Make a date with yourself this weekend! However much time you can afford – even if you’re only looking at 15 minutes. Use the time to follow any impulse that flows to you. Don’t question – don’t hesitate – just do. ‘Doing’ may mean following the impulse of sitting quietly or going off on a trail, into town, or some creative inspiration. Whatever feels good to you in the moment is the idea. Enjoy what comes!
Post by: Tracy Weaver, Life Coach, EFT Practitioner
Pssssst! Hey! Of course you! Want to learn a magic trick? This one is so simple, you’ll laugh when you hear it. This one tricks you into seeing contrasts differently, which changes the way you think just a little, which gets you to explore your habitual beliefs a little, and before you know it the way you’ve been feeling about life will quietly move up a few notches, which means you could end up a little happier. Not bad for a simple little parlor trick, eh? The best part is, nobody ever needs to know what you’re up to. Okay, here’s how it works.
Whenever you catch yourself saying “or”, try sticking “and” in there instead! Doesn’t sound like much, right? Well, I’m not saying it works every time, but when it does it’ll make you smile, and might change things up for you. Let’s see, some examples:
– We can go out to dinner or we can go out to the movies. -> We can go out to dinner and we can go out to the movies. (There’s that dollar cinema downtown and we can go out for vegetarian tonight, and maybe skip the wine until we get home. Ours is better anyway.)
– We can have burgers or salmon tonight. -> We can have burgers and salmon tonight. (Surf and Turf! I’ll just use half the amount of each. Then tomorrow I can make salmon cakes, and I can use the rest of the burger meat for spaghetti with meat sauce the night after. Wow, I just got the next three dinners solved!)
– I can go to college or do what’s expected and work for the family business. -> I can go to college and make my family happy and work for the family business. (I know I’ve read about people who have done both and still gotten good grades. Helloooo Internet! Who’s already got a blog going about this? Anyway, it’s not like I have to work for them forever. I can sort of gradually segue from the family business into whatever I decide I want to do. Anyway, I’ll be getting paid to help my family. That’s more than a lot of people can say.)
See what I mean? Once you get good at this, try switching “and” in for “but”. It’s a bit more subtle, but can still change the way you think about the contrast. Like this: “I want to write a blog, but I’ve never done anything like that before. -> I want to write a blog and I’ve never done anything like that before. (So what? Hmm, is there a blog about this? How about “Blog Writing For Dummies? Something on YouTube?)
If you want to really go for it, try swapping “can” for “can’t”, “will” for “won’t”, and “Sure!” for “No way!”, just to surprise yourself.
What’s the secret? You’re using inclusion instead of exclusion, that’s all. Have Fun!
-Thank you, Tracy for contributing!
Guided breathing practice to allow presence:
I breathe in, I allow the breath to permeate my body.
I breathe out, I allow the breath to go from this body.
I breathe in, I allow thoughts to slow down and stop.
I breathe out, I allow an open space to fill my mind.
I breathe in, I allow light to fill my being.
I breathe out, I allow light to filter into the space around me.
Repeat until you have surrendered to a quiet mind and relaxed body.
Inspiration for the weekend ahead… you may need a little book
–from A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver
Fall is here. There is a celebration happening all around us. Nature is bursting with a glow and a pride for it’s abundance, it’s harvest, it’s life! We are witnessing a season of illumination and joy before a quiet and peaceful rest. Listen. Take note. Sing along and cheer!
Photograph by Cindy Weaver – Colorado Springs, CO
The moments that make up a day easily run by in a blur. Each moment has any number of experiences to react to or observe. We have a myriad of choices within a day except for the things that keep us physically alive; like breathing and eating. The awareness of breath and it’s own life within our lives is a beautiful and peaceful way to bring reality back into the blur. Eating, preparing and cooking is another way to draw connection to nature, gratitude for nourishment and choice toward health.
No matter what kind of day you live, eating almost sneaks it’s way in and so here are some thoughts for the time taken to fuel our bodies:
Taking time, thought and pride in what you are preparing, cooking and eating is a way to have present minded time within any type of day. Gratitude begins to live and thrive within these minutes and the nourishment that your body and mind absorb will be 10 fold.
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright loved to tell the story about a walk he took when he was nine years old, across a snow covered field with his no-nonsense uncle. When they reached the far end of the field, his uncle turned and pointed out his own tracks across the field, straight and true as an arrow’s flight. Then he showed young Frank his tracks, meandering all over the field.
“Notice how you wander from the fence to the cattle to the woods, and back again,” said his uncle, “and see how my tracks aim directly at my goal. There’s an important lesson in that.”
Years later, the world famous architect related how that experience had greatly contributed to his philosophy about life. “I determined right then and there,” he said, “to not miss out on most things in life, as my uncle had.”
con·duit
ˈkänˌd(y)o͞oət
noun
noun: conduit; plural noun: conduits
1. a channel for conveying water or other fluid.
“a conduit for conveying water to the power plant”
2. a person or organization that acts as a channel for the transmission of something.
“the office acts as a conduit for ideas to flow throughout the organization”
There is a simple adjustment that allows peace and enjoyment to filter into each day. This adjustment is not difficult or revolutionary. It is much like breathing in that it can feel like nothing, yet effect so much with it’s wake.
This adjustment is simply allowing 10 more minutes than we ever think necessary for any commute, project, chore, ‘set up’ or conversation. If this extra 10 minutes is not possible, then do not begin the task OR excuse something around that task as less important, thereby, erasing it from that part of our day.
With our ability to have knowledge, directions, speed and food at the touch of a button we tend to forget a reasonable and JOYFUL schedule for a day. A day that we can smile with if it happens to be our last. A day that we can remember. A day that leaves room for Life to work in it’s magic fingers into without our iPhone calender’s dictating it’s every move.
We schedule and say ‘yes’ to 5 events or tasks that leave us rushing, irritated and unforgiving to the pace of the world. When you do not allow this 10 minutes it can seem that the world is all of the sudden against us and our itinerary! When the world is against us we get defensive, aggressive and forget the pieces of this day that heal; eating slowly and healthfully, breathing deeply, allowing fellow humans kindness and grace.
When ours paths cross one day I want to have time to allow a smile, grace on the road, hold the door open for you or even take a listen to your answer when I ask ‘How are you?’.
“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”
Victor Borge
Presence and Positivity 