🙏💜🙏 Half Full 🙏💜🙏

You have more than you think you have
Its a great time of year to think about this. High expectations, desires and wants often fill up the Christmas period. 
With commercialism beckoning us in with its pretty wrapped temptations, its sales encouraging us to buy things we would never have bought otherwise, and probably don't even need.
So without all this what do you have? 
The best things in life really are free. Family, friends, love, hope, gratitude.
When you wake up christmas morning in a warm house, to prepare the food you have, to eat with the family or friends you have. The smiles, the laughter and the shared time is worth so much more than we often realise.


So stop thinking about what you do not have for a moment and look at what you do have. Make sure you see you glass not just half full but overflowing.

🙏💜🙏 Labels 🙏💜🙏

Label-Me-Not!
Labels are everywhere! They are on everything we buy, everything we see and every type of behaviour and personality now has a label too.It is no surprise that we do not realise we walk around with a ton of labels stuck on us. Labels given to us from parents, partners, bosses, society, health professionals, magazines, the list is endless.

We walk around with all these labels weighing us down; too thin, too fat, too sensitive, too insensitive, too shy, too confident, too outspoken, too quiet, too trusting, too suspicious, too strong, too weak. 
Wow when you look at it like that, there really is no pleasing anyone, no wonder we get so confused about who we are and who we should be. 


That is just the point, there is no need to be pleasing everyone, and one of the reasons we allow these labels to be stuck on us is our fear of what other people think and our desperation to people please. Old saying, "you can't please all the people all of the time, you can only please some of the people some of the time". BUT that is still about everyone else. 

What about YOU???.....
Stop for a minute and think about those labels......think about the labels that you have about yourself .......... write a list of them if that helps. 
Now, imagine yourself tearing them off, all of them of and throwing them in the bin. 
Feel lighter??? Now you just have you and all that you are, without the labels to specify. 

Labels make us feel ashamed of the unique things that make us who we are.

Once you are happy with yourself you will no longer have these labels to contend with because when someone tries to give it to you, you will say "no thanks, you can have that back, I don't need a label to tell me who I am today thanks. I am ME".

So remove the pile up of labels to have been given and reveal the YOU that is underneath them.

🙏💜🙏 The Journey 🙏💜🙏

The Journey is Your Destination

We all have goals in life, points in our life we would like to be at. Whether material or spiritual, these goals can often take over our thoughts encompassing our minds with thoughts solely about the future target and reaching that dream destination.

With this track of thinking we miss the moments and all we see is this:
Point A                                                         Point B
I am here and don't want to be :(          I want to be here, and I am not :(

So we end up being sad and negative because we are at point A and we are sad and negative because we are not at point B. Thats a lot of Sad and Negative going on!

The journey of life is the destination, not just where we end up. Between point A and B is an amazing life adventure and journey.
This journey may not always seem smooth, but all these moments and lessons on our journey are the most important things. 
If we just jumped from A to B without everything in between we will have missed everything life has to show us on the way and all those precious moments are gone.
It is on our journey we learn to grow, it is on our journey we learn to let go, it is on our journey we learn to love, it is on our journey we find our true self.

So remember to enjoy the journey ..... this is your true destination.

🙏💜🙏 Problem or Opportunity? 🙏💜🙏

Problem or Opportunity...You decide
So, what do you see when you look at this picture, spilt paint or an opportunity?
We come across so many similar scenarios in our every days lives. Situations that some may call problems and others an opportunity or a missed opportunity if it remains a problem!
Think about the last "problem" you had. I mean really think... what if you could change your perception of that problem and try to see the opportunity within it. 
Give yourself a few minutes to think about how that problem could have been an opportunity.
If you are struggling with it and your mind still sees it as a problem then think about what you have learnt from the "problem". Maybe you have learned how to do it differently or how to see things another way.
The reality is that when you look out at life and see problems, many times these problems can be opportunities if we just change our perception of them. We have so much more control over events than we think we do. We may not always be able to change events but we can always change how we view them.

