Archive for the ‘Changing your life’ Category
Green card blog post
Friday, January 27th, 2012Planning for happiness in 2012
Friday, January 13th, 2012
Often people who are dealing with a problem in their lives ask me; ‘Can you just deal with that issue for me? Can you just fix me without me having to do anything myself?’
The truth is that I am trained to, and do occasionally, do healing work in this way, if the soul/the spirit is willing.
This kind of work is limited though because human beings are designed for conscious evolution, for consciously developing their understanding of themselves and the world around them.
Therefore to rely solely on another to heal you is to skip a phase in your personal development. It also means missing out on your right as a human being to heal yourself.
When you hand over your power to another in this way, you also miss an important truth; that you’re doing the work all the time, even when you’re not aware of it. You’re either putting effort into happiness or you’re putting effort into dissatisfaction, discomfort and disease.
Handing over your personal healing power to another is the equivalent of growing and nurturing your victimhood.
The work that frees you from any such victim mentality is to bring your awareness to the present moment.
To ask; where is my energy, my effort being directed in this moment?
This is the work; to pay attention.
When you do this, you don’t look to others to solve your problems, to offer their opinions, or to heal your wounds – emotional, physical or spiritual.
You don’t look to others because you know innately that all the power to do so lies within.
I read once that one of the attributes of a happy person is that they plan for happiness. And so I wonder, in 2012, is this what you’re planning for?
If you are, this is not something which starts tomorrow. It starts today.
It starts now.
Planning for happiness isn’t about hope or anticipation or waiting until you’ve got a better job, house, relationship or family.
There is only one way to plan for happiness and that’s to find happiness in this very moment.
Find something to be happy for right now and build from there.
Don’t expect every moment to be happy. Particularly not in the beginning. But notice the moments that are and consciously bring more and more of your energy to those times.
As you do, 2012 will become a year of unfolding layers of deeper and deeper levels of happiness.
I look forward to joining you in the unfolding.
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Photo credit: Jasmic
This is your life – live your dream and share your passion
Friday, January 6th, 2012A friend posted this picture on facebook a few months ago. A simple and effective guide for living in 2012, methinks!
Connection, trust and a scientific reason to engage in social media
Friday, November 25th, 2011
I was recently introduced to the molecule oxytocin by a group of people who are interested in keeping natural birth rates as high as possible. You see, oxytocin is released into the bodies of mothers and babies during the labour process and also during breastfeeding. When you watch this video, you’ll realise why people are interested in ensuring that babies have a good injection of oxytocin early in life.
That’s not the reason I’m sharing this today though. I’m sharing it because it’s a timely follow up to the recent blog post where I spoke of the problem of disconnection. As a person who is always looking for the easiest and most effective ways for people to live from a place of connection (or alignment, as I like to call it), I was very interested to learn that:
- there is a molecule in the body which directly relates to our experience of connection, trust and empathy; and
- there is a very easy way to increase the release of this molecule into your body so that you can increase your experience of connection easily and effortlessly.
The video runs for 16 minutes, so I suggest you grab a cup of tea and sit back and enjoy. (more…)
Information and enlightenment; it’s all ready and waiting for you
Friday, November 11th, 2011
Many people on the planet – particularly those who follow the Kundalini yoga tradition – are celebrating this day; 11.11.11. It’s viewed as the beginning of a new age – the Age of Aquarius, where the word Aquarius is understood to refer to ‘enlightenment’.
The man responsible for bringing Kundalini Yoga to the West, Yogi Bhajan, taught that as we move out of the Age of Pisces (in which we’ve been residing for the last 2000 years), we will see a shift away from fear, power, control, hierarchies, hidden information, and machines, and towards love, co-operation, freely accessible information, and truth embodied in practical action.
Of course, you need only look around you to see this reflected in everyday life. Movements are springing up which question the hierarchies that have been created out of the current socio-economic system of the West, namely capitalism. Information is being shared in greater amounts and in quicker time than ever before, and people are awakening spiritually in ways that we have not seen in the West for thousands of years, perhaps ever.
It is my personal belief that in this day and age, there are very few reasons left for not waking up and living an enlightened existence.
