Spiritual Reflection

Three small rules for living a happy life.

1. Start each day with a grateful heart.
2. Focus on the positive aspects of every person you encounter.
3. End each day with a grateful heart.
Lucy MacDonald

I was looking for a quote to send to a friend when I came across this quote and I thought that this was such a simple way of thinking about each day.

How easy is it to start each day with a grateful heart?  Another quote I read recently said that on waking each morning you should think about what you learnt from the day before - this would allow you to truly benefit from your experiences.  What if you were to then spent just a few moments being grateful for what you have, for what you've experienced?  When you were then to get out of bed, your day would immediately look a lot brighter.

Lucy's second point for me is an easy one, as this is how I look at people.  Yes sometimes I do feel very let down when I realise that their good points are maybe not their strongest; but what impact would thinking about he positive in each person you meet have on your day?  From an energetic point of view, your energy levels will be increased in a positive way.  This does mean that you would then be able to experience more in the day.  Spend a few moments after meeting each person you meet, and jot down the positive asects of the person you've just met and been talking to.  Look around you at people - think about the positive aspect of those around you, even if you don't talk to them.

End each day with a grateful heart.  There are many sayings about ending the day on a positive note - i.e. don't go to bed on an arguement.  Our unconscious minds are busy when we are asleep, and they can only work on the topics that we've given it to work with - so what if your last thoughts of the day were positive thoughts?  What if your last thoughts of the day were grateful thoughts?  How easy would you sleep if your unconscious mind was relaxed in it's work overnight?  You would wake refreshed in the morning.

Try these three small rules for a week - make a note of everything that happens ... of how you feel during the day ... of how you feel on waking ... of how you feel just before you drop off to sleep.  At the end of the week, reflect back on how that week felt and see what the benefits are for you and those around you.

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Three small rules for living a happy life.

1. Start each day with a grateful heart.
2. Focus on the positive aspects of every person you encounter.
3. End each day with a grateful heart.
Lucy MacDonald

I was looking for a quote to send to a friend when I came across this quote and I thought that this was such a simple way of thinking about each day.

How easy is it to start each day with a grateful heart?  Another quote I read recently said that on waking each morning you should think about what you learnt from the day before - this would allow you to truly benefit from your experiences.  What if you were to then spent just a few moments being grateful for what you have, for what you've experienced?  When you were then to get out of bed, your day would immediately look a lot brighter.

Lucy's second point for me is an easy one, as this is how I look at people.  Yes sometimes I do feel very let down when I realise that their good points are maybe not their strongest; but what impact would thinking about he positive in each person you meet have on your day?  From an energetic point of view, your energy levels will be increased in a positive way.  This does mean that you would then be able to experience more in the day.  Spend a few moments after meeting each person you meet, and jot down the positive asects of the person you've just met and been talking to.  Look around you at people - think about the positive aspect of those around you, even if you don't talk to them.

End each day with a grateful heart.  There are many sayings about ending the day on a positive note - i.e. don't go to bed on an arguement.  Our unconscious minds are busy when we are asleep, and they can only work on the topics that we've given it to work with - so what if your last thoughts of the day were positive thoughts?  What if your last thoughts of the day were grateful thoughts?  How easy would you sleep if your unconscious mind was relaxed in it's work overnight?  You would wake refreshed in the morning.

Try these three small rules for a week - make a note of everything that happens ... of how you feel during the day ... of how you feel on waking ... of how you feel just before you drop off to sleep.  At the end of the week, reflect back on how that week felt and see what the benefits are for you and those around you.

Want to awaken your power through your own awareness?

Take this opportunity to work with someone from this team who will not judge the reasons you want develop your self-empowerment, your spiritual growth, but will work with you to allow you to live a more balanced, happier and peaceful life.Sign up to coaching with Barbara on http://nyasa.coachinginteractive.com - select 'click here for a free session - My Life'

"As we express our gratitude, ...

... we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”  John F. Kennedy .

How often have you heard people say 'it's not what you say but what you do' or 'actions speak louder than words.'  As John Kennedy said, to express our gratitude we should live by what we would have said if we had spoken the words.

This also brings up the topic of body language ...!  If you are standing in front of someone or even next to them - and you say ''thank you', but your tone of voice is not grateful and your body represents anger, upset, disgust or something other than - what does that actually say about the words you are using?  Not a lot. 

If rather you always thank people with a smile on your face, your body language showing a positive stance, and your tone of voice sounding sincere - the person you are thanking will truly believe what you are saying.

