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Last week I took a much need break from my life. I went to Mexico! I'm not sure when the last time you left this country, but something magical happens each time I do. The word Holiday, actually is derived from Holy and Day. When we depart from our habitual selves we can experience a shift in our beingness that literally changes us.
This week join me in the conversation of a holiday. Maybe we don't need to travel outside our country or even outside our local town to experience something new and enlightening, maybe all it takes is the intention to experience life anew. | |
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Finding Neverland | |
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I recently watched the movie, Finding Neverland ... it was the true story of James Barrie, the english man who wrote the story about a boy who never wanted to grow up. He was inspired to write this story because life had forced him to grow up at a very young age. I don't want to spoil the movie in case you're interested in watching it.
The movie made me ponder how I too had to grow up way before I was ready. Maybe this is why I love to travel so much ... it is like I'm always searching for Neverland ... a place that is magical. The little girl in me that will never grow up, that will always need my love and attention wants to play and enjoy her life. When was the last time you let the little boy or girl out to play?
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Fun & Leisure | |
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When I'm working with a client I go through an exercise entitled "The Life Wheel." This exercise enables the client to get a greater perspective of the different parts of life and how satisfied they are with each. The area of Fun & Leisure seems to be either an area that is really high for some or really low for others. It is an area that no one I have encountered wants to focus and pay attention too.
But ask yourself this question: at the end of your life, when you won't physically be able to go and do and have fun ... will you wish you worked more? Invite the child in you out for a play date, allow yourself the freedom to belly laugh, dance, dream of neverland.
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Put on a Happy Face | |
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Put on a happy face ... you ever hear of the saying that it takes less muscle to smile than to frown, that is a good a reason as any to put on a happy face. You may trick yourself into believing you are happy. I recently read an article in Time about the happiest people on earth ... can you believe they were poor ... Mexico & a country in Africa were the two places that people were the happiest. Can you believe they didn't have a big mortgage, two car payments, lots of credit card debt, the latest gadgets and gismos or the most recent fashion.
Music was a huge part of their lives and so were family and friends. I invite you this week to join me and turn up the volume and dance, and play and have some fun ... YOU deserve a Holiday! P.S. I'm on my way to the Caribbean for a cruise ... see you in a few weeks;) Love & Light, Jana | | | |
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Mindfulness is one of the simplest of all meditation techniques; it involves letting go of any desire to control your thoughts. Instead you observe them with detachment as they arise. You attach no importance to your thoughts, just simply observe your thoughts; and not make any judgement. Dan Millman, the former world champion athlete uses this form of meditation to teach other athletes. He says that we don't have to control our thoughts, we just have to stop letting them control us.
To find lasting peace of mind we first have to accept that we cannot control our thoughts, only our response to them, and in so doing we make peace with our minds. Here is a practice to try this week: at random moments during the day stop whatever you are doing and consider if you are in a mindful state of awareness. Are you physically relaxed and paying attention to the task at hand, or are you tense and anxious to finish it and move on to something else? Take a deep breath; hold it a few moments then exhale slowly. Then continue with what you were doing, but be mindful and live for the moment.
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Observing the Ordinary Mind | |
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Whether your daily routine tends to be repetitive and mundane or stimulating and stressful, you will learn much about yourself by becoming an observer of what is known as the ordinary, conscious mind, the 'I' which we readily identify with, or what psychology terms the 'ego'. Watch when you are concentrated on a task, or when your mind is wondering, because when it is unfocused you are wasting vital energy.
Do you indulge in aimless wish-fulfillment, or in self- criticism over past mistakes? Do you fantasize about the future but fail to take the necessary steps to nurture your vision. These problems all stem from a lack of focus in life and a lack of control over the thought processes. Becoming aware of the way in which the conscious mind undermines our efforts is the first step towards training the mind so that we can free ourselves from such bad habits and tap into our hidden potential.
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Make time for Mental Relaxation | |
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Taking time out to scan your body for tension and give your mind a rest ... It is in the stillness that inspiration and insight will come. You will find that you have more energy if you minimize the small talk that is believed to fritter away your life force. Many of us talk a lot but say very little worth hearing. We tend to make small talk to fill the silence, but it is only in the silence that inspiration and insights can be heard.
