Be who you are

Today's Quote: “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” ~ Joseph Campbell

Today's Question: Are you being you?

How I Apply:

I was always following someone else's plan. Gathering every opinion going. What do you think I should do? How do I go about this? Is this the right way?

Or I would read books on how other people did things and achieved and I would think that if I just followed the path of someone I admired then I would achieve the same results. Not so. I was following their map, not mine.

I heard something recently about creating your own map and it really resonated with me. Was I being me? Nope, I was being someone else and wondering why things weren't satisfying me.

Now I play by my own flexible and soft rules and follow my own path through the map I have created. I am being the best version of me that I can be right now and that is all I can do.

I may go to slow and stop along the way to smell the flowers and hug those in my path and I know that I am going at the right pace for me now.

So are you being you? Or are you being someone else's version of who you think you ought to be? ♥

Thinking Vs Reality

Today's Quote: "You’re just suffering from the belief that there’s something missing from your life. In reality, you always have what you need." ~ Byron Katie

Today's Question: What beliefs are you suffering from? Is it time to change your thinking to better serve your life?

How I Apply:

I go back again and again to Byron Katie's work. Our suffering is a result of our thinking. I presented recently on stress resilience and someone asked me how her thinking would cause her suffering. Here was my answer:

Imagine you don't get on well with your manager. They boss you around and put you down and generally aren't nice for you to be around. So imagine you go home and you complain to anyone who will listen and tell them how horrid your manager is and how unfairly you feel you have been treated. What has happened is reality (your boss may not be very nice to you) and what you have attached to that is the thinking..they should be nice to me, it must be different, this is terrible and you go round in an emotional cycle.

Or you could choose to say you know what I am going to relax in a bath, have a glass of wine or whatever and realise that this is the way of it and not attach all the angst. The situation hasn't caused your suffering, your thinking around it has.

It is the same with something we feel is missing...more money, a slimmer waistline, a great job, well behaved children. When we perceive these things to be missing from our lives then we wind up being unhappy- we put ourselves there simply by thinking. If we can do that then we can change our thinking and change our lives.

This can be a huge challenge for people as we constantly fight with reality. No amount of being in other people's business will change that person and the way you perceive they treat you. You can be free simply by changing your thoughts around the situation.

I invite you to take one situation in your life and see what options you can come up with of how your thinking can change to one of angst to one of peace. Start small and go from there.

Ask "What am I thinking about.........and how is this thinking serving me right now?" & "What is missing from my life and when I think about it how does it affect me in everyday life?"

Then ask "What new thinking would I like to have around this situation that would empower me?"

Go on...✍

Angels

Today's Quote: "We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another." ~ Luciano de Crescenzo

Today's Question: Who or what do you embrace?

How I apply:

Something happened to me very recently that will ensure I never again question the presence of angels. I was always a bit skeptical and this new awareness is very fragile and I am holding it delicately in my hand for fear of crushing it.

When I embrace my intuition and other people, life works out in the most amazing ways. Every day is about embracing someone else with love in your heart. If we could all just reach out to someone in need and soften the harshness that life sometimes throws our way then each of our journeys may be that much richer (((((hugs)))))

Creative Commons photo by bI0ndeeo2

Guest Blog Post

Today I am doing something a bit different.

I have recently written a blog post for Bludot titled Stress Less for Better Relationships so check it out over there!!

Enjoy!

Yvonne

Paths

Today's Quote: "There are many paths but only one journey." ~ Naomi Judd

Today's Question: Whose journey are you on?

How I Apply:

We travel many paths in our lifetime. Some are smooth and hassle free, some contain uneven surfaces that cause us to stumble and some are steep and arduous. Some we travel alone and some we share with others. Some lead to darkness and some lead to light. There are many paths in this world and yet only one journey. The journey of your life!

Yet sometimes we are so busy looking at the lives of others. Have you noticed? We tell others what to do and how to be, we comment and dissect, we pick apart and sometimes tear down. Some of us may be doing this out of pure love for the other person. We tend to have people's best interests at heart but we have to admit that sometimes we meddle too much in the lives of others.

