Making Room for Your Present & Future

Five weeks ago, I became a mother of a beautiful baby boy! This little human being - this amazing creation - has taught me so much about this quote I found.

Before my son, I had set up some daily rituals that would set me up for my day when I awoke - meditation for my mind, a cup of lemon juice + warm water to alkalise my body and I would write in my gratitude journal for my soul. When he came imto our lives, my once morning 'healthy habits' were thrown out the window! :) As a new mum to a newborn baby, your body goes into a bit of a shock - having to wake up several times a night to feed this precious being and becoming so sleep deprived that you never know what day it is! Particularly in the early weeks...they say your life will never be the same - and that advice is not wrong! ;)

At first, I certainly wasn't used to it all and I was craving for (besides sleep!) some meditation time or to have my warm lemon water first in the morning. I was basically trying to hang on to what I know, rather than discover what could be and embrace what is.

I soon had one of those lightbulb moments! My new son was dependant on me and all he wanted was LOVE! I am his life force (for the moment!) for food, care and cuddles. All I needed to concentrate on was to feed, change nappies and most importantly BOND with my baby - learning to be a mother! It sounds so obvious and simple, but when you're used to being independent and doing everything and achieving everything yourself, it takes a little time to adjust and acknowledge that life had to change - my UNCONSCIOUSNESS had to get it. I had to become more present, more conscious of what new things were happening for me. I've now got a greater awareness of his presence and love every moment even more :)

Ever happened to you? Don't you just love it when things just "click"! You know, when you have that lightbulb moment or Ah-Ha moment?

Once you get that you need to sometimes LET GO of your past or just letting go of what you've always known (ie, re-reading the last chapter/s of your life), you can go on to living the next chapter, full of discovery and adventure! EMBRACE the new chapters ahead and continue living presently - it may be scary but usually exciting as well! :)

International Day of Happiness

There really are so many beautiful reasons to be HAPPY! What is it for you that makes you Happy? 

Today is International Day of Happiness - why not take a moment to reflect and decide what makes you HAPPY? What makes you happy in this moment might be different in another moment - and that's ok!

What about the influence of music? The music you listen to, choose to listen to, have playing in the background - feeding your unconsiousness?  I never really thought about it until a friend of mine, Deb King, who has a passion for music, made me mindful of this one day. And now, I've never been more mindful about this, particularly, as I'm learning how (at this stage in the womb) my baby can be influenced by my state of being and the association of the sounds/music I'm listening to at the time - fascinating stuff!

Have you ever noticed the unconscious influence of the music you might listen to? Either the beat or the lyrics? How it can change your mood and/or put you in a different state of Being?

A chart topper song at the moment "HAPPY" by Pharrell Williams (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGJX9tutZEA) is just one of those songs that's influential and makes me just bop along and all of a sudden, I'm in a much happier state!

Or how about the lyrics of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror"?

"I'm gonna make a change

For once in my life

It's gonna feel real good

Gonna make a difference...."

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror

I'm asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you want to make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make a change"

Making a difference in the world might be what makes you Happy! Change all starts with you - so why not choose to change your state of being to a happier one and see what happens for you? Your much Happier you might just be INFECTIOUS! The conscious influence of music.....

Happy Dayz :)

Change starts with YOU!

I love Gandi's quote - and love being reminded of it!

Whenever I catch myself of my thoughts in a situation or my reaction to a situation or person (you know, when you're being mindful...) - it's good to be reminded of this little quote. Usually if we're feeling a bit frustrated at something or feel that 'wish' that person would change - well guess what?  The only person who can change is YOU!

You've heard of the saying "you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make it drink" - well that applies pretty much all the time if you're wanting someone else to change to suit you - you're probably the one who needs to drink the water! haha...  

All that needs to happen is that you have to acknowledge that YOU have a CHOICE and that choice might be change! Whether that be changing your perspective, being more compassionate, seeing a different angle, showing kindness, being even more grateful than you already are!  

Ever heard of a Chain Reaction? These little shifts is what will start your own chain reaction IN you. One little small step, change or shift is all that you probably need and pretty soon, you're onwards to a happier, healthier You. Pretty soon, others will soon notice the change IN you without you having the need to be noticed.  

