Shock-Horror! Ghosts can Write

“What, Mama?” *insert shock-horror on the cutest faces you can imagine here* “So YOU write the stories…and they take the credit?”  (“Do you at least get money?”)


I don’t know how it came about that I even brought GHOSTWRITING up with them. Or why…

Perhaps it was on that morning I was nearly bust being the Tooth Fairy and I grabbed a book in a lame ass attempt to show them something more “interesting”. 


I’ve been a GHOST WRITER for many years – taking ideas and rough drafts, weaving and channeling my ideas around them and then handing them back to authors to publish.

I’ve never thought about the credit bit. I guess that’s not why I write.  I write because it gives ME pleasure!


Have YOU figured out how to turn something you love doing into a business?  I’d start with what brings you JOY.


That’s always the way. 


xoxo

Lee

For more stories like these and a list of my services, please visit www.leemayimele.com

A magical Part II to the Kind Stranger Story

Dear Friends

I’ve had so many responses to my story about the stranger who paid our bill yesterday. Thank you! How did I get so lucky to know so many wonderful people? I’m thinking about HOW I can get you all involved in something meaningful that we could do together. Thank you. 

That’s not why I am writing though.

Something even more wonderful happened after I published my story yesterday. One of my friends wrote a post on my Facebook early this morning to tell me how much she loved the idea of “paying it forward”. Like so many of you, she was also inspired. So, off she went to breakfast. She was sitting there, planning to paint the world with kindness today. She contacted me again a couple of hours later. Guess what happened to her? SOMEONE PAID HER BILL! I kid you not. 

I am absolutely blown away by the power of our intention. I know the theory. I just need to see it in the flesh every now and then. 

Don’t we all? 

xoxo

Lee 

ORIGINAL POST FROM YESTERDAY FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T SEE IT (plus a pic of the toastie you have been drooling over)

There are some really nasty people in this world. Trust me, I have had my fair share of them over recent months. From the word-twister to the gaslighter, from family members playing one against the other to the repeat cry-wolf types. 

But, damn there are some amazing human beings on this planet.And, again I didn’t really have to travel very far (not that I could) to find them. 

Just this morning, I was sitting with a friend having one of my most favourite meals : a piece of sourdough toast, slathered with a thick layer of hummus, topped with sliced avocado, grilled balsamic basted baby tomatoes, a couple of blocks of rich Danish feta, rocket and a poached egg. Yes, all on one piece of toast! 

If this be my last meal, make that a double portion of hummus, please! 

So, there I am, staring into my friend’s amazing emerald eyes (which seem to pop because of the absence of her hair which is tucked into her hijab) having a foodgasm when the waitress pops over to let us to knowsomeone paid our bill.  And, like every good superhero, they vanished without a trail. Can you imagine!?

My friend’s reaction was the one I want you to focus on though. She said “thank you. We’ll pay it forward!” 

I’m inspired guys! I’m inspired by what kindness can do. I’m inspired to give more and do more and be more. 

…and I think I am going to heed her call to action and pay it forward more than I usually do. With a full heart and grateful for all the moments that just land in my lap to remind me to focus on the things that matter. 

Will you join me?

xoxo

Lee

Have you heard of THE VAULT?

I want you to imagine for a second that you can tap into a VAULT.

Inside the vault is a bunch of templates, all neatly filed and labeled. Templates for happinesss, vitality, prosperity and abundance. Everywhere you turn, more templates for creativity, joy, peace and all the other things us humans need and want in order to live a fulfilled life.

What if I told you that the only way you can ACCESS that vault is through NOT wanting or needing those things? Right! You would give me the look.

Man, oh man, have I been there before too. I was like WTF!?

Have you ever noticed how the more we want something, the more we chase something, the more we desperately claw at the things, the more they seem to slip away? Think of yourself on the dating scene/job hunting/trying to fall pregnant. And, the moment you release it, boom!!…there it is? Rightttt?

I’ve found (after many years of bumping my head) that the fastest way to attract something is to release my attachment to it and to BE HAPPY ANYWAY. That energy of Surrender and Non Attachment is magnetic. It is a vibration of trust and faith that gets me straight into the vault.

Happy!

