Tag Archives: mindfulness

The Power of a Father’s Love

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Image from womenselfprotection.blogspot.com

 “Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding the third.” ~ Marge Piercy

One night, in the middle of 2010, I was on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. It was late, and we had been asleep for some hours. The room phone rang, waking us up.  When  I answered there was no-one on the end of the line. I hung up, groggy and disoriented, turned over and went back to sleep.

The phone rang again.

Again I answered it. No-one there. I hung up, cranky to have been woken a second time.

For the next two hours the phone kept ringing. Of course there was no-one on the end of the line. In frustration my husband pulled it out of the wall.

Then my cell phone rang. In the middle of the ocean. Miles from having any sort of reception. I fumbled for it and then gave up in disgust as once again there was no-one on the line.

And then had a realisation.

“Someone’s trying to contact me,” I said to my weary and shaken husband. We both knew what I meant.  A psychic thing.

“I’m going outside to do a meditation,” I told him. Wrapping a robe around me I went out onto the balcony and perched on a sunlounge. Soon I was deep in meditation, asking for guidance around what had just happened. Nothing came for a long time, and I pulled my robe closer as the air cooled before dawn.

Image by Thinkstock

Suddenly in quick succession I saw a single vehicle accident on a country road as a series of jolted images – sliding, rolling, slamming into a tree. It was so real I could smell the metallic tang in the air, the dust, and the blood. It was as if I were in the driver’s seat, and then somehow I was standing there, beside the mangled car. Steeling myself, I bent to look through the window.

A moan came from behind me.  I whipped my head around.

I knew his face, but I couldn’t place him. He looked so lost, so broken, and I found it very hard to breathe. It came to me slowly. He was the husband of a client.  I’d never met him, but I’d seen his photo, maybe two years before. The same man was standing on the road. With a sickening feeling I understood.  He was dead.

I don’t do dead people, I thought to myself, feeling panicked. Come on guys, I don’t DO dead people.

It all went black. Like the lights going out in a cinema. My husband was shaking my shoulder. “Come on honey, you’re freezing.  Come inside and have a shower.  We’re meeting for breakfast in half an hour.”

I shook my head. “I can’t do it. Can you meet them?”  We were supposed to be breakfasting with friends, but I was hollow, shaken and distressed. And I knew I still had unfinished business somehow.

Ben gave me one of those looks. Loving, understanding, unhappy all at once. “You okay?” he asked.

“Not really.”

“No. Neither am I. That was the freakiest thing. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. A  car accident I think.” I felt terrible for Ben.  Here I was on holidays and I was still working, my world affecting his, intruding on what was supposed to be a well-earned break.

After Ben left I took a warm shower and then dressed and settled back into meditation again, propped up in bed with the blankets over my legs. This time my entry back into that strange space was unsettlingly quick.

The man was where I’d left him, pacing up and down on the baking bitumen beside his wrecked car. “I need you to call my wife,” he said.

My heart began racing. Nicole, none of this is real, I told myself.  ”You’re dead,” I said stupidly to the man.

“Yes.” He calmed down. “But it’s okay.”

In fact he was calmer than me. I was still feeling the horror and trauma of his passing.

He put his hand on my shoulder and a warmth flooded through me. “Call my wife. Not about me,” he added, “it’s about our daughter. Our youngest daughter. Please.  It’s urgent.”

I nodded yes. What else could I do? A picture flashed into my mind of a tiny baby girl, perhaps a year old. She was shallow breathing in a small crib. I felt a fluttering flooding feeling in my chest.

Father and daughter – by Emilia Pawlikowska

“My daughter’s dying,” he continued. “It’s her heart, she’s got a hole in her heart. I can see it now. She was sleepy all the time, and losing weight, and our family doctor said she was fine.  But we still thought there was something wrong. She just wasn’t thriving. She was fussy and wouldn’t eat. And then she began to have blue fingernails. So my wife took her to the hospital. The doctors there sent her home. They said she was just cold.”

