Imagine a world where the trapped emotions, fears, anxieties and unprocessed life experiences we hold in our bodies are the source of everything that ails us. That's the world we live in. Now imagine a world where everyone is manifesting from their heart the perfect creation that's inside each of us. Imagine a world where abundance, inner peace, longevity and loving relationships abound. Imagine emotion experts from around the world sharing their wisdom and negative emotion clearing techniques to light a new pathway for humanity. Imagine we are sacred, spiritual beings here for a much larger reason, serving a much higher purpose, a divine purpose. That's where we're going...
Life
10 November 2016
04 November 2016
Nature's Gym
It’s amazing how simply looking at pictures of nature can lower your blood pressure and ease stress and mental fatigue. That’s how powerful nature can be.
So if you want to feel better, just get outside: Try gardening, heading to the local woodland or going for a bike ride.
I stopped going to the gym years ago and use the great outdoors as my exercise class. Whilst I like to wander, and take photographs, I also generally power walk part of the way, and also look for steep banks or steps that I can run up and down.
I believe that exercising in nature has benefits that go above and beyond the benefits you gain by exercising indoors.
We all have an innate ability and requirement to move, this is ingrained in us from our evolutionary physiology, but we often think of exercise as only being good for our bodies. However, it can be just as good for our brains and our minds, and getting outside and exercising in nature might amplify the benefits.
Walking in nature improves measures of revitalisation, self-esteem, energy and pleasure, and decreases frustration, worry, confusion, depression, tension and tiredness far more than activity indoors does.
The other huge benefits of training in nature, or the ‘outdoor gym‘, are that movements can be a delightful combination of spontaneity, expression and of enhanced efficiency. This trio of concepts is very hard to achieve in the often-clinical environment of the gym or excessive controls of an indoor exercise class for example.
We’ve all been there, rushed into the gym for a quick workout, run out again completely mindless of the movements and exercise we have just done.
Movement and exercise are closely related yet often so far apart. For example in the gym we may jump on the x-trainer, rowing machine or treadmill. Yes, this gives us a sweat and we naturally feel better because of that. However are we really training quality movement, are we aware, awake….ALIVE to our senses and surroundings in this setting? Is it even possible?
Why do strong arms fatigue themselves with frivolous dumbbells? To dig a vineyard is worthier exercise for men. Marcus Valerius Martialis.
02 November 2016
Small changes for the better
"Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." William James.
We often fall into the familiar comfort of doing things the same way as we have always done them, thinking that there are certain things we just can't do.
"Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, and your values become your destiny." Mahatma Gandhi.
It can be hard to see at once what we should be doing with our lives. However on any given day you can gather up pieces of your life puzzle. If you notice a surge of energy, follow your interests, or decide to change something, however small, tag it and keep going. Collect these success moments as these are what will take you to the life you truly desire.
The wonderful thing is that over and over life confronts us with such opportunities, such pivot points. To remain the same, you simply choose what you have always chosen. To discover your true purpose, you must experiment with choosing from your soul. These tiny decisions, or choice points, are easy to overlook and may seem unremarkable until you deliberately start using them. However, it does not matter how small the act or how inconsequential the decision. If you know what you want and finally do it, you are on your way to creating a better life.
Changing the way we look at things will cause the things around us to also change, and that includes the people and circumstances in our lives.
I consciously made a small change this morning. As I headed out on my usual dog walk it suddenly struck me - why do I nearly always go on the same walks? I live in an area where there are miles of countryside to explore yet again and again I return to the same places, So, we went a little further afield and found a truly beautiful area that we hadn't explored before. Such a simple change, but one that will lead me to try more different walks, and who know where they may lead?
As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives. Henry David Thoreau.
31 October 2016
Think yourself young
"Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength." Betty Friedan.
In the main our bodies don’t wear out with age, it is inactivity that accelerates the aging process. To stay young we need to stay active and do new things, because monotony ages anyone and variety is the spice of life.
I believe that the mind is stronger than medicine, because our muscles, nerves and cells hear and respond to every word we say. Feelings of joy are transferred from organ to organ, as are feelings of worry, pain or unhappiness.
Fall back in love with life like a child is. Children find joy in the wind and the rain, a puddle, or a rainbow, seeing a snail or a spider’s web, they can make everything an adventure.
Always have things to look forward to. Remember the expression, “When hope dies old age runs to meet you.”
Age does not depend upon years, but upon temperament and health. Some men are born old, and some never grow up. Tryon Edwards.
Take a look at these two wonderful women who haven't accepted that age should hold them back. Think young, be young!
A woman said to be the oldest living Test cricketer says healthy eating and two glasses of red wine a day are her secret to a long life. Eileen Ash, who lives in Norwich, celebrates her 105th birthday on Sunday and enjoys regular yoga sessions and getting behind the wheel of her yellow Mini car. She played Test cricket for England women, making her debut at the crease in 1937. She said: "I'd like to know when I'm going to be old. Do you think it will be when I'm 105?"
"Age is no barrier. It's a limitation you put on your mind." Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
13 October 2016
Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
"It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested. But when it is squandered in luxury and carelessness when it is devoted to no good end, forced at last by the ultimate necessity we perceive that it has passed away before we were aware that it was passing." Seneca.
