Brummet's Conscious Blog

People are often surprised, sometimes shocked, that we do not charge folks to appear as a guest on the 2 blogs or to have their questions answered on our YouTube channel . These experienced professionals feel that way because we have developed a large readership & loyal following - which is a valuable asset to anyone getting exposure. Therefore we are often asked why we are not charging for the exposure that our guests receive. I do see their point, really I do.  I mean, we are running a business here and we do need to make enough of a profit to continue running the blogs & channel. It also took a lot of time & effort to achieve the large readership and loyal connections. It continues to take more time to nurture those relationships along the way. * So.... Why do we do this for FREE ??  Honestly, I love blogging; I really enjoy managing the channel too. Having guests contribute content is a bonus in that I gain interesting fodder to entertain my readers/viewers. I...

Get Out Of The Rut ...Tip #2 In our previous discussion on July 24th, we began the new habit of getting up 10 minutes early and using that time to just be, to breathe, to enjoy a cup of coffee and to focus on nothing but the view, the way the light plays on the wall.  Today we will think about expanding upon this new positive habit.  The next step is to simply get dressed.  Whether it is a day off or you are headed to work... dress up a little. Wear something nice even if it means you have to change before starting on the messy chores planned for that day. We are not talking here about wearing church clothes and fancy dresses. If the first of the day involves messy things like feeding kids, well then wait until those activities are done and then change into something nicer. Doing so will make you feel just a little bit better. Choose that t-shirt without stains that you have been avoiding wearing because it is a nice one.  Wear those nice track pants instead of the s...

As I write this today my neighbour has 2 police vehicles and an ambulance outside their home, and memories come crashing back to me of before... times when that big elephant weight of grief, of loss, of panic and confusion step on your chest - taking away the ability to breathe.  My heart goes out to my neighbours and I hope they get the help they need. I don't know yet what is happening over there but for this to happen now, as I write on the topic of overcoming the depth of depression and climbing out of emotional ruts, well... perhaps this means that I need this series right now too.  This is the first of maybe five posts offering simple tips to bring light into the darkest times, the deepest depression, the weight of grief, and quieten the inner critic, judge and victim voices.  So here we go... Tip #1 There is one single thing that we have to become aware of, to acknowledge, when we are in this state of mind... which is - that we need to break the routine.  We h...

I cannot believe the hassle we have had with #TDVisa #TDBank ...be warned people. They are totally inadequate and I'd recommend that their clients become more aware of their failings.  How can we trust them with our money? Our credit? Our life plans? We can't. A few days before we sold our home and moved to a new one, I called TDVisa customer service # and attempted to change my address. After 20 min I finally got them to enter it in and was asked when it was to take place. I said "in a few days", and she said I "have to call back after the move in order to complete the address change". sigh. So I called a couple weeks after the move, gave them the new address and the fella suggested that we update our cards since they were older and charged us a higher interest than necessary. I agreed. Since then all heck broke loose. 5 phone calls later, 6 hours of my time, and they still could not get a simple address right. I couldn't believe it. Everyone else we ...

Writing must run in the family ! Proudly supporting my brother (author - Gary Towne ) and sister-in-law (Kiki Hui Wang - translator) who produced this book - it features work produced by their illustrator/artist friend Raymond Chow 😊 Find this Vancouver art book at: https://www.amazon.ca/Richmond-380-Through-Artist-bilingual/dp/1039182739 ..I believe this may become a series featuring a variety of Vancouver art (BC, Canada)  

For me - the term Entrepreneur brings to mind freedom and responsibility.  It means we have the freedom to make decisions  ...and the responsibility of making things happen  – because no one else will, we are on our own.  Therefore we have to be: Strong enough to be independent.  Self-disciplined enough to follow through. Tenacious enough to pursue dreams, despite the aching fear.  Flexible enough to bend around obstacles.  ~~~     Follow & Find Books:   on Amazon Visit:   Drum It With Brummet Blog Subscribe:   Brummet Media​ YouTube Channel​  ​ ~~~

The Recommended Resources series has been published on this blog since we transferred it from the Brummet's Muse biweekly newsletter that ran for 6 years or so, many years ago. When we closed it down, we decided that we just had to continue this series here on this blog and have been doing so now for nearly 2 decades. With this series, Dave and I have the pleasure of sharing some great resources which can include  - positive impact organizations and events - citizen science projects  - links to helpful articles, amazing resources & exciting interviews It would, of course, be fantastic if you see a way to connect with them, thank them for their work, network with them, share the sites or get involved in some way. ** Want to see a non-profit listed here? - Send us a  FaceBook   or  LinkedIn  message. Pets for Life Society Alberta : This charitable, non-profit supports quality of life for companion animals including finding homes, helping with spay/neuter ...