“Please,” he said again.  ”I can’t reach her. I can’t reach my wife. I tried, and then I thought of you. You have to call my wife and get her to take our daughter to the hospital. She needs to go right away. She needs to make the doctors understand. My wife will listen to you. Call her!”

I snapped back into my body abruptly, my open eyes trying to take in our room. Lurching off the bed I opened my laptop, scrolling through my old emails.  Finally I found her name and the contact details she’d submitted via my website. I checked my cell phone. There was one bar of service.  I stepped back out onto the balcony. There was land sliding by us. My signal managed to get a little stronger and I dialled the number with a shaking hand.

It was one of the hardest phone calls of my life.

But because of a father’s love and persistence a little girl was able to have open heart surgery, and now can lead a healthy life.

I spent the rest of my day sitting on the balcony, looking out over the ocean and being grateful for solitude. My darling husband told our friends I was unwell, and gave me the space I needed to pull my head back together.

And the next day Barcelona opened her arms to me, and I gave myself over to her healing charms.

Image from betcheslovethis.com

Working with Crystal Grids – Day Four

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Crystals have their own energetic field, just as humans do, and one of the great things about crystals is that you can also use them to create geometric shapes within which you can create an energetic room or field big enough to exert energy and influence over a wider space.  This technique is known as gridding.

Today I’m going to show you the basics of creating simple grids at home.

 How a Crystal Grid Works

Crystals each have their own particular vibration, and an electromagnetic or auric field around them.  All living things also have a unique vibration, and auric as well as etheric fields (This is just the energy field emitted by a living thing).  When a crystal is introduced to a human’s auric field, there is a shift of vibrational energy.  The crystal may be able to accept and transmute the lower or negative vibrations within that person’s auric field, allowing that person to move to a clearer or higher vibration.

Crystal energy can be used to restore order to a chaotic vibrational field, or to increase vibrational level, which helps to move you to a more positive and lighter energy.  Crystals may impart a vibration particular to that type of stone which can help, heal or impart particular vibrational qualities and strengths. Gridding with crystals involves amplifying the vibration of a crystal by using it in conjunction with others.  This is a bit like turning up the volume on your radio, while adding additional radio towers to strengthen the frequency.

Gridding Basics

Gridding involves using a number of similar or complimentary crystals, placed in a configuration.  The most common shape is a square or oblong, but triangles and circles are also common.  Circles are fun to make, and I often make one during equinoxes or full moons. It recharges my stones and when I sit in it, it recharges me!

The grid below, which was made in my backyard for an eclipse, was big enough for several people to lie within.  It was a great place for a nap and I couldn’t keep my dogs out of it!

More intricate grid shapes involve using a larger number of crystals.  A generator crystal can be used in the center of the configuration to amplify the energy of the outer crystals, and to strengthen the vibration.

I have made grids to go in the foundations of houses, and one of my favourite configurations is a Fibonacci Spiral. But that is a fairly complex process, and today I promised I would keep things simple.

A grid of crystals can be placed near you in a room where you work or rest.  However, for maximum effect it is best if you can actually sit or lie within the grid itself.  Common ways to place a grid are to lay the stones out around a chair, bed, meditation space or desk.  You can also grid a room by placing crystals in the room corners, or grid your house by placing crystals at the extreme corners of that house.  (You may need more than four to cover every corner).

Another effective technique is to grid the perimeter of your house, placing the crystals along your fence line.  Larger, more robust crystals are often best for this, and they will be self cleansing and generating.  However, do not judge the energy level of the crystal by size alone!  Some of the most powerful stones can often be no bigger than a pebble.

Additional Gridding Uses

Grids can be used to aid sleep, healing and mental alertness.  They can be used to help with Meditation and for connecting with Higher Self, Guides, and Past Lives.  Grids can assist with creativity, abundance and manifesting and maximizing your natural talents.  They can provide protection and wisdom.

