Let Go (Part 2)

“There are probably things in our lives from which we could unburden ourselves.”

– Matthieu Ricard –

Back at the end of March I wrote a blog post called Let Go.

Today I had the feeling to write another blog post on the subject, so consider this a continuation of the same theme, just a different message.

I’ve recently been doing a lot of yoga and in particular Yin Yoga, which is a style of yoga that is very new to me (I’ve been practicing it for a couple of weeks now). I’m so into it, that as soon as I arrived in LA, I started looking for practices that taught it.

The thing that I particularly love about Yin is the pace. It’s much slower than pretty much any other style of yoga. For example you tend to hold the poses for anywhere up to 5 minutes or longer.

According to Wikipedia “Yin Yoga poses apply moderate stress to the connective tissues—the tendons, fascia, and ligaments—with the aim of increasing circulation in the joints and improving flexibility. Yin Yoga poses are also designed to improve the flow of qi, the subtle energy said in Chinese medicine to run through the meridian pathways of the body. Improved flow of qi is hypothesized to improve organ health, immunity, and emotional well-being.”

And in effect, Yin helps you to let go and really relax, rather than other practices of yoga that are more active (Yang). Of course we need a balance of Yin and Yang in life, which is why it is great to practice many different types of yoga, but I’m finding that Yin is particularly resonating with me at the moment.

So what is it that you need to perhaps need to let go of at the moment and are there things or people in your life that can help you with this? Perhaps it would be helpful to talk your thoughts through with someone or pop to a yoga class or start to meditate?

When we let go and submit ourselves to life, rather than trying to control it we create the space and the flexibility for things to flow more easily.

Sending you love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Learn more

Visit yinyoga.com

Watch an Introduction to Yin Yoga video

Image reference – laurenschrammyoga.com

Don’t get sucked into the drama

“Positive things happen to positive people”

– Sarah Beeny –

It’s interesting how drama get’s created in our lives. Sometimes we create it ourselves, and  other times, it comes through another person’s drama, or an event.

It is important to realise, that this drama is not real. It is in fact an illusion that our ego has created. And when you become conscious of the drama, and rather than being sucked into it, you observe it and step away from it, the drama then magically disappears. It is only when you acknowledge the drama and engage with it, that you give energy to it and permission for it to prolong.

So, if you are someone who regularly experiences a lot of drama in your life, the news is, you’re creating it. And just as easily as you create it, you can make it disappear too.

Here are 6 simple steps to ensure that you don’t get sucked into the drama in your life

1. Whenever a dramatic event occurs, before engaging in it, become conscious of it.

2. Then acknowledge that you have created the drama, even if it is an event that is seemingly not related to you (for example it could be something you have read about on Facebook, or a friend who has called you about an event that has happened).

3. Understand that you have a choice as to whether to get sucked into the drama.

4. Decide not to give energy to it.

5. Choose to give energy to something more positive in your life instead and know that the drama will dissipate, as soon as you focus your energy on something else.

6. Be grateful of the things you have in your life, and focus on the present moment.

A good example is that Darren and I were in a small car accident recently. Now an older, less conscious version of me (and my ego) would have loved a story like this a few years ago. It would have been a perfect opportunity to play the victim, plaster it all over Facebook, call friends to discuss the drama and gain sympathy.

However, knowing what I know now, as soon as the accident happened, I became very conscious of the fact that I had created the accident in my reality (subconsciously) and that there was an opportunity to get sucked into the drama.

I decided in that moment to stay calm, relaxed and not allow myself to become emotionally involved with the incident. And, after we had got out of the car to check it for damage (which was luckily only slight), we swapped details with the girl driving behind, who had hit us, and carried on with our journey to meet our friends for a pub quiz.

I also gave thanks to the Universe that Darren and I were both unharmed and safe and that the accident wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

As it turns out, a guy swerved out of his lane towards us, which meant that Darren had to swerve out of our lane to avoid being hit and injured, which meant that we were hit from behind by someone who didn’t have enough time to brake. If he hadn’t swerved, there almost definitely would have been injuries and much more serious damage to both cars. As it was, the guy who caused the accident drove away.

Rather than dwelling on the accident, we took it in our stride, were grateful that we were both OK, enjoyed our evening with our friends at the quiz and then the next day Darren took steps to make an insurance claim and for his car to be fixed.

Of course it was an unfortunate event, of course it is a shame that cars were damaged and yes there was a potential for us to get sucked into the drama of the incident and be emotional about the fact that the guy caused the accident and drove off. However we decided to stay neutral to the situation, and because we did that we didn’t allow the situation to have a negative effect on our evening or our lives.

So, the next time a drama comes up in your life, you have the choice to become conscious of it, accept that you have created it as part of your reality and understand that you have the power to make that drama disappear as quickly as you created it.

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this blog post

My own life experience

Meditate every day

“I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope, for hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, for love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, but the faith and the love are all in the waiting. Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought: So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.”

– T S Elliot –

Meditation is magical. It calms you. It centres you. It helps you find inner peace. It helps you quieten the noise in your head. It takes you out of your body and connects you with the space within. It helps you lose yourself and find yourself at the same time.

I set the intention of meditating every day, because I know the benefits it brings me.

It helps you to recharge and re-energize if you do it later in the day. If you do it at the start of the day it clears your mind and gives you a blank canvas from which to begin. It helps you connect with your heart, your intuition and your true self, rather than being identified with your mind.

I am writing this blog post from a place of complete and utter peace, calm and stillness. I have no agenda, no expectations, no real thoughts in fact. I am just letting the words skip out of my, through my fingers, on to the keyboard and out into space.

