HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB!

Let me ask you a question:
When was the last time you visited a hospital?
I heard the song "dr Feelgood" the other day which made me wonder...

Can an environment like a hospital make you feel good?

The answer: yes it can!
Actually, that's what it was supposed to do in the first place, right?
Be a place of comfort, healing, making you feel good again.

When I received an email about a dear friend who is very ill indeed it made me sad.
Having a serious disease like hers is bad enough as it is, but this also means she has to visit hospitals regularly. Experiencing not too pleasant treatments.
Her association of the hospital will most likely be effected by those not so feel good experiences.

In fact: there are many people like her who have a bad association with hospitals.
They have to go there often to undergo not so pleasant things.
Hospitals don't make them feel so good.

To them hospitals mean pain, fear, stress, insecurity etc.
All stress inducing feelings.
But like I just mentioned: stress does not improve healing.
So a building can actually make you feel more sick.
Quite the opposite of what a hospital was designed to do.

How you feel can make you heal. 
Since there is such a vast demand for healthcare, we have a problem with our current systems.
They are not sustainable. Too costly and too many people need them.
We simply cannot afford to continue providing healthcare the way we've grown accustomed to.
Changes have to be made.

Luckily many doctors choose their health trade because they seriously want to make you feel good. 
They have invested a lot in research, trying to find out what they can do to help you release stress.
One very important thing they have found is this:

   comfort + beauty + luxury = well-being 

a.k.a. less stress
a.k.a. faster healing
a.k.a. less medication
a.k.a. easier to treat patients
a.k.a. staff with less sick leave.

Imagine the cost that could safe longterm in our society!
Imagine what it would mean to you as a patient if you'd feel better faster!

Isn't it a shame how things like beauty, comfort and luxury, the things that have proven to make us feel good, are often exactly the things we use to cut costs?

Isn't that a missed opportunity?
Can you see how budgeting on beauty, luxury & comfort is actually costing us more in the long haul?
How it should our 'business' to add more of those three,
to create an environment that promotes health and feeling good?

Adding beauty -art- can reduce stress.
Art can make you heal faster.
Art can have healing properties. 
Research has shown us that it doesn't matter whether you see a real plant or a representation of a plant, like a plant on a photo: they both calm us, reduce stress and improve your well-being. 

Why not use that given?

More and more hospitals and other healthcare institutions are waking up to this option,  improving their spaces, adding in more beauty comfort and luxury so their environment really supports healing.
These environments are called 'Healing environments'
Often they have art that is made based on evidence found in research. 
Proven to support healing; evidence based art.

There are also the option of art projects that help patients change their perception of a hospital environment, 'cause what you CHOOSE to SEE, determines HOW you FEEL.
The Moodlab has gotten excellent results with patients by organising Moodwalks in healthcare environments.

Of course the primary idea is to make sure you don't get sick in the first place.. 
But if you do need care: we all want you to feel good as soon as possible.
And if that means adding more beauty, comfort & luxury to your environment, I'd say: 'Go for it!'
So make sure you get your visit of dr. Feelgood to visit you,  ;)  ,add in beauty and 
create the space to be, heal & feel good.


Next time : let's go home!


See you then!
Niene.nu

You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. 
When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!

The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu andwww.nienesmoodlab.nu
 If you have any questions or comments, please send them to:mail[@]niene.nu

If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"!

Buy the song in the iTunes store 
And yes, you can get the photo at the top as a print here or as a gift card here.

Note: if you work in a hospital and you'd like to alter the perception of your hospital by your patient:
Niene.nu has gotten some fantastic results with patients, bringing her inspiring Moodwalks to hospitals.
Please check this page to learn more or send an email

HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB!

Today I'd like to talk to you about 'coming home'.
To get in the mood, let's ask Mel to join us, shall we? 
Press 'play' on the YouTube video and start reading!

When returning from a Summer holiday: don't you love the feeling of coming home?
Opening the door, that familiar squeek, finding all the mail on the doormat, greeting your pet? 
How green your garden, how much mail!
Reuniting with friends sharing stories?

But how much 'home' can you actually get?
Many people can't truly come 'home' cause they have no 'home'...
Not that they're homeless; they might very well have the most beautiful house, no,
I'm talking about their true 'home': the body/mind/soul that they do not inhabit.
 