Now for a little story!....

Life is a gift

Life is a gift to appreciate every day

Most of us live extremely hectic lives causing us to get wrapped up in our day to day events. We fly through most our days on autopilot, our conscious minds rarely giving thought to our day to day lives. 
Running errands, ticking things off the to-do list, then at night time collapsing into bed exhausted to sleep only to begin it all again the next day. 
It is important in each day to take moments to reflect and appreciate the simple gift of life and all it gives us day to day. 
Within every hectic day are moments that can be found to reflect, appreciate and find things that we are grateful for, such as life, health, loved ones, warmth and shelter.



Next time you find your self feeling negative about something in your day or life, try to see a way to appreciate it, some simple examples:

Dishes to wash means food to eat
House to clean makes for a safe place to live
Piles of laundry means you have clothes to wear

What often gets us down in our days are not the events themselves but our perception of them. 

Life is a gift so remember to find ways to be grateful and appreciate the many things that you have in your life. 
What can you appreciate in your life today?

Who are you?


Who were you before the world took you?

How often to do we stop and look at who we truly are?
We spend so much of our time worrying about what other people think, trying to fit in, trying to be the best employer, employee, wife, husband, girlfriend, mother. 
We strive to be what we think the world and society want us to be. The longer we do this for the more we pull the blindfold over our eyes that look out and over our eyes that look in. Before we know it we have completely lost ourselves to the expectations around us. 
So...... who were you before the world took you? The innocent child living in the moment, exploring the excitements of every new thing, every new day, the beauty in the world, the moments that were all that mattered, the creativity, the fun, before we tried to fit in.
We forget that within us is a soul that is truly us, that remains untouched by all the pressures and expectations around us. 
It is easier than we think to tap into this. Just reading this is allowing you to question and look deeper within yourself to reveal your true self. 
Think about who is really you, what do you really think, what do you really want to do, what are your dreams? If you took away all the expectations the world has placed on you, what is left? Who are you when you are alone and free? 
Many people think that you can not combine the spiritual self with the every day pressures of the worldly expectations. This is possible.... even for the busiest people,  there is time to reflect, there is time to meditate. Any time spent googling, texting, facebooking or other social media can be swapped for time with your true self. 

We all need a balance in our lives, so stop......and just ask.... Who was I before the world took me?

Oneness of humanity



Inspired by the Dalai Lama's visit to Glastonbury

Oneness of Humanity

Compassion

Non-violence

Today... A mindful exercise

If you keep thinking of yesterday and tomorrow, before you know it today will be gone
How much time do you spend thinking about what has already happened or what may happen in the future? ..... Our brain seems to be hardwired to think about past events and possible future ones to a point where we are very rarely present in the moment. 
Think about how much of today you spent not in the moment. Worrying about things that may not every happen or things that already have.
Before you know it your day has gone and you are lying in bed analysing all the days events that have already happened and thinking about tomorrows events that have not, and may not happen. Wow, sounds a little crazy when you look at it like that doesn't it. A life of past and future events going round and round.
Mindful Exercise
It takes practice to stop the brain doing this and to be mindful. A good place to start is by picking one thing you do daily, perhaps walking to the bus stop or station for work. You can even practice this when loading the dishwasher or cleaning your teeth.
Next time you take this walk or do a chore, concentrate on being present in the moment. Think about what you can see, hear, feel, smell, how the ground feels under your feet. Engage all your senses, this will help you stay present. If you find your mind wandering, bring it back to one of your senses. Ask yourself what am I seeing right now, what am hearing, how does it smell. You will be surprised at the things that you have never noticed on that same trip you take every day.
With regular practice your brain will start to get used to being more present in the moments which in turn will help you feel calmer and help regain some inner peace and quiet. 
Being mindful can really help with stressful situations allowing you to get out of your head for a while and quieten the mind.

Give it a go... become present in life, not an observer of past events and a predictor of future ones.