You can use grids to help your garden grow, to vitalize herbs, fruits and vegetables.  Pets often benefit from a grid placed in their sleeping area.  Grids can be discretely placed to encourage harmony, healing or honesty within a situation.  They can also be used to absorb the negativity of others without this energy being passed to you.  People who have experienced problems with psychic attack can often be greatly assisted in this way.  In fact, whatever the natural vibrational properties of the crystal, they will be passed to you.

A Rose Quartz Grid has greatly enhanced my strawberries and tomatoes!

To Build Your Own Crystal Grid:

We are going to work with the most basic shape – a square whose corners are anchored by a crystal. So you will need four crystals to build your grid, and you may like to select a fifth one to hold as you sit in the centre. Use this grid to raise your vibration, and enhance your own energy field. (This is also great done around your bed for helping heal you while you sleep!)

This exercise is based on the principles of sacred geometry.  It will facilitate health, healing, clarity and connection.Set your intent by offering up a prayer or energetic intention that this exercise be for your Highest Good.Set up your Crystal Grid, using the four  crystals, by laying them out in a square.Visualise a pyramid of White Light extending up from the crystals, and one extending down into the floor, creating an energetic three dimensional diamond shape. It should look like this:

Sit, lie or stand inside this Light Grid.

Bring Light in through your Crown Chakra.  Use your intuition as to what colour Light to use.

Flood your body with Light.  On every inhale, draw Light into your body. On every exhale, see wispy grey energy leaving your body via your lungs or Base Chakra, and being drained through the bottom of the Pyramid.

Continue until your body feels light and calm.

Enhance this meditation by holding crystals whose characteristics or properties you wish to assimilate into your energetic field.  Women hold the crystal with hands cupped left on the bottom and right on top, palm upwards.  Men reverse this position, so that the left hand is on top and right underneath.

You may also like to use one of my Guided Meditations from the past three days. Links here, here and here. Then simply rest and relax in this delicious energy, until you feel restored.

Image from fanpop.com

Recharging your Grid

Crystals need to be cleaned and re-energised from time to time, unless they are outside, planted in or on the earth, where they will be self charging.  With practice you will know when your crystals need attention because you will feel their energy decreasing.  There are many ways to cleanse and recharge your crystals.  If you are using your crystals regularly, take care of them and cleanse them often.

Using Crystals to Access Information – Day Three

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Using crystals is a great way to begin accessing information for yourself and others, and can gently open you up to greater levels of spiritual and psychic gifts and awakening.

Although quartz crystals are the most common stone for this sort of connection, I believe that you need to work with the crystal you are drawn to.  My very first working stone was an aventurine shaped roughly like a heart that fit nicely in the palm of my hand. (For more information on how to choose a crystal click here.)

Crystals are great teachers.  They can hold much wisdom, and allow us to tap into information stored within us, within our Higher Selves, within the Akashic Records, and within Guides and other energetic Beings.

When I was young I never, ever thought I would be able to channel or do work at the level I am at now. I was such a skeptic even though my own natural abilities had been evident much of my life. I was okay with receiving information as it came to me, but felt very uncertain about attempting to make it happen deliberately.  I was uncomfortable with even trying this sort of activity, but I found as my resistance decreased and I became more open, things flowed much more easily.

So it doesn’t matter if you feel awkward or uncomfortable with today’s activity – just enter with a sense of innocence and childlike curiosity and you might be amazed at what comes to Light. ♥

Meditation for Accessing Guidance and Information from a Crystal:

Choose a stone you feel drawn to work with, clease it and then sit somewhere comfortable so that you can follow this meditation.  You may like to burn incense or light a candle to further enhance your experience.

Nicole Cody’s Guided Meditation for Connecting with Crystal Wisdoms – Day 3

It is useful to keep a journal to record any impressions, information or names from your meditation sessions. You might even feel inspired to draw or paint!

