Into the Land of Hippies and Happiness

Hey guys,

I hope you've had an amazing week!

So I've discovered something really cool over the last few days - as I mentioned, I started re-instating a lot of the small routines in my life again and it feels super nice.

So while I was reading up on affirmations one day, I also stumbled across a few other interesting techniques that I found totally fascinating:

1) EFT tapping (this guy is awesome): http://www.youtube.com/user/eftwizard

 

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2) Chakra meditation:

Yes I know, I probably sound a little cuckoo now - because we're generally socially-programmed to shut out anything that isn't physically tangible or defies human logic and rationality. But hear me out - I think I learnt something really important from both of these practices.

Both approaches involve analyzing the physical body for tension and pain, and linking that to strengthening your emotional peace - your internal world.

EFT healing involves tapping repeatedly on your pressure points while saying positive affirmations; and chakra meditation is a lot to do with visualising chakras in your body while 'healing' them - each chakra relates to certain emotions and personality tendencies.

I tried both practices, keeping an open mind and just being curious to see what would happen. And yes, they worked - for me. But what fascinated me was this: I could clearly see a link between physical pain and ailments, and emotional issues or thoughts. There were some instances in which I could feel negative thoughts physically as tightness in my neck for instance; and the replacement of these thoughts led to immediate (temporary) physical relief.

I'm not here to argue whether these techniques are merely an act of placebo, or whether they have scientific basis - but I do want to say this: they reaffirmed my belief that our thoughts do determine the quality of our life experience.

www.makeitsomindset.com

So everyone goes through some rough times, and there have been instances when I handled them horribly - victimising myself and wallowing in self-pity; and more recently, there have been instances when I handled these events with acceptance and faith. In both instances, the events that took place sucked - but my experience of the events were vastly different. When I chose to focus on the positive, I viewed the event as one component of an otherwise beautiful life, and a learning experience; and when I chose to focus on the negative, my entire experience of life turned dark and painful - and this manifested physically as well, in the form of chest pains and digestive issues.


Our mind is strange, because its personality is largely determined by what it focuses on. Remember that example of how when you become aware of a certain type of car for instance, you see it everywhere, even when you never noticed its existence before?

Awareness: the all-famous ball-passing gorilla-suit video.

Looking back, it's so clear to me that my choice to simply focus on the positive or focus on the negative, determined the magnitude of external events in my life - the weight they had in determining the rest of my choices, and the rest of my life.

Which means then, that our Fate is actually well and truly in our hands - and most of us simply do not realise it.  There have been so many inspiring stories of people who have overcome unfathomable pain to soar to great heights of success - and we look at them and say: "If only".

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Because it's easier not to accept responsibility for our lives. It's easier to blame God or other people -when really, we have a choice. Taking ownership for our lives and the way it is - is really freaking hard. But we have a choice to be magnificent.

So I'd really like to stop copping out, and start exercising that choice - starting with taking care of my thoughts. Just take a few minutes even now and notice - what sort of thoughts are filling your mind? Is the flavour of your mind depressing and or is it empowering and warm and fuzzy?
Take a moment and observe how you speak to yourself. For instance, I know I tend to be very self-critical - but it wasn't until I re-started my routines recently, that I realised how negative my mind had become. At one point, I found myself listening to my thoughts and could not believe what I was hearing - we would never verbally abuse another person with a barrage of criticism, so why do we do it to ourselves?

 

What's the flavour of your mind?

mumslovejug.com

So for the next week and like the next 50 years, I really want to focus on my own mind - on keeping it positive and healthy. And one way I want to do this is to also be aware of any physical pains I am experiencing - you know, those sudden stabs of tightness in your neck, or your constricted chest - what's causing this? What's stressing me out, or what am I holding onto from my past that is still affecting me and my life?

I found meditation and affirmations, as well as the techniques I mentioned above to be extremely empowering (and fun!) - for you, it could well be something else.

If we start with healing our thoughts, I truly think we will be astounded to see who we become - as our emotions change, our outlooks and personalities strengthen and our choices become more powerful. This is so exciting!

So what techniques what will you do to cleanse your mind and stay grounded, radiant and powerful?

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As always, I would love to hear from you!

Til' next time and with Love,
A. x

P.S - here are some of my favourite affirmation videos and meditation recordings, I hope they come in useful:

1) Morning Meditation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0EQEiecSxs
2) As you sleep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu0qSI0rmws
3) Affirmations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL-ZRHGh5Qo

Why the Morning Routine Matters - Like Really Matters.

Hey guys!

So I think I'm going to get back into blogging regularly.

And I'll tell you why - it's because in the last few weeks, I've realised how important, how fundamental this concept of discipline is in our lives.

The last 8 months of my life since I moved abroad, have been crazy, intense, exhilarating, devastating, magical and stupendous - all those things, mostly at the same time. Which is fine, totally fine - it's fine for life to be kinda mental and unpredictable, that's what makes it Life and that's what makes it amazing. But what's not okay, is for our inner state to also be kinda mental and unpredictable. That's not cool.

 

When I moved away from home, I stopped following my daily routine. You know, the kinda corny one, where I'd wake up an hour early, meditate, read positive affirmations, do some yoga and yes, tell myself 'I love you' to the mirror, finishing off with a cup of warm water and a healthy breakfast.

Big deal right? What do these little rituals matter anyway?

Well, actually they matter a fair bit. The truth of the matter is, this hour of strange and wonderful activities in the morning was more than a routine. It was my slice of control.

Backtrack a little - crazy shit happens. We make plans and we blow wishes into the wind hoping for the best. Hoping for what we want - but sometimes Life takes a detour or sometimes something else is written in our destinies. If it's one thing I've learnt in the last few years, it's this - life is unpredictable, but YOU don't have to be. If you can be stable within yourself, steadfast in sticking to your goals and your values, then you can handle anything the world throws at you.