One Small Thought

'It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world' - Chaos Theory
One small thought can change the world. Remember the film "The Butterfly Effect", if you have not seen it I recommend watching it. 
Everything is energy including our thoughts. Our whole physical world is made up of vibrations of energy including our thoughts! Thoughts have a powerful influence not just in your mind but also outside of you. They affect what happens to you and this in turn affects what happens in the rest of the world. 
Many of us fill our mind with worries and fears unaware of the powerful force of our thoughts. 
The thoughts which you create in your mind create a path for the desired outcome of your focus. When you focus on fear and failure this is the energy vibration sent out into the world and this becomes what you attract like a magnet.
To change your life you must look at how you are using your mind. To change external outcomes you must first change internal conditions by creating thoughts of positivity and success.
One thought creates a flutter of energy like a butterfly wing which in turn can create a typhoon!

Make sure your butterfly wings are sending out positive vibrations :)

Social Anxiety

Study: Social Anxiety is Associated with Being an Empath
Those of you who are familiar with social anxiety will understand how hard social interactions may be for people suffering from this disorder. Simple everyday situations that seem perfectly fine to most people, such as talking to a stranger in the street or making a phone call, can lead to intense disturbing symptoms that accompany anxiety and stress: high heart rate, trembling, excessive sweating, etc.
And it’s not only about physical symptoms. It seems that socially anxious people can’t have a “normal” life – meeting new people, making friends, going out and partying – as almost any social situation causes discomfort and confusion. Many of them believe that something is wrong with them and they need to be “fixed”. 

But it’s not always as it seems, and there may be much more profound causes behind social anxiety disorder than we used to think.
Read full Article here .... http://themindunleashed.org/2015/01/social-anxiety-may-associated-empath.html

Can't stop thinking?

Can't stop thinking... think again!

So you have tried meditation, you have tried to still your mind and yet those thoughts just keep on coming..... 

So many people try to meditate and then give up when they struggle with their busy minds. Your mind has spent years just doing what it wants, thinking, problem solving, worrying, calculating and just doing whatever it pleases. 

You really can take control back of your mind. The mind is an amazing tool, but thats it.. a tool and like all tools it needs to be put back in its box once in while. 

To silence the mind is not as difficult as it may first seem.

Most people I meet have tried meditation and think they cannot do it because they cannot stop thinking. Well guess what..it's ok to think, yes really, it is ok to think when meditating. When a thought comes into your mind, observe it and then let it drift past like a cloud and return to your breathing. Try not to get wrapped up in the thought, just let it go. Keep doing this again and again and I promise you eventually you will get it!

Also, there really is no need to sit cross legged in silence with your hands on your knees chanting Om (although this is what you will probably be doing in 3 months!). Remember your mind needs to re-train itself, it is not used to all this not thinking stuff. It wants to think, it is used to thinking, so you must re-train your brain. 

Silence is not necessary and can make it daunting for meditation newbies. Gentle background music is a great way to start meditating (I will put a link at the bottom of this post to my YouTube music list).

Also be comfortable and go with the flow.. if you feel like moving, it's ok, if you have an urge to make a sound, that's ok too. Really to start with it is about you getting used to just sitting and doing nothing and observing your thoughts and feelings. Try to observe, not participate.

Another thing that helps with meditation is a ritual. It can be something simple like lighting a candle or placing a cushion on the floor, but make sure you do the same things every time. This helps the mind to start to learn that it is quiet time and eventually just the lighting of the candle or whatever your ritual happens to be will be enough to start your mind to be quiet.

Most of all be patient, do not give up. I promise you we all started at the beginning and I remember the moment I felt my mind go quiet and since that day I have meditated and enjoyed it. You will enjoy meditation. Like anything, it takes practice. I have a few more tips on my Meditation Tips page. http://blisski.blogspot.co.uk/p/meditation-tips.html

So next time you think you can't stop thinking... think again and go meditate :)

https://www.youtube.com/user/KiBliss
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