I call this being on someone else's journey.

When I find that I am getting into this space, I take a mental step back and ask as the great teacher Byron Katie "Whose business am I in right now?" If the answer isn't "mine" then I stop and close my lips to keep from opening up something that may not be the best way forward.

Whose journey am I on? Only mine and it is wonderful and blessed and fraught and scary and light and dark and full and bright...

Fun or Flat out Friday?

Today's Quote: "I'm picking and choosing in terms of the stress factor. If it's not fun, I'm not going to do it." ~ Anita Baker

Today's Question: What are you stressing about this Friday?

How I apply:

So many of us carry so much stress and are always on to the next project and the next and the next. Stringing together so many lists of 'to do's' that we are constantly putting ourselves under pressure and feel like we are going flat out.

What would it take for you to shorten your list today? Take a breather? See what comes out of being softer with yourself...

I usually make a Friday a day for me and my business. I still work on stuff that I have to do but I do it with gentleness and ease. I don't beat myself up for taking it slowly. I like to ease into the weekend and I am very aware that this is a luxury as I work for myself.

So what if you are at work and the deadlines are piling up and you feel you are so stressed that it is never going to be all complete by close of business?

You could:

• Take 5 minute break by stretching
• Walking slowly around the office
• Ducking outside for a breath of fresh air
• Simply taking some nice calming deep breaths and asking yourself "what could I do to turn this into a bit of a game with myself, to not make it so significant. To lighten my load?"

Deep down you have all the wisdom you need to make good choices for yourself and your health because when it comes down to it- accumulated stress+you= sickness and this in turn could lead to you being forced to take time away from work for an extended period.

NZ folks- enjoy the loooong weekend!!

Creative Commons photo by Swamibu (top)

Creative Commons photo by Toastie 14 (bottom)

Meditation gifts

Today's Quote: "Mr. Belafonte is 84 years young, but sharper and more awake than most who have been interviewing him. Maybe the world would be a better place if more people took a moment to meditate." ~ Ken Sunshine (Mr Belafonte's rep)

Today's Question: Would your world be a better place if you took some time to meditate?

How I apply:

The benefits of meditation are amazing, simply astounding! These include but are not limited to:

Improved immunity

Reducing anxiety, depression and distress

Increased empathy

Greater use of positive coping skills such as engagement and prioritising

Greater ability to resolve workplace conflicts

Improved sleep

Greater self-awareness

Improved communication

Enhanced Emotional Intelligence- self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups

It is a brilliant gift to give yourself and it doesn't have to take long. It can be sprinkled throughout your day or carried out in the morning or evening. Whatever works for you.

You can go on many different courses to find a meditation practice that suits you and that you will likely stick with. Have a play with it.

I have been meditating for many years now and find that it grounds me on a daily basis. I can always go to a state of bliss when I feel overwhelmed or in need of nourishment. I sprinkle it throughout the day and that works for me. I completed my teacher training in meditation with the Melbourne Meditation Centre and they promote a mainstream meditation that almost anyone can do and you need no prior meditation experience.

I will be running a beginners meditation group in Wellington in November and am right now finding a nice space to hold it in.

Take a moment right now and simply close your eyes, take 4 deep calming breaths. Feel the breath go right down and through you and take it to any spaces inside which feel tightness. Breathe into that space and sigh the breath back out.

Have a great day♥

Thoughts have you

Today's Quote: "You don't have thoughts; the thoughts have you." ~ Eckhart Tolle

Today's Question: What thoughts have a hold on you?

How I apply:

I work with my clients to begin to actively become aware to their thoughts. I usually start with 5 minutes a day of simply becoming present to the thoughts you are sitting thinking. Mindfully and with gentleness. No judgement of them, just being a silent observer.

