We all have a centre within us. Whenever we feel lost or unsure of something we can lose contact with that centre. We become externally focussed and can end up drifting around and feeling like we’re being pulled from pillar to post, or in several different directions. We can feel scattered, panicky or adrift in the mental plane. But the heart can be a great resting place for the mind. Whenever we feel lost or unsure of anything we can drop down from our heads into our hearts. We can ground and centre. This can be one of the most …Continue reading»
Time to shake things up
Sometimes we feel the urge to shake things up. Sometimes we need to shake things up so that we don’t stagnate. We can be wise to follow whatever makes us feel the most free. How many things do we do because we think we should or because we have to? How many things do we put pressure on ourselves to do, even though nobody is forcing us to? It can be really good to take a look at all of the things like this in our lives, and to look at any changes we want to make. It can be …Continue reading»
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is about freedom. For the person who harmed you yes, but also for you. Because without forgiveness you can’t find peace. Forgiveness isn’t about letting people off the hook. It isn’t about not having boundaries and letting people treat you badly, with no reckoning or without letting them know the hurt they caused. But it is about freeing yourself from an endless cycle of drama that can come from pure reaction. It’s about freeing yourself from someone or something else, which your anger or hatred would otherwise keep you tied to. It can be hard to forgive because it …Continue reading»
Signals and patterns
We all have core patterns that hold us up and keep us stuck. It can be really helpful to start recognising what these are, so we don’t get caught in cycles where we unintentionally self-harm and limit our joy. Some of my core patterns include piling the pressure on, being too much in my head and too rigid in my thinking, over-analysing, having huge expectations of myself, and taking things too seriously. This is not a fun way to live! So it can be really helpful to recognise when we’re falling into some of these patterns. We all have them, …Continue reading»
Everyday beauty and the art of savouring
I was lucky enough to spend a few days in Venice earlier this month. There was beauty around every corner… This got me thinking about the beauty in our everyday lives. It’s so easy to appreciate it when we’re in a beautiful place and somewhere new. But what about the beauty that’s all around us, every day? The things we may see often but take for granted. What about pausing to pay more attention to that? Slow down and notice what’s around you today. Stop to appreciate nature and everyday beauty. Take photos to capture what you see. Look around …Continue reading»
Your body is a temple and a guide
Whenever you’re feeling lost, confused or overwhelmed come back to your body. It knows the way. Sometimes there are just too many words. We need to verbally process things so that we can understand and make sense of anything that’s happening. But there can also be too much talking, too much noise. Too much input. We need to balance that with time to go inward, with time for quiet and peaceful reflection – so that we can get out of our heads and into our bodies. We need to turn our focus away from other people, from out there and …Continue reading»
Filling yourself up
We need to focus our energies on filling ourselves up, from the inside. So often we look to other people or other things to fill us up or to make us happy; to make things better, to take care of things, or to make us feel a certain way. But this is such a losing game, because we can’t control other people or the things outside ourselves. And so at some level we’ll always be fearful, because those things could be taken away. We aren’t the source of the things we want in this case, which understandably makes us feel …Continue reading»
One step at a time
Sometimes things feel overwhelming. We have so much on our plates and so many things we need to consider, get done, organised or dealt with. Some things we’d really rather not have to do or face. And we all have them, right? Jobs and tasks that don’t particularly fill us with joy but that just need to get done. So how we can bring some pleasure to them? And how can we treat ourselves royally in the process? Anytime you’re feeling overwhelmed take a step back. Write down anything and everything that’s in your head and all of your to-dos. …Continue reading»
Following Joy
No matter how evolved you become you will still have challenges. But you can learn to look for the joy amidst them. Joy. Laughter. Play. Lightness. They’re magnetic. They’ll help draw the right things and people to you. We need to balance anything difficult we’re going through with stopping to enjoy life. We’re so privileged and we forget that life is a gift. That it’s meant to be enjoyed and celebrated. When you follow joy and have fun, you’ll be a joy to be around. This energy will touch everyone you come into contact with. So following joy isn’t selfish …Continue reading»
Caring for ourselves as we stretch
Nothing worthwhile is easy. Success always lies outside of our comfort zones. Nothing great happens without hard work, without time and energy being invested. So we need to make sure we’re climbing the right ladders and that we’re investing in what matters most. The way we spend our time and energy is the way we spend our lives. Time is our currency and is a great equaliser. We all get exactly the same number of hours in any given day. How do you want to be spending yours? We need to stretch and expand outside of our comfort zones to …Continue reading»