Not connected with their inner world, many people have 'signed out'.
They go through life numbing themselves. Numbing to not have to feel.
Not really knowing what lies deep within them.
Denying their natural state of well-being, they go through like a phantom.

Phantoms have voids that need to be filled. 
And the ego mind will come up with very clever ways to do just that.
Basically it could be anything from serious addictions like smoking, alcohol, 
drugs to shopping, watching TV, eating, gaming, gossiping, there are so many an subtle ways. 
Anything will do.
It brings in clutter & noise and prohibits you to connect with your inner world.
It's a downward facing very addictive spiral.

I think many 'phantom people', on a subconscious level, 'know' their true state. 
Filling voids leaves you with nasty nagging sensation.
A feeling, fear, an urge, a call to action,
like background music repeated  over and over again.
  
  "come on home, baby now
  come on home now, right away
  I'm coming home baby real soon"

Feel good?

SO HOW CAN THIS BE?
We are bombarded by imput in the external world: Cell phones ringing, checking your last Facebook messages, Neon signs along the road, TV: All screaming for our attention.
Our modern society is built to pull us outwards.
It's very tempting to 'sign out' and lean back and just slide on out.
But what will you pay? 


Well: you!
When you're not at home, you can easily become a puppet for others, loosing the steer in your own life, not knowing what it is that you really want.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
I agree with Sir Ken Robinson when he states that the future of our world depends on what is going on within us and that we need to reconnect ourselves with our inner selves.
influences the quality of our lives and with that it has a great impact on the quality of our communities.
Think about the health care costs, sick leaves, the penalty system, all this numbing implies.
no conformity/standardising

Our world is changing so quickly, I don't think there is any more room for signing out.
But change evokes fear. It is a mechanism of our subconscious mind to keep us safe.
However: if we are to face and solve our problems, I think these changes have to come from within every single individual. It's time to come home to ourselves.

You can do it. You are a unique person.
Did you know there has never been and will never be anyone on the planet throughout history that is exactly like you.
That's right. You are unique and special and the world needs to see you.
"Our differences are to be celebrated"

   "It's such a shame you ever went away..."

How about you? On the 'phantom-scale' from 1 to 10 how would you score?
How do you -even if it is subtly- numb yourself?
I believe in a way everybody does, even if you're not fully aware...


WHAT TO DO?
What helps me to get grounded & 'come home' is:
 SImplify, Declutter, Get creative by letting your imagination run. Move. Sit still. Eat well. Drink water.
Do things that make you feel good. There's so many things you can do
Changes are best made in small increments by adding in the good stuff.


'WHAT GOOD COULD YOU ADD IN TODAY'?
Seek the silence so you can hear the you in you
There are many modalities that can help you with that.

I personally love Moodwalks. 
It quits my mind and visualises my thoughts.
See what's really going on inside you and take charge from there.
The slightest change is perception can alter your life.

Take personal responsibility, open your mind, get out of phantom mode and put life back in your hand
It's time to get grounded and come home.

   Come on' home baby, now
   Do do do  


Next time: creative ideas and the jungle

See you then!
~Niene.nu

You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. 
When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!     V

The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu and www.nienesmoodlab.nu
 If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu

If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"!

Buy the song in the iTunes store 
And yes, the photo at the top is available as a print here or as a gift card here.

You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!     

The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu and www.nienesmoodlab.nu
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu

If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here. See if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"; Subscribe to the Moodlab e-zine

Whoaw!!! 

Beautiful moments to live, yet everybody seems to be totally caught up in...?  
Being in their head and 'busy-being'.
It's like missing out on life!
Not fully present. Not truly connected...
Isn't that's the world 'inside-out'... 
Isn't that like not being fully alive.

And don't we all recognise...?  Ouch! 
Whatever happened living life, like when in 'holiday mode'...?

This video made me wonder...
HOW TO NOT GET SO COUGHT UP IN THE SWING OF THINGS?

In my opinion what is shown in the video is more about an attitude than about the phone in itself.
The phone is not the 'bad guy'; it's merely us. The users. And what we do with it.
So my answer on how to change that attitude would be..
BEAUTY! NATURE!  ART! 
The moodlab combines these three in art. On purpose. 


