Sunday, February 12, 2006

Cycles of rest and activity

It seems that many of us are beginning to engage in activities that promote rest and relaxation of the body and mind. More and more, people are attending yoga or pilates classes, practising tai chi, going for regular "tune-ups" by seeing a masseuse, aromatherapist, reflexologist or Reiki practitioner, or visiting health spas and being pampered for a whole day or weekend.

We are learning to reconnect with inner selves and this is very important right now, since we are healing. Through healing ourselves, we are also touching/influencing those around us and helping them.

However, there are periods when we tend to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of day to day life, and forget that resting is critical to enjoying our day and tapping into unique gifts and talents that lie buried within us. Moreover, it is difficult to interact and relate to others when the body and mind are tired. Negative feelings tend to infiltrate our consciousness more easily when we lack proper rest and nourishment.

Nature gives us strong clues as to how to behave. If you look at any plant or animal, you will see it has natural cycles of rest and activity and adheres to these cycles instinctively. As human beings, we have forgotten how to tap into our natural rhythms because we are pressured by society and by ourselves.

A good way of tapping back into our true nature is to practise daily meditation. Unfortunately, most people have distorted ideas about what it means to meditate; they believe you have to be in a particular type of position, quite often used by advanced yogis, and that a single meditation has no value unless it is practised for many hours.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The only requirements are that you feel comfortable, with your head and neck aligned. Lying down in bed, face up, first thing in the morning would be just fine. Usually, first thing in the morning is a very good time to practice since your conscious mind is normally quiet and free from the clutter of thoughts that arise during other parts of the day.

Put one hand on your belly and the other hand on your heart. If your mind is already noisy and a million things have flooded into it, that's okay. Just tell it to be quiet and put all your cares and worries aside. Just for ten minutes. Then concentrate on your breathing, nothing else. Breathe in through your nose, filling your belly first and then pushing the breath up into the top part of your chest, and then out through your nose or mouth.

Don't breathe in through your mouth. After all, you don't eat through your nose, do you?

As you breathe in, visualise brilliant white light coming in through your nose and filling your belly and then, from there, running all through your body. When you breathe out, imagine breathing out darkness and any impurities from your body.

Just ten minutes. Get up ten minutes early to do this and do this every day for ninety days, and your life will begin to change. The results are cumulative, however, so you can't expect good results if you only practice this for a few days and then give up.

Make time for yourself and practice breathing. Breath is life.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Where's your focus?

Whether you are working at a job, or you are running your own business, take time out periodically to ask yourself "how can I best serve others through what I do?"

If you are part of a team, try to get a high level view of the goals of the team. It is very good to focus on your role and to excel at that but it is also important to understand the wider implications of your work. Doing this will allow you to see aspects of your work in a different light and improve it accordingly, in line with the greater whole.

People will notice as you shift your vibration upwards, and both you and the team will reap the rewards in due time.

You may encounter resistance within yourself as you seek to go beyond your programmed way of thinking. Thoughts such as "why should I bother?", "I don't get paid enough", may surface. If you decide to acknowledge and weed out these thoughts, you will see that you will get more fulfilment from your work, people will respond to you and appreciate you better. Actually, you will be setting off a chain of events that will allow you to attract the raise you want. If your current boss is unwillingly to see the value you have to offer, someone else undoubtedly will, in due time.

You may also encounter resistance in the "real" world. Quite often, people around you are living in a fog and ruled by their egos and will assume that you are just in it for yourself and trying to "prove" something. They may confront you and try to sabotage your valiant efforts to think and act differently. In fact, the outer response to your change is valid, since you are "clearing" negativity from within and the outer world is mirroring this change.

Patience and perseverance is the key. The more relaxed you can be, the more the situation will dissolve by itself.

If you are working independently, for example as a small business owner, you still need to focus on others and your greatest challenge will be to overcome the usual worries that are commonplace as you seek to create both wealth and independence. If you start finding yourself doubting yourself or worrying that not enough money is materialising, start asking yourself "what do I want and what am I seeking to achieve?"

Worrying that the market is bad, or there aren't enough clients is a sign that you are sabotaging any positive currents you have set up and your desires will be delayed. Remember that your results are determined by your thoughts, nothing else.

"Statistics" and "facts" are based on the external, and on realities already created. You can choose, at any moment it time, how tomorrow will be. What will you choose? If you still believe in the negative stories around you, find the exception and concentrate on that. How many times have you heard about a "lucky" business person making lots of money in a "bad" market? If we could have looked behind the scenes, at the thoughts and the actions of that person, we would undoubtedly have seen positive thoughts and strong belief which caused circumstances and events to manifest a positive result.

Practice visualisation techniques and "see yourself" meeting your customers' or clients' needs. Get the happy feeling of the situation. Your imagination is a powerful tool and your results will change the more you can tap into this wonderful source of energy and power. Remember that the purpose of any business, small or large, is to solve other people's problems. The focus is not you.

It is important that you achieve the wealth and inner fulfilment you desire to create as well, so focus your mind upon the results you want to achieve but, in the long run, the results you achieve are a consequence of your desire to help others.