Saturday 31 March 2012

You snooze you win

Sleep.  It essential to a healthy mind, body and spirit.  So why do we go through our days with a goal to complete as many tasks as possible in a day with sleep placing last on our priority list?  Nine hours of sleep helps to recharge the body, gives the mind space to process solutions to our challenges and allows the soul to explore the border of our subconscious and cognitive behaviour.

We don't bat an eye we  we see a dog snoozing away or a cap napping in a bright patch of sunlight.  Pregnant women tend to sleep a lot longer because the body knows how important the Momma's sleep is for the growing fetus inside.  Babies spend most of their day asleep and they don't feel a moment of guilt for it!

Treat yourself to extra sleep tonight.  Prepare yourself for rest with a bath or a book or a good chat with a loved one.  Ease into bed and set the alarm a little later than usual.  You may notice a change in your being tomorrow.  Recognize any differences and congratulate yourself for doing something kind for your wellbeing.

Friday 30 March 2012

The beauty of cracks

Bad things happen.  They do.  But it is usually our fight and frustration around the problem that threatens to drive a wedge inside our inner happiness.  Look for the positive in each setback.  Look deep, be reflective.  It is the cracks that add to the beauty of life's mosaic.

Perhaps being stuck in traffic helped you avoid a collision that could have happened if you would have entered the freeway five minutes earlier.  Maybe your phone died to help you connect with the people in your presence - even yourself.  The pimple on your face might be there as a remonder to view your whole face as perfect in the moment - flaws and all.

What cracks have you encountered recently?  Was there a positive side to the event?

Thursday 29 March 2012

Agora Borealis

Agora - a word meaning gathering place.  These are wonderful spaces to practice living in the moment.

Find a bus station, shopping centre or park, and people watch.  Notice  how groups and individuals move and interact with their surroundings.  Try to create stories for each interesting being that is sharing the space with you in this very moment.  Is there a reason fate placed that person beside you?  What can you learn?  What if you smile at someone - how might it change the energy of the agora?  How might it change your experience?

I love visiting the library, it lifts me up.  I live in a very multi-cultural community so I am blessed to hear busy children speaking many foreign languages as they play with friends on the computers and as they interact with their parents on what books and videos to take.  I love to observe the materials people are checking out.  An old man picking up love novels, maybe for his sick wife or a young girl taking out books on pregnancy, these mini stories cause me to connect with strangers in a way I didn't think possible.  Most of all I love that everyone is at the library to learn something new, we are all on a path to expanding our minds and to me, that is a beautiful thing.

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Free your soul's voice

Throughout our journey we experience thoughts and images that frighten us, sadden us and make us question our worth.  Even when someone puts us down, perhaps, in a joke, there is a fragment of negativity that embeds inside us.  These small, microscopic experiences build up over time and create a layer of plaque over our soul.

One way to clear of this plaque and let your soul shine brighter is to allow your inner voice to rise up.  If you are feeling anger, try screaming loudly in your car.  People will think you are singing.  If you feel sad,   sing a mournful note or entire song, but let it come deep from within.  You can laugh it off, perhaps during a funny movie or a laughing yoga class.

Try experimenting with these sounds and see what bubbles up.  You may be surprised.




Tuesday 27 March 2012

Be you

Bare a little of yourself today.  Tell a friend how you are REALLY feeling, proudly show a scar you've been trying to hide, or simply smile at all the strangers you encounter.

There is NOTHING so wondrous as YOU.  Share yourself with the world in small ways, big ways and maybe even silly ways.

Monday 26 March 2012

This little light of mine

So many of us fight like flames on a candle.  We burn and burn, pulling at the oxygen to let us glow brighter and brighter, unaware that our wick eventually burns out.  The more we leap and sway, the faster we burn.  The world flying by as our wax drips faster and faster.

Rather than living as a candle, I challenge you to live like the Northern Lights.  These brilliant beams of colour come out in the darkest light and shine.  They dance across the sky and you can almost see them breathe - inhale, exhale, dance!

Rather than fighting and fighting to burn brighter, try taking the time to breathe and dance like the Northern lights.  Resting and restoring before coming out to shine again.

Sunday 25 March 2012

Play your way to freedom

Acting like a little kid can be a very freeing experience and it can help immensely with our mental happiness.  Have you ever been to a psychological ward?  The patients have craft time and play bocce and dance to the radio.  It's brilliant!  If doctors know how important it is for our brains to have "play" time then why do we deny ourselves that gift?  I am not talking play time as gambling, drinking or road trips.  Those are adult versions of real kid time.

Set aside some time today to play.  Pull out the karaoke machine and sing loudly, dance to your favourite songs like it's the last time you'll ever dance, indulge in a colouring book with children or without, paint, write silly poetry, visit the swings, just escape this adult life for awhile.  Trust me, your soul with thank you.