WHY? HOW DOES ART HELP?
*Art makes you 'feeeel' and lifts you out of the grey of the ordinary day. 
Art transports you into the now and makes you wonder & think.
It triggers your imagination, but most of all; it makes you want to share that experience with others.
It stimulates human connection and makes you feel connected.
And in a less distant way than via the phone. It's a heart to heart connection.
One of the most basic needs of people is to be recognised and acknowledged.
That's exactly what happens in a heart to heart connection

*Art also helps you to get in the now.
Being in the now, experiencing what is really around you brings more clarity and makes you feel 'alive'.
It gets you out of the what I like to call 'Phantom mode', going from A to B without even realising where you are.
Being in the now also gets you clarity of mind which makes it easier to come up with creative ideas or to make decisions.

*Art also makes you reflect on life and what really matters to you.
What DOES really matter to you?
Will you really remember that 'important email' or 'call' as you will that painting a year from now?

* Art inspires. 
Inspiration and imagination are the new currencies according to Sir Ken Robinson. They are much needed to get your creativity going, which is

And: if nature is not around the corner; art can bring nature to you!
As I mentioned before: research has shown that seeing a photo of a tree/greens has the same soothing, calming effect as seeing an actual tree.
Not bad!


So seeing art inspires, relaxes, makes you feel alive, creative and connected.
Hold on to that state of relaxation, & connection, call your friends, turn off that phone and go see art!


Have fun and share what you did. Not only would I love to see, but it can inspire others as well!
Niene.nu

You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!     

The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu andwww.nienesmoodlab.nu
 If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu

If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"!

HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB.

The latest focus for corporations and countries worldwide is 'how to create flourishing workplaces.'

Well.. 
HOW DO YOU CREATE FLOURISHING WORKPLACES?
Press 'play', get Lynn Marino going and read on!

As the January 2012 edition of The Harvard business review stated in “The Value of Happiness – how employee well being drives profits”, making people happy, pays off when you have a business.

Most people/businesses focus on the rational side of things and analyze data until they weigh an ounce.
But according to research 80% of our behaviour is determined by emotion and only 20% by rationality.

Conclusion:
It makes sense to notice how you make people feel.
People don't buy facts, they buy emotions.

As an example of the importance of feel good:
 In healthcare an elaborate study on pain relief proved that it's more relevant HOW a doctor injects pain-relief medication to reduce pain than WHAT he injects. 
Even if it is morphine...
Isn't that remarkable?

SO HOW DO YOU MAKE PEOPLE FEEL?
And how to go about if you want to make improvements?
Is it just your tone of voice, gestures?
It that all?


NOPE! IT'S SPACES!
Spaces also have a huge impact on how you make people feel.
Research has proven that adding in comfort, luxury & beauty, reduce stress and improves well-being.
World wide many hospitals apply these facts and call it 'Healing Environments'.

In these 'Healing Environments' hospitals use art to add in beauty so that they can provide soothing spaces and improve well-being for their people.
It's not just any picture that will do the trick, it is a special kind of art called 'Evidence Based Art'.
Art that is made using data gained from research especially aiming to make you as a viewer feel good. 

And not just any image will create that effect. If you'd like to see what images do:
the Moodlab specialises in and provides people with more joy and 'Appetite for life'  creating 'Evidence Based Art'. Look for examples HERE

It is a very useful way to enhance a space.
Outlook on green has shown to reduces stress.
Yet since not everybody always has the opportunity to do a total renovation, 
photo-art is an excellent quick and cheap alternative, since evidence based created images of green have the same effect as actual trees. 

SO BEAUTY MATTERS!
It means not only more relaxed people, but also less medication, patients that are easier to treat, more customer satisfaction and flourishing staff.
Just think of the costs that would not only safe employers but our whole community!

And as said: well-being drives profits.
It's a win-win.

I think ALL spaces could benefit, not just hospitals. 
Why would you want to wait until you get sick?
If 'Evidence Based Art' reduces stress and improve well-being, why not implement it into offices? 
Joyful workplaces lead to better performance according to author and speaker Amanda Gore.
And how about waiting rooms? 
Homes?
Streets?

If you're still not convinced:
A beautiful space is also a huge acknowledger. 
On a subliminal message you're telling your clients/patients/staff you care.
And what all people want most in life is not happiness or money but to be acknowledged.
That's also less destruction. The OOG-hospital in Rotterdam uses valet parking and luxurious furniture, besides art, to give their patients a sense of comfort and beauty. Experience tells them that people using the space take more care for their environment. There is no demolition of stuff. It triggers their sense of responsibility. People want to keep enjoying a beautiful environment.