(PS – The stone I used today during this meditation was a Canadian Labradorite – that’s it in the picture below.)

Storing and handling crystals

If possible, wrap crystals you are not using, or that you are transporting, in a natural fabric such as silk, cotton, wool, linen or hemp.  Use your intuition when selecting fabrics – maybe a patterned scarf, a scrap of velvet, a bag you found at the markets, or even a pretty handkerchief could be used. 

You may also wish to place crystals on a window ledge, in a potplant, or in a positive energy place within your home. 

Once you have cleansed your crystals, be selective about who you allow to touch them because stones will absorb the energies of the people who handle them.  You may find that there are some stones you need to keep just for you, while others may invite handling from anyone!  After working with a stone for a long time, and investing a lot of your own energy into it, you may find that just holding that stone will take you to a positive, calmer, more meditative or healing state.

Writing as a Manifestation Tool

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Image from collegelifestyles.com

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. ~ John 1:1

Words have power. Whether they are thought, spoken or written down, there is a great energy to words, and over the next six Mondays we are going to focus on ways to harness this power through journal writing, so that we can bring the energy of positive change into our lives.

No matter if you believe in God, Universal Energy, the power of the mind, synchronicity, the Muse, yourself or humanity – I’m going to show you how to work with those beliefs, and with words, to create transformation. You’ll gain clarity, and begin attracting the help, guidance and information you need to move closer to your own idea of a better life.

The Law of Attraction

There has been so much talk about the Law of Attraction, but many people struggle to understand what it is, how it works, or if it’s even real.

Here’s my simple take on it. The Universe is one of vibration, where like attracts like, where a thought attracts its match. It works like this: the clearer the thought, and the more powerful the emotion attached to that thought (positive or negative), the faster you attract that thing/situation/person into your life. I know that it is real because I have experienced it for myself, and you’ll discover that it is too if you keep working with me over the next few weeks.

So these activities focus on writing as a manifestation tool, but you’ll find they will also start strengthening your intuitive abilities and sensitivities.  It’s a natural result of becoming more aware of the energies in the world around you.

Journal Activity:

Begin by watching this two  minute clip to help to put you into a more positive vibration (which is a great starting point for manifestation):

Now, over the next week use the following journal starters and write as much or as little as feels right for you.  Begin by transcribing these words (the ones in coloured ink) into your journal. Then choose a journal starter that resonates for you and let the words flow.  You can use the same journal starter more than once if it really resonates for you.  Write from the heart, and be focused on SOLUTIONS rather than problems.  You don’t need to know the answer, you just need to know that you want one!

We need to get that jumble in your head out and onto the page.  The real work has already begun, even if it feels messy.  In fact that’s how it is supposed to feel.  Pour it all out onto the page, and enjoy the relief once it’s out there…

Dear Universe, 

There are things in my life that I would appreciate some help or guidance with right now. I know some of these can be quickly sorted, and some may take more time. I am open to however this works.

I don’t know what the answers are, or even how to start, but I am going to trust that there IS an answer, and that with your assistance I CAN find help. I trust that the best possible solution for me exists for the following situations:

  • I would love to find healing in my relationship with
  • I would love to attract into my life a person who could
  • It would be terrific if I didn’t have to __________ because then I could
  • An idea I’ve had in my head for a long time that I’d like to turn into a reality is
  • One thing that I’ve never been able to get sorted is _________ and it would mean so much to me to have some change here because then I could
  • The one thing I really need a teacher for is
  • The one thing I really need a healer for is
  • The one thing I really need a friend for is
  • The one gift I’d very much like to share with others is
  • It’s terrifying, but if I could only
  • I know I’m not good at _______ but it has to get done.  Somewhere out there is some one who is good at ______________ and if I could find them and have them do this with me, or even for me, it would free me up to
  • One belief inside me that is really holding me back is______________.  If I could get some help to overcome this I would be able to
  • If I could find some forgiveness for ___________ then I’d be able to
  • I have this half-formed crazy idea inside me, and I need help to get clarity around it so that I can
  • The one thing that would really change my life right now in the simplest of ways is
  • I’d love to have more friends who were also interested in
  • I’m so lost that I have NO CLUE.  What I’d appreciate is some direction so that
This week, look for evidence of help. Stay open, and have an attitude of curiosity. Help might come in the form of a show on TV, a blog post, a book that jumps out at you, a flyer in your letterbox, a suggestion from a friend, or even a sudden knowing…
Much love to you  ♥ ♥ ♥