Saturday 24 March 2012

Water for life

If we are to truly love and appreciate ourselves, we can consider a compound that makes up most of our body and helps in every function we perform.

Water.

Take a few minutes to grab a sip of water and close your eyes.  Imagine that sip of water coating your throat and entering your blood cells, your heart and lungs.  Imagine it expanding your skin with luscious moisture.  Imagine your hair becoming more soft.  Picture your eyes being lubricated and your brain replenished with pure liquid.

Now imagine the journey those molecules of water took to make it to your glass.  Small drops dripping from a large fern about to be consumed by a brontosaurus.  A creek drifting past a castle in Scotland in the 12th century, perhaps a battle is being fought nearby.  A piece of the iceberg that sinks the Titanic.  A fine mist in a cloud you passed through on your last plane ride.  A refreshing rainstorm outside your back window.

There is no more water on this planet than there was billions of years ago.  We will always have water, but the quality may be questionable.  It is up to each of us to protect this precious life source so we can enjoy a clean glass of water for generations to come. 40% of people on this planet have to walk to collect their daily water needs and yet we flush a Kleenex with the purest drinking water and pour this precious liquid on our lawns.

Once each of us connects our quality of life with the water inside each cell in our body, we will discover innovative ways to save water and protect its quality for all the inhabitants on Earth.

Start with yourself.  Start today.

Friday 23 March 2012

Fear of shining our light (FOSOL)

We each have a light glowing inside us.  Nestled into our solar plexus is a place where out purpose, our confidence and our core resides.

Sometimes we lock our light in a box, scared to let go and show the world who we are.  Scared to be judged by the planet.

Sometimes we dim our light in case we shade out the lights of others around us.  Not knowing that sharing our light might actually ignite others.

We usually only become aware of this light when traveling.  We are more open and expressive of our true selves.  But it's not the travel that ignites this, it is us letting go of our inhibitions that we usually cling so tightly to.

Don't be a FOSOL, be a STAR (Sharing thoughts and awareness in real-time)

Thursday 22 March 2012

Transform into yourself

Right now.

My tomorrow is dictated by
What I do today.
I plant the seed
In this moment
Hopeful of the being I may become.

I let go of yesterday and
Compost those parts of myself
To add nutrients for this moment.

Right now is love.
I love the moment.
I love the process of growth.
I love my essence, flaws and all as I am.

I love now.

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Take a risk. Live gently.

We often fill our time with shoulds and should nots.  There is always a task calling our name, always somewhere else we should be.  Life in the land of shoulds is a hard and cold place.  It is filled with feelings of guilt, of not doing good enough, of not being enough as we are.

Who wants to live in that world when there is another way?

Spend time being gentle with yourself today.  Breathe into your heart and figure out what it is your soul needs today.  Maybe you need to take your work to a local coffee shop and tap into your creative side.  Maybe you need to speak to your boss about an idea you have.  Maybe you need to treat yourself to lunch with a good friend.

We are often afraid to do what feels good.  We worry it means we are not suffering enough like the people around us are suffering.  But if you are reading this post, you are not one of those people.  You know there is more to life and you know there is a way to escape the suffering.

Start being gentle today.

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Waltz with your fear

Fears tend to have a large presence in our life.  We make the fears larger often by avoiding them at all cost.  But within every fear is an opportunity to become stronger, to become fee.  We just have to step into it and feel its presence.  Rather than run, why not take the time to waltz with your fear.  Live in partnership with your fear, knowing that with a little more experience, the fear will just become part of life and may lose its ferocity.

Scared of flying?  Scared of meetings at work?  Scared of going broke?

Take a few minutes today to sit with thoughts of fear.  Perhaps, you'll look at photos of snakes or spiders online or imagine being high on a cliff edge.  Really try to pull up all your anxious feelings.  Continue to ramp them up and feel what it does to your body.  You'll want to stop, but push through, knowing that if you face this fear, even for a short while, it will diminish the fear the next time you face it.

You can do this! Enjoy the dance.

Monday 19 March 2012

Tune into your colour frequency



Although our ears cannot hear it, colour has a sound.  This sound can impact how we handle stresses and whether or not we appreciate all we experience throughout our day.

Your body knows what it needs to tune itself.  Try to feel what colour you may need in your life at this moment and your body will give you the answer.  Red can protect us and give us more confidence and trust.  Orange ignites creativity and a childlike happiness.  Yellow stimulates learning and focus.  Green can bring us balance and healing.  Blue can help us communicate and speak in public.

Add colour through your clothing, food, flowers or photographs.  Avoid too much of one colour in case it throws you off balance.  If you notice you have too much of one colour on your plate or in your closet, add a colour from the opposite side of the spectrum to balance it out.