So:
Environments have a huge impact on how you feel.
Yes: if the feeling doesn't come from the inside, you can use the outer world to trigger good feelings.
Yes: this is a good idea!
Yes: Evidence Based Photo-art will help you add in 'feel good' in an easy, cheaper and fun way.

So:
Add in that beauty.
Add in that art!


Niene.nu

You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!     

The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu andwww.nienesmoodlab.nu
 If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu

If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"!

You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!     


The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu andwww.nienesmoodlab.nu
 If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu

If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"!

Buy the song in the iTunes store 

HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB!

Last post we took a look at 'coming home'?
Remember the Jungle Book?
Well, I listened to my favorite song from Jungle Book the other day and it made me wonder...

Hmm... 
"Whoo-hoo-hoo, I wanna be like You-hoo-hoo..."?
Once you get 'home', 'who' is there?
Who ARE you, really?
And who do you wanna be? Just like all the other men?

How much are we 'ME'; our own unique selves?

Last year I was at TImes Square in New York.
-That's where I took the picture above; if you'd like the rest 
of the series called 'Time Squared', please click HERE-

Times Square visualises so well how the media deludes us with their message: 
"You-hoo-hoo! You wanna be like me"?

And, without thinking twice, we gladly sing along "Oobidoo, I wanna be like you-hoo-hoo"
Well, what's left of You? Hoohoo?

I think there is a problem hidden in this message...
On a subconcious level the media message your brain gets is:
'You are not good enough.'
'You should be better'
'You can be happier'
Leaving 'You' restless, striving for more, more, more and something you're not.
Needing external stuff to acknowledge ourselves? 
To try and create a new... what?

   What I desire is man's red fire
   To make my dream come true
   Give me the power of man's red flower
   So I can be like you

In other words:
If only I have (...) than I will be (...)
If only I do (....) than I will be (...)
Just think about it; we're looking for external stuff, creating an image of something we're not.
Like rabbits chasing a carrot on a stick.

What environment do we create for ourselves if it is one in which we can't be ourselves?
Living on the whims of 'what is supposed to be...'
Living like the Joneses...

Can we please just be who we are as is?
Can we please be encouraged to find our uniqueness?

Especially in the rapidly changing global economy this is extra important.
According to best selling author Daniel Pink that's the way to keep a future job.
We need the unique you, the person only you are.

What makes you unique?
Left brain stuff are useful, yet can be automated or off-shored, yet right brain skills  -that make you unique- cannot.
Skills like: creativity, music, art, empathy, intuition, thinking randomly and free, imagination, innovation.
The way you see the whole picture, connect the dots.
Those are the skills you 'must master in an outsourced, automated age.'

That's where art steps in:
So visit that museum, enrol for a Moodwalk, play a game of Pictionary, write that short story or envision that plan.

Unique; that's who you are and who we need you to be
So please let go of the 'shoulds' & 'if only's' and..
 
WHOOHOOHOO!  YOU BE LIKE YOU-HOO-HOO!!!


Next time: the Forum

See you then!
~Niene.nu


Oh and PS:
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” 
~ Oscar Wilde

You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!     


The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu and www.nienesmoodlab.nu
 If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu

If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"!

Buy the song in the iTunes store 
And yes, the photo at the top is available as a print here or as a gift card here.

HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB!

Remember this song:  "Out of the picture"  by the Robbins?
In the song the singers' relation ends and it made me wonder...
Wether it's with a person or at work: a relationship that ends means; Change!

Time to reframe!
Do you take that opportunity?

Change is a part of live. It's a package deal.
Cliche, but when you're in the midst of the package deal, it can really feel like you've got nothing to smile for..
It can make you feel lost, sad and alone.. -You fill in the blank there


So here's the thing:
You are in charge of your own reaction!

Basically this leaves you with two options:
1. You can keep looking back and sit around moping   (which is actually quite healthy for a little while)
or
2. Move on...


It's you who gets to decide how you feel. 
Don't we all want to be in that mood where you're not so dependent of what goes on around you and you feel in charge. At the steer of your own life?
No matter what goes on around you, it's you who decides how you feel.

So if it's all up to you:
How to get hand back on the steer?

I like to use my camera. It's an excellent medium really:
I get to decide what's in a picture or not.