Image from bigstock

Journal for Spiritual Clarity and Connection 4 – All about my Soul

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You don’t have a soul.  You are a Soul.  You have a body.  ~C.S. Lewis

Week 4:  All About My Soul

We are all Spiritual Beings.  We cannot separate ourselves from our Spirituality, just as we cannot separate ourselves from our Physicality.  However, just as we can become physically unfit and unhealthy, we can also become disconnected from our awareness of and trust in our Inner Connectedness.

This week we are going to work on connecting into our own Soul Wisdom. So often we let our minds guide and inform us, or the thoughts and opinions of others. But there is a source of great truth and inspiration within us – and by looking within ourselves we can find answers to things we’ve wondered on forever.  We’re going to start this week with a pledge to ourselves.  It’s a daily thing, so if your choose, recommit to it daily.  But the pledge lasts only 24 hours, so it is entirely do-able.

Just for today I will be gentle and generous with myself.  I will allow myself the freedom to think, feel, experience and express the emotions, creativity and soul wisdom I have locked inside me.  Just for today I will put self criticism and self judgement aside and just BE.

 

Just for today I will support and encourage those around me.  I will refrain from criticisms, gossip and unkind words or actions towards myself and others.  Just for today I will be a friend to myself, and to the people I meet.

 

Signed:

 

__________________________________________

 

Journal Exercise:

Spend time journaling to explore your gifts, talents and passions this week.  Work out what you value, and what your personal and professional priorities are.

Try to remember what you were good at as a younger person, and what you enjoyed doing back then. Those things are often clues to a Self we have forgotten or left behind…

Go through old photos, letters and books.  Recapture some lost aspects of yourself. Use all of this, and the following starters to write:

  • I was sure, when I was small, that I wanted to…
  • An area I have always felt passionate about is…
  • A hobby that allows me to express myself well is…
  • Environments I feel really at home in are…
  • Places that always make me uncomfortable are…
  • If I could identify a past life for myself it would surely be…
  • One thing I stand for is…
  • I feel alive when I am…
  • It kills me a little inside every time I have to…
  • When I was at school the thing I really excelled at was…
  • I’ve never been much good at…
  • The things that came naturally to me as a child were…
  • I know it’s not necessarily valued, but I am really good at…
  • When I look at old photographs of myself I realise…
  • When I look into my future I would like to see…
  • I’d forgotten I was so interested in…
  • If I could turn back time and study anything it would be…
  • The strengths in me are…
  • I have always felt a spiritual connection or feeling when…
  • If I was tuned in better to my gut feelings I would…
  • My intuition is telling me…
  • Places that uplift me are…
  • Places that comfort me are…
  • My ideal life would look like this…
  • Realistic changes I can make are…

Activity:

Be kind to yourself and others. Reconnect with people you care about, and who care about you.

Visit a meditation group, church, temple, beach or some place that holds spiritual and replenishing energy for you. Go on your own or with friends, but go!

Make a commitment to yourself to live authentically. Stand up and give voice to what you believe in. Let your values guide you. Live by your principles.  You can do this in a quiet way, by voting with your shopping dollar or writing letters, or in a bigger way.  It’s up to you!

Plan some longer term changes in your career or personal life to better reflect your talents, gifts and values.  Invest in yourself, your education, and your interests. Live your best life!