TRY IT! Simply ask yourself WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY? My list includes:

  • Going to bed at 8pm
  • 5am Meditation
  • Going for a run
  • Writing
  • Learning spiritual “secrets”
  • Red wine with my dad
  • Writing
  • Cooking for and with my children
  • Travel
  • The Ocean
  • Fashion (gosh, I love fashion more than I realised)
  • Playtime
  • Karaoke and a bowl of hummus?! BAM!! I am happy as a kid in Krispy Kreme.

The Wise Ones have always told us that INSPIRED people are magnets for the stuff inside the vault and I think were right.

Perhaps you are inspired by opera, animals, karate, salsa and gardening? Just do more of that and let the vibration of JOY carry you.

See you inside the vault?

xoxo

Lee

P.S. Allow me to wish you a wonderful weekend and for my Jewish friends, a wonderful and SWEET new year.

A BIG SHIFT – AHA!

A couple of years ago, I sat at my desk, staring at a pile of papers for hours.  

I was required to do a recon of expenses for the company I was working for at the time, but because I had been running on empty for months, I just sat there unable to move. 

My doctor called it “adrenal fatigue and burnout” but I knew that there was more.  But, like so many a corporate animal, I limped along from one deadline to the next trying to prove that I was invincible when in fact the ground was giving way beneath my feet. 

I won’t tell you exactly how that chapter ended because you’ll have to wait to buy my second book. (SURPRISE SURPRISE! Yes, that’s what I’ve been doing all this time.  I’ve been writing.  Sorry if you’ve missed my weekly stories  I had to put my head down and focus.  I’ve also written about why I could not blog during this time of writing my book. It was a “spiritual” directive)

 

Back to the story of the ADRENAL FATIGUE,

Yes, I was drained by my work because it was not aligned to my PURPOSE.   I kept getting this nagging feeling that I had to make more time for my “inner work”.

Why couldn’t I just fast forward to the part where I get the new role in the new life I wanted?

Frustrated at first, I began to make time for what I believed to be the INNER WORK. Daily meditation, prayer, study, study.  I consulted with my guides, teachers, coaches, mentors and spent many hours in prayer and solitude.

Still, something was missing.  Until one morning, just as I stepped out of my cold shower (Get your mind out of the gutter! I’ve been taking cold showers for over 20 years for their circulation and immune boosting benefits!)

Ahaaaaa!  I felt a voice say in answer to my repeated question about how to inject more purpose and magic into my life in order to grow and prosper.  The answer was quite simple:  PLAY! LAUGH! DANCE! CONNECT! 

That’s it, I thought. That’s exactly what was missing.  Those words described me so well but why was I not committing to those things in the same way as I was to the other “important” things in my life?

Exactly!  Following my BLISS is now my “inner work” and I am very committed to it.  

Perhaps I can tempt you to join me?

RobynDaviePhotography-LEE-ANN-8

 

xoxo

Lee

 

How do you find YOUR purpose? It really isn’t rocket science

RobynDaviePhotography-LEE-ANN-8

Writing comes easy to me. I started writing when I was 9.  

I wrote a poem about a Tiger.  I got 0/10. Yes, zero!  I had never gotten zero before.

The teacher cited “copying”.  She decided that my poem was so damn good, that I could only have copied it.

That moment changed my life. Because instead of causing me to shrink in shame and embarassment, it lit a fire inside of me. “There’s something there huh?” I thought, “a kind of Magic?”

So began my journey of doing what I love to do.

I knew there was passion.

I simply followed that passion.

And just like in the movies, my passion led me to my purpose: to write to inspire! 

YOU can do that too. No jokes.  Simply go with what you love to do. The rest will sure as hell follow.

No need to thank ME. It’s the law of the universe.

 

Grateful Always,

Lee Mayimele

 

 

Warning: Kindness is Dope

I met someone recently who thanked me for something I did for her 20 years ago.

I kid you not.

To be quite honest, I did not recall the detail or that act of apparent kindness at all. She tells me that it came at a time when she desperately needed a strong mother figure and that young-me stepped up.

I must say, our exchanges back then never did feel like “rescue” or “help” to me. In fact, I reckon I was the one who felt good. I was the one who felt useful. I was probably the one who felt high from the endorphins that make us drunk with purpose. That’s really all I remember about our interactions ~ how lovely I felt around her.

How cool?