Live in colour.  Live in the silent music of inner harmony.

Sunday 18 March 2012

Walking the tightrope

There is a fine line between trying and not.  Giving and taking.  Holding and releasing.  Being lost and being present.

In the greyness of in between is where balance lives.  Between the inhale and exhale, so much of our life resides within the brief moment of oxygen in, carbon dioxide out.

Real strength comes from a balance of both sides - it is a lean, a bend in both directions.

It is up to us to listen to that voice - not the boisterous voice or the sad, lonely voice, but the voice of grace.  The voice of light bending into dark, the voice of now.

Saturday 17 March 2012

Bring out your inner bambino

Do a cannonball at the pool.
Swing, try and touch the clouds.
Dance to your own tune.
Colour, inside and outside the lines.
Draw,  Badly.
Take silly photos.
Play first, rest later.
One word:  Bubbles!
Sing, hum or whistle.
Ask your parents weird questions.
Finger paint.

Friday 16 March 2012

The power of small

During Earth's lifespan, bacteria have been present for hundreds of billions of years, while humans have only showed up in the last minute.  What makes bacteria so powerful that they were able to survive through explosions and toxic gases and ice ages?  Bacteria have a job, they eat.  They eat just about anything.  They perform this job of transforming soil into a life giving substance and consuming waste and fixing pollutants.  Their power lies in repetitive motion and their massive population.  So what can we learn from bacteria?

We can learn that our lives are not so much defined by the large life choices we make, but by the minute, barely noticeable decisions we make on a daily basis.  Every moment we have a choice.  We can smile at a stranger, or not.  We can take our work to a coffee shop, or not.  We can whistle while we drive, or not. We can eat a piece of cake, or not.  All of these tiny choices help to build a foundation of our lives.

Like the wise words of Dr. Suess's the Lorax, "Which way does a tree fall?  In whatever way it bends.  Choose wisely where you bend".  Every moment we have the power to determine our future.  Some things feel great in the moment, but may not lead to a fulfilling life.  Before you act, think of which way you'd like to bend.

Thursday 15 March 2012

Stand tall. Live free.

We spend a lot of our time with shoulders hunched and chin down.  Stooped slightly forward we trip and stumble mindlessly through our daily tasks.  It is as though we have the weight of the word on our shoulders.

But we can delegate.  Send some of this baggage down to Mother Nature, she can compost anything.  Our bodies are not really capable of constantly carrying the loads of worries and judgement we place upon ourselves.

Try standing with strong legs, knees slightly bent, pelvis slightly tucked and shoulders rolled up and back.  Imagine roots growing from your feet down into the Earth.  On each exhale, imagine sending down your stress and frustrations through the Earth to be recycled in the soil.  On each inhalation, imagine pulling back up only what you need to walk about during your day.  A little love, a little peace, a little humility.

Check in with yourself throughout the day, are you standing or sitting tall, heart out in full expansion, creating space for your lungs to expand? Or are you contracted in, hanging on to your precious worries?

Choose to live lighter, stand tall every chance you can.


Wednesday 14 March 2012

What's your song?

Music can perform as a great healer and the messages held in lyrics can touch our hearts in ways we rarely recognize.  A good friend once gave me a gift that said "A good friend knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you've forgotten the words".  We keep ourselves so busy, often we can hear a song but we seldom listen to the words, the meaning, the melody.

Take a few minutes to center yourself.  Listen to your breath.  With your eyes closed try looking into your heart and seeing what song starts to bubble up.  Maybe you'll start humming.  Great!
Listen several times to the song you've discovered and see if there's a hidden message that you may have disregarded.

Enjoy the music.

Tuesday 13 March 2012

Rise and shine

Did you watch the sunrise this morning?  Filling the sky with pink and orange and yellow warm rays?  I love the constancy of the sunrise.  No matter what happens today, no matter what challenges we face or obstacles we encounter, the sun will always rise again.

The funny thing is...we are never the same person from one sunrise to the next.  We have new experiences, new thoughts and new stories.  The sun will rise on a different version of us each morning. 

Isn't that amazing?

Monday 12 March 2012

Rocky road rambling

We can take the simple, paved road.  It is easy.  We can coast along with very little effort and watch the world go by, but the view is just not as majestic as the hard road.

The sights, smells and feeling of victory are well worth the climb.  The road is treacherous and you may stumble or feel lost.  But look into the woods and witness the kind faces of friends, cheering you on from the darkness.

You will make it, you will be ok.

Light up the hill!  Shine as you climb.

Sunday 11 March 2012

Survival of the spirit

We have several essential needs that our bodies signal us to fulfil.

We can survive four minutes without air.
We can survive four days without water.
We can survive four weeks without food.

But where do our spiritual needs fit?