How to do a walking meditation

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Do you have trouble trying to meditate? There is a powerful meditation practice you could try that involves movement. It’s one of my favourites – walking meditation.

Go outdoors. Stand still and have an awareness of your body.  If you like, clasp your hands in front of or behind your body. Lift your right foot, noticing the weight of your leg and how your balance adjusts. Think to yourself ‘right’ as your foot touches the ground.  As your left leg lifts up notice the change in balance.  Feel the movement as your foot leaves the ground and as it reconnects with the earth.  Think ‘left’.  As you become more advanced you may wish to choose other words such as ‘peace’ and ‘love’ or ‘wellness’ and ‘abundance’.

Walk slowly and mindfully for ten minutes, being aware of each deliberate step, and of the world around you. Be aware of the ground beneath your feet. Be aware of the changes in your body’s balance and of how you feel.  To finish the meditation stop, stand still and take a minute or two in that place, gently breathing and being aware of your body in stillness.

Moving meditation will also help you to be calmer and more attentive in seated meditation.  Enjoy!

Here’s a great example of a walking meditation – the music is a bit trippy but you’ll get the idea…

‘Pebbles for your pocket’ meditation – a simple way to create inner peace

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There is a short meditation I make part of my regular practice.  It involves the selection of four stones or pebbles, and then a simple reflection activity for each stone.  Often I will go for a walk first, and select four stones from the beach or the fields.  I’ve even managed to find four pebbles walking along a suburban sidewalk.

Sometimes I will select four tumbled crystals from my collection, using the energetic qualities or colours of the stones to further enhance my experience.  This is a lovely way for crystal lovers to find a practical use for their stones.

I then do a  five-minute meditation with my chosen stones, and for the rest of the day I carry those four stones with me in my pocket, to remind me of what I have practised in my morning meditation.

(In my pocket today I have citrine for Freshness, rough fluorite for Solidity, clear quartz for Clarity and amethyst for Freedom.♥)

Watch this short video by Thich Nhat Hanh to see how the stones are used in meditation.  You may want to choose your stones first, and then follow along.  Once you’ve done this a few times, and remember what the stones stand for, it’s a simple practice you can do anywhere, which creates a great feeling of peace and calm.

The importance of time on your own

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There is a difference between being lonely and being alone.  For many people, the idea of spending an extended period of time with just themselves for company is an uncomfortable prospect.  Most of us fill every waking moment with activities, chores and people.  Time for ourselves is often the lowest priority. (image by chrisroll)

Alone doesn't have to mean lonely

We are social creatures by nature, but in order to maintain our strength and individuality, it is important to have a measure of independence.  It is vital that we befriend and value ourselves, taking time to nurture and love ourselves so that we can keep giving to others, and cope with the many demands placed upon us.  One way to do this is to spend time alone.  And for some people that can be a very difficult thing to do!

Everyone needs time alone to work on being themselves.  As a child you could play happily for hours – just you, some space, and your imagination.  It’s the time alone that allows you to replenish the well of energy within.  It’s the time alone that lets you reach into your imagination and become more truly you.  Time spent in your own company enables you to become stronger, more independent, and more able to give to yourself while recognising your limits with others.

Society is geared for giving.  We will spend the majority of our lives giving of ourselves to others – as friends, employees, lovers, parents, partners and family members.  This is fine, but brings to mind the analogy of the well.  Every time we give out energy, effort and love, we are drawing on our inner well of reserves.  If we never top up the well, one day we’ll find ourselves scraping the mud at the bottom, only to find there’s nothing left.  Murphy’s Law seems to dictate that when we really hit rock bottom and need to use our own reserves, it’s only then that we find we’ve given them away.

Alone doesn’t have to mean lonely

Loneliness can happen in a crowded room, an office, a marriage or a friendship.  It can happen when we’re by ourselves.  Loneliness is feeling disconnected, unloved, unwanted, unappreciated or misunderstood.  But if you are friends with yourself, you should never feel completely alone.