I am sharing these thoughts and feelings with you (in turn me) in the hope that I can inspire you to start to meditate (if you haven’t before), or meditate more often, if you have already tried it, but don’t do it every day.

So my thought for the day is, meditate every day for a week, and see how your life transforms.

Download a free guided meditation

There is a great 30 minute guided meditation that I have recently come across by a lovely guy called Amir Zoghi. This was recorded at a retreat that he held earlier this year in April. The meditation would normally cost $39 to download, but if you follow the directions below, you can have access to it for free. All you need to do is:

1. Click on this link

2. Scroll down the page

3. Click on the yellow ‘Download now’ button

4. Type the word RETREAT in the coupon code box and all of the billing fields will disappear.

5. Pop in your details

6. Click the green ‘Submit order’ button at the bottom of the page

7. And the lovely people at Be Free People will send you the meditation via email fo free.

I promise you, that if you are looking for more peace, calm, tranquility and connectedness in your life, meditation is the way to go. And it is the most fantastic way to start your day.

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

Falling into Oneness – ONE Retreat Meditation

People come into your life for a reason

“I don’t think that anything happens by coincidence… No one is here by accident… Everyone who crosses our path has a message for us. Otherwise they would have taken another path, or left earlier or later. The fact that these people are here means that they are here for some reason”

– James Redfield –

Recently a very good friend of mine read The Celestine Prophecy and when she spoke to me about this incredible book, it reminded me of when I read it in my mid 20s.

It also reminded me of the most powerful message that I got from it when I read it, which was that people come into our lives for a reason. They come into our lives because they have a message for us, and depending on how present we are in every moment, will determine whether we receive the message they have for us and use it positively, or not.

It doesn’t matter how long they enter our lives for. It could be a few minutes, like a chance encounter at a bus stop, sitting next to someone on a train or brushing past them on the street. It could be a few hours at the beach, a few days in a training course or retreat, months through a new project or years through a relationship, or perhaps they may enter our lives and stay forever. Either way, every single person that comes into our lives, is there for a reason.

I also stumbled across a great poem written by an unknown author that sums this notion up perfectly.

Embrace and enjoy every single encounter that you have with every person that you meet, and know that they all have a very special message for you, if you are present enough to receive it. Be in the moment, with everyone.

Inspiration for this post

The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

People come into your life for a reason You Tube video

Put your head through the clouds

 

blue-sky thinking

World Dictionary definition – (n) ‘creative ideas that are not limited by current thinking or beliefs’

I’m a big fan of meditation, and I’m always looking for new techniques and advice. So when Leonie told me about Cloud Meditation over a deliciously cold Ginger Ale on Friday afternoon, as we enjoyed the Sydney sunshine down at Circular Quay I got pretty excited.

When I asked what Cloud Meditation was, she told me that all you needed to do was simply focus all of your energy and attention on a cloud in the sky and it would gradually disappear into nothingness.

Now when she told me, in that moment I felt a little torn. Part of me thought that it was an amazing concept and notion, the other part of me thought it was a little bonkers. I mean, come on, how could you make a cloud disappear, by just focussing your mind on it?? And despite my slight scepticism, secretly, I wanted it to be possible.

So, being the ever curious bunny that I am, I tried it out on the Manly ferry as I journeyed into the city to TEDx yesterday. I was in a very happy place, sitting at the back of the big boat, enjoying the trip as we swung into the harbour and headed for the wharf. The sun was on my face, Ellie Goulding was in my ears, I was just about to head to TEDx and all was right with the world.

So, what better an opportunity to see if I could do a spot of Cloud Meditation and see if I could make a cloud disappear.

I thought I would start with an easy one, so I focussed on one that was pretty small. And, sure enough, after a few minutes of careful focus and concentration it had disappeared. Wow! I could barely my eyes! Maybe it was a fluke? Maybe that cloud was going to disappear anyway? So I tried a bigger one. Again, I focussed all of my energy on it, and sure enough, the more I focussed on it, the more parts of it started to break away and disappear into nothingness. And minute, by minute as we pulled into Wharf 3, the cloud was disappearing before my very eyes.

Now, anyone sitting next to me would perhaps have started to wonder why this bespectacled blonde girl was sitting with her mouth and eyes wide open, staring at the sky in disbelief. In fact, the two ladies sitting next to me started to look up at the sky to try to work out what it was that I was looking at. And when they couldn’t work it out, got up to leave the ferry.

I was on the brink of tears, I honestly couldn’t believe that just by concentrating my mind, I had managed to make clouds disintegrate. It was so amazing, and further proof that The Law of Attraction does indeed work, and that we can achieve anything if we put our mind to it.

Still, feeling a tad sceptical and disbelieving today, I told my boyfriend about what had happened and for a few minutes focussed my attention (and his) on some clouds in the sky and watched them disappear too.

So, I just wanted to share this really beautiful meditation with you as I know it is something that I will start to do much more regularly. And invite you to give Cloud Meditation a try for yourself.

Inspiration for this post

My beautiful friend Leonie & Cloud Meditation

Remember to have R&R

“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest.”

– Ashleigh Brilliant –

It’s a short and sweet one from me today, as I’m wanting to take my own advice.

Sometimes we spend so much time running around, getting stuff done and taking action, we forget to take time out for rest and relaxation. Time to slow down. Time to just be.

So today’s blog post is a reminder to do just that.

It’s very nearly the weekend, so be sure to enjoy it fully. Refuel and recharge, so that you can be at your best, refreshed and renewed, when Monday arrives.

Your body and your mind will thank you for it. I promise.

Inspiration for this post

The Travelling Wilburys – Handle Me With Care

Blog post by Cat Li – ‘What it means to really take care of yourself’ – from tinybuddha.com