Seneca's words are a poignant reminder of what we intuitively know but fail to put into practice.
It is often said that if you want something doing, ask a busy person, even though this idea is somewhat paradoxical. Why is it that someone with lots to do can take on more, yet someone with just two or three things to get done in a day might not get around to doing any of them?
The answer is that the busy person uses their time wisely, they know how much they are capable of doing, and they plan accordingly. They also know when to say no. If they know they can't take on any more they will say so, they won't say yes and then let you down at a later date. These people are the sort who always meet deadlines, and to do what they say they are going to do. They are also the ones who are more likely to be successful. Using their time in a meaningful way, rather than squandering it, enables them to achieve more, and lead more meaningful lives. Others will squander their time watching television, daydreaming, and waiting for opportunities to find them instead of going out and looking for them.
Seneca writes:
"So it is - the life we receive is, not short, but we make it so, nor do we have any lack of it, but are wasteful of it. Just as great and princely wealth is scattered in a moment when it comes into the hands of a bad owner, while wealth however limited, if it is entrusted to a good guardian, increases by use, so our life is amply long for him who orders it properly."
George Bernard Shaw adds, "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." It is about being the best person you can be. I think now about what I want to achieve in life, then I think 'what can I do now to make it happen?' Then, instead of relaxing with a bottle of wine on an evening, I will write, or cook, or tidy, or do something that will help me achieve what I want to do. The more I get done and the more I achieve the happier I am.
As Marcus Aurelius said, "Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking."
We need to think what sort of life we should life as a natural human being free of all the consumerism and greed of society today.
“Nin knew how much humans loved money, riches, and material things—though he never really could understand why. The more technologically advanced the human species got, the more isolated they seemed to become, at the same time. It was alarming, how humans could spend entire lifetimes engaged in all kinds of activities, without getting any closer to knowing who they really were, inside.” Jess C. Scott, The Other Side of Life.
We shouldn't waste time on unnecessary things.
“A key point to bear in mind: The value of attentiveness varies in proportion to its object. You’re better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.
04 October 2016
30 September 2016
22 September 2016
Clear your collective memory and find the 'real you'
"The idea is that there is a kind of memory in nature. Each kind of thing has a collective memory. So, take a squirrel living in New York now. That squirrel is being influenced by all past squirrels." Rupert Sheldrake.
In humans too, for better for worse, parents tend to pass on the parenting that they themselves received.
Patterns seem to be hardwired into our brains, and begin to be formed before we are even born. Sometimes we can unconsciously carry the feelings, symptoms, behaviours, of hardships of an earlier member of our family system as if they were our own.
Shared patterns of unhappiness are all around us. Depressed mother, depressed daughter...angry father, angry son...relationship difficulties of the parents mirrored by the children. The combinations are endless.
We can delude ourselves that we can make our lives go exactly to plan but our intentions are too often at odds with our actions. We desire good health but we overeat and don't exercise. We want a meaningful career but don't take the steps we need to take to achieve it. We want a loving relationship but distance ourselves as soon as someone tries to get close to us. We feel depressed but don't consider the deeper reasons why.
Typically people will consult a doctor and receive medication or therapy. Whilst in some cases these can be useful, they generally don't supply a complete solution. Identifying the origin of any traumas or behaviour traits in your family can help finally lay them to rest.
What else can you do? Researchers now are finding that our thoughts, inner images, and gene expression can be positively affected by meditation. When we meditate we can 'bulk up' the portions of our brains that produce happiness.
New experiences can also create new neural pathways. The more we practice something the more we train our brains to change.
So, if you feel like you are going round and round in circles and not getting anywhere start to think about the reasons why. What actions can you take to change your life? Identify the source of your problems then use meditation to rewire your brain.
“Why waste your final hours racing about your cage denying you're a squirrel?” - Ray Bradbury.
Have a listen to this 6 Phase Guided Meditation by Vishen Lakhiani. Practice it every date to get the full benefits.
14 September 2016
11 September 2016
Nature feeds my soul
In today’s pressured society, busy jobs and hectic lifestyle, I find comfort in taking time to look and enjoy the landscapes, woods and mountains of this land I call home. Finding a moment to reflect and slow down, even better, to climb, to challenge myself, to reach a peak.
It is several years since I last climbed Snowdon (pre-children) and this day was special because it was the first time my children climbed with me, along with (of course) Barney and Digby.
Feeling small in the magnificent strong mountains and unpredictable weather inspires me to reflect upon life’s wonders, examining my inner self and a lifetime of memories.
"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." John Muir
I've climbed Snowdon many times but have never been on the train. I enjoy the challenge of the walk, and the feeling that it is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.
The view from the top. The lake and the mountains have become my landscape, my real world.
The path home.
A welcome break on the way down.
I have loved the mountains since I was small.
"I think the kind of landscape that you grew up in, it lives with you. I don't think it's true of people who've grown up in cities so much; you may love a building, but I don't think that you can love it in the way that you love a tree or a river or the colour of the earth; it's a different kind of love." Arundhati Roy.
I can't wait to return.
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