When you’re lonely, being alone can be a scary prospect.  That’s because we usually rely on other people to make us feel good about ourselves, to give us value, and to provide direction.  But being alone is integral to becoming a better friend to ourselves.  If you can’t enjoy your own company, who else will? (image by graur codrin)

Have you forgotten how to be a friend to yourself?

A true friend has the following qualities:

  • respects our limits, and is able to say ‘no’ to activities or people we don’t want to be involved with
  • recognises when we feel tired, sick or low, and provides love and nurturing till we’re back on our feet
  • encourages us to use our gifts and talents, and to try new things
  • does things to make us feel good
  • praises us honestly, and treats us kindly

Ways to befriend yourself:

  1. Learn to appreciate moments of solitude in your life.  This article from evolutionzine.com gives some great advice about why solitude is an important tool for creating balance in your life.
  2. Spend time each week keeping a journal.  List things you would like to do, places and people you want to visit, and other personal goals.  Write down positive things you’ve been told about yourself.  Keep a list of your secret dreams and ambitions.  Don’t share this with anyone!
  3.  Allocate yourself “replenishment” time each week, or even once a month to go do things on your own that you enjoy.  Suggestions include a long walk followed by a relaxing bath, massage, lessons in something that interests you, visits to a library or bookshop, shopping, visiting markets, parks and art galleries, going to the beach or a favourite café.  Being creative is also wonderful – make or do something!
  4. Just for a day, stop criticising yourself and others.  Let everything just be okay for today.
  5. Take time to exercise, meditate, reflect and daydream.  Even ten minutes on your own each day is a start.
  6. Revisit happy times and achievements through meditation or contemplation.  Remember the strength you found to pull you through difficulties.  Know that you can draw on all of these experiences and strengths at any time.
  7. Surround yourself with beauty.  Wear nice clothes.  Pick fresh flowers for the house, make a special space to relax in, and visit places that make you feel good often.
  8. Laugh, stretch, sit in the sun, breathe clean air, hug pets and friends.
Know that you are beautiful just as you are, that you are lovable, worthy, and enough.  There is something within you that is unduplicatable in this world.  You are a unique individual, the only one of you this world shall ever know.  Make time to know yourself. Shine your Light.  ♥

I wish I could show you, When you are lonely or in darkness, The astonishing light of your own being. ~Hafiz

(image by dan)

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Embracing the Small Things – an Antidote to Despair

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Like you, I’ve known hard days. For a while I even had a run of days that piled up into years.  Poor health, awful health, nearly deadness, and then the fallout of the mess that is created from a person incapable of functioning. It doesn’t matter what the reason for the non-functioning is – what matters is that place you are in where you can’t seem to drag yourself out of misery.

So what to do when you find yourself in that dark place?

I found one thing that worked for me, and I absolutely believe it will work for you. It’s so simple that it may sound trite.  But there is a power to this act that can transform lives. 

Embrace the Small Things

Shift your focus from everything that isn’t working in your life, and find the tiny details that are. Most of these will be present in your life, and accessible, no matter what your circumstances. They are always here, just waiting to be appreciated.

The slant of sunlight through a window and how that makes rainbows dance on the carpet. A fragrant cup of Earl Grey tea first thing on a cold morning. Good coffee. The smell of rain on hot concrete.  The rustle of wind in the tree tops. A smile. Birds supping nectar in the garden. Soft pillows.  Clean sheets. Music that reminds you of wonderful memories, people and places.  Favourite childhood books. Kindness. Ducks in the rain on our dam.

Each day I still choose to embrace the small pleasures and details of life. This simple act of living mindfully gives my existence a richness that was lacking for many years, and gives me resilience to cope better with life’s turbulent waters.

This link explains the act of mindfulness very well.

Thich Nhat Hanh on Mindfulness