We have 60-80,000 thoughts a day so they will always be there. Most people mistakingly believe that meditation is carried out to quiet the mind- to get rid of thoughts. It is actually to become present to the thoughts and the aim is to grow the length of space between the thoughts. They are always coming- we cannot stop them yet we can become present to them and listen for the spaces between them.

When most people first become aware of the thoughts they have, they can begin to see how these thoughts might limit them from doing something they want to do, be someone they want to be...

The first step and gift is getting quiet with yourself.

Music

Photo- creative commons- Daniel Paxton

Today's Quote: "You are the music while the music lasts." ~T.S Elliot

Today's Question: What kind of life music are you playing?

How I apply:

The music I talk of here is the music of your soul. I heard Dr Wayne Dyer once say that we should never die with our music still inside us. If you have a knowing that there is something in this life that you are meant to do then begin little by little composing the notes that may bring you the music.

I let my music play by loving, living life to the fullest, acting with kindness and ultimately seeing myself as part of a collective and not separate from anybody.

You could be a great artist and yet have never picked up a pencil or brush, you could be a great writer yet not let one word fall onto a page, you could be a great musician yet your fingers have never touched one instrument, you could be a fantastic actor but have never graced a stage with your presence.

In which ways could you begin the exploration of your unique music?

Spring into Action

Creative Commons photo by Brian Scott

Today's Quote: "The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." -Mark Twain

Today's Question: What could you break down into manageable chunks this spring?

How I Apply:

I absolutely love order and clean spaces so although my home never gets all that cluttered, things can pile up into disorder and I know it is becoming a challenge for me when I walk into a room and feel icky!

A lot of my clients talk about the clutter in their home or lives and the best assistance I can give with this is to find out the ways in which the clutter occurs in the first place and then how can it be broken down so that the task is not so overwhelming that nothing gets done about it?

For example, taking one room at a time then one drawer in that room and setting about it. Aim to do that one drawer and do it well. Then move on with the rest- one at a time.

This is manageable and easily accomplished.

This can be applied to many areas of your life too.

• Finance spring clean- get honest with yourself about your finances ~ make a budget sheet for you and your family
• Home spring clean- get honest about the amount of clutter in your home/garage ~ Make a list of every room in your home and break it down into a task list you can do over time
• Relationship spring clean- who do you love spending time with and who completely drains you and your energy ~ use the many social media sites or simply write down the people in your life and what they provide you with and make a plan to spend more time with your cherished friends and family members and perhaps limit time with those who don't nourish you as much
• Health spring clean-what kinds of things are you doing for your health and wellbeing ~ Make your health a priority (we only get one body in this life) treat yourself like the precious being you are and clear out the foods in your home which add to unhealthy habits and bring in more clean foods that will nourish you. You could try visiting a health food store and picking one new food a week that you can try

Good luck with the spring clean and enjoy the process of springing into action!!

Small things with love

Today's Quote: "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."~ Mother Teresa

Today's Question: What small things are you doing for others that are filled with love?

How I apply:

As love is my highest value, I live with it in my heart everyday so no matter what I do, I do it with love. Every opportunity that comes my way I can choose to approach it with love and when I do, it always meets my value and therefore I feel more connected to the outcome♡

Light

Today's Quote/passage:

There is a light that shines beyond all things on Earth,
beyond us all,
beyond the heavens,
beyond the highest,
the very highest heavens.
This is the light that shines in our heart.

~ Chandogya Upanishad 3.13.7

Today's Question: What is the light in your heart saying to you? What would it take to let it shine?

How I Apply:

The light in my heart says to me that everything happens for a reason. This is why I feel open to everything and attached to nothing. Living this way enables me to see the perfection in everything around me without fear (the very thing that stops most of us from shining).

To let it shine I go through life with a curious and open heart learning from everyone around me. This means that what irritates and annoys a lot of people doesn't seem to do the same with me. There are times I have to struggle to see the perfection but more often than not it is simply present in me.

So how can you let your light shine?

Today's picture by Denis Collette (creative commons)