Steps to a Peaceful Spirit – managing stress in chaotic times

Chaos surrounds us daily in some form or another so rather than battle it how do we befriend it, be at peace with it?
By deciding to focus on what we want rather than what we don’t want, to give up the notion that it is a battle, or that we are fighting chaos but rather to shift our thinking to a pardigm that we are creating, promoting and embodying peace.

Inner peace is within our reach, it may not always feel easy to attain but it is always a possibility.

When it feels like you are surrounded by chaos, then more than ever, you can feel the value of taking a moment to drop your shoulders, slacken your jaw, and breathe. Allow peace to wash over you and chaos melt away. Whatever is going on around you inner peace is always a choice.

Can you breathe deep in any moment? of course you can. It takes only awareness. As does dropping your shoulders or unclenching your jaw. These are just a few ways that your body might hold onto stress. Next time you are feeling over whelmed take anextra minute or two do do a full “body scan” (I start at my toes and just mentally check on every body part until I reach the top of my head) and notice any tightness. Don’t get caught up in trying to change any of that as youdo the scan, the whole point is to check on all muscle groups and just notice – bring your awareness to what is chlenched, what is tight, what feels frozen, what is churning, pounding, burning hurting.

Only through awareness can you make changes to your stress response.

Once you have an awareness of where your body holds in stress you have an opportunity to actively take steps to release that tension. The next step which may seem obvious but is not necessarily easy is to learn how to manage those areas. Some find that setting a time is a good reminder to scan and release others find that attaching this activity to something that is already part of their daily routine makes it easier. Something as simple as correcting your posture regularty, doing a shoulder shrug and drop a couple of times per hour. getting out of your chair stretching, taking your eyes away from your computer.

Inner peace is much more than the abscence of tension or stress and there are probably as many paths to inner peace as there are ways to manifest stress and chaos, however, the moments that we spend in inner awareness, mindful reflection and loving self care allow us to be open to the experience of a Peaceful Spirit.

I Appreciate You

How often do you tell those you appreciate what it is you are grateful for in your relationship? Me? Not nearly often enough. I appreciate my clients, my blog readers, my Peaceful Ponderings subscribers for the inspiration I receive from their comments, questions and support. I have so many reasons to be grateful for my family members… my daughters whom I love and adore for more reasons than I can list here; my grandchildren who are a constant blessing of light and laughter; my parents who have taught me so much about life and love; my sister – my greatest mentor and supporter, my brothers and their families from whom I have learned about adventure and strength of human spirit. My dear friends who are there for me when life is less than smooth and/or full of celebrations and who are quick with a hug a joke or a glass of wine just when I can appreciate them the most.
If you are reading this then obviously you fit into at least one of the groups and therefore I want YOU to know that I Appreciate YOU!

Trade in those old habits

Habits are sometimes hard to change. What are habits anyway? A habit is simply something that we do so often that it becomes our routine way of responding to certain stimulus. It is like a well worn pathway, it is the easy route to take, often the route we take without even thinking about it just because it is the way we have gone so many times before.
Until we consciously start to forge new pathways we will continue to follow our old habits even when we think we want to change. Like so many things in life until we recognize what we are doing we cannot make the change.
I remember years ago when my Mom went to a smoking cessation program. One of the first things she was to do was to hold her cigarette in her left hand. She was also to document what she was doing each time she lit a cigarette. They didn’t try to tell her to cut down on how much she smoked right off the bat, they made her aware of when she was smoking. I wonder how often before that she smoked a cigarette without even being conscious that she was smoking.
What habits would you like to change?
How do you form new pathways, new habits?
You can start by getting clear on what alternate routine you would like to replace the old habit with.
Want to quit smoking, what will you do each time you want to have a cigarette? Want to quick unhealthy snacking, what will you do when you are wanting to reach for a snack? To be most effective, it needs to be something that you feel some sense of reward in, rather than something that is making you feel like you are settling or that it is somehow a punishment for wanting a snack.
Another helpful tactic is visualization. You are wanting to change a habit for a reason, whether it is to become healthier, change your appearance, attract something new into your life… so spend a little time each day visualizing what you will have when you change your habit. What will be different and how exactly will that look and feel? Have a clear picture of what you want and why and check in with that vision each time you choose the new habit over the old.
Have an accountability buddy. There is something very special about being able to share your successes with someone who will be genuinely happy for you. Choose someone who you can also confide in when you backslide, who won’t judge or reprimand you but help you to jump back in with renewed enthusiasm. Changing behaviours may not be easy but with the support of others and a clear understanding of what you want instead will make it much more achievable.
If you are willing to share a habit you are wanting to change add a comment to my blog and we will all work together as our own little accountability group… come on join in, we’ll have fun!

(Re)discover Your Gifts

Do you have a gift or talent? Something that you excell at, something that lights you up, ignites your passion? Of course you do, but do you know what it is? Each of us has a number of gifts but they may have been hidden away long ago. There are many reasons you may not be sharing your gifts/talents. Fear, embarassment, lack of confidence, past put downs or perhaps you have simply been hiding your gifts for so long you do not even remember what they are.
So how do you (re)discover your gifts?
You can explore your gifts by taking time to rmember the things that delighted you as a child. What did you love to do or look at or spend time on? It may not be something that you believed as a child you had talent at, this is more about the passion you feel about something than it is about being an expert, talents can be worked on, developed, cultivated.
You might (re)discover a gift by asking a trusted friend what they think your gifts are. Do not judge what they tell you, instead contemplate what they have shared with you, Take time to feel the deeper truth of what they have said.
Take time to reflect – ask Spirit, God, the Universe to reveal your gifts to you and then pay attention to what shows up. Be open to neither dismissing signs as unimportant, nor to read something into your own negative self talk.
I encourage you to set aside time over the next few days to explore, to look within and identify at least one gift/talent that you would like to examine more fully.
As always, I encourage you to share any questions, or thoughts as you read this or as you play with the concept of (re)discovering your gifts.
Watch for the next blog posts for suggestions about embracing and sharing your gifts.