What if, prior to our first breath in the morning, we could look deep inside and say "thank you".  How might this change our lives?  Would we simply survive, or could we, possibly, THRIVE?

Saturday 10 March 2012

Clarity in stillness

Be prepared to go deep today….

The mind wanders aimlessly
In search of the most restful spot

Unloading the many anchors
That get tangled along the way

Clarity comes only when the water is still
A silent idle
Like the purr of a kitten
It relaxes the mind
Allowing views to be seen for miles

Difficulty comes when the current is restless
Searching to find a spot to stay
If only for a little while
It pulls and drags
Muddying the once clear waters

We have a choice
We can work against the current
Or rest and surrender to its direction
But with either option comes risk

Knowing when to fight and when to rest
Is a dance
A dance to an unknown song

The song is in your heart
Listen

Friday 9 March 2012

Loving what is

We spend so much energy focused on what could be.  We should have a bigger house, have a flat stomach, work at a better job.  But every time we think these thoughts we remove ourself from the present.  We are where we belong, we are who we need to be in the moment, fate has placed us exactly where we belong for the journey ahead.

I challenge you to take a risk today.  Love what is.  Look at your home, your tummy and your job with nothing but love and say "I love you just as you are".

You're not always going to be where you are now, so enjoy the moment.  Enjoy the ride.

Thursday 8 March 2012

Happy international women's day

Take the time today to thank a woman who has helped you, inspired you, or loved you in a way that has changed your life.  Women are extremely powerful beings because they have the strength to bring new life into this world.  They can also bring new life into others lives by caring, sharing, and just trying to make the world a better place for all.  Women are BEAUTIFUL!  I often wish I could give my eyes to women so that they could see themselves the way I see them, but I know they must see this for themselves.  Women are multi-askers, they try to do it all, but on International women's day, they get to take a break and do what feels right for them.  Men, celebrate this day by invoking a little feminism into your day by doing a task to help others or sharing a story with a good friend. Enjoy the beauty in today!


Wednesday 7 March 2012

Take a daydream trip

We often become so constricted in our busy lives. Wrapped tightly, we rush and rush, stumbling from one task to the next. Take a few moments today to add some space into your world.  Like a well-tilled soil, space allows good things to flow and helps to release the negative.  Create this space by daydreaming of a different world.  Imagine a holiday in a tropical paradise, create a dream job for yourself in your mind, or visualize yourself completing a goal.  You may be surprised of what grows out of this positive space.

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Ride the wave

No post yesterday.  It was a hard day.  Onto lighter things...

In your mind, picture the rise and fall of the ocean.  Anyone who has experienced the awesome power of Mother Nature's waves, maybe in Hawaii or out on the West Coast, will understand the constant pull and release of cleansing water.

We all experience lows of being lost below towering waves, obstacles that seem far too high to climb.  In this dark place, we think we will be lost forever, that the pain will never end.  But that is just not true in nature or in your life.  This low dip will eventually give rise to a crested wave, beaming in the sunlight and you will ride again.  You will ride again!

In those moments where we are floating high on the surf, feeling exhilarated and full of life, as though all the world's gifts are being showered upon us, this is an amazing feeling.  Hold tight to this moment and feel the wave curl swiftly beneath you.  Breathe in the ocean air and let out a squeal (Krista, I've learned this from you!).  The more you live in this moment, the sweeter the ride.  But this will will end.  It has to.  Don't focus on the ending or loss, simply live in the moment.  You are blessed!  Shine your gratitude!

Sunday 4 March 2012

Powerful knick knacks

Cruise around your house or a neighbourhood market to find an item that speaks to you.  It may be a bracelet from your grandmother, a rock you found while travelling, or maybe a card from a good friend.  Carry this item with you wherever you go and when you feel like you need a little strength or you want to remember a special moment, hold this item and send your love into it.

What's your special item?
How did you find it?

Saturday 3 March 2012

Plant a dream seed

What is your dream job?  Simply by stopping to think this thought you will plant a seed for the future.  A seed that may grow into a small root and with the right nutrients and love, may grow into the future you desire.

You deserve it.
So dream it.

As a friend once told me, stop looking and start finding.

Friday 2 March 2012

Speak with your heart

For today, every time you speak, pause to inhale into your heart and then let the words come through your mouth.  By adding this heart filter, you might be surprised about what comes out.

Add a little love to everything you say, touch and feel today and every day if you like.  Just like Angela Danyluk's photo below - love can be found everywhere.


Thursday 1 March 2012

Capture your essence

Grab your camera or iphone and take at least ten photos in your community of things that inspire you.  It may be of a neighbour or a tree or an old car covered in rust.  Beauty is everywhere if you decide to find it.

Share your photos with a description of what the photo means to you.
I would LOVE to see what you discover.