier and more totally ridik every week, I’m trying to find new ways to balance out my mind, body and soul. We spend so much of our week working, catching up with friends, trying to exercise, rushing from here to there and by the weeks’ end we feel exhausted, tired and overwhelmed.
So I decided to attend a mediation class run by a Buddhism group close to my work. My friend invited me late last year to join her in a mediation session that is held in what looks like a townhouse in the back streets of Newtown.

I am still very beginner at this and learning every week new skills to calm me down and focus on what is in my mind. Usually people attend mediation classes under the impression that the act of mediation will calm your mind and leave it empty and still. After attending my first class, I came to the realisation that one of the ideals of mediation is that your mind will not become empty and still, but you actually focus on becoming ok with all the thought processes, feelings, emotions, deliberations and reflections that come into your mind at one time.

Its hard to explain….let me give you an example……5pm,….I am sitting at my desk thinking….. note to self-what will I cook for dinner, note to self- do I have food in the fridge, note to self- do I need to go to the shops, note to self- should I catch up with my sister for dinner, note to self- should I cook or get takeaway, note to self- I shouldn’t get takeaway because I ate out at lunch, note to self- I need to call mum, note to self- I need to get petrol….. and before I know it, I have no control of what I am letting into my mind…..

We don’t often realise how many different thoughts are going through our minds at one time and forget that we can actually cause anxiety attacks or similar from the way we can work ourselves up with what we have going on in our lives……

From my understating so far, mediation helps you acknowledge the thoughts that come into your mind and leave your mind without getting flustered or anxious about it…..

So if you’re feeling anxious, nervous, overwhelmed….come join in on a mediation class soon…..and you can too reap the benefits of having more control of your mind….

Classes are on every Monday & Thursday night at 8.30pm at Sydney Diamond Way Buddhist centre, 2 Linthorpe St.Newtown. The centre is run and maintained through the idealism of friends who meditate together….

Some benefits of mediation include (thanks google):

• It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate.



• Leads to a deeper level of relaxation



• Good for people with high blood pressure as it brings the B.P. to normal



• Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate



• Decreases muscle tension (any pain due to tension) and headaches.



• Builds self-confidence



• It increases serotonin production which influences mood and behaviour. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression, obesity, insomnia and headaches.



• Also reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress.



• Enhances the immune system. Research has revealed that meditation increases activity of 'natural-killer cells', which kill bacteria and cancer cells.
  
  Peace from pee-jay xx

pee-jay hearts is back.....

I feel terrible that I haven’t been here to visit in a while but I just moved house, moved departments at work and moved roles which has kept me super busy....

Stay tuned soon for some more pee-jay hearts additions


xx pee-jay

pee-jay hearts float tanks

Pay money to float in a tank?? Some friends thought it was weird when I said I was going to have a “float tank session” and massage last week. The massage part, they understood, but the float tank session needed a little more explaining. A float tank is a large bath of warm water containing a highly concentrated salt solution to increase buoyancy, which allows you to float effortlessly….

So let me explain the experience, you have your own private room (or double if you wish to do it with a friend or partner- not like you can chat the whole time but what ever you prefer), you use the shower in the room before hoping into the float tank which resembles a coffin slash bath slash cocoon like capsule and lay down in it as you were to float in the pool or bath…….it’s not even 30 centre meters deep but as soon as you lay down in the water your body emerges to the top of the water……you are given an inflatable head rest much like a travel pillow you would take on a plane……….and once you shut the door on yourself (this is optional but I would recommend for the full experience) you suddenly are immersed in darkness floating on top of the warm salty water, with calming and relaxing music quietly playing in the background…… the music plays for 10 minutes and then you are left in silence (by the way this session goes for 1 hour and the music will start playing again 10 minutes before you have to get out)…….. I am laying there accustoming myself to the feeling of being weightless (its really quite relaxing) and wondering what I am going to for a whole hour…my mind starts to wonder and thoughts are entering my mind left right and centre about my day and what I have to do for tomorrow…..am I going to the gym in the morning? What should I pack for lunch? What should I have for dinner?......as I float in my coffin slash bath slash cocoon….. my back starts to crack and it makes slight adjustments all by itself…like if a chiropractor was working on you…….weird feeling but ultimate result……it was unwinding me from a long day………and before I know it I have fallen asleep…..i could have been drifting out to see from the way I was feeling………..40 minutes later I am being woken up by the music that has gently started to play again (along the lines of enya slash rainforest mix) …….wow that went fast…..and yes…I feel amazing……

So as it states on the website “The silence, safety and comfort of the environment is naturally conducive to relaxation and peace of mind.”…. which is 100% spot on, I would recommend it if you want total peace of mind and relaxation….

I followed it up with a one hour sports massage which just topped off the session and my night…… gosh I slept like a baby that night…. For anyone that wants to give it a go…. http://www.massagefloat.com.au/ at Bondi junction has a 2 hours of bliss special at the moment- 1 hour float tank + 1 hour body massage for $100….

Spoil yourself…your worth it….

Xx pee-jay