All you need to do is just BE who you want to be - wholesome, loving, kind, compassionate, broadminded, appreciate etc. and the rest will follow.  You'll soon see a change in yourself and wondered why you didn't see the goodness in the first place! :)

Be the Change You wish to see in the world.... 

Day 15: "30 Day Gratitude Challenge"

Day 15: Today I am grateful for staying committed and taking myself to the pre-natal yoga class I had intended to go to all day.

It's so easy for us to give ourselves excuses to not do something we know will make us feel SO much better once we've done it - it's like there is a liiiittle obstacle in our way and perhaps the worst thing we might do for ourselves is to not do it. And if we don't, other 'stuff' might come up, like guilt or feeling worse than we did beforehand.

This afternoon, I felt I had already been pretty active today since I went for a swim at the pool, so I almost decided not to go to pre-natal yoga which is what I promised myself I would do since I didn't go the evening before. Setting intentions at the beginning of the day, can set us up for how we might choose to live our day.

I said to myself "Now I made the commitment and I'm going to stick with it" - also knowing deep down inside I would probably feel much better about myself and of course it's good for the baby, which is such a motivation driver for me at the moment!

Do you find yourself giving excuses and putting off something you know will do you good?  If we keep doing the same thing and giving us the same excuses but expecting a different result - well that's just the definition of insanity! LOL.  Make the shift, make the change, stick to your guns and your commitment to yourself.  You will have EVERYTHING to GAIN!

"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you HAPPY" - quote from the movie, Legally Blonde

Day 13: "30 Day Gratitude Challenge"

Day 13: Today I'm grateful for the change in weather

There are plenty of things we can't control and things we cannot change - we just need to accept whatever is, be.  So stop resisting and refocus your energy on what's actually working for you or what can be changed.  Much easier flow, right?

For example, the weather - we have absolutely no control over that, do we? What else can't you change?  Once we acknowledge that we can't change those things, it makes it easier for us to let that go and make a shift towards changing what we can focus on that is working for us instead.  

Today, I was grateful that the weather had dropped slightly and changed from yesterday - I found it much easier to breathe. But the weather is never consistent! The sun came out later and although I was grateful to see the sun shine, I too am grateful I went to the cinema with a friend in the afternoon to get out of the heat and into some air conditioning to be cooled down and to feel relaxed :)

Just...Let go.... :)

Be Kind to Yourself

I picked this beautiful inspiration from a past Deepak Chopra & Oprah meditation challenge.

Currently holidaying in Mexico, we've found the local people to be so friendly and welcoming. Do you find when people give and you receive, you can't help but want to give back?

We know the experience of feeling and receiving unconditional love, such as a parent to a child or a husband to his wife. But are we aware of when or how we give unconditional love? And what about unconditional love to ourselves?

There certainly have been moments in the past where my self-talk (you know, the voice inside your head or the conversations you have with yourself?), hasn't always been the most positive or loving or kind. 

I make a promise to myself to practice meditation daily, but what if I've skipped a day or even a few days in between practices for whatever reason? What would you do? Do you beat yourself up? Be hard on yourself or tell yourself you suck or are hopeless? Or can you be kind to yourself and just let the situation go and whatever is, just BE?

I firstly had to learn to create some self-awareness of when I might beat myself up or put myself down for not achieving or doing or living up to my own intentions or expectations. Creating that awareness then made me become aware that it's equally important to be kind to ourselves and allow ourself to make a mistake now and again. We are all humans BEINGS after all and imprefect in every beautiful way - we too need to give oursleves a little UNCONDITONAL self-LOVE. 

At the moment, my body is rapidly changing with my pregnancy. Now if I look at myself in a mirror and might say, OMG, I'm looking a bit fat/big/huge... if I do, I can quickly CHOOSE to stop myself from thinking that way, CHANGE my MINDSET and express some unconditional love towards myself - choose to love being pregnant and admire at how my baby is growing instead. Amazing what shift that makes. Might even put a smile on your face :)

The more we give ourselves a little self-love, the more we are also able to create more unconditional love to give AND feel/receive unconditional love back. If you're not feeling the love, why not start with you first? :) 

Imagine how much happier you could be feeling!