Her testimony has since inspired me to write some random “Thank You” notes of my own. Because the stars know that there are plenty of people who have touched me over the years. And just like that, I’m part of an energy that keeps the magical vibration of GRATITUDE in motion.

Perhaps you feel inspired to hop on the train and thank someone today too? If so, I can tell you without a doubt that the wise ones were right: It is indeed GIVING that we RECEIVE.

Try it. Thank me (29 years later).

Lee Mayimele

Chief Storyteller

Dear Kids (A reflection from a greying Mama’s Heart)

Dear Kids

23621584_10155903438564136_6002740028721333494_n.jpg

Whilst no parent has all the answers and whilst this mama is constantly, still learning, know this for sure:

  1. You are never alone
  2. Travel is the best teacher
  3. “No” is a good word. Use it often. It’s particularly lovely when there’s a dead silence and you offer no explanations
  4. “Please” and “thank you” never goes out of fashion
  5. Water heals. Oceans. Tears. 2 litres a day
  6. You have a built-built in “people” radar. Please listen to its beep beep beep when something feels offish
  7. Sleep is medicine
  8. Play, play, play. Never stop playing
  9. Less sugar, less screen time, more grass, more laughs
  10. God is inside you and no one one has a special hotline that you need to go through
  11. Betrayal is painful. Nothing can prepare you for that kick in the groin
  12. Go out and explore. You can always come home to cry
  13. Try and remember who you were before the world started pinning its labels on you
  14. Your body is beautiful. Exactly as is. Explore it. Admire it. Treat it right and it will reward you so much
  15. No one knows it all
  16. Blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you family
  17. Believe in magic. Those who don’t, never find it
  18. Your word is your honour. Do what you say you will. Always
  19. A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles
  20. Give freely. Of what you have. Of your time. And quietly please
  21. No one likes a show-off
  22. Learn to listen. To God’s voice in the early morning. To yourself. Certainly to people who you trust
  23. Shortcuts never work
  24. People will forget what you say but they will never forget how you made them FEEL. Be kind
  25. Books, music, thunderstorms and tea are good for lonesome days when you need your mama
  26. Abundance and prosperity are your birth right
  27. Look beyond the labels of race and religion, gender and social standing. How people treat people from whom they need nothing is where you should focus your scoring and grading
  28. Jealousy is when you count other people’s blessings instead of your own
  29. Love does not need to hurt
  30. Speak your truth. Even when your voice shakes
  31. What sets your soul on fire? Go there
  32. Learning is constant
  33. Messing up is okay. Intentionally hurting someone never is
  34. You teach people how to treat you
  35. You may have one “true love” or many or even none. Remember that you are whole anyway
  36. You have a story that only YOU can tell

 

xoxo

Mama

 

© Aluta continua, as they say.  A Heart Full of Stories, 2017

My True Love (A Tragedy)

I was wearing the world’s most comfortable onesie and I really did not want to change. We had a bond. A warm, assuring intimacy built on years of trust, closeness and chemistry.  And, as often happens with real love, dark forces try and creep in and threaten to tear you apart. 

 

In our case, it was coffee. There was no coffee! The dark force decided to strike on the coldest morning of the year.

 

So, I did what any self-respecting woman in love would do. I lifted my game, taking the risk and going in the direction of my destiny. Showing the dark force who’s boss, I put on a long coat, Jackie O glasses, a baseball cap and I headed out.

 

I was also wearing sneakers because I told our cleaner I was going to the gym. She side-eyed me. I knew it! We had to keep our love a secret. Nobody could find out. There would be consequences. People were talking. I could see it in her eyes.

 

As far as I was concerned, our secret was still pretty safe. Safe under the beautiful vintage cover of my granny’s tweed coat.

 

Still acting like Madonna, and just like the lovers who err every now and then and risk getting caught, I had a serious case of the guilty conscience. It hit me hard.

 

Hot, sweaty, high from adrenaline and feeling the full pressure from “society”, I decided to do the “right” thing.  It was painful but I had no choice but to break up with my onesie.

 

It wasn’t him, it was me. He didn’t deserve it.

 

It was either that, or my husband would get the text message telling him that our gym membership was about to be revoked because we had used it less than 3 times in one month. (Can you imagine our cleaner’s face then?)

053 (B&W)

 

…I still think about that onesie.

