Does this sound like yours truly? You lie awake at night stressing about not-very-meaningful conversations you have had during the day and formulating the witty comebacks you should have said? OR maybe you constantly worry that you have made the wrong career choices? AND perhaps you’re even huanted by negative thoughts about your body, health and relationships?

Overthinking is an epidemic which affects every aspect of our lives. It invovles the persistent rehashing of your past, present and future without moving onto problem solving. It’s partly the result of a cultural shift towards self analysis. But many people, women especially, have taken self-awareness too far.

We’re also a generation that has a growing sense of entitlement - we expect to have have lots of money, a job we love, consistently fulfilling relationships, and to feel good most of the time. When this doesn’t happen, we don’t accept it as part of normal life. Instead, we spend inordinate amounts of time and energy thinking about WHY we’re not satisfied. (more…)

Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice (of religious ritual). Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results (of one’s actions), because there follows immediate peace.

Bhagavad-Gita

I don’t know about you but I seem to get so busy at times that I almost forget to breath. Taking time out in our daily lives for a little quiet meditation is a way for us to look inside ourselves and listen for messages from our hearts and minds. It seems that we are constantly looking outside of ourselves for ways to improve but wisdom comes from within. We have all the answers that we need and taking time out for meditation and just listening is a way to find these answers.

If you are not familiar with meditation, it does take some time to actually get it and to be able to sit or lie still in a place where you will not be disturbed. I found it difficult at first to just be and not let thoughts run through my head. There are some forms of meditation whereby you listen to different levels of frequency to bring you into an alpha state so that your awareness of surrounding expands and you feel fully relaxed. Another way to learn to meditate is to stare at the flame of a candle and get into a trance-like state so that it clears your mind which then enables you to find the answers that you are searching for from within.

The best time to practice meditation is to make it a part of your morning routine. When you awake, a glass of water is a good way to re-hydrate your body after you have been sleeping for some hours as is some stretching for about 5 - 10 minutes to get your blood flowing and keep you limber. Doing this makes you feel alive after some deep slumber so it is a good practice to get yourself ready for meditation.

If you are new to this concept, just try it for a 30 seconds to one minute to start with and build on this adding more time each day.  I found this was a good way for me to learn as I tend to let my mind wander with all the tasks that I need to accomplish for the day and wonder how on earth I will fit everything in.  We all have busy schedules and taking some time out first thing in the morning is a great way to get you through the day.

Following your meditation, another thing you could do is to have a journal that you write your thoughts in day to day.  There are no rules for what you write down.  This is also a way to let things out that you may be holding onto and you will be surprised at how the ideas and answers come to you once you have written them on paper and not typed it into your laptop, LOL.  The power of simple writing is a wonderful gift to release any fears or jot your thoughts for clarification.  Even business ideas or topics for articles you want to write about on your blog.

Your journal could also be where you write down things that you are grateful for.  If you list just 5 things everyday that you are truly grateful for, this puts you in a wonderful and happy state and sets your mood for the day.  Remember in The Secret movie that if you start your day off on the wrong side of bed, it starts a pattern for the day that will continue until you change your thoughts.  Instead, if you have a morning routine that starts your day in a state of peace and gratitude, that is what you will get for the rest of the day which is what the Law of Attraction is all about. 

If any of you have more suggestions or would like to tell me your thoughts on meditation, do not hesitate to leave me a comment.   I would be more than happy to hear from you.

I want to leave you with this short Angel Meditation video with thanks to Kathy Pinna to get you into the mood and start thinking about starting your own routine.

Well I have to say that I am still buzzing from the Free Hugs day out in Melbourne. I know that this is something that is not for everyone and that’s okay. I would recommend it to all of you if you could take some time out as it did leave me feeling like I had made a difference in the lives of those that came my way… even the ones who took a wide berth, lol.

My six year old daughter wanted to join me on the day and seeing as though I had never done it myself before Monday, I wasn’t sure whether it would be appropriate for her to come along, so I sent her to school instead. It also happened to be the week of dress rehearsals for her first school concert. Imagine how excited I was as a parent to know that my baby girl would perform in front of 1500 people at one of Melbourne’s best concert halls

It’s quite a large school for what we call a primary school, I think around 550 students in all, and at the same time, there is a real sense of community amongst all the parents and children alike. So tonight we went to see the show that they had been preparing for the last couple of months with rehearsals 3 times a week. It was quite spectacular in some parts. They performed in a graduated order from the preps through to the grade sixers.

There were singing and dancing performances of course, and even the 17 x table, but the one that stood out the most for me (aside from my daughters grade of course) was the grade 4 level who performed circus tricks and did it quite well even though there were some that dropped their tokens occasionally whilst juggling.

It was really cool to see the parents and other family members clapping and cheering on the children as they went through the routines as it made it easier of course for the performers to do their thing.

The night ended with one of our national songs called We Are Australian (original, I know). Here is a small excerpt of the song:

We are one but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come,
we share a dream,
And sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian

and this got me thinking that we are one in a spiritual sense. We come from all the lands on earth and we are all the same. We all have fears and challenges at times we have to face, and even though we have different colored skin, hair and eyes and a different set of circumstances, we are all connected through this vast universe of ours. If we face those fears and challenges head on and overcome them, we grow as people and a society.


Make a Difference

Something that I learned from the Landmark Forum is that when we meet somebody new, we always try to look good to avoid looking bad and the barriers shoot up straight away. We try to make the best impression possible because the fear of being rejected is so natural that we tend to get defensive without knowing it and after a while, the defenses shut down and we start to relax a bit. We are all the same.

Take out the word Australian from the end of that song and replace it with one, it will apply to all of us as one.

I want you to try something for me and you are most welcome to let me know how you go. The next time you walk down the street and you make eye contact with someone, give them a smile. It will go a long way and make a difference to their day. Who knows, you may even get a smile back

May You Be Blessed

Ange