Head or Heart?

I took this photo at Bondi's Sculptures By the Sea which happens in November every year and runs over two weeks.  What I love about it, is how our brains are confused because it's a STOP sign, yet our clever little brains can make out the word START with the few letters that appear...  so is it a start or stop sign?

Sometimes our heads say one thing, yet our hearts say another - and then confusion or frustration might set in.  Ever happen to you?

My head tells me to write something super positive, yet my heart says, just tell the TRUTH and the rest will flow.  So that's what I'm going to do!

Like everyone, I'm not perfect.  That's the simple truth. I'm human after all!

Last week seemed rather challenging.  Anything that could go wrong, did. If I could be late for something like work or an appointment, I was. If I could give my husband the shits, I gave it to him. If I could feel emotions - which I did, I cried.  I think I cried at least once a day last week!

I would say I'm a glass-half-full rather than a glass-half-empty kinda gal. More so, I do my best to keep my glass topped up and that's when I know I'm really congruent as everything flows easily and effortlessly! Life feels GREAT! But like most people, I don't always have uplifting days - that's just life.

Upon reflection of last weeks antics, however, I realised that it's because I created my daily habits and rituals (even if it meant I would run late for an appointment!) - that allowed me to come out alright in the end.  Sometimes we just need to trust the process. What I know for sure, when I'm faced with a lot of challenges all at once, it can only mean that a change is a coming!!!

Here's what I do to keep me going:

* Daily meditation - it seemed the latest Oprah & Deepak meditation came at the right time!  I was certainly going through some personal challenges and the challenges that the meditation practice brought - Desire & Destiny - definitely CHALLENGED me!  It also allowed me to get some clarity, for example, one of the days I was able to label "frustration" and that's what was going on for me at the time.  Each day is different, as is each moment.

*Gratitude Journal - there is nothing more that helps me to get me out of a rut of downward spiralling of unhealthy thoughts than to write in my gratitude journal.  It allows me to keep being a loving human being.  It allows me to be focused on the good things in life so that I can attract and be given more of that greatness from the universe.

* Contributing to my blog and Facebook page and allow myself to be inspire by other people's pages and blogs of a similar 'happy' theme

* Present moments - Have you ever noticed your thoughts? When you're shitty at someone, do you keep thinking negative thoughts and complain and whinge about that person or do you stop yourself and start to be grateful for the lessons they might be giving you instead?  It's important to STOP everyone once in a while throughout the day and just be fully present.  Take a DEEP BREATH!  

Amazing what a simple little act like taking a deep breath can do for you and to clear the head!  Whenever I became present, I learnt lessons in those 'difficult' moments.  Lessons of personal responsibility, more letting go (of control) that I needed to do and to just allow whatever it is to JUST BE.

Ahhhh... peace :)

Kindness and Appreciation

How are you feeling this morning?

What small thing will you do to make a shift in your life that might make your day better today, right now, in this very moment? 

We can all do something very small and very simple to improve our lives and our day to give us a different perspective and change it for a more a positive outlook. But have you ever thought about what small thing you can do for others that might make their day? It could be as easy as letting them know how grateful and appreciative you are for them.

What small but certain RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS could you be doing today? You might not know it, but it could totally change their day and allow them to have a better day!

Think of a time when a stranger perhaps did something for you that changed your course for the day.

The other day, I was standing in line to buy a bus ticket and a random elderly man gave me his all day train/bus/ferry ticket, meaning I could use any public transport for free! (To go and pick up keys from my husband). The kindness he presented made a small impact in my day as I was a bit flustered from having locked myself out of the house! 

Perhaps we forget to let someone know how much you appreciate them for what they did or said to make you feel better?

My mother-in-law specifically wrote me an email to let me know how good I looked over FaceTime and how pregnancy was suiting me well. That really meant a lot to me as we don't all feel radiant during pregnancy! Yet I hadn't let her know how much I had appreciated her thoughts. 

So my small act today is to email her back to acknowledge the appreciation I felt. 

I know sometimes all we want to feel is acknowledgment and the knowing we are appreciated by others.