Especially during squats when I think I finally know what Adele meant when she said “sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead…” 

© A Heart Full of Stories, 2016

COPYRIGHT: 

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Lee-Ann Mayimele and www.aheartfullofstories.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

 

 

What makes YOU smile? (You are Enough)

I received an email last week telling me that my poem “YOU are enough” had been pinned to a wall. A real wall in a real office that did not belong to me (or any member of my family).

Do you know what that means to someone like me?  

Firstly, it sows panic. It feels like standing naked at a traffic light. Because, let’s face it, once we have created something for public consumption, there is always the risk that other people think it is crap. The vulnerability is the price we pay for writing heart based words.

But, once the stupidity wanes and the light starts flowing from the ego, through the heart and permeating the creative soul, the gratitude quotient increases almost proportionately to the panic one decreasing.

THAT “ahhhhh” moment is what I experienced today. And, let me tell you, it is a fantastic feeling. It’s a magical place of understanding that my words are doing what they were birthed to do:  change hearts.

THIS is why I write. THIS is what gives me the most pleasure in the entire world.

Allow me to wish that you too find your “thing”. Your spark. Your calling. Your passion.

It’s a beautiful road to walk….

 

(Oh yes, here is the poem):

“YOU are Enough

…The time surely comes

When you put yourself first

When you regain your God essence

When you count your blessings

When you honour your sadness

When you give yourself permission to try

When you name your pain

When you stop calling your passion a “hobby”

When you keep your word

When you kick someone out of your emotional bed

When you alienate nasty creatures

When you write thank you notes

When you take more risks

When you stop trusting losers

When you approach people you need

When you say no to darkness

When you yield appropriately

When you say beautiful words of gratitude instinctively

When you sleep for days

When you trust your internal red flags

When you disappoint another heart

When you run your race and let others run theirs

When you clear everything on your vision board and start again

When you no longer mind being called emotional

When you equate self-respect with breathing

When you allow yourself to dream again

When you listen to a child

When you let yourself be touched

When you honour your calling

When you travel to places that call you

When you risk humiliation

When you press “reset” on your life

When you accept the shape of the parts you disguise

When you simply say “not today”

When you acknowledge those that guide you

When you start imitating yourself

When you draw a line in the sand

When you empower other people

When you forgive yourself

When you delight in the success of others

When you laugh loud

When you kiss your broken heart

When you are your own role model

When you emulate the speckles of light you see

When you tone down the noise

When you soothe your heart with music

When you dine alone

When you share your struggles

When you own your fears

When you unlearn your defences

…and on that day, may you know that YOU are enough YOU have always been enough YOU will always be enough End of story!

Aluta Continua, I say!  The road is long (for me)”

© A Heart Full of Stories, 2015.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Lee-Ann Mayimele and http://www.aheartfullofstories.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

 

 

YOU are Enough

…The time surely comes

When you put yourself first

When you regain your God essence

When you count your blessings

When you honour your sadness

When you give yourself permission to try

When you name your pain

When you stop calling your passion a “hobby”

When you keep your word

When you kick someone out of your emotional bed

When you alienate nasty creatures

When you write thank you notes

When you take more risks

When you stop trusting losers

When you approach people you need

When you say no to darkness

When you yield appropriately

When you say beautiful words of gratitude instinctively

When you sleep for days

When you trust your internal red flags

When you disappoint another heart

When you run your race and let others run theirs

When you clear everything on your vision board and start again

When you no longer mind being called emotional

When you equate self respect with breathing

When you allow yourself to dream again

When you listen to a child

When you let yourself be touched

When you honour your calling

When you travel to places that call you

When you risk humiliation

When you press “reset” on your life

When you accept the shape of the parts you disguise

When you simply say “not today”

When you acknowledge those that guide you

When you start imitating yourself

When you draw a line in the sand

When you empower other people

When you forgive yourself

When you delight in the success of others

When you laugh loud

When you kiss your broken heart

When you are your own role model

When you emulate the speckles of light you see

When you tone down the noise

When you soothe your heart with music

When you dine alone

When you share your struggles

When you own your fears

When you unlearn your defences

…and on that day, may you know that YOU are enough YOU have always been enough YOU will always be enough End of story!

Aluta Continua, I say!  The road is long (for me)

© A Heart Full of Stories, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Lee-Ann Mayimele and www.aheartfullofstories.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.