Are you Ready??? Well you may want to get that cuppa and settle in for this emotionally charged, yet inspiring discussion that I had with the host of the Overcoming Adversity podcast, Michael Allison.  Michael met with me almost a year ago to discuss one of the first books we wrote, Towards Understanding, and overcoming a variety of challenges including my own inner judge and critic,  entrepreneurial burnout, anxiety disorders, and multiple personal losses. YouTube:  https://youtu.be/ OndBaZkkLM0 Spotify:   https://open.spotify. com/episode/ 2qsv0csU8T50KDEgi6pXwr Apple:   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-82-overcoming-self-sabotage-to-actionable-transformation/id1680104061?i=1000660548286   ~~~     Follow & Find Books:   on Amazon Visit:   Drum It With Brummet Blog Subscribe:   Brummet Media​ YouTube Channel​  ​ ~~~

Our New Place Yes - we found a fantastic "tiny-home"! Thank you - by the way -  for your patience during this transition of moving our home and studio to new locations :) We fully expected to easily find a smaller home, but found that in reality it was a more difficult task. It seems even the retirement communities cater to people with larger tastes and vast wallets. The places that had 55+ community living outlets were either out of our price range, had nothing available or didn't allow dogs. Well, our dogs are precious and they are coming with us. There's no debate about that. So we started to get real anxious...  Will we find a place in time?  What if we cannot find a community that accepts dogs? Luckily one of our former neighbours went through a similar life-event - they sold their house that was across from us and moved into a 55+ adult only mobile home park. Ironically the park owner was rebuilding an older trailer located right across from our friend's. Wh...

Creston community complex receives a solar roof upgrade !  Kudo's to the Creston Community Complex recreation centre for installing 96 solar panes on their roof to help improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution.  Learn more about this project HERE There are many ways to reduce pollution and improve energy efficiency - signing up for the RDCK Regional Energy Efficiency Program (REEP) through the RDCK website is one of them.  Alternatively, check out the Trash Talk - It's Easy To Be Green book series on Amazon. ~~~     Follow & Find Books:   on Amazon Visit:   Drum It With Brummet Blog Subscribe:   Brummet Media​ YouTube Channel​  ​ ~~~  

Oh, The Stress Of It All Well - we found a buyer for our home and had less than 5 weeks to both find a suitable home and move into it. Once we signed that contract it was weeks of sleepless nights, restless tummy, fretful mind, sweaty palms and frazzled hair. Was I stressed? ...You bet I was !!!  Many of you already know that I suffer from an anxiety disorder; stress affects me physically causing rashes and vomiting, and I easily fall into depression. With moving being one of the most stressful things a person can go through, I knew I would have to use more than a few tranquilizers to get through the storm to come.  By using calming, meditative music and occasionally some blues or 70's music during the day I was able to greatly reduce the stress I was feeling, and the dogs love to nap to music. To quiet the mind at night I've begun listening to short audio books via YouTube - these are especially helpful on those sleepless nights.  Long showers helped ease the physical ac...

Regular readers have asked me to share about the experience of relocating a home and office, and music studio... and honestly... I'm actually pleased anyone is even interested in hearing about it.   How it began... Back in late March 2023, Dave and I began discussions about downsizing our life, home and belongings in preparation for a less stressful lifestyle, and to set up for the upcoming stage of semi-retirement.  When you are an entrepreneur, run the business through your home, grow and process most of the fresh produce the family needs, work in a band at night, teach students and hold a day job... the day-to-day grind can become stressful. While we love every minute of the hard work, we noticed that we are gradually slowing down - able to do less in the same amount of time, and feel physical work much more these days.  It was time to re-evaluate our lifestyle.  This would not mean quitting, or giving up on anything - it simply meant creating a more comforta...