Long Awaited Blessings

I opened the door to walk outside a few days ago and there is was. That beautiful perfume of the Mayday tree bursting into bloom. That final confirmation, that “Yes, it really is spring!”
We had a colder than usual (or at least the new usual of the past decade) and a long unpredictable approach to spring so that sweet scent was a welcome pleasure indeed.
Whatever in your life is ‘long awaited’, look forward to it just as we do spring time, with an attitude of: although it seems to be taking forever, it is inevitably getting closer every day. Anticipate it just as you might get out the gardening catalogues. Prepare for it, just as you might start seeds indoors in preparation for gardening once spring arrives. Welcome the first sign of it getting close just as you might throw open the windows at that first hint of fresh spring breezes. And when it starts to show up, just as you believed it would, breathe it in like the sweet smell of Mayday blossoms. And show gratitude for what is, celebrating the gifts inherent in every step along the way.

Shadow Busting.

How do we go about letting our light shine?
Do you ever get caught in the “Yes, but I don’t deserve it” game? We go along planning, hoping, wishing for whatever it is we desire but lurking in the shadows is that nagging little ghost whispering “that’s not going to happen.”
Our friends, family, colleagues tell us they see our potential. Books, Lecturers, Teachers purport that we are deserving. Others seek our council, we inspire, we create, we excel and yet that dark whisper is what we hear. And even worse it is what we believe.

But, today is a new day. Today is the day we recognize that that whisper lurks in shadows, albeit shadows of our own making. So today we have the opportunity to wash away that shadow by allowing our light to shine bright. Like cranking up the volume to blast away silence with our favorite feel good, dance-in-the-joy music, we can step into the brightness of our authentic spirit.

Darkness has no power over light, darkness cannot overtake light ever. It is light that has the power to wash away darkness and shadows. It is light that has the power to illuminate the way, to allow clearer vision, to nurture new growth.

Don’t let that voice from the shadows creep in a convince you that you are anything less than the wonderful, creative, being of light that you are.

The only way to send it packing for good is to chase it away with light. Darkness is not waiting around the corner when the light washes it away it is gone. As long as the light shines brightly from every direction there is no where for the shadow to reside.

Let your light shine, any sign of the shadow creeping in, cancel it out by shining brighter. This is your birthright, this is your destiny this is your divinity. This is who you are meant to be. Shine on.

Share your shadow-busting suggestions so that we may all shine brighter.

Blessed by a Shaman

Touring in Peru we have met some amazing people not the least of whom is the 3rd generation Shaman who shared with our group a ritual offering to Pachamama, mother earth. We were first smudged with the smoke of incense made from local roots, he then gathered together on a ‘table’ a number of traditional offerings from fruit, trees, llama fat, cotton, all in their own way representing all of the blessing from Pachamama. We each chose three leaves from a collection of coca leaves, were instructed to hold them together like a fan and to think of three dreams or wishes we had for ourselves those we love and/or the world in general. When we had done our Shaman collected each of our little fans very reverently placing them onto the table of offerings. With great care he folded the paper around the offerings, tied the package with string and our offering was placed on a small fire. The smoke encircled our little group before rising on the wind and drifting in all directions.
As our hopes and dreams are carried into the air so do they travel on through each of us as we love and care for each other and Pachamama .

Freedom to Believe

At what point in our lives do we suspect that there is a power greater than our limited physical selves? For each of us it is different but to everyone who is willing to look deep enough, the time comes. So what do we call this greater power? God? Spirit? The Universe? My Higher Self? To me they all mean the same thing. I like how Elizabeth Gilbert describes her feeling about what word to use in her book Eat, Pray, Love She says “I have nothing against any of these terms. I feel they are all equal because they are all equally adequate and inadequate descriptions of the indescribable.”
I love the fact that we have the freedom to call this God whatever we choose. That we have the liberty to debate the existance of Spirit. That we have the right to speak openly and from our hearts about our beliefs, our doubts, our questions and our faith. For all of this I am grateful.

Spring

A few blades of green grass, where the snow is slowly receeding leads to dreams of planting and watching the garden come to life. An open window feels fresh and warm, holding the promise of melting snow and fields of crocus. Blue sky hints at a warm afternoon, the freedom of getting out without coat and hat and scarf feels liberating. As daylight stretches into the early evening reminding me of childhood games of skipping and hopscotch that shouted “spring is here!” Spring. New beginnings. Rebirth. A fresh start.

What does spring mean to you?

Inner Wisdom

Have you heard? You have everything you need, inside you.
Where is it hiding?
I want to be , wise, clear, inspired, all knowing… don’t you?
Why is it so hard to tap into our inner wisdom? It is hard isn’t it? After all, if it was easy wouldn’t we all just do it?

Perhaps it has to do with it being something we cannot think our way through. Many wise teachers instruct us to let go of thought. To be open to what we “know” in our heart. Let’s sit in silence, rest our minds, let go of any thoughts that arise… offering them up on an alter for what they are worth, without judgement of right or wrong, silly or important or connected or random… just letting them go.

The practice of mindfulness… one key to the vault of inner wisdom.