An interesting aspect to this is how we thank the universe?  For example if we take one of the examples in the file/book 'The Secret', when you get the parking place that you've asked for ... how do you thank the universe for the space?  Quickly - thoughtlessly - you don't?  What if once you've parked your car safely you stop for just a moment and say 'thank you' with a smile on your face and sincerely?  What will happen the next time you ask for something?

I was talking to someone this week who I should be meeting up with in the next couple of weeks and we talked about just this topic.  I mentioned that when I approach a roundabout in my car, I always ask for a gap in the traffic.  It's quite surprising how quickly a gap will appear ...!  As I drive onto the roundabout I say 'thank you for the gap'.

So it's important to remember that to express our gratitude for anything - we just have to start living the life that demonstrations gratitude.

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'The air up there in the clouds ...

... is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious.  And why shouldn't it be? - it is the same the angels breathe.'  Mark Twain, "Roughing It"

I was sitting at Funchal airport (Madeira) yesterday when I had a very strange experience, and then again when I was sitting on the flight to return to the UK ... I suddenly realised that my next trip back to the island will be by boat!

It's strange how we get into habits - fly to the island, fly back from the island, fly to the island, fly back from the island!  That's been my mode of transport for the past 2 years ... and there I was sitting at the airport thinking 'I can buy ... in duty-free on my return', when the realisation hit me that 'NO I can't!'

The habit that I've got into - flying backwards and forwards - is just that - a habit, and I'm about to change this.  In my conscious mind I've always known that I will drive onto and off the island - not always relying on flight to travel ... but I hadn't appreciated unconsciously that I would truly do that.

Mark Twain is quoted as saying that the air in the clouds is pure and he asks why it shouldn't be, as the angels breath it ... but what about the air on a ferry/boat in the Atlantic ... a tiny spec of mode of travel (when you look at the size of the ocean) with probably nothing else to be seen!  Assumption, yes I know and I will let you know at the end of the month if we did have times when we saw nothng else.

Can you imagine all that space ...?  Standing on the deck of the ferry ...?  Nothing but ocean to be seen ...?

Stop!  Take a couple of minutes out and think about the habits that you've got into.  What are they?  What are you taking for granted that you could change?  What new experiences would you like to have that you've never thought you could have?  Get your journal or grab a piece of paper and spend just a few minutes thinking about what you take for granted ... what habits you've gotten into ... what assumptions you make.

Now that you've written a few down ... you've become aware of what you do, what you assume - how does the air around you feel - clear, light? 

Ask yourself 'what's stopping you changing this habit/these habits that you've just identified?'

Want to change your habit(s) and awaken your power through your own awareness?

Take this opportunity to work with someone from this team who will not judge the reasons you want develop your self-empowerment, your spiritual growth, but will work with you to allow you to live a more balanced, happier and peaceful life.Sign up to coaching with Barbara on http://nyasa.coachinginteractive.com - select 'click here for a free session - My Life'

Hot Chocolate!

Download HotChocolate 

Live simply ...
Love generously ...
Care deeply ...
Speak kindly ...

This presentation raises a lot of questions for each of us.  As the professor explained to his students, 'Life is the Hot Chocolate, your job, money and position in society are the cups.'  

How strong is your Hot Chocolate? 
How rich is your Hot Chocolate? 
How much importance do you put on the cup that is holding your Hot Chocolate? 
How much importance do you put on the Hot Chocolate?

Asking these questions in another way:
- How rich is the life that you are living?
- How much importance do you put on the things that people say about you?
- How much importance do you put on the things that you own?
- How important is it that you drive the latest car, living in the right street, upgrade your home regularly?
- How much importance do you put on the life that you are living?

This presenation is a great demonstration of the stresses that we bring into our everyday lives, that if we took just one moment to stop and think about, we would wonder the reason that we did it.  Start by going back through the presentation and then with some method of capturing your answers - pen and paper or computer - work your way slowly through these questions.

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The Illusion of Control

'Which comes first, fear or control?  Do we try to control others because we are afraid or are we afraid, because deep down, we know that we will never be able to control others and thus we will fail?' 

This was a quote on the calender of sayings that was given to me at the beginning of 2010.  It is a really interesting question and one that raises a lot of questions, I'm sure.

Thinking about the universe and how it operates - I wonder what the reason is that we feel we need to control.  Does the Universe control us?  I'm sure that it doesn't.

So thinking about our own reasons - is it because we don't know the answers, so if we control we'll be in a position of power?  Is it because we don't know the question, so by being in the position of control we know we will never have to answer it.  There must be many reasons and I would be interested in understanding the ones that you've come across, but ... let's take a moment out and ponder.

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... fun ...

I was looking for a quote to put onto Facebook and it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't put quotes out to motivate fun!  The internet is a great place to find quotes, so I put 'fun quotes' into the google search engine and waited to see what was offered.