 

yourstrulyabrielle.wordpress.com

And that's where routine comes in. Self-regulated routines set the foundation for our inner strength. We have very little control over the external events that take place around us or occur to us. But we have total dominion over ourselves and the way we react to what happens around us. And this one level of control, this one remote control switch we have, this is enough. This is enough to determine the rest of our lives - it's the power of choice all over again. And exercising that choice, is totally under our control.

The power of our choices - beginning when the alarm goes off!

Without that 1 hour in the morning during which I centered myself and began the day on my terms, within a few months, I was feeling like everything was out of control. I felt overwhelmed, stressed and hassled - and I was irritable and not really the type of person I wanted to be.

So I learnt this - never under-estimate the power of your choice to stick to a routine - because your small daily choices build up over time to shape your daily moods, your actions, your personality, your character and eventually, your outcomes and experience of life.

So here I am again, 8 months later, almost full-circle, re-establishing all those seemingly unimportant routines I used to follow a year ago. And you know what - it feels awesome. It feels like I'm back in the driver's seat, and the morning has become my domain, my kingdom. And when you start the day feeling like that, you inevitably carry that vibe forward throughout the day. Over a few weeks, you feel the difference.


So if there's been something you used to do that made your day kinda special, and if it's slipped off your plate - re-establish it starting today. It may seem silly and unimportant at first, but the choice to adhere to your routine, is the choice to take control and to take responsibility for most important aspect of your life - your experience of it. It is the first step to self-leadership and I've had to realise it the hard way.

 

www.queenpersona.com

So what self-improving, self-nourishing routine will you re-establish today?

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts - maybe we can help keep each other accountable ;)

Til' next time!

A. x

A visit by an old Friend

Hey guys,

I think it's been a good year since I last wrote in this blog. So much has changed that I can't even begin to quantify it.

So what I will talk about is this - when I read my last blogpost, I see someone young but so certain. So certain that the way she is, is the right way and the way she will continue to be. 

And then she moved away from home.

And that's when I realised that who I thought I was as an individual, was actually a culmination of everything I had built around me over the last two decades at home. My family, my friends, my job, my city. My identity was intertwined with these things. I was safe as long as I had these things, because I had let myself be defined by them. 

When I left these things behind, I didn't really know who I was. I didn't really know what to hold onto, except for the one Dream I was chasing that had led me overseas in the first place.

I realised that back home, my sense of self-worth was externally derived. I didn't deal with my problems in life - I let my friends and family deal with them. I didn't support myself, my friends and family did. So reliant had I grown on external validation, that when I had to start life on my own, I didn't know where to begin. How would I inspire myself, support myself, love myself - when I couldn't see this around me?

#1 - So the first thing I realised was that I had been living in a bubble of artificial self-confidence for much of my life - a bubble sustained by external validation more so than genuine internal appreciation.

www.volkerballueder.com

#2 - Secondly, in the absence of home and everyone I knew and loved, I realised that I was a vastly different individual to who I thought I naturally was. I had been brought up a certain way, or I had been indoctrinated by certain ways of thinking that suddenly it seemed like my values and beliefs were changing - when in fact, they were simply emerging uncoloured and untinted for the first time.

When I started this blog, I thought there was an endpoint I was striving towards. A perfect person I would strive to be and one day I would look in the mirror and that person would be staring back at me and that would be that.

But the reality is, you, me, we're more complex than that. Chasing after self-perfection is like chasing after a rainbow. This is an iterative journey and it won't end. The deeper we dive into finding out who we really are and what we really want out of life, the more layers will emerge. The concept of 'I' is multi-faceted.

I talked a year back about leaving your comfort zone - I know now that what we are really leaving behind when we do that, is the illusionary sense of security we have built for ourselves. We attach our identity to that which is around us, because we are scared to know what is really within us and who we really are, and what we really want.


So let go of yourself - let go of your labels and leave your comfort zone. Because they don't mean a thing - move into life with a blank slate every morning, ready to accept what you discover about yourself. Who are you really, when you strip away the noise of society, the colourings of your upbringing, the safety of your friends, your job, your achievements? 

 

 ThoughtQuestions.com

That's what I'm trying to figure out now - and it has impacted my choices in life, my attitude, my character and my outlook. My aim is to learn to build an inner strength and sense of self-belief that is not derived from others, but from myself. And that will largely involve accepting myself for who I am without expecting myself to be a certain way because of what others expect of me.

Here's what I can share has helped me along the process:
#1 - Spend time with yourself everyday, doing something you love or even just meditating. Get to know yourself
#2 - When you come across a problem, don't run to your family or friends immediately. Ask yourself what you want first - and be brutally honest.
#3 - Learn to be your own support system - for me, meditation, exercise and affirmations helped to build a sense of inner-strength and positivity. What methods can you use to be your own cheerleader?

The amazing thing about leaving your comfort zone and finding your 'new' self one piece at a time, is that some pieces of the old you fall away (which is scary) - but some pieces remain. And it's those pieces you hold onto. I realised for instance that I wasn't so strongly attached to a certain religion. And I also realised that my passion for my Dreams had only grown stronger through thick and thin, and this became my pillar of Faith and strength throughout this process of self-regeneration. This passion is my 'religion' now, an internally driven motivator - so it's one I want to strengthen further to be more self-sufficient and to be more strong within myself.

I'm not sure if this is even quite making sense, but as always, I would love to hear your thoughts. How has your perception of your self changed over time, and what new things are you discovering about yourself as you venture out of your comfort zone? <3.
 
Til next time!

Love,
A. x