This is no longer an opportunity afforded to the precious few, it is available to all. (more…)
Food, the environment and 5 statistics you want to know
Friday, November 4th, 2011
This week, the United Nations reported that the world’s population had topped 7 billion.
The announcement of this new demographic milestone has left me wondering whether the sheer numbers of people on the planet might now compel us to think differently about the issue of food production.
This interests me because our relationship with food is surely one of the most potent symbols of our connection to our bodies, to nature, and to the very essence of life itself.
My personal consideration of this issue came many years ago when I sat in a seminar and the presenter asked us this; if you’re not paying attention to the food you’re putting in your body, what are you paying attention to? (more…)
People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world
Friday, October 14th, 2011
In last week’s post I made the following statement:
Your power to create worlds is as great as any other and your one and only job is to allow that power to flow through you. The more you allow the flow, the more influence you have.
In the wake of Steve Jobs’ passing, this much is clear; the man was certainly willing to allow such a power to flow through him.
I have great admiration for people who play the game of life at such a large scale. With a commitment to bringing something new to the planet, spectacular successes and failures follow, all in the spotlight of public scrutiny.
Whether or not you agree with what such people do with their lives is rarely the point. The point is they got out there. They made a contribution. The world is different as a result of their life.
You too have this power. Not to become the next Steve Jobs but to be the most authentic, the most unique, the most astounding you. Harness your willingness to do just that and who knows what is possible? (more…)
Energy, consciousness and matter… it’s all expanding at an accelerated rate
Friday, October 7th, 2011
This week it was announced that a team of scientists in the US and Australia had won the Nobel Prize in Physics for the “discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe”.
Yes, they have scientifically confirmed that the universe is growing and it’s growing at an accelerated rate.
I was intrigued to read that the Scientists were shocked by their own discovery.
Everyday I see evidence of a growing shift in consciousness and awareness – I see people waking up to their true nature. I see people reconnecting with their deepest selves.
The expansion of the universe and the expansion of consciousness.
Happening at the same time. (more…)
Sowing seeds…. of happiness or frustration?
Friday, September 30th, 2011
As we sow, so shall we reap.
Usually this is conveyed in a very moralistic, judgmental sort of tone, with the intention of condemning the person who is perceived to have done something wrong.
The modern day version is something along the lines of ‘well that’s karma coming back to bite them, isn’t it?’
Today I am interested in exploring this with you in a different way. I am interested in looking at the issue not from a place of judgement or criticism, but from a place of investigation.
For if it is true that what we sow, we reap, then it’s important for us all to consider what it is we’re sowing today.
Are we yelling at our children to clean their rooms and get ready for dinner? Are we being short with our colleagues when they ask us for assistance? Are we being overly demanding with friends or partners?
If all of our actions lay the foundations for our experience tomorrow, I can’t imagine that any of us are really interested in sowing seeds of frustration, impatience and neediness.
Take a moment to really check in with yourself. In all aspects of your life – your relationships, your work, your health, your environment, your community, and your emotional, mental and spiritual well-being – what seeds are being sown?
When you have taken the time with this, you will not need a clairvoyant to predict your future. That path will be clear to you.
Then you have a choice. To keep sowing the seeds you’ve used in the past, or to sow fresh seeds.
You always have a choice.
And the only time to make that choice is now. Not when you’re feeling better or less tired or hungry or more relaxed.
Now.
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Photo credit: Dene Miles
Personal development resources
Friday, September 16th, 2011
This is part 4 of a 4 part series on personal development. For the rest of the series, see: part 1 (why personal development is important), part 2 (misunderstandings about personal development) and part 3 (things to know when starting out).
This week we’re exploring personal development resources, modalities and teachers that you might be interested in knowing about.
This is not an exhaustive list, nor is it intended to be. It reflects the techniques and teachers I’ve come across in my own personal development journey.
MODALITY: YOGA
Yoga is an integrated approach to the health of mind, body and soul. Based on teachings at least 2,500 years old, yoga incorporates 8 limbs: behaviour toward others, behaviour toward oneself, physical postures, breathing practices, shutting out the external world, focus and concentration, meditation, and finally union with all that is.
In the West most yoga classes are focused on the 3rd limb – physical postures – although most yoga teachers I know incorporate a smattering of the other limbs. (more…)