Meditation can be practised wherever and whenever you feel the need to create a quiet moment. Try brief mindfulness meditations during a lull at work or a break from routine tasks and long period of study. The point is just to begin to practice the simple art of letting go. Join me next week as I share the medical benefits of meditating. Until then ... Peace, be still. | | | |
|  Shifting our consiousness at any given moment may seem to most humans as a task too daunting to begin, much less to accomplish. From my personal experience, I think there is no life worth living unless you feel empowered. Once you are able to radically shift yourself out of an old way of perceiving your circumstances and beliefs; you then have the energy and creativity to transform your life and make the changes necessary.
Like anything worthwhile it takes practice and vigilence. Although we do not always have the power to choose our life's events, we do have the power to choose our interpretations of them. There are two kinds of interpretations ... those that empower us and those that disempower us. Ask yourself are you looking through eyes that empower you or disempower you ... it really is simply a choice.
Peace within He who angers you, conquers you.
There is an African proverb that says, "When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you." We have all heard someone say 'I am my own worst enemy'! Listen to how you speak on our own behalf. This week I made a commitment to speak only loving words to myself and about myself. It's like your Mom would say, "if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all."
Every person we attract into our lives is there to move us to the next phase of our personal evolution. See all people (especially the ones you judge) as spiritual change agents. They are sent to you to mirror your innermost thoughts and feelings. Choose to experience 'otherness' this week ... ask yourself: how someone who just behaved rudely might be feeling ... to act that way, someone who is angry; why? see if you can see where you have behaved the same way either to yourself or to others in the past, present or future. Send love if this is what you desire, compassion, understanding, gentleness ... these are the gifts your spirit long for ... and they can only be recieved when you give them away. Be blessed this week, I am making a choice to Be. | | |
| I am an adult ... well at least I think I am an adult. I'm 39 years old, married, children. Yes, I'm an adult. Or am I? This weekend was one of 'those life changing' weekends! I attended a workshop in Miami that my mentor and teacher, Debbie Ford created entitled, "The Shadow Process." If there is one thing I know for sure, it's that choosing to live unlike the masses isn't easy work. This was my second Shadow Process and it was more powerful than the first. The great Martin Luther King said, "The highest form of maturity is self-inquiry." I see that emotionally I am very young in certain situations of my life.
One of the big Aha's of the weekend was about People pleasers ... They use other people to have the experience of God (of being so wonderful/great etc...) Really people pleasers are really selfish. They give so that they can feel the positive feelings they feel when they give. If you are a people pleaser this may upset you, and if it does then it's most likely the truth. If it doesn't then hey, it doesn't apply to you.
Think of a time when someone close to you was in turmoil. What did you want them to feel? Most likely you wanted them to feel cared for, that your concerned, that they are special to you, you want them to feel connected, understood. Whatever you want someone else to feel is what you want to feel. We give what we need. What do you need right now in your life? Do you need to be heard, then listen to yourself. Do you need more love, then love yourself. Do you need a feeling of connectedness, then connect to your Divine Self. A great writer once said, "there is no one out there." Our world exist within us. Neale Donald Walsh said, "If you don't go within, you go without." Make today a demarcation, don't go without another day.
I miss my Xanga family ... know I always hold each of you in the highest. Love & Light | | |
| Wow, yesterday was interesting ... guess what happened? Ok I won't make you guess ... I had a man go off on me for tooting my horn to get into a parking place. He had his door open and was doing something in the back seat ... anyway, I patiently waited until this other car starts to back out and they can't see me and they are about to hit the side of my car ... so what do I do? I beep at them to alert them I am there. Well I pull into the space with the guy still in the back seat and the door wide open ... and he immediately comes over to by door ... so I get out and he starts yelling how rude I am to beep at him. I nod and look him in the eyes and listen intently ... all the while I am thinking wow ... my heart isnt' racing and I am not feeling the flight or fight mode. Which is all a good thing. So I get my granddaughter out of the back seat ... and he says see you even have a child you should understand that I was putting my kids in the seat. You are so rude blah blah blah ... so I smile and finally speak to him ... you might want to look in the mirror, I say. He says what? then he says ... do I know you? I smile again and say ... there you will see what rude looks like. And I walk away. This interaction showed me that I have embraced the dark shadow of rude, out of control, need to be right ... and I actually had compassion for the guy. He was really stressed out. About an hour later I was backing up in my new car ... and I hit a wall ... it damaged my back light and bumper. But I said well, stuff happens ... I still have a choice ... to be upset or not. I choose not. The night ended well, it was the last night of my best year of your life/book study class that I am facilitating. All the participants were really grateful and inspired by my leadership. So all is well that ends well. Love & Light Jana | | |
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