I found this great quote by Sid Caesar - 'In between goals is a thing called life that has to be lived and enjoyed.'  It brought home to me how often we focus on one thing or a number of things and we just let the fun of life pass us by.  The second quote I found was from Katharine Hepburn - 'If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.'

So it started me wondering how we could really start to bring fun back into everyday life?

I recently visited friends in Wales and on one of our meanderings around the country lanes we came across this vehicle.  Although it does have a very clear message about being eco, it's also a fun car.  Imagine driving this around in the middle of London, New York, Johannesburg, Sydney ... and not worrying about what anyone else says about you?  I'm sure that we can't, but step out of your box for the moment and just imagine what it would feel like to drive this in a major city in the world ...!

Now that you have stepped out of your box, ask your intuition to tell you what having fun means to you.  What could you do that would bring a smile to your face?  What could you do to relax?  What could you do, that when you've done it, you'll feel exhilarated?  What could you do that you've always wanted to do, but worried about what others might say?  If you secretly knew what you wanted to do, what would it be?

What rules are you obeying that if you didn't no-one would get hurt or mind?  What could you be doing instead of following these rules?

If you were to stop thinking about the goals that you are working towards, what could you do with those moments, minutes, or hours that would allow you to relax and have fun? 

One of the important questions that I always find people have a difficulty in answering is 'if you were to truly believe that the life you are living is your own life, what would you be doing right now?'  Often we find that the answer is that we are doing things for someone else ...!  What would happen if you were to do something fun for yourself?

Starting from today, using your intuition, look at your diary and decide which day of the week can you take an hour, a couple of hours, or a morning/afternoon out from your everyday activities and do something different?  What will the first thing be that you do?  When will you start this?  How long will you continue to take this time out for yourself?

I look forward to hearing about your fun times.

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'No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel ...

... until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.' Lin Yutang

This week has been an extraordinary week for me.  In some ways I have truly left one life behind and started a new one - or have I?  In the very practical sense I haven't - I still have to work - I still have to earn a living - I still have to pay the bills - I still have to do many things that I've always had to do.

In a spiritual way I have left one life behind and started another.  Living in Kent, UK for the past 20 years has been a fabulous experience - one which I would not have changed.  I moved to be close to good friends from Malawi, I travelled extensively from there, I met and made some new very close friends.  (The experience of moving.)  When I arrived on Thursday I realised that home is where your old familiar pillow is, as I arrived in my new home ... got into my own bed and yes, with my own pillow.  Friday was the realisation day when I looked at my diary and thought - this is my new life and now I can plan my working life to suit this environment - to suit the way in which we wish to live.

So this week-end is all about planning how I want to live my life - in this way I am moving from one life and into another one! 

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'If we really think that home ...

,,, is elsewhere and that this life is a 'wandering to find home', why should we not look forward to the arrival?'  C.S. Lewis

This is an interesting question.  I've just taken another step towards my own future home and over the past few weeks while I've been in transition, I've wondered if I will enjoy this next step.  C.S. Lewis asks 'should we not look forward to our arrival?' and I thought about this in relation to the decision that I've taken to move.

We sold our house and moved out the last week of February 2010.  I remained in the UK while the internet, telephone and other connections were organised, but ... this period has shown that sometimes our plans don't give the result we expect.  For me, the transition between one home and another has not been an easy step - this is for someone who has moved around the world many times and never thought about it or truly planned it.  We are all very used to moving from one home to another - being very focused on where we are and where we are going.  The last four weeks for me have not had that opportunity to be very focused on where I am going ...

... it has been a very interesting learning!  Besides becoming very disoriented, very disorganised, not focused, there has been a huge impact on my health.  This last week specifically and finding this quote have really allowed me to understand the negative in wandering through life, the negative in not truly understanding where I am, and where I am going.  It's been a fabulous opportunity to understand the benefits of meditation, of reflection, of the opportunity to talk to those around me who support me, and to truly design the life I want to live.

Am I now looking forward to the arrival?  I can truly say YES!

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'Friends are ...

... the sunshine of life.' John Hay

There are many definitions of the word friend:
- a person who gives assistance
- a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard

but linking the word 'friends' to the phrase 'sunshine of life' means that the friends you choose to bring into your own life bring in brightness or radiance; are often a source of cheer or happiness; or often in themselves they have a cheerfulness or happiness!

Who are your friends? or are they acquaintances?  An acquaintance is oftean a person known to you, but someone who doesn't really know you in detail; whereas a friend is a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.  I know from my own perspective that those friends I've chosen to have in my life bring in those rays of sunshine that my life needs! 

So what do your friends bring into your life? 

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