This is one of the main reasons why I organise Moodwalks.
It's a great way to take out your camera and reframe, giving you literally different perspectives.
On life.
Everybody needs to reframe from time to time.
And know:
 what you CHOOSE  to   SEE, 
 determines  HOW   you  FEEL


A Moodwalk so much fun!
I mean, you can sit on your psychiater's couch until you've analysed every detail of all those years gone by, but what would you rather do?
Why not add in the good stuff?
Go out there. Seeing things in a way you've never seen them before?
Wouldn't that increase your 'Appetite for life'?


Yep: change can make you feel 'out of the frame'. 
And yes for a while 'nothing's the same' but ending relationships also leave you with a great opportunity to change your view and get you back into the driver's seat.
But -again- no matter what goes on around you: it's you who decides how you feel.

So I'd say: do that moodwalk!
Take out your camera, re-focus, re-frame, add in beauty and find new visuals of how to move on!
And if you wanna join in with me: you're welcome!
There's actually a Moodwalk coming up next saturday! Yay!
Check the details here


Next week : a field trip to Dr. Feelgood.


See you then!
Niene.nu

You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. 
When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!

The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu and www.nienesmoodlab.nu
 If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu

If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"!

Buy the song "Out of the picture" in the iTunes store 
And yes, you can get the photo at the top as a print here or as a gift card here.

HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB!

Remember Lee Dorsey's song? "Working in the coal mine.."?
I heard this song the other day and it made me wonder...

Cool tune, pretty dark view on 'work'..
The lyrics talk about "how long can this go on...?"

Well. That's actually a very good question!
We currently live in times of exponential growth. 
In technology, in world population and Asia.

Check this fact:
If only 15% of the Indian people would join the workforce, this group would be as big as the entire American one...
Imagine the other 85% joining in as well? 

Well guess what: they're are! As we speak.
Plus China's workforce. And Mexico's. 
And the rest of the world's...
Where would that leave you and your job..?

Many people will go 'down, down, down'..
'Whoops, jobs about to slip down'...
Big chance their jobs even cease to exist..  Yay!

Let me explain why yay!.
According to writer and speaker Daniel Pink, any task/job that can be automated or outsourced will do just that: be automated and outsourced. 
Disappear.
Basically: any job /task you can put into a spreadsheet will most likely disappear...
Because it can be reproduced.
Replaced.

Now how does that work for you? Does it mean your 'screwed'?
For most of us it will be the end of life as we know it, the life we've grown accustomed to.

Sounds scary, right? 
Though actually it can a lot of fun.
It gives you a fantastic opportunity to re-invent yourself.
To try on a 'different coat' so to speak.


However you see these developments 'coal black' or 'option': 
in your near future you will have to push your 'reset' button.


How to do that? How to find sustainable work? 
With tasks you actually like.. 
That leave you with enough energy to have fun during weekends...
And cannot be reproduced, because you cannot put them in a spreadsheet?

Here's what you do:
Find an activity you're REALLY good at, that comes naturally and that you REALLY like to do.
Because that is what is going to make you unique.
Irreplaceable.
Than figure out how to make money doing that.

Now why would an artist write about this?
Because making yourself irreplaceable means making a shift from the left brain to the right brain.

Things you can put into a spreadsheet are left brain activities. 
It's anything logical, analytical, factual, sequences etc.
All replaceable.
Yet right brain activities are: imagination, innovation, intuition, creativity and arts!
Irreplaceable.
And as an artist, I know all about that!

If you want to keep working in the future, 
it's time for you to get into the mines, get 'down & dirty' and get your creativity up and running.

So pull those charcoals out and draw your new future.
Or pull out your camera and find new perspectives and options.
Visualize that new coat and try it on.
The Moodlab can help you with the fitting.


Maybe things are not as coal black as they may seem at first after all... 
Loosing you current job or life as you know it, might just very well be a blessing in disguise.
And mind you: millions are making the shift from the left to the right brain as we speak. 
You're really not alone.

To end with the title: IS working in the coal mine the safest job you can currently have?
Yes, as you can't put coal mines into a spread sheet, or fully automate it or ship them all to Asia.
Yet it is to your advantage to find a job that lifts your spirit and doesn't get you 'down, down, down'!


Next week: Are you in charge of what you feel?

See you then!
Niene.nu

You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. 
When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!

The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu and www.nienesmoodlab.nu
 If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu

If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"!

And yes, the photo at the